BloomingLate

So I've been away from the site for a while (see this post) and now I'm here to share a short piece I recently managed to finish to satisfaction. It is called Theme from a Dream and features the piano, cello, viola and two flutes for a brief but beautiful run through a theme that I came up with after waking up from a dream a long time ago. Many, many years ago I had this dream with a very moving, adventure game-esque quality to it. Think Zelda. When I woke up from it I was sad that the story was over. As I tried to re-play the dream and add to the story in my head I came up with this theme that has stuck with me ever since. I am thrilled to have finally put it to music after maybe two decades! A second part is still in the making. That'll be more epic, movie-soundtrack like in 6/8 time. Find the finished version here: https://metapop.com/blooming-late/tracks/theme-from-a-dream-part-i/269406 I've also used it as background music in this recent video, featuring my latest Fall/Autumn pictures. The video is dedicated to the memory of my late grandfather, who died last month after a long battle against cancer. Unfortunately I was not able to show him the pictures before his death... Enjoy the music and the pictures! --René

That's good to know. My friend was wondering if maybe I was trying to "force" the song to fit the theory, which may make theory seem questionable. I guess I'm trying to teach him that theory is good and that a basic understanding is profitable and desirable. I see! I hadn't considered that this could be the case for the modes. I'm learning from the book "Harmony in Context" by Miguel A. Roig-Francoli, which does mention the modes, but doesn't go in depth on them. So I'll have to find another source to get into the specifics on those. I don't have too much experience with 7th chords yet either so I'll take a closer look into those as well. By the way: Since B-Dorian can be considered a mode of A-Major, does the song get the A-Major signature (with three sharps) or the B-Minor signature (two sharps) and the final sharp marked as an accidental wherever it occurs? Do you have to somehow tell the performer (on the sheet music) that the song is in this or that mode? Thanks for your suggestions!

Last year a friend and I started having regular phone conversations to talk about our musical progress and to provide each other with feedback. My friend likes to write songs and plays the guitar, but he's not exactly trained in music theory. So lately I've been putting my training to practice on his melodies. I'm trying to find the right harmony to go with his melody, which leads to the following issue: The song begins and ends on B, and the opening measure outlines the B-minor chord in the melody. So I'm thinking: this song is in B-minor. I learned the difference between natural, harmonic and melodic minor (and when to use what), and that the most usual variant to use for the harmony is the harmonic minor (with its raised 7th degree.) However, several things are occurring in this song. For one thing: the best chords that go with it are from the natural minor, not the harmonic minor. Furthermore, the chorus has a raised 6th degree that doesn't seem "accidental". It goes well with an E-major chord, that doesn't belong to either the natural or the harmonic minor. If I treat the song as being in Dorian mode, I have all the chords I need and don't have to "borrow" or switch between minor variants. Could it be that my inexperienced friend "accidentally" wrote something in Dorian mode? Since the song is very short, I can only go by this simple verse and chorus. The way the song is structured now, there is never really a tight resolution in the form of a dominant-tonic cadence. Could a VII (major) or v (minor) resolving to the tonic be a legitimate way to end a minor / Dorian song? Right now, ending on the chorus would leave us with a IV - i resolution. Ending on the verse gives us VII - i. Random side note: when playing around with Shadow's Theme from FFVI, I came across the same situation with the raised 6th degree. Could that theme also be in Dorian mode or am I completely missing something?

Thanks for the update! It looks like my submission got rejected indeed, but I'm not taking it as hard as I expected I would. The feedback is very respectful and thorough. I actually feel motivated to go back to the track and improve it. So thanks guys! It looks like I was thinking of Evaluators rather than Judges, but perhaps the Evaluators list can use an update as well. It is in this thread: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/42695-what-is-evaluation-and-when-do-i-use-it/ . Anyway, maybe a Meet the Judges post can be nice to have too. I'll leave it up to you guys.

Good to hear (Sorry for the late reply) Can we get an update on the "Currently in the Judging Process" post? The last update is from a while ago now. Also: I have to say, it is a bit painful that the judging process can be so slow. I understand that this is all on a voluntary basis and that there's lots of entries to work through. Nevertheless, I think I've been waiting for almost a year now to get my submission judged and at this point it will probably be extra painful to have it rejected. Since it has been so long, going back to it to work out potential issues raised in feedback will be tricky. And wouldn't want to have to wait another year after re-submission. Side question: is the "meet the judges" post currently up to date?

They're clean stems without effects alright. The zipped file is actually a lot smaller, so this shouldn't be a problem. I'm sending you a PM with the download link. It will expire after a week so don't wait too long to grab it. Good luck!

I'm setting this to "Ready for Review". I'd like an Evaluator to comment on whether they think this remix has a chance to be accepted by the Judges. Latest version that I'd like to submit:

We can do that I've prepared the stems for you but they total around 600 MB, which seems like an awful lot. They're all 16 bit WAV. Should we go ahead with that or do I need different settings? Uploading this will probably take ages :P

Hi Judges This site has been around for quite some time. Judges / other staff have probably come and gone while going through all kinds of stages of life since. My question is: how "healthy" is the current "administration". Are you guys still managing? Is judging and maintaining the site still do-able? Are you guys still happy? That there's still new remixes coming out is probably a good sign. Are there any particular needs right now for the site and to keep the judging process running smoothly? Thanks to everyone who's involved for their contribution!

I'm glad to hear that This part (the final tweaking stage) is usually the part where I get discouraged and give up, haha. Okay, I rendered one more version with some of those high frequencies cut here and there. The effect seems subtle to me, but perhaps it did improve it if only a little :) As for the guitar: I use a plugin that has two options: stereo mode and doubling mode. I already had it set to the latter so it has the effect that you're describing (blending two different takes on the same pattern). I had set the channel to full stereo width to make it sound as good as it does. Not doing that significantly weakens the sound. Upon closer listening, it turns out that in mono mode (on the master) the guitar doesn't completely disappear. It makes no difference if I go for stereo mode or doubling mode in the plugin. So I figure I leave it as it is, since you're supposed to listen to it in stereo (or would that be a lazy and very noobish attitude to have?) Finally, I added some compression to the acoustic guitar and compensated by decreasing its volume. This lets more of the details through at the right moments which I think is an improvement. The overall balance has remained the same, I think. By "keys" do you mean the higher pitched ostinato pattern? It already has reverb and delay on it. I guess they get lost in the mix a little. I'm personally not too bothered by it, but I slightly boosted them anyway. See if you think this is better. Here is the updated version for comparison: Metapop link Thanks again for you input :)

Okay, I've applied some of your suggestions and swapped out the bass for a less subby one. I tested and mixed on the headphones that are more bass sensitive as well as on my speakers. I'm pleased with the results for now but I'd like your take on it. As far as I can tell the kick now comes through more clearly without being obnoxious. The snare was boosted a little. The bass is far less intrusive but takes more of a back seat, which in this case is more desirable to me. Listening on my speakers I found that the shaker was standing out too much so I toned that down a bit. Here is the updated version for you to compare with: https://metapop.com/blooming-late/tracks/heavenly-marshmellows-34bayou-boogie34-38-34stickerbush-symphony34-from-dkc2/195248 (this one on my MetaPop profile, seeing how that allows me to change files, while SoundCloud doesn't.) Somewhat important discovery: since the acoustic guitar is fully stereo separated it completely disappears on mono devices. Taking it out of stereo separation means a host of new mixing problems. Can I get away with not supporting mono-devices or is that big no-no? :P

Thanks for your positive and helpful feedback Perox! That's interesting that you mentioned the bass. On one set of headphones that I used I felt the same: that the bass (which happens to be very subby) was overpowering. Using a different set of headphones the bass was actually almost inaudible! So now I'm not sure which headphones to trust. It definitely clashes with the kick that is rather subby. Perhaps I should consider a different kick or bass (or both) If you have any ideas for how to overcome this headphones issue (perhaps visual cues to go by in my DAW) I will gladly dive back in and make those suggested improvements.

Thanks for your additional input Those are very interesting examples too. A little further in in the first video sounded very Metroid-y to me! I had no idea idea this kind of music was out there, outside of video games. I just figured VGM composers were doing their own thing. It never occurred to me that they might have been influenced by what was going on around them. Come to think of it, I have heard of JM Jarre before. I think my wife has some trance remix of his Oxygene 10 *checks* *confirms* I was born in 1985 so most of this stuff was happening before I arrived at the scene and became musically aware. It is striking how different modern music sounds compared to back then!

UPDATE JULY 17th Latest version with slight mix tweaks. Bass gets its own little climax at the end of the transition / buildup so it doesn't feel like it just keeps hanging there. DESCRIPTION I decided to come back to a remix project that I never really finished to satisfaction. I shared an earlier version here on OCR and now I'd like to share the updated version. This remix combines two tracks from the Donkey Kong Country 2 soundtrack (SNES): "Bayou Boogie" and "Stickerbush Symphony". Original composer: David Wise. This is an updated version from an earlier attempt, titled "Swamped with Nostalgia" I replaced some instruments and added my own recorded bird song samples. After some problems with mixing I decided to go with a "less is more" approach and cut away samples and instruments to maximize the elements that I like. Newly added is the acoustic guitar chords, created by NI's Session Guitarist, which gives it the flavor I had been looking for but couldn't produce the first time. The transition between the two tracks now does what I wanted it to do all along! The overall structure and most instruments have remained the same. So has difficulty mixing and mastering (I slapped on a Maximus preset and tweaked that a little until it sounded right to me. Then came back the next day with semi-fresh ears to do a final tweak.) Here it is, for your enjoyment. [REMOVED OLD LINK. SEE LATEST ABOVE]

Interesting! Thanks for this! After posting my original post I considered that maybe the sound belongs more to the 80's than the 90's. I don't think I have been exposed much to 80's pop music so its hard for me to judge. I actually knew about Japan (the band) through a trance remix of "Ghosts" (Tenth Planet); it never occurred to me to listen to their other stuff :) I did a quick scan through a "best of" video of Yellow Magic Orchestra that you mentioned. I definitely get that videogame music vibe. VGM sure has developed since those days :P I'll have to check those out later, thanks! Would you concur that the bass / synth sounds in the examples are more 80's than 90's?

Hey everyone, I recently remembered a piece of music from an old (oooold) CD-i game called Full Attack (from Family Games I.) It's has a very catchy bass-line and some "alien" sounding synths. That triggered a memory from a track from Super Metroid that (in my memory) sounded kind of like it. I was wondering if you guys can help me identify the style/genre of these two tracks and maybe point to some commercial music (maybe from the 90's era) that uses similar sounds and instruments. I'm curious to know if stuff like that was available outside of video games. Here are the sample tracks to compare and identify: Super Metroid Full Attack Bonus points if you ever played Full Attack on CD-i!

Hey guys, some of you may be interested in knowing that Native Instruments (Kontakt, Komplete etc.) is having their annual Summer of Sound discount event. Now is a good time to get sweet virtual instruments for a low price. I've been saving up money for just a time like this and I'm super excited that they're offering the hardware bundles again. I got the A61 keyboard with the Kontakt 13 library (which is pretty massive and has just about everything you need, I imagine.) I was a little confused about the difference between updates, upgrades and the need for base products / software but I just received my keyboard and serials and everything seems to be in working order (meaning everything is unlocked so I have full access to all instruments.) Looking forward to creating music with this beast (big download though!) Here's the link for those interested: Summer of Sound discount at Native Instruments NB: I'm not affiliated with Native Instruments nor do I get paid for advertising. I'm just letting you guys know, because I often see people expressing their wishes to get a big library like Komplete.

I have a few positive updates to share. Since I made this thread, I might as well share them here. My wife and I have been married for 9 years this week! Not quite a milestone yet, but still worthy enough to eat cake... After my last visit to a doctor/specialist I was told that there wasn't anything left for them to do in terms of trying to find a physical cause for my chronic fatigue. I came prepared with a bunch of information on how to test for and help with ME/CVS, but the specialist shot down my whole approach to my problem and told me he didn't have time to read all that. I felt terribly misunderstood and the guy was pretty blunt about it, but the positive thing that came out of it was the feeling that I could finally let go of the search. I guess you might say I have finally come to accept my disabilities. This in itself has brought a great deal of peace. While the above was going on, I was reading a great book that deals with the topic of trusting God in the midst of suffering. That book has helped me immensely by reminding me of Gods sovereignty over all things (including suffering), His love and His wisdom. I've grown in trust in Him and I'm accepting the fact that my suffering has a place in His plan. I've come to rely more on God for strength and wisdom while living with daily pain and fatigue. When I went to prayer hour at church last Wednesday, I looked at the prayer wall (where people put their prayers on cards) and found one that had my name on it. It turned out to be an old prayer from my wife for me. In it she asked for God to either heal me, or help me to deal and live with my condition and to trust Him more. At that moment I realized God had done the latter. So thank God for that! (The reality is more awesome and significant than these simple words express!) All in all, and despite the craziness that is going on around us, I can honestly say that I am happy (as in "Blessed are the...") I haven't felt like that in ages. I'm more at peace, continually aware of Gods presence and just thrilled about the little things, like when I got to see a Common Kingfisher (a bird that is not quite so common where I live) or when I got to take pictures of my favorite butterflies And all of that, right around the building where I live. So, many things to be thankful for! EDIT: pictures! The latter two are actually exotic butterflies, not from my neighborhood. I took those at some special butterfly place, elsewhere in my province. The third one is actually really huge in reality!

Hey thanks! (Sorry for the late reply.) I'm not quite sure what the new direction will be yet. It probably won't be something completely different in terms of sound/style, but I'm mostly struggling to make longer and more varied works (so form, and composition). I definitely want to go beyond solo piano pieces and I have plenty of other VST's waiting to be explored and used.

Hello I'm sharing my latest piano piece(s) with you. From the SoundCloud description: I may also release another version with solo violin added to it in the near future.

Sorry to hear you've been having some rough times. It certainly has been a crazy year that we're all likely going to remember for the rest of our lives. I hope you'll be able to keep it up with working on your music. Having something of a goal and a distraction at this point sounds helpful :) Things are still very quiet in my area in terms of Corona. So much so that I almost completely forget about it. I hardly pay attention to it anymore, though I can't escape it when I have to get on the bus or go to the grocery store. My sister on the other hand is having serious anxieties over the virus! That's so cool! A proud parent moment, I can imagine! I'm happy for you that you can share this with your daughter. A future contributor to OCR maybe? :D

Thanks for the feedback I tweaked the track a little here and there, using some of your suggestions. Check updated version here: Hope I didn't mess it up I may still take you up on that offer to do something like a screen share. I often remark how I would like to have someone sit next to me and walk me through the process. Not sure when or how yet, but I'm keeping it in mind. Some of the points you raised are a matter of taste I guess. The chosen instruments may not be the greatest, but they gave me the sounds I was looking for To answer your question: I'm using mostly FLEX presets (FL Studio's free synth). I haven't touched the ADSR envelope knobs much, so that could explain a thing or two. Not sure what you mean by low-fi in this case.

UPDATED VERSION Hello again I just finished another DKC remix, this time putting a spin on the factory stage music. A welcome break from trying to perfect my Aquatic Ambience mix (mixing = argh!) The overall composition is fairly conservative though I did add a few personal touches here and there to keep it interesting. I experimented with sounds and FX and did my best balancing the mix. I actually think this turned out really well, which makes it a positive experience for once. Every time I come back for a listen I just feel satisfied and there is nothing that stands out to me as being "wrong". I hope you'll feel the same way Please listen to at least 30 seconds, even if you don't like it right away, so the play counter more accurately reflects views. Anyway, here it is: What do you think? Have any nice memories playing DKC and hearing the factory BGM for the first time?

Okay, so I've been working on making those improvements but I have to say, the more I listen to it, the less I start to like it. There's actually a couple of other problems: The overall thing is a little too loud for my taste. This makes it very hard for certain things to get through. The kick/snare feels soulless. Even with the right EQ-ing and some compression it just feels "bah". Actually, I feel that way about all the different kits I have available. It just puts me off. The bass plucks are starting to annoy me, and I feel they have a rhythmic clash with the drumline. Finding a sound that works is tricky, and I may need to transpose the whole thing up a few tones to get the bass out of the weird low territory. Overall, the track feels like it is lacking body (except maybe the part where the main melody plays). Maybe due to some stereo separation? Lacking low end? Delay effects tend to get lost in the noise. I did a few experiments that enabled the kick/snare to come through well enough, but then point 2 becomes more obvious. They tend to drive the total dB up to -3, whereas the rest can sit comfortably on -6. In other words, the kick and snare really start to stand out. I'm considering swapping out the kick/snare for the percussion I used in my other DKC remix ("Swamped with Nostalgia"). The thing is. If I want to maintain the "low-fi" feel of the drumkit, then that means the kick is almost completely lost. So boosting the kick would basically just undo the effect. In another experiment I set every fader lower. That made it sound much more comfortable to my ears, but then it is on the soft side (-6). And of course, all the other problems remain :D I'm including the first experiment in the attachment. I'm aware that the water FX are too soft and the strings too loud at times. I'll continue working on it. RX-13b_PollutedParadise_FL64--mixed-01.mp3

I'm glad you enjoyed my subtle dark twist! I initially tried to just recreate the original with updated sounds, but then that chord happened and I was like: "Oooo, I like where this is going :D" I hadn't noticed! I'll have to look into that. Thanks for pointing it out! Thanks for your additional advice! I'll snoop around and see what I can do. I find the low end to be consistently troublesome in just about every project. I know this is a common thing, but I also suspect my hearing isn't all that great, giving additional difficulties fixing those issues. Glad you liked it! My wife was a little concerned that people wouldn't like how I took such a relaxing song and turned it onto...that. :P It was kind of new territory for me as well, but once I accidentally hit that first scary chord I knew I had to pursue this. Not sure what you mean about the portamento on the bassline. I don't think I did anything special to it 0_0; *checks* The percussion is low-fi by choice, yes. I applied the radio or telephone preset from FL Studio's EQ plugin. When we get to the second round of the main song I transition back to normal fi for variation :) Thanks both of you for your comments! I'll post an updated version and hope to submit it for evaluation soon!