Thanks for the kind replies and encouragement!
No criticisms from me as of now, but I've been wondering: do you also go into epic music (not AWESOME Epic, but Drama, Mystery or Fantasy Epic) instead of Jazz/ambient? And Celtic? Just interested to know if you've experimenting with a plethora of genres. Very Happy I love music.
Sure, I compose in just about every genre there is. Mostly I don't get a lot of opportunities to do it--I prefer composing FOR something, like someone's freeware game, etc.
Sometime in the future I'll be making my own tactical RPG (SC2 single-player mod) that'll definitely require some "epic" orchestral scoring, drama, and so forth.
Celtic? I did a few pieces with Celtic inclinations for Horse Isle 2, but normally the style is a challenge for me--it's tough to go that direction and not sound stereotypical. I really look up to Mitsuda for this who blends those Celtic and Irish mannerisms seamlessly with his own delicate and sensitive style, all the while avoiding the stereotypes native to the "genre".
If I may make an observation, your music is very short on melody. I would qualify it as not melodic enough. If you like the idea of a richer melodic structure in your work, then I'd encourage you to focus on writing your melodies first. If your music is ambient by design, then I'd say you've done a good job.
Well, as it turns out, most of the works I sampled in the demos do have upfront melodies. Maybe they don't seem that clear?
Thanks again for the comments everyone! One of these days I'll have my redesigned website up, and further down the line (hopefully this year) I'll release the music for the newer games (visual novels!) I'm working on.
In fact, if you could make that entire piece available online, I would certainly add it to my library! Or if you're selling, point the way.
Sure, I'll try to upload a full version shortly.
I know listening to demos of 40s-1m long samples isn't exactly the best way to showcase music, but they were mostly designed to show to a game-making community as a means of getting some composing work.
If melody was all that mattered, then smooth jazz would be popular. This is actually one of my main arguments in favor of smooth jazz. If you REALLY listen to smooth jazz and get beyond all the corny jokes that come with it, there are some fantastic melodies! But smooth jazz gets shat on. Most of the time I 'spose it deserves it.
Incidentally, Yasunori Mitsuda can do some pretty awesome smooth jazz. And... well, here I thought I'd find a sample on youtube, no dice. It's "Urban Fantasy" from the game Moonlit Shadow, and it's awesome. Little bit of reggae in there too.
