Guest Post: Original music inspired by It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

Today we have a very special guest post by our very own Snow Flower, everyone! 😀

If you know Snow Flower, you might know that she’s a drama fan who’s passionate not just about her shows, but about music too. I learned some time ago that she plays music, but I did not realize that she writes music as well – until she asked if I’d like to share her original IOTNBO-inspired music with my IOTNBO review (the review is here!)

Once I took a listen of her music, however, I immediately felt that these pieces didn’t deserve to just be tacked onto the end of a review; they deserved their own place to shine. Which is how this guest post was born.

I hope you guys enjoy listening to Snow Flower’s lovely compositions as much as I did!

~kfangurl

Thank you, kfangurl, for inviting me to write a guest post. I have been following this blog for a couple of years and I feel honored to contribute.

I will start with a couple of words about myself. I began taking piano lessons at the age of 6. I liked making up my own pieces, but I never bothered to write them down, and did not think of myself as a composer. Creating music was something I did for fun, and it was not part of my regular practice routine. In high school and in college I had to complete various assignments that did involve composition (such as harmonizing a melody or mastering the rules of 18^th century counterpoint), but I still did not think of myself as a composer.

A couple of years ago I turned to composition out of necessity, to meet the needs of the small church choir I was directing at the time. I was looking forward to attending a master class for composers of choral music this summer, but it got canceled because of the pandemic. So I went back to making up my own pieces on the piano, but this time I tried to imagine myself writing music for Korean dramas. I wrote one piece inspired by Crash Landing On You and another one inspired by The King: Eternal Monarch.

When I first read the description of the upcoming drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay I thought it was going to be another medical drama, but set in a psychiatric hospital. I usually don’t watch medical dramas, so I was not too excited. Also, I had no idea who Kim Soo Hyun was so I had to look him up. “Oh, so he was the alien from My Love From Another Star? I liked that drama, but did not like his haircut, so I am still not interested in his new drama” – this is what I was thinking in early June.

Then I saw the trailer and I was intrigued. This did not look like a medical drama at all, so I decided to give it a try. I liked the fairy tale angle and the whimsically artistic feel of the first 2 episodes. It was the ending of Episode 4 that made me think about music. I thought that the lighthouse scene was so beautiful and hopeful that I just had to write a piece of music and call it Lighthouse in the Rain. After a couple of false starts, I finished the piece in 2 days, recorded it, and posted the recording online. The response was very positive, so I decided to keep composing. Also, I needed to do something while waiting for new episodes, so composing a new piece for every 2 episodes seemed like good way to avoid anticipation anxiety. Here are my notes about each piece.

Episodes 1-2: Your Eyes

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/your-eyes

I composed this piece after I watched the entire drama. I wanted to complete the set, so I went back and re-watched the first two episodes. These episodes introduced our main characters Gang Tae and Moon Young and we saw their first encounters as adults. Their first meeting was a painful experience for both of them, but it also nudged them to take the first steps on the path of growth and healing. I knew from the later episodes that Gang Tae recognized Moon Young quite early, so I was trying to capture in music the moment when he saw his first love for the second time.

Looking in the eyes of this strange woman and recognizing the eyes of the strange girl he loved as a child must have been overwhelmingly painful for poor Gang Tae. He was also experiencing physical pain from the stab wound Moon Young inflicted on his hand. And yet he could not stop looking at her. It was reading Moon Young’s fairy tale The Boy Who Fed On Nightmares that helped Gang Tae to face his own problems with the hope of overcoming them.

Episodes 3-4: Lighthouse in the Rain

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/lighthouse-in-the-rain

Gang Tae and Moon Young continue to push each other’s buttons by saying some uncomfortable truths. They are also deeply affected by each other. When Moon Young was having a nightmare in Episode 3, she dreamed about Gang Tae comforting her and gave herself the butterfly hug that he taught her. In Episode 4, reading Moon Young’s story Zombie Kid moved Gang Tae to tears.

I thought the lighthouse scene at the end of Episode 4 was very emotional and beautiful. It made me think about two lost souls embracing each other in silent understanding after wandering alone for so long. They still have not found shelter from the rain, but they have found each other, and they have the lighthouse to guide them home. The musical piece does not have an easily identifiable melody. I chose to use broken chords to represent the shimmering light reflected in the raindrops. Many of the harmonies do not belong to the main key, and yet are drown to it, like our main characters finding each other despite their differences.

Episodes 5-6: The Cursed Castle

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/the-cursed-castle

The inspiration for this piece came from a comment I read online. The commenter mentioned how the push and pull between Moon Young and Gang Tae felt like a dance. I thought that this metaphor translated really well into music, so I tried to imagine what kind of dance would be the most appropriate for them. I decided that a waltz would fit better with the fairy tale vibe of the show rather than a tango. The great hall of the Cursed Castle seemed like the perfect location too! In this piece I tried to blend the eccentric with the melancholy. I also added some butterfly flutter and happy memories from a distant past to the mix.

Episodes 7-8: Smile

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/smile

The title of the piece is a verb in imperative form. I thought Gang Tae needed to allow himself to smile for real, and to express his true self. Moon Young also had reasons to smile in these episodes. By cutting her hair she was able to free herself from the shadow of her mother. She also found something that she never had before: a family.

I wanted the music to express purity, simplicity, and child-like innocence. I imagined what it would be for our characters to sleep in on a perfect summer day, and then find happiness in the most ordinary things.

Episodes 9-10: Missing You

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/missing-you

Gang Tae and Moon Young had some lovely moments of happiness on their day trip in Episode 9. I loved the purity and the innocence of their first kiss and was thinking about writing a piece inspired by that scene. But then I realized that my previous piece, Smile, already captured a similar mood. I started seeing the pieces as parts of a set, so I thought it was important to alternate between major and minor keys and contrasting moods. Episode 10 provided plenty of dramatic and sad scenes for inspiration. Missing You is an attempt to express in music the feelings of Moon Young when she realizes that she misses Gang Tae. The wide leaps in the mournful melody made me think of the feeling of loss and emptiness when trying to reach for someone who is no longer there.

Episodes 11-12: Happy Birthday, Juliet

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/happy-birthday-juliet

Simply put, this is my response to the birthday kiss scene in Episode 11. I tried to create music that was passionate, uplifting, and full of hope. There is still a little bit of fluttering anxiety in the middle section, but in the end I used the same music in a major key without the fluttering movement in the left hand. I thought this was a way to express the healing power of love through music.

Episodes 13-14: Shadow Cast By Butterfly Wings

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/shadow-cast-by-butterfly-wings

The inspiration for this piece came from the last scenes of Episode 13. The crude and creepy drawing of a butterfly in the middle of Sang Tae’s lovely mural had a very disturbing and unsettling effect on our main trio. I immediately thought of the poem “Papillons noirs” (Black Butterflies) by Belgian poet Albert Giraud. The poem is part of the set Pierrot Lunaire (Moonstruck Pierrot) which explores the themes of madness and melancholy. Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg set 21 of Giroud’s poems translated into German for his own Pierrot Lunaire. The German translation of “Papillons noirs” is titled “Nacht” (Night) and deals with giant black butterflies killing the light of the sun and slowly descending upon the hearts of men. I don’t recommend listening to Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire right before going to bed!

For my own piece, I tried to depict the unsettling fluttering of the butterfly wings combined with descending motion and darkening mood.

Episodes 15-16: Family Portrait

https://soundcloud.com/user-858010722/family-portrait

I loved the scene in the photographer’s studio at the end of Episode 12 and the beginning of Episode 13. I knew that I had to write a piece with this title for the finale even before I watched the last two episodes. I thought that old family videos and slideshows of family photographs were very similar to silent movies, so I tried to imagine myself writing music for a silent movie with a happy ending.

Silent movies were not really silent. During the so-called silent era movie theaters were hiring pianists and organists to improvise live while the movie was playing. I remember reading somewhere that there existed music books which contained various ideas and themes for the movie theater musicians. I chose a slow waltz with a simple melody and lovely harmonies as a warm and heartfelt farewell to a show that brought healing and hope in difficult times.

Closing Thoughts

I was not even planning to watch this show, much less write music inspired by it, but it happened anyway. I was enchanted by the fairy tales and the healing journey of the main characters. Following the show live and writing one piano piece a week was a healing process for me as well. I hope that fans of the show will be amused by this unusual tribute. I also hope that the music itself will touch the hearts of the listeners, even if they have not seen the show at all.

I am thankful to everyone involved with this drama: writer, director, actors, and production crew.

I am also thankful for the support I received from family, friends, and online listeners. Thank you again, kfangurl, for inviting me to share my music with the readers of this blog.

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9 months ago

Snow Flower have you seen the supposed classic mid 90’s Sandglass about two friends living through the tumultuous events of the 70s and 80’s? In any case, this from the OST–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0hw417i2GI

Snow Flower

9 months ago

Reply to BE

@BE, I never got to see Sandglass. It became available on Dramafever, and I wanted to check it out, but then Dramafever met its demise in October of 2018. I don’t know if Sandglass is still legally available for streaming. But I have heard the song before. It is a Soviet pop song from 1969, in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives in WW2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejtP8DbQQN4
Here is a version sung by the late great Russian baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky, with English subtitles.

I don’t know how a Soviet song made its way into a Korean drama, but I have seen many tributes and parodies of it in other dramas.

Snow Flower

9 months ago

Reply to BE

@BE, I have never seen Sandglass. It became available on Dramafever, but I never got to watch it, because Dramafever met its demise in October of 2018. But I have heard the song before. It is a Soviet pop song from 1969, a poetic commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives in WW2. Here is a version sung by the late great Russian baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky, with English subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejtP8DbQQN4

I have no idea how a Soviet song made its way into a Korean drama, and also Korean pop culture.

10 months ago

Loved how Moon Yeong’s face softened and transformed into something childlike the many times her face was washed over with a particular smile of love from its hard eyed ultra hip, sophisticated, and cynical. This piece represents the final part of that transformation well for me as I revisit it in my mind’s eye.

Snow Flower

10 months ago

Reply to BE

I like using chords and harmonies which do not belong to the main key, but I was consciously trying to avoid foreign chords in Smile, in order to achieve that pure, relaxed, and care-free mood of the piece. There are just a couple of dissonances in the piece, just enough to keep it from sounding too boring.

10 months ago

“The Cursed Castle” feels very much to me as from Moon Yeong’s pov, a wistful contemplation in one of her moods, laying on her side in bed, face on pillow, eyes on the camera, arms stretched out beyond the bedside–imagining this waltz with Gang-Tae, interspersed with various memories of them together. Lovely. Thanks.

10 months ago

Lighthouse in the Rain. You are right that it is not a song as such but rather, real sound track music. I would love to see the scene with this music scoring it. The feeling of the rain of course is the first thing you introduce, and I really like how it moves through the registers evoking mood and drama in their changes.

Snow Flower

10 months ago

Reply to BE

Lighthouse in the Rain is an attempt to create mood with just texture and harmony. Chopin, that piano poet extraordinaire, does it much better, of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lccVbc05AYA

10 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Thank you so much for this. I passed it on to a friend of mine living in Los Angeles; she is eighty-eight, a rather protien character, a poet, a community interfaith organizer, in two poetry groups, one book club, a weekly girl’s group going to classical music concerts, and general bon vivant, who alas has spent the last year recovering from a devastating automobile accident that initially left her paralyzed. Great courage; she could have easily given up, but has forced herself through a grueling physical therapy to the point that she is on her own now, largely taking care of herself. When we first started emailing, I would try to send her all sorts of music, but as time as gone by I have come to realize that quiet jazz and classical music, not my old pal Docteur Nico or IU is much what she wants to hear. So it has been Bill Evans, Art Pepper, Chet Baker on the jazz front, and pieces such as this, the second one you have linked me to, This week she is somehow via zoom celebrating Chanukah with friends and family, and, sad to say mourning the loss of an old friend to Covid. She emailed me back in sincere appreciation for how the balm in this piece washed over her.

Snow Flower

10 months ago

Reply to BE

@BE, feel free to sent her Lighthouse in the Rain, if you think she’ll like it.

10 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

I linked Jean to your soundcloud page. She listened to every piece and loved them.

Snow Flower

10 months ago

Reply to BE

Thank you!

10 months ago

I might have to make several posts Snow Flower. I think the thing I like about the first piece, “Your Eyes,” is that it does capture both the magnetism, the disquiet, and the almost startled drama in each character at that first encounter. I am tired; it’s late, and I just binged like crazy with this. I loved it, and will comment on K’s post when I get some of my thoughts together. I will listen to the others, and respond.

Snow Flower

11 months ago

@BE and @merij1,

Have you seen these drama fan sites?

For My Mister: https://givemeslippers.wordpress.com/

For Secret Love Affair: https://pianoconversations.wordpress.com/

merij1

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Whoa. That’s like stumbling into the elephant graveyard.

10 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

I started to read the transcript from one interview with Lee Sun-Kyun and IU about their enactment and takes on the other’s role. I think it was important that she so early on immersed herself in her character’s physicality and at the same time, she personally found the character of Dong Hoon so utterly admirable, so that even though she found her own character completely removed from her own personality, she found it quite natural to project Li Ji-An’s attraction to Dong Hoon. I have found it interesting following IU’s career in the interim how her interest in acting goes back to American silent film, Charlie Chaplin, and one can really see that in some of her videos in which she plays characters with both comedy and pathos. I thought she was great in My Mister, the best thing in it, which is saying something. But I have thought in other things not so much.

KFG said that folks have compared her character in Hotel del Luna to Seo Ye Ji’s role in this, but personally, I could not believe in IU’s character in Hotel, and quickly dropped the show. It was like one of those costumes she puts on, and with regard to It’s Okay, a problem for me with IU is that she still because of both her face retains so much of the girl in it and her slenderness, her skinny legs, seems so young, perfect for My Mister, while part of the compelling nature of Seo Ye Ji’s enactment of Mu Yeong was that she is a full bodied woman, fully grown woman, at the height of her powers in every way, formidable in every way. Having known women with those kinds of powers, I quite believed in Mu Yeong right from the start.

Snow Flower

11 months ago

My favorite kdrama OST is Secret Love Affair (sorry, Chuno, your OST is great too!). I listen to drama soundtracks a lot. Flower of Evil OST is one of my recent favorites.
I really appreciate minimalist brilliance, the artist’s ability to convey a lot of meaning with just a few words or notes. This is something I strive for when composing too.
As for modernism and avant-garde in art, their peak was in the middle of the 20th century. I think the public grew tired of too much concept and technique and not enough emotional resonance. My opinion is based on the history of classical music. Since the 1960s, there have been many classical composers who have embraced simplicity and minimalism, and the resulting music has depth and spirituality while still being easy on the ears. I highly recommend the music of Estonian composer Arvo Part. He is my composing hero and role model😊.

On Coltrane: A couple of years ago someone recommended that I listen to Ascension by John Coltrane. I did, but found it overwhelmingly chaotic, and have not listened to much modern jazz since.
Of the many jazz styles, I like Brazilian Bossa Nova. To me, it sounds very cool and sophisticated, but never pretentious. There is certain effortlessness about it (like the description of Japanese art), which is not an easy thing to achieve. In classical music, Debussy’s compositions have similar quality.

merij1

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Ascension?! That person clearly respects you. From what BE said, she probably loves that album, but it’s too out there for me.

Try Giant Steps, if you buy actual CDs. Or, if you have access to a service like Spotify, allow me to recommend individual cuts off albums. Starting with this one:

Teo, off of Miles Davis’s album Someday My Prince Will Come. It’s a simple modal structure, with long improvisation over a simple but wonderful piano riff. Coltrane’s solo is in the middle, sandwiched between two by Miles. I’ve listened to that solo well over a hundred times, starting back in 10th grade.

My favorite Bossa Nova is on that classic Getz/Byrd album, Jazz Samba. My dad played it a lot when we were kids. It’s the final track, Samba Triste. Which may be the only minor key samba in recorded history!

10 months ago

Reply to merij1

I have a friend, a Congolese saxophonist, Modero Mekanisi, who was for a long time also the chef d’orchestre for Tabu Ley and Orchestre Afrisa, probably the second most popular band on the African continent between the mid sixties and the early nineties. Instead of doing scales or some such to warm up he did Coleman Hawkins riffs. I was surprised when he told me that he also really loved Stan Getz.

10 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Coletrane fanatic here: THE PERIOD begins with Ole and concludes with A Love Supreme. The music is singularly Coletrane’s in tone, structure, arrangement, and still pretty accessible while at times venturing out there but both leading you there and bringing you back. Ascension and after he was after something so celestial, so after a totally spiritual cleansing down to your cells experience, it strikes me few can really comprehend it, a kind of avant garde performance art dance music. Before Ole, he was a very good but not particularly singular jazz saxophonist playing with a masculine timbre the jazz of his day, bebop and cool based chamber room jazz. His pianist Mc Coy Tyner was one of the all time great pianists of his time. My Favorite Things is probably his most accessible piece from his truly astonishing period, and you might start there. My favorites, however, are Ole, India (I once wrote a long exuberant poem to accompany it, titled “The Sacred Realist Imagesto”), The Underground Railroad, and all of Love Supreme.

11 months ago

Wow, as they used to say a half century ago! Thanks.
A peripheral question, have you ever heard the American jazz pianist, Bill Evans? If not, start with Peace Piece.

Snow Flower

11 months ago

Reply to BE

@BE, I have heard the name, but not the music. I am not very knowledgeable about jazz, having had zero exposure while growing up. Listening to American music was not exactly encouraged at the time.

Snow Flower

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Just listened to Peace Piece. It reminded me of Chopin’s Berceuse (Lullaby). Thanks for the suggestion!

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

And thanks back at you for the Chopin composition; yes I hear the similarities.

“Everyone digs Bill Evans” was the universal watchphrase on Evans, who on the cover credits of Miles Davis’ most famous recording, Kind of Blue, wrote, “There is a Japanese visual art in which the artist is forced to be spontaneous. He must paint on a thin stretched parchment with a special brush and black water paint in such a way that an unnatural or interrupted stroke will destroy the line or break through the parchment. Erasures or changes are impossible. These artists must practice a particular discipline, that of allowing the idea to express itself in communication with their hands in such a direct way that deliberation cannot interfere.

The resulting pictures lack the complex composition and textures of ordinary painting, but it is said that those who see well find something captured that escapes explanation.”

My favorite OST is Secret Love Affair. I am not even that big a fan of European classical music, but the pieces performed, and the atmospheric piano background music struck me as simply sensational.

Thanks again for your score. I hope it gets heard beyond this site, and kudos to K for giving you this platform.

merij1

11 months ago

Reply to BE

Off-topic, but I’m listening non-stop these days to Coltrane’s solos on that multi-disc bootleg recording of his last tour with Miles in Europe in 1960. I’m so happy I took a chance on buying this. For me, it’s the final peak of Miles’ “Kind of Blue” period.

Coltrane sings to me like no one else, but more so during that modal period and during the early days of his own band than, say, the later chaotic or spiritual stuff. At this point, he was venturing outside in all kinds of novel ways, but was still otherwise anchored to the songs. Pure magic.

11 months ago

Reply to merij1

As an artist, albeit largely a poet, it strikes me that Coltrane from Ole to A Love Supreme, like Jackson Pollock’s action painting period, was the apotheosis of modern art movements. Everything since, no matter how great, with perhaps the one exception of internationalism, especially in music, because of access to all times and places since the internet, has been a regression.

beez

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

@Snow Flower – may I ask – which country do you hail from, Snow Flower?

Snow Flower

11 months ago

Reply to beez

I grew up in Bulgaria.

beez

11 months ago

Reply to Snow Flower

I’m always amazed at how far apart we all are and yet the mutual love of Kdramas brings us together (and in general, we all seem to like the same themes, in most cases).

seankfletcher

1 year ago

Hello Snowflower, I enjoyed your compositions very much. With Your Eyes I could actually hear in my head other instruments coming in and complimenting your composition. Lighthouse in the Rain is quite magical and reminded me of the story Nights in Rodanthe. The Cursed Castle is certainly a fine waltz with that initial carousel feel leading to the gateway onto the upper promenade.

Smile was subtle and Missing You was reflective. I really enjoyed Happy Birthday. Shadow Cast by Butterfly Wings is a superb piece and very captivating in the classic way of your composition and Family Portrait reminds me of what it is like to come together and share in a delightful moment. Thank you for your compositions and sharing them with us.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to seankfletcher

Hello Sean,

Thank you so much for such a detailed response! I am happy that you enjoyed the music. I had a lot of fun composing and playing the piano pieces. Recently I completed a piece inspired by Flower of Evil and now I am thinking if I should try to compose a Lie After Lie piece.

seankfletcher

1 year ago

Reply to Snow Flower

I think you should compose a piece for Lie After Lie, Snow Flower. Matching the mood of this should be quite interesting. Despite not enjoying Flower of Evil after about episode 7, I had a listen to Flower of Deception and enjoyed the compare and contrast in moods throughout.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to seankfletcher

Sean, I have seen only 4 episodes of Lie After Lie so far. I still don’t have a clear idea about the mood of the piece. As for Flower of Deception, I had a clear idea about the mood after the midpoint of the drama. I thought that a tango full of twists and turns was a great metaphor for our OTP. Come to think of it, tango in general is more fitting for a married couple than any other dance. Once I decided on a tango, I had to do some research which I enjoyed a lot.

KdramaUnni

1 year ago

Ohh my my..i could relive the drama through your music..keep going..the dance one was my fav!

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to KdramaUnni

Thank you, kdramaunni!

Kay

1 year ago

Wow! Such beautiful pieces Snow Flower! You are truly talented and really added even more beauty to this incredible drama. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Kay

Thank you, Kay! I really enjoyed writing them as the drama was airing.

phl1rxd

1 year ago

Ah Snow Flower – this was really, really lovely!! I so enjoyed these – good job you!

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to phl1rxd

Thank you, phl1rxd!

Geo

1 year ago

Hello Snow Flower: This is beautiful music, I’m really taken by “Your Eyes” and I have your music playing as I type this comment. I really like it. I’m no expert on music or art but I have a passion for both, I like what I like and know what I like though I may not be able to articulate fully all the reasons. I always say my passion for music and art is inversely proportional to my musical and artistic talent and I have zero talent in either.

Snow Flower, you are very talented and people like you and the music you make contribute to the beauty in this world. Thank you.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Geo

Thank you, Geo. I am glad that you like the music.
I am not good at art, but I do appreciate it. I think every one can contribute some beauty to the world. It can be making music, or cooking a delicious meal, or simply smiling.

simple

1 year ago

hello snowflower,
love your piano tracks.. missing you, smile and cursed castle are my faves the cursed castle title is more like a “Foolish Me” that’s how i felt. Snow Flower, you reminded me of Yiruma, the sk contemporary pianist and the ongoing kdrama ” Do you like Brahms? is about a pianist too. im your fan now. fighting!!! God Bless.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to simple

Hello simple,

I am not familiar with Yiruma, bu will look him up. I have not started Do You Like Brahms yet, but I am interested. Thank you for your encouragement!

Elaine Phua

1 year ago

Thank you for the beautiful music Snow Flower! I think you captured the mood of the scenes perfectly, including both sweetness and wistful feelings with uneasy discordant notes too which mirrored the characters’ conflict.

Not everything about the show worked for me but there were definitely several memorable moments about healing and emotional growth. It’s so true that the people closest to us also make us the most uncomfortable and angry but that’s how they push us to grow! The most special and poignant moments for me were tied to the fairy tales written by the protagonist Ko Mun Yeong, they were grim and a bi horrifying but had a big emotional resonance when linked to what was happening in the main story. I heard on Soompi that they’re going to publish those books in real life in Korea as the illustrators did a really great job and they don’t want it to go to waste. How cool!

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Elaine Phua

Hi Elaine,

I agree it is cool that they are publishing the fairy tale books! I still need to know how The Cheerful Dog ends!

Lamenteuse

1 year ago

I just finished IOTNBO and have had the OST on loop for a few days, and these songs are such a lovely complement to those! How cool, Snow Flower, to be able to relate to the show through music. (The best I can do are some ill-composed sentences.) You captured the key moments and emotions so well. I can totally imagine your music as part of the soundtrack.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Lamenteuse

Thank you, Lamenteuse! I really liked the music in the show too, both the pop songs and the instrumental tracks. Since I started watching dramas, I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their soundtracks. Being a composer for dramas is now officially my dream job! I would like to see interviews with the composers of some of my favorite drama OSTs (Chuno, Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People, and Secret Love Affair, to name a few)

Prashil Prakash

1 year ago

Really impressive!

And your initial impression of Kim Soohyun totally matches with mine.

My Love from the Stars was the first kdrama (the old gateway drug!) I had ever watched and was totally skeptic towards this whole sub genre.
And since i wasn’t conditioned to the concept of appearance of male protagonists in kdramas, Kim Soohyun actually didn’t feel fit to be the main guy of the show to me. (Junji hyun is the main course of the show let’s face it lol)
However as the show progressed I got used to him. And he truly shines in “its okay to not be okay”

Your work truely reflects your connection to the show and its motif, and feels quite fresh and already lived in.
I’m glad you decided to not dismiss it and actually compose the tracks as it would have been a disservice to us!

Cheers!
And hope to see more of guest posts.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Prashil Prakash

Thank you, Prashil!

I agree with you that My Love From Another Star was truly Jun Ji Hyun’s show. But KSH is excellent in It’s Okay. I think the whole cast did a great job, there is no weak link at all.

My gateway kdrama was Faith and I have been watching kdramas ever since.

Prashil Prakash

1 year ago

Reply to Snow Flower

Yup Totally agree with you on that one!
It’s okay to not be okay truely is a very character driven show and I think not even a single character led me down.

Everyone had a story and all of them were on a journey towards healing themselves. And KSH totally did shine in portraying Moon Gang-tae.

beez

1 year ago

Wow! Sunflower! Amazing talent. Lighthouse in the Rain sounds sad yet hopeful. 😥 😊

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to beez

Thank you, beez! I do have a soft spot for Lighthouse in the Rain because it is my first IOTNBO-inspired piece.

Carulhein

1 year ago

Hi Snow Flower, what a wonderful musical tribute to the show. You really put your soul into it and the heartfelt songs absolutely reflects the tone and mood of the show. I loved IOTNBO because I love fairy tales and mostly things just hit the right spot for me. I’m not a musician like you, but I do play the piano in my own minimalistic way. I do like to make my own songs too and having watched K dramas and listened to K drama OST’s over the past couple of years have kind of inspired me to make a bunch of new ones. 😁

Anyway, keep composing, you have a wonderful talent.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Carulhein

Hi Carulhein! I love fairy tales too, and I liked how they were used in this drama. Yes, Korean dramas and their OSTs are very inspiring. If playing the piano and creating your own music makes you happy, just keep doing it!

merij1

1 year ago

Really wonderful, Snow Flower! While learning complex music I like to hear it many times in a row. Is there a way to play this collection back-to-back without needing to re-select the next song? For example, if I had a Soundcloud account?

Two parentheticals:

This paragraph cracked me up because I had the exact same reaction:

“Also, I had no idea who Kim Soo Hyun was so I had to look him up. “Oh, so he was the alien from My Love From Another Star? I liked that drama, but did not like his haircut, so I am still not interested in his new drama” – this is what I was thinking in early June.”

There’s an album of classical-ish piano compositions by a non-classical artist I think you would really enjoy. Her name is Margie Adam and the album is Naked Keys (1980). She normally records singer-songwriter material, none of which does a thing for me, at all. But this collection of short piano compositions is a hidden gem. You can download the MP3s from Amazon for $9.00.

This track, for example, reminds me of Beethoveen’s piano sonatas. Not to say it’s in that class, but to me it has the feel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlGDuZ3TcpU

Carulhein

1 year ago

Reply to merij1

😁 I knew who Kim Soo Hyun was, but yes, it took me quite a while to adjust my lens to accommodate that haircut in My love from the star.

Admin

kfangurl

1 year ago

Reply to merij1

Hi MeriJ, if you right click on Snow Flower’s name on one of the tracks, you’ll be able to go to SoundCloud, and see all of Snow Flower’s compositions together in one place. You could then create a playlist of her tracks, if you have SoundCloud account. At least, that’s what I think, after poking around. 😅

Snow Flower is such a talent, isn’t she?! 🤩🤩

merij1

1 year ago

Reply to kfangurl

Thanks. I discovered that her collection at SoundCloud auto-advances from track to track. So no need even to create a playlist.

Yes, she rocks!

Admin

kfangurl

1 year ago

Reply to merij1

Ooh, useful information about SoundCloud, thanks for sharing, MeriJ! 😀 (And now everyone who wants to soak in Snow Flower’s compositions can do so easily!)

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to merij1

merij1,

I have never heard of this artist before, but I liked her music. Thank you for sharing. I think that labeling the styles of music is mostly for the sake of marketing. There has always been an exchange of ideas and inspiration between different styles, and that has enriched music.

I was OK with Kim Soo Hyun’s haircut in this drama. My personal favorite is still his wild country bumpkin look in the early episodes of Dream High.

merij1

1 year ago

Reply to Snow Flower

It was his haircut in My Love From Another Star I thought we needed to overlook. Although, in my case, ditto for his acting! We enjoyed that show a lot, actually, but thought he was the weak link.

I take it you recommend “It’s OK Not To Be OK?” We just finished our re-watch of One Spring Night and need a new show.

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to merij1

merij1,

If you are in a mood for an emotional modern fairy tale, I recommend It’s Okay. Kim Soo Hyun does an excellent job playing an ordinary character stuck between two extraordinary people (his autistic artistic brother and the eccentric fairy tale writer who stirs up his life).

Peony

1 year ago

Truly wonderful, Snow Flower! I could practically hear how much thought and care you’ve put into creating this. Even though I’m not well-versed in Keyboard/piano nor Western music terms, and couldn’t fully grasp what you were explaining about the usage of keys and stuff, I’m amazed that you put so much focus into such seemingly small things like how each note can spark a different emotion in you and how certain combinations can further enhance the feeling.
My favorite was the “Shadow cast by Butterfly Wings”. Truly scary and quite successful in conveying what it was supposed to!
Thanks for sharing this with us. \^0^/
.
P.s.- kfangurl, this is the 1st time I’m seeing your site makeover and it looks quite lovely! Congratulations!!!! I’ll look up how to whitelist hehe.
P.s. 2- omy it’s SO posh! The site didn’t even reload while posting my reply!😍 And it’s giving an edit window too omg

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to Peony

Thank you so much, Peony! I tried to keep the music theory to a minimum in my notes. I am glad that the emotions in the music moved you. That is something every composer is happy to hear!

Admin

kfangurl

1 year ago

Reply to Peony

Thanks Peony!! So glad you like the site’s improved look and feel! 😀 I must admit that not everything is working as it should (yet!), and in particular, the ads are still something that I’m wrestling with.

Thank you for looking into whitelisting the site, though! I really appreciate it. I’m hoping to resolve the ad-related issues soonish, and am literally writing to 3 different helpdesks (one for the ad network, one for WordPress, and one for the developer of the ad plugin) while trying to get the ads to work the way they should. Thanks for your patience! 😅

PS: So pleased you like the edit function tho! 😄

deliaerre

1 year ago

what a beautiful music! this morning was brightened by this Snow Flower’s post.
I think I’ll try to re watch this drama that I dropped because it didn’t seem honest or real to me (in the writing non in the delivery of the actors). Now I ask myself: was I wrong?
^^

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to deliaerre

Thank you, deliaerre! The drama had a fairy tale vibe, so not everything was very realistic, but I was totally OK with this approach. The characters’ emotions felt very real and it was the journey of healing and love that carried the drama for me.

Admin

kfangurl

1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your music with us, Snow Flower!! You truly are a talent! The pieces are so evocative, and you play with such feeling and expression! 🤩🤩 I love the warm feels of Family Portrait. 🥰🥰

Snow Flower

1 year ago

Reply to kfangurl

Thank you again, Kfangurl. I actually had to practice my own pieces before recording them live in my living room! I had thought about naming the last piece The Walnut Tree and the Camper Van, but then I decided that Family Portrait was a better fit.