Barium

Great advice, thank you guys! I took a listen to Hall of the Mountain King and I hear what you're saying, Sil. I'll give those ideas a shot and see what happens; thanks a ton for the in depth analysis, I really do appreciate it. (Also, the timpani is absent because I don't have really any percussion yet , I've just been working on the other sections. I'll start adding that in as well.)

Gogo's theme is a light, almost clownish little tune, it's a lot of fun on the soundtrack. I decided to remove as much happiness from it as I could and see what happened. Source is here: http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/FF6-_Gogo%27s_Theme.mid Or just hit up vgmusic.com, go to Super Nintendo, A-F, Final Fantasy 6 (as though anyone listening to WIPs needs instructions on how to do this, right?) and listen to Gogo (3) by Jorge D. Fuentes. I thought that that one was the closest to the source of the bunch. My piece is here: http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/zzem/Gogo I say semi-orchestral on this because I really don't know much about orchestral composition and, essentially, I know I'm missing a lot of things necessary for the right feeling, the right motion, the right...everything, I just need to figure out what those are and how to do them! Hopefully I'll learn more with time. So until then, I'm okay with writing arrangements and putting them to orchestral instruments: semi-orchestral. This isn't finished yet, as you'll notice there isn't even really percussion yet...and despite how conclusive it may sound at 2:13, I don't plan on ending there at all. This is mainly to get feedback on the rest of the arrangement, and to see if I should keep on going the way I'm going or take a different approach. I think I'm still developing my ear and so there's going to be a few things that I'll have screwed up, and I'd like to know what they are. I haven't put much effort into the production yet, really, but any comments you have on that will be appreciated as well. Any and all feedback is appreciated, so please let me know what you think! Thanks.

Thanks for the tips, I've got a lot to do right now but I'm hoping to be able to work on it again shortly. That version was mainly for arrangement critiques, I haven't put too much time into production yet. Probably should have specified that. But I'll get some work done on it soon.

A noir shooter movie without Clive Owen? *gasp*

I really love the soundtrack to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, it has such a different sound than the other Final Fantasies. So I tried to do an orchestral rearrangement of the music from the last boss fight, the song called "Sad Monster." So, without further ado, here is Monster's Ball. I'd love any and all comments and advice, please, I really want to improve. Completely slipped my mind that I could find the original on youtube, so go ahead and give that a listen if you'd like a reference. http://youtube.com/watch?v=AwMzq0PyCiI

I wanted to do something slow and cool with this song from Tetris and I feel like I learned enough from my previous foray into mixing to really give this one a shot. It's very liberal with its interpretation so you'll have to listen carefully to hear the song but I assure you it's in there. I'm still quite inexperienced and I'm eager to improve myself so I'd appreciate any and all feedback. http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/hqpn/Eurasian-Chill-v1

Well, if you like Cubase and you're a student / teacher, you can get Cubase Essential 4 Educational Edition (the "barebones" version though it's still got plenty of features and it works for me) for $75. Pretty much all of the Cubases are at least half off if you can qualify for the Educational version.

Well, as much as I know I won't be able to defend myself from a Snappleattack, I am quite a new mixer, so I am very prone to mistakes. But, if I've got more arrangement problems than production problems then that's okay, as I really haven't made many changes arrangement-wise from the first couple versions aside from changing my ridiculous lead instrument (I like it ), it's all been about making the bad arranging and mixing sound cohesive while going to worse. So, lemme know how or why it didn't really happen (if you can nail any good examples/reasons from just listening); I'd like to improve on that front as well. As for arranging, I get what you mean for the majority of what you're saying but one thing stands out - how are my harmonies wrong? If you care enough to try to point out specific examples of my bad harmonies I'd appreciate the chance to figure out why. Like you said, I do lack musical knowledge; aside from having played the bagpipes for seven years I haven't played another instrument from an age (piano at age five) I can remember but I am trying to expand my musical knowledge both through practice (here) and classes (which I can't take until next quarter ). I can just imagine you saying you don't want to hear my life story, but that's okay; I'm down with the soul-crushing as long as I can get some good advice from it. EDIT: Getting some good feedback via IRC about certain things, especially the harmonies, so I'm getting a feel for what you might have meant. Still feel free to let me know what you had a problem with though, in case it was something different that I could fix.

I'm baaaaaaaack! Okay, I've put a decent bit of effort into trying to get everything to mesh together and I also tried to pump up the bass a bit more. I replaced the synth at the beginning with trumpets, I think it makes for a more powerful lead harmony. Tossed in a couple variations to the trumpet/synth lead (I honestly like the additions and how it sounds overall at this point, I don't really want to change it). Go ahead and give it a listen if you've got some time and feel free to give me any advice/feedback/comments you might have.

All righty, yet another version is up. I spent all day on this one (spring-breaks-in-which-all-my-friends-are-out-of-town ftl) trying to use the old bass while preventing any pumping, so let me know if there's any in there and if there is, when specifically it occurs. And I really couldn't think of anything else to do with the trumpet/synth lead, I didn't want to complicate it any more than it already is and I'm fairly satisfied with how it sounds. By the way - thanks for all the feedback Eino, I really do appreciate it. It's helping out a lot. EDIT: Thanks to advice from bustatunez, I threw a multiband compressor on the track to see what would happen. I uploaded the result and posted it (it's called Beta 34) so if you've got the time I'd love for some opinions on which is preferable.

Okey dokey, a new version is up. There is literally no compression in this one, so as a beginner I'll hazard a guess that any pumping is caused by the limiter on the master track. Let me know if you hear any, I can't hear it too well after listening to this over and over and over. Also, if you notice any pumping, please let me know specifically where it is. I brought out the synth that I had paired with the trumpet (it was always there before, it was just pretty quiet) so now it's a lot more obvious and perhaps will give the trumpet some liveliness. I also tried to get the background synths to blend in a bit better. I had to mess with the bass line as well, so it'll sound a bit different (I think there were just too many competing sounds in it) so let me know what you think of it. Well, I kind of like the way it ends now. The whole song feels resolved at the fadeout; there really isn't anywhere else I want to go with it and I don't think a sudden stop would suit this very well.

Mmk, I've posted a new version; go ahead and give it a listen. I tried to fix those "pumping" issues and I think I got some but not all of it. I'm not sure if I can hear it as well as others may be able to so let me know if it's still too much. As for its length, I didn't plan on making it any longer - arrangement wise I'm pretty done with it. I feel like the fadeout shortly after introducing that last section is rather fitting, but let me know if it doesn't feel right to you.

Okay - I'm not exceptionally experienced so feel free to take this with a grain of salt, but it seems like you'd appreciate any kind of feedback. STRUCTURE [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [X] Pace too plodding [X] Too repetitive [X] Abrupt ending PERSONAL COMMENTS For "Pace too plodding," and "Too repetitive," they weren't too prevalent personally, it felt like it was intentional and that's okay, it does go with the overall feel. However, for "Not enough changes in sounds," I did think that using the same synth at 2:16-2:54 used in the rest of the song got somewhat "boring," even if it was supposed to resemble the sound of the melody before and after it. Also, the string crescendo starting at 2:00 felt a little fast, not too big of a deal. And this one is a tiny nitpick, but when the strings jump an octave at 1:24 there's a tiny space of silence which was a bit jarring. And finally, for "Abrupt ending," was there a specific reason to continue that sample at the end beyond what felt like a very natural conclusion at 4:18? But I like the sound and feel of it otherwise, it creates a great ambiance that's very fitting for a "funky" haunt.

Thanks for the tips, there's an update posted up there now. I already had a newer version to be posted (in which I had redone the drums) so I tried to deal with the first issue you mentioned prior to posting. Give it a listen and lemme know what you think.

I know this song is oh so popular, but I've just done another fairly major re-edit, and I'd love some feedback.

Personally, being a new remixer trying to get something onto the site (whether or not I will at any point in the near future is up for debate) I'd really like to get a critique like this. I'm really looking to improve my sound and this type of template helps keep the reply on topic while affording some ego-stroking should I have earned it. The caveat being, of course, that the comments section is used to elaborate on what is checked off; the subjects in and of themselves are a bit too broad to allow for adequate edification (I like big words, sorry).

Heh it is intentional, actually. I'm kind of going for the feel you get in System of a Down's Dreaming (though I didn't realize it until after I got well into the song) where there are several quick transitions from dissonance to harmony and vice versa, and I used the bass line to keep everything tied together somewhat. I updated the original post with the sources I could find. Unless you're talking thematically, in which case there may need to be some rewriting done. Which high synths are especially annoying? Is it mainly the one into the transition into The Fierce Battle? Because I kind of meant it to be like that, though if it's really too much I'll try to tone it down. I'll see if I can't do some of the other adjustments as well. Thanks for the tips!

Okay, I got a bit of advice from #ocrwip (thanks statas) and I've given it a couple fixes. Please feel free to let me know of anything you think I can improve on, I'd really appreciate it. http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/ubtk/Acidic-Compound-Beta-4

I've been spending a lot of time getting to know the ins and outs of remixing, and this is an idea I've been tossing around in my head for a long time, it's a "medley" of sorts based around the song Power House from Metal Gear Ac!d; a song I like so much I used to leave my PSP on while I just sat back and listened for long, long stretches of time despite the fact it's only two minutes long. I figured it went well with quite a few "big bad" tunes from other well known games, so the first stop for this tune is World Revolution, the second to last fight against Lavos in Chrono Trigger. It moves on to The Fierce Battle, the music played in the fight against Atma (Weapon) in Final Fantasy III / VI, and then bridges and concludes with Sub Castle BGM, the background music for (surprise surprise) the small castles in Super Mario World. This is the first song I've done where I've actually figured out how to use EQ, Compressors and Limiters to a semblance of their real capacity (and the first song in which I've used synths, really,) so I think what I've got so far is pretty decent. But I'd love comments or advice on how to improve it, of course. Sources: *Can't find the Metal Gear Acid Source!* http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ct - Track 66 (World Revolution) http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff6 - Track 56 (The Fierce Battle) http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=smw - Track 19 (Sub Castle BGM) Versions: First - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/rvka/Acidic-Compound-Partial Second - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/obxs/Acidic-Compound-Beta Third - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/ubtk/Acidic-Compound-Beta-4 Fourth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/wqgj/Acidic-Compound-Beta-6 Fifth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/iqsq/Acidic-Compound-Beta-8 Sixth - http://tindeck.com/audio/my/nsda/Acidic-Compound-Beta-9 Seventh - http://tindeck.com/audio/my/kqqr/Acidic-Compound-Beta-11 Eighth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/fjav/Acidic-Compound-Beta-16 Ninth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/eskx/Acidic-Compound-Beta-17 Tenth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/dqhe/Acidic-Compound-Beta-23 Eleventh - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/jocq/Acidic-Compound-Beta-25 Twelfth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/ibmk/Acidic-Compound-Beta-33 Thirteenth - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/lrsb/Acidic-Compound-Beta-34 MOST RECENT (4/3 6:46 PM PST) - http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/qhml/Acidic-Compound-Beta-35 That's a lot of versions, huh?

I'd say mine would be winning the World Pipe Band Championships for grade 3B in 2003 (not a very high grade, I know, but we had beaten the band that won in 3A in prior competitions). So damn long ago...it's taking so much time to get back into the groove of all things musical.

I'm rather new to the remixing scene, I've been doing work on a couple things though I haven't managed to be able to put enough time into completing anything (just don't seem to ever have enough of it!) But I finally got around to taking a midi I had written a while ago and making a song out of it. It's the theme song of a villain I'd thought up back when I was more creative. It was for a game, so I even wrote battle music for him. Maybe at some point I'll make a song out of that as well. Here's the Conductor's Theme. I know it's not from a game nor have I even contributed much of anything game-related to this community, but this site is what got me into this into the first place, so I wanted to post it here to see if I could get any comments or advice. This is the first song I've ever actually finished (third one I've started) so anything is appreciated; I'd really like to improve.

I hope you'll allow me a small amount of exposition - this is my first remix. I started researching in mid October, starting working on this at the beginning of November, and almost had something presentable in early December. I was about an hour's worth of work away from "polishing" up this WIP to post here when my computer died and I lost access to all my files, but now I'm back in business! This remix is a combination of two songs from the Final Fantasy 9 Soundtrack, The Evil Mist's Rebirth and Assault of the White Dragons. I've only gotten a bit into the latter of the two at this point, but I'll be progressing soon enough. Anyone who has played FF IX probably remembers the cutscene that accompanies Assault of the White Dragons, it's one of my personal favorite cutscenes out of any game (and also what made me want to try my hand at remixing the song.) I just wanted to see what I could do with it. I'm a big fan of epic music, so I that's what I'm going for. There's not much deviation from the sources because this isn't a situation where I like something from the source and want to do something else with it; I like the source in its entirety, and I simply want to build upon it. So maybe I might not be on the right track in regards to interpretation to make it onto the site at this point (keep in mind, this isn't done yet!) but I hope I can stay closer to the source rather than change things too much. And while I'm on the subject of sources: the MIDI on vgmusic.com for the former of the two songs is pretty terrible (the second one is pretty bang on with a couple slight inaccuracies, but what're ya' gonna do?) I have the song files that I purchased, but I'm not sure what the policy here on hosting those is (I just haven't seen that really happen too much, I've only seen links to MIDIs on vgmusic.com). If it's cool, I can host them for comparison. If not, no problem. So, without further ado, I present the incomplete Draco ex Machina. Like I said, this is my first remix, the most experience I had prior to starting this was fiddling around with Noteworthy Composer 4 or so years ago, so I know there'll be a lot for me to work on. I appreciate any advice or constructive criticism that you guys can offer to me; I'd really like to make this as good as it can be.

I know exactly how you feel. I just recently decided to try my hand at remixing and spent two months researching and working on my first remix (I don't have much free time, so everything takes longer). As I was getting my WIP polished enough to post here, I really didn't need more than an hour's worth of work, my computer died and I don't know if my hard drive is recoverable yet (I'll be finding out this weekend though). I have a couple mp3s of my progress prior to the crash available, but all the volume levels aren't completely conformed, the timings aren't quite sync'd up, and less of the arrangement is present. I'm going to be pretty devastated if it's all gone. I sympathize with you completely.

This remix made my day, and of course prompted my registering to this site (I was going to delay registering until I had made enough of my first remix to post in the WIP forums, but my hard drive doesn't want that.) I can't believe someone made a remix with the pipes. This is wonderful. Obligatory description of experience with bagpipes: I'm not actually Scottish. But I did play the pipes for seven years, and this brings all those memories flooding right back. The soloist playing first, the band starting their drones a bar before they come in, the (military, usually) brass accompaniment, everything was done incredibly. The soloist's drones were even out of tune (which any self respecting soloist would never allow, mind you!) The bridge did go out of the range of the Great Highland Bagpipe, which is the type you'd almost always see played in bands in the UK and the US, but that's not a big deal. The GHB only has a range of nine notes, you don't get much wiggle room. Oh, that reminds me, the grace notes, oh, the grace notes were wonderful. There are a few complicated movements the soloist could've done when soloing, and some the band might have done as well, but if you haven't learned the pipes (which, of course, is only an assumption, feel free to correct me) it'd be tough to know about them, so no worries there; the finger movements that were done were amazing enough! For the person who wanted the notes, I don't have software to put this on sheet music, but I took a quick 20-30 minutes to write 'em out on a wordpad document (that means you're stuck with figuring out the timing, shouldn't be too tough though, eh?) The low G and low A are simply 'g' and 'a' and the high G and high A are '(hg)' and '(ha)'. The notes that are out of the GHB's range are written as '(oor)'. I also left out almost all the grace notes and embellishments, it's up to the player to toss 'em in (most players like doing that anyway.) I only left in a few in the "March Bridge" section because they're necessary for the runs. They're in brackets. I apologize if something's not right here, I didn't spend too much time on it, so I might have overlooked something. Just repeat these sections as necessary. For the March - it's still the same note arrangement even when it gets faster. Intro = {c b a c e d c f (hg) (ha) e d c f (hg) (ha) e d c d c a b} Slow Air = {a (ha) e c f e d c d e a b / a (ha) e c f e d c b a // a (ha) e c f e d c d e a b / a (ha) e c f e d c d b c a } Bridge = {c b c d c b (fast - c d) c d e f (ha) f (ha) (oor) (oor) (oor) (oor) (hg?) (ha) f a b c d e d c b a} March = {a (ha) e c f e d c d e a b / a (ha) e c f e d b c b a b c a} March Bridge = {a c a c e (ha) c b a b c d [e] f (ha) f (ha) (oor) (oor) (oor) (oor) (hg?) (ha) f a b c d e d c b a} Finally - thank you Spekkosaurus, this remix is absolutely wonderful.