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Dance of the Fireflies's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Impression | #13 | 4.233 | 4.233 |
| Composition | #20 | 4.267 | 4.267 |
| Quality | #21 | 4.300 | 4.300 |
| Overall | #28 | 4.100 | 4.100 |
| Creativity | #29 | 4.100 | 4.100 |
| Storytelling | #97 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
👋 Thanks for stopping by! "Dance of the Fireflies" is a symphonic, artcore styled score, meant to be played in order of "Led by Light" -> "Awakening."
https://soundcloud.com/wtlo/sets/dance-of-the-fireflies
NARRATIVE
The story follows Mara who sets course one sunset across the calm sea, noticing a firefly appear and circulate her boat. More begin to amalgamate, seemingly guiding a path. As she passes into water now still, the fireflies cluster and a purple glow luminesces underneath. Sea creatures circling beneath by the dozen. To Mara's surprise, they begin to surface into flight following the fireflies. She's taken by the beauty, watching them fly high away.
PROCESS
The summer night inspired writing some sort of 'firefly' narrative, so started depicited as little metallic harp sounds over strings, then develops through upbeat, cinematic style. Change and activity is intended to happen a lot throughout the score, starting with a melody and motif which is revisited throughout, ending on a brass fanfare.
Started as one song, didn't have enough time for another actually so broke it up around climax into its own song - the two map to plot points. The tone ended up inspired by Final fantasy, which I hope fits a more reflective vibe.
I was almost not going to submit, but after pulling the all nighter, I'm grateful some things feel they came together and lessons from the piece. I've tried similar palette before, but the brass harmony was experimental (was tricky to find ways to add syncopation). I was super scared about balance but seems better with more rested ears. With more time, I'd maybe try some slower shapes, and more brass ideas, and have a more filled in orchestration at the climax.
Hope you enjoy and any feedback is of course welcome!
Best of luck on your entry, I look forward to seeing everyone's! :)
(Composed in Fl studio (Orchestral Tools, Cineharp, Alicia's Keys), cover made in Sketchbook Pro)
Theme
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/wtlo/sets/dance-of-the-fireflies
Number of tracks2
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
The orchestration and rhythm are really well done in this composition! I’m really glad I didn’t miss it (this is probably one of my last ratings).
Aw thanks!
I loved the energy in your tracks. Super bouncy and catchy, with some really interesting chords being used. Imagining the fireflies as little harp sounds is a very creative interpretation too. I'm glad you were able to submit for this jam, thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much :)
The urgency of Led by Light had me on the edge of my seat. I love all of the bursts of colors, bristling textures, and the mercurial melodic material. What an exhilarating ride, and a real breathe of fresh air. You create a fantastic portrayal of all the creatures swirling below, then emerging from water, taking flight. Your music evokes a breathtaking scene! I would love to hear more.
This comment made me smile before, thanks for sharing :)
Very pretty, nice submission, short and sweet :)
Thanks!
Having the fireflies be represented by little metallic harp sounds over strings is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for when relating the composition to the theme!
I like how energetic and frantic it sounds without coming across as dangerous too. It finds a good balance.
Glad you enjoyed thank you!
Came to check this out real quick cause I remembered that someone recommended this submission in the server, it was probably IndieKev. This is so well orchestrated!! The chords and sound layering sound nearly professional, I could imagine hearing this in a Philharmonic or Symphony, perfect for a professional level ensemble or highly advanced youth ensemble. Hope this submission does well, amazing work!
Wow super nice to hear this, thank you! :)
Led by Light: I love the way the harmonies you use relate to each other. They don’t really follow classical progression structures and instead they flit along where they want. This effect gives a whimsical and light feel to your track. This is quite impressive and I am curious as to how you go about writing this style of music? I often will sing melodies to start my compositions, but it seems like that approach would not be very easy here.
Awakening: I closed my eyes listening to this one. It reminds me of a Fantasia-style animation score where the music is completely scored to the events on the screen as a lot of things are happening in rapid succession. You have a unique style that captures and maintains my attention and is quite descriptive, which is sometimes challenging to do. I’m really glad you decided to submit! Thank you for sharing!
Wow this means so much to hear thank you!
I try to make a lot of fragments, and go organically, based on pieces that fit together over beginning too much with structure in mind (that's something I try to work on, so it's cool actually you heard that with the structure!). It really helps me to find music I feel really inspired by or want to write like, then just try to figure out in the DAW what kind of chord their using, etc, just something small then vary it - I try to make a bunch of fragments, then see how they fit, which can help a lot with structure. It can take a super long time before something sticks, so I try to come up with as much as I can until things start to find a way to connect with each other. I really like any note that's short, so the sample being precise, can let us keep adding notes that come through in the mix. Definitely listen to cynax/artcore for fast moving harmony changes! (I also try to listen to a lot of action music in films and games, so there's a lot of experiments and styles I try to test out)
Hope that's helpful for the question, thanks again :)!
Yes it is! That is such an interesting way to think about music. It’s so cool to see so many different strategies and the awesome and varied results that come out of it in the end. Thank you so much for sharing the insider scoop!
Wow this is amazing. My favorite submission so far!!!
Aw thank you, super touched! :)
Fantastic mix, fantastic work.
Great storytelling as well. The latter half of the last track I think was also the best, and it really sold it overall for me. Great work!
Really appreciate it, thank you!
The composition is rich but not cluttered. The story is also simple but a nice image.
Appreciate it!
Very nice arrangement there is alot of things happening, without even reading the description I could tell the storytelling through the music, the mix is fantastic everything is very fluid. Well done, fantastic work.
Really nice to hear this, esp narrative, thank you!
probably the best one I've heard so far, my ears are in ecstasy. The racing piano and violins staccatos kinda remind me of Sky: Children of The Light OST
Wow thank you! I'm a big fan of Sky too, I'm totally honored
This is incredible! Really love your composition, I love how bouncy and free the piano feels in Led by Light
Means so much ;v; thank you!!
My beloved, everything is perfect from start to finish. You are always my number #1 spot and I hope I can someday reach that level of incredible composition. Literally perfection!
So sorry - saving your posts to reply for decades ;^; managing lots but super appreciating everything wow!
What an incredible submission. Only two songs but it leaves such a strong impression! The creativity in these pieces as well as the way it managed to completely paint a picture of the story, complementing the art is incredible! Great submission!
Really nice to hear this thank you so much!
Damn, I love this! Both songs sound amazing. I really wish I could write fast-paced pieces like this. Congrats on the incredible work!
Thanks so much! Check out Cynax or Artcore if this style interests you! He has some livestreams can help to see how he composes
I will definitely check those out! Thank you so much.
Yes!!! Yes!!! Everything in Led by Light tickles my brain in all the right ways this is so satisfying to listen to god. The way it jumps around both rhythmically and harmonically is just goals for orchestral stuff tbh.
Awakening is just more peak. Every chord is so good I'm.1`,;hhhhhhhh Very cool and AWESOME and cool submission :)
This means a lot thank you haha!
OH SHIT THIS IS FIRE I LOVE the complexities of the CHORDS
Aw haha thanks!
excellent! led by light and awakening sound very triumphant and energetic
Thanks!
The harmonic development was just awesome in Led by Light. I think some more percussion (I'm thinking some Taiko hits) during the bigger moments would elevate it even more. Awakening was a good continuation of what you set up in the previous track. Would have loved to hear more, but you were under a time crunch haha. Great work!
Really appreciate it! Def great suggestion taikos - I wanted thicker orchestration, but yes ahaha most of the structure came last minute.