My Latest MP3: "Step Into Paradise"

So this one is something entirely different and I'm happy

to present it to you because it's the kind of music

I really love to compose - kind of my comfort zone. :)

Step Into Paradise

The composition is a very soft, emotional orchestral theme, with a main focus on the melody and the chords..

I love playing around with melodies like that and I hope you can identify with this kind of music as well.

Please try to avoid criticism involving the wave-effect in the beginning. People keep telling me that they like the idea but the sound is crappy... I just couldn't find anything better. :whistling:

Anyway, please tell me what you think. :)

You definitely show your Final Fantasy influence, though this is a lot more like something from Xenogears, especially the harp part. I REALLY like the minor chords that show up a little after halfway.

You rely a lot on switching between I and V/V... while this can be a nice transition, it is important not to overuse it, since it's become a kind of clich

Can you post a score or a midi file?

Here's the midi- It sounds pretty messed up, because the mp3 was written for 32 instruments and I had to limit the midi version to 16 instruments.

If you just want to take a look at the notes, this should be fine though.

@Johann: What's "I and V/V" ? I'm not too familiar with anything related to theory.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any of your music on here.

Step_Into_Paradise_Midi.mid

My music's pretty buried, since I've been working long and hard on a new project and haven't posted any new works in a little while. Things get buried quickly around here! Most of my works can be found pages back into the piano music subforum. Fairly soon, I plan to have MP3s of everything uploaded to Soundclick, and links to everything on my YC Profile, which can be linked to from my signature. Once that's up, you can just click on the link in my signature and hear everything I've ever completed! :P

As for your question about the chords:

Roman numerals are used to indicate chord quality and scale degree of diatonic chords. In the key of C, you'll have I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, and viidim. These are built thus, and notice all the tones come from C's key signature:

I is C, E, G (major)

ii is D, F, A (minor)

iii is E, G, B (minor)

IV is F, A, C (major)

V is G, B, D (major)

vi is A, C, E (minor)

viidim is B, D, F (diminished)

Thus, your I chord is just a major chord built on the first note of the scale of whatever key you're in. As for V/V, it is the V chord, counting from the V(5th) scale degree. Since in C the 5th note of the scale is G, V/V would simply be the major chord built on the 5th scale degree in the key of G, which means V/V in the key of C would be D, F#, A.

Going between a Cmaj chord and a Dmaj chord (or the equivalent in other keys) has become very common in recent years, and sounds a little clich

Hm, this is another one I'm putting to my Pocket PC with the GPO orchestral sample music. That means I like it very much.

It's late tonight--I'll review later.

I like your music very much!

You have a great sense of the ambient and the general feeling your music generates.

It sounds clich

The beginning part, I can feel the very 'grand' feeling, I think is because of the V chord. The melody is ok, I think, but I think can be better if you used a different chord progression.

I thought it's going to be an ordinary piece until I listened the transition at 1:35. It's really BEAUTIFUL. That part really makes up this piece. But when that part exits at 2:17, I just feel not comfortable, because I have the feeling of just want to listen to that part more.

I like this piece, but frankly, only just because of the 1:35 part. I wish you can come up with more of this type of music, as this is my favourite genre too.