JezzaRoddy - Reimagining VGM 1

Thank you for taking time to listen to my submission. Here is a quick rundown on the information about this track (I will thoroughly write out my thought process after my introductory information):

Link: 

 Genre: Wanna-be Disney Orchestral/Epic

 Runtime: 3'00"

 Software: REAPER, Musio, TAL Noisemaker

 Inspirations: The following is the playlist I made as reference tracks:

Composition Jam Ref Tracks

 

 

The main one that inspired me in this competition was the track from Tsutey's death scene in Avatar.

Contact information:

 Email - jezza@jezzaroddy.com

X - https://x.com/JezzaRoddy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/jezzaroddy.bsky.social

 Overall, I tried to avoid the "home base" tones in each chord's base triad as much as I could. If I often used the 1, 3, or 5 from each chord, I feel like it would have felt too comfortable for a death scene. By emphasizing the 9, 11, and 13 of the chords, I could create this sense of longing for comfort. Roxas was losing someone he cared about, and Xion's death was imminent, so I wanted to be sure I could do whatever I could with the melodies to avoid that "at home" feeling.

However, I avoided making the music sound too melancholic, even with this being a sad death scene. First of all, the sound of the glass shards coming from Xion sounded very bright. Mixed with the melancholy or the feeling of imminent loss, the emotions I gathered from watching this scene were sadness yet a feeling of hope. There is a section in which Xion says she belongs with Sora, so her death shouldn't only be looked at as a loss but also as something to be gained.

Speaking of the SFX used for the shards, when trying to decide on a key, I listened to the sounds from the shards very closely and found that a Db lydian scale was the best match. There are times at which the "key" changes slightly (it felt like it switched to D minor but it is not so straightforward), so that is one thing that encouraged me to add in key changes at crucial parts.

0:00 Drone/sustain - Roxas is lost and confused, and I feel that a sustain in the low register conveys that emotion, which is why I chose to begin the piece this way.

0:18 - The beginning of the piano intro is synced to when Xion says, "…better off now…" Originally, I wanted to start the piece when her knees impacted the ground. However, after some experimentation, I felt like it was too jolting and that I needed to ease the listener into the piece. At the word "better," it felt like that was the best place to begin to put the piece into motion. The "b" syllable is very strong and has this assertive feel to it, so it made sense to begin the first phrase there.

 0:23 I used a descending run in the woodwinds to animate Xion's fall through the music. I could have used runs with other instrument sections but felt woodwinds matched her character best. The reason is that Xion has a small frame and cute voice, so the beauty of the woodwinds was the best match for her falling animation.

 0:26 The glass shards appear, so I decided I needed to compliment this with a glassy synth sound. I started with a preset for this SFX, but I adjusted the decay so that it sounded like a long release rather than using a sustain.

 0:50 To add in a build-up here, I doubled the low strings with octaves. This section needed that because Xion says, "I belong with Sora," and the camera pans up to the sky to foreshadow Xion's next destination. The SFX also slightly intensify in this part, so the music needed to follow in that same direction.

 0:59 Here is the entry of the solo soprano. My main inspiration for this was from Tsutey's death scene in Avatar (the first movie). By adding in a solo vocalist with long sustains, it really adds this forlorn emotion. By using the mod wheel, I managed to create this swelling that resembled wailing or mourning. Also, note the cellos backing the vocals. Again, even with the lower voices, I tried to avoid "home base" and decided to emphasize the 13 of the Db. This also works well because it is a 3rd away from the note sung by the vocalist.

 1:03 The pizzicato may sound a little joyful here, but that was intentional. The camera pans in on Roxas' hand touching the shoulder of Xion. With this in mind, I decided to add in something that would bring forth a feeling of brief comfort.

 1:09 The violas respond to the main melody in the piano and glassy synth.

 1:22 Here I added a solo flute to respond to when Roxas says, "Kingdom Hearts?" There are three notes in the melody, each one to represent a syllable from "Kingdom Hearts." Once more, I land on the 9 of the chord to create an unstable feeling. Roxas is asking a question, so the feeling of uncertainty is a good match.

 1:30 There is a slight buildup in this section. While Xion is soft-spoken in this part, her words are intense, so I felt there needed to be something in the music to match the message she is giving, specifically: "..but you can't let Xemnas have Kingdom Hearts."

 1:43 This sudden dropout was done to make space for Xion's final words. I made extra sure that the instruments cut out before she began to say, "Goodbye…" There are only sustains in the piano because we need to make extra sure that we are paying full attention to what Xion has to say. Any moving melody at this point would be distracting and disrespectful to the dying character.

 2:05 At last, one final buildup into the climax of the scene. Xion gives the most powerful words of all to Roxas, that is that he and Axel are her best friends. Even though this section is leading into her death, I felt an ascending pattern in the chord progression was appropriate because her words are uplifting and positive. She needed to give her all to tell Roxas these final words. Also, notice the key changes here for a brief moment to symbolize the brief moment of change in the conversation.

 2:18 This moment is big. Xion finally passes away, and Roxas yells out desperately, "No! Xion! Who else will I have ice cream with!" This big energy represents Xion's final breath. This was probably the most difficult part to compose for because there is such a mix of emotions. There is the sadness of losing someone you care about, yet there's also hope that Xion will be better off in her next destination. There is sadness in Roxas' voice, yet the SFX from the glass shards is bright and uplifting. With that in mind, I needed to make something big and moving, yet to still illustrate the negative feelings associated with the passing of someone close.

In order to accomplish this, I utilized half-steps in the melody, and, yet again, avoiding "home" as much as possible. In the low-register, there is also a section in which I used a descending motion (Ab-->G-->F), to create a feeling like something is tugging downward on the heart to evoke sadness. In the background is also a glassy pad (heavy decay with no sustain) to compliment the glass shards emitting from Xion's body.  

 2:26 Just how I did with the low-register, I used the trumpets to do a descending line for the same exact effect.

 2:37 This final chord before the outro does not resolve because there is no feeling of resolution in this scene. A close friend has passed away, and there is still too much left to do.

 2:42 In the outro, the only instrument is a piano. There is nothing else playing because I wanted the listener to feel like there is something missing here. It's the same exact thing Roxas is feeling at this very moment.

 2:46 The original scene did not have any SFX when Roxas was looking back on his memory of Xion, so I added chimes with an ascending to descending pattern to give that in-and-out feeling of when one recalls something.

 The very last three notes are a melody outlining a first-inversion C minor chord, but these notes are over a Db in the "bass" note. It ends there to further provoke that stalemate emotion. Again, Roxas has an empty hole in his heart at this point, and his mission is not yet over. The music needed to reflect this emotion, so this is why I chose to end the piece this way.

Final thoughts: Honestly, I've never played Kingdom Hearts, but composing for this cutscene has provided me a unique relationship with the game, and it leaves me no choice but to play the original. It's going to feel weird hearing this scene with the actual music, but I look forward to seeing what the pros actually do with this. 

Also, since I'm already composing for one video game and got picked up to join Gameoff 2024, I really feel like I didn't have the time necessary to make this track sound 100%. I gave it my all with the time I did have, but I would have loved to go back and truly polish this track.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the listen!

Love, 

Jezza Roddy