*NO* Final Fantasy 9 'Something Bitter'

[Liontamer]

My remixer name: Lulanie
Name: Melissa
My E-mail contact: squirrellygirl_1@yahoo.com
Website: http://lulanie.googlepages.com/home
mp3 link:
Username: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=4834

Name of game: Final Fantasy 9
remix song title: Something Bitter
original song: Bittersweet romance
original song link: http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/sony/ps1/ff9_-_Bittersweet_Romance.mid
Song info: Nobuo Uematsu, playstation, squaresoft, yr.2000

About this song... there isn't much other then its short and sweet and to its point, that is, being a little bitter. I was looking at some midi's to find this song and well for some reason I felt it would sound better by being more simple. An acoustic feel to it if you will. Though I can say that its not much more different then its original; I felt that straying from its original melody wouldn't do it any justice. I tried my best since it has been a few years since I've played with music. All I can say is I hope you enjoy it for what it is: simple, possibly sweet and a little bitter.

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http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF9_psf.rar - 417 Bittersweet Romance

Oof. Decidedly MIDI, though with some decent effects on there to flesh out the soundscape a bit more. Pretty mechanical sequencing though, and very exposed throughout the track.

There's a little bit of arrangement value, but not much. If anything, it sounds like you took a MIDI and messed around with it a bit, even keeping it to one playthrough like the original. The textures are definitely even more simplistic than the original.

Way too generous, I should have given the form letter, but didn't know the original. Keep learning more, but you're very far off the mark as far as the standards here go. You may wanna send your stuff to VGMusic.com if you haven't been already. MIDI stuff is no good here, and you need substantially more interpretation of the original song.

NO

[Malcos]

This doesn't sound organic at all, due to the fact that the playing is very stiff, apart from the chords which use 'that keyboard technique which doesn't have a name, play the chord from the root to the highest note very quicky so it sounds like strumming' technique. That technique works well when you have a variety of instruments in the background, but using midi based guitar sounds on their own, regardless of how good the sample is, it's very hard to pull off without just sounding fake.

The arrangement wasn't that different from the original at all, and no other instruments/layers were added. This is more of a variation of the source than a remix.

NO

[big giant circles]

man, what a beautiful source tune. Very somber and thought-provoking. I'm eager to hear your take on it. Let's get to it.

Hmm. Well, we've definitely simplified things it seems. This is very LQ in terms of instrument quality, which is too bad. Were this performed on a real guitar, I'm sure it would have a much more evocative tone. The music (both remix and source) reminds me a lot of some of Terranigma's music.

I guess after reading my colleagues votes, there's not a lot for me to add, other than my encouragement that you'll stick with it. There is a TON of resources out there, and the more you tap into what's available (in terms of virtual instruments, FX, etc) you'll definitely have the opportunity to improve your abilities as an arranger/writer as well as a producer. So just keep making music and learning.

Remember, it's not always what sounds you use, but how you use them. Nothing wrong with using a fake guitar, but in this case, being solo it has nowhere to mask itself.

Keep at it.

NO