Gario

Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to finish this round... certain obligations got in my way ... I'll vote, though - have no fear!

I never said they sounded pleasant... they are terribly dissonant. If it sounded pleasant through and through, however, it wouldn't have held my interest nearly as much as it did. I like dissonance, if it is used properly (which it isn't here, to be honest) or if it creates a rich texture for the melody to fall on (which it does for this mix, IMHO). The delays may be creating the dissonance, but it perks my interest in the mix. Writing and hearing consonant music is the first step in composing, and I commend you for hearing that some of the music of his isn't consonant. However, based on what type of music you enjoy (I personally am enthralled by late romantic/early modern music), you may develop a certain taste for certain other sonorities (such as the 2nd and 3rd of a minor or major scale being played simultaneously - in fact, it's a sonority that is dominant in the famous Final Fantasy Prelude ). It's cliche, but it is certainly an opinion that I am thrusting forward, here. However, that opinion is formed through my experiences in music - I guarantee you if you listen to the choral music of Eric Whitacre or Morten Lauridson, or listen to the orchestra pieces of Mahler, Stravinsky or Shostakovitch you'd begin to develop a taste for those sonorities, as well. Here, listen to what I did for the ORC119 - delays (actually, it's technically a damper...) create 'clashes' and 'dissonance' all over the place (in fact, one reviewer said he didn't like it, and he's a respectable remixer, here). That was completely intentional on my part, as I like the sonorious sound generated. I don't get on people's cases if they don't like the sound, as that's normal - I just like to present that as a viable way of writing music. I'm not trying to derail the thread, Chessmaster010 - I just want to let you know what I thought the textures in your music here sounded like, to me . BTW, your choice of words were fine, Neblixsaber - there was clashing and I knew what you were talking about... I just liked the clashing . I'm a bit confused on that, though - the delay actually creates the harmony, doesn't it?

Yeah, that basically breaks down what I was trying to say in a nutshell. It's not the J's fault that people don't resub their stuff, it's the composers fault. Don't be hatin' the J's...

Woa! Nice VG Analysis series, there! Irregular meters are seriously the shit (if I write an original song, 50% of the time it's in an odd meter...). Just be careful if your writing for a woodwind quintet - they don't like playing conflicting implied meters simultaniously (I caused a pretty nasty panic at my own Senior composition recital doing that, lol). It's funny that the guy implied that the sun song isn't heard anywhere else in Zelda - OoT; it's how the field map opens up the music when the morning breaks. Wow, that's a pretty sweet setup that guy's got. I'll try to make my analyses a bit more accessible (for those that don't want to learn roman numeral analysis or figured bass techniques...), namely because I don't have a scoring program yet (and I refuse to use Finale notepad ). Someday I'll be kicking ass with Sibelius, again... but I've got to get the finances for that.

Great, now we're arguing about the existence of DJP... I don't know, I personally don't believe in his existence .

Ah, it's nice to see some interest in the subject. I'm planning on putting something new here weekly - doing the Silver Surfer analysis was fun and I've got to brush up on my theory skills . Don't worry, I have no life so I can afford to do stuff like this . The mechanical vocals were pretty interesting there on the 'I can see them All' track. I don't know if it's true for every song with processed vocals, but I felt the lack of motion really contributed to the 'robot' sound (along with the processed vocals, of course). It's a pretty popular technique when you want to add dissonance to choral music in a gentle manner (leave one voice motionless while the rest of the music moves around it) - a personal favorite of mine, by the way. By the way, that Silius soundtrack was pretty sweet... Maybe I'll go into detail about it next I take it the bass is what your talking about (and not the bass drums)? Interesting use of Timbre... I've got to figure out what they did. Congratulations on your paper, AnSo! I hope it's well received (and it gets translated - I'm still interested in what you've got to say ).

Sadness! Oh well, I'd still enjoy watching where a compo of the sort would go (even if I couldn't participate until I broke down and got FL Studio). It would be very interesting to see what came out of it!

Personally, I would like a chamber work dedicated to the theme (like a woodwind quintet, or something)... Again, that's personal, and I didn't base what I said about the music on that (it's still great). Besides, I love the guitar - I just thought the theme needs a more subtle approach to it, in this case. Umm... yeah, that would be interesting, but probably not what I'm looking for, lol.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the melody adds an extra beat to the theme at that point, shifting it an additional beat foward while everything else stays in 4/4... it sounded strange before, now that you've added so many cool things to the music it sounds terrible now. The mix is miles ahead of where it was before, though. Other than the rhythm part mentioned before, the biggest problem is that you harmonize the melody in a very... um, avant guarde sort of fashion. I can't really get into what you did with the harmonies and such - there's just too much dissonant clashing between the harmonies and the melodies & counter-melodies, throughout. I don't know what I can suggest to help you with that, sorry for my unhelpfulness... I saw this at R:TS and I noticed the tag for it said 'Metal, Wierd'... I sort of agree with them, there - the harmonizations and such make it sound wierd, for me.

No. Intelligent design is stupid, evolution has been proven, and this site is a result of various useful parts coincidentally coming together over the millenia to form what is known today as Overclocked Remix. You should all know that.Get with the times people, geez...

Cripes, Rami, your right! I never thought of it that way... I'll get something for you today - it's being processed at OCR, atm, but there's no harm at having it at R:TS, as well. Gotta support the music sites out there .

Cripes, such a harmless subject seems to be turning sour fast. Alright, if anyone has anything against people critiquing music even if they don't have anything posted (hell, even if they don't compose themselves) get a grip. Seriously, composing and critiquing are not the same thing, by any stretch of the imagination - don't confuse the two. Being a composer helps critiquing, and critiquing music certainly helps composers with their own processes, but neither is a requirement for the other. Great critics do not need to be composers (and vice versa). Don't judge the judges due to their 'posted music' count - in case you haven't noticed, the quality of OCR has increased substantially over the years and they are the ones to thank for that. The only thing they do is insist that the production hits a standard of excellence so the people don't need to listen to arrangements that sound like they were thrown in a grater. If it's anyone's fault for the supposed 'lack' of imaginative music on the site, it would be the composers. From the current front page, here, it's easy to see that OCR still accepts imaginative, creative music - it's just that they want to make listening to it as easy as possible for the listener. If an experimental, creative music comes up and is rejected due to production quality, do you know what the composer should do? Fix the production of the song! Seriously, good production can only make a piece of music better, not to mention make the composer better (there are very few exceptions to this and I believe the J's take those special scenarios by a case-by-case basis). Alright, I believe the pre-1000 music had it's charm, but I'm grateful for the heightened standards that have been imposed over the years. I don't believe that it's the judges fault that the 'charm' of the past has whittled away - it's the composers fault for not cleaning up their music. Don't be lazy, fix up your production problems; you'll be a better composer in the end. EDIT: Huh, the one I was addressing was banned... for a month. Well, I guess he'll read it later, then .

lol, I wouldn't want to see that, either... ...wait, how would that work, anyway? Remix the remixes of the older project?

Is it? lol, I made something up on the fly - I was hoping it wasn't another game. Wait, is Snake fighting the Vietnamese in Metal Gear? I've never played the series, myself... Oh well, Abadoss, you see what I'm saying, right? You make up a scenario for him, then - I'd probably end up taking an idea from elsewhere, anyway .

I'm getting a bit of deja vu, here... I remember having this discussion with Hoboka a while ago... ...but the way this guy is clashing, even if it wasn't intentional, is actually quite well done as far as sonorous clashing goes. Even during the minor inflections he manages to keep everything relative to the key. I know it isn't perfect here, but clashes are actually quite nice, when well done. I hold that it gives the texture some depth and interest (without it, it would sound plain and boring, to me - it is in fact why I said the textures were good earlier). You gave your view, Neblixsaber, and I gave mine, each according to his own listening experience (or 'opinion', which is what it is, when we come down to it). I'm giving him a different way of looking at the music; I'm not saying either one of us is right or wrong, in this case (it'll sound fine if he takes out the clashes, too - I personally would leave them in, but that's just me). Just letting you know this isn't a 'right or wrong' scenario, guys .

I agree with Abadoss and Ifirit with their comments on the music, but it isn't bad, either... Here's a real test - try making something on-demand for someone. That's actually a more realistic scenario to prove your mettle. For example... Genre - Platformer Setting - The first stage : the military protagonist is trying to infiltrate a Vietnamese camp during Vietnam. It's located in a heavy jungle setting, but it's not about open combat - it's more about trying to infiltrate the camp while attracting as little attention as possible. I've noticed that the two songs you've put up here are more for a medieval JRPG style game. Of course, that's not a bad thing - but I want to see something from a different genre and setting come out of you. Being able to do a variety of genres and styles will make you more flexible and able to take many different jobs that may be available for you... ...and seriously, I want to hear your music for that setting .

*looks over student loans* ... Damnit, I'll concede to that. Yes, without the money it does make the process take longer, that's for sure. I've only got a computer and Reason to work with, at the moment, and I admit it's tough not having everything you need at your disposal. He seems to have the determination for it, though, so I suppose he's on the right path.

Hey, wait a minute - I liked the clashing... it gave it flavor. That's personal preference, though (people tend to say my music clashes, too - but I do it on purpose 'cause I like the sound ) - it comes from writing choral music, I guess... Do what you'd like, though - if you take out the clashes I won't cry (much ).

Alright then, go for it - I'll let you know if I like it (I might very well like it - I don't know what you have in mind, you never know ).

Double post?! That ain't no 'double-posting', that be UBER POSTING, right 'ter!! Yeah, even still, use the edit button . I love midi, personally (I really don't see what people have against it other than the sample quality... I used to write for that medium all the time until I lost my program )... Even still, it's not OCR acceptable (even if it was the best midi EVAR!). Alright, on to the mix... Drum work is nice (as so many others have pointed out), but the melody work isn't all that creative. The textures are pretty slick, however. 1:42 - 1:58, though, really caught me off guard as something pretty sweet. Write more melodies like that and you should be pretty wel off, in the remixing world... ...and switch from midi to soundfonts (or the like) . Good luck!

lol, I never noticed that. Thanks for pointing that out (and ruining yet another song for me - I think this is #2 on the list of songs Nekofrog has ruined for me...).

Well... I guess it just depends on the type of person you are. Some people actually take to undergraduate school like a fish to water while others take it like fish to sand - either school will be easy to you and you'll have all the time in the world to do things that you love on the side or school will be difficult and you'll have little time to yourself. Of course, I'll add that Freshman college is a nightmare for anyone due to the fact that you'll have so many classes that are not relevant to your degree ('core' classes), and they tend to make the student do a lot of writing throughout the semester (it's not difficult writing, just a lot of writing...). After that it gets easier, in a way, because you'll be focusing more and more on the subject you love and writing less and less (except for term papers, which generally get larger as you progress... but there are fewer papers, in general). Don't worry about it - when school starts, you'll know where you stand (just don't be an idiot and feel like you need to fail your first year of college just to fit in - I actually know a few apes that did that and did they ever regret it). Good luck!

...and I'm sure those are the exact issues the J's complain about with your stuff, preventing you from ever being an OC Remixer.

By the sound of it, you seem to have added some more of your ethnic instrumentation in the beginning. That was a good move, as it seems to fit in with the other half of you mix, now (which I loved). I don't know, though - I'm still not feeling the guitar in it. I think it's the sound your using for it - the distortion just brings in too much mud to the instrument, as it is. It sounds bland and dull - perhaps bringing out the upper mids to highs a bit will help make the sound sharper, fitting the instrument in with the rest of the music better (of course, be careful not to clip the other sounds while doing so ). The use of the guitar at 2:29 - 2:47 seems to conflict with the mood of the song there, for me... I just feel the power chords sound out of place at that spot. The way the rest of the notes are coming together there makes me want the guitar to use better counterpoint... meaning no power chords (Parallel 5ths are bad juju in counterpoint ). I'd suggest a single note (or an octave - but that's hard on the guitar without using power chords) or using a counter-melody rather than power chords, there. Telling a guitarist not to use power chords is like telling a pianist not to use arrpegios, I know - but I just feel that part of the song would be better without them (preparing to duck under the tomatos of the other guitarists out there, now ). If your going to solo at 2:48, you'll need something else in the background to back the guitar better - I don't believe that the music there now will support a solo very well, as it stands. There's only a fifth that plays there statically - the solo has no place to move around to, either making it sound boring or just musically off, in the end . You could use the harmonies of the source to create a better backing for your solo at 2:48. Otherwise, keep it up - I really do like where it's at, right now. I like the guitar, in general, and feel like it could stand out to make the music better, as a whole - it's just that I feel it isn't there, yet. Finish it... we want a finished product. By the way, I like the Schala tune in there - it adds class.

A really good melody writing lesson, huh? If you want the short story, it's this: Write the line so it's as connected as possible. If leaps are involved (which they should be, for interests sake), try to fill the space of the leaps with connected notes inside the space. Also, please try to stay in the key as much as possible. That's the 'Melody-writing-for-nubs' guide (the short-short version). I could write something that's more in-depth, if you want, but that'll be 900$.