Shapeless Fear - JRPG Battle Theme

[mattmatrice]

Decided to make a JRPG battle theme. All feedback is welcome. 

[Ronald Poe]

Congratulations, you managed to remind me why I love JRPG music (especially battle themes) so much. I'm a die-hard Kingdom Hearts fan and was very satisfied with your professional sounding track within a minute. It kinda reminds me of Nobuo Uematsu or Yoko Shimomura (she's probably one of my biggest musical influences/heroes), only lesser. Got any tips for writing such a theme? Good job.

 

[mattmatrice]

@Ronald Poe 

Thanks for the kind words! It's an honor to hear someone say that! I'm glad that you really liked it. I put some good work into this one. Kingdom hearts is also one of my favorite games of all time, especially its amazing soundtrack. The only advice I can really give you is just listen to a lot of battle themes and the way they are composed (If you need some help look up a tutorial there are few good ones like from Schematist!)

Anyway, thanks again for the kind words it only helps me want to progress even more in my music!

 

[Ronald Poe]

Your very welcome. I also try to write battle themes (I use FL studio and Musescore) and usually for various characters (especially KH ones). I'm aware of Schematist and his guides but would like to hear from you (you're really good at this). 

Also would you mind judging this Xemnas boss theme I wrote (it's a little too atmospheric but I did it my way)?

 

[mattmatrice]

@Ronald Poe 

Hmm, that is actually inspiring me to make a video tutorial. I use schematist's guides occasionally (at least to help me get started with a composition).

So here's my two cents on your song. 

 

My first question is what kind of game is this meant for? I can personally see this in like a small mobile app RPG. 

Pros: Distinct tone throughout, interesting and unique sound

So my critique is  that you should mainly look at the dynamics of the song and how it progresses. Commonly, a battle song will open with an intro that establishes that a fight is about to occur. Usually it is upbeat and somewhat chaotic (listen to the Pokemon RPG battle intros). Preferably, I would recommend making markers throughout your DAW's timeline to shape how the song will play out and so that you can keep track of where your at and not feel too overwhelmed. (for instance: intro for 4 measures followed by intro melody for 8 on and on). A down part would also be recommended to place before the big chorus to sort of give that calm before the storm effect. 

The beat and melody seem a bit repetitive and stagnate, even for a battle theme. The beat you use throughout the song would be good for the intro, but I would change it up to a 4 on the floor beat or a something a long the lines of that. Format the song as if you were telling a story, I like to base my music off of how most music is formatted today. So for example intro, verse, bridge chorus, verse, down bridge, BIG CHORUS, outro. However, I don't stay true to that completely, because its videogame music, it just needs to be a be able to loop properly and set the tone. 

I think what this song desperately needs is a good hook. Whether it's  in the intro or the main melody. 

I would also work on humanizing the beat and melody. Right now it seems a bit robotic and stiff. The Rhythms for the drums and melody need to be a bit more conventional and inviting. I would also add a few more melodies or arpeggios under the main melody to add a bit more depth to the song.

Anyway, keep up the work man! More practice will only improve you over time.