Redline's Monthly Composing Challenge #4

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A jam submission

Afternoon AmbianceView project page

A song for a jam

Submitted by Fox and Lion Games (@FoxandLionGames) — 2 hours, 39 minutes before the deadline

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Afternoon Ambiance's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Challenge	#8	3.474	3.714
Composition	#11	3.341	3.571
Mixing	#13	2.673	2.857
Vibe	#13	3.474	3.714
Overall	#13	3.180	3.400
Creativity	#14	2.940	3.143

Ranked from 7 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Title
Afternoon Ambiance

Description
I didn't get any inspiration from the theme this time so I jumped into FL studio, set up a piano, sax and bass then tried to come up with a jazzy sounding song. I tried to go for easy listening jazz versus a hard, fast jazz sound which started to give cafe vibes. The background pic I went with was my last available free AI image lol so it is what it is.
First time trying to do a jazzy song, I really liked the experience and am overall happy with the turn out.

Plugins used
I used a new plug in: DSK Saxophones

Link(s) to your submission
https://youtu.be/YsEDDFnR9tY

Comments

Nitro-Gen StudiosHostSubmitted168 days ago(+1)

Some dynamics for the piano would have definetly improved the song (beat accents with velocity and stuff like that)
Also would have liked to hear more rythmic variation throughout the song.

Submitted

Redline's RMCC Submissions

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Fox and Lion GamesDeveloper167 days ago

AH, yes, I should have thought about that! I'll definitely do that when I come back to touch this one up. Thanks for the always direct areas I can improve in, I'm pretty green still so having specific things to fix helps me the most!

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myCatsNameSubmitted170 days ago(+1)

energetic and refreshing. The first sax sample is nice, but the one at 1:00 sounds kinda stanky, though the line you wrote for it is fine, and having the two harmonize briefly before 1:30 worked well.

Submitted

In An Unlikely Alley

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Fox and Lion GamesDeveloper167 days ago

Thanks! That second one is one of the built in ones in FL studio - I almost used it for the whole song lol glad I found that other one, but by the time I did, I had already gotten used to and like that stank lol

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kettlemugSubmitted170 days ago

i like it! some of these chords are really cool, although i feel like the mix and arrangement could be improved a bit :0

Submitted

Kettle's RMCC stuff

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SelkioneSubmitted170 days ago(+1)

Fun fact : I don't know if you're familiar with the Sims 1 soundtrack, but the buy mode 1 music has exactly the same chord progression at the same tonality.

I really like the kind of turnaround you created at 45". And when you put the two saxes together you've harmonically managed to fill the sound space in an elegant way. The music is really very pleasant to listen to.

The negative point is particularly obvious on the piano: lack of dynamics. All the notes are played with the same intensity. You'd gain in human feel with more variations.

I don't know what DAW you're using, but if there's a way to put some randomness into it, it might sound even better.

Submitted

Selkione 🎵 - Funky Pipes

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Fox and Lion GamesDeveloper167 days ago

I played Sims 1, but YEARS ago :) What a compliment, thanks! That second sax kinda game me K.K. vibes from Animal Crossing lol

I appreciate all the positive feedback and that's a great callout on the piano! Those little details I need to incorporate into my mixing, editing and work flow and now knowing that I need to, half the battle is done! On this one in particular that human touch would have been perfect.

I use FL Studio with mostly out of the box plug ins - I've seen YT videos about how to add some randomness in there - I'll look into it!

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JofesSubmitted172 days ago(+2)

I didn't hear a plate shattering randomly somewhere in the song 0/10 needed more broken dishes.

Submitted

Mazzer-Sieze

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Fox and Lion GamesDeveloper167 days ago(+1)

Sorry to disappoint, I'll let the cafe staff know to be better about not being good at their jobs :D

This is probably my favorite comment I've ever gotten about my music lol

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purpleskkySubmitted173 days ago(+1)

I would go to a cafe that played this anytime. Drums felt a little lacking and maybe could have contributed more to the vibe, but I also liked the chill tone of everything. Nice work!

Submitted

Fireplace Jazz

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Fox and Lion GamesDeveloper167 days ago

Thank you! I think drums may be one of my weakest instruments, I'll try to work on them for the next jam!

Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you liked the vibe!

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PAP3RG4MERSubmitted173 days ago(+1)

This is nice, the cafe ambience in the background is a really nice touch!

Submitted

Ya Like Jazz? (for RMCC Jam #4)

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