Slimy

Source: The first half of the remix is based almost entirely on the intro of the source - often slowed down and in a different key. It gets pretty abstract at 0:51, and the main melody finally comes in at 2:14. The waltz starts at 4:02. 0:00 - 0:50 The 2 second intro, slowed down and in a different key. The bell motif from the source continues while pretty much everything under it is original. 0:51 - 1:27 Original 1:28 - 1:55 The intro, this time in the same key but still slowed down. 1:56 - 2:35 The intro, this time at the same tempo as the original, albeit in different keys. The main melody comes in at 2:14. 2:36 - 2:53 Piano motif was inspired by the original song's intro, but isn't taken directly from it. 2:54 - 3:34 Main melody 3:35 - 3:58 Second part from the original song 3:59 - 5:17 Basically the source song 5:18 - 5:51 Original 5:52 - 6:07 Main melody again 6:08 - 6:28 Original 6:29 - 6:57 Main melody

Start listening to orchestral songs, and recordings so that you can see the instruments being played. If you get the opportunity to attend an orchestral concert, do so. If you're still in school, join the band or orchestra. Once you're familiar with how orchestras work, you can use EWQLSO to "paint" orchestral sounds on a "canvas," (your DAW.) EWQLSO is basically just recorded orchestral sounds. You know how to select ewi files using the browser in Play, right?

If the people in the club are anime fans, aren't they likely to have already seen Dragonball Z? Or do I not know what I'm talking about? Regardless, I think you should debut with a show that will "wow" them a bit more than that. I haven't seen too much anime, but I too would recommend Blue Exorcist. When I was still in school, I saw Code Geass and loved it. But it contains a literal massacre, so I'm not sure if it would be particularly appropriate for your audience.

You should use whatever out-of-the-box instruments your DAW has, and just start writing music. I don't think tutorials will be a substitute for experience. If you want a synth to work with, try TAL-NoiseMaker, pick some of the preset sounds and see how the knobs changed to make that sound. Eventually, you'll be familiar enough with different sounds that you can identify what is going on in any song you listen to.

When do you think it all went downhill?

Elite was ported onto the NES, 9 years before Star Fox... just saying.

If there's a demand. I don't think putting VGM on TV & mainstream radio would necessarily result in a bigger audience for it. Doesn't VGM already have an audience? An audience primarily on the internet, not TV?

Left hand sounds much better now, and the right hand is integrated with it better. I liked the tempo change at 0:11. Much better dynamics too. I didn't mention this before, but I like how you incorporated a bit of megalovania into this. Concerning the right hand, although it sounds better, I think the "pluckiness" problem is happening because attack of the right hand notes sounds much louder than the sustain. Is this is because you've made most of the right hand notes very staccato, and it's just the reverb carrying the notes afterward? If so, I don't think having so many overly-staccato notes fits the overall style of the song, or the left hand. Some minor things: The grace notes at 0:28 are a bit painful. I think it would sound better if the grace notes were quieter, or started soft, but led up to the velocity of the actual note. Are the right hand notes at 2:37 octaves? If so, I think the 2nd note should have a lower velocity and maybe have some imperfection, because the pianist would barely have to to play it before having to move their hand. I think the repeated right hand notes at 2:11 and 2:14 get overly loud. I think you could ease off the velocity after the first time of a repeated note in this case.

After hearing the update - the style of the right hand doesn't match the left hand at all. It's plucky and staccato, while the left hand is smooth and legato. Ok, so, the left hand generally follows a bass note, chord, chord pattern. But the 2 chords sound the same velocity as the bass note played, which sounds extremely midi. A pianist would compensate for playing 3 notes versus one by playing it softer. In the picture you posted, I can see that there actually is a difference in velocity, but the difference isn't enough to hear. Could use much more. You're only using ~20% of your controller area.

2 comments after seeing the project in your DAW: The notes of the right hand all seem to have the same duration, whereas a human player might alternate between staccato and legato, and generally put style into it. For example, if I were playing this on a piano, I might play the first few seconds of the right hand rhythm like this: staccato, legato, legato, legato - staccato, staccato, legato, legato Your note velocities, despite being humanized, and all generally in the same place on your controller area. Why? You have an entire controller area to work with! Give it dynamics! Have the song start off soft, build it up to a forte, make it soft again, etc.

And another thing - do your chords need to be as thick as they are? Can you change some of the notes in the chords to different octaves, putting less sound in a particular frequency? Or perhaps you could lower the velocity of certain, less important notes in the chord. Too much reverb in general can cause muddiness, it's not limited to the lower frequencies, (though that's what the word "muddy" is usually associated with.) For example the reverb of a particular chord could linger and clash with the next one.

The rhythms are played too perfectly despite their complexity. As for the sound itself - if I listen hard enough, some of the repeated notes sound the same. It does sound better though. I suppose it could be the style, a "thicker" sounding piano might work better for the slow chords you have here.

I think should also try getting some free piano samples. The sound itself sounds like a midi piano to me, regardless of humanization.

I really liked the intro, and the buildup to the melody. But when it finally came at 0:55, I didn't like the instrument you chose for the melody. It doesn't feel like it has any "weight," and just sound bad IMO. 1:07 and 1:44 work much better with that instrument, and I like your decision to make it legato. I liked 1:55, it was a nice transition, and the buildup after it is once again great. But I still don't like melody that comes in at 2:07.

Excellent song, very fun to listen to. I especially liked the style change at 0:50.

I'm not disqualifying all Undertale albums everywhere, just complaining about this one. I'm actually rather confused now - have you taken over production of the album from the OP? This is a thread for gauging interest, yet you seem to be working on it yourself? Anyways, I would have enjoyed contributing songs to an Undertale album when I was making those remixes, but this thread hasn't seemed to have gone anywhere, so I was generally disappointed.

Oh, you already submitted it? Never mind then. I would have suggested playing the rhythmic and intense parts of the song with the normal piano, and possibly adjusting the volume/using a limiter to compensate for the overall quietness.

You say it's for three pianos, but NI Una Corda doesn't seem to be a normal piano library. The entire song sounds very muted, like you're using "cloth over the string" samples, and it lacks some of the emotion I think you were going for because of this, like at 0:38 - the left hand rhythm feels weak. And whenever you're playing an intense part, the texture of the notes are distracting. Is this a style you're going for?

In the time it took for this to flounder, I made 2 remixes and submitted one for this site. Sorry and better luck next time? I suppose that's the problem with trying to do an album for a popular game that just came out.

Is this a WIP? Are you planing on collaborating with a piano player? The piano sounds very midi - aside from just not sounding like a real piano, there's no humanization or dynamics until the very end, and every note held out until the next beat. It really lacks any style until the end, because it sounds like a computer is playing this, not a pianist.

I think that's really good practice. I tried transcribing Murray Gold's Doctor Who theme when I was starting out. You can also try loading midis of songs you like in your DAW for examination.

Short answer - yes - they wouldn't be so expensive if there wasn't a demand. Long answer - expensive VST's won't write good music for you. At the end of the day, orchestral VST's are just collections of recorded instrument sounds. You have to know how to use them and how orchestras, instruments, dynamics, etc, work to get the most out of them. No, you should learn mixing, and get your arranging solid before you start spending money.

Yes, I haven't torrented anything for awhile now, so I usually just patiently download individual track when getting these albums. But most of the mirrors are broken for this album.

Sooooo, no chance to fix anything before the deadline if it isn't passable?

This is true, I think Winning900 should drop trying to emulate a guitar sound for now, make a simple saw-wave sound using TAL Noisemaker or equivalent, and just focus on arranging for now. But if a whole VST is missing, I don't think I can comment on that aspect of the song now. I don't think anyone can get a good guitar sound without spending lots of money, or contacting a real guitar player, but I don't want to discourage anyone from writing for guitar entirely, considering that I wrote orchestral songs for years before it ever started sounding like one.