Radiowar

Nice. Everything here is pretty well done. I liked the synths you chose though at times they sound a little chiptune-y, especially around 1:05. I didn't mind the part at 1:07 but I think it sounds a bit too analog-y there. I think the instrumentation could be a little more varied. There are a bunch of little beeps and things you used that I think could be more prevalent at certain points. The sixteenth note pattern around 0:33 sticks out a little too much I think, and the melody that comes in around 0:41 is buried. but yeah this sounds good so far.

I don't like the bass drum you're using. You should probably be using a more jazz-ish kick there. This one just sounds like you're hitting a plastic bag.

I was gonna submit it here... unless you think this won't pass here or something

Yeah I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that.

You mean the first four chords? That was all intentional...I'm not sure what you mean. Believe me I've tried. But E minor is the only one that works...considering I have to go from G major to E minor and then the next chord has to be something that makes sense in that context, but also goes back to F major and A minor well. It will probably sound better with the vocals over top. Yeah once I finish up the lyrics I'll probably submit this sometime next week. Thanks for the comments.

Is it possible to do time signature changes in FL Studio? And I mean without just writing one beat less than 4/4 or something...I need to go from 4/4 to 7/8 to 6/8 and back and it would help if I could clearly define that in the playlist.

Yeah I know what you mean. I've tried other keys but really E minor is the only one that works there.

That's cool. The only thing I was sort of worried about was maybe the source sounded awkward in 3/4 or something. But thanks for the feedback.

FINISHED version

I didn't really like this mix. It's well done and stuff but I think it lacks energy especially since it's so underdeveloped.

Yeah that keyboard solo kills the great groove you had going. The issues with the drums stand out a lot more. But yeah I hope you get everything straightened out with this soon.

Am I the only one who thought that parts where the swing feel was lost (ie. 1:04) were kind of awkward? I agreed with Darkesword's comments about the asian instrument sounding gratuitous. I think the aimless feeling could be attributed to all the different instruments used here. Overall this is a nice track but some of the rhythms and instrumentation put me off a bit.

any suggestions on good theory books? specializing in orchestration preferably... It is not something you can pick up and just do. Even with prior music knowledge the concepts are difficult to grasp and take a lot of work to learn. I'd recommend finding a teacher.

There are some pretty cool ideas here. The texture of the piece established a good metroid-ish atmosphere while still being danceable. I just didn't like the ending. It seemed relatively empty after the rest of the song had established such a dense atmosphere especially with all the bass, and I thought it was disappointing.

Well I think this song has definitely improved a LOT since your first version, so that's good. To be honest I can't see this making it onto the site for a variety of reasons, but I think you did a really good job developing the ideas you had, and it works a lot better as a standlone song. But that's just me. Best of luck with this.

Oh ok. Well technically you're not even supposed to double the third, let alone triple it...maybe the chord should just be A and E?

Well yeah, I think I said that a couple times before (when I said there was too much low end, that's what I meant). For example, the instrument entering at 0:30 has too much low end. Makes everything sound really dense. The main melodies barely cut through it. Well it's in time, only it's a beat too soon? I don't know whether this is intentional and you're trying to change the feel of the source, but it still sounds like it should be on the downbeat to me. Maybe turn down the velocity on that first note so it feels like it leads into the downbeat more. Still hearing a wrong note there. OK so the melody is outlining c minor (C Eb G) basically, and the chord at 3:26 has an E natural which is causing the problem. It's still a very strange chord. I can't figure it out by listening to it though.

The part at 2:36 is still offbeat though. I'm pretty sure it's a beat too soon. And there's still wrong notes at 3:26, 3:31 and 3:36.

I think the beginning shouldn't be so sudden. Maybe have the pads start a beat or two before the piano comes in. I still have issues with the notes the pads play, but it doesn't matter necessarily in the intro since you are going for an ambient type atmosphere. It gets worse around 0:48 though. It is probably the cause of why it sounds so random, because it has no direction in relation to the melody. It seems to meander, and as a result, everything else does. I still think the melody around 1:06 doesn't work, but maybe it's personal preference. To me, it establishes a key that didn't exist before and is immediately forgotten, which isn't really a good thing. Maybe if the pads were in key it would help. So yeah my comment about the pads goes for everything up until the part at 2:26 pretty much. There are other problems, but the notes in the pads is the biggest one for now. Timing problems at 2:38...melody comes in offbeat and plays out of time with the beat. Gotta get the timings right... Interesting idea at 3:05. Maybe you should get a real electric guitar there (assuming that's what that's supposed to be). The synth shouldn't be playing along with it I think. More wrong notes around 3:29...3:34...3:38... For the ending if you're gonna use piano, at least use a less dry sounding one...

Well, it's sounding a lot better from when you first started, but I'd say you still have a long way to go. The atmosphere is a lot better, but the pacing still feels random and overall it just meanders too much. I'd say right now you should start focusing on an arrangement that makes sense. And there's still problems with the instrumentation, ie. certain things sounding too fake or too synthy, etc. Specifically: - Pads at 0:21 play a pretty ugly chord - 0:43 introduces a new pad nicely, but there's way too much low end now and it sounds too dense - The notes at around 0:16 take away too much from the atonal feel of everything else. They make the listener expect a certain key, but the key you go to next at 0:18 is completely unrelated and sounds jarring - Starting at 2:30 there are chords played by a xylophone sounding thing, they sound wrong. Maybe try just octaves or something that doesn't create a sense of key - 2:43-2:54 I would cut. Just doesn't sound good. - The part at 2:54 is really the most interesting part of the song, so in the arrangement I'd try to write it so that it comes earlier than 3 minutes into the song. Once this part comes in, the beginning really seems irrelevant. - FX starting at 3:25 ish are a little overbearing. But it's not a bad idea - Melody at 3:36 should maybe be a different instrument, but if you can't, then at least get rid of some of the decay - 4:06 hooooly shit ugly note. I think that is the xylophone's fault again. May be the piano. So yeah some stuff to think about. There's more, but those should be the easiest to fix for now.

Is it just me or does pixietricks sound like she's on helium at the part around 10:30?

Piano sounds a lot better! it's less dry. I have issues with the pads now. The notes just don't work with the piano. I'd suggest not playing chords (ie. triads) but maybe just octaves, or just a sustained pedal point type thing (ie. holding one note throughout). The pads shouldn't be terribly complex, it takes away from the atmosphere you're trying to establish. So the intro has gotten a lot better. The second part is still kind of messy. The chord progression you're using doesn't make a whole let of sense musically. It sounds like you're trying to make this both ambient as well as melodic, and it clashes. Once again the pads are a big problem...Just makes everything sound muddy. The sound at around 2:43 (I think it was the glass bottle) could have a little less decay. The section starting at 2:54 sounds awesome! Has some potential anyways. Reminds me of Porcupine Tree sort of. I think the bottle synth is ruining it kind of. I'd like to hear this part without it. The ending isn't bad. Kind of music-boxy. Maybe you should use a glockenspiel for it? So yeah this is getting better. I think the section at 2:54 has the most promise, but the problem is it doesn't really go well with the source.

I didn't really like this when I first heard it, mostly because the way it's recorded made it sound dull and uninteresting. But recently it's really started to grow on me. The arrangement is really creative, and it really enhanced the source (eg. 1:21). That piano sample is pretty good too.

The arrangement here is awesome. Concept is great and stuff. Yeah there's some production issues and what not but it's a wip so whatever. I have these two songs in mp3...not the greatest quality though since I basically recorded them myself through audacity...but they aren't too bad. http://canadia2.googlepages.com/05Brambles.mp3 http://canadia2.googlepages.com/10Lava.mp3

haha well I exported the mp3 and it sounded like crap. It was hard to tell when I was working on it even with the buffer rate and stuff. I'm not sure how much of the stuff I changed would end up helping, but I'd suggest using the Parametric EQ to take out some of the mid-range stuff so the piano doesn't sound so crappy. Also you don't need to use so many pianos, you have like 4 on there I think. Is there any reason for that? Cuz it was causing a lot of the clipping. Aaand uhh...the pads (rich ensemble) at the beginning, I couldn't tell what was going on because it wouldn't play properly for me, but I'd suggest trying to using fewer notes (as in actual pitches, not the hundred tiny notes you have there). I think that's why it sounded weird to me. Oh and at the beginning I put the first piano up an octave. I just think it sounds nicer there. I can send you what I did but it sounds pretty terrible so there's probably no point. I'll try again when I have time...