Story
🎵 I spend a lot of time writing music, and usually I have some kind of story or image in my head while I’m working. Not this time. I wrote “Odyssey” months ago and honestly had no idea what it was even about. I was happy with the music, but I couldn’t come up with a name for it, so it just sat there. Finally, my wife listened to it and said, “This sounds like a voyage… an odyssey.” And I was like, “Oh yeah, it does.”
🎻 I’m particularly excited about the strings in this track. I’ve always wanted to write virtual orchestral music that sounds authentic - like it actually came out of a real orchestra - and I think this is the closest I’ve gotten. Over the years, I’ve found that realism comes from the writing, dynamics, and phrasing, and letting the melody breathe. But it’s not just about the strings. I figured out a while back that good complementary writing for brass and woodwinds makes the strings sound more realistic too.
🎶 In this piece, instruments are doubling and undoubling, weaving in and out to create harmony and subtle counter-melodies. It creates this rich musical mosaic.
Anyway, “Odyssey” taught me that not every piece needs a story before you write it. Sometimes the music just knows where it’s going even when you don’t.
🎹 Virtual instruments used: - Cinematic Studio Strings - Cinematic Studio Brass - Cinematic Studio Woodwinds - Cinesamples Harp - Spitfire Professional Percussion - 8Dio Taiko Ensemble