Chimpazilla

I still love this song. It has such a great feel. But those drums still aren't working, sorry to say! I love the ethnic sounding samples, but I still feel that they should be accent drums and not main drums. You still need a real kick (or, maybe use that low tom as a kick substitute?), and a snare or some sticks to establish the groove. The patterns being played just go nowhere. This song could be so groovy... but as of now it just isn't. Also I think some kind of low-volume continuous shaker thingy (used here and there) would add such a nice touch. Also there are areas in the song that are instrumentally too sparse. There is so much more that could be done with this song, it all sounds so promising to me but it just isn't there yet! I don't mean to sound harsh... I'm only telling you this 'cuz I really dig the song.

This, exactly. But I usually hear it in my head first, usually it'll slam me awake at 3:00am, then I fine-tune it while in the shower that morning, then off to the keyboard.

*listening* Yes, drum variation for sure. (this is something I struggle with as well) There is a slower part in the middle where the drum pattern is just too fast... then the drums drop out and the following section has a slower pattern, nice. I am loving that square lead! It sounds a tiny bit dry for my taste. Give it a bit more delay. Same for the square grooveline that is under it, reverb that back just a bit more so it isn't competing with the lead for center stage. Also I think you could center the main lead, or put it slightly right, it is on the left and so is that gooveline. Or, have it on the right when it plays together with the grooveline, then move it center when it is by itself. That other lead in the second half is pure joy. It could move forward just slightly (longer predelay?) When the song stops completely I think it is over... maybe let something, anything (hats?) play here? As other have said, the arrangement is really nice. I like this! (ok so I've just listened through twice)

Sounds like you should be giving out this kind of advice then, not requiring it, haha! Hope it made you smile anyway. And congrats in advance on the nearly posted mix, I'll keep my eyes open for it. With any luck I'll be right behind ya.

Hey Hobo, I know exactly how you feel. I feel your words! I just went through this myself recently too. You will get a thicker skin if you stick around here. Just remember that if people are giving you crits, they are trying to be helpful, not trying to tear you down. If you can look at it that way, that's half the battle right there. And if they used sweet, sugar-coated babyish words, they would be treating you as a noob and not a peer, this is not what you want... so thicken up that skin and get used to it, 'cause it's all good. I know sometimes the crits sound harsh and they hurt. That's OK, I think everyone reacts that way. Here's what to do after that cement truck dumps on your head. Go for a walk, feed the cat, whatever, but get away from the screen and let the words settle. After an hour or so, the sting fades and the suggestions made will stick in your head. Then the next morning in the shower, "aha!" you'll suddenly have an idea of how to implement that suggested change. Dry off, proceed to your computer and implement the change. I have a new strategy for composing. Start with a basic idea, and lay out the very basic groundwork for your arrangement, then post it here or ask a good friend who knows what he/she is doing. Get crits on that part first, as this is the foundation of your project, and once that is working well, only then work on other aspects, then get more crits, etc. until you've put the frosting on the cake and it's finished. If you work (and get feedback) in stages, you'll have an easier time fixing what is wrong before getting so deeply into it that it's a huge pain to fix... make sense? Anyway, this seems to be working for me. Also... if a remix just isn't working for you, if it is causing you pain even if it seems pretty good so far, don't be afraid to put it to the side and try some other ideas. Sometimes this will kick start the old project, other times the new project may just be better in every way. And a few days break in between all of this is a really REALLY good idea, even if you feel desperate to keep hacking away at it, your brain needs the break, go do something else for no less than 24 hours. The main thing to remember is that everybody feels this way at some point or other, regardless of skill level. You are not alone! We all get past it. Happy thoughts!

Interesting! I'm gonna briefly hit the highlights here. Others can expand on it. 1. Those themes go together surprisingly well. Nicely woven together. 2. Production is not too bad so far. 3. For OCR you will need to remix just one game, primarily or at least dominantly. Too many various sources here. 4. Melodies need to change up. Most are just established and looped verbatim. Song of storms plays simply and repetitively throughout. Mario overworld too... and it needs some notes altered to fit in, a few of the Mario harmonies don't fit into this mix. My favorite loop is DK, it would make a great background for something else over it. Suggestion: once you establish a melody, let the next few repetitions of it be different in some way, then different again. Let some originality branch out from the basic melodies. 5. Pace is plodding. Drums are auto-pilot and repetitive. Needs much, much more variation. 6. Needs some solos and original material playing over looped stuff. Sounds like you are on the right track but more work to do. Keep at it, I hear potential here.

The ultimate Key Mod song. Anyone care to count them?

So far it is sounding pretty groovy. My plan is to lay out the skeleton of the track, then do a bunch of soloing over the whole thing for a nice cohesive feel. It's a little strange right now, but kinda... sorta... working. I'll get it a little further along and post a (very bare-bones) wip. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am trying to arrange a new remix of a few songs from one game, and I want to make sure I'm not creating a medley. I'm using snippets from each song and trying to weave them together. There are portions of my arrangement when just one theme plays, then there is a transition section where another theme is woven in, then just that second theme plays for awhile, then a few bars of a third thing, then back to the first one, etc. So, it's not like A-B-C, it's more like part of B, then all of A, then C then part of A, then a different part of B, all with tiny snippets of D and E showing up. Arg that is confusing, sorry. Could someone just please tell me what definitely NOT to do? Thanks!

It's very repetitive (but isn't trance repetitive by its very nature?), so not sure how it will fare as an ocremix, but this Zelda fan loves it!!!

Hey Cash, your style is improving, good job! The lead synth sounds pretty good! The drums are groovier than your other remix, but the style doesn't really match yet, the pattern is way too busy up until :46, especially the kick. Try out some different patterns, experiment. The pattern in the second part from :46 (with the claps) works better. Bass and lead synth sound pretty good so far. Keep going.

Well alrighty, then! That completely settles the issue for me! I'm going ahead with the mod. I've got the new key section mostly written, still struggling somewhat with the turnaround, wanna make that kinda dramatic (4-5 chords)... but it'll get there. (currently sidetracked finishing up a resub) OA thanks for linking that great song. I do love the double mod fakeout at the end, very nicely done! Subtle, yet very exciting. *considers using technique in own song* edit: Darangen, just gotta say, every time I see that KSC signature of yours I crack up!

Thanks, Darangen. You raise a great point. Will look into that. Working on the Monobrow issues right now. The next version should be quite nice!

That is unbelievably beautiful... speechless...

Hey MB, thanks for the thoughtful crit! Those are all excellent points, and great ideas. Gonna play around with them and see what we come up with. (hhhmmm choir, I LOVE choir!) (and more Zelda nods, how bad could that be?!) Skinner, glad you like the song. Maybe we will allow downloads when it is finished, as clearly it isn't, yet!

Hello fellow ReMixers! A Stormy Affair, resub version as of 3-5-12 by Chimpazilla & Anterroir David and I submitted this song to the judges in November, and the good news is that it seems they liked it! The bad news is that they found fault with it! But the crits were totally valid, and David and I have been working diligently to improve the song. The judges' primary criticism was that the entire first half of the song was devoid of lead writing. Shame on us, how could we have overlooked that? So we have added some very cool new lead writing, with some new and unique takes on the storm theme. The judges' secondary criticism was our static "auto-pilot" drumming. Yup, busted! So we've varied the patterns and added quite a bit more groove. We also removed one of the two breaks that occurred in the first half of the song, making it kick along at a better pace. Rozo, I believe you were the one who disliked the two breaks. Good suggestion! The judges also mentioned that the song was a bit bass-heavy, and this too has been addressed and corrected. So now it's time for more criticism, or better yet... praise! Is it resub-worthy, yet? Thanks in advance for helping us finalize this!

Thanks for all these great replies and very specific advice, everyone! I've been reading up on this... going to try many of these ideas over the next few days, then flesh out the section that will follow it. I confess I'm new to music theory so I'm having to get up to speed on this as quickly as possible (which is never quickly enough for me, haha!). But I feel like the key mod is going to work and not be cliche (or, at least be "good" cliche!). You guys can help me decide if it's working when I post my wip. Thanks again, really, so much.

I love the mix of ideas, they flow together brilliantly!!!! There is definitely some distortion in the piano though. What piano are you using? Not sure about the tone, hopefully someone will chime in with a good opinion of that. (I'm working on this issue myself) The big issue I have with this song is it is waaaay too quantized and blocky. It needs humanization! The notes are all hitting right on the beat, with all the same velocities. Also, the melody always is played the same way, try varying the pattern somewhat, and you could add some extra fills here and there. The great thing about doing a piano piece on the computer is that you can add more stuff than just one human can play! Have fun and definitely keep working on this one, I'll keep checking for your updates.

OK Rozo, I am laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face... that is the best video I've ever seen bar none!!! Thanks, I needed that! *wipes tears away* I'm officially (sorry, more cliche here) ROTFLMFAO!!! Gonna play around with my key change. Wish me luck with my turnaround chords (not even sure how to ask for help with this)... hopefully I'll have something for the wip forum soon. THANKS!!! edit: Darned near forgot to say congrats on your latest posting. "Spume" is really very good! Downloaded it.

Hi all! I'm working on a piano tune (remix). The original is in 3/4 but I've adapted it to 4/4 with a jazzy "8th note shuffle" swing beat. It's sounding quite good! My plan was to modulate the key upward toward the end, up from D to E, and I've started the process but got stuck on the turnaround. So I googled it and found this website where the guy goes on and on about how tired and cliche key mods are. Before I move forward with doing this key mod, I want to get your opinions on it. Is it tired and cliche? The song is very groovy with an old-fashioned feel... so maybe it works? I think it will sound fine, but I don't want any listener (or maybe, judge) to GROAN when they hear the key change! Opinions, please. And... if I do move forward with it, maybe you guys can help me with the turnaround chords! Thanks guys.

Great thread I think. I'm trying to come up with an example of a great game that doesn't disparage women (or exclude them completely)... and it's really difficult... but as I'm typing this, Zelda is in my upper right corner... Zelda games are my favorite... she isn't oversexualized, she's beautiful though, and while she doesn't appear too often throughout the games, she has an undeniably powerful and important role!

I don't have anything helpful to add... but that sounds FABULOUS... what sample library did you use?

You may want to add the link for version #4!

I think those two themes go brilliantly together! They flow easily one to the other, nicely done. It still needs work, more filling out but so far so good, and nice sounds. I like the improv in part 2, and at some points the bass is more pronounced which I like. I think at some point you could start bringing in the second half of the kaepora theme, at least once or twice. Keep going please!

Thanks very much Rozo for those eq settings to try, I will certainly try that out. Also gonna experiment with some other piano vsti's. Somehow I will get that piano sounding good! And wow, what a cool idea, never heard of taiko but it looks amazing! Explosions... hhhmmm not sure about that! But definitely some more interest will be added to the intro (and throughout). Thanks for the cool suggestions!