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Song of the White Dragon's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #1 | 4.600 | 4.600 |
| Creativity | #4 | 4.250 | 4.250 |
| Overall | #5 | 4.140 | 4.140 |
| Quality | #6 | 4.200 | 4.200 |
| Impression | #16 | 3.800 | 3.800 |
| Composition | #23 | 3.850 | 3.850 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The genre is somewhere between folk and orchestral.
This entire track was made entirely with my lyre (which I built myself last year!), a frame drum, and my own voice. I used two types of Mongolian throat singing in this track. The deep one is Kargyraa, which produces a tone that is an octave lower than the one you're singing, and Sygyt to make the high pitched whistle-like sound at the end.
I used a melody I developed improvising on the lyre. I actually strangely developed the melody when I was trying to reimagine ancient Norse music. But, because it's pentatonic, it works really well for an East Asian sound.
The last couple of measures where I repeat the main melody for the last time has a 4 against 3, which I feel really reflects the twisting and turning of a dragon.
Message from the artist
Thank you for listening! I feel like I put a lot of my heart into this one, and it's one of my favorite of my own compositions.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I wanted to take an approach where the dragon is a deity, emanating a supernatural fearsomeness to behold, and yet utterly majestic and benevolent.
The Kargyraa (low throat singing) is mighty like a dragon, and Sygyt (high pitched) fills the air with spirit. Since the theme is a white dragon in a game called "Azure Sky," I imagined this dragon as the dragon aspect of air. The simultaneous presence of both is meant to create this sense of scale, where this deity is this harmony of good things.
I wanted there to be a strong sense of sacredness and otherworldly power made manifest in the physical realm.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/alkan23/kaleoverlord-hymn-of-the-white-dragon
Soundtrack use permission
For game jams only
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Comments
By far one of my favorite submissions that I've listened to. Very tight composition both musically and thematically, and your vocal layering is on point. The only thing that I felt was missing was maybe some strong stings (swelling tremolo perhaps) at the climax to help add a little power. However, I could see how that could take away from the more folk aesthetic (which is also a really creative angle; I could hear this being an in-game folk song). Great work!
This is cool! I remember hearing the wip in discord. Really cool that its entirely live. Everything sounds so clean, and your vocals are great. Definitely one of my favorite entries so far. Very creative while also being a great match to the theme. Amazing work!
Super cool! I always find it so hard to get myself to use live instruments, so to see other people do it is honestly inspiring.
Great main theme, great instrumentation, great quality.
Great job!
A good microphone, practice, and using the metronome. A good mic for a good price is the Shure SM-57 - it's actually widely used in studio recording, often for drums. But it's key feature is that it has a very accurate signal, whereas other mics are more about how they color the sound.
So, for accuracy and quality, it's pretty good for a hundred bucks. You'll need a DAC to go with it. I've got a scarlet 2i2, but there are other models to look into. I'd have gone with the SM-57 first if I had known about its reputation over the past 60 years. SM58 is also solid.
Oh, thank you for the tips!
Also don't forget to sing in the car and practice changing pitch slowly so that you can learn to accurately land on the correct pitch without having to hear it. Practice singing what you're going to record so that you are prepared so you don't have to do too many takes, which gets really annoying.
Even if you don't sing now, learning to sing is a great, intuitive way to remember musical ideas. Record them on your phone to remember your ideas.
Oh yeah I've been slowly practicing singing for a long time now. This year I've actually joined a choir so I think I'm definitely improving much more lately (and if I had a bit more time, I feel would've been able to show this improvement more in this jam, but I barely had time to practice these harmonies and to record them).
Anyway, noted!
Wow this is so cool! Really enjoyed the vocals in this one, and the climax at the end!!
Impressive vocal control! Definitely one of the more unique pieces I've listened to so far. Great job friend. :)
I loved the vocals. It's so relaxing -- you have a wonderful voice! I also like that you used the pentatonic scale. I don't have much experience with vocal tracks, but I do know it's a lot of work to mix and master so many voice tracks, on top of singing of them. And all within 48 hours! Great job!
Your voice and vocal arrangement are brilliant, it’s so authentic and makes the whole piece feel so ancient and folkloric. You nailed the vibe.
it is SUPER impressive that all the noises are you personally! It is really high quality and felt very folky which is great!
Very nice composition! You did very well transmitting your feelings of the theme to your piece.
I was able to hear and feel almost exactly what you wrote in your fit the theme text before I even read it, so I applaud you for that!
The main advice I have is that there is some strange compression or volume changes when your voices come in to the mix. Its most noticeable to me at around 18s and 1m38s and it seems to mostly affect the lyre more than anything.
Thank you!
I layered the instruments, so one of the tracks isn't as loud so that it sounds more like there are multiple people playing the same instrument. I think that's what you mean? I did apply compression to the lyre, but I didn't notice any artefacts arising from compression.
I'll have to listen again, but I noticed the other tracks, esp the lyre dropping significantly in volume when some of the vocals come in.
Ah... I think I know what you're talking about now. Some of the strings on the lyre are quieter/harder to pluck at that volume, depending, so when it gets loud, that aspect of the instrument stands out. Compression already improved that situation, but it didn't improve it as ideally as it could have. Since I designed the instrument myself, one thing I've had to do is figure out the proper string gauges, and it ends up being more finnicky than expected.
Also... the top strings are gut, which I think amplifies that effect of needing accurate string gauge to get proper tension.
I love your unique soundscape! It's all well produced and the composition super duper matches the dragon vibes. I'd listen to this any day, this is good music!
Thank you very much!
Very good execution!
You are amazing ;)
Thank you!
Honestly, I didn't even know this is exactly the song I was hoping for with this prompt. Fits better than any entry I've seen so far, and sounds awesome too
That's high praise coming from a very strong entry. I am humbled!
Thank you! :)