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Till ett träd

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One year ago I was asked to play the piano during the introduction of the school (university) year, so I composed a song called "Från ett frö", to play something original.


This year I was asked to play the piano again, so seeing as I was to compose for the NGADM anyway, I decided to make a follow-up track; "Till ett träd".


My computer is a bit wrecked at the moment, but I don't think you can hear that in the end result. Enjoy, thank you for listening, and good luck to the other participants in this years NGADM ^_____^!!!

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Woah this is something. I like how you stick to what you have strength in it instead of doing something risky. Good choice in the contest. Interesting chord progressions there. It's truly a beautiful and moving work, I do however think it stood out from your recent submissions, due to the complexity of this one. Not saying your other works weren't complex, they are very, but this one is well made together and it captures my emotion very well.

Your music often remind me of FF work of Nobuo Uematsu, I've found that speciality in a lot of your work and it's a really nice touch. I guess I just listened too much of your music, haha.

Good luck in the NGADM. Have a good weekend!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you, dude!

I felt like every year (apart from the last round last year), I had tried my hand on experimenting with all kinds of genres and VSTs and instruments. I learned so much for that, and it was all totally worth it. But, this year I don't have as much time; I am teaching at a school atm for at least two more weeks (as part of my last practice period), when other teachers are observing my lessons. I felt like it's a good idea to stick with my strength.

Don't get me wrong though; I'm not staying within my comfort zone entirely; I try my hand at all kinds of new piano techniques and arrangements, and ofc, new kinds of compositions. I've had lots of fun so far, so if I pass this round, I might keep going with it! It takes quite a long time to compose on the piano too, especially since I want to be able to play all the compositions I make.

I'm glad you like the structure of this one, as it's definitely a bit different! And as you know, I take a lot of inspiration from Nobuo indeed ^____^
Thank you for the review, and for the listen!

Why am I getting vibes from Medley of a Shattered Mind in this one? I wonder if it's mere coincidence or if there are thematic similarities at all.
What makes this piece interesting is how you establish the motif several times with variations while having different phrases in between. Makes it really enjoyable to hear how you're going to return to this delicate motif each time it strays away from it. Totally unpredictable yet it has the theme reiterated enough times to keep the piece anchored throughout. Really nice.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

It is a coincidence indeed, but I can hear some vibes you mentioned as well. I think it's partially because of how some of the call - response parts are structured. You know, Medley of a Shattered Mind which you inspired me to write is still one of my personal favourites.

Whenever I come up with a new idea that can work as a idée fixe, I want to repeat it in as many variations as possible, so I actually have to stop myself very early in the process (or else the whole song would be what happens at 1:34, but get weirder and weirder). I think my greatest strength and greatest weakness in composing is probably a battle the way I come up with all the variations, and the way I limit myself to make them conform to a structure that makes sense and relays what I feel like relaying. Thankfully, improvisations don't have the same limitations, necessarily (but I can't always think of great variations that quickly either). Perhaps at some point, I'll just go all out and make an insane piece :p

Thank you for the really kind words!

I like the rhythmic patterns at the beginning and the introspective tone. The lighter material at :27 is nice, too. The recording quality is great here, and the texture is full and well-balanced despite this being a solo instrument track. The floaty line at 1:22 comes in a bit suddenly, but otherwise I have to complaints with the flow of the piece. The composition might’ve benefitted from a more extended climactic section towards the end to tie things together a bit more, but you did a job offering some cohesion here overall between the recognizable main theme at 3:01 (and other places). Nice job with the gradual ritardando into that last section too. Overall, excellent work, LSD! I’m looking forward to hearing more from you soon. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Apologies for the delayed response!

1:22 repeats the theme from 1:10, but in a cooler way, so I wanted it to come in quite powerfully. But perhaps the velocity of the first hit is ever so slightly too high!

The whole song is definitely based around the rhythmic patterns from the intro. That's also what I came up with first, so it's the seed that grew into the tree that is the composition, if I may (play on the title).

I felt that after the climax starting at 2:11, the piece needed something unexpected and not too melody heavy, before letting it breathe for a bit, until it finally got into the ending.

Thank you for the very generous score, as well as for the dedicated reviewing as always ^__^!

This piece kept me enthralled from start to finish. So many rare and wonderful chord variations, it was like being in a hall of mirrors that shows something different depending on where you look, but it was instead crafted for the sense of hearing rather than sight.

As always, your fingers dance with seeming effortlessness across the keys. So graceful, yet commanding, as you coax the music into being. I am reminded why the piano is, was, and will forever be my favorite instrument, as I get lost within the shifting chords and melodies. What else is there to say, but "thank you."

I am sorry to hear about your computer issues, and I can certainly relate. May they be resolved for you in short order, and I wish you all the best. It truly does nothing to mar your masterful performance.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for the listen, the love, and the review!
I'm glad that you can't really tell about the computer issues. I hope I get them sorted out quickly too. Basically, I'm changing some hardware in my laptop, and I basically had to reset everything. I'm lucky I am able to compose on my piano, so that I only had to do minimal work in (my newly reinstalled) Cubase. I literally only had one piano library available for this project, and one reverb (+ EQ and such in Cubase; the production).

Even so, I spent quite some time on this piece, since I wanted it to be pretty, intricate and unique. For my live performance, however, just in case... I think I'll simplify the part around 2:30, as it's a bit risky (fun, but very disorienting to play). We shall see!

Thanks again for the support ^____^

Very very very cool. LOTS of really unexpected and interesting harmonic choices here. Almost every other chord is unexpected in some way.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you :)
I'm glad that someone who appreciates interesting chord choices listened to this piece! It was fun to compose :3
Good luck in the first round!!

Credits & Info

Listens
1,008
Faves:
10
Votes
22
Score
4.73 / 5.00

Uploaded
Aug 15, 2019
6:48 PM EDT
File Info
Song
7.8 MB
3 min 25 sec

Licensing Terms

Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.