The King is Dead

Post by **West** » October 18th, 2007, 1:27 pm

If there is any need for some really sorrowful gameplay music, perhaps when some important character dies, I might be on to something fitting:

Lament

I know, it might be hard to believe but I can actually write stuff that's not just cute and happy.

I'm attempting something more classical-sounding this time, a piece that will let me practice arranging for strings, which I'm not very good at. Simply put, I was aiming for a sort of Russian vibe.

It still needs a lot of work obviously, I just wanted to give you a little taste of what I'm working on. The piece needs to be longer, but maybe not by much. If it's going to be used mainly for death scenes maybe there's no need to keep it dragging on for several minutes.

Post by **vonHalenbach** » October 18th, 2007, 1:50 pm

Sounds good. I agree, that it doesn't need to be really long, because such a song you play only once at the end of a lost game. No need to make it loopable either.

I just wish, that you make it less happy. More desperation please

It could be played a bit lower and not als loud. Maybe the metallic horns could be changed to not appear like horns of a coming battle. They should go down from the frequenzy.

Post by **jeremy2** » October 18th, 2007, 2:55 pm

I concur with vonHalenbach, it is a bit too happy. I would also prefer a bit more variation in the rhythm of the melody.

Personally I find that one of the best ways to write a certain type of music is to visualize something that would put you into that mood. I started Vengeful Pursuit the night before I posted it, and just could not get it to sound right. However, the next day something happened that put me into a rage. I came straight home and started writing, and there were at least a few comments after I posted it that it was angry and threatening. You may be doing this already, but try to think of something/someone for which you cared greatly and have lost. Then, tell that story under the guise of telling the story in the game. Just a thought.

Post by **vonHalenbach** » October 18th, 2007, 3:09 pm

I totally agree with jeremy! To convey emotions with music, it is adviseable to envision something in the same mood, the music should convey. Or simpler, you can say aloud something in the mood, you want to put to music. A caracteristic sentence like :" What the f*** is going on here?" for an agressive mood. You put automaticly more wheight on the f-word, if you really mean it and thereof you say it much louder and faster. I think that is the secret.

Post by **West** » October 18th, 2007, 7:01 pm

Hehe. Well I can't for the life of me figure out how you guys can percieve this as "too happy", but ok... point taken.

vonHalenbach: You misunderstand, it's not defeat music. More like... music for a pivotal scene in a storyline where some important character (not the main) dies. Gandalf plummets into the abyss at Khazad DÃ»m, Elric slays Cymoril, moments like that.

Jeremy: You're right about the rhythm of the melody being a little to predictable. It's starting to get on my nerves as well, I'll try and change it a bit.

Post by **turin** » October 18th, 2007, 10:01 pm

I like it.

About the mood of the piece; I'd agree that it doesn't sound sad enough if you intend it as a lament. It's not happy, but it does sound kind of hopeful. It doesn't sound like the hero's spirit has been crushed by a great tragic event. Rather, it sounds like he is being inspired to do battle right after mourning said tragic event... he's standing up and saying, "this sucks, now I'm going to go get revenge on the bastards who did this." Except not that angrily.

I'm not saying this is a problem - the mood of the piece right now is pretty cool, actually - but it isn't exactly a lament.

hiro hito · Post by **hiro hito** » October 19th, 2007, 6:06 am

I like it too.

Instead of redo some parts of this piece (which are good IMO), maybe it 's wise to change the title first!

Post by **West** » October 19th, 2007, 10:23 am

hiro hito wrote:Instead of redo some parts of this piece (which are good IMO), maybe it 's wise to change the title first!

Good point

Suggestions, anyone?

Post by **West** » October 19th, 2007, 2:11 pm

New revision.

OK, so this is not sad enough to be a lament, I'll have to agree with that. But what is it then? I'm open for suggestions.

As for the main melody, I've tried altering it a little bit but it's so stuck in my head now that I can't really think of it any other way. Deliberately trying to change it will result in a mess; usually I come up with variations when I'm nowhere near my computer so I'll leave it as it is for now. I'm gonna take a little stroll later and maybe I'll be able to "hum something up".

I've also added a new part. Still sketchy but I like it so far. My main peeve right now is that the solo viola sounds like a f*****g Mellotron. That's all I hear when I listen to the intro. :/

hiro hito · Post by **hiro hito** » October 19th, 2007, 3:17 pm

i like it too!

Maybe if you make appear some choirs at the end (i mean high choirs) or some kind of aerien voices...i think it can make the piece very impressive and definitly dark(or sad or nostalgic.... dunno the right word in english)!...???

Post by **West** » October 19th, 2007, 3:37 pm

hiro hito wrote:Maybe if you make appear some choirs at the end (i mean high choirs) or some kind of aerien voices...i think it can make the piece very impressive and definitly dark(or sad or nostalgic.... dunno the right word in english)!...???

Yes, I'm plannning to use choirs. I'm bringing them in for the final reprise of the main theme

Post by **vonHalenbach** » October 19th, 2007, 4:15 pm

Yes. I think "not-lament.mp3" is going in the right direction. It sounds sad and desperate. It needs just a little refinement here and there, but in the whole you have it nailed down now. Good work!

Please use the bell sound only very sparsely. Not as a percussion instument to boost the beat. (The first three are okay, but i would use no more until 1:26.)

For a name i just can't come up with anything useful now, but in my opinion gets the baby it's name only after it is born

not before.

Post by **West** » October 19th, 2007, 11:51 pm

vonHalenbach wrote:It needs just a little refinement here and there, but in the whole you have it nailed down now. Good work!

Thank you!

vonHalenbach wrote:Please use the bell sound only very sparsely. Not as a percussion instument to boost the beat. (The first three are okay, but i would use no more until 1:26.)

You're absolutely right, it's too much. The bell sound has too many ugly overtones to be used as a melodic instrument. I'll try using it more like a cymbal instead, just emphasising certain beats. Thanks for the heads up, I knew something didn't sound right.

Temuchin Khan · Post by **Temuchin Khan** » October 20th, 2007, 11:08 pm

I disagree with von Halenbach. This piece does not sound happy, and the first half of the piece definitely sounds like a lament. The second half of the piece does sound a little bit more upbeat than the first half, and perhaps that is what von Halenbch, jeremy2, and turin were reacting to.

As for turin's comment, I certainly don't think the song is saying "This is terrible, let's get revenge." Rather, it is saying, "This is terrible, but we do need to get on with life."

Post by **turin** » October 20th, 2007, 11:25 pm

Temuchin Khan wrote:As for turin's comment, I certainly don't think the song is saying "This is terrible, let's get revenge." Rather, it is saying, "This is terrible, but we do need to get on with life."

Er, yeah, that's closer to what I meant to say. I definitely didn't think it was angry.