DarkDjinn

I'm at the point where I feel my composition doesn't need as much work as my production - so that's what I'm here to ask everyone's opinion on. I have a real lack of knowledge on the subject. I want to train my ear a little better so that I know what I should listen for, as well as be able to objectively say, "Ok, this is what needs work" instead of accepting it because it's my composition and I hear it in my head the way I intended. So in an extremely general sense - what opinions do you guys have for the fundamentals when it comes to mixing? I don't want to get ahead of myself - I want to make sure I am covering all my bases, and I want to be able to repeat results every time so that it won't be a guessing game as to how Song A will sound when compared to Song B. Thoughts?

New song I'm working on, tentatively titled "The Final Temple". Looking for any kind of helpful criticism. Thanks in advance for listening! https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/the-final-temple Made using Superior Drummer 2.0, East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold, East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs Gold, and Shreddage 2, and EZMix 2 for the guitar tone.

New song I finished today: http://www.soundcloud.com/brad-charles/a-descent-into-madness The overall feeling was influenced a bit by the Godfather theme. Curious to hear any opinions on this. Especially interested in hearing tips for improving realism of the orchestra sound - specifically with reverb. Made this using East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold and ERA Medieval Legends.

Recently, I've been in talks with folks with two different projects that I may be lined up to work on. Nothing fancy, doing some transcription and arranging and not a whole lot of original composition - but I want to be sure that I'm protecting myself and my work anyway. The first thing I thought of was - if you're working with someone over the internet, what's the best way to ensure that you get whatever payment is promised? At some point there is going to have to be some trust involved - either someone's getting their product first, or someone's getting paid first. I've never been involved in doing musicky things for money though, so I'm looking for advice from someone who has been in a similar situation or who works this way. The second thing I thought of - how do I protect the stuff I worked on? I know if I'm doing transcription/arrangement/orchestration of something that doesn't belong to me, I probably have very little rights with regards to the music, but again - zero experience with this, so advice from people actively working situations like this would be greatly appreciated.

Berklee has some interesting online programs and certificates that I want to check out. I'm just looking for more of a traditional (preferably not online) school, with non-traditional scheduling I guess. I've found some stuff in my area that seems promising. I emailed a lot of schools in my area yesterday asking their opinions on it, and most of them had the same answer - there isn't really much hope of taking evening music classes. The knowledge from any music study is valuable, but I want the paper to go along with it as well Thanks for the tips guys, I welcome anyone else's opinion if they've got one - also if anyone has gone through any of the Berklee online courses, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

So I'm 26, I've got a family, mortgage, all that fun stuff. I always wanted to go to school for music but it never seemed to be in the cards. Has anyone ever heard of a music degree program at a traditional college that is accommodating for nontraditional students, maybe having classes for longer periods but less days of the week, or classes during evenings/weekends? The answer I'm getting from most schools is, "no, that will not work."

Giving this a bump. Still hoping to get some feedback/comments on this

This book is great: http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Dictionary-Orchestration-The-Series/dp/0739000217 I have it and I consult it when looking for ways to enhance my music. It's very detailed and includes pages of info on each orchestra instrument, including a description of the sound and how each instrument is best used .

This looks great. Seems like a totally original and fresh idea, can't wait to play it.

Ok! I want to claim Bowser's theme - can I get put down for that?

Does anyone know where I can find recordings (on Youtube or otherwise) of just scales and interval exercises using various modes, without people talking in it? I see a ton of lessons on Youtube, but too much talking in them. I could play and record this myself I suppose, but if I can find where someone else has done it, that would be best. My purpose is to use this to listen to on the way to work and back and while I'm at work in order to internalize how the different modes sound a little better, and then reinforce that at home with getting them under my fingers. So, any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the advice. I don't think that will happen, and I certainly don't want to rely on posting here to be my only option. I post original songs often, and I know from experience that posts often don't get the attention I want them to get That's what I'm looking for though - advice on an appropriate game development forum. I'm not new to music, just new to trying to put it in projects, so I'm lost when it comes to that. So do you personally have any suggestions for a specific game dev forum? Thanks again!

I'm currently looking for a project to work on - even if it's a "just for fun" thing. I want to be able to work on something with some direction, i.e. "This piece needs to sound like someone is running away from something scary - dark, and tense" rather than my current way of doing things - sitting around until I come up with an idea, or rehashing all my old ideas. I have no experience composing commercially, but I am thinking something along the lines of mobile phone games - don't really know what to look for. Here's a link to most of my good work http://www.soundcloud.com/brad-charles/ Also, if anyone has an idea of a specific place I could go to find people who are seeking musicians for things like this, that would be appreciated. I'm not trying to undermine the process of music composition, but at this point I don't need to make any money doing it - just want some experience doing something different and new.

A vastly improved and updated version of a song I posted a long time ago that was called "Horn of Battle". Better VSTs, better orchestration, better everything in my opinion. It's kind of a "final battle" or epic battle kind of orchestra thing. I'd like to get some feedback on this. It's the most ambitious project I've ever done. The problem I run into the most is not knowing what to do with woodwinds. Made using EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold. https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/the-confrontation

FInished this song today. It's a silly waltz. Used EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold, ERA Medieval Legends, EZDrummer. I'd like to hear what everyone thinks about it. https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/goblin-waltz

This is embarrassing - so I looked up an orchestra layout and I was way off on a lot of stuff. Apparently using the "the way I remember the practice room in concert band in high school 9 years ago" method is not the way to go... Glad I had you fine people to point this out to me!

Ok, thanks for the tips everyone. Seems the biggest problem here is panning, so off I go to learn how to make that better. I'll post an updated version in a couple of days when I get time to work on it some more. Thanks!

Thanks for listening! I'll listen to the panning today and see if I can pick it apart and find ways to make it better. Do you have any tips? What I tried to do was somewhat imitate the setup of an orchestra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20cGz_8BVA0 Just finished this today. Made using EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold (and like 3 individual notes from EZDrummer Latin Percussion). Enjoy!

A new song of mine. I'm practicing working on dynamics more in my songs. I'll take any tips on the production or musical sides of things! https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/a-shadow-in-the-forest

I am using the keyswitches already, and my world became brighter when I figured that out (by watching a video on it). Thanks!

And that song is from Pirates of the Caribbean. I chose it because I know it well enough that I could at least sing/hum the entire thing and I thought that would make it easier to mess around with when practicing stuff like articulations.

zircon and timaeus - thanks both for the tips. I only have cellos and trumpets in there because it's been so time consuming just to do that part.The articulations are the part that's a real pain to do - I don't play any bowed strings, so I don't know much about how they work. I do play trumpet, but it's still difficult to make it sound natural. I'll work on it some more and seek guidance again. Thanks!

I bought EWQLSO Gold a few months back after lusting after it for months, and then was too intimidated to try to use it. A couple of days ago I decided to sit down and give it a solid effort to really learn the ins and outs, and I'm in the very beginning stages. However, if anyone has experience using it and would be willing to share some tips, please do! I'm looking to get as realistic of an orchestra sound as I can out of this. Please see the link below for a very brief demo of what I've been practicing with: https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/hes-a-pirate-practice I looked for the score for "He's a Pirate" but couldn't find it, so I just did a piece of it by ear. Don't shoot me if you hear a wrong note, that's not the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I'm looking for glaringly obvious things that could be fixed to make it sound more realistic. It's not as easy as I thought it was going to be. Thanks in advance!

I'm working on a project for my personal enjoyment - a story album about spacey type things. Most of the songs are rock/metal oriented but this one is more spacey/groovy/mysterious. It's supposed to work as either an introduction to the whole deal or some kind of transition between songs, and it has elements of all of the songs incorporated into it. I think it stands pretty well by itself but I'm interested to hear what anyone else has to say, so give me some feedback! https://soundcloud.com/brad-charles/the-iron-giant