[Swann]

Here's a jazzy piano rendition of the Windmill Hut music of Ocarina of Time.

Windmill Jazz: http://sites.google.com/site/trump3t3r/WindmillJazz.mp3
...or stream it here: http://ocrwip.fireslash.net/?fid=530

Sheet Music: http://sites.google.com/site/trump3t...llJazz_MUS.pdf

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZPpGdt1xQ

This is my first remix, so let me know what's wrong with it. Enjoy!

[Olarin]

Excellent arrangement ideas, and some very skilled playing.

Some criticism, hopefully of the helpful variety:

- First and foremost, your swing feel strikes me as awkward (I'm assuming you're the pianist here? If not this is directed towards whoever performed for you). You've clearly got plenty of technique as your fast runs sound very good, but on your basic eighth-note lines, it sounds like you're trying too hard to swing - the swing rhythm is over-pronounced, if that makes any sense, almost like you're trying to play a dotted-eighth-and-sixteenth-note rhythm. Try to relax a bit. If I may make the suggestion, you might want to grab a good jazz album from the library and try to imitate the feel of the phrasing; if you need suggestions, saxophonist Hank Mobley comes to mind as a good place to start for natural-sounding swing; if you'd prefer to listen to a piano player, you might try Red Garland.

- The recording is a little echo-ey; I'm certainly not qualified to give serious advice on recording / mixing / mastering, but at a guess it seems like the mic could be a little closer to the piano? Nice sounding piano though, and the room doesn't seem bad either.

- You could probably stand to stretch it out a bit more - you wouldn't necessarily need any more big arrangement ideas, you could just let a couple sections stretch out a bit more and take more time to build up, or possibly employ some repetition. But that's really up to you - there's something to be said for short and to the point as well.

As I said, very nice sounding arrangement, I really enjoyed it. I hope you'll polish it up a bit and submit it.

[LuIzA]

I agree with Olarin.

you're an awesome piano player, but this could def use some polish and tightening on the swing. Also, perhaps more source usage.

how did you set up the mic?

[djpretzel]

Mic placement and overall recording quality is HIGHLY problematic but the arrangement is fantastic and I'd love to see a polished, completed version submitted. Almost a "Take Fivish" vibe at times... I do see where Olarin's coming from on the swing time comment... it's a little odd, but the recording is the larger issue.

One other note, while I think this can totally work as a solo piano piece, it'd also be excellent with an upright acoustic bass and brush kit - I keep wanting ride cymbals in there, somewhere, and it'd give you more options for extending the arrangement's overall length.

[Nubioso]

Nice sounding piece, but I pretty much agree with everyone else.

The timing sounds a little awkward, I mean you are essentially taking a waltz-like piece in what I believe is 6/4 time and trying to turn that into a jazzy piece with a swing beat which can definitely be tough.

Also, this would definitely have to be re-recorded. It is too roomy currently.

If you want the room tone to come in, then you need to set up a matched pair of mics close to the piano. I've heard some good results using mics with a bi-polar pattern and using what's called a blumlein pair where essentially the patterns criss cross. One mic pointed towards the low end of the piano, the other towards the highs. Or just a simple spaced pair, X-Y pair, whatever seems to work for you. If you need to, just google up those various mic techniques.

Then, using another spaced pair of mics, further out in the room if you want some reverb, but you DEFINITELY need to get some close mic placement on that beotch.

[Radiowar]

yeah the rhythm does sound a little tense in parts, especially in the left hand oom-pahs or whatever you wanna call them. the roominess of the sound doesn't exactly help. i think with better recording quality this would be a great solo piece, but like djp said, would sound great as a trio.

anyway i really like this, hope to see it on the site.

[Swann]

Hey guys! WOW, thanks for all the criticism, I greatly appreciate it.

A quick background on this mix:
I do intend to record the piece live, but currently I do not have access to a good grand. So, while I try to secure a time to record at the university, I am just continuing to write in my copy of Final Printmusic.
Now, the default midi in Printmusic sounds pretty horrible--cheap default midi set, etc... However, one of my best friends has a full copy of Finale they got last Christmas. Long story short, she heard my arrangement and let me rerecord the output using the Garritan Personal Orchestra samples she has. This explains both (a) the "mechanical" sound of the swing rhythms, and (b) the huge amount of reverb.

So, I can't personally take credit for the performance (yet), but thank you nonetheless. All the microphone-placement tips are hugely appreciated (Nubioso!), since I have next to no experience with them.

Now, I really want to expand this piece, but am currently in a block in terms of where to go next. Unfortunately, my computer has been acting up recently and I can't get Finale to work properly, but with luck I'll have an updated version soon.

djpretzel - I didn't even consider the possibility before now, but I can definitely hear the piece with the bass and kit added. I'll have to listen to some more jazz for an idea of what to do with the bass, but I'll see if I can't work it in, or at the very least try to do so. I am I huge fan of you and your work and was ecstatic when I saw that "djp" actually heard my mix, and even liked it!

Thanks again everyone, I'll work hard to make some changes post-haste!

EDIT: Uploaded sheet music

[BlackPanther]

Pretty much the same issues everyone else had. The piano sounds way too distant, like I'm tryin to listen to you down the other end of a long hallway or somethin. The arrangement is tight as hell though, I love this. Fix the issues that everyone had problems with and I don't see why this wouldn't pass because this is goooood.

[Olarin]

I kinda like it as a solo piano thing, but if you did want to go the jazz trio route I might be able to record some bass for you.

[Swann]

Hey, I did a small update, mainly to fix the reverb issues and most of the swing rhythms. Let me know how it sounds.

I'm trying to decide whether to record it live or not. If it sounds good enough how it is, why fix it? Any opinions?

Enjoy!