First Composition Ever!

Hi, I'm a freshman music major in college and I've just decided recently that I want to compose music for a living! Well, for my major anyway. Hope I can make a living <.< I haven't really learned anything in the area besides general music theory, but I figure I should start writing stuff now anyway. My brother is making a MMORPG for fun, same reason I'm starting to write, so I even get a game to compose to. Ive been a video game music guy since I was......9, I think, so that's what I want to write.

So, this first song is going to be the background for the title screen. That part of the game doesn't exist yet, so I imagined that it would be something similar to Chrono Cross or Silk Road. What that is, is the 'camara' slowly flying around random areas of the game, with the game logo in the center of the screen. Pretty common, I think.

I wrote this by starting with a central melody, and building off of it; it's the one that comes in after the french horns' chord. Turned out only using it once in the whole thing, oh well. A lot of this was inspired by whatever I learned in class that day, so there's a section from the inverted chords lesson, arpeggio lesson (though I removed that part), key change lesson, etc. It's also going to be looped in the game, you'll be able to hear where; it's obvious. I'm pretty happy with it, considering I don't really know anything yet..

Oh, its only in MIDI because I'm using a freeware cheapo synth. I have a few nicer soundfonts on my mac, so imagine the quality to be up a few steps. I have access to lotsa cool stuff at school, so I'm going to run it through Finale and use all those shiny Garritan synths and make a decent .wav out of it. So, any good advice for a newb?

(newer version below.)

Hmmmm, I really think it's terrible how nikolas got 10 replies to his post and spacecow has 0 so far

Pretty pleasant and listenable tune. And damn good if it is really your first composition! But perhaps for a title screen wouldn't you want something a bit more upbeat or "exciting"? And I'm not sure why you removed your arpeggio section - I thought perhaps you could use some arpeggios to liven up the tune. Maybe post the arpeggio version too so you can get some feedback.

I couldn't work out exactly what you meant by the "central melody" that you developed - I am assuming it is the theme in A minor starting around bar 41. I think maybe you should shorten all the introduction before this and concentrate on this main theme, and maybe build it up with more instruments. Not saying the introduction is bad, but I don't think it sounds like it has as much direction - its more like background music you could use in other parts of the game.

Actually, it was the one at bar 21, but it really ended up being a kind of intro thing..That was what I started with, then decided that it needed something before it. The stuff before that is really just intro for the sake of intro :/ What I was worrying about it though was the complete lack of rests, since I ended up writing melody practically the whole way through.I did intend it to be kinda mellow and passive, its probably going to be played pretty quiet in the game. And the arpeggio part was reaally bad, I deleted it a while ago I didn't really think to develop the end part any more though..I'll try some stuff with that. Thanks!

Good start,

Some notes don't sound well together... there are different places so i cant name them all.

I liked the brass + harp (i think, sounds like a harp) part. Like around measure 75

I hear nothing in the midi file and tried to open it in sibelius and it said forget it.


Ron

Yeah, I think my sequencer messed it up a bit, I have 2 parallel volume things for the harp o.O I'm adding stuff to the end though, its coming along pretty well.

Uploading newer version. Thanks SO MUCH for the idea to develop the end part, I really like it a lot more now Still got a bit more to do, though - Final Synths and all that in Finale , but this is what I've been going from at home. Oh, and it says COW because that's the game's tentative title. Like how WOW = World of Warcraft, except he hasn't figured out what COW stands for yet>.>

SoundClick artist: SpaceCow VGM - page with MP3 music downloads