Gario

He's Cory Harbak, obviously... *pfft*.

Who'd want to be kicking in their 90's? Besides, his birthday was two days ago - get with the times .

Heh heh, the sample you've got up right now loops perfectly - I didn't even notice the break point. Is that good, bad or what? Well, it's really not anything - just an interesting thing about this current version . I'm not going to put a label on this, as I'm generally bad at that sort of thing... Instead I'll make a genre up - Neblixsa. That is the genre of this song now . Okay, listening to it... very interesting instrument choice - they work rather well together. They could use a lot of dynamic work, though - the instruments sound very mechanical without the dynamic variations. For example, the sax from the beginning to 1:00... it would sound more animated if you vary the dynamics, either by having them diminuendo (decrease in volume in order to bring out the other instruments that come in throughout) or crescendo (increase the volume in order to increase he intensity before it goes silent) - that brings another dimension to the music. Overall dynamics are the first step - then play around with the individual notes wherever it may sound too mechanical (the celesta at 2:03 is an example of this, although I probably would take out the repeating notes - it sounds weird from such a resonant instrument). I like the overall vibe, though (even if it isn't jazz - not that I'd know, I don't work with Jazz much) - and the variation of such a short song is quite well done. Good job on incorporating the Spirit theme, as well . Keep it up!

Yeah, I agree a lot of it is boring... I'll change it up when I get the structure complete. Priorities, though - it's probably best for me to get the structure done first, then change up the bass/ beef up the drums/ get the production up to standards/ etc. I might get to some of it earlier (like the lack of bass in the bass) before I finish, though. Thanks for letting me know, though - like I said before, it's why I post here . lol, the Sega version of the game has absolutely no relation to the snes version, dude; one's a platformer (Sega) while the other is a top down adventure game (snes) - I'm surprised you'd be able to recognize any of it at all. I posted the source link so you could compare.The Sega version did have a lot of blood, though - gotta give them props for that .

Hey eveyone! Like I said, I plan to do my own analysis every Monday of the week myself, but feel free to post something of your own - I enjoy seeing what other people think of music, as you will always have a different outlook from myself and I could learn some new stuff from you guys. Another week, another analysis for me. What's the flavor of the week? - if you haven't played this game, go out and shoot yourself... then go play it, as it is one of the best top down shooters in history. The graphics were great, the story was perfect ('This battle will make your blood boil. Good luck!'... priceless), and the music really did get your blood boiling. What is it about the music that made you want to rip the Russians/Germans/North Koreans/whatever-enemy-we're-dealing-with a new asshole? That first level especially is an epic piece of work, there - Seriously, it just feels like battle music. Why is that?I'd attribute the battle sound to one element - the incredibly teleocentric harmonies they use. For those that don't know, teleocentric means 'goal oriented' (vs 'Centric', where the harmonies don't move towards anything, they just move around a center, or 'Generative', where the harmonies are all continually developed from the previous chord). Oddly enough, it never actually reaches a goal; it always sounds like it's moving towards one, though. There is actually a 'Shepard Tone' effect throughout the whole thing, as it never seems to relieve that tension the goal oriented music creates - it sounds like it's forever increasing in energy. The music is freaking insane. How did they do it? Let's take a look at the tonal structure. Music that sounds teleocentric more often than not follows a tonal syntax, and this song isn't any different. The notes sound mixolydian, at first, but the harmonic structure feels like Major that borrows from the parallel minor mode. From the beginning to the looping point, it sound like... (from 0:08 on...) BM: V/v (no third) - I - V - vi - IV - V - vi - IV - V - bVII- I - II# - V - (IV) - V - (IV) - Passing... Interesting harmonies, to say the least - if anyone is confused, I can make it into specific chords rather than Roman Numerals by request. Now, what is going on, there, and why does it feel like it's continually building up? The first two harmonies (three, if the intro is included) are textbook harmonies for a tonal song (I - V, or starting the song off with the dominant, to give it spice, V - I - V), and the move to vi isn't uncommon at all (it's called a 'deceptive cadence', because the dominant doesn't move to the tonic, but to a chord that has a single note difference from the tonic, the sub-mediant... okay, a deceptive cadence normally uses the 6/3 position of vi instead of the root, but more on that in a second). However, following that harmonic progression the music moves around vi as if it's the harmonic center of the music now. Thus, it makes more sense to analyze it like this... (From 0:16 on...) BM: V - vi - IV - V - vi - IV - V - bVII- I - II# - V - IV - V - IV - Passing... g#m: VII - i - VI - VII - i - VI - VII - bII - III - VI# ... For those that use Roman Numeral Analysis often, you may be wondering why I placed the pivot on the dominant rather than the sub-mediant (The 'pivot chord' is the exact chord that I begin to analyse the song in more than one key)? Here's the answer - common in modern 'tonal' music (but not in 'classical' music), the progression VII - i / bVII - I often replaces the traditional V# - i / V - I as the cadential pattern of the piece - and this song exemplifies this tendency throughout (in fact, I'd say roughly 90% of the music is driven by it). Thus, it makes more sense retrospectively to label the V a VII chord leading up to the implied tonic, especially since the pattern VI - VII - i follows. That's great for a little while, but it hits a snag when it get to bII. Now, bII is actually a common chord used in the minor mode (the Phrygian or Neopolitan bII), but it doesn't resolve like that at all. Instead, it makes more sense to analyse it as functioning in yet another new 'key'... (0:24 - 0:30) BM: bVII - I - II# - V g#m: bII - III - IV# C#M: VI - VII - I Now, what is significant about C#M? That is the applied dominant of the original key's dominant chord, which is, in fact, exactly where that chord goes - that's why I don't follow it any farther than that. It leads back into the original key again, but because of the time it spends on the dominant it almost establishes itself as the key center for a while. I don't label the chords after that point because they are very open (actually, they often are just octaves), meaning it's a scale degree passing motion rather than a harmonic one (hence, the label). It reduces to the scale degrees b3 - b5 - b6 - b7, which then leads back into the beginning of the song (or at least the programmed loop point, the tonic). For those that are interested, it moves from the 'key centers' I - vi - V/V - V - I, which is a textbook progression you'd easily learn about in second semester music theory. It just moves to these areas in unconventional ways . Notice, also, that the song never stays in one key for very long at all - it just moves from one place to another. There's a current debate about this, but many theorists (including myself) would call these 'Tonicizations' rather than true 'modulations' - the difference being how long the music stays in the area. This may all be very well and interesting, but how does this create the Shepard Tone effect explained earlier? The beauty of this whole song is that the harmonic motion essentially follows the infamous Circle of Fifths - meaning it sounds like a whole bunch of cadences stacked next to each other, with no way to disambiguate it, in this case. This ambiguity in the structure is further confused by the fact that this song actually rarely uses a real cadence throughout - it generally sticks to resolving the music with the bVII - I progression, which is not nearly as conclusive as the classic cadential formula (V - I or V# - i). The only two places in the music that contain the classic cadential formula is the very first chord to the second chord (which is the introduction to the loop point, which is never heard again throughout the song) and the applied dominant to the dominant chord in the middle of the song (0:28 - 0:31). Everything else uses the bVII - I pattern, which sounds inconclusive - even the motion back to the actual tonic. Combine this with the fact that the overall harmonic structure is highly ambiguous without a clear tonic and the result is music that sounds like it's always moving forward, yet never actually ending anywhere. This constant motion towards a goal without ever reaching it is the 'Shepard Tone' that I described earlier - it always feels like it's increasing in energy without ever letting up. Perfect for battle - it makes my blood boil every time I hear it. Funny, I didn't want this to be as long as it was last week... Oh well.

I'm glad you like it, Giga Bowser - always nice to know people enjoy what I do . Hewhoisiam, which break are you talking about? The break in the middle there does have a dramatic dynamic change before it goes into the meat and potatoes... . My drum track is already split into multiple channels - I never write a track without separating the drums, don't worry . I don't know if I will fatten up that lead for a few reasons (mainly, though, because the thin sound is coming from the register rather than from the instrument, and it needs to be at that register for spacial reasons - listen to the texture from 0:55 - 1:25, as that is the exact same instrument without any modifications to the sound; it's not thin, like it is when it's up high). Thanks for the feedback, though - it's why I post here . Sorry, no update right now .

Thanks for cleaning that up, DS... Great ocarina playing, there - I especially like the DKC Krool performance, there. You don't see that kind of stuff everyday.

Meh, I'm sure a lot of us have played civ 2 before - don't feel too bad, Rozo. I friend of mine owns the GP2X, and it's pretty neat (especially since it can run most 2d emulators flawlessly). The open source stuff that you can get for it is great, too (I played a little raiden-like shooter on it - it was pretty nice ).

Wow. This arrangement just sent some chills down my spine, which I'll admit happens very rarely, nowadays. Very subtle, yet it has a certain sublime quality to it that I can't pin. The arrangement is incredibly rich, yet it doesn't sound cluttered at all. Wonderful - Orchestral arrangement at it's finest, folks. Just download it.

What the hell? No one's posted this yet? Here's to our nun-punching, soul crushing, politically incorrect off-topic celebrity. How can someone read his crap here and not smile? Happy birthday, man.

Heads - Maybe you should do it, maybe not Tails - Flip again Problem solved!

It cuts off at the end for me, but it could just be my connection, so meh... no comments about the ending I think your mastering is top notch, to be honest - everything is very clear and nothing is muddy or clipping. Very nice work on that. I don't know whether to call this too much source or too little, right now... When the source is playing there is little to no variation to it ('too much source'), and when you make something up it doesn't sound very related to the source (although there IS a little bit of association to it, towards the end). Hmm, a tough call, but I'd say the lack of variation to the source when it's there makes it a little less interesting than it could be (although I like the source, too ). Very nice sound to it, overall, though - I'm making an OCR complaint about the source, as that's a restriction they have. If you planned on submitting it you'd need to address it, otherwise don't worry about it too much. Hey look, I'm now Chrono! Woot. This will look stupid when I don't have +800 posts anymore

Thanks for the feedback, Jabond - I've boosted the bass, turned down the lead and improved the mixing quality of the whole thing. However, I also turned up the entire mix a decible or two, so it may seem like I didn't turn down any of the things you mentioned . I don't think it's as painful as before, though. The first post is updated with the new version. I also added some new stuff... Check it out. It sounds loads better - although I still didn't fix the drums .

Heh, I think in your time line it's like the middle of the day or something. If 11:00am - 1:00pm works for you then I think we'll see you there .

Ah, so the demigod of the compos renounces his throne... We'll miss you man.

Well I hope someone got my request... Damn, the 21st is way too long for me to wait to find out what everyone got... Patience is a virtue, I guess .

There's always demigodhood... It's not so bad, Neko - it took me a while to get used to being a demigod (rather than a god), but it's something you get used to in time .

Hmm, a source I never heard before... hey, it's not half bad! I think I'll keep it .

Your dark Oji god will not save you from the coal Rami may or may not send you. Be very afraid.

I think there's one tonight, as it's counting down as it should - it's just that the first post isn't updated. See you there . Edit: Bleh, a free for all... That takes the fun out of it, for me. Ah well, maybe next week .

Wow, these are brilliant! I've got to say, everything you do here is amazing, man!

Woa, your text is all in red.... neat. What kind of voice do you have, bass, bari, tenor, lyric, pop, etc.? Performers are always welcome on OCR, as long as they're willing to share their talent with others (as you seem to be). Welcome to OCR .

The harmonies... well, most of them are a little abrasive, to me - and it doesn't help that they don't move anywhere, either. They seem to get in the way of the very smooth music you have going, there. If you like them, fine - but they could be toned down a little, as they drown the rest of the music out a little bit. It's still nice, though .

Mmm... nice sound, overall. It's quite peaceful. That little woodblock/shaker you have going is a nice touch. The harmonies are a bit off - try shifting them around a bit so they fit better and it would fit better... Actually, with a song about piece, the harmonies might not even be needed. Production-wise I can see your getting much better. Keep it up!

Well, only 3 1/2 days left... I'm looking forward to the flood of mixes that'll come at the last minute, but it isn't always bad to have something here earlier .