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Pumpkin King

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Posts posted by Pumpkin King

    Sonic the Hedgehog - Special Stage (Piano Cover)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I'm making this review in my capacity as a classical/jazz/piano afficionado.

    Beautiful piano playing there; if there's one part that struck me, it's 1:52 onwards. But comparing that with the source melody.... I found it difficult to actually connect the remix to the source. The broken chords/arpeggios are beautiful, granted, but there are a lot of them (I can safely say too many), and they do distract me from hearing the melody. I mean, the piece even began like that!

    What I would suggest is introduce with the broken chords... make the melody audible in the first section or two, and then, when you've made people familiar with the piece, ad-lib. With this, you will be 1) drawing listeners' attention, 2) building up for a climax which listeners will be waiting for. Right now, I couldn't even make head or tail of where the piece was going.

    Hey thanks for listening!

    I completely understand your point here. When I listen back to it, yeah there are too many arpeggios haha. Well, I kinda already realized it was too much for the tune. But that's usually the direction I take when I start improvising within certain arrangements.

    And it's funny, because I pretty much did the opposite of what you were suggesting, by playing a nice audible section near the END rather than in the beginning necessarily. I guess my idea when I was doing this was to introduce people with my technical ability first... and to also be very interpretive with the melodies, BEFORE slowing it down in the end. I thought that doing that near the end gives it a nice conclusion, and by playing the way I did in the beginning would give people a reason to continue to listen. But I guess it could go either way, really. Though what you suggested makes more sense, to introduce people to the piece first.

    I could easily rearrange this and record another version, but I already have it uploaded and will probably keep it at that. Unless I have enough people ask me to do another take. But really, I could do it again with no problems, I play a lot of different arrangements of vg tunes (including this) frequently. I'll probably have at least another to upload with the next week. Just wait for certain equipment so I can record it nicely.

    The Legend of Pumpkin King - Path into the Corrupted Forest

    in Post Your Original Music!

    Posted

    Thanks for your comments!

    I really like your ideas. My idea was to have this as an interlude... you know, a nice little break between the intro song and the next. The constant beat throughout the song is just to represent his marching into the corrupted forest. He is not actually in the corrupted forest at the time, he is within the large plains (I have some names of the locations, but I won't bring them up and just keep everything simple). And I put in a memorable melody there with the strings to keep a heroic mood. I included subtle ambient pads in the song to foreshadow what will happen next, which will be about his quests and exploration within the corrupted forest.

    I do think that I should have faded the song in, rather than start right away, to give it a sense of a long and constant march towards his destination. It faded out because of that idea, so I should have stuck to fading it in.

    Anyways, I really appreciate the feedback again! Honestly I'm not so sure about uploading the rest of the songs, though. I have plenty of ideas and I could keep with this whole Pumpkin King theme for a long time, but I don't think I want them to be up for grabs on the internet.

    The Legend of Pumpkin King - Path into the Corrupted Forest

    in Post Your Original Music!

    Posted

    I posted about the first song earlier, called The Beginning of a Great Journey, and have just finished part 2 of this concept about my alias. This one certainly isn't as long as the first, but there will be much more to come.

    I mainly used Logic for this, and Garageband Jam packs. That's the basis of every composition I do (I used Garageband earlier, but now I have Logic). Feedback is welcome!

    Sonic the Hedgehog - Special Stage (Piano Cover)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Hey thanks for the feedback!

    Yeah, sometimes it can be hard to hear the source tune in my arrangement. I was playing around through similar chord progressions from the source, and just implementing my own style to it all. I've listened to the song so many times, so I wasn't just playing around on the keys. I just wanted to interpret it a little differently.

    Anyways, I really appreciate the listen! Glad you liked it!

    Sonic the Hedgehog - Special Stage (Piano Cover)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Thanks guys!

    I recorded it with Garageband, so there is a high quality aiff file. And what I used was the Galaxy Vintage D library for the piano. I love it. Definitely worth getting.

    Anyways, I'm really glad you guys like it! And there are still plenty of other covers that I'd like to do on the piano, and I'll be updating all that stuff through my youtube and facebook.

    The Legend of Pumpkin King - The Beginning of a Great Journey

    in Post Your Original Music!

    Posted

    I completed this orchestral composition yesterday, and thought I'd share it with this community since it takes inspiration from game compositions (film scores, too). I think people would like it. :)

    Anyways, this is the first part of however many compositions I get to do. I've always wanted to create an epic and this is a start. It is about a journey based off my alias, Pumpkin King. Now, it was composed with vocals and narration in mind... I actually recorded some initially, but I can't sing. Haha. And neither can my roommates here. I could find someone, but I'd rather keep it without vocals. Maybe one day...

    I'd suggest taking a listen on my youtube page, since my friend provided awesome artwork. 8-)

    Youtube (with artwork):

    Soundcloud:

    http://soundcloud.com/pumpkin-king/the-beginning-of-a-great-journey

    Donkey Kong Country 2 - Forest Interlude (Orchestral Arrangement)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    That's fine. Not every mix needs to (or even should) be on ocr. For ocr tho, you'd need an arrangement that differs and shows some personality.

    Anyway, what I meant with writing, which I guess I should have made a little more clear, isn't just putting letters in order. Writing music is like using a pen to write (you know, like back when ppl used paper :P). Not only do you have to know how to know the language - how to convey the idea, how to spell, how to form sentences and articles - you also need the fine motor control to make the writing intelligible. Writing in a DAW takes both general music skills, a writing skill I take it you have if you do piano skills; it also takes midi-writing skills, which are more about how to get the most out of your instruments. This includes velocity, timing, length, midi cc (like modulation, expression, sustain etc), and more.

    There's also the matter of making sure your pen works well (sharpening the pencil/refilling ink/whatever). This is analogous to screwing with the instruments and effects, using automation where necessary to make the instrument sound good.

    I used GB a lot before moving on to Logic. I'm not up to speed on everything the current version does (back then, it had the track instrument and effects in a window rather than a sidebar, and had limited automation), but I've played with the new version from time to time, and the writing tools are, imo, not good. Editing velocity and timing is clunky, so humanizing is a pain... unless I've missed some convenient shortcut or modifier key.

    In other words, I meant writing, not writing. :P

    (ps. remixing guide in my sig, contains both basics and various more advanced things, feel free to read it)

    Yeah, I just wanted to share this song here anyways since I know there's a community here that loves vgm. And so I could get good feedback from guys like you to help me in the future.

    But anyways, I gotcha. With the velocities, automation, etc., I didn't use them as much as I could have. Haha, honestly, I just didn't spend too much time on this song. Well... I did, but it was two days worth, spending a few hours arranging everything. I did do quite a bit though, in terms of midi writing. Just not enough obviously, but I'm still happy with this.

    And I do know that editing velocities and timing can be pretty clunky on garageband, too. Things tend to get extremely slow and inconvenient, the longer or more complicated the song is. Compared to programs like pro tools and reason, it's not as good. I know that. I have an original song that I've been working on that is over 10 minutes in garageband, and highlighting midi notes and doing whatever to them can take forever. But I dunno... maybe all that has to do with my macbook. Oh well.

    And I'll be reading your guide in a bit, for sure. :)

    Donkey Kong Country 2 - Flight of the Zinger (Orchestral Arrangement)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Thanks Chris, I really appreciate it!

    @Gario - Thanks man. I read this earlier and tried updating the strings a bit. In Garageband, I was already aware about the release time of the strings, and I did try to automate them with a smaller release time. So I did it again. Also, I updated the drums, too. Though the deep bass tones still drown parts out. But I want to keep it that way with my legato bass/cello strings, since in the source the low tones were pretty dominant. And then I edited the volumes of the strings which were loud in areas, along with changing part of the flute melody in the end, and making the xylophone a bit softer.

    I reuploaded it to my soundcloud account since it's easier that way. When it's how I want it to be, I'll probably reupload it to youtube. So here's the song from soundcloud if anyone wants to hear the updated version:

    http://soundcloud.com/pumpkin-king/dkc-flight-of-the-zinger

    Donkey Kong Country 2 - Forest Interlude (Orchestral Arrangement)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Hey thanks for the review, much appreciated!

    Firstly, I knew it was very close to the source. I did the same thing when I did my version of Aquatic Ambience (and hey, even Flight of the Zinger... just did that one). I just wanted to see what people thought so I could get more ideas when I do this again.

    I definitely agree that there is a lack of dynamics. Especially with the strings. Hell, I only used Garageband for this. And the sound that I used, which I liked, was only possible at a certain velocity (maybe over 110). If the velocity were to be any lower, then the sound would completely differ... and wouldn't sound nearly as epic. So I used quite a bit of automation, along with altering of attack and decay at certain spots. And I guess it is pretty loud, but I thought that gave it more of an epic feeling (which is what I always go for... something atmospheric, too). But I'm sure things could be toned down. So I will say that it is nice to get a different set of ears to hear more opinions; to get some more feedback. As far as the dynamics of everything else, yeah... not too much differentiation in terms of velocities and all. I tend to be way more dynamic when doing piano covers (makes sense obviously, but still).

    And yeah, with the drums, it was simply a cool kit that I liked, along with other multiple percussive kits, and just some eq adjustments and delay effects. So I realize that this wasn't really humanized overall, but I guess that wasn't what I was going for, in a way. Again, it would be different if I were to do a piano cover, or were to perform in the song, but I was just trying to simply orchestrate the song using Garageband. There are many limitations fo sho.

    Again, I really appreciate this. I would definitely like to learn some mixing techniques and use that to my advantage. I'd probably need to upgrade from Garageband though. I would like to use Logic one day. As far as writing skills, trust me, I have writing skills... haha. I write music all the time. I guess with vgm, sometimes I like to stay true to the source since I guess in my mind, I don't want to completely alter a certain tune that I already love. 8)

    Donkey Kong Country 2 - Flight of the Zinger (Orchestral Arrangement)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I did this one in a few days after my arrangement of Forest Interlude. This is an orchestral arrangement of Flight of the Zinger from Donkey Kong Country 2. I love the music from that series and may do more arrangements in the future. Anyways, I'd like some feedback for this one.

    Source tune:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLcWH1Z9VeQ

    *UPDATED ARRANGEMENT:

    AND:

    http://soundcloud.com/pumpkin-king/dkc-flight-of-the-zinger

    Donkey Kong Country 2 - Forest Interlude (Orchestral Arrangement)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    First of all i like this, in my opinion DK music is one of the best in VGmusic.

    Question time =)

    Which DAW did you use to make this? And did you program the synths yourself?

    Noticed a slight melody change at 1:40, kinda got disoriented here, but it's cool. I like when people gets creative with the melody.

    Now, since this is an orchestral arrangement, i was hoping for a big climax at 2:14.

    That part in the Original mix, I find very uplifting and tense. But in this mix it was more like a break for me and it lost my attention.

    Maybe, build up to that point more. Have a break up to it, and launch it of with the whole ensemble. And maybe keep the original melody here?

    Keep up the good work =) Now im going to listen to your arrangement of Aquatic Ambience =D

    peace

    Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback!

    So I used Garageband for this. That's all really. I have these Jam packs with it that I'm always using. As far as programming sounds, it was more just editing the attack and decay of the strings and all for a nice flow. And a bit of reverb plus some delay, among other random stuff.

    For the part at 2:14, I see what you're saying. It was more of a break than a high moment in the song, somewhat. I think that mostly had to do with the string patterns behind the main melody. But I could, say, repeat that verse twice... with the second verse implementing all of the instruments for the xylophone/marimba melody, including a stronger, more powerful chord pattern with the flowing strings in the back. But that may differ a bit with the current structure of the song. It's an idea, and I'll keep it in mind when I do more of these, for sure. I do think I should be taking more risks if I want to do a remix. It's just with some songs, especially things from DKC, I feel that I should stay mostly true to the source track, mainly because so many of the songs from the DKC series were so well done... and I just would like to hear some of them orchestrated. I wouldn't want to do anything completely different, unless I'm covering it on the piano.

    Donkey Kong Country - Depths of the Sea (Aquatic Ambience Remix)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Thanks for the review, man.

    As far as "humanizing" the woodwinds and strings, again, it's tough in Garageband to make it really work. So the method I used for this was using tons of automation rather than strictly editing the attack. That would result in duplicating a lot of the tracks, and fading in one track while fading out the other, just for a proper and smooth transition.

    And haha, I'm happy with the fact that the bass is too quiet in this. If I ever had a problem with bass when composing songs, it was that it was too loud. Too much rumbling sometimes. I toned it down here, and tried to make sure that the rumbling with the underwater ambience didn't ruin the mix.

    The arrangement...yeah, it is note for note in the second half. I know I could be creative and change things around, for the sake of a proper remix. But oh well, I like the idea of simply orchestrating this song. It's probably my favorite song from one of my favorite composers, and I just wanted to pay tribute to it. And try to make the song sound a little better (well, at least try).

    Thanks, and I don't really care if it wouldn't pass the panel here. I'm happy with it. I could do an experiment and slow down the entire piece, like in the first half. But meh...that's too much work, haha. I liked how it turned out and just wanted people to hear it. :)

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