Play soundtrack
Tsuya - OST Jam 07's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #37 | 4.173 | 4.173 |
| Composition | #43 | 4.141 | 4.141 |
| Overall | #61 | 3.979 | 3.979 |
| Impression | #64 | 3.948 | 3.948 |
| Quality | #95 | 3.995 | 3.995 |
| Creativity | #224 | 3.639 | 3.639 |
Ranked from 191 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- The overall structure is nicely defined— I love how this opens with that absolutely beautiful flute/piano duet. The introduction of strings is nicely handled and feels sensible and organic, and it builds beautifully into the full statement. Very nicely handled, and has that sense of inevitability that is sometimes very difficult to achieve— excellent work. The C#/Db in the solo violin part at 1:46 does somewhat stick out to me. While I like the idea of increasing the harmonic complexity, something about this particular note doesn’t quite sit right to my ears— I think perhaps because it is at the top of the dynamic peak it pokes out quite a bit. Having said that, this is only a small critique insofar as I think a live player would certainly be able to pull it off by tucking it in a bit— to the extent possible it might be worth trying to get the sample to not make that note protrude quite so much— I certainly can understand *why* you’d like this particular note here (it seems to fit with the overall harmonic idea you’ve developed), the execution in the moment I think needs a bit of smoothing out. Your string writing sounds wonderful, and I think it could be further enhanced by trying to liven up individual string lines *as lines* rather than just chords. You’ve chosen lovely chords to go along with your melody, now try to use that structure as something that can be a framework for arpeggiated chordal textures in say, the cello, or “rocking” figures in the violas, etc. From a production perspective, I do feel like the reverb effects are a touch aggressive for my taste, especially on the piano. Having said that, I love some of the effects you’ve put on the piano, especially those that give it that “snap-back” sound. Very nicely implemented. I love how you bring up the overall density and dynamics after the violin solo, letting us seamlessly segue back into a more soaring string statement— I was expecting the piece to sort of die down after the solo violin section, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear such a nicely-rendered set of ideas here. Based on your notes, I can see how this illustrates that you could adapt your composition to the flow of the story. Overall lovely work that I think definitely achieves what you were attempting to execute!
Description
Orchestral song.
More detail on the page of the submission or in this Miro link:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKzVwkVc=/?share_link_id=923033516824
Message from the artist
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKzVwkVc=/?share_link_id=923033516824
Here is a Miro board with my thoughts.
thank you!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
Impermanence:
Examining the picture, we can see a little girl in a yukata smiling while holding the hand of what seems like a maternal figure (mom, grandma?), so immediately the theme in Japan (a country I would love to visit for its cultural richness and vistas).
I had some thoughts about the text theme "inside my world", and thought that maybe the bubble-shaped lady could be in the imaginative and boundless world of creativity of this kid.
But even if there is a lot of happiness with the girl smiling from ear to ear and the cute, drawn fish, bubbles, and algae, to me it's still reads as something quite tragic.
Bubbles are by essence, one of the flimsiest physical events that I can think of.
When formed they can seemingly pop randomly and almost immediately, and in the mind of a child, they just cease to exist.
They are the beautiful, but ephemeral, the physical manifestation of impermanence.
In a way, they are a good image for life itself, a fragile and provisional state of existence that we are all bound to.
This picture paints, for me, the beautiful imaginative world of a little girl who is, in a way, connecting one last time with a recently deceased mother/grandmother.
Tsuya:
A Japanese wake is called tsuya which means "passing the night".
I think having this be the starting event of this story would fit well both themes.
Saddened by the loss of her mother, the little girl tries to paint a colorful world with her mother on it but as she falls asleep, she gets transported into this dreamy world of her drawings, but now tainted by darkness.
But her mother (bubble lady) will show her the way to save her world, give her the strength to face her new life without her, and for one last time, show just how much she loved her.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/kevin-fernandes-878873752/tsuya-main-theme
Number of tracks1
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Lovely!
I appreciate the ending as the arrangement tapers off into strings and piano and then just piano.
Gives the track a real contemplative feel.
Thank you for taking the time to listen and leave feedback, really appreciate it!
Amazingly touching work and 10 times more amazing taking into account that this is your first orchestration!
The emotions you are showing in your music fit the picture perfectly.
You composed a very beautiful melody. I also like the storytelling, how the music becomes more dramatic and impactful by the middle of the track, how it evolves all the time and makes us feel different emotions. Also impressed by the thorough approach to elaborating the game story.
Just a Wow, great job :) looking forward to your next works :)
Super nice of you thank you for taking the time to listen and for the encouragement.
A lot of great feedback will hopefully help take this piece to the next level once the jam is over :)
Props on your creative interpretation of the picture theme, your bubbles metaphor makes a lot of sense. The track you have composed fits the story perfectly, it's captures the tenderness and sadness from trying to hold on to a loved one for just a little longer. The track feels so much longer than 3 minutes because it's packed with so many ideas that are constantly evolving. Congratulations on telling great story in one track, it feels like there's never a wasted moment.
Coming from you, I flushed ngl ahaha
Thank you I'm really happy you felt that way, this theme is an incredibly close one to my heart so it jumped out of the picture instantly upon seeing it for some reason. Thank you for the really nice feedback, I'm really happy my first composition did get the emotions I wanted across!
Am I psycho for thinking this would fit JUST nicely in a Studio Ghibli film?? Unbelievably good, so far the most emotionally crushing piece I've heard this jam. It'll be hard to trump this one.
OH god thank you that's a MASSIVE compliment! In my limited learning time, i did focus on modern japanese music theory which is heavily influenced by jazz, and of course Joe Hisaishi is one of the absolute masters that I went ahead and found analysis for as well as other Japanese composers.
Thank you, you made my day!
Decided to check out your submission because of all the discussion and ratings and HOLY do I understand why that is! For being only a month in this is undeniably amazing work! I can only dream of making anything this good lol. I can easily see this being in a cinematic film or a high end production game, this is some pretty great stuff!
Overall just a really well done and amazingly composed track, especially for being so new! I imagine some pretty big things for any of your future tracks, good luck on your music journey!
That’s all I have to say really, have a great day :D
You way too kind! Thank you for listening to it and giving your opinion!
Oof, what an emotional composition. When the strings came in, they got me making a face like you in your profile picture. I share everyone's sentiment in the comments that this is an amazing piece. I personally wanted the piano to feel closer but that's quite minor.
Great piece, dude. Kudos!
Thank you so much for the feedback, you actually gave me an actionable idea.
I think I'm going to put the piano closer and with less reverb at the start for the lullaby and slowly get it further from us and with more reverb, like if her mother's voice faded as we went through the piece. Thank you so much for that small feedback, it actually helped me realize i could do so much more to actually impress the theme and story into the music!!!
Yeah! It feels like it's in a good place with all the other instruments but sound kinda lonely in the beginning.
I thought the main theme was very compelling. I also liked how you took away the orchestration at a few points to add contrast. I think like what mentioned elsewhere, adding more expression to the strings would really make it sing. All-in-all, great work!
Thank you for the super kind words! Definitely revisiting this with all the feedback I got, I'm excited to get it better on v2 :)
I adore how much thought you put into the story concept for this, and it all comes across in your beautiful track!
I lack the technical knowledge to be able to describe everything, so the best I can do is comment on the feeling it gives, which is absolutely a sense of happiness, sadness, and melancholy like you described :3
Even though you didn’t have time to make other tracks as you had hoped, I feel as though the one you did encapsulates the whole concept of the story!
There’s a tender warmth to it that feels like a mother’s loving embrace while still having a solemn edge that hints at the sense of loss from the child, along with capturing the dreamlike/ephemeral nature of connection through imagination.
It certainly packs an emotional punch :3 I wish my first composition was as stunning as this! Instead, it was so bad I never had the guts to publish it xD I'm excited to hear what else you come up with!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really happy to hear about your feelings and interpretation, it gives meaning to this work really!
Can't wait to hear more from you too!
This is a really solid track, full of tragic emotion and great use of the orchestra to accompany the piano melody, sounds pretty nicely balanced too.
Thank you for taking the time to listen, rate and give me feedback :)
I can clearly picture this track as part of an emotional climax; it strikes a balance between sheer intensity and a calm melancholy. Stunning work!
You’re too kind thank you for your words of encouragement! Happy the emotions came out exactly how I wanted, I will check out your submission tomorrow too for sure!
Beautiful piece! The chord progressions are lovely, and your use of all the instruments and sounds from the orchestra come together very nicely. You nailed the emotion in the music, love the idea of a lullaby. (Bubble lady gave me a chuckle!) Your volume levels are pretty good too ;)
Thanks a ton for the kind review. I feel like the mastering has a lot left to be desired but happy if it suit you. Bubble lady was pure unapologetic creativity at work xD
Thanks for taking the time to listen, I really appreciate it and am happy that the theme came out right!
Love love love! Great harmonic language, great mixing. I talked to you about it already on discord but this is a favorite for me!
Melody on discord is it? Thank you so much for the very kind words. I really loved your work and I actually thought I had followed but didn't, so that's fixed!! Excited to hear more in the future for sure!
Love your Inspiration and the Lore you created! Also checking some terms in japanese shows that you searched deep! Nice orchestration, that was a pleasure to listen to!
Thank you for the encouragement. Much to learn still, you guys blow me out by how talented and masterful your work is!
This is gorgeous! Sounds straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie. Love the orchestration, and the way you weave the theme in and out of the other sounds is lovely. Amazing work!
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my entry! Really appreciate it and thanks for the feedback, couldn't be happier!
I really can’t say anything. This is truly perfect. I wouldn’t recognize that this was synthesized if heard elsewhere. I echo the thoughts of everyone else here. Genuinely professional, breathtaking, and beautiful. Amazing job!
Wow that's super nice thank you so much for your feedback! Happy it resonated with you!
Yeah, this has both feet firmly in the Ghibli vein. Great job with this track.
I dunked completely ahahah. Thank you, I did study breakdowns of japanese music theory and some specifically of Joe Hisaishi to understand why his work is a masterpiece. I'm not even close, but using some quartile voicings, jazz chords with added color notes and things like that really helped sell the emotions I wanted to convey, with the same aesthetic. So it's a big compliment thank you!
This is professional level production. Wow! Great theme, great movements
Wow that's really kind of you thank you!
Amazing work! The way the main menu grows into a climax is something you don't really see often in these jams. I also love the harmonies! Super great writing!
Thank you for the kind feedback :)
Main Theme - Really amazing dynamic range, and that big transition is dream-like! Semi-sounding Ghibli/Modern LoZ like in that intro while that drop sounds like a big major emotional scene happening in you eyes, like an epic emotional Marvel Movie scene happening.
Hella Nice work!
Really happy you liked it, thank you for the comment on the track itself too!
This is a track I'd expect to hear from a person who has spent years composing this kind of music, and you're telling me you're a month in? That's just unfair!
Ahahaha thank you for the incredibly kind words! I do listen to µGame and Movie OST almost exclusively for the past what 15 years, and I'm in my thirties so it's pretty easy to learn something new and get some basic understanding in a short time with that passive listening probably!
But I'm really happy, everyone seems to enjoy it even though it's far far FAAAAR from flawless so I'm super stocked to keep learning!