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Heavyarms83

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Posts posted by Heavyarms83

  1. I finished my second Secret of Mana song. This time I would like to get some feedback before I release it anywhere.

    https://instaud.io/private/be25f112302535ffdea542e00aea6e732ffcf541

    Instruments played by myself besides the vocals are guitar, bass, and concertina. The rest is programmed.

    I mastered it to -14 LUFS and there is no chance to convince me to kill any of the dynamics. ;)

    Here are the lyrics for the song:

    Nightingale
    Sing to me
    Stories of
    Celebra-
    tions and of
    People whose
    Dreams came to life

    Oh – you’re not alone – in this world
    Oh – step on the hole – in the ground
    They’ll be crossing your path
    Take the chance while it lasts
    And be – just be

    Chorus:
    Nightingale
    Sing to me
    Stories of
    Celebra-
    tions and of
    People whose
    Dreams came to life
    Nightingale
    On the fence
    I know that
    You are the
    Bringer of
    Lore tell a
    Curious tale

    Ah – life can be real – if you are
    Ah – lose your ideal – go too far
    Leave the stars in the sky
    You can learn how to fly
    And be – just be

    Chorus

    Ah – don’t say no more – I will try
    Ah – open the door – it is nigh
    Break the seal of the lair
    To Inhale some fresh air
    And be – just be

    Chorus

  2. By acoustic remix I expected something entirely different which is a version played on acoustic instruments rather than samples or simulations of instruments.

    So, I was quite disappointed, not because of the quality of the song but because the title was misleading, at least to me.

    For a latin song this needs way more dynamics in the rhythmic instruments (guitar & percussions).

  3. So, I changed the piano sample to my Miroslav Refill Steinway piano. Don't know why I didn't use it from the beginning, it's one of my favourites from what I've got. I also added the 1/16 delay and a bit of compression and changed the velocity in the repeating parts a bit more randomly. Also I gave the strings a bit more warmth (whatever that knob does technically, it sounded good :D ). And I removed the wind noise. You're right, it doesn't add anything to the music. It's just nice for the YouTube video as an opening. I also changed the title. Here is the result: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dmljhobg1k6zgx6/01 Heavens Forgive Me.mp3?dl=0

  4. Wow, thanks for that feedback. You heard right about my voice. My vocal range is rather that of a heroic tenor, so I got some baritone qualities but there is a certain limit at low notes. I'm still practising some throat singing technique to get even lower tones but for the moment I can't control them enough for melodic singing.

    I would be happy to submit the song, so I will think about a slightly different title. And I will work a bit on the piano, I could for example play it on my keyboard, even though I'm not sooo good at playing with two hands, it shouldn't be a problem with overdubs. I remember the original had an extreme but short echo effect on the piano which adds something to the release. So maybe I could play around with something like that too but less extreme. I don't remember which strings I used but I will also take a look at that.

    I guess I'd also have to remove the wind noise at the beginning then. I read that I'm not allowed to use original samples from Square and it is one.

    I'm also already working on the next song of that series (A Curious Tale) but I won't be able to release it before next year because I still have to practise a concertina part (I just started playing it last summer). ;)

  5. Let me start with the constructive feedback this time, as I got a few (but only very few) things to say in that regard:

    1. Sometimes the orchestra sounds a bit too artificial IMO. I do fully understand, that it would cost quite a lot to record such a piece with a full orchestra in a studio, so that's nothing I would have expected anyway. ;) But being a conductor you certainly know many musicians. Maybe you can get some of them to record some parts and mix it with the samples you use. They did something like that for the music in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and it worked like a charm. Like that you will have some real attacks and sustains with more life and variation and it will add a lot while the samples still give you the impression of a full orchestra.
    2. This time in opposite to your other Zelda song I reviewed here, it's a bit too film scorish for me, but as this may have been your intention and it's just a personal thing, you can of course fully ignore this. :D 
    3. Some more mallets and percussion would be nice (especially mallets, the amount of drums is quite okay).

    I thought I heard a Star Trek TNG opining reference somewhere after 12 minutes. Is it on purpose or just my imagination? However I liked it because I'm a total fan of the Star Trek series.

    At 31 minutes it reminds me a bit of The March by Manowar (which is inspired by Richard Wagner who had probably also some influence on your piece).

    The whole piece is absolutely in harmony, in the sense that the transitions work very well and your own compositions merge flawlessly into the original Zelda compositions.

    Very impressive work!

  6. First question, how come you got so few followers and likes even after posting it here (and probably elsewhere too)? You deserve so much more!

    I will also give you a review for your symphonic poem later but first I'll have to listen to the entire piece.

    What I especially like about it is that you don't try to let it sound like one of those typical Hollywood film scores. Because that's what most people do when they orchestrate game music. I can hear that you come from classical music and have a deep knowledge of composition and arrangement so you don't fall into using stereotypes only (no stereotypes at all wouldn't be good either except if you'd want to make some avant-garde stuff).
    I don't have anything constructive feedback to give, because I totally like it as it is.

    I absolutely prefer this over most electronic remixes, but I'm also new here so I'm probably not the typical OCRemix audience. LOL My game covers will be mostly Prog, or if electronic then Eurobeat or Synthwave (maybe I'll try some Hypertechno too). But I agree getting feedback from musicians of other genres is often very helpful, because they may have a completely different perspective and notice things you wouldn't have noticed on your own.

  7. Interesting idea. It sounds definitely cleaner and more transparent than the original. Though I think that's not always for the better. The guitar has a not so good attack IMO and sounds better when it's not that present and the high frequencies of the lead synth also aren't that much of a pleasure to listen to. But that's not your fault of course, it's the source material.

    I think there is a bit too much compression or brickwall limiting on the master or maybe just not the best settings, I can't figure out exactly what it is but there seems to be some pumping. Otherwise I like the kick/bass balance, you did an absolutely great job here.

  8. Hi! This is my first post here and I feel a bit sorry that it is a rather egoistic post where I show off my own stuff. But I will try to invest some time reviewing other songs too. ;)

    I started a series of Secret of Mana covers. Sadly it's not suitable for OCRemix because I use the original titles as inspiration for my lyrics and keep those titles. This is part of the concept. I try to imagine the songs of the game as songs for a singer and the titles are hints for the stories the songs want to tell. I also play as much instruments as I can and I hope that I can get some collaborators to play other instruments too or sing some parts for the series. I release the songs on my YouTube channel and make videos with a performance of the song (as I always do with my songs).

    Feedback is highly appreciated and will be taken seriously.

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