Sengin
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Posts posted by Sengin
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I don't know if you'll find this useful, but I use both Finale and a sequencer. I notate everything with Finale, then export that as a midi and import into the sequencer. This way I have sheet music if I need it, and to me, it's just easier to write music in Finale.
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Ok, got a new version going. I added bass in a lot of areas, so it sounds a whole lot more full. I also changed the intro to hydrocity act 2 to be a bit more jazzy to relate to the earlier hydrocity section. I also added so EQ and verb to the pianos, fooled around with the sax with a slight delay and some EQ, and made a couple of other changes throughout.
Let me know what you think!
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I'm just glad I got to participate and give bLiNd something to listen to. I just hope he didn't hate it
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Life Free and Die series? I think you're referring to the Die Hard series; Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance and the latest, Live Free or Die Hard. If you want to read up on it, here's a link to the wiki.
Whoops, haha. Yeah, I meant the Die Hard series.
And sinewav, nice
. That's a nice list! -
The sound quality of Reason sounds great in Reason, and it sounds great when you Rewire it to other software. When you export a wav/aif file in Reason (no matter what options you use) the sound quality simply doesn't reflect what you could 'hear' when the song is played through Reason. There is a number of reasons this is the case, and I understand that the algorithms are increasingly complex with regards to making the sound 'perfect' for every user.
Can you (or someone else) please elaborate on this? I have used Reason 3 and 4 and have not noticed any quality changes from within Reason and after exporting the song as a 24-bit 44.1KHz wave.
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Anyway! Album art makers! Here's the tracklist.
Ah damnit. Can you change my tags so I have Sengin as the artist and my name as the composer? Thanks.
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I was thinking less
more
and definitely none of
But thanks for the suggestions. Any more?
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Ok thanks, I'll have to keep that in mind.
Also....I see you've been avoiding the issue of updates for your remix
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model, or type?
it's an alto sax, but if you want specifics it's a selmer series III alto saxophone (paris, not USA), with a vandoren optimum mouthpiece and ligature, with vandoren 3 reeds.
That's exactly what I want. I've started to become interested in saxophones because they just sound sexy, especially with piano (which is what I play now). How much did that thing cost you? I'm not looking to buy an expensive one, I'm just curious because a quick search on google ran up some high prices.
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...no, not movies about manwiches. Movies that you can watch, and say "DAMN! You can tell he eats manwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" Like The Transporter or Crank. Or even some of Jet Li's stuff, like Unleashed or Fearless. Movies with lots of action. Stuff you like to watch by yourself, but love to watch with other guys.
Any recommendations? Anyone seen War with Jet Li and Jason Statham? Or the Live Free and Die series?
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Ok, I think I am done. It's not very long, only 1:40 (but I didn't have a lot of time, like everyone else). If anyone notices anything that needs fixing, like immediately, please let me know.
Get well soon bLiNd!
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Hey, so I was listening to this again, and I gotta say that 2:43 to the end (like 20 seconds) just owns the world....it's so sweet, especially 2:46....
So...any word on when you'll be working on this again?
Also, I take back what I said, piano and saxophone is a winning combination and I'm not sure if adding even very light drums would add to the song, rather, I feel it would take away from the beauty of the song by adding a somewhat "harsh"-in-comparison sound (non-pitched percussion) to the textures you have going. I do think the piano needs to be brought a bit out front in some places, but that has been mentioned in a couple places in the thread.Oh, and prophet, what sax are you playing?
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That....looks rather interesting.
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Would you rather me cancel it because it seems everyone decided to do this one?
I've been thinking about it, and even if you'd rather me stop working on it, I'm not going to (plus there would be no way I'd be able to complete a different track by the deadline). There may be a lot of Brinstar mixes, but I'm still taking the time to do this for bLiNd. I will not regret working on this, even if he thinks there are too many. Besides, each mix is a completely different interpretation, and holds the ideas and emotions of someone else. Multiple mixes of the same song do not necessarily equate to boring.
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There are just too many Brinstar mixes....
Sorry, but I'm not overly familiar with the Super Metroid soundtrack (the only one I could play in my head was Kraid's Theme, but I figured a lot of people would do that, so I tried to find another). I just went through some songs on vgmusic until I heard one where some interpretation sprung into my mind. Would you rather me cancel it because it seems everyone decided to do this one?
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Ok, I'm definitely on board for this (I meant to mention this earlier...). Anyway, so far I've got about 50 seconds of stuff for the Brinstar 2 theme (definitely in wip). I start by using Finale to get the basic arrangement down, and then I'll be importing it to reason. As of now, it's just piano (if I have time I will add drums and other instruments). The first 50 seconds are part of the wip, but then there's a couple seconds of silence and then a short part I am considering adding in later. Any comments would be nice. I hope to have it done in time. Darkesword, what time Saturday would be the latest you'd accept it?
Thanks.
http://us.f13.yahoofs.com/bc/43a320e1_4ea4/bc/My+Documents/Brinstar2+wip.mid?bfierfIBYrmdfdcJ
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Oh man
. And there I was today hating what's going on in my life and wanting it to stop. I saw the thread title and my stomach dropped and I hoped it wasn't what I though it was... This just goes to show you that no matter where you are, there's always a worse place you can be. Unfortunately for bLiNd, that's the place where he is now.Fear not as you go into the unknown and uncertain future, as the mission you have been given has not yet even been unravelled.
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I'm not overly familiar with the source, so I can't talk about arrangement, but it is a little repetitive. It's got a good foundation, but it needs more spice and more changes. Also, the looping chime instrument's volume needs to come down. I'm not sure if it's the overall volume or each note's velocity, but it's a bit too loud and distracting. The drums also sound a little too "crunchy" to me. Don't know how other people feel about that though. Keep working at it and adding bits here and there to reduce the repetitiveness and you'll do well.
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Or box.net. Just make the folder shared, and others can access it to download or stream. And it's easy to upload a new version and it won't chance the link.
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Didn't the dreamcast have a good Panzer Dragoon?
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Wow....thanks for the exhaustive review
And now for some comments:First, I agree that the mix is lacking a bass instrument throughout...I've tried a couple synths in various sections and found nothing to fit, and gave up for while
. Do you have any recommendations for a fit?It's funny what you said about the sax sample, because both saxes (I've got soprano panned slightly to the right and alto panned slightly to the left) are the ONLY samples in the song that AREN'T from a free soundfont or the main reason banks (yep! I've got no cash at the moment). Again, do you have any recommendations for a sample? I've browsed around a lot and those were the best I could find.
About the intro (first 22 seconds): I've thought about excluding that for a while now. It originally wasn't going to be in (the part after it was slated for the intro) but I stumbled across an idea early on when looking for pads and put it in as the intro because I thought it sounded cool. Then I just kinda left it in, but I've been thinking about putting it towards a Rusty Ruin (genesis) or Chemical Plant remix.
My first task was to start by writing out the basic arrangement in Finale, and then bring the midi into Reason (but I got stuck after the sax hydrocity part for a long time and decided to start with reason with what I had). Next was to just get the various instruments and sounds out there with drums, sound effects, panning, and whatnot. That's really where I am now, and I was saving compression/EQ/etc.. for the very end and haven't really touched upon that yet. But I will
With that hopefully will come better-sounding instruments and drums with more energy.Which piano part(s) do you think need more velocity work? I've done a lot on velocities for the piano parts. I guess though the difference between velocity 100 and say 90 may not be as much as I think it is, leading to the feel of a synthesizer producing the music. Do you think there is enough of a change with velocities during the solo piano part at the end?
I would like to include more of hydrocity thoughout the whole song. That's actually what lead to the jazzy part at 0:53. A while ago, all I had was solo piano playing ice cap. It was pretty boring. But I was listening to hydrocity act 1 and slowed it down a bit, then got the idea. A little rearragement later, and it showed up. Another reason why there isn't so much of hydrocity in some parts is because at first this was just going to be a mix of ice cap. I got the idea for hydrocity as I was writing what would come after 2:10. I love hydrocity, and noticed it was in the same key as ice cap, and thought the transition would be nice and smooth. From there, everything started changing and I made the song more about hydrocity (which I think is a better song than ice cap) except for the off-key ice cap theme I have with the saxes. But ice cap lends itself better to interpretation because it has a very "predictable" rhythm. Hydrocity on the other hand rarely uses the same note durations for more than 2 or 3 notes and jumps around the different pitches. It's much harder to arrange hydrocity than ice cap and I think that's what led to the section from 3:34 to 3:53. From then on it's strictly hydrocity arrangement and interpretation (like mixing two parts of hydrocity 2 into one section between measures and half measures from 3:57 to 4:47). By then I realized I hadn't really done much reinterpretation of hydrocity, and tried to come up with a section to follow. It took a long time to find and a lot of ideas never ended up working. But eventually, after just sitting down at the piano and trying different things with it (I created sheet music for hydrocity for piano and learned the right hand, and I based each hydrocity section off of my transcription), I came up with 4:55 to the end. I would greatly like to put hydrocity in more places (did you catch the flute doing it at 3:42 and 3:47?) as well as put a little more jazz into some parts. Sometimes it just takes someone else to point something out that you know you need to do, but it hadn't hit exactly what that was. Know what I mean? In doing that, I know that I will have other ideas to add to other places to vary it up, which will change the flow and add direction. Right now I've got many different sections that are all different. I'd like to change it a bit to add a smaller climax to each section with a resolution to the next section, which will lead to a small climax and another resolution, constantly building until (what is right now) 5:30, which will be the climax of the whole song, and the resolution being the ending which I have.
I am also still working on 4:55 through 5:30 as it is the newest part of the song and haven't had as much time with it to fully develop it to what I want it to be (as of now it does get a little tiring to listen to, especially because there's not much bass after 5:15 - but I do love that bass piano going from 5:12 to 5:15!) and there isn't a whole lot of other types of sounds at the moment. It's also very difficult to find something that fits because from 4:55 to 5:32 it switches between 4/4 and 15/16, and then from 5:32 to 5:36 is 11/8 (and the next two measures are 7/4). Oh, and glad you like the water drop
. I use that as percussion in various places, but it never stands out as a water drop unless it's by itself.About the composer question...I do, in a way. I've played piano for quite some time, but in a different way than most people. A lot of people seem to just want to play what's in front of them. I like to see what the piece is, and I'll likely learn it that way. But once I have it memorized (which is as soon as I get to the end - I memorize as I practice each section), I will play it differently than what's written because I think some parts are boring, or that I like it but want to play it a bit differently. Take Path of Repentence from FFX. It's a nice song. But it's also a massive run of 8th notes. But who says I have to play it that way? Triplets are nice, as is interweaving the left and right hands. Listen to this to see what I mean: http://www.box.net/shared/shunyb08w0 . Another thing I like to do is to change the overall groove. Here I've got the version written (I think it's Turkish March by Martha Mier), and then I play it again in a way that I interpret it: http://www.box.net/shared/332pga9kwo . All that got me thinking about doing the same thing to ice cap, and that's where I started this song from, doing what I do normally with piano songs, but adding it to other instruments, drums, etc. And yes, Secrets Hidden in the Deep is my first attempt at an actual remix (doing something other than sitting at a piano and playing with a song). I love the sound of piano, and that's why this has so much piano in it, but I do think I need to shift focus in a couple of spots so listeners won't get tired hearing it.
When I get through mixing it up, adding compression and other production-like effects, change focus from piano at some points, adding a bass intrument(s), and re-work the flow towards smaller climaxes and resolutions, it should change the overall direction and flow of the song as a whole. While doing that, I expect the length to change, but I highly doubt it will get longer (I also think it's a little long in the first place, but removing the current intro will help, and tempos and other various things in some cases will change as I change the flow of the section).
Phew...thanks again for your review! It helps to get someone else's opinion to solidify ideas you have but aren't sure how to implement and to be introduced with new ideas. Another set of ears always helps.
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Hmm...is this going to be solo piano, no light percussion or anything? I liked the transition and couple measures with the lava reef act 1. I don't like however the fact that the piece as a whole feels disjointed - a couple notes flow, then there's half notes and it just stops. I can see it being a slow emotive piano piece...but there's way too much resting and "open space". Stick some notes in to keep it flowing...you don't need a lot of rests to be emotive. Some parts also seem to be thrown in kinda quickly and sound like wrong notes (see about 16-18 seconds in for the left hand).
Also, needs a little more lava reef act 1 hints/references. And I hope that's not the ending, it could be made so much better. About the sustain: sustain is good, but I do agree it's a bit much. When you are actually performing the piece, don't press completely down on the sustain pedal, find a point between midway and completely down (depending on the piano you are using, it'll change - even midway may be too much on some pianos). I know you just may have put the sustain on because it's midi (and I don't know if you can adjust sustain other than "on" or "off").
I like what you've got going for a start, but it does need work. I look forward to an update. Good luck!
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Hey, it's not a problem.
Oh, so I don't know if this would work, but it might sound great if you bring in a flute or flute-like instrument to back the lead at 1:54 and throughout until you go back to the main VV theme (and possibly switch it so that the flute is having a solo and the lead becomes the back at some point before returning to the VV theme?). Oh, and I just noticed the "rain" GM-style instrument in a couple places (like at 3:11). Don't hear that too often, and I think it fits (as long as it's not overdone - which it isn't).
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Fixed some more changes. Lowered the volume on the strings after the bluesy section, finally figured a way to make the transition easier (adjusting timimgs and tracks in audacity), panned the pads near the end, and edited some panning on the pianos. And a couple other small changes I can't remember at the moment.
http://www.box.net/shared/goowvjl0k0
Thanks for listening.
Finale vs. Mixing Software
in Music Composition & Production
Posted
Well, since the mixes I've done so far have piano in them, I write out the piano parts. In the DAW, I may change a part to say, saxophone, but keep the notes the same. I still add drums, pads, other instruments on top, etc., but the main flow and notes of the song will be done. I may tweak some notes or change a little, but major changes will be dealt with before the export of the midi.
For me, I don't think it takes longer, because I would MUCH rather write notes in with a notation program like Finale than a sequencer (note that I am a pianist). It's more of a personal preference, I think.
And yeah, I am quite sure Sibelius has an export function... I remember using it a while back to make video game songs all piano by importing midis, changing all the instruments to piano, leaving the drums, exporting as a midi, then using JetAudio to convert from midi to mp3.