This is a pretty cool smooth and nice track here! I like it. It has a great feel and flow to it. The Yangqin really came out well in this. Solid work. The mixing is good and, though it is not completely ambient, has that vibe. Great work here!
Play soundtrack
Lantern Reflections's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composition | #37 | 2.941 | 2.941 |
| Vibe/Atmosphere | #42 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Overall | #46 | 2.871 | 2.871 |
| Execution | #48 | 2.706 | 2.706 |
| Correlation to Theme | #49 | 2.882 | 2.882 |
| Listenability | #52 | 2.588 | 2.588 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
I decided to use Midinous to push myself into a different key and came up with Lantern Reflections in the key of C Hirajoshi. I ended up in 7/8 by accident but liked it and feel it really works.
I used an ebow for the guitar sounds. The main plucked sound is Native Instruments Yangqin. I would have preferred a Koto but the Yangqin just sounds so good! I used NI rounds for the speedier arp and Massive for the drone noise.
I've been really enjoying scoring this picture. It's such a beautiful artwork!
Link to Streaming Service
https://soundcloud.com/ibug/lantern-reflections
DAW Screenshot - Demonstrate that this is your own work
https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvNTAyMzk0NC8zMDA3OTM2OS5wbmc=/347x500/C%2FitQl.png
Comments
This was an interesting piece, but the mixing is crazy. The snare drum in particular, that's the kind of snare you would want to use in a power metal track, not something like this. It's way too harsh and cuts through the beauty of all the other sounds... wish I could've heard this track without such a loud snare.
Submitted
Midnight Meeting at the Secret Lakethe high end especially near the start was just a liiiitle harsh for my ears personally. Seems like plenty of people didn’t have that issue though so maybe its me. seems like you had some pops/crackles a few times there as well as it clipped.
This was a pretty unique track, I enjoyed it overall!
Submitted
The Secret of the LakeI really like what you did with the ebow - that's new to me so thank you for introducing it - the guitar sound is wonderfully quirky. I'm not sure I got the 'Secret Lake' vibe - the higher pitched plucked sounds felt like you were honing in on the lanterns/idea of the light. I also liked the change of time signature when the drums come in. Nice one!
Submitted
The Secret LakeChoosing C Hirajoshi was a good call; it gives the track a unique flavor, and the Yangqin sounds good (I love using Asian and MENA instruments in my compositions!). To push this toward the lake theme, I'd suggest pulling things back with more reverb, and granulizing some of the plucky and staccato sounds could add a really nice watery and bouncy texture.
Thanks - I got really interested in the key and found it's a parallel of Sen which I thought sounded great too. I'm not much of a theory nerd so it's been great to push myself here! https://scale-mastery.com/scales/piano/in-sen/c
Your comment reminded me - I actually recorded some waves on holiday in Cornwall earlier in the year - I was meaning to add them but got distracted!
Very unique Soundtrack Take... I like the twinkling plucks, it makes the song very interesting! Also, when I use Yanquin, I like to pair it with the Solaris FX Plug-In with the Mouth Verb Preset Patch loaded. Maybe you might like to try that sometimes!
Submitted
The Lost LakeI'm pretty sure all of the FX, Utility, & other Plug-Ins like that are all things that I got for free... Except Omnisphere-FX. I got that with Omnisphere when I bought Omnisphere almost a year ago. I usually like to use a lot of free Plug-Ins, whether they are Virtual Instruments and/or FX & Utility Plug-Ins! It's actually quite rare for me to get something paid. (I only have about 3 Virtual Instruments & 1 Virtual Instrument Library that I paid for, out of around 300 Plug-Ins!)
Pretty alright. I think the Ebow is a little distracting on top of the kit you're using for the drum side of things. Melody wise it's nice, it doesn't really line up with the theme perfectly.
Also why did you submit two entries?
Submitted
The Secret Lake - Ambient Jam #4I've already rated another one of your tracks for this jam ( /jam/impressions-composing-jam-ambience-4/rate/5005642 ) so I'm going to adjust the rating for both to match so it's fair for everyone else.
I liked the Yangqin a lot! The contemporary band instrumentation was a neat take for the ambient theme. The Ebow was also a cool way to accomplish the drones.
Submitted
Whispers from the WaterThanks for the feedback. I hadn't really thought about the ebow being a kind of drone - but you are right - it is. I just love playing with it! There is a very understated drone on Massive too, sitting way down in the mix!
I'd understood that I could enter more than one track - but not how to do it!
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