Do you guys think this is any good?

Hello Everyone, This is my first serious attempt at a video game soundtrack. I used the free plug-in called "plogue sforzando"; highly recommended with plenty of soundfonts to work with! Anyways, I was hoping you guys could further shed some advice on this track of mines(The feedback wasn't too good on this one, probably need to refine my commercial music skills). 

I would love particular feedback on Instrumentation, form & structure, and melodic continuity("flow"). 

Score

Audio

Thank you truly.

Hi @Setthavat,

5 hours ago, Setthavat said:

probably need to refine my commercial music skills

Well I'm probably the worst one on this since I never write commercial music. For me some commercial music needs to be fast paced and catchy with some memorable melody and rhythm, but I don't know. What particular skills are needed for commercial music?

For me it's cozy music which does fit commercial setting like the supermarket or something! I love the relaxing mood you have portrayed here. The harmony is somewhat jazzy for me. I'm thinking of to use vibraphone to replace the celesta for a more cozy feeling. What do you think?

Will it be a better commercial music with a constant beating throughout the track? I love that drum set, and possibly adding maraba will be more relaxing too!

Why is the ending oboe an octave lower than in the score?

I think form and strucutre is not very important in commercial music? The customers are not attentively listening the music and no one cares about it except music major probably LoL. I think the flow can be even better if there's constant beating. It's great to have a gradual dimineundo at the end, but for me to have an oboe solo at the end may sound strange for a commercial music? I think it will help its flow by having some accompaniments there. Also it will help by providing a smooth transition back to the beginning since some commercial music are in a loop I think.

But thanks for sharing. I really enjoy this one Setthavat! Sorry I know nothing on commercial music and my advice may be of little help LoL.

Henry

Thank you as always for the reply, Henry. Once again, summer school has impeded my attempt to produce a quick response. Muzak is a genre outside my comfort zone as well, but I am really hoping to expand my grasp on multimedia music(especially if I am to write for the screen). I am thinking about putting in different drumsets to get a more soothing sound. I love the suggestions on the instrumentation(though i think the vibraphone might be a tad dull). Commercial music is tricky business when you think about it; definitely not your typical "sit, down and listen" classical etiquette. Also, your sextet in G-flat is a very well-conceived work, congratulations on it and thank you for enriching the world with new cultural soundscapes. 

2 hours ago, Setthavat said:

Commercial music is tricky business when you think about it; definitely not your typical "sit, down and listen" classical etiquette.

Yup it's an unknown territory for me too!

2 hours ago, Setthavat said:

Also, your sextet in G-flat is a very well-conceived work, congratulations on it and thank you for enriching the world with new cultural soundscapes. 

Thx so much Setthavat! Thx for your BIG compliment! Hopefully the 2nd movement will be even better!

Henry

Your score is a little hard to follow, as there are some weird notational things in it, but just listening to your piece it's pretty chill and has a somewhat "stardew valley" type of feel. I've used Plogue Sforzando with my DAW (Ableton), and it's not bad but it takes work to make it feel expressive. Might be worth looking into other sound fonts and libraries to hear different options and feel how various libraries represent certain instruments and sounds. There are several that have free or inexpensive (entry level/trial) options, Spitfire comes to mind.

I think as a composition, everything's nice and there are some beautiful ideas! I think where things might be improved is in the musicality of the playback. All your notes have the same intensity and the dynamics and phrasing could be more intense. If you're using notation software like finale or sibelius or musescore, try writing in more dynamics to help the phrasing, and some articulations to emphasize important notes or to de-emphasize lesser notes. If you're using a DAW like pro-tools or ableton, try automoting some note velocities and dynamic changes.

Keep writing! You're definitely on the right track and should keep pursuing this 🙂

Gus

Hey Gustav, thank you for the encouragement! I used Musescore 4 for this project. Though lacking in extensive reverb and other assets, I thought it wasn't bad at all. My friend did recently suggest I use FL studio(just downloaded the magical 8-bit to work with as well). TBH, I found a bit more difficulty working without a score because it obstructs my workflow(having to adjust note values and placements all the time). Not sure if FL has a music notation option, but if it does please let me know. 

Here's another track I worked on using Musescore:

This is quite unique.  I think that because of your use of unusual tone colors, there is sometimes a lack of clarity or definition to the music.  The strongest parts imo are where you use acoustic instruments such as the string orchestra or celesta.  Some of the other synths and sine and square waves and their chords sound quite muddy - maybe they could be improved with more spread chord voicings?  That's just how I hear this piece though - I'm no expert on synths by any means though.  Thanks for sharing!