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Love it!

The changing time time signatures combined with the instrumentation is awesome. The mix also sounds very clear and balanced. If anything maybe pan some of the instruments to get a more open and wider space might give something extra to the mix. As for the composition and the challenge, super good job!

Nice piece!

I think your sound, the repetitiveness and the constant flowing of 8ths could work well as a video game track Kinda gives me some Celeste vibes but with big strings.

One thing worth trying is not having the strings, which for me is the main melody, always change one the 1.  A tiny  bit more rhytmical variation might go a long way to keep the listener a bit more guessing and making the piece flow more natural.

I did really like the vibe you were going for and the way you handled the 7/8 worked really way for this piece.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

I'm glad the Gagaku apsect somehow managed to make it through. Your feedback is for sure 100% valid. I'll probaly come back to this one and rework some of the midi programming. The examples you mentioned really are a bit too jarring...

Thank you for commenting and listening!
I appreciate you saying it sounds respectful of its reference as that something I try to think of actively. Though in this case I did stray kinda far from "strict Gagaku" while hopefully keeping it respectful.

I hope my comment didn't come across as rude or anything, sometimes putting things in text can make it sound different compared to spoken.

This really can be one huge rabbit hole when it comes down to these scales. One of my sources explained the Japanese modal system divided into three groups of two; one similar to Mixolydian and the other similar to Dorian. I love the Legend of Zelda OST and many other Japanese game soundtracks and you mentioning the Lydian sound I can kinda agree. I'm gonna make sure to listen to some of the soundtracks again while thinking about the Lydian sound/feel :P

Also interesting is how there are many different kinds of traditional Japanese music each being very different from the other.

Thanks for listening and commenting. I see that the way I phrased my usage of scale makes it sound like I'm using a C Lydian but I'm not. I think when it comes to Japanese music theory it can be pretty confusing, and for me a bit hard to understand. This is mainly due to how Western theory often can't really explain Japanese music. From a Western perspective, you can call (almost) all of the Japanese scales penta scales and call it a day. This however, while right from one perspective, doesn't really explain the hows and whys of the Japanese music.

Here I used the C D E G A in the melody but C is not the fundamental tone (the tonal center), I should have written it as A C D E G. F# and B are never in the melody but in the chords. The melody itself has a fundamental tone and depending on what tone is the fundamental a certain chord is played by the sho. In all of these chords F# and B are present, I even used one with a G# if you can spot it :P

Scales =/= modes. Yes, I have the same notes as C Lydian but the harmonic context, the fundamental tone, and maybe most importantly, how it sounds is different to C Lydian.

 There are many kinds of different "Japanese music" and they can behave differently and follow different rules and it can be a bit of a rabbit hole. I'm not following all the rules myself and there are many things that I am uncertain about and might have misinterpreted something. Here I choose a scale and applied the chords based on the melody.

Sorry for long comment and again thanks for listening!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for listening!

Thank you for listening and for the kind words!

Very calming to listen to and, a great choice of the VST! I like the idea of changing the D minor to major in the last A part. One idea might to be accentuate the introduction of the major chord. To me, it feels like an important moment in the piece and having something more to reflect and react to would be interesting. Personally, I like the dissonances towards the end and find them engaging to listen to in contrast to the earlier parts!

Nice piece, almost a bit poetic sounding. Liked reading your description and the drawing (and time lapse) goes really well together!

Nice piece! I like how it's attention grabbing by having contrasting moments in terms of energy and different textures, there are a lot of good stuff going on. I think my main concern regarding the composition is that while there are a lot of good things there might be a bit too much new and less development. It's for sure possible to make the first roughly 40 seconds into a 3-minute piece alone. As it is now it feels a bit "improvisish". There are some parts where the music goes off and creates energy which is really nice and contrasting it with the slower/softer parts helps create a nice drama. However, I wish that there would be a part where you'd let the music go free. For example, at around 1:07, this part is really beautiful and I wish this part would be set free. As of now, it gets cut off almost interuptet which is not always a bad thing but maybe build up the tension again and then let the music go free. A very effective way to create a longer coherent piece is to tease the climax by starting it and interrupting it. Maybe set the music free at 1:48 and then end up in a bombastic last climax was my first thought. In that case, planning out when to let the music be free is a good way to stay coherent, get a red thread throughout the piece, and build a nice drama.

For the programming/mix/producing I think playing around a bit more with velocity/pedaling/staccato vs legato could add a lot of diversity. Don't read into my comment too much since it's just my current thoughts.

Overall a great job in creating a piece that is engaging to listen to and I love your approach to a more dramatic piece!

Absolutely beautiful and well-composed! It definitely feels fitting for a JRPG game and I can hear how some of the other inspirations you mentioned are present in the piece.

The themes presented are very strong and well-written. The piece flows very nicely and feels connected. The accompaniment is also very satisfying and I love how you use different textures to get more versatility. The key change is very tasteful. I feel like you managed to present a lot of different things while still having a completely coherent piece.

I think if I had any comments on the composition itself it might be to extend the ending a bit, and maybe add a coda. It works perfectly fine as it is now and choosing to not resolve is a choice I wouldn't necesseraly change. With the structure, it works very well as a loop making it perfect for a video game etc. But if anything maybe have another transition/coda/ section from the last B section to the outro.

My main feedback, or maybe more request, would be in regards to the mix/producing/programming. Not gonna go on a tangent but so far I feel like there are almost three different categories of submission for this jam:

1. Submissions that try to write a realistic solo piano piece.

2. Submissions that use the piano more as a sketch for a larger piece, treating the piano-less of a solo instrument and more of an orchestra.

3. Submissions that are more atmospheric, and focused on the sound itself (often with a ton of reverb).

For me, I try to judge and give some kind of feedback for the kind of style the piece tries to fit into (of course this is all subjective to me and the categories exist more on a spectrum). For your piece, the composition seems very piano-like and I'd put it into the first category. But, the mix/producing makes it feel more fitting for category 3 and this for me clashes a bit. I'd love to hear this piece with way less reverb and maybe a different piano. Especially some low parts gets a bit muddy which is I find sad since it's so well written! There are also many parts where having more staccato or just a more accented feel (both for the melody but especially some of the left-hand parts) would elevate the final product to an even higher level. I also think less reverb (and pedal in general) would give more contrast between the piano and forte sections. For example, the beginning works perfectly with a lot of pedal, the around 2:31 this part would I'd love to hear with almost no pedal (maybe even use the una corda pedal) and then when the left-hand joins in add a tiny pedal and lastly have a grand climax in the end. There are a lot of great pianist to listen to but to recommend something less classical (kinda) listen to Animenz Unravel rendition and pay attention to the use of pedaling/phrasing.

Sorry for a bit long comment and of course these are just my thoughts and not necessarily the "truth".

In the end, I find your piece insanely well composed and I love it. I'll make sure to listen to more of your stuff. If you ever remake this piece or get it recorded, please let me know!

Thank you for listening and commenting!

I'm for sure something ofa Chopin lover especially his nocturnes and currently slowing trying to make my way through his 1st ballade (sigh). You make a very good point in making the left hand active, as it is now is very safe but also kinda lazy. My future goals are to to focus more on left hand and you give some great examples on how to, thank you!

A great composition! The themes both the melodic and rhythmical aspects are very clear, they are not overly complex and simple enough to be catchy and easily remembered.

One thing about this challenge for me is seeing what piano VST everyone used and how it works with their composition. Also, by being limited to only the piano one has to be more mindful of how "real" the playing sounds and some types of styles/compositions work without needing to sound real. For your piece, I think the composition is very very good. If you were to reorchestrate this it would still sound amazing. But, since it's solo piano and for me this piece works great as a solo piano piece I wonder how it would sound programmed a bit differently or played in real life. For me, there is a bit too much pedal and there are some parts that would sound super good with more staccato. The melody is super beautiful but I think some parts to be a bit clearer. Maybe it's the specific VST used, a bit too much pedal, or not having the main lines a bit more velocity would give it a bit more clarity. Video game music in general kinda "gets away" with a lot more since the visuals are not from real life but since this is a music jam only I tend to judge all pieces based on the music alone (and/or if the description gives something extra insight). Not sure if I managed to get my point across....

Lastly, I think this is really great and the composition in itself is very strong. It has a good balance of simplicity and more complex harmony/textures/moment. My only wish is that the programming sounded more real which would show how well written it really is.

Very good piece and I'll for sure listen to it more!

Nice piece it sounds very soft, calm, and atmospheric.

I think the choice of the piano VST helps with the atmospheric aspect. The sometimes audible mechanics give another layer. Also think the compression(?) that creates a buzzing sound is nice but at some times it's a bit too much for my taste. A personal pet peeve for me, which is true for many other submissions this time is the use of reverb. I feel like adding reverb (and often in addition to delay) can make anything sound good. Many times relying on the reverb is an easy way to make, especially, atmospheric pieces, sound great but when removing the reverb the composition itself can be lacking. As such using too much reverb takes away room to be creative.

With that said I did enjoy your piece and I think it works great for what it is. Even though it is improvised it still flows nicely and nothing feels particularly out of place. There might be some places where it could be a bit clearer or maybe a bit more moment in general. But, for the style (that I assume) you were going for it works great. There are other submissions that to me are in a similar category as your piece and among them, I think you managed to stand out and create a nice piece.

I enjoyed listening to it!

Thanks for listening!

Very classical, 1900th century indeed

Thanks for listening!

If you figure out the Tv program let me know :P

Thank you for listening and commenting!

I was definitely inspired by 1900th century harmony and am a huge Chopin myself (especially the nocturnes, ballades, and waltzes).

As for the picture it's AI generated but it for sure seems "Dali-esque".

Hi!

I'm a composer who has done video game music and stage music. Before I've also worked on a VN so have experience in that genre. Here are some music examples:

https://soundcloud.com/per-loennqvist/sets/video-game-esque?si=777e99c4083e48ceb...

If needed I could also do audio design. 

As for implementing I'm mostly familiar with Unity and FMOD but have small experience with Unreal. I have Discord but am also available either here on itch.io or by email!

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/per-loennqvist

Website: https://www.perlonnqvist.com/

Here's my email: per.lonnqvist96@gmail.com

I'm still free to join and if you need music I'm happily open to talk more!

In the end, many terms such as epic and high energy can be subjective and my comments are not necessarily "the truth". What I do find interesting is reading how the composer (in this case you) thinks about their work. Since you used the word epic I used my idea of "epic" to comment/reflect on your piece. In the end, what terms to describe it is up to you, or at least not up to a single individual (me).

Also in regards to the pirate thing, it's probably just a few notes that for me felt similar to Pirates of the Caribbean and combined with the fun vibe it gave me pirate vibes at some places. Who knows maybe from now on I'll start to get Halloween vibes when listening to pirate songs xD

Nice work! I like your take on hip-hop and spookiness. Great use of ambiance to give some interesting textures. The intro works really well as some kind of intro to the boss or cutscene as you mentioned in the description.

I think the piece starts dark but it does take a while before I get a Halloween-vibe. The theremin sound-like voice that appears helps a lot with the Halloween theme. I like the idea of the scream but for me personally, it's a bit too loud/too far in front of the mix, maybe try to blend it a bit more with the rest. The calm part sounds very good and interesting, I love how it gives space to let the listener focus on the ambiance/textural sounds and the great use of stereo. I do think that there could have been an opportunity to expand the phase 2 section. For me, phase 1 and phase 2 seem very similar in terms of energy. I think it works very well in this kind of beat-based genre (though I'm by no means an expert) but I do wonder if it could be possible to give a bit more variation. Either on the melody, like adding a second more melodic voice/counter melody that is more prominent. Or, focus more on the beat aspect and give more variations/fills. It works great as it is now and I like it a lot, was just interested in what would happen if you were to develop one of those aspects to its maximum.

Thank you for listening and your feedback!

I was a bit unsure how this would really fit a boss fight but after listening to some different tracks from Dark Souls I noticed many of them were focused on atmosphere, timbre, and mood instead of a more typical high energy-intense boss theme. For example, Moonlight Butterfly, Pinwheel and Bed of Chaos to me have a different vibe compared to something like Asylum Demon or Bell Gargoyles. Also, I think I went with a more DS 1 (Sakuraba) kind of vibe compared to DS 2/3 (Kitamura) vibe. Next time I'll for sure try to have a section that makes the listener sweat a bit more and a bit less march-like. One step at a time I guess :P

Thank you!

It was very fun to get creative in regards with dissonances, timbre, and not using functional harmony.

I do agree this almost feels more like a buildup to the boss than a "pure boss fight theme", but it turned out better than I thought it would.

Thank you for listening and giving time to comment. I'm glad you liked it!

Thanks, I also liked your entry a lot. Maybe we do have similar backgrounds :P

I have studied composition in modern contemporary music for a while while also trying to mix/blend with video game music concepts. When I started composing this piece I tried to not focus on any kind of functional harmony and only see chords as clusters and/or dissonances. Then I wanted to contrast the first section's cluster based harmony with triad-based chords in the last section. Was pleasantly surprised by how well the harmony in the end worked with the chromaticsim in the melody.

Thank you! I'm glad I managed to capture atleast some parts of the dark souls-ish feeling.

Thank you for listening and the feedback.

I think you are right that I should have upped the intensity towards the end, instead, I chose to go for a more chorale idea but adding some faster lines would probably have been a better choice. Learned a lot while making this piece and from the feedback. I haven't seen or listened to the Midsommar OST (since I am weak to horror movies) but now'll definitely have a listen!

Thanks, really appreciate your kind words!

This was very good! I think you nailed a lot of things that make a good boss theme while managing to capture the Halloween theme. The orchestration feels well done and very fitting. There is a nice balance with the accented rhythm and faster-moving parts. I especially love the brass transition at 00:30. I got some Hollow Knight vibes.

I think my only feedback/criticism is the length/development of the piece I wished for more. I think the material you presented during the duration of the piece has the potential to expand on. This is something that I can struggle with but I also think if you managed to do that you would reach a new level. But not every boss fight requires a 2+ min theme.

This is already super good to the extent that I craved for more.

Love this one!

Very intense and I love the creativity with the crow.

I think your own criticism of the sporadicness of the piece is interesting. I don't think a piece necessarily has to flow between each section, as it depends on what the piece is going for, and only you the composer know what is right and wrong. Making a chaotic piece can be easy but making a good chaotic piece that still has some structure is hard. In this case, I think you managed well. If you wanna work more on getting a better flow/transition between sections maybe try to change your composition process. Of course, I have no insight into your process but instead of working with fills as transitions have some long notes carry over or add a bar and two to make a transition.

I think this could fit very well in certain games/scenarios.
Overall very good and creative!

Very fitting name and a nice piece!

I think you managed to get the vibe you were describing and have solid orchestration.

While there are many good things there are some things I feel could be expanded on. The melody and dance aspect is very good but maybe add more intensity when the melody returns. I feel here there are many options to make the dance even more hectic. As of now the dance with Death seems more sophisticated and not very dangerous. Playing around with the orchestration and/or adding more movement is maybe one thing that could be done. The choir section in the middle is nice to get a break and is a good idea. However, I think giving the piece more time, especially the intro/A-section would make the choir section better. It's good to have a place where the listener can regroup in a quieter section, by playing around with more dynamical sections (as in high intensity and low intensity) I think each section would be more impactful. Sorry for not being able to explain properly but I guess what I mean is working with excessive contrasting can be important. Also, I think it would be nice to have the instrument from the intro (not sure what it is, it kinda sounds like a glockenspiel...) come back in the piece.

I'm not an expert so take my feedback with a grain of salt and not as truth.

Overall I think definitely is spooky and Halloween-like and you managed to show a great dance with Death!

Well done! Super catchy and fun, also works well in the game.

I think one hard part about rating this challenge is how to determine whether something is a boss theme or not. It's definitely spooky but for me not 100% a boss theme, though I could see it working as one in some cases.

A very fun/playful and catchy take for this challenge. I love the marimba version! Are you the one playing the marimba?

Love it!

Great choice of instrumentation! You manage to create a spooky mood instantly. The overall structure and each section complement each other nicely and I like how many of the instruments each gets a chance to shine with your orchestration. There are a lot of synth/layered sounds in the background that give depth.

For some reason, though I did find some parts sound more "piratey" and after thinking/listening I find the melody resembles Pirates of The Carribean, but that might just be a me-problem. I also feel like the piece moves between spooky and fun/playful, not saying Halloween and spookiness have to be dark all the time. Definitely high-energy, but maybe not epic (at least for me).

The more I listen to your piece the better it gets and I rate this very high. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from you!

Nice piece, I like how driving the bass is! Also, each section works well together.

For me I do think I'd prefer a bit more "punch" to the mix, maybe playing around with the EQ or maybe distortion to get a more gritty sound, but then maybe the bass wouldn't be as prominent... I think the theme works well as a boss theme but is not particularly Halloween-like. Halloween doesn't necessarily have to mean dark, doing a more fun/playful Halloween variation could work.

I also really like your sketch and that you had a vision that fitted the piece. Overall solid ideas though not fit for the Halloween theme. Still sounds fun though!

Nice!

I think you nailed the challenge and managed to make a creative structure.

Well composed!

I gotta say adding the video also really helps elevating the piece as it fits great! Modulating helps it feel fresh and overally I feel like the composition is very strong. If I had to nitpick I did at first feel some sections  be a bit repetetive but after listen more to it and having the video added it works great. As a video game soundtrack it's perfect.

Honestly one of the few pieces that I felt were close to perfection!

Thank you for the comment!

I'm not sure if I hear the same thing you do but I also felt that one synth I used felt a bit "off" (not necessarily in a bad way) but in the end decided to keep it in because if cats were to sing they wouldn't be flawless, though maybe it might have been a bad idea from me xD

I haven't listened to a lot of Sonic music but guess I'll have to listen more. I think the use of mixing pure sin/saw waves in the lead with a more modern sound might be the reason why it reminds you of megadrive. Since I work mainly in midi using electric guitars will never sound real so I think by mixing that sound with other more "acceptable fake sounds" the resulting sound feels convincing.

Thank you for the feedback!