Retnuhytnuob

And now, for something ... significantly... different. Reminiscence of Valor (WIP) 7_14_12.mp3 This version is a duet arrangement, with new scoring in some sections, using updated lyrics, recorded sans-metronome and having the Cathedral-esque reverb I'm considering using. So... let me know what you think of this version, and whether there's anything missing in this from the former arrangement that you think should be applied to this version.

I've been thinking about it a bit this evening, while driving home after a gathering with friends. Would you consider the following stronger lyrically, and better connected to the scenario? (the phrasing should still work rhythmically and hold its dual meaning) Foul things invade our lands - We must not surrender Triumph evades our hands - But there's hope of rescue Gone are our hopes and plans - This is not the end; The darkness can't constrain us. (Light overtakes us) It has no hold, in truth. (Light shows the full truth) Though we are in the darkness, (Where we see darkness) The light will see us through. (Light has a plan to make things new) Where the darkness seems to rise, Look for him who controls the skies, But beware of shadow's lies. Though the darkness seems so well established, and the wild now is truly savage, Look how few things have been fully ravaged. We've persisted through this vicious passage. Though it seems that we must bend, (although it seems - that we must bend) Light prevails to final end. (The Light Prevails - straight through the end) When you look at history's trends, (If you look how - this world begins) Evil's hold ne'er long extends. (You'll see the truth - Evil can't win) Look for the one -- Destined to face our fears, Entered through time -- come to the fated year. Soon there'll be no more tears. (The land will be healed) Then comes the peaceful years. Do not be dismayed - Our hope still surely stands Foul things invade our lands Triumph evades our hands But light always makes new again.

The SoT reference is just a cameo, and is the section you mentioned. Listening again, its connection is a bit weaker than it was in a previous version of the melody... due to the chording applied. I can try working with it to make it stand out more as going between those two sources. (Yes, I am aiming to submit for the panel at some point) For lyrics, your guess nailed the alternate meaning. (I don't plan to do anything with it from that end, but still...) As for trying a different language... I actually tried that first, but wasn't getting the rhythmic and grammatical needs to cooperate. When I had english phrases volunteer themselves, I went with it. As for the comment about the opening line, I understand the need for a powerful opening, but haven't yet found a non-unison arrangement that I felt would work well as an opening. I did consider some generic and completely different forms of the opening line, but I felt that "This/our world/land/home" was too bland as a two syllable opening, while the word 'Hyrule' at least connects it back to the game world. After experimenting with moving other sections in front of the current opening, (before and after applying lyrics) I found that, for the most part, without the opening starting dark, the rises and falls in the melody have always felt out of place for this arrangement. I briefly toyed with the idea of bringing in the Oath to Order theme (from Majora's Mask) for a heavy role, and exploring more on that route might prove productive... it would still leave the opening 'powerless', but the extra movement that melody has might work to keep it more interesting. Thoughts? Siege: "a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside" My take on what little we have of the story between the unsealing in the temple of time and Link's return to set things right are that Gannon quickly sweeps through most of Hyrule, bringing out the monsters and shadows in his wake. ... But he is unable to seal his victory. By the time Link arrives, Gannon himself is in a waiting cycle looking for the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage to resurface, allowing him to finish what he started. Until then, he is doing his best to make things miserable for the remnant, which I see being taken by the people as a fully valid siege, despite the lack of overt military action. (Aside: Can one man single handedly conduct a siege? In the case of Gannon with the Triforce of Power, I would say yes.) I agree that the typical people wouldn't be singing calmly about their home being under siege. However, those versed in history and lore, who knew the foretelling of the Sages and the Hero of Time... and who had a general populace looking to them for hope in dark times, might. A successful defense in a siege often comes down to relying on pre-established defenses, holding onto hope while waiting for the enemy to give up, or for rescue to come. A leader who could would try to bolster the morale of his people, if possible. (Granted, in this case, singing this publicly would likely make the writer/singers targeted by Gannon as an example... so there's still some Fridge Logic going on...) With that in mind, the religious leaders (Cathedral-esque reverb on the final rendition) sing of: 1) The acknowledgement of the current fallen state, ('Hyrule is under seige...', 'Though the darkness...') 2) Their assessment of the situation ('this is not the end...') 3) Hope promised and to come ('one - destined to face our fears' including some details to look for 'led by him who controls the skies', 'entered through time') 4) Action for the people to take ('look for the one', 'prepare for a day') 5) And a warning ('Without him acting Hyrule dies', with an implication that the hero could fail without the aide of the people once he arrives... or may fail to act based on what he sees in the people when he arrives) Wrapping up with a combination of 1,4, and 3 above. All that said... if the lyrical lines are weak, they may not remain. But now you have my thoughts on the lyrics. I will likely end up varying the tempo, to help with pacing, but have recently been more focused on the melody before messing too heavily with it, as changing from a steady tempo would remove a crutch that's been invaluable with aligning the different vocal lines.

Thank you for your input on choral arrangement. I hope my current mix helps a little with hearing the intended source usage/arrangement. If not, I'll look into restructuring the section with the alternating Song Of Time/Requiem of Spirit themes and the section arranged from the Requiem of Spirit string harmonies. As for your notes: The persons I have in mind for recording are consistently precise, and have been singing together for years, so auto-tuning shouldn't be required. If it does become problematic, I have someone who has a solid toolset that can be used to help in that area. I will definitely look into the annotation of the dynamics. - I have a few ideas for where I want things at certain points, and am working through where I want it in other places. My current mix should help a little on that end, though there are some sections I am not happy with yet... mainly because I haven't been able to articulate what my head hears. ... I'm considering adding a lyric-less 'ooh' track that covers the main melody line with the dynamics I'd like to have. For what I currently have, the high notes are typically intended to be more powerful, but with some. As for the note entries/cutoffs, I will want those to be crisp. For an earlier rendition of the piece, I recorded myself using conductor style hand directions, which worked fairly well, but I haven't yet done so since increasing the speed to 85BPM. (Conducting is decidedly not in my skillset, but it worked well enough for my personal watching/singing.) I may do so again for the next iteration of the WIP, now that I have a stronger handle of the melodies after my last significant adjustment. If you have some thoughts on lyrics, I'd like to hear them. However, I have a secondary objective for the lyrics of this piece. They are (apart from 2 key proper nouns for setting purposes) constructed in a way that allows them to be dual meaninged, with Link not being the only hero who matches the call for hope. So long as the thoughts don't conflict with that, I'd be glad to consider any input concerning the lyrics. Again, thank you for your input.

Updated WIP: Reminiscence of Valor (WIP) 7_11_12.mp3 I'm aware of the multiple sessions that are commonly involved with recording. I have been an observer on a previous studio recorded project, and have been part of a handful of choirs over the years. (though never for recording purposes) My comment was not for intended for recording sessions, but for recording iterations, but I see how the words I used caused miscommunication. This is my first time writing for vocals, and my first arrangement of anything existing. (Most of my previous experiments with composing have been for original midi or keyboard pieces) Because of this, despite reading several of the available help files, I'm still learning the process involved, especially once it comes to the production aspects. I've been enjoying the music here since the Echoes of Betrayal/Light of Redemption album, after finding the site by accident, so when I had a melody floating which reminded me of the Requiem of Spirit line I, I thought I'd give it a try. Thanks for the comments! The lyrics for the song are in the MP3 tags, if desired.

Thank you for your comments. The 'hard time hearing the sources' is one of the ares I was hoping for some commenting on. It starts with RoS, which leads into a section which uses SoW as a countermelody, From there, it goes into an original section, then to a section based on the harmony line from RoS (string section), then a second original section, then to SoT+RoS, then a RoS based line with the first RoS section alongside it, followed by a few measures to close it. By my estimate, there should be a good bit over 50% source usage, (60 of 92 measures) but if it comes to it, I would probably be able to convert the 2 longer original segments into something based on the SoW and SoT themes, though it would likely require changing the lyrics in those parts. I'm working on re-recording the piece with the half step drop, in order to allow the melodies of the higher sections to come across cleaner/clearer. Until then, for comparison, here's the MIDI-fied version of the track I'm recording against. Though soulless, (hand placed notes, with no dynamics, rather than a recording from a midi keyboard) and lacking the dynamics of the word flow, it should otherwise have the arrangement, for analysis of chord progression and harmonies. One place where I think tempo adjustment could help is in the section based on the RoS harmony line... (1:53 - 2:16). A slower tempo there would help by providing time to breathe between the long and wordy phrases in that section. (The current recording has that section recorded separately, by phrases, solely to accommodate problems with running out of breath towards the end of phrases in that section when taking it in one go. Having to cut together those segments makes a dynamic expression across that section difficult to properly execute) If you have any advice or suggestions for working around that section, (other than having the separate parts trade off when singing the phrases in that section) I would be glad to try it. Again, I'm hoping to get any major issues in the piece resolved before involving other people on the recording end. I know some people who have voices that would be great for this, but who may only help through recording the arrangement once or twice.

This mix is a choral arrangement with lyrics of with cameos of and , sung from the perspective of those who know the legend of the hero of time, during the 7 year gap between Gannon'l taking power and the arrival of the foretold hero.Remix: Updated WIP: Reminiscence of Valor (WIP) 7_14_12.mp3 Older versions: Reminiscence of Valor (WIP) 7_11_12.mp3 Reminiscence of Valor (WIP) 7_6_12 I'm looking for some feedback on the arrangement before involving other people for recording of the final piece. As is, the mix has some notes close to the outer limits of my personal range, and I am considering raising the final version 4 half steps, using female vocals for the higher parts, which would bring it to the key used by the source melody. A different change I am considering is to reduce the tempo from 85 BPM to 75 BPM, while dropping it half a step, allowing for a more somber expression of the same theme while using only male vocals. I'm specifically interested in any comments on the arrangement, structure and source usage, but will appreciate any other general comments on the piece. Thank you for your time!

Grandiose Post Meridies! I found this site about 2 weeks back while looking up information on the Chrono Trigger Soundtrack, and I can deffinately say I am pleased by what I've found on the site so far. I think that is excellent that there is a comunity out here doing this, promoting the enhancement of musical talent as well as remembering past games, with quality control and community input. I'm a Computer Science graduate with hopes of someday creating games (though my current career isn't really along those lines) Currently, one of the many things I do as a hobby is creating music (no remixes yet, but I may give it a shot). I have a little over an hour of my own music in MIDI form in various stages of completion. (all created through the Free version of Anvil Studio) Nothing is near the level of quality I see on this site, so ... I'll be looking through the forums for how to take that next step in production. I occasionally volunteer to run a local soundboard, and I've done the audio cleanup/leveling on the video releases of a few theatre productions... but don't really have any formal training doing so. If anyone knows of a program or method that will let me run a multi-track MIDI through for mixing purposes, I would be grateful. Thank you! Pleased to meet you all!

Just found the site about 2 weeks ago while looking for which of chrono trigger's tracks were composed by Nobuo. I now have 11 of the albums, and much of the rest of the site's collection. FF IV (II then on my US SNES) is the first RPG I really had much experience with, and remains one of my favorite games to this point. As such, hearing these renditions of the soundtrack means a lot to me. Excellent work on each track! (Including the 'Rhymes with Elixir' track for humor value, though I don't think it really fits with the rest of the album) As an album I found that though the songs themselves excellent, but that the flow from song to song was... at times... awkward. This may be one of the factors with the people who dislike the album as a whole. While I am aware that the album is ordered as the tracks appear in the game, I will admit that I needed to reorder the tracks to get the full effect of the Betrayal, Strife, and Redemption themes without the song breaks destroying the immersion experience. Concerning some individual tracks: Fighting for Tomorrrrow perfectly captures the warrior monk aspect of Fabul, as well as the struggle and pride they have, even when facing almost certain defeat. These monks show hope even then, as was the case in game. I have chills each time I listen to this track Full of Courage and The Might of Baron give the perfect beginning to the album, showing the strength of the hometown, and pride of the airfleet. The march in Might works excellently with the electric guitars, strings and trumpets in a wonderful rendition of this track. Edward's Dream Quartet's string arrangement gives a wonderful break amidst the other tracks, giving a softer taste amidst the other electric/rock tracks (this track flows especially when played directly after Overture ~ Tellah's Prophecy) The Skies Hold No Angels for Us is perfect for that city, and what has happened there just before you arrived. All six battle songs (Of Fiend and Man, Interlude ~ Yay!, Survival Instinct, Treason, and the two Finale songs) play excellently. More than just capture the epicness of the battles, they enhance it. The voice work in the Finale, brings heightened emotion, as it does in Fighting for Tomorrrrow. Theme of Love for Guitar Duet was a calming break amidst the strife of the events in the tracks surrounding it. Long Time Gone is simply an enjoyable and at times invigorating track. I enjoyed Golbez 'N Goblins, though overall the 'in and out' effect (and the sound edge it causes at the beginning) which is applied to much of the track (lasting till 2:15, and brought back in at 2:45) comes close to ruining the track for me, as the pressure changes strains my ears both when using headphones and when listening through a stereo. Fortunately, for most of the song other instruments keep this from completely overpowering. - Still, I will have to say that bLiNd'S other tracks here work better for me. Somewhere to Hide has an excellent musical track. For me though, the Vocals (though well done) don't work as well for me as they do in other tracks, which makes them a bit of a distraction for me. Of the other tracks, there are a few which buried the source a little too far, a few others which had some clipping problems that hurt them for me, and several that work well in context that I havent yet commented on. These brought back some good memories. Thank you!