Show off &mdash 04/28/06 - 07:23:34 PM
I can't believe how beautifully this has been crafted and excecuted, Drak - Just stunning - How'd you do that... - Oh yeah, you're a real musician - I still like you, though... This is just wonderful, Mister Flamebower...
Teach me...
Dion [ Reply to This ]
Show off &mdash 04/28/06 - 07:37:17 PM
I'm sorry, that was FLameblower... -- It kinda lost it's umph, huh...
Man I'll tell ya what's tough -- I'm on MS Explorer and it doesn't seem to have a
clue how to go through the process of d/l and commenting to this... It feels
like a three legged dog is trying to walk backwards for the first time after
realizing that one of it's legs is now missing... - And even worse, the longer
than normal tail just doesn't seem to help... Geezzz
---
<a href=http://homepage.mac.com/ddionyoung/FileSharing6.html>That's EJH</a>
[ Reply to This ]
Show off &mdash 04/28/06 - 08:15:38 PM
Well Dion, as you know, there's some serious mutual appreciation here... I am in
awe of your music. When I grow up and become a "real musician", I'll be sure to
let you know. And, as far as 3-legged dogs with large tails walking backward,
that sounds an awful lot like a big lumbering dragon to me!
ttfn,
Drakonis, tripping on his tail
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/14553">Between-Poetry</a> [ Reply to This ]
WOW .... so dark .... &mdash 04/28/06 - 09:30:24 PM
and FABULOUS ..... I always hear the word "renaissance" in your musical musings ..... I suspect that you were born in the wrong century .... and may just have preferred the ages of mythological wonder ... although frought with danger ... were magical and mystical. You truly help to keep the ideal of castles, dragons, and folk of yore ... alive ! [ Reply to This ]
WOW .... so dark .... &mdash 04/29/06 - 07:45:07 AM
There is indeed a part of me that has a child-like optimistic view of the world,
chivalrous and polite, and part of me that just eats people for lunch... you
choose which side you want to see. Glad you enjoyed the journey!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18959">Legend of Drakonis</a> [ Reply to This ]
Loved everything but that thunder... &mdash 04/28/06 - 09:46:23 PM
Of course the piece is stunning and beautiful after you... had help from
your wife! lol.
Seriously the only thing that troubled me was the tunder sounding more
like the kind of lightning that certain dragons use instead of fire...
hmmmm.
It rolls a little too much on the underside and has a synth laden texture to
its low range. Other than that I shall put this straight away into my
stormy Spring mix. [ Reply to This ]
Loved everything but that thunder... &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:28:44 PM
Ah, leave it to a Didgeridu player to detect synthy imperfections in natural
sounds... cool! That's the kind of thing I want to know, thank you. Now, to
figure out how to fix that, maybe if I tie my new AKG mic to a kite string, and fly
it in a thunderstorm, I can... uh, never mind. I gave the whole piece a little
reverb, but didn't want too much, I probably need to add some long-delay echo
to just the thunder, great idea. I actually spent a long time just sculpting the
thunder and rain to hide the sample-seams and make them sound more
plausible. Thank you for the critique.
ttfn, Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18959">Legend of Drakonis</a> [ Reply to This ]
Oooh, rainy... &mdash 04/29/06 - 07:44:44 AM
I remember listening to and liking your previous version of this. This
sounds much more polished - which it probably is.
What you need to do now is to get a live recording of this... I'll be waiting
for that :)
Until that happens this'll warm my iPod. [ Reply to This ]
Oooh, rainy... &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:36:38 PM
Yes, many parts of this were changed, some a little, some a lot. I left the
original here for now (it was my first sumbission to Macjams!) I would *love* to
hear this live... but I need to work on it a bit more. Hey... JGurner's volunteering
to play french horn on it.. Woohoo, maybe I will have an even better sounding
version soon. Thanks for listening and enjoying the journey! While you wait for
me to make a few updates to this, I hope you write a bunch more of your
amazing music.
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18042">Belle Fugue</a> [ Reply to This ]
hand scored &mdash 04/29/06 - 08:29:08 AM
man u are one patient man....but hey that how its done in orchestral
circles....love the build......the change in dynamics and mood.......the
instrumnent separation is very realistic.as is the horns......maybe the
drums need a tad more reverb...they sound jsut a bit dry to me....love
how they support the harp melody......it reminds me of castlevania game
music....great work drak......!! [ Reply to This ]
hand scored &mdash 04/29/06 - 10:14:55 PM
Thank you for the critical ear! Glad you enjoyed the melody and counterpoint...
and I agonized over how much reverb to use, and I erred on cautious, thinking
this was outside, not in a room... but now that I listen with your ear, you may be
right, I may need to add a little more reverb just to the snare... I'm getting quite
a few ideas for improvement, thank you!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18042">Belle Fugue</a> [ Reply to This ]
Excellent &mdash 04/29/06 - 11:17:24 AM
That's a lot of hand-scoring, and it really works; the melodies are really nice and evocative of the marching warriors. I like the rain and thunder a lot, though the thunder does sound unreal, a little too small... what I like about thunder is the way it breaks and re-echoes across the landscape, sounding colossal. The drums are skillfully constructed, but could maybe use more transitions/fills. Sounds like a lot of work went into this alright, great job! [ Reply to This ]
Excellent &mdash 04/29/06 - 10:22:47 PM
Eek! Drums skillfully constructed? That's quite a compliment from a drummer,
thank you Dave! I was tweaking velocities and microtiming on each snare hit to
make it sound hand-played. Drum fills and transitions are yet another thing I'm
totally ignorant of, and am just feeling around in the dark. If you write a book,
I'll buy it. And the thunder is better than the first version, but I too want it to
sound fuller. I think I need to add a separate light long-echo to it, let it bounce
around a bit more. (Scribbles more notes...) Thank you for stopping in,
listening and leaving your thoughts on it, this is very helpful to me!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18315">Ember-Mystified</a> [ Reply to This ]
Earlier Version &mdash 04/29/06 - 11:57:06 AM
I remember the 1st version and what a fine
improvment with the tone of the instruments
as well as other adjustments along the way.
Good goin' [ Reply to This ]
Earlier Version &mdash 04/29/06 - 10:26:40 PM
Thank you Scotty! I'm learning a little here and there... glad you like it, adn
thank you for hanging in there and listening to my little pieces!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18315">Ember-Mystified</a> [ Reply to This ]
Masterpiece! &mdash 04/29/06 - 12:10:40 PM
Hey Drak!
Great one. I wouldn't have experienced anything else. I admire these
beautiful harp melodies. The pause is at the right position as well. I
contrast to many other guys you didn't make it too long... [ Reply to This ]
I must have Mythed this one.... &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:09:47 PM
....when you posted it previously. Does have a real "battlefield" feel to it.
The thunder and rain are a nice dramatic effect. Well orchestrated.If you
ever decide you want real French horns on this one, let me know and I'll
dust off my horn (or better yet, I'll get Rebecca to do it. She's a lot better
than me.)
And I always love the descriotion you put with your tunes. It really helps
set the mood and gives neat insight into what you were thinking when
creating. [ Reply to This ]
I must have Mythed this one.... &mdash 04/29/06 - 10:31:15 PM
Hi Joe, thank you for listening and getting caught up in my descriptions in words
and music. And if you're serious about recording the horn parts for this, that
would be stunning! I'll create the horn parts as PDF score and e-mail you to
look over. Wow, that would sound wonderful!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18315">Ember-Mystified</a> [ Reply to This ]
Listening with very tired ears ... &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:29:18 PM
but 'hear' goes ... (I can't give you anything on EQ) and since I'm new
I've not checked out your early version, so I have no preconceived
ideas ..
It's very good composition overall and excellent choice of
instruments ..I'm not too keen on the trumpet instrument you have
when it's played a bit higher it's sounds a bit poor (in comparison to
all the others).. so that's one thing. I really like the harp sound and
part - note to self, try using harp sometime apb .. you mentioned in
the description that the march is halted mid-way by a hideous
discovery ... but this is marked with just a rather abrupt increase in
afore mentioned trumpets and then they seem to toddle on
afterwards not the much worse for wares. So, I thought to myself, an
idea would be to express the tiredness in the soldiers while marching
in the snare drum beat somehow .. build the master volume a bit
prior to that point and then you really have to decide after that point
how to handle expressing the 'hideous discovery' in more appropriate
way IMO.
So I liked it, with some perhaps daft, poor suggestions .. and it
inspired me to check out harps! .. and I am very impressed with your
hand scoring abilities. Keep on scoring ;oD
[ Reply to This ]
Listening with very tired ears ... &mdash 05/01/06 - 01:18:15 PM
Thank you for giving me your thoughts & critique, and I look forward to hearing
what you do with harps. The french horns I used here don't sound very good on
those high notes because... french horns easily can't play notes that high (I just
found out)! So I am rewriting this score to give the horns a more realistic range,
and hopefully have them played live for the next version of this, now *that* will
be exciting! Also, I'm rethinking some of the build-up dynamics on the drums
(there were none), and other suggestions from others as well, looks like this
piece will live on to fight another day. Thank you very much for your detailed
thoughts.
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/20224">Border Merger Waltz</a> [ Reply to This ]
keeps the peace &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:54:02 PM
ah traquility... your computer sings. This I could see in a medevil video
game, Warcraft maybe. It's got such a 'Legend Of Quest' ring to it, my
imaginiation kicks in right...about...NOW! (Hey look, a castle!) [ Reply to This ]
Wowee &mdash 04/29/06 - 04:27:04 PM
This is lovely stuff! sounds likt the long, rainy walk home after a
victorious battle... :-) really lovely composing. keep it up man [ Reply to This ]
wwoww &mdash 04/29/06 - 06:42:52 PM
beautiful intricate texture !! nice linear approach.. i enjoyed beautiful
sound of horn and harp in particular :):) [ Reply to This ]
Dark? &mdash 04/30/06 - 10:54:34 AM
I actually found it kinda Light, that is---uplifting, encouraging. Maybe I
need my mood-knob settings changed! Anyway, since I never heard the
original this was a real treat for me. Beautiful music beautifully mixed.
be well! [ Reply to This ]
Dark? &mdash 04/30/06 - 12:40:06 PM
Uplifting and light is a good thing... yes, there is drive and hope in the music,
which you were picking up on. I'm glad you found that facet of it, and liked it
(don't change those mood knobs!) Part of my interest in doing this is finding
out what people hear in it... thank you for letting me know what you heard.
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18315">Ember-Mystified</a> [ Reply to This ]
Certainly.. &mdash 04/30/06 - 03:07:47 PM
has the feel of taking (or being on) a journey. My initial impression was
that it was not dark, nor depressing. To me it sounds more "hopeful" (I
wish I could be more "helpful" than this)
It sounds like you put quite a bit of time in writing this. It is very nice!
It's nice that your wife offers to contribute in a positive way. Mine offers
to help, but only if it involves unplugging equipment:p [ Reply to This ]
Certainly.. &mdash 05/02/06 - 01:04:19 PM
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your impressions, glad you liked it. Yes, there is always a spark of
hope in my stuff... I'm an optimistic engineer, which means that part of me
sees the glass as half full, and the other part of me wonders why they made
the glass bigger than it needed to be.
Given the comments and ideas I've gotten on this, I need to regroup these
guys and march them back out onto the Macjams battlefield again soon, with
a lot of improvements (I just rolled "plus 20" experience points!) Stay tuned!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/20224">Border Merger Waltz</a> [ Reply to This ]
Rainy here in Minneapolis, but aint March &mdash 04/30/06 - 03:58:55 PM
This sounds like a sad march..yeah.. i imagine it with rain and
thunder...almost like a death march...plaintive...like an air of grief and
impending doom. If that is the theme you intend, it certainly works!
However, if you wish to evoke a vision of a victorious brigade in the face
of tumultous weather, I suggest you pump up the drums to a more
triumphant pace and volume. The break in the middle is a deceving
silence of ending... maybe shorten it, or give it some indication or msucial
hint, say like a soft percussion or prolonged note, that it hasnt ended yet.
This is very scenic music, Drak.. It brings forth images of the Medieval
centuries of armored warriors and kings and swords and...well, dragons! [ Reply to This ]
Rainy here in Minneapolis, but aint March &mdash 05/03/06 - 08:57:17 AM
Thank you for stopping in and listening Leon! From your description, it looks
like you listened to the music without preconcieved notions from me (that is,
you didn't read the description at the top.) That's good, because you wrote what
the music said to you, without me interpreting it first... and yes, this is mostly a
march of relentless tired soldiers, with only a faint glimmer of hope to pull them
through, there is no bright victory here. I'm rethinking how to tie through the
gaping chasm in the middle... my wife and daughter wanted the gap longer and
more dramatic, so I did this. I may put a few stepping stones of percussion
across it though. Thanks again!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/20224">Border Merger Waltz</a> [ Reply to This ]
Rainy weather in Madison, too &mdash 04/30/06 - 04:36:54 PM
Evokes a grey sense of duty. Endless and necessary.
I've done limited work in Harmony Assistant. You've done very well! [ Reply to This ]
oh weather to or weather not too!! &mdash 05/01/06 - 01:43:25 PM
walking on the battlements in my wimple (getting soaking wet). waiting
for m'lord to return from battle. dreaming of dancing and drinking mead!
lovely music and a powerful mood that transported me to times gone by -
thank you for the escape xoxox [ Reply to This ]
JP4 &mdash 05/01/06 - 03:26:17 PM
Excellent use of JP4 on this one. Effective mood created. Good stuff
Drakonis. [ Reply to This ]
Myth-terious! &mdash 05/01/06 - 04:15:31 PM
Nice little medievel-sounding march. I could very much imagine it as
the soundtrack of a game like Myth. Oh, and really nice sound FX
integration, too. I've been toying with the idea of adding some sound
fx to little little piece I have in development--if they're used well, as
they are here, they can really add a nice texture to a track and take it
to another level.
Compositionally it's pretty darned solid. If there's any criticism, it's not
of you, but rather the sample quality. I think better samples would
have elevated the piece a bit, making it feel more cinematic, as
opposed to something befitting a videogame (not that there's anything
wrong with that.;)
All in all, very well done. [ Reply to This ]
Emotion &mdash 05/01/06 - 05:10:25 PM
It never ceases to amaze me how you capture so much emotion in your
melodies. a simple march, yet so full of feeling. I love the weaving of
the melodies and the depth it creates. Just beautiful.... downloaded and
faved. [ Reply to This ]
It all comes together as it should &mdash 05/02/06 - 04:43:14 PM
This piece works flawlessly with the story that accompanies it. You did an
excellent job of writing counter-melodies. The use of dynamics, which is
often overlooked, is very effective here, and adds greatly to the success of
the track.
I am amazed by the cohesion of a track like this that is hand-scored. I
can't imagine being able to do this.
Congratulations on this very well-done soundtrack. [ Reply to This ]
Quite pretty &mdash 05/03/06 - 03:04:48 PM
It didn't really inspire feelings of terror at all, tho'. It seemed more of a musical excursion, advancing through something. The snare implies something military but I didn't really take it that way as it felt like more of a soft backup to the melody. I don't mean to sound negative as I did like it but I didn't see hideous dragons or anything! [ Reply to This ]
I enjoyyed this &mdash 05/04/06 - 08:17:45 AM
I love stuff that is a bit subtle like this. Beauty is n the eye of the
beholder. I know in the 1800's orchestration of evil and darkness would
be a lot different than if Gorge Lucas put out his big bucks to get all the
kids on the end of their seats and hire John Williams for two months.
I think this was nicely done and thanks for your time in on this!
[ Reply to This ]
I wish &mdash 05/05/06 - 07:39:53 PM
I had the talent and patience it takes to craft something with so much
depth. Really its excellent. I'm not saying that as a Myth fan :-0, its just
a really interesting composition. Range of instrumentation and
execution is perfect fit for the theme [ Reply to This ]
Definately Game Music &mdash 05/12/06 - 05:28:38 PM
I had a bout half a dozen nastalgic thoughts of differnt video games that I have played. I think the drums make it sound more "gamey." In any case, I feel like a lost Knight seeking refuge from the storm in a cold drafty keep with only the warm glow of the fireplace to comfort me. [ Reply to This ]
Definately Game Music &mdash 05/12/06 - 10:53:42 PM
Hehehe... let's see, is that Castle Wolfenstein, Castle Frankenfurter, or Castle
Anthrax? Those are all such old references, they do seem rather gamey. I
actually remember playing Castle Wolfenstein on the Apple ][... we called it
"Castle Woof-a-woof", because that's what the speech synthesizer sounded like
it was saying.
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/20224">Border Merger Waltz</a> [ Reply to This ]
ledbutent reccomended this to me &mdash 05/13/06 - 07:04:28 PM
ledbutent reccomended this to me &mdash 05/14/06 - 08:13:05 AM
oh yeah! caan i edit it to take out the rain at the beginning??????????? [ Reply to This ]
KILLA &mdash 07/19/06 - 06:51:07 PM
B! Dig the rain! Reminded me of the intro to the first Black Sabbath album! [ Reply to This ]
Too relaxing! &mdash 09/05/06 - 02:03:39 AM
Ha ha...I have to agree with some of the posters who have said that this doesn't evoke darkness and danger for them. I thought it was sort of a strange mixture of exciting and soothing, and it's definitely reminiscent of Myth and similar games.
If you are intent on making it darker (and I don't see why you should be as the tone is perfectly enjoyable as it is), I would suggest some more threatening bass. Of course I tend to throw threatening bass on just about everything, though, so you can take that advice with a grain of salt. [ Reply to This ]
You should be ..... &mdash 11/21/06 - 02:21:07 PM
...doing the music for the next episode of the game. It would make many a player exctatic I think. Good choice of instrumentation and good mix. Some sounds really have lots of low end but that's good on this. You get extra plus for dynamics and the thrill I get when I close my eyes. I almost get scared at some points. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for the feedback! &mdash 11/21/06 - 03:06:13 PM
I never quite got the kind of build-up that I wanted in this piece, I'm still struggling to learn how to "orchestrate emotion", but I'm happy some of the tension came through! Thank you for listening and commenting... I'm certainly a big fan of your work!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/25837">MusiMorphosis</a> [ Reply to This ]
So much... &mdash 11/29/06 - 11:36:14 AM
thought clearly went into this. It sounds great, and the story telling in it jumps off the page. And while it's not quite what I'm looking for for this show, I'm still glad to have heard it! [ Reply to This ]
Not this documentary... &mdash 11/29/06 - 11:55:16 AM
but maybe another one sometime :) Thank you for listening and commenting, and I'm pleased to know that you liked the musical story-telling! That's good enough for me!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/25837">MusiMorphosis</a> [ Reply to This ]
Drak &mdash 12/13/06 - 12:14:15 PM
cool vibe... &mdash 12/13/06 - 02:13:33 PM
and I didn't even use the vibe-raphone! Thanks for listening and commenting!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/25837">MusiMorphosis</a> [ Reply to This ]
Nice flow &mdash 12/13/06 - 05:42:50 PM
I really enjoy the way the harp flows around the other parts in the piece. I can picture walking through woods with brooks and such.
My one critique is that the mood is sometimes ambiguous (and this may be purposely so). Should I feel relaxed, or pensive? The drums in the background and the flowing instrumental parts sometimes create a bit of conflict in the mood, but there are also times when they work together well.
I look forward to listening to more of your pieces! [ Reply to This ]
ambiguity... &mdash 12/13/06 - 11:11:19 PM
yes, you zoomed in on one of my weak spots, and creating mood in music is something I think you are good at...
I had this vision of using the orchestration to build slowly to a climax, fall apart, then slowly pull together and build again, hopefully sounding somewhat powerful, but many people listening have said it sounds somewhat upbeat and calm instead... so I have a lot to learn!
Thank you for listening and giving your thoughts!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/25837">MusiMorphosis</a> [ Reply to This ]
sounds exactly &mdash 01/15/07 - 10:45:14 AM
like a video game soundtrack the kind where u have to go into dungeouns and kill dragons and such, rlly like how u took the idea of the video games and pooped into a song. [ Reply to This ]
Great &mdash 01/24/07 - 08:51:39 AM
I really like this...
and thanks for your comment: (you're so right!)
I've honestly had no intentions to this (Bach) which is one of my favourite songs! (guess it just influenced me unconsiously) I have thought about it sounding like something else, but got blind there for a while I think.
Thank you so much for you inspiring words :)
BR
F [ Reply to This ]
glad to find you &mdash 01/24/07 - 11:22:14 AM
Thank you for stopping in and listening to my works too. As a piano player, maybe you will enjoy my "Caroline's Bear Rag", or "A Round and Bach again"... very simple things, but they may make you smile. I'll watch for new things from you.
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/28153">Technoid</a> [ Reply to This ]
Rainy March &mdash 01/28/08 - 02:28:05 PM
awesome strings structure ....always a great
soundtrack writer ...your thougths alway
impressed me my friend ..you truly can write
great medievel music ..maybe if you thought
of it as the genuine insteruments will turn
more realistic !!
Hats off ! [ Reply to This ]
Thanks! &mdash 01/28/08 - 02:36:32 PM
This was the first piece I actually posted publically, years ago. It is somewhat simple, but I still have a soft spot for it. I would want to incorporate this into something bigger now, it is rather short... but yes, hearing this (or anything of mine) played live would be a great treat. I'm hoping that my newer stuff is getting better, and might be worthy of waving at an ensemble to see if they want to play it. I'd bring my video camera to record that, for sure! Thank you for listening and commenting, and your friendship!
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
|
Teach me...
Dion
[ Reply to This ]