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Description
Track explanation:
As I jumped into this jam a bit late, I only did a single track.
Inspired by both the image and theme, “Songs of a Forgotten World”, I instantly knew that I wanted to do an Ancient Greek/Celtic style song. While I didn’t necessarily strictly stuck to a specific scale, I knew I wanted to use exclusively authentic/analogue instruments and do something cinematic.
Process:
After seeing the theme, I immediately jumped onto Splice’s ‘Odyssey Bowed - Thracian Lyra Sustain’ VST. It’s a free VST with pretty authentic lyre type sound, and I’ve been super keen to test it out.
Laying down the main melody with the lyre was my starting point. I wanted to explore the concept of a “leitmotif” more, as I usually very loosely improv through my songwriting process. So that melody became the cornerstone of everything from the lyre, to the intense orchestra section, to even the spiccato/pizzicato bits
Inspirations:
While there wasn’t a very specific inspiration, I recently watched Caligula and Gladiator, and I’ve been playing a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3, all which definitely swirled around my mind as I was writing. I also listened to some Beethoven and Handel to get in the mood for the orchestral section.
Genre:
Traditional / Orchestral
Runtime:
05:00
Software used:
Reaper with a variety of VSTs and plugins:
Splice Studio Labs VSTs:
- BBC Orchestra
- ‘Odyssey Bowed - Thracian Lyra Sustain’
- Trumpet Fields - Double Tonguing
Varazuvi Indian Flute
Permissions:
You are welcome to use this song in non-commercial projects as long as I am notified and credited.
Theme
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
Soundcloud:
https://on.soundcloud.com/ghf7MLR0jOYZEwlNtO
Youtube:
https://youtu.be/faCZevewvvI
Number of tracks1
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
I could see this in a movie. It’s very cinematic right from the start with the slow swell, and your instrumentation blends together into this ethereal sound. It’s really beautiful. Both styles went together well, and the crescendo was especially cinematic.
I wish you had more time with it, as I found myself hoping for more movement as the piece went on. Regardless, you did a great job.
This track is really pretty, leaving me craving for more ! Hope you'll have more time next year because you sir know what you're doing.
Much appreciated, thanks for listening! And hope so too, very keen to flesh this out properly :)
An amazing track, I love the use of the motif!! Songs that slowly build are always appreciated. I definitely would love to listen to some more work from you. My favorite part is when the music creatively fades, then dramatically comes back in. I hope to see you at full force in the next music jams!
As far as my insight into your project, I think you might try experiment with breaking the motif somewhere in the song. What you've got is amazing, and it could use some more layering. Like David Caldarellaa said, adding some melodic elements on top of what you've already got would be a great way to spice up the song.
Thank you, really appreciate the kind words and feedback!
100% on the motif. I really wanted to explore using motifs a bit more in this jam, as I tend to improv a lot when making music that I think comes from my background of playing in a band where we tend to improv a lot when jamming to figure out new songs. I really love it in films or games where there is a strong, recognisable motif for a character or place so wanted to dive deeper there.
But I knew it was a bit stark and repetitive for this piece. I was still busy exploring ways of evolving it, for instance just reversing the chord note progressions, which already yielded interesting results, but time ran out.
And yes, getting in some more melodic flavour and a bit more progressions is def something I still want to explore with this piece, really enjoyed working on this.
I agree with kazmord--it's so sad to hear that you had limited time! I would have loved to see what else you could come up with. The opening is effortlessly cinematic, so simple and yet extremely effective. A slow, intimate dirge, with scratchy, resonant strings, suddenly switching to a grand, sweeping horn line with a decisive timpani... and then a delightful, explorative pizzicato? It sounds really incredible. The leaping, hope-filled pizzicati chords are really great. Lots of creative ideas here, and I would have loved to see where you could take them with more time.
In terms of feedback, I would suggest adding stronger melodic components: while I love the dirge-like repetition, and honestly think repetition can be used very effectively (like you've done here), adding a melody might add a greater sense of flow to the piece. All of the shifts are a bit abrupt, and having a dramatic crescendo up to the final loud section would have given it that final push into greatness. Still, this is excellent work, well done, and keep writing!
Yeah, super bummed I caught so late. Especially since I felt so inspired by this theme! But def keen to still work on this piece post jam.
Regarding the abrupt shifts, I totally agree. That's the one thing I struggled with a bit and still wanted to remedy.
Like this first pause I felt was quite impactful (shifting from the soft lyre bit to the explosive orchestral section), but initially leaned to hard into it for the other pauses, and didn't find a satisfying crossover yet. Listened to to a lot of classical composers, like Handel and Beethoven, this week and it's amazing how masterfully their pieces flow between sections.
Yeah, I think repetition was another thing I wanted to work on. I do love the hypnotic effect of a repetitive melody, but there needs to be some evolution and melodic colouring to make it not feel stagnant, and that I think is the next thing I want to work on with this piece post jam, really figuring out that evolution. C418 is a great example of what I mean.
Thanks so much for the kind words! Appreciate the listen and the feedback :)
It's a shame you had limited time for this jam! This track sounds really pretty and definitely has the cinematic quality you wanted but doesn't stand out melodically. It would be cool to hear this with a bit more sauce added to it (but that might be my personal bias towards attention-grabbing tracks :P)
Thank you, appreciate the listen and feedback!
Yeah, also feel it needs something a bit more melodically. Listening to some of the other similar tracks in this jam, there some great subtle work done behind the main melodies, which I've really been enjoying. Adds so much depth. Def want to do a post-jam version and really nail down those intricacies. And a good bias to have, it's called "attention-grabbing for a reason"!
Your track did a great job in encapsulating the story. I really enjoyed it, but i did feel that more could have been done with the track tho.
This track is really pretty btw.
Thank you!
Definitely wanted to add more! Caught the jam a bit late so was a little strapped for time. Currently, I'd say this is the basic structure and the idea was to take this and start adding a bit more richness and variation, find some more instruments to work in but alas time was not on mhy side. Super keen to jump into this and flesh it out properly for a post-jam version. Haven't really done a piece like this and had a blast creating it.
Thanks for the listen and feedback, appreciate it!