Layne

Hi all! It's officially October, which means it's time for some spooky songs. Almost each year I challenge myself to make a new arrangement of John Carpenter's classic theme from Halloween. It's always been one of my absolute favorite horror films, so it's truly a great joy to jump into this main theme and make it my own in composing. Would love to hear some feedback! I have tried a few new things in this song as I continue to experiment with techniques. I used mostly Native Instruments - Symphony Series, with support from Spitfire Audio's Originals Cinematic Soft Piano. Hope you enjoy the listen!

Thank you so much for all the kind words! Writing sheet music is something I am working on! I learned to compose using DAW software, so it doesn't always export the way I've written it to be in the DAW when using that. I do want to learn that side of things though. So glad you enjoyed the listen!

Hello all! I'm back with another piece that I've been working on over the past bit. This one I aimed for less spooky, eerie and more sci-fi. With some big, grand visuals and the voids of space represented in the sections of this piece. This has been a fun one to work on, and am looking forward to your feedback! I didn't really push forward any new instruments or ideas on this one, more just focused on what I have been familiarizing myself with and took my idea and ran. Would love to know what visuals this piece brings to mind for you as you listen! Thank you all for the feedback, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your feedback and kind words! It was a fun project, song was made about a month ago. Video was shot and edited in about 24 hours. I do love the spooky themes in my music! As for the release, I'll be doing a wider release on my socials and whatnot in October, but the festival I'm submitting it to needed submissions by August 31st, and felt like giving this community a little early look, since I scored it as well. Again, thank you so much for all the kind words!

Hi all! As the Halloween season creeps closer, I decided to produce a small, ultra-short film rooted in my love of the holiday. A couple years ago I produced a similar short featuring some of these same characters, which I did also share on here. This is a pseudo-sequel to that video as well. I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and such! I did submit this to a local film festival and will hear back soon on if my submission was accepted. It was fun trying to play with some different things sonically, especially with the introduction of the theremin into the mix. While trying to go from an almost cartoony sound and look at the beginning, to a more sinister one at the end. Hope you enjoy the watch/listen!

Hi all! I'm back with a WIP progress piece that I am calling The End of Things - Suite. This has been composed in FL Studio using mostly the Symphony Series Instruments! The ending is unfinished as I plan to go back into a version of the theme from the beginning of the piece. Would love to hear some feedback and what you all think about this piece so far! It's been another foray into experimentation...much like my last piece. This time aiming to try new methods with harmony and building themes...as well as furthering my percussive usage when it's needed. Overall I am loving branching out of my "Compositional Comfort Zone" and trying some new (and often rewarding) things. Parts of the piece have a frantic, almost chase feel to them, others are sinister, and some are more heroic. Overall I wanted each section to feel like part of an End Credits suite...but that all felt like they belonged together in the same project...much like themes in a movie. Hope you all enjoy the listen and looking forward to your feedback! The End Credits WIP - Layne Lee.mp3

Thank you so much, Peter! I always appreciate the feedback. I had not thought of the BTTF theme comparison, but I completely hear it! Thanks for listening! I have been working on a piece (still VERY WIP) that I am planning on sharing here in the forum. Did more exploring of tools, settings, and more and have produced what I would describe as a suite. Haha! Will share soon!

Thank you so much! This was a big step out of my comfort zone for percussion. Glad you enjoyed it!

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.