Gario

I... completely missed this one for years. Being a heavy metal fan, myself, it's a damn shame I missed it. You basically turned Castlevania into Death Metal. On here it's rock, perhaps; hell, even thrash, but death metal? It always surprises me how accepting OCR is to other genres. Great live performance, too - love to see the footage of the moshers kicking the crap outta each other in there, since I can assure you there were moshers to a song like this . It's good death metal - there's a lot of crap death metal out there (I mean a lot of crap death metal - in New Mexico, crap death metal is all the rave ), but this is certainly one of the gems from the genre. Great work with this one!

It could be my lack of dubstep experience, but the changes that I hear don't seem significant enough. It's the lack of change of harmonic change that's bugging me specifically, though - there are a lot of little things that are changing, but the bigger picture isn't changing, at all. If that's how dubstep works (similarly to trance, for example) then this comment merely shows my ignorance to the genre (one that I'm now curious about but don't want to illegally download tracks to get into it), but otherwise I'm pretty sure my ears aren't deceiving me, here. My first post wasn't specific enough, sorry.

For a Battletoads remix, you sure haven't got too many comments out there. C'mon peeps, this is Battletoads (Surfing area, no less)! The source is one of those that I'm absolutely surprised isn't remixed more often. I am... not that familiar with the genre, myself, so let me know if my comments are coming from a horribly ill-informed point of view rather than being helpful. I like the texture / soundscape of the song, in general, but I feel the texture is too static. I'd love to hear it go a couple of other places, periodically, with the texture. The drums could use a little more variety, as well - the change towards the end isn't quite enough. Chiptunes are always awesome and appropriate, and this remix is no exception. Love the chips . I suspect that's a very personal bias, though. The song doesn't seem to have any direction, and the ending doesn't quite sound like one. That could be because of the relatively static nature of the piece. More direction would make this great. It certainly isn't a bad mix, imho - it has great production value and it's a great source. It just doesn't seem to go anywhere, as is. Hope this helps .

SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... I'd like to have some peace before the inevitable panic, thank you very much .

I'll pipe in real quick on Schenkerian Analysis and add that the purpose isn't to emphasis the Urlinie and reduce tonal music to those three notes (since, technically, all tonal music reduces to the Urlinie & Ursatz, it's not that interesting), but to show how the tonal song in question breaks away from it in cool, interesting ways. At least, that's what I've come to understand, anyway. 'Course, showing that all tonal music reduces to that three note / three chord pattern is interesting, too, if you've never seen it before . Here's looking forward to your next post, Moseph . (Makes me wish I could find a joke where someone did an analysis of Mary Had a Little Lamb - Ma ---------- as snow. Priceless ).

No problem. When someone mentions that the soundscape of a song / sound of the music is too static, it means that there isn't enough change to the texture of the music. For example, in the Castlevania track you have posted, the piano texture is exactly the same throughout, the flute functions the same throughout, the strings play that pleasant waltz-like theme for a considerable amount of time, etc.. Yes, the soundscape sort of changes with the section changes, but everything continues to function the same, texturally, thus giving the sound a very 'unchanging' feeling, which will wear on the listener's ears, over time. To correct it, taking out some parts helps (the strings may not play the waltz thingy in one part, for example), changing what instruments play the texture give some variety (Woodwinds play the piano texture for a section), and changing some textures entirely keeps the older textures fresh, when they come back (That piano texture could have at least some variation, even in a faithful rendition - it would take some of the repetitive bite out of the track, for sure). Those are a couple of ways to correct that problem. Hope that helps (can't say it's foolproof, but hey - music isn't a simple thing ).

I'm very late on the ball, here (Woa, 4 months ago?), but I'll echo the comments on the Castlevania track - too repetitive & short. HOWEVER, that's really only a problem if you wanted this to be submitted on OCR. The music being static, though, is a universal problem - the textures need to change up a little bit, there, even if it is a faithful recreation of the original. People don't like listening to the same soundscapes for too long, since it wears on the ears. That being said, I frankly loved it, overall - the instruments were clean and the original track was amazing enough to where it didn't matter if you didn't ReMix is. Now if you could rearrange it it would be amazing.

Can't say much more than has already been said. Loved the intro effects, though - great to hear variety in a metal track (nothing wrong with solid 'in-your-face' metal, but it's always nice to hear metal with some creative liberty, as well). I'm sure we'll see this on the front page soon enough.

I hate time signatures, so my favorites are when they're nominally used. Straviniiiiiiinsky. And this explains Favorites threads in detail.

Adamantium Dude said it quite well - it's not the notes themselves that determine a true church mode, but how you use them. Functionality is truly a separating issue when it comes to writing real modal music. What it'll sound like otherwise is music that's in the key of 'E' (or wherever the major/minor tonic is) but keeps returning to the wrong place (I just got some music from Battletoads up here - it's in C Minor but spends the majority of it's time on the AbM triad, even to the point that it starts + ends on the AbM triad, in the source... It's not in Ab lydian, despite the fact it hangs out there more than it does on C). Interesting fact (one you probably know informally, via 'It's all the white notes rearranged', if you look at a keyboard, but here it is formalized) - every single scale, every single mode is derived from a single Forte pitch class 7-35 (013568A). Thus, unless you're going to incorporate syntax or grammar into the scale, all of them are technically going to sound the same, since they all derive from the same set. Functionality in tonal/modal music is everything, when it comes to distinguishing one key/mode from another (the breakdown of modal, then tonal music occurred because people broke away from the rules that followed... from Palestrina to Schoenberg it's observable that the functionality between keys is broken down and eventually gave way to Classical tonality, Romantic tonality from early to late Romanticism, eventually leading to Schoenberg pantonality - it's quite interesting... Webern's 'Path to New Music' discusses that in detail, I highly recommend it). A wordy way of saying what other people on here are trying to clarify, but I hope this helps. That... is quotable material, right there, lol.

Hmm... can't say for sure about inharmonicity (or enharmonicity?) - I don't know about that tidbit (something new I gotta look up and learn about, I guess). The fact about the triangle was me parroting what I've heard from a couple of teachers + in a few lectures, but the basics of it was that the triangle (and, for that matter, basically any other vibrating shape that isn't a straight line, such as a spoon and a snare) resonate in such a way that they do not create nor tune to the classic overtone series, but other unique series instead. The triangle's partials are not the octave, fifth, fourth, third, etc., but something like tritone, third, etc. (I don't remember what the series was, exactly - those names are made up - but it was something tonal that you could hear, if you listened for it). There's a song I heard performed where someone beats on a triangle for 15 minutes. Amazing sound to it - when you listen to it long enough, your brain separates the partials into all of it's parts, ignoring the root sound, then the first partial, then the second, etc., so if you have a triangle + the time (and know how to use it) give it a couple of whacks for some time and listen to what notes are produced. It's quite interesting what you get. Now I'm eagerly awaiting the Mario Schenkerian analysis from you . Don't disappoint in reducing Mario to the Three Blind Mice .

Don't worry, I third the complaint on the drums (especially the snare). For the most part, though, I'm going to try to fix it in through mixing/mastering and simply bring it to the foreground (and probably change the snare, altogether), so when Level 99 sets the guitar I'll fix the drums in one fell swoop. Yeah, that game doesn't have nearly enough mixes on here - I ran through it recently to find that every song on the game is really incredible. Even crossed my mind to just get an album of it done real quick (if this site doesn't have enough albums being worked on, lol), but I don't have the time to do that sort of thing, on my own.

Mucho Gracias, lv99! You'll only owe me your SOUL, after this track . When the guitar part comes in and I get time to do the mixing/mastering I'll get back to you all (moving this weekend, so it'll take me a little time to clear that up then mix it). Thanks lv99 - it's gonna be epic .

Hey all! Got a fresh mix for you all, from... well, the title says it well enough. Rocket Slam (OLD) Rocket Slam (FINAL) You may notice that there's a shitty synth guitar in there, ruining the music. Thus, I need a volunteer to lay down a guitar track for me. I know you guys are out there - y'all make great guitar music on this site all the time. Just a couple of things, for anyone willing to take me up on it... The tempo is 180mm throughout, in the key of Dd (there's a lot of focus in A, as well). Don't worry about the track I laid out - it's there to fill the space so it's easier to mix in the guitars. Some of the track is representative to the source, though (0:33 - 0:44, 1:04 - 1:25, 1:45 - 1:55), so if you vary those track, keep it at a minimum, there. Otherwise, go nuts and have fun with it. 2:18 doesn't have a guitar track down there. That's because I'm looking for a solo to really give that last section some flavor, and I wouldn't dream of trying to make something up there with my shitty guitar sound. Here are some files that may help, if you're interested. No Guitar Guitar Only (*shudder*) Otherwise, feel free to comment/critique... just keep in mind that I can't get the final mixing/mastering done until I have a guitar to lay down on top. Thanks! EDIT: Cripes! Forgot the !EDIT2: No more shitty synth guitar - Level 99 took care of that, and now it rocks.

Hmm... it's damn tempting to go pick it up, for sure. Interesting that it's the only Megaman series that has a definitive end to it (unless MMX8 really ends that series, but I haven't played that one so I can't say), thus it should only have one collection to get excited over (Yeah, Megaman Collection WILL come out again with an 'update' that includes MM9, 10, 11... mark my words).

Hell... yes. Please do. And musicology would be awesome, too, especially since that was an area that my school was woefully lacking in. Oh, I really have no 'problems' with your use of Phrygian (people do that sort of thing all the time, so it's expected). I just wanted to take the opportunity to explain that in a truly modal song the notes are not the only thing that you change, if you wanted to truly write in a different 'mode'.And no, composers in the Romantic era adhered religiously to the rules of Counterpoint (which is not the same thing as harmony, and is the doctrine that I'm discussing now). In modern times it changed, but even then there has been some 'direction' (and a lot of 'Don'ts' that everyone follows, when it comes to realizing that direction), so don't fall under the illusion that composers after the Classical era just did whatever they wanted (that's what they WANTED you to believe ). Go to that link. Start something up - I'm always game to discuss theory on here, so at least one person (and probably more) would discuss it with you. The discussions in the thread rarely became debates, per se, but things popped up periodically that could interest you, in there, so take a look. Theory is interesting in that it's a subject that two people can have two completely different opinions and both be absolutely correct (Moseph and my own opinion expressed at the end of the linked thread on Zelda is a great example of two people having different yet no less correct opinions on a track, I believe), since it's the study of expressing what one hears in the music. That's not to say there are no wrong answers, but it's quite an interesting subject that can result in opening one's ears, if discussed.

I've been waiting for a metal remix of that source for years, Brandon. I know you won't disappoint.

Mmm... Rama loves me . Can't wait to see who got mine (It's a rehash from last year, but no one got it last time so it's all good).

I think his wife totally had the hots for him. That's just a guess, though. To be honest, this is probably the only movie I watched last year that I really enjoyed.

I can't say for sure (since I'm not on that project), but look at the tune and ask yourself if it isn't simply primary mixture goin' on. Just because the sixth of a scale is raised from time to time doesn't quite mean it's Dorian - that mode has a different function as well as a different scale degree. If it really is Dorian, though, I can't wait to hear it . hey HEY! That's what this thread was for! No one ever argued theory in there except me, though, so it died down . Someone necro that thread's ass and we'll all discuss some theory maaaagic... ... please? Alrighty, I'm listening to SLyGeN's tracks now... The Vermilion City track, I'm afraid, expresses a common misconception of the use of modes. If you simply switch around the scale degrees to match the 'mode' you're playing in, the music will sound forced and unnatural, since it'll sound like a Major/Minor scale with incorrect notes (and, for that matter, in order to cadence the scale & balance the track it will revert to Major/Minor mode). In order to properly function in a mode every changed note needs to have a complete change in functionality, as well - lowered second in Phrygian, for example, really functions in the exact same way as the raised 7th in Major/Minor and the 7th never moves (it always remains flat). That's the primary change that gives Phrygian it's distinct flavor, which people never apply when using that scale. Functionality changes in modal music. Of course, it is interesting to listen to, nonetheless, so don't worry about it much - just be aware that it's a bit of a misunderstanding about modes that is extremely common. The more you know, the better, right? I'm liking the Minor Cerulean track. It fits the track quite well. Just... be careful with some of the background notes - one of the chromatic runs are sour, and there are a couple of spots in the beginning where the old key sneaks in there in the harmonies. Ditto with the Celadon track (minus the errors - the track has no sour notes). Lovely stuff .

Oh, I got it. Thanks for the clarification. I'll take the track given. It'll be tough, but that's why it's a CHALLENGE, people. Let's see what I can do with it, now..

Awesome fact about Octatonic scale - if you take out any fully diminished 7th from the chromatic scale the remaining notes form a perfect octatonic scale. Back on topic.

The tone geometries looks suspiciously familiar... Not the same thing, I know (one uses pantonal transformations on tonal networks, while the other uses it's own system), but it's very similar. Looking at the deriving article, it's funny that I actually know one of the writers (Ian Quinn) - he currently resides in Albuquerque as a music director. Interesting; I'll read that article as soon as I can.

Hmm... people are getting their tracks already? I haven't heard from mine, yet, so here's hoping my entry as a mixer didn't get mixed up in the process, any. I'm sure you guys have everything under control and all, but I'm a natural worrier...

Sorry for the short update. I wasn't planning on sending that out (since it was so short), but I wanted to send SOMETHING for your birthday, lol. It also allows other people on the project to see the WIP and give me some more direction on it, now, since you were the only user privy to the first WIP. I'm working on getting the next update (complete 3 - 3 1/2 minute structure + rough mix) in before the next deadline, so here's looking forward to that (I really would have been done by now, but my computer completely fried last week + am attending my brother's wedding atm, so I've been tied up). See you in a little bit with a more acceptable update