orchestra Your Reality | from the game Doki Doki Literature Club (finished work)

Dang, two new(-ish) pieces in a month? That's crazy. Tbf the main materials here are from a preexisting song, and the other piece is a full revision. Then again, I had to learn orchestration stuff for this and that took a very long time. 

aaaanyway, really happy about how this has turned out anndd imma just gonna quote the description from the progress update thread

Quote

I've decided to tackle orchestration again, and this time, I've paired it with vocal. I've actually got into this "game" again recently, so that's why I chose to orchestrate its only song with my own preferences. The main theme may sound like it comes from an anime cus it's from a fcked up anime dating simulator lmao

The instrumentation is fairly standard: 3(III=pic).2.3(III=bc).2 - 3.2.0.0 - timpani.percussion(glock, xylo, sus.cymb, cymb, trgl) - alto - strings

you could find the progress update thread here:

also @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, I'm really glad I could be the first one to ever quote one of your themes! When I was sketching that section, I thought of wanting to quote, and I thought of your specific theme. Again, really happy that it fits really well. Also also, those syncopated rhythms are actually from the original song itself. But, I do agree that it fits this "cover" and the original song. Glad you liked my orchestration too!

(vocal by Jillian Ashcraft, taken directly from the OST)

Hi @ferrum.wav!

What a delight to hear this arrangement!  The orchestration is masterful and dense and complex but retains a simplicity that allows it to be accessible and easily palatable as a song.  Speaking of which, did you record the alto singing the words?  It sounds like a real singer.  I'm thinking you must have extracted just the voice part from the original song and inserted it into your arrangement?  Or did you use some kind of software to render the words?  That seems unlikely given how easy to understand the words are.  Thanks for sharing and I'm glad you completed this wonderful rendition!

58 minutes ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Speaking of which, did you record the alto singing the words?  It sounds like a real singer.  I'm thinking you must have extracted just the voice part from the original song and inserted it into your arrangement?  Or did you use some kind of software to render the words?  That seems unlikely given how easy to understand the words are.

It's actually taken directly from the original track itself! I've used a website to separate the vocal from the instrumental. If you listen carefully, you could actually hear the imperfections in it, such as at some point, you could hear piano doublings on the vocal. That's because throughout the whole track, the piano always doubles it an octave above.

Here's the ost:

Anyways, thanks for the kind words! Really glad that my time spent on actually learning orchestration has paid off!

Hi @ferrum.wav!

Like Peter said I enjoy your orchestration very much by enriching the color without getting too heavy like many of the film composers do. Your music here maintains a sense of cute and beautiful naviety and freshness which I enjoy very much! Your orchestration is what I will have to learn from.

I love your orchestral interludes after each stanza, and I love that imitation between the voice and clarinet in 2:01 in b.53, very clever!

The modulation into E major is so well prepared and so well made, yet so refreshing and funny and doesn't sound you take a lot of effort into making it despite you must take a lot effort in it! 

On 5/31/2025 at 12:51 AM, ferrum.wav said:

also @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, I'm really glad I could be the first one to ever quote one of your themes! When I was sketching that section, I thought of wanting to quote, and I thought of your specific theme. Again, really happy that it fits really well. Also also, those syncopated rhythms are actually from the original song itself. But, I do agree that it fits this "cover" and the original song. Glad you liked my orchestration too!

I should be the one feel honored that you use my theme in a much more colorful way than I did. When my Image theme gets in at b.89 I just instantly laugh out because it's so colorful, and the horn color is so cute, and as a secondary theme it sounds like an old white rabbit assisting Alice in the wonderland! The run to Eb major is so so cute!! 

And one things I notice at the end: you use your motive so well and probably too well that I only notice how coherent and organized this piece is, probably because I was more attracted to the wonderful colorful at first and ignore the structual tightness in the beginning.

This is so fascinating! Congrats on composing this and thx for sharing it to us!

Henry

On 6/3/2025 at 8:53 AM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The modulation into E major is so well prepared and so well made, yet so refreshing and funny and doesn't sound you take a lot of effort into making it despite you must take a lot effort in it! 

It's actually not that difficult for me to do the modulation since when I was sketching, my original plan was to just modulate to another key far from C and not to any specific one. Furthermore, it's kinda chromatic too. I just moved a half step up when it reaches B flat and boom, B major, then you V-I that thing. I suppose the smooth voice leading and the orchestration help as well.

Dude thanks so much for the appreciation and award!!! I'm so sorry it took me more than a week to response, like I've been wanting to response but I kept getting sidetracked. Again, really appreciate it!! Means a lot!!!!!!