Music for a fantasy project

[Dunge_Onmaster]

Hi there,

I spent the last days working on this little tune...

https://soundcloud.com/dustin-naegel/journey-onward

...a somewhat rhythmically driven (almost march-like) medieval/fantasy theme soundtrack theme. It's build upon a (hopefully) heroic melody and is intended to accompany the travel montage of a fantasy epic (game/film). If you have some handy tips, especially concerning the mix, please do not hesitate to share your insights.

Best regards

Dustin

[Onix]

Things I like.
It sounds like a hero's march. The tone is good, I feel the right mood from the music.
It doesn't have huge variations in volume so it won't disappear in a noisy room and then come crashing back.

Things to work on.
It's short, because of the fade in in the beginning it won't loop well. In a tabletop game, you need at least 15 min of music to have it useful as a background, so making it loop friendly, so that listeners have a difficult time distinguishing each loop is important to me.
It's a bit forgettable. Now maybe the same thing could be said for a lot of game music the first listen through. If I listened to it as much as I've heard the original Legend of Zelda theme, maybe it would stick more. There doesn't seem to be a strong chord progression that I latch onto when listening casually.
Some of the instrument changes throughout the song, seemed chaotic, I couldn't establish a pattern to them. It very slightly impacted my enjoyment of the song.

[Dunge_Onmaster]

Hey Onix, thanks for your insightful feedback, you gave the cue a thorough listen. Really appreciate it. I'll take your points into consideration as soon as I have the time to rework this piece!

[Dunge_Onmaster]

Since I wasn't entirely satisfied with the MIDI-based recording of my orchestral version I transcribed it for solo piano. I tried to stay as true as possible to the original orchestral version, especially in keeping the bass ostinato as well as the off-beat fills for pizzicato strings beneath the melody vocings. Maybe one or two of you here find it interesting to watch all the different voices in action. Hope you'll enjoy.

https://youtu.be/RgFdfjqNtag

[Evil Scientist]

[Rob Lang]

WOW, Dustin, is that you?

It's brilliant. I think it would make an excellent theme for a fantasy project. A huge, bold opening song!

[Dunge_Onmaster]

Thanks a lot. Glad you like it! And Rob: Yes, that little piano geek playing is me. And if you accidentally got a huge, bold fantasy project up your sleeve,feel free to use that song for the opening credits!