Silk Brocade

kristyjo

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Description

This is a longer piece in the "not quite ambient, not really electronica" category. It's written completely with the midi synths from GarageBand and JamPacks. It's also done completely in the 'do' pentatone, giving it the Asian flavor for which the title was named. I've been very busy with school music projects and end of year deadlines, so I haven't had a chance to post very much. This is the type of piece I could keep tweaking forever, but I thought I'd post it now, and let you all comment to see if there are particular suggestions that would improve it.

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Song Stats

Hits: 1432
Comments: 39
Fans: 14
Plays: 173
Downloads: 84
Votes: 2
Uploaded: May 06, 2007 - 08:36:06 AM
Last Updated: May 06, 2007 - 10:02:01 AM Last Played: Nov 14, 2009 - 01:22:58 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Song Actions

Keywords:

pentatonic (10), kristyjo (7), electronic (372), ambient (613), synth (308), Asia (27)

Hardware:

Powerbook G4 (almost at its limit with twelve effected tracks.)

Software:

GarageBand with JamPacks

Comments

Henke

Henke said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Well DOne!
You have created some very listenable music here. I am not the one to give detailed critique on this, I do not know anything/enough of this pentatone music, I just sit still and enjoy! I instantly did think of Kitaro and his albums Silk Road, one of which I own and like. An inspiration of yours? (His website is http://www.kitaromusic.com/ if anyone is interested.) Thanks for sharing (a sure DL)!

Check out my latest song called Heading for Alpha Centauri (mj space race 2009)

kristyjo

kristyjo said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Thanks for your kind comments
I don't know Kitaro, but I thank you for the link so I can go and hear some of that music. I have been doing a bit of experimenting in this style of music, and don't have many finished products that reach the standard I feel they should be at to post, so I appreciate your comments on this piece very much.

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

mvh9591

mvh9591 said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Nice sound scape_____
Kristine you put this together well. I enjoy a synth breakfast now and then and you delivered. The layers are kind of synthetic but not un- pleasing. This reminds me of some of my new age music I made some years ago with an old Yamaha DX7. Thanks for taking me back there for a moment.

I enjoyed and thanks for sharing,

mvh : )

Check out my latest song called Maggie Rodriguez tribute

kristyjo	kristyjo said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Thanks for listening. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Glad you came to listen. The sounds are quite candidly synthesized on this piece, as you point out. I'm still working to get some warmth and emotion in the midi instruments, and that may take me a lifetime to figure out! Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

	said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Gong Show the huge gong is SO awesome - i love your stately creation! it's a wonderful exotic dish - delicious to the ear. anne

kristyjo	kristyjo said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	I love the gong, too. I have a Nepalese gong that my son just used for a percussion ensemble at school. It's nice, but I still like the big sound of this software gong for this piece. Thanks for coming over and listening. I also appreciate the time you took to make comments. See ya round! Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

composerclark

composerclark said 931 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

sounds authentic to me
Very nicely done, Kristine! You've managed to acheive what sounds to me like a very authentic oriental feel.

This isn't a criticism or even a suggestion, but I noticed that the instrument you use when the pentatonic melody comes in (it has a quasi-plucked string quality) has a fairly prominent overtone that, when it plays "la" in the pentatonic scale (do-re-mi-so-la) sounds like a major third above the fundamental note, so you get the unexpected sound of a "di" (i.e., do sharp, in this case an F double sharp) over the "la" (D#)... if that makes any sense. At least I think that's it (?). I would guess it's the sort of thing that you can't change (even if you wanted to, which I don't think is necessary), but it is slightly disarming, or interesting, depending on how you look at it!

Good to see you back and posting again!

Check out my latest song called Scarlet Nightfall

kristyjo

kristyjo said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Thanks for listening!
I always enjoy getting comments from you. To be honest, I didn't even notice that particular overtone in the mix until you pointed it out (My student teacher says emerging research says that girls focus on fundamentals and boys focus on overtones when they listen, thus the reason more boys have difficulty 'matching pitch' than girls [also why boys think the music teacher is persecuting them, and the music teacher thinks boys are being stubborn] but I digress.) I'm not sure I could 'take it out' of there, because I'm sure it's caused by a sympathetic situation with one of the lower voices doing a pedal point (which I can't even hear on these speakers, by the way, and which may not even come through on the mp3 version I've posted.) I'm glad though, that you take the time to listen critically - that's one of the reasons I'm so pleased when I see you've left a comment on a song of mine. Thanks!

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

composerclark

composerclark said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Boys
If more boys than girls find it harder to match pitches, my theory would be that it has to do with boys being more reluctant to sing in general - my daughter's school choir has something like 20 girls and 5 boys, and we get an average of 40-50 young women auditioning in voice for admission into our School of Music, and maybe only 5-8 young men - and I think the more you sing, the better you get at matching pitch. Also, and this may be more far-fetched, but I think higher pitches may be easier to match than lower ones... not sure about that, but that seemed to be the case when I taught sight-singing (which I haven't done in something like 14 years, so I may be mis-remembering!).

Interesting discussion, though!

By the way, I agree with paul f. page's comment below about maybe stretching the ending out more--it felt slightly abrupt to me too.

Cheers!

---
ClarkRoss.ca is now welcoming visitors from distant planets -- Apply within

Check out my latest song called Scarlet Nightfall

Mystified

Mystified said 930 days ago (May 7th, 2007)

overtones...
I'm so glad composer Clark can articulate Music Theory--because even though I have a degree in music, I can't carry on an intelligent discussion about Theory--I just know what I hear! (Is there something somewhere that talks about how people who struggle with Mathematics also struggle with Music Theory?)

Anyway....I, too, heard that overtone upon first listen yesterday and thought how cool it was that you employed that device! I can never remember the sequence of overtones, but it's always a very intriguing thing to listen to--especially in the context of Oriental music.

I really like this composition, Kristy--it's a lovely, rich tapestry. Glad to hear you posting again, too! :)

Check out my latest song called Father Time

kristyjo

kristyjo said 929 days ago (May 7th, 2007)

Misty - glad you stopped by
I actually taught freshman theory for three years in the recent past. About half of my class one year was math majors trying to get a fine arts requirement in, and music theory would do it for them. They could write exercises like crazy, and everything was always correct. One of them said he treated theory like 'math you can hear', and the theory rules like mathematical formulas. Hey, it worked for him. I still have trouble hearing that overtone in this piece, but in a reworked instrumentation, It stuck out so much that I changed it, because it bothered me so much, since it never resolved. Thanks for commenting. I'm always pleased to know musicians I respect have enjoyed one of my songs!

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Doadars Uncle	Doadars Uncle said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Silky! Rich expansive feel. Nicely captured cultural feel. Pleasant ambience. Peace, Doug Check out my latest song called Capitalist's Drag

kristyjo

kristyjo said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Thanks for stopping by
I debated the title I gave this, because it DID feel 'bigger' and more expansive than 'Silk Brocade', so my husband suggested, "The Japanese Fleet Sails Out of Hitokappu Bay" (That's where the Japanese set off from to bomb Pearl Harbor.) What a kidder. After that suggestion, I decided to just leave the title alone, but thanks for listening, noticing, and commenting.

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

	said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Dusk... ...on the Old Silk Road... Nice ambience. Very evocative...I really enjoyed when the melodic part kicked in...so Asian sounding...Love the cymbal work...like gongs in the distance...This is a very nice composition Kristy. Kind of new gae cinematic...contemplative... Be well!

	said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Arrrggh! That's supposed to read: "new AGE cinematic..." --- "We are put upon this earth a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love." (William Blake)

kristyjo	kristyjo said 929 days ago (May 7th, 2007)
	Thanks for stopping by I'm glad you enjoyed the Asian sounds and the gong sounds were appropriate. Sometimes I think I use them too much, but they're just so much fun... This kind of music is beginning to come easier to me as I work on it. Thanks for your positive comments. Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

paul f. page

paul f. page said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Smoothe as...
...Silk. I am a big fan of the whole tone scale. It's hard to go wrong no matter what you play! You've done a really fine job sustaining the general flavor of this composition from its first note to the end. I imagine a rather grand landscape, perhaps inside a Buddhist temple with lots of gold and jade and candles and incense. Very grand, very peaceful, very prayerful. My advice: just leave this completely alone. You have done such a superior job on it.
Paul
(one minor suggestion: take a v-e-r-y long fade at the end. It seems just a bit abrupt. You can sustain the feeling even further with about 30 seconds of very VERY gradual drift-off. ... Otherwise, what a delight this piece is.)

Check out my latest song called Double Etude

kristyjo

kristyjo said 929 days ago (May 7th, 2007)

Oh no...
You've revealed my secret! Any pentatonic scale avoids those clashes of half steps. That's why it's used a lot in music education when we do ostinatos or improvisation - Any pattern sounds decent on the xylophone as long as the player sticks to those five tones. I appreciate your description of the grand landscape. I can see it, too, now. I appreciate your comments, and you may note that others feel that last note should be sustained a bit longer, as well. It's already done, here at home. Maybe not worth a repost, but definitely an improvement. Thanks for listening!

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Roxylee	Roxylee said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)
	Very pleasing to the ear I have no idea what a do pentatone is, but this sounds very pretty and mysterious, but calming. It reminds me of the _Come to the Quiet_ album by John Michael Talbot. Very cool ssounds, Kristy. Check out my latest song called Sweet Grace

kristyjo	kristyjo said 929 days ago (May 7th, 2007)
	Roxy - I'm always so glad when you listen to a piece I've written, and then leave those wonderful, uplifting comments. I used to listen to a lot of John Michael Talbot, but that was when I was listening to LPs, so it was awhile ago. Maybe his music was a subtle influence on this composition. i'm glad you enjoyed it! Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Enrique Gil

Enrique Gil said 930 days ago (May 6th, 2007)

Hi Kristy: Nice and misterious.....
like the Far East seems to me....also rather excited on my upcoming trip to China in a couple months, my first real time experience with that Country, besides Chinese food. Very interesting and very different from Western music, as different from Bach as it can be, yet also beautiful. To my amateur ear, your piece sounds fantastic! You have not posted in a while and I hope you are able to do it a bit more often.Thank you for sharing.

Check out my latest song called Simple Feelings

kristyjo

kristyjo said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)

Thanks for stopping by
A trip to China? How wonderful! Of course, I'm sure the music will sound VERY different from this. The main Asian elements in this music are the 5 tone scale and the 'plucked' sound of the melody instrument. But those two elements by themselves are enough to suggest the orient to many of our amateur ears. I'm glad you enjoyed the music. Maybe when you come back, you'll be able to post some of your own musical expressions of China.

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

baki	baki said 930 days ago (May 7th, 2007)
	the crouching tiger and the hidden dragon this is the crouching tiger and the hidden dragon discussing the winds and playing with swords ;) Check out my latest song called On the Other Side

kristyjo	kristyjo said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)
	the crouching tiger and the hidden dragon Wow, what an intriguing picture to go along with the music! Thanks for listening and for your comment. Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

michael2	michael2 said 930 days ago (May 7th, 2007)
	very nice. i really like this. i have no critiques: sounds are all very synthetic but perfectly chosen, i love the windchimes. what did you use for that? a really beautiful piece. thanks for sharing. Check out my latest song called Behind Enemy Lines (w/Bud and Particle Dots)

kristyjo

kristyjo said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)

Thanks for listening
I'm glad you liked the windchimes. They are part of the orchestra drum kit that came with the orchestral instruments jampack. There are three variations on the chimes, including ascending, descending and general wash of sound. I think that deep inside, I'm really an 'auxilary drum parts' person, because I really enjoy playing around with that stuff. Thank you for your kind comments.

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

michael2	michael2 said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)
	now all you need is to find a jampack with a galss harmonica included. Check out my latest song called Behind Enemy Lines (w/Bud and Particle Dots)

Bowman

Bowman said 929 days ago (May 7th, 2007)

Certainly has an Asian feel to it.
What's curious is that what we regard as asian or at least what I do is greatly filtered and homogenized by western composers especially film composers. When you hear "raw" asian or Chinese music it can be a little difficult to get into even unsettling.
This is a graceful composition and a wonderful suggestion of Asian music. The ending is a little abrupt would have liked to to linger on a bit more. Still I liked it quite a bit.
Best,
-Bowman

Check out my latest song called The Orion Express - MJ Space Race 2009 by Bowman

kristyjo

kristyjo said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)

Thanks for stopping by, Charlie
I agree, what I have here is 'Asian lite', and is definitely a western composition. I used to get very uptight about authenticity of style, instrumentation, form, and purpose of any music outside of my own culture. That's great for the 'musicologist' in me, but for the composer side, I've started to loosen up a bit, and I consider ALL of my music a fusion of genres and styles, rather than an authentic expression of any other musical culture. I'm glad you found it graceful, and as for your suggestion to lengthen the ending, I agree, and although I won't repost it, that change has been made on my master file. I appreciate your thoughtful comments!

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

branchgraft	branchgraft said 929 days ago (May 8th, 2007)
	very ...relaxing... whimsical in the sense that we westerners imediately identify the descending tone patern with the East.. I enjoyed the escape you created in this song... dreamy yet held my attention to the end.. very nice Kristyjo Check out my latest song called Nuclear Sentry Rider

kristyjo	kristyjo said 927 days ago (May 9th, 2007)
	Escape - Glad I provided you with an 'escape route'. I'm really trying to work on getting an ambient style of my own going, so I'm pleased that you found this to your liking. Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Scott Carmichael

Scott Carmichael said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)

Good afternoon Kristine
I'm enjoying reading all the different comments from each seperate point of reference... from people I love by the way... I don't know much about theory, but I know my fretboard... and when my learned friends explain something to me I usually realise... "I knew that"...

but I do know that music speaks and transports, and that you gave me a little free trip to the orient this afternoon...

excellent friend

Check out my latest song called Good Morning

kristyjo

kristyjo said 927 days ago (May 9th, 2007)

Glad that you decided to come along for the ride!
With the prices for gas these days, it pays to travel in groups ;) It IS interesting to see the differing responses. That's one of the things I love about posting songs to this site - lots of ideas! I've incorporated the 'lengthen the end' into the piece already. I'm always glad when musicians I respect visit and comment. Thanks for stopping by!

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

rtcooper	rtcooper said 928 days ago (May 8th, 2007)
	PULSE Thank You. Cooper Check out my latest song called Intimate Anyway

kristyjo	kristyjo said 927 days ago (May 9th, 2007)
	Pulse- You're Welcome. Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

damiengh	damiengh said 927 days ago (May 9th, 2007)
	Panoramic Kristine, this is a really nice piece (peace). It conjured visions of travelogues of the east. Also, of majestic asian movie scenes. Maybe these kind of compositions could provide you some extra income. Lot of travel cable shows out there. Thanks for sharing your work, sounds great. Check out my latest song called Tea and Scones

kristyjo	kristyjo said 926 days ago (May 10th, 2007)
	Thanks for stopping by I like the idea of this being a little travelogue. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And, if you know of anyone paying for background music for cabel channel shows, please let them know I'd love to compose for them! Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

saymme	saymme said 651 days ago (February 10th, 2008)
	8 ) This I LOVE VERY MUCH...it's beautiful Kristyjo...don't know what else to say.... B E A U T I F U L tx for this lisseningexperience ! Love to You lenaxxx(xzoilol)

Grathy	Grathy said 625 days ago (March 7th, 2008)
	Ahhhhhhhhhhh Nice feeling here...very etherial and calming Check out my latest song called One by One the Petals Fall

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Artist Info

Name: Kristine Johanek

I've been performing, composing and teaching music for many years. I enjoy arranging traditional and classic pieces, and also enjoy composing original music. I'll write for whomever will perform my music, so I've written for children's choirs, co... [see more]

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Genre Info

Ambient music is a loosely defined musical genre that incorporates elements of a number of different styles - including jazz, electronic music, new age, rock and roll, modern classical music, reggae, traditional, world and even noise.

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