In Love with the Wind

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In Love with the Wind

Author Comments

[EDIT: Thanks for the feature! I think the audio features at the bottom of NG might well be automated based on popularity, but if that's the case, thank you for listening to this so much that it reached the top of weekly popular :) ]

Raise your volume! :D

This is my last piano composition of 2015. I've recently began talking to EtherealWinds, after he contacted me. Check him out, as he creates wonderful music (and sings too):

http://etherealwinds.newgrounds.com/

He actually uploaded a great cover of "Edge of the Night" from LotR very recently. Take a listen!

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/662377

Originally, I was supposed to make a track for the BRUCE project today. But EtherealWinds asked me to compose a track for him, and I couldn't resist his charms :p
Thus, I ended up coming up with the piece you hear here.

It took quite many hours. It's actually a rather complex track, and as I was very inspired, I wanted to really put my emotions into the playing, and of course, into the composing too. Still, a few parts are improvised based on the base chords I came up with. Other parts, were improvised so poorly that I edited the melodies a bit in the MIDI afterwards, to sound like I wanted it to :p

Normally, I would've just done more recordings. But as usually, my neighbor flipped out and practically tried to ruin the house by banging on all the walls he could find with a cane (note: I was playing with headphones; he doesn't even accept the percussive noise that comes from the keys). I couldn't have concentrated properly while he was banging (hehhe), so I had to use this recording. My feelings are all in the playing, but as I made the track today and haven't really gotten used to it, a few parts could've been played better.

Also, this track sounds a bit like a few things I've heard before. But I think that it's fine. I know a few pieces it reminds me of, but nothing where it would've been directly taken from. I am always paranoid though.

As if it wasn't enough, there was something weird with my recording settings, so I couldn't get a high volume out of the initial recording no matter how hard I tried :(
Piano One isn't good enough of its own for this kind of a piece either, imo (the way it's sampled makes it difficult to get any good bass out of it). So I ended up layering both Piano One and my Yamaha Clavinova CLP - 230 on top of each other. This way, the track is a bit louder, and a bit more full. But it's still not enough, which is why you should probably have the volume a bit higher than usually when listening to this. I can't wait until I buy myself some good piano VST instruments...

Anywho, I think that my technical rant is over. I hope that EtherealWinds likes the piece. I tried to compose it as a blend of JRPG music (like the thing that's similar to the FFX Ending Theme), some anime-ish stuff, and of course my own style.

So here ya go, Jordi! :3

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HeladonX

2023-09-19 11:18:08

damn

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

<3 <3

HannahS

2016-01-24 23:53:44

This is so beautiful! I love this!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you, I'm glad to hear you like it :)
Sorry for the late respone; your review didn't show up in my feed for some reason :p

xethanx

2016-01-21 21:09:45

I was reading katawa shoujo and then listening to this maserpiece... dem feels! T_T

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh wow, that would give you dem feels indeed :O
Thank you for listening, and sorry for the late response!

Everratic

2016-01-03 00:01:07

Etherealwinds is one of my top 2 favorite NG musicians :D

It's very difficult for me to review piano songs because of my very limited music theory knowledge and the fact that I usually talk a lot about mixing in my reviews. This is actually my favorite type of music. I love anime style piano songs. I even prefer it over classical solo piano. The piano vsts sound amazing together. I think you should do it that way until you can buy a better vst. Did you change the key at 2:00? This is my second favorite song from you :D

Have you heard of ai otsuka? She's a Japanese pop singer but most of her songs are piano based. "Planetarium" is my favorite.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks a lot! Sorry for the slightly delayed reply; I was actually talking to EtherealWinds right then and there :)

No worries, I honestly know very little of theory too. I just like playing, and that's pretty much it. I love anime style music as well. I really like Japanese music used for games, and movies in general. It's great to hear that the piano sounds is actually nice, not just to me. I should probably learn to redo it (it was pretty much a thing I just did in the moment). I'll think of what you said! But also, I think it'll depend a bit on what kind of a track I'm making :p

It's great to hear that you like this song! It automatically became one of my favorites. But I know I could still do a few things a bit better in it :3

I haven't heard of Ai Otsuka. But Jordi says that he has, and he thanked you for the nice words. I will check that track out later for sure, but now, past 10am, I should get some sleep.
Thanks a lot for listening, liking and reviewing!

EDIT: Oh, and yeah! I did change the key at 1:55 and 2:01 (twice in pretty quick succession, thanks to the chromatic descent in the left hand). I actually change the key at a lot of places, but that is probably the most noticable change :)

ForgottenDawn

2016-01-02 08:41:29

It sounds good, it feels good.

I liked the variations you applied over the 2nd minute mark, they made the track more lively despite the fucking neighbor ruining an otherwise good composition. A little too anime-ish for my tastes, but that's just me. I think the part where you just went crazy with the progression was the one resonating with me the most because that felt more "you" in a sense. It didn't sound like an anime nor a video game, it was undeniably you. The track didn't really speak to me until that part came which felt as if you were speaking through your piano, free from the influences you mentioned in the description. It is however a more than good tribute, and that's what matters in the end.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks a lot, dude!

Yeah, I wanted to have a chromatic baseline in the left hand at some point, and I also wanted some change in the general movement of the melody, and most importantly, to switch up the chords I was using a little bit. I also like the melodies I made for that part, and the return of it, at the very end.

It might be a bit anime-ish, but that is intentional. I like the genre, personally, and I'm pretty sure EtherealWinds does too, so I definitely wanted that feel to the track. Other than that, the medium is perfect for the kinds of emotions that are in the piece :)

I'm glad to hear you liked my performance. I always try to put my heart into my playing, but here especially, it is important for the composition. I definitely wanted to speak through my piano, but I also wanted to save the most powerful expressions for the later parts of the piece :3

That said, there are a few parts where I would very slightly change the melody still. I would've done it for this version already, but that neighbor made it impossible for me to practice more. Still, as this is a gift for someone else, I won't go around changing this version, but I'll play it a little differently at home instead :)

Anywho, thank you for the review!