64Digits

Have Some Music

Posted by Castypher on Aug. 9, 2011, 12:31 a.m.

Spent all day coming up with something that I ended up being pretty happy with. I tried something new though. For one, I found a half-decent guitar that I used for support throughout the song. For another, I tried using the equalizer from the beginning, not much different. And another, I let the lead instruments be a little louder than normal. I also tried switching keys partway through. And finally, I actually used a bass guitar.

Give it a listen, tell me what you think.

http://soundcloud.com/kralys/rock-test-2

I'm still working on a few parts, like the beginning, the end, and equalization. But I love how the percussion turned out, and though I rarely use the piano, I think it harmonizes well, too.

Not sure what to name this or what to use it for, but I imagine something bosslike or something. *shrug*

Anyway, for those of you who are particularly good at music, remember that it is a WIP, and I'd like some, you know, constructive criticism.

Last, this track has received Zane's Seal of Approval. :')

After listening to some good songs by Motoi Sakuraba, I've come to a conclusion. He's an excellent composer, don't get me wrong, but I just can't listen to his songs over and over again like a few other games with worse instrumentation (Touhou, DKC, etc). In my opinion:

Catchiness > Instrumentation

Comments

MMOnologueguy 13 years, 3 months ago

It's like if Halo were a turn-based RPG.

Something like that anyway.

Fuck it I don't know.

Quietus 13 years, 3 months ago

needs more sound to fill up when it drops back to just piano. that's just being nitpicky though, goddamn that's epic sounding. whatever you used this for would be fucking crazy. it makes me think of a panicked train sequence actually.. it could be epic falling music too though.

Praying Mantis 13 years, 3 months ago

@MMORPGguy- No, that sounds about right.

'twas nice, Kilin.

JuurianChi 13 years, 3 months ago

Sounds Awesome.

(BTW, I'm so ignorant, I can't even tell when a Piece is unfinished. ._. )

sirxemic 13 years, 3 months ago

I liked the part from 1:03 - 1:24; I am not particularly positive about the rest, to be honest. Especially about the pieces like 0:34 - 0:44. I believe that's partially because of how annoyingly panned the strings are. I know that even though I don't like that, I am expected to give some constructive criticism. But I don't know how to explain myself why I think it needs some change at those parts. One thing I can think of is that the piano 'melody' is very boring. Another thing is that there is no emphasis - everything is just blending together. I hope this makes some sense to you. Anyhow, keep on making music. Maybe one day you will make something truly epic. :)

The combination of instruments (rock elements + orchestra = epic) reminded me a bit of E.S. Posthumus' music.

Castypher 13 years, 3 months ago

Quote:

It's like if Halo were a turn-based RPG.

Seeing as Halo has a decent soundtrack, I'll take that as a compliment.

Quote:

I liked the part from 1:03 - 1:24

That's actually exactly what Zane said too. Honestly I didn't know how I was going to make that part turn out well but I guess it did.

Quote:

I believe that's partially because of how annoyingly panned the strings are.

That was probably because at some parts the (supportive) strings were overwhelming the (main) piano. But I never directly panned them either. ._.

I thought it was my headphones being shitty, because it sounded decent coming out of speakers.

Quote:

One thing I can think of is that the piano 'melody' is very boring.

Hm, I did consider making it a little more intense, but I think the reason I didn't is because I thought having it pretty simple would be the best thing. Maybe I'll just have to change it up a bit as the piece repeats.

Quote:

Another thing is that there is no emphasis - everything is just blending together.

The piano is particularly louder than the rest. =<

The reason I cut the strings was to make the melody more apparent.

Quote:

Maybe one day you will make something truly epic.

That's probably the most demeaning thing in this post.

Quote:

rock elements + orchestra = epic

That's probably my genre of choice when it comes to composing now. Glad someone else agrees that it sounds nice.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and provide feedback, everyone. For those who are even more patient, I'll have a finished version (EQ'd a little better than this) up a bit later this week.

Azure 13 years, 3 months ago

Well it's clear that ZUN has influenced your musical taste. ^_^

Nice work, Kilin!

Rez 13 years, 3 months ago

Awesome! I actually like the rapid flute from around 2:10 to 2:26 simply cause I've never heard anything like it. The sound of that flute reminds a bit of the rayman games and that's always nice.

Castypher 13 years, 3 months ago

Quote:

Well it's clear that ZUN has influenced your musical taste. ^_^

To an extent. Though I've always liked soundtracks more than most other music, his methods of composing and using complex sequences over professional instruments appeal to me more than the people who have high quality instruments but put little thought into how memorable their music is. And if you've played the Touhou games as avidly as I have (even though I don't play so much as I listen to the music), you have to agree that his music is indeed catchy and memorable.

And Rez reminded me that the part he mentioned needs a little variation. Besides going through the song and changing a few things up, I've EQ'd it a little better and tweaked a few instruments (strings sound much better now).