Layne

Thank you so much, Alex! Appreciate you taking the time to listen and write a response. Glad to hear you enjoyed the piece! I haven't experimented a lot with different mic positions yet. But, I've just dipped into the Symphony Series so still trying to unlock all of its mysteries, haha! That is something I do want to experiment with though. Cinematic was certainly the angle I was intending to hit. Often when I write pieces I have to visualize scenes in my mind that I can play through to "score" it. So glad that the feeling came across. I greatly appreciate the kind words! Side note, speaking of Symphony Series. I am happy to hear you're downloading! It was a deal I just couldn't pass up. And a major upgrade from my previous BBCSO Discover. My experience in just this little time I've had it has been great. I was not prepared for the download sizes however, but those have proven absolutely worth it tenfold in the sample quality.

Thank you so much, Henry! It is an honor that this piece even brings to mind works by those names. Glad you enjoyed the listen. It was fun to take a break from the loud, heavy instruments and pull back into those quieter sections, while still keeping the tension of the first half bubbling under the surface. Then releasing that tension once again at the very end. Appreciate your feedback!

Hello all! I'm here with another piece, this one titled "Raptors in the Grass". As I composed this piece, the imagery I "scored" in my mind was a chase scene, leading to a moment of unreliable calm, that leads to a dramatic end! In my mind I imaged scenes akin to those in the "Jurassic Park" franchise with Raptors hiding and chasing through the tall grass. For this piece I am using a new VST. This is composed entirely using Native Instrument's Symphony Series (which is on sale at the moment at steep discount.) This was my first composition using the more advanced articulations and options available in this set of instruments and I am excited to get to do more. I was extremely pleased with the quality of the samples and how they come across in this piece. I tried to capture more momentum, especially in the first half. Wanting to keep up that "chase" but continue to vary and change the sonic environment to fit the changing actions of characters, such maybe getting in a car and driving or trying to fight back. With that unreliable calm coming in at the second half and a final crescendo when our characters get surrounded by the beasts they were trying to avoid. I would love to hear your impressions from listening and what story it tells for you. Looking forward to the feedback and hope you enjoy the listen.

Thank you so much, Peter! Always appreciate your insights. I had purely chosen that articulation of strings from a sound standpoint and had not considered the difficulty of play (should this be turned into sheet music). What better articulation or instrumentation do you think would be best to convey a similar feeling?

Hello all! I'm back with another piece. I began working on this last week and have titled it "Discussions in Secret". As I wrote this piece, I was scoring (in my mind) a scene of two individuals discussing important or confidential information, tucked away from a crowd in a darkened corner...doing their best to stay out of the light and keep their information and identities secret to those around them. For this I challenged myself to keep the strip the instruments back to only the necessities. Almost entirely strings with some underlying synth elements (for atmosphere), as well a cimbalom, celeste, and tubular bells towards the end of the piece. I wanted the piece to keep an uneasy and mysterious feeling throughout without delving into dark, villain-esque territory. More desperation and secrets, less action. Hope you enjoy the listen and am looking forward to the feedback!

Thank you so much Harry! Glad you enjoyed the listen. Even though you're unfamiliar with the source material, I highly recommend listening to the score (especially season one. It's very unique and a great listen.

Hello all! It's been a long while since I posted, and today I come with my own arrangement of the Main Title Theme for Star Wars: Andor (originally composed by Nicolas Britell). I'm a huge Star Wars fan and have greatly enjoyed the show and its music. As such, I wanted to take my try at composing a variation on the main title theme. This is my first jump into making my own arrangement of music from the Star Wars universe and seemed like a good (and relevant) place to jump in. I made this in FL Studio using a combination of Spitfire Audio libraries (BBSCO Discover, Intimate Strings, & Epic Choirs) then arranged by ear. Hope you enjoy the listen and I greatly recommend listening to the score of the show whether you're a Star Wars fan or not. It's top notch! Looking forward to the conversations and feedback.

Thanks, Henry! Glad to hear you enjoyed...or were creeped out by the piece! My goal was to make something eerie and spooky...and yes. If I had the idea then I certainly would have submitted it! The high notes are me! All kind of improvised and dubbed over with myself as the piece developed. Appreciate you taking the time to listen!

I do tend to approach pieces more like soundtrack to a film or TV show. So yes, definitely more of an atmosphere setting piece with recurring motifs. And, I have actually been working on something faster paced! Hoping to share it soon. But have been sidetracked this weekend with a piece I posted today as an experiment using live recorded vocals for parts. Thank you for your continued help and feedback, and it's great to hear that there are signs of growth in this skill.

Hi all! I hope the end of your year is going well. In my continued adventures of learning composing, I am coming today with something new! This time, my first time composing a song and recording live vocals for it. (Unfortunately I'm the performer, haha!) Aside from that I have used by usual VSTs in FL Studio. I improvised the main vocal part and built the song around it, kept looping it to add my harmonies and additional parts...and recording new sections when needed to supplement. Since this song is largely an experiment, it's a bit shorter than my usual. I just wanted to bring it here first and see what feedback this amazing forum has! I always look forward to the discussions and feedback. It has been a great help along my composing journey! Thank you for taking the time to read my post and listen to this piece!

Good evening, all! I am here with another project I've been working on (just since this afternoon). This week has been busy, chaotic, and emotionally draining. So, to help with the anxieties that have arisen from the chaos of life and work, I turned to music. It just seemed natural to try and help getting these emotions out in a format that I could easily access right now. Normally I turn to photography, but, I wasn't able to today. This is what I have so far since I started earlier. To me, some parts seem to feel beautiful but still dark beneath the surface. I would love to hear some feedback. No part of this piece was really pre-planned. It was sort of instinctual based on where my feelings took it as it developed and continues to develop. I've continued to try and build on what I've learned on here and been learning in my free time. I hope you enjoy. I used my usuals, a combination of Spitfire Audio libraries in FL Studio.

Thank you so much for all of the advice! I used to play cello, so did read sheet music for a while. But, fell off of learning it. So it's definitely been a while since I've had to read sheet music. I appreciate you taking the time to help! I definitely want to keep doing whatever I can to improve my skills to better tell the stories I want to convey. I definitely understand where learning to compose for an actual, live orchestra would be one of the more difficult parts. I've been trying to look at pieces as less "this is your part, and this is your part" individually and make them more whole where all parts work together. I'll definitely begin looking into resources to get reacquainted with sheet music and learning to write it.

Thank you so much! I enjoy focusing on storytelling as a key element when I compose. It's really one of my driving forces behind the pieces I make. I've considered trying out MuseScore. I currently use FL Studio. Rcently found out how to change the time signature for a project, which yielded my first experiment with a time signature other than 4/4 in the song in my comment replying to PeterthePaperComposer. But yes, it also doesn't allow a change in time signature within the workspace once the project is set. So instead it'd be using a workspace in 6/8 but placing notes as if it were 4/4 for example to "change time signatures". How was the transition from a DAW workflow into Musescore for you? I don't know how to write sheet music, so, that's always been one of my concerns. Most of what I do is instinctual based on what I've learned so far. But I am always looking for ways to better my composing and workflow!

I always appreciate your feedback. Thank you for taking the time to listen and being so thorough in your response. I find that often when I write pieces, I'm scoring to visuals in my mind. So, it's interesting to me to hear other interpretations of these pieces and what visuals they bring to those who listen to them. That imagery I think of helps me visualize where I'd like the piece to go next. Apologies for the late reply, but I did read your comment earlier this week and took your advice! I've begun work on my first piece that isn't in 4/4. It's definitely helped me change up the feeling of this new piece. I've attached it in it's current version if you'd be interested in giving it a listen as well! Currently it's titled "Experiments" because that's exactly what it is, haha!

I want to have this playing all the time while I'm working, or driving...or just living. It really brings me a sense of connection, and in a way, some melancholy. But in a beautiful way. Or maybe the word I'm looking for more is...longing. But I do love it! It feels like the ending of a movie, where things have ended up right...with loss along the way...but now- stability.