VM’s Music
Take some notes
I’ve dedicated a lot of time to studying, playing, and composing music since I was a kid. While I don’t play music as regularly as I want to now, I hope that I can get back into it because it’s fun to make.
Music I’ve Made
Recently, I’ve started to dig up old pieces of music that I’ve made in high school & college to inspire me to make more. Eventually, I want to start independently releasing an album or two online.
BeepBox Compositions
BeepBox is a surprisingly versatile online music tracker made by John Nesky. It’s really fun to play with! I spent many hours covering some of my favorite songs in it while procrastinating on homework or chores.
2021-06-15: “Pixel Desert”
This was my first completed song in BeepBox when I was still figuring out all of its capabilities. Its A-B-A-B-C-B structure was inspired by country music.
2021-06-19: “Schein” (originally by Skaven252)
Skaven252 was the lead musician for Bejeweled 2 and Bejeweled 3, two of my most favorite video games. “Schein” was my favorite song in Bejeweled 2’s OST. I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt like this song would feel right at home in a cyberpunk Studio Ghibli-esque film.
2022-05-24: “Unreal Superhero 3” (originally by Kenet and Rez)
Unreal Superhero 3 is a keygen song, which was added to pirated software to introduce the software cracker(s) responsible for removing copy protections. If you want to learn more about keygen songs, I recommend watching Sam Sutherland’s video on keygen music. However, I heard about this song from the web series Battle for Dream Island by Cary & Michael Huang.
2022-05-30: “Ball Python”
Bossa novas are one of my favorite types of jazz songs. This one’s name comes from the curvy melodies used in both the A- and B-sections.
If you want to play this song yourself, you can download the jazz lead sheet.
2022-06-30: “Calm”
Picturing landscapes, scenes, or themes sometimes helps me find good melodies when making music. This one’s inspiration was “water level in a video game”.
2022-07-01: “Future Sight”
I wanted to try my hand at melodic drum & bass. This one doesn’t look as good in the BeepBox player because the piano melody occupies the same space as the chords.
The main drum part for this song has a hidden Amen Break.
2022-07-08: “Tech City”
If I recall correctly, the original “challenge” that I gave myself for this song was to only alternate between two chords. However, that got boring fast, so I decided to do more.
MuseScore Compositions
I’m not active on the MuseScore website that much anymore, but I did upload some compositions to my profile there. MuseScore (the application) still is my favorite music notation program for writing music; I used it extensively in my jazz theory class to write my assignments.
“Pi” - An Orchestral Deblacked MIDI (originally by TheSuperMarioBros2)
Black MIDIs were one of my hyperfixations when I was in high school. I was amazed by the composers’ ability to still make good music while cramming millions of notes into a single MIDI file. I also was a little jealous of how they had enough computer power to still play it with rolling piano software.
With enough patience, I separated the individual melodies, harmonies, chords, and drum patterns of my favorite black MIDI, “Pi” by TheSuperMarioBros2, and used MuseScore to put them into appropriate instrument parts. It still surprises me that I made this in high school.
“Waltz in Sixteen”
I made this original composition for my jazz theory class: the assignment was to create a song that uses an applied ii-V-I chord progression and sequential secondary dominant chords. While it’s my most favorite song that I’ve ever made, the piano part is incredibly difficult without three hands.
Waltz in Sixteen - Vincent Mercator by vm70
The applied ii-V-I is the G♯-7 C♯7 F♯Δ7 in measures 7-9 from the key’s major third, F♯. The sequential secondary dominant chords are in measures 10-13, using the ladder of B7 E-7 A7 to get back to DΔ6 at the end.
“Icy Breeze”: Winter Music for Orchestra and Viola Soloist
I wrote this piece of music for an art competition. I think I went too overboard with the non-functional harmony.
Music I Own
I also like to collect music from artists that I like; here are some albums in my collection.
I do not own the rights to any of these images. If you are the owner of one of these images and would like them removed from my site, please contact me.
“Soul of the Machine” – Various Artists (1987)
My sister and I went to a record store shortly after my dad set up his record player in 2021. When my sister found this album in one of the bargain bins, she immediately showed it to me because she thought I would like it; I did, and I bought it on the spot. This is the first (and currently only) vinyl record that I own.
This compilation album consists of electronic music songs made by musicians associated with Windham Hill Records. Unfortunately, my copy has pretty gnarly scratches on both sides, so it needs some help playing through all ten tracks.
“Wintergatan” – Wintergatan (2013)
Wintergatan is one of my most favorite bands; “Wintergatan” is their debut album. Not only do they document the process of designing their own musical instruments on their YouTube channel, but their folktronica songs are also really catchy. This album features several songs that the band uploaded to their YouTube channel, including their famous song “Marble Machine”. Personally, my favorite track on this album is “All Was Well”; the live version they played at the Victoriateatern is my favorite version of the song.