Play soundtrack
Matchsticks Burn Short's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composing Quality | #8 | 3.944 | 3.944 |
| Overall Uniqueness | #13 | 3.944 | 3.944 |
| Listenability | #16 | 3.611 | 3.611 |
| Overall | #16 | 3.653 | 3.653 |
| Mixing Quality | #18 | 3.111 | 3.111 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Link to Streaming Service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blb4qSGqxBY
Description
I was already planning on making a song during this time and the jam just happened to be here so I wanted to submit to it. The first part of the video details the original purpose of the song so you don't need to worry about it. Just the song part is needed but I wanted to have the video since I like making visuals for the music. My thought process is detailed in the video. The theme of the jam also just happened to line up with the song I was going to make so that was a nice coincidence.
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Comments
Sounds great! I love it when songs have bongo solos (Battle from the Land of the Lustrous OST has an amazing one) and it really added a lot to this piece! Awesome job!
Thank you so much!
very n64 vibes on this one!! echoing what others have said about the mixing to add more of a sense of fullness, but overall i really love the instrumentation and composition choices on this one. the bongo solo added a nice variation in dramatic tension which was great
Thank you
Hi Jofes! What a fun track! I thought the instrument choice and usage was really nice. I would roll off some of the highs from the horn and maybe experiment with panning a little more. The guitar comes in on the right and plays off the horn which is front and center- It would be cool if you panned the horn to the left to balance that out. But that's just a small little section. Great work!
thank you!
This has a nice old school vibe to it. It definitely works.
I think what I would adjust is some of the volumes, panning, and overall sense of space with the music, giving the vertical arrangement more balance (i.e. basses, mids, and trebles). Towards the end, the trebles get a little harsh and grating, like maybe it would be good to EQ them down.
As Pixcele mentioned, they started to mash together a bit. I can kind of hear what you're going for with the ensemble effect, but I think to really bring out what you're after, I'd try to adjust the volumes of things.
The Spyro soundtrack is one I really like from that era, and it still definitely achieves a lot more balance of the sound on the ears, a nice sense of space, and softening things up with reverb:
Overall, your composition is quite good and works really well to convey that old school game vibe. I think the balance in sound, and mitigating some of the harshness is something I'd work at a bit.
I hope this helps, I definitely like where you're going with your composition!
Thank you for the feedback!
Good stuff! The bongo solo is a nice touch :D and it transitions nicely into the latter half of the track, which sounds quite epic overall. I feel like the guitar(?) that mimics the main melody at around 1:27 and 1:43 is a bit too loud/sharp on the ears, and making it a bit more subtle would make it fit better. Other than that, very fun track to listen to :D
Thank you!
Yeah that definitely stood out to me upon listening to the song in my car. It didn't seem so loud when I was making it for some reason.
The Matchsticks seller won
Good dynamics, rising greatness at the beginning and FIRE AAAAAAA
...I liked it)
Thank you so much!
The other song my friend is making hasn't been released yet which is why my video is still technically unlisted. But I appreciate the compliments!
This reminds me a lot of the N64 era of video game music, and I think your arrangement and variety in your instruments here is really strong! I the mixing needs some work, as a lot of the instruments feel like they are similar volumes and they kind of mash together, experiment with things to making your melodies or these fun drums stand out more! Nice stuff tho :>
Thank you!
In the second half at least the instruments mashing together was semi intentional since I wanted the song to feel really full and dense. That’s why the brass, the tubas, and the choir all play the same notes in that part. I really wanted it to feel heavy if that makes sense.
Absolutely! Finding the fine line of creating a strong instrumental blend but also having each instrument stand out can be a bit difficult, one way you can help create that heavy effect can be experimenting with having those instruments all play elements of the same chord but in different registers (think of how in a large strings section the violins still can play notes in the same chord as the cellos but they wont be the same pitch) to help broaden that sound, because what i mean my mashed together is that since so many different instruments are playing the same notes in the same frequencies it can make it a bit muddied to the listener, take for example how the opening shots in Decisive Battle II from Octopath traveler sound super heavy, with a lot of that being the size of the chord and how much each instrument stands out creating a richer more dynamic texture. Hope this makes sense, still good work i just wanted to clarify what i was saying more :)
Got a really fun vibe, like your OST jam tracks!
I agree with what others mentioned about tweaking dynamics and the mix, but compositionally really melodic and groovy track!
Thank you so much!
This is interesting one! Nice arrangement and instruments, fun to listen, great work=)
thank you!
The great instrumentation choice and writing definitely says classic nintendo. The percussion like hand drum and bongo sell the vibe. I do agree on more dynamic shaping to enhance it, but the melody and composition are very nice as is!! (PS also a big fan of the stacked fourth opening)
thank you!
apparently the stacked fourth opening is a big hit! I was a little worried that because it sounded sort of dissonant that people wouldn’t like it.
KaS pointed this out as well - the stacked fourths at the beginning were very nice and brought a lot of oomfph to the introduction! my only thing is mega nitpicky and has to do with dynamics - some dynamic shaping (i.e. making some parts rise and fall) could add another level of intensity to your piece and could even symbolize the growing and dying of fire as it ages. the visual was a nice touch, and the sound effect at the end of blowing the match out really pulled it all together!!!
Thank you!
The blowing out at the end was one of the first things I thought of when thinking of the piece so I’m glad you liked it!
I hadn’t thought of that idea wi to the dynamics to symbolize the fire! That would have been really neat! I do like the song as is now since it’s supposed to be an intense boss fight but I’ll keep that in mind!
Love the ascending fourths to start. Boss theme vibes. Love the choir and percussion. Love how it moves from the darker section to a more triumphant section (fitting of a boss theme). Great work!
Thanks a ton!
I was really happy with the shift from darker to lighter especially since the key never actually changes. It just uses E flat major and it’s relative minor (I think I used that term right)
Beginning reminds me a bit of Ganon fight in Ocarina of Time for the sound palette, the bongos is a funny touch, I just think for the mix it needs more punch to, its a bit weak imo but the composition and arrangement fits very well your idea its well executed, good job !
thank you!
So you say the Bongos needed more punch? They were a very central part of the song which is why I gave them the solo. I think a reason why it might sound like it doesn’t have a ton of punch sometimes is because of the velocity and type of hit I used.
Some of the bingo hits sound more like slaps for diversity along with different hit locations. The velocity was also semi-randomized in order to give the bongos as much of a realistic feel as possible. As such some hits hit softer as though a real player just happened to hit it softer that time.
No, I meant the overall percussions need more punch.
This sound to me like a final boss theme of a classic JRPG, love it
Thank you! I wanted it to sound like a boss theme so that's good!
The first 25 seconds of my video are unrelated to my song. I made it with the intention of doing a little competition with my friend but he hasn't finished his song yet so the beginning of the video for my entry is explaining our competition. The actual song starts at 0:25 seconds