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I'm a composer - Here's my music


Walid

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menade inte så ofc.. hah. :) yep... you're preaching to the choir!

Inga bussar eller så gick när jag drog... fick GÅ hem. typ bara uppförsbacke också !! but hey.. jag kom hem.

vill du höras senare i veckan?

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Människor! Skriva bara engelska här, tack. Så kan alla förstår ni och ta del. :) Men jättefin musik Walid. Påminner mig litet om James Newton Howards stil.

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Människor! Skriva bara engelska här, tack. Så kan alla förstår ni och ta del. :) Men jättefin musik Walid. Påminner mig litet om James Newton Howards stil.

sorry!! i'll shape up. Also - I absolutely love JNH! So that's a huge compliment. thank you!

My favorite JNH score might be, oddly enough, Lady In The Water. or possibly Blood Diamond.

Påminner mig litet om James Newton Howards stil.

I hear that too.

thank you :)

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Människor! Skriva bara engelska här, tack. Så kan alla förstår ni och ta del. :) Men jättefin musik Walid. Påminner mig litet om James Newton Howards stil.

sorry!! i'll shape up. Also - I absolutely love JNH! So that's a huge compliment. thank you!

My favorite JNH score might be, oddly enough, Lady In The Water. or possibly Blood Diamond.

Påminner mig litet om James Newton Howards stil.

I hear that too.

thank you :)

I would say there is nothing odd in having Lady in the Water as your favourite JNH score. Definitely in my JNH top5 as well. :)
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oh man.. I just relistened to LITW while getting some groceries. I have seriously missed JNH! I love his melodic progressions... well, this night is for studying that I guess. gotta check out more of his stuff... Signs is pretty kick ass too.

Im still not sold on JNH

any ideas why?

the great eatlon is in my top 3 favorite JNH cues.

!! :D

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I've been a big fan of JNH. Some people didn't like LitW but I was mindblown and I had to look for more. He's got a knack for coming up with gorgeous solutions, transporting the fantasy on screen to the score (ok, I can't quite describe it.) But his action music is also very much his. Quite brutal sometimes.

I remember I listened to the complete score of Atlantis: The Lost Empire straight in one go and I was completely :blink: by the sheer enthusiasm and charisma on the music.

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I've been a big fan of JNH. Some people dn't like LitW but I was mindblown and I had to look for more. He's got a knack for coming up with gorgeous solutions, transporting the fantasy on screen to the score (ok, I can't quite describe it.) But his action music is also very much his. Quite brutal sometimes.

Yes! exactly this. He's quite the badass !! and i guess LitW is a movie.. quite special of its sort. M. Night sure is a wacky director and writer, but can surely do some great work. That's why JNH is great for Night's movies, and it shows.

but often times I hear some JW influences in JNH's stuff. At least with all the string/wood/melodic percussion runs and textures. And i'm NOT comparing JNH to JW in how well they write now, so don't bust my balls on this. rofl

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Im still not sold on JNH

any ideas why?

He's not good enough, I guess...

who are you comparing him to? The guy's a pro composer, and have shown his worth many times over. maybe you just don't like his style? because he sure knows his harmony and counterpoint..

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Chaac, that one has those similar sort of "textural" runs with different sections that I hear from JW quite often (though introduced hundreds of years earlier, but music is all about inspiration and influences). He kind of counteracts the sections with themselves to create those textures, but he does it with runs (John Williams that is).

Say for example an arpeggio of C Major, if the violas do the arpeggios with 16th notes, the 1st and 2d violins would do the same arpeggio, but in the opposite direction, and in triplets. Creates this awesome sort of "shimmering" sound that you can hear all over Harry Potter for example..

anyways.. enough procrastinating. time to write some more steampunk main city background music... :D

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who are you comparing him to? The guy's a pro composer, and have shown his worth many times over. maybe you just don't like his style? because he sure knows his harmony and counterpoint..

John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Basil Poledouris, Michael Kamen, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Silvestri.

JNH is a competent composer, but not in their league. I rather liken him to John Debney. Another competent composer who is technically proficient. Knows how to write for a full orchestra. Crosses his T's, dots his I's but misses that special something...

Giachino is another one of those.

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Walid, did you intentionally quote Legend Of Zelda's title theme and one of the Ocarina melodies (can't remember which, I believe Shadow Temple) from Ocarina of Time?

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where on earth do you hear the quote to nocturne of shadow/title theme of OoT? :o specific time please!

Also, I grew up with koji kondo's music, so it's not impossible that you hear huge influences. But quoting? I would know for sure..

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JNH is a competent composer, but not in their league. I rather liken him to John Debney. Another competent composer who is technically proficient. Knows how to write for a full orchestra. Crosses his T's, dots his I's but misses that special something...

I think Debney actually has that special something that guys like Giacchino lack. Unfortunately he just doesn`t get the right projects as much. A real shame.

JNH is capable of working wonders, but in recent years, you can hear some of his limitations in his simple, easy-on-the-ears harmonic progressions.

Here's something I wrote today. Was feeling a bit... reminiscent I guess. Also, quite inspired by the works of Koh Otani (and a bit of Twilight Princess I've been told hah). Hope you like it.

Definitely hearing some James Newton Howard here.

I like it. :)

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JNH is a competent composer, but not in their league. I rather liken him to John Debney. Another competent composer who is technically proficient. Knows how to write for a full orchestra. Crosses his T's, dots his I's but misses that special something...

I think Debney actually has that special something that guys like Giacchino lack. Unfortunately he just doesn`t get the right projects as much. A real shame.

JNH is capable of working wonders, but in recent years, you can hear some of his limitations in his simple, easy-on-the-ears harmonic progressions.

i'm not sure I would call these limitations. complexity does NOT equal brilliance. But I'm sure that's not what you meant..

It also depends on which audience you want to reach out to. John Williams surely has a different audience than Basil Poledouris for example, even if they both fall in the same category of the music world.

A rock star plays 3 chords to a million people, a jazz star plays a million chords to 3 people...

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John Williams surely has a different audience than Basil Poledouris for example,

What?

That doesn't even remotely make sense.

Film composers don't write for an audience, they write for a film, which is then exposed to an audience. But their music is subserviant to the demands of the film

If you are talking about genres. both JW and Poledouris have written for pretty much every genre out there.

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JNH is a competent composer, but not in their league. I rather liken him to John Debney. Another competent composer who is technically proficient. Knows how to write for a full orchestra. Crosses his T's, dots his I's but misses that special something...

I think Debney actually has that special something that guys like Giacchino lack. Unfortunately he just doesn`t get the right projects as much. A real shame.

JNH is capable of working wonders, but in recent years, you can hear some of his limitations in his simple, easy-on-the-ears harmonic progressions.

i'm not sure I would call these limitations. complexity does NOT equal brilliance. But I'm sure that's not what you meant..

I wasn`t referring to the level of complexity. JNH has been replaying the same old cards of late and has been relying on those all too familiar progressions from past works like the Village. It sounds rather uninspired, and Snow White is one clear example of this.

I really enjoyed The Last Airbender though, but I miss the days of Dinosaur or Atlantis.

John Williams surely has a different audience than Basil Poledouris for example,

What?

That doesn't even remotely make sense.

Film composers don't write for an audience, they write for a film, which is then exposed to an audience. But their music is subserviant to the demands of the film

If you are talking about genres. both JW and Poledouris have written for pretty much every genre out there.

This.

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John Williams surely has a different audience than Basil Poledouris for example,

What?

That doesn't even remotely make sense.

Film composers don't write for an audience, they write for a film, which is then exposed to an audience. But their music is subserviant to the demands of the film

If you are talking about genres. both JW and Poledouris have written for pretty much every genre out there.

Maybe it's wrong to say different audiences, it is the same audience since it's through the same many genres of movies, but my point is that you shouldn't, as a composer, write complex music just for the sake of being able to. I chose Basil as an example because I love the simple, driving, way that he writes, and he uses straight forward counterpoint (in Conan for example). And then contra John Williams, which writes in a very much more Jazz like way, which reaches out to the audience in a different matter.

am I making any sense here? at least I understand what i mean.

*edit* Ah. I think i understood you wrong here, KK. It sounded like how much of the academic world of music looks at film music and music for media overall... Which is bullshit. Then I get your point!

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where on earth do you hear the quote to nocturne of shadow/title theme of OoT? ohmy.png specific time please!

Also, I grew up with koji kondo's music, so it's not impossible that you hear huge influences. But quoting? I would know for sure..

Well, it sounds very alike, in sound (with the flute and the piano), meter and shape.

I'm not sure it's the Nocturne of Shadow, I just hear a very specific Ocarina of Time melody in the piano that is used throughout, that also ends the piece, from around 3:15 to the end.

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am I making any sense here? at least I understand what i mean.

I am not much interested in technical complexity of music.

I am interested in the emotional aspect, above all other considerations. And how much a composers own style and signature shine though.

JNH's voice just doesn't appeal to me that much. He is technically proficient, but that's about it, in my opinion.

And lately he has fallen into the trappings of composing flat, merely effective music.

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John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Basil Poledouris, Michael Kamen, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Silvestri.

JNH is a competent composer, but not in their league.

oh the sacrilege. I liked him before I liked any of those composers. pretty sure I wouldn't be on this forum if it wasn't for his scores! (Y)

JNH is capable of working wonders, but in recent years, you can hear some of his limitations in his simple, easy-on-the-ears harmonic progressions.

what do you think of water for elephants? :)

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And lately he has fallen into the trappings of composing flat, merely effective music.

Yes, and I have a feeling that this will cross over to After Earth as well.

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Ah, you mean the part of my song, at 28 sec, vs OoT at 43 sec. I guess it's the fall in the melody from F to C in my cue that makes you think so. And the resemblance in meter of course.

And the end there, 3:15, i think you're thinking about Temple Of Time. That's the only thing i can think of with that similar melodic pattern.

I would NOT call that quoting however! Quoting would be if I basically... stole Koji's stuff. Interesting that it sounds similar too.. i guess im too influenced by Koji... or not.

Love his stuff!

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am I making any sense here? at least I understand what i mean.

I am not much interested in technical complexity of music.

I am interested in the emotional aspect, above all other considerations. And how much a composers own style and signature shine though.

JNH's voice just doesn't appeal to me that much. He is technically proficient, but that's about it, in my opinion.

And lately he has fallen into the trappings of composing flat, merely effective music.

ah. i understand your point completely then. And yes, I agree, it is a shame when a composer just writes effective music because it works for the audience, when he can shine much more (which I think JNH can, but who knows.. Maybe he's lost the touch he had..)

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JNH is capable of working wonders, but in recent years, you can hear some of his limitations in his simple, easy-on-the-ears harmonic progressions.

what do you think of water for elephants? :)

It`s good fun actually, if only for the pleasant dosage of Mr. Coolman and even Horner.

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Holy crap this forum is addictive.

hmm... how to turn this into something productive...

I need some magical moods, guys! Any cues that pop up ? i'm writing a theme/mood for a magical victorian city, and I've listened too much to Harry Potter, Final Fantasy and some stuff from Akira Ifukube.

Ideas?

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am I making any sense here? at least I understand what i mean.

I am not much interested in technical complexity of music.

I am interested in the emotional aspect, above all other considerations. And how much a composers own style and signature shine though.

JNH's voice just doesn't appeal to me that much. He is technically proficient, but that's about it, in my opinion.

And lately he has fallen into the trappings of composing flat, merely effective music.

ah. i understand your point completely then. And yes, I agree, it is a shame when a composer just writes effective music because it works for the audience, when he can shine much more (which I think JNH can, but who knows.. Maybe he's lost the touch he had..)

He sounds bored. As if the projects he`s been taking haven`t really interested him. I can see why.

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am I making any sense here? at least I understand what i mean.

I am not much interested in technical complexity of music.

I am interested in the emotional aspect, above all other considerations. And how much a composers own style and signature shine though.

JNH's voice just doesn't appeal to me that much. He is technically proficient, but that's about it, in my opinion.

And lately he has fallen into the trappings of composing flat, merely effective music.

ah. i understand your point completely then. And yes, I agree, it is a shame when a composer just writes effective music because it works for the audience, when he can shine much more (which I think JNH can, but who knows.. Maybe he's lost the touch he had..)

He just sounds bored. As if the projects he`s been taking haven`t really interested him. I can see why.

mm. definitely.

This is something that kickstarted my imagination to write something, but... thematically i'm pretty stuck. the mood is pretty cool. Quite ominous and magical/mysterious in a way. any cool magical/adventurous themes you like to share for inspiration? (I need to write a magical theme/mood for a victorian magical city if you didnt read that earlier. kind of stuck with HP and FF... Lady in the water is quite magical in its essence too)

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Oh I agree completely. But unlike Goldsmith, it looks like Howard isn`t interested in going beyond providing adequate music for his recent films. Just providing the film with the most basic of emotional devices, but never really going beyond that.

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okay. I got something. posting it here when i've done a sketch. It's pretty adventurous, but it could use more mystery... perhaps fixable with orchestration. a mark tree will probably fix it.

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So, here's the sketch. The last part from 2:10 is the magical thing I wrote today. The celeste makes it a bit like Harry Potter, but I definitely did not have the hedwig's theme there... It's a leitmotif of another theme I have in the game which goes in the same rhythm.

Opinions of it all? It's very unfinished!! Adding much more color and fun stuff to it once I'm happy with the structure.

Also, at 1:11-1:40, that melody there will be played entirely by a solo viola (don't have any good samples of that instrument yet, except for ensemble ones).

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12797960/Helios_rend_4.mp3

Does the player work? Have to wait for it to load as well.

Also I may be using the bassoon and contrabassoon a bit too much, but I feel it's the instrument I want to revolve in this game OST.

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Pretty impressive Walid! It definitely has that curious, playful and bouncy exploration feel going on. :)

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Pretty impressive Walid! It definitely has that curious, playful and bouncy exploration feel going on. :)

Thank you!

towards the end I got a bit flamed for it being too melancholic, and also too similar to HP in mood. I'll remake it I guess!

Tried this quick 10 sec JW like woodwind counterpointing. Hell I might even have stolen it from something JW wrote: (10 sec in)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12797960/Helios_rendering_test_bright_mood.mp3

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Regarding first video u posted:

I really like the contrast at 1:27, very effective! But as the others have said you need to focus the melodic material more. Also there seems to be a lot of reverb muddying the sound? What software r u using ( I use Eastwest http://www.youtube.com/user/lostinspace771/videos?view=0 and because of the natural reverb it muddys the sound which is a pain). Keep working on chisiling away at the melodic line, once you have that then the melodic material comes more naturally - believe me it is really hard to create original music thesedays. I started composing and at least from my perspective if you don't have a theme or an atmospheric motif or idea that inspires you, you end up with writers block very quickly! Best of luck!

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Regarding first video u posted:

I really like the contrast at 1:27, very effective! But as the others have said you need to focus the melodic material more. Also there seems to be a lot of reverb muddying the sound? What software r u using ( I use Eastwest http://www.youtube.c...eos?view=0 and because of the natural reverb it muddys the sound which is a pain). Keep working on chisiling away at the melodic line, once you have that then the melodic material comes more naturally - believe me it is really hard to create original music thesedays. I started composing and at least from my perspective if you don't have a theme or an atmospheric motif or idea that inspires you, you end up with writers block very quickly! Best of luck!

Mm yeah, I totally agree. It wasn't the best of my pieces to put up, but it's still good to hear what people have to say. I was basically focusing on orchestration actually, and mixing yeah. The sound is way too wet just like you said, that's why i've toned it down over 50% lately. You can check out the sound on this one, what do you think about the reverb here?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12797960/Helios_rend_4.mp3

Well, i'm not sure I get writers block if i don't have a melody, or a specific theme. All I need to be able to write for a trailer, game, whatever, is the desired mood. But that was what you meant with atmospheric motif yeah?

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  • 1 year later...

I'm a composer, too.

I've only been really studying orchestration and composing in the last two years, but let me know what you think.

This is a "main title" opus for a character motif I wrote called "Greg the Gardener."

(The piece is officially called Main Title/The Botanist).

Fair Warning: It is composed in the style of Danny Elfman, and this is a demonstration of how good of an ear I have for other composers and their choices of instrumentation and orchestration.

Enjoy.

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Cucuk%20-%20Main%20Title-The%20Botanist.mp3?_subject_uid=252543725&w=AABgkPvwcN6gA2-B1xErkoN9uBo27HdS2JH6V81F0W9MFw

Be brutal and honest. I can take it.

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