JWFan Composers The Composer's Thread

[bored 228]

3 hours ago, karelm said:

Also, try to expand more on preexisting material rather than stating it.  For example, do that thing they do but longer.  Don't say what they say.  I hope that makes sense but it's an important distinction.  Great job though!

 

Yeah, I definitely need to do that more with Young's work. I did do a new variant of the Venom theme when he's backed into the wires, but I haven't really extended his work besides the boss music which is also combining Kevin Manthei's original work for the boss fight. I did have some fun with new variants of Elfman's Spider-Man theme for the free roam suite, but I'd definitely like to do more with Christopher Young's Venom theme, especially for the Venom-centric missions.

 

Never thought of showing any of this to Young himself, as I assume most composers don't like their work being used without the rights, or them getting any royalties, but if he's alright with this kind of stuff, I'd be more than happy to show him through Twitter or something!

[Dave 104]

Here's something I wrote a few months ago. A piece that goes without warning through various orchestral genres. I might turn it into a full Symphony once I have enough ideas (or genres) for it.

 

[Michael G. 384]

Ha! That's cool!

[bored 228]

Beautiful piece! Love the classical feel to it, and the woodwinds especially sound gorgeous!

[TheAvengerButton 148]

 

Finished my last commission a few months ago and I haven't felt like seeking out a new project just yet. Finally moved into a new place so I felt composing something just for me. Decided to write this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bored 228]

That's awesome work, man! It's difficult to make horror music that actually has an eerie effect on me, but you pulled it off here! It sounds like something that could have come out of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, particularly the more orchestral ones like Wes Craven's New Nightmare, but still has its own clear identity in the repetitive factory-like ostinatos. 

[Michael G. 384]

So, I just submitted my piece for the Bridgerton Scoring Competition! Has anyone else from here participated? I would love to hear other versions! Deadline is close!

[Dave 104]

I began to work on it but didn't got past the title card. Had some ideas for this scene but I hadn't the motivation to finish it. It would have been some classical sounding waltz thing.

[Trope 102]

21 hours ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

So, I just submitted my piece for the Bridgerton Scoring Competition! Has anyone else from here participated? I would love to hear other versions! Deadline is close!

 

Just finished mine as well, and keen to hear other interpretations of the scene. I know nothing about this show, so I approached the scene in a more straightforward, sentimental way. Clearly, I was binging several Horner scores at the time of writing... 

 

[Michael G. 384]

Ooh! That's very good! You took a more melancholy but optimistic approach! I took a more dramatic approach. I think both work well!

[TheAvengerButton 148]

I also started the scoring competition but got a little bored of it. I had an idea of doing a quadrille type of sound--trying to conjure up imagery of Regency era dance music put to drama. I may share the very little that I have done in the near future.

[karelm 2,639]

This is an excerpt from a concert overture of mine from 2017.  Here performed by the Prague Symphony.

[KK 3,252]

Here's a string quartet piece of mine that premiered this summer at the Banff Centre:

Would love to hear thoughts!

[karelm 2,639]

On 17/09/2022 at 5:25 PM, KK said:

Here's a string quartet piece of mine that premiered this summer at the Banff Centre:

Would love to hear thoughts!

Congratulations on a fine performance!  I feel like the performers were very engaged and loved the work.  Good recording and I couldn't see the mics.  In some cases, it looked a bit out of sync.  Is the audio from a different performance?  Definitely not a big deal but just was very strange.  Sequences where no one played, and music kept being heard.  Probably most people won't notice but it was odd to me.  I think it's a solid piece.  If anything, I tend to prefer more atmosphere...a sense of mystery or abstract but that's purely personal.  Your piece is very solid.

[KK 3,252]

On 27/09/2022 at 9:01 PM, karelm said:

Congratulations on a fine performance!  I feel like the performers were very engaged and loved the work.  Good recording and I couldn't see the mics.  In some cases, it looked a bit out of sync.  Is the audio from a different performance?  Definitely not a big deal but just was very strange.  Sequences where no one played, and music kept being heard.  Probably most people won't notice but it was odd to me.  I think it's a solid piece.  If anything, I tend to prefer more atmosphere...a sense of mystery or abstract but that's purely personal.  Your piece is very solid.

 

Thanks karelm!

 

You can actually spot the tail end of the ceiling mics at the top of the frame. And no, it's the same audio from the filmed performance and it plays fine for me, so I'm wondering if the sync problem is on your end? Let me know!

[GerateWohl 2,822]

On 08/09/2022 at 1:43 AM, karelm said:

This is an excerpt from a concert overture of mine from 2017.  Here performed by the Prague Symphony.

Brillant. I would say, one can hear, that you are a James Horner fan.

[karelm 2,639]

8 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Brillant. I would say, one can hear, that you are a James Horner fan.

Thanks!  Yes, was writing this when he died and made this a tip of the hat to him.  There were a few other hornerisms.  I should have written what they were because now I forgot!  Also have some overt Hornerism in my "Aurion".

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

On 11/01/2021 at 4:59 PM, Roll the Bones said:

A version of something I was working on around the same time, tried to reduce my reliance on octave "chords":

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MkOkEv6HsQPYVaUmg_frso4PiOSW_KSP/view?usp=sharing

Decided to revisit this with new samples, and some things touched up:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hQ-Gii3S6Dxpbk6jK7ALyYi4cLSzZdag/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HxfwrJkqBXHGopLWI8RcAOpQ4-QGimrq/view?usp=sharing

[Michael G. 384]

Man am I happy right now! I got my first commission for a video game soundtrack!

Here is the Main Theme:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AsnNMBoYMDStitN0jl0s34GkeK95lg?e=0n1dIK

[bored 228]

30 minutes ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

Man am I happy right now! I got my first commission for a video game soundtrack!

Here is the Main Theme:

 

Congratulations! Great work on that main theme! I'm guessing from the orchestration and tone that this is for a horror game?

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

Not working for me...?

[karelm 2,639]

20 hours ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

Man am I happy right now! I got my first commission for a video game soundtrack!

Here is the Main Theme:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AsnNMBoYMDStitN0jl0s34GkeK95lg?e=0n1dIK

Sounds great! Congratulations!

[Loert 2,322]

On 17/10/2022 at 6:23 PM, Roll the Bones said:

Not working for me...?

 

I had to click on the link itself.

[karelm 2,639]

Here are excerpts from my just completed seventh symphony, confusingly titled Symphony No. 6 because there is an unnumbered symphony too.  It is 32 minutes long in three movements played without pause.  Here are the first half of the first and second movements.  The first movement is moderate tempo and moody leading to a very turbulent prestissimo second movement full of percussive tension.  The last movement is generally tranquil and ultimately transformative.   In the turbulent second movement, the tension builds up and eventually collapses into a false climax recalling material from the first movement.  It is sort of an "eye of the storm" where after the calm, the calamity resumes but now even more intense!

[Michael G. 384]

7 hours ago, karelm said:

Here are excerpts from my just completed seventh symphony, confusingly titled Symphony No. 6 because there is an unnumbered symphony too.  It is 32 minutes long in three movements played without pause.  Here are the first half of the first and second movements.  The first movement is moderate tempo and moody leading to a very turbulent prestissimo second movement full of percussive tension.  The last movement is generally tranquil and ultimately transformative.   In the turbulent second movement, the tension builds up and eventually collapses into a false climax recalling material from the first movement.  It is sort of an "eye of the storm" where after the calm, the calamity resumes but now even more intense!

These are great excerpts! Is there any particular reason why you only ever release excerpts of larger pieces, I'd love to hear them in full! Do you have something like a publisher or a YouTube channel or anything where people can listen to them?

[karelm 2,639]

On 20/10/2022 at 12:27 AM, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

These are great excerpts! Is there any particular reason why you only ever release excerpts of larger pieces, I'd love to hear them in full! Do you have something like a publisher or a YouTube channel or anything where people can listen to them?

Thanks!  Yeah, it's sort of a highlight reel.  I generally don't believe most people listen to 30+ minute music they don't already know about.

[Michael G. 384]

My latest piece "Fractured". Featuring Spitfire's new "Fractured Strings" (yes, I was that creative with the title of the piece).

 

[karelm 2,639]

7 hours ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

My latest piece "Fractured". Featuring Spitfire's new "Fractured Strings" (yes, I was that creative with the title of the piece).

 

I really liked it!  What is the deal with the library?  What is it?  I've given spitfire lots of money so get nervous when they come up with a new library that feels like left overs from libraries I already own.  Regardless, what you did was engaging.

[Michael G. 384]

6 hours ago, karelm said:

I really liked it!  What is the deal with the library?  What is it?  I've given spitfire lots of money so get nervous when they come up with a new library that feels like left overs from libraries I already own.  Regardless, what you did was engaging.

"Fractured Strings introduces an innovative approach to articulations that offers inspirational surprises through intervallic performances and new modal colours, delivering unparalleled depth and realism. With these emotive musical gestures and our new Scale Mode technology, this library lends itself perfectly to cellular, ambient, and neoclassical composing — reflecting the intricacies, patterns and contrasts found in natural phenomena."

I think that sums it up pretty well; it's based on playing different intervals. I would say it's not a library for "Oh, I have a melody in my head that I have to reproduce", but just for experimenting and being inspired by the performances and then just creating something from that.

[TheAvengerButton 148]

Working on a personal, unofficial project that is probably going to take me forever to get done but it's a labor of love. This is a snippet of music I have written for said project.

 

http://sndup.net/ptqb

 

EDIT: should say I've done no post-processing or any mixing for this, just vomited it out and put it up. Once I am finished with everything I will want to make it nice and pretty sounding, balanced and what-not.

[bored 228]

12 hours ago, TheAvengerButton said:

Working on a personal, unofficial project that is probably going to take me forever to get done but it's a labor of love. This is a snippet of music I have written for said project.

 

http://sndup.net/ptqb

 

EDIT: should say I've done no post-processing or any mixing for this, just vomited it out and put it up. Once I am finished with everything I will want to make it nice and pretty sounding, balanced and what-not.

 

Perfect to listen to on Halloween! I like the idea so far, I look forward to hearing the more fleshed out version.

 

Haven't posted in a while, so I'd also like to share part of the personal project that I've been working on. It's a suite for the comic book music that I'm working on for fun: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X5zwJBCXJXqWwVysSVbHmufvHT-a-ZWR/view?usp=share_link

[karelm 2,639]

21 hours ago, TheAvengerButton said:

Working on a personal, unofficial project that is probably going to take me forever to get done but it's a labor of love. This is a snippet of music I have written for said project.

 

http://sndup.net/ptqb

 

EDIT: should say I've done no post-processing or any mixing for this, just vomited it out and put it up. Once I am finished with everything I will want to make it nice and pretty sounding, balanced and what-not.

An intriguing idea with many possibilities!

9 hours ago, bored said:

 

Perfect to listen to on Halloween! I like the idea so far, I look forward to hearing the more fleshed out version.

 

Haven't posted in a while, so I'd also like to share part of the personal project that I've been working on. It's a suite for the comic book music that I'm working on for fun: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X5zwJBCXJXqWwVysSVbHmufvHT-a-ZWR/view?usp=share_link

Nice and gothic!  Maybe throw in a judiciously used pipe organ too.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

Love reading everyone's supportive comments on here!

[Docteur Qui 1,456]

I got around to buying the Cinematic Studio strings and woodwind libraries earlier this year and after a little bit of time I've really been loving what it's capable of. I made this mockup of the End Title from Williams' Dracula using the libraries plus a few other of my usuals, just in time for Halloween:

 

 

And while in the spooky spirit here's a composition I made late last year, I've shared it already but I'm still very proud of it. Heavily influenced by Williams'The Witches of Eastwick, with a heaping of Danny Elfman and Grant Kirkhope's classic N64 game scores (particularly Banjo-Kazooie):

 

 

[TheAvengerButton 148]

It is VERY Grant Kirkhope. Reminds me of some of the stuff he wrote for Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.

[Loert 2,322]

@Docteur Qui I can't fault it! I am sure that any child who listened to your Nightmares piece would fall in love with it

[Brundlefly 2,326]

I think, I haven't shared these two albums that I released in October and November yet:

 

The first one is a very conventional and short mood album to create an unsettling atmosphere - you can listen to it, when you are on a stroll at night. The track titles is purely based on some test listeners associations.

 

[Jurassic Shark 9,744]

6 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

The first one is a very conventional and short mood album to create an unsettling atmosphere - you can listen to it, when you are on a stroll at night. The track titles is purely based on some test listeners associations.

 

Who would want to listen to music with an unsettling atmosphere while strolling at night?

[karelm 2,639]

9 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

I think, I haven't shared these two albums that I released in October and November yet:

 

The first one is a very conventional and short mood album to create an unsettling atmosphere - you can listen to it, when you are on a stroll at night. The track titles is purely based on some test listeners associations.

 

First of all, dude, your profile picture is of a galaxy I've photographed!  Second, I like your sound design.  It is more atmospheric/ambient than scary.  I could use more tempo variety.  Variety is good.  Really nice sound design though.  

 

[Brundlefly 2,326]

22 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Who would want to listen to music with an unsettling atmosphere while strolling at night?

I'm not entirely against making a walk at night with yur headphones on and playing some music that fits the mood of the night. Not at all. However, I once had to turn off Altered States, that one was too much.

 

12 hours ago, karelm said:

First of all, dude, your profile picture is of a galaxy I've photographed!

It's the fraction of a picture a friend of mine has taken, the unedited photo looks very similar to your one.

 

12 hours ago, karelm said:

Second, I like your sound design.  It is more atmospheric/ambient than scary.  I could use more tempo variety.  Variety is good.  Really nice sound design though.  

Nice to know! I've got some feedback that the music evokes pictures of the desert or a spaceship, in contrast to the story of a murderer that are implied by the track titles.

[Brundlefly 2,326]

The second album is more on the industrial, noise rock, experimental territory with elements of hiphop, although it also contains some dark ambient pieces. I have been working on it for over two years. It took me a huge amount of time to finalize it, especially the mixing and mastering (in order to make it sound at least halfway professional) was a big challenge.

 

In the end it is a melting pot of so many genres that no one might actually want to listen to it, because it features something for everyone to dislike. The concept behind it is two years of pandemic and piles of other bullshit that have happened worldwide and the distress caused by all that expressed in musical form.

Enjoy (or don't)!

[karelm 2,639]

This is an excerpt from the ending of my latest piece, Conjurers for large orchestra.   The 18 minute piece is based on a rather complex idea I'll boil down to an ancient storyteller, a shaman, of a primitive cave dwelling society who conjurers stories of why they must leave the safety of their cave and venture to the outside world but telling them that many will perish because of the threats they'll endure outside the safety of their cave.  But they agree the promise to their descendants is the hope of greater prosperity at the risk of their lives as many of their own ancestors made that very same choice.  

[Michael G. 384]

Great work. The climax at the end really reminded me of Elliot Goldenthal, especially this piece, one of my favourite finales in film music

 

[karelm 2,639]

5 hours ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said:

Great work. The climax at the end really reminded me of Elliot Goldenthal, especially this piece, one of my favourite finales in film music

 

Thanks!  And that is one of my favorite cues by one of my favorite composers so much thanks for the comparison!  

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

An attempt at a theme.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AVgJbnKtS6mGavz4VFbSEpSmoFtfRG1r/view

 

Not originally inspired by Three Note Loop, its actually inspired by a sound effect in a SW audiobook.

[karelm 2,639]

My "March of the Villains".

[TolkienSS 217]

On 08/08/2022 at 2:02 AM, karelm said:

As someone who worked on the Raimi Spiderman scores, 

 

You worked on the Spiderman scores? In what capacity?

 

The actual question I came to this thread for, though, is completely different.

To the professional composers here: can you describe to me what makes Giacomo Puccini sound like Puccini?

I love his music, and it sounds unique in many aspects I can't describe.

I'd love to know.

[Jay 31,998]

3 minutes ago, TolkienSS said:

You worked on the Spiderman scores? In what capacity?

 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2657961/

[TolkienSS 217]

That's fantastic. Congratulations.

[TheAvengerButton 148]

 

My submission for the Sonuscore Composer of the Year contest.