I've been kind of wondering when I'd actually get to composing something and, well, tonight was the night. I wasn't even planning on it, but I was sitting in bed and a little melody popped into my head and I figured I should just get to it.

After making the decision to go ahead, I immediately realized that it was indeed a good decision. The melody is exactly what I want in a first tune: it's simple. My writing typically isn't simple, as I consciously constantly try to think of what I can do to develop a part and make it more interesting even if it doesn't need any more development. Since that can make things very cluttered, one of the goals I set for myself before I started the blog was to let things stand and not make unnecessary developments. As I work on these songs, you'll be able to see what I'm doing, and if I go too far with something, you have my permission to tell me to stop. Remind me of my goal if things get too crazy!

Without any further ado, here is the first very very rough 21 seconds of my inaugural project for [Score.]! [audio http://scorevgm.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/forest-or-village-theme-1_draft1.mp3|titles=Forest or Villege Theme 1 Draft 1|artists=Gregory Weaver] As I was sitting down to write, I was hoping that my idea wasn't too much like an already published work. In fact, it didn't take me long to realize that I was imagining the airy flute sounds of Secret of Mana's forest music, even though I couldn't put my finger on how that melody went. Needless to say, I was happy when I realized that I hadn't copied it. Now, in hindsight, I think there is also an influence of all that Chrono Cross to which I've been listening present in the instrumentation...

Anyhow, I threw my ideas for the flute, the english horn, and the pizzicato violin and cello into Logic Pro in about 10 minutes and then fiddled for a bit. I then notated those parts and added the viola and bass in Finale 2010. Afterwards, I went back into Logic to sequence those parts I added and to tidy up everything just enough to have something to post.

What's next? Some immediate action items:

Tighten up the time. I did it enough so that it's passable, but I need to go over it again for sure.
Alter the beginning. It sounds weird to me. It may have something to do with the time, the flute's attack and release, and/or the tempo.
Add fills. Clearly there's some space that needs to be filled by the strings—I just didn't want to fill it tonight.
Review English Horn part. The ending is the big part I want to change up a little bit at the moment, but what I do will ultimately depend on what I have after I...
Expand. 'Nuff said.

Not a bad night of writing overall, I'd say. I have a simple melody to work on and develop and even have some other ideas saved for a later day (actually, that includes what was originally meant to be made the bridge of this track; unfortunately, it was too divergent from the apparent theme). Please let me know of any questions, comments, or suggestions you have for either my work or for my presentation of my work!

New Goal: Write something that isn't soggy with 4-bar phrases. Reference Chris Potter's"Hibiscus".