The Vodoú Queen

I’m pretty much the same lol

I'll be entering this one! Never played the game but I like the feel of this song

I made and submitted a bonus entry.

@Wassup Thunder Hey!
Nah, it's way less the factor of I "don't like the critiques". I am very grateful to get them!--I think my issue is, like you said, addressing them adequately to learn better technique and, thusly, grow in skill.
It was simply I noticed that dissonance is a big flaw for the moment, and I'm just trying to sit here and think of ways to fix it (or be able to). I think the problem is there's a lot of sampling I have to work with, so yeah. Yes, BandLab / Cakewalk does have it where if you right-click on a sample, you can change the pitch, (sharpen or flatten)--unsure about actual key. I'll have to further look into it. :S Might just have to look up basic tutorials on DAW and key changes, see where that takes me. Might be a simple matter like with EQ Bands, and messing with it enough times to be able to "listen out" for dissonance in harmony and adjust for it.
BUT, if people have general ways to deal with it properly, just say. ^^ Always good to take on pointers. xD
TBH, the song I queried to the judges is like the 2nd one I've ever composed--so it had very little in the way EQing or general balancing passes, if at all--so I am not overly surprised at the result. Honestly, I was taken aback happily at the fact someone gave me an in-depth reply with some coaching / encouragement with it. Way different than the form rejections I used to get when I submitted a work of fiction writing to a magazine or such, so it was a nice, refreshing, different take. I'm glad that it's not super often, the dissonance issue, but it cropped up often enough to ask and see if I can make it better.
And well, you're absolutely right, and TBF I'd rather have a polite but informative rejection rather than a form letter just saying "better luck next time, kid." xD
But thanks for the words of encouragement. ♥

@The Vodoú Queen I understand the frustration/stress of not being sure on how to address critique you get, you got my sympathies! About the dissonance/key sig thing, I've never worked with changing the pitch/key of an audio sample, so I'm afraid I can't offer much help on that. If the program you're using can change the pitch of a sample, that might be something to experiment with. I didn't think you often had issues with dissonance in the past, just some parts on this last one, I don't believe it's a problem you frequently have had. It can be discouraging, but I believe everyone can continue to find how to improve and refine their skills, even when we're not sure what we're doing at times.

And don't feel too bad about getting a rejection on OCR.  The judge panel keeps a very high standard of music, and lots of submissions don't make it on the first try. I can relate a bit, I've had some projects here that were politely told were very lacking and needed lots of improvement. Try and keep hope in your compositions and ability, hard critique never means you're failure.

I also feel real stupid asking, as most people probably grasped this off the bat, considering key sig and tone is music 101...

Ok here goes some thoughts about each of you's:
TheVodouQueen - Wooow this one is long, and with good reason too. Both of these sources need a lot of time to develop, especially since Ridge Racer on it's own is 4 minutes, and a fully fleshed out variant of Lufia would also be about 4 minutes. So in theory, long tracks for long sources are good. Now what i really liked about this, is the recognisable elements from each. I like how you took the choir of the original Rave Racer track. (Which for those who are wondering, is actually taken from Soul Edge, released on the PS1. They sampled it for this track), that was a nice touch. The 80's synth elements were outstanding, the instrument choices were just great. Now unfortunately i don't know the exact process, i know you've said it's experimental, and i've taken that to account, however i feel like your trying to deliberately make the sources clash. I don't know, it just feels...dissonant. I mean this is the intention, but maybe for me, it needs to be better integrated. It felt more like 2 separate tracks being forced to work together. Oh well, the arrangement is spot on here. Definitely did not bore me for the whole 9 minutes. Also while were on this topic, i would have loved for you to explore more ridge racer. Like make a full blown section, dedicated to Rave Racer. Sure the last part of the track is mostly Rave Racer, but i could go for more of it, than maybe parts of it. I think it has something to do with my bias towards the game lol. Before i ramble, i just wanna say this is very well produced, and worth the whole journey. Well done!
Wassup Thunder - This is definitely a kind of sound i would imagine for Lufia. I always love your orchestral pallets, it sounds soo nicely done. The rock elements work surprisingly well here too, i was not expecting that for a man of rich orchestral sounds. I really love the way you've blended the sounds, it sounds so much like Anime music, which i think it's a compliment. If i had to critique it, it would be that the rock element is getting pushed down by the orchestra. I feel the drums could be louder and bigger (The rock drums, not the orchestral ones), and maybe the guitar could be more pronounced. I mean i said it fits super well, because it does, however if you really want to amplify the hard guitar parts, i suggest beefing it up, to make it more aggressive. Also i felt this was a bit too consistent. The drums just kept going, not stopping, and the strings were full force. However though, i think this is super nicely done, and definitely enjoyable to listen to. Well done!
Brainstar - Feels like a start to 2 tracks. Each with it's own ideas. I love the trombone usage here, creates that really nice fanfare approach. I also really dug the switch to the A major chord at the end. A beautiful transition into Rave Racer, clever. That synth bass sound is pretty lovely here too. It obviously feels like you couldn't do much, what with the laptop damage, however i definitely see potential here for a expansion. It sounds like a lovely start. Well done!

From research a Launchpad goes on the market for £90 , equivalent to 124 dollars (I assume your from the UK right? based on what you've put in your profile)
The cheapest keyboard i can fine is an Akai, and that goes on the market for £37 equivalent to 51 dollars. 
This is my research, maybe it might help.

I've been so busy i've forgotten about this lol. I'll give some thoughts in a post here, one second.

Thanks everyone for the support and critiques--will do my best to try and be more intricate with harps / pizzicatos / arpeggio runs and be more aware of tempo / key signature shifts. It's really hard for me, at least, to temper that latter aspect, especially when working with 2-3 separate sources PLUS the loops in BandLab Online. Guess my ears for certain tones and keys just needs more practice. ^^;
Also gonna send my pick to @Bundeslang in like the next few minutes. Hope people enjoy it. :3
@anachromium You're certainly welcome. ♥ Your criticism (nor anyone else's) was too harsh or anything. I think, if anything, it's just a tad overwhelming for me cause I'm fairly new-ish to this gig, so trying to keep everything in mind and get better with each song made is crazy to say the least. But thank you too, for your kindness.
I think I am OK with composition crafting, at least, but I understand your delimma. I never really ask about or seek out collabs for similar reasons--because I don't wanna drag others down with my limited knowledge on music crafting / theory or use of a kind of so-so DAW (not anything more legit like Cubase or FL, GarageBand, Ableton Live, etc.) And because I don't know how well it'd mesh taking someone's work on MIDI or WAV or MP3 and slapping it onto BandLab to mess with it further, I don't ask.
However, I will keep your offer certainly in mind. And maybe when we're both a little more comfortable in our spheres of music crafting, we can do something way more defined, complex, and cool.
@TheVideoGamer I replied to your query above BTW, hun.

@TheVideoGamer I'll keep that DAW you mention, LMMS, in mind. TBH starting next month or something I might try the move to using more legitimate DAW to work with.
Just wish I had a MIDI keyboard and pads to work with lol. Feel off with a typing keyboard and mouse.

@TheVideoGamer I'll keep that DAW you mention, LMMS, in mind. TBH starting next month or something I might try the move to using more legitimate DAW to work with.
Just wish I had a MIDI keyboard and pads to work with lol. Feel off with a typing keyboard and mouse.

The only reason i ask, is because as a FL user, my method for reducing the kbps may differ in other DAWS. So if i were to say something, you might be lost, because your DAW is different.
I mentioned this method, because i learnt length wasn't the factor in uploading, it was file size. And whenever i had a large file size, i would reduce the kbps, which brings the total file size by megabytes down.
If you ever feel like you can't upload, this is an idea. Sure you might loose a bit of quality, but so far nothing major has really been affected.
I also heard LMMS is also a good free daw to use. Never tried it myself, since i've had FL Studio for so long, but some say it's the next best thing.

Thanks everyone for the support and critiques--will do my best to try and be more intricate with harps / pizzicatos / arpeggio runs and be more aware of tempo / key signature shifts. It's really hard for me, at least, to temper that latter aspect, especially when working with 2-3 separate sources PLUS the loops in BandLab Online. Guess my ears for certain tones and keys just needs more practice. ^^;
Also gonna send my pick to @Bundeslang in like the next few minutes. Hope people enjoy it. :3
@anachromium You're certainly welcome. ♥ Your criticism (nor anyone else's) was too harsh or anything. I think, if anything, it's just a tad overwhelming for me cause I'm fairly new-ish to this gig, so trying to keep everything in mind and get better with each song made is crazy to say the least. But thank you too, for your kindness.
I think I am OK with composition crafting, at least, but I understand your delimma. I never really ask about or seek out collabs for similar reasons--because I don't wanna drag others down with my limited knowledge on music crafting / theory or use of a kind of so-so DAW (not anything more legit like Cubase or FL, GarageBand, Ableton Live, etc.) And because I don't know how well it'd mesh taking someone's work on MIDI or WAV or MP3 and slapping it onto BandLab to mess with it further, I don't ask.
However, I will keep your offer certainly in mind. And maybe when we're both a little more comfortable in our spheres of music crafting, we can do something way more defined, complex, and cool.
@TheVideoGamer I replied to your query above BTW, hun.

Thanks everyone for the support and critiques--will do my best to try and be more intricate with harps / pizzicatos / arpeggio runs and be more aware of tempo / key signature shifts. It's really hard for me, at least, to temper that latter aspect, especially when working with 2-3 separate sources PLUS the loops in BandLab Online. Guess my ears for certain tones and keys just needs more practice. ^^;
Also gonna send my pick to @Bundeslang in like the next few minutes. Hope people enjoy it. :3
@anachromium You're certainly welcome. ♥ Your criticism (nor anyone else's) was too harsh or anything. I think, if anything, it's just a tad overwhelming for me cause I'm fairly new-ish to this gig, so trying to keep everything in mind and get better with each song made is crazy to say the least. But thank you too, for your kindness.
I think I am OK with composition crafting, at least, but I understand your delimma. I never really ask about or seek out collabs for similar reasons--because I don't wanna drag others down with my limited knowledge on music crafting / theory or use of a kind of so-so DAW (not anything more legit like Cubase or FL, GarageBand, Ableton Live, etc.) And because I don't know how well it'd mesh taking someone's work on MIDI or WAV or MP3 and slapping it onto BandLab to mess with it further, I don't ask.
However, I will keep your offer certainly in mind. And maybe when we're both a little more comfortable in our spheres of music crafting, we can do something way more defined, complex, and cool.
@TheVideoGamer I replied to your query above BTW, hun.

Congratulations TVQ and thank you all for your kind words!  (I hope my own criticism isn't too harsh or detailed at parts, but I try to be very detailed and verbose about what I hear. Just give me a quick PM if one of you feels like it's too much!)
@The Vodoú Queen: Without any doubt you ARE good at making music and you seem to always have a couple of good ideas for all sources, which is a talent in itself. Therefore I would be happy to do a collaboration! Only thing is: I am really bad at composition - which is the reason why I'll try to stick to this competitions longer this time - and I'll probably stay with my acoustic approach and aim to develop my remixes/arrangements around the trombone and the other stuff I have direct access to, which is a little collab-unfriendly in my opinion. So there's probably no offer to be expected from my side anytime soon. BUT: If you ever want some trombones in a mix of yours - even if it's only chords, or to be precise, especially if its only chords: just message me and I'll give it a shot! (Time is one of the things I have plenty of these days.)  

It's results time.
TheVideoGamer and Brainstar both did a two bonus mix.
Wassup Thunder got 10 points and gets the last place wooden spoon
And the winner of PRC421 by unanimous decision is with TheVodouQueen with 15 points.
TheVodouQueen may pick a source for PRC423. Send the source to me (with a MID/MP3 file, otherwise send a second source with a MID file) by PM, other options are PM me @ ThaSauce or by e-mailing to bambombim@gmail.com (I prefer a PM @Ocremix). Send your source as fast as you can, but before next Wednesday (17 February 2021), 11:00 AM ThaSauce time (18:00 UTC, 19:00 GMT).
You may select any source from any game, but not a source with an OverClocked remix or a source which has been used in PRC before. An overview of the past PRC's can be found in the following links (I recently updated this site):
http://sites.google.com/site/bambombim/prc
http://bambombim.googlepages.com/PRCRemixList.doc (also downloadable via the link above).
 
Next double source round I probably change the bonus rule for mixing both sources because the advantage is too big when only two people compete. This round, it didn't affect the result.
 
http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC421 for the votes and comments.
PRC422 already started: http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC422

It doesn't object to anything over 8 minutes. it objects to anything over 20mb.
What i usually do if i have a track over the desired length, is re-export it but with less kbps, which immediately brings the MB down. You might be sacrificing some quality, but usually for me, it doesn't make a major change, to where the quality is completely bad.
You don't mind me asking what DAW you use right?

That works, thankee. Now I can ruin it.

Oh noes! try going here, https://www.vgmusic.com/file/91d48cae3955198995655c830464f044.html. That should get ya the midi. I musta uploaded a corrupt file or something. Sorry about that.

The People's Remix Competition 422
PRCv18-03

Hello everyone and Welcome to the People's Remix Competition!
Wassup Thunder was the winner of the opening round from PRC Season 18. The source is picked, and it's not Megalovania but it is Undertale.
 
 
Source: Undertale (PC) - Ruins
 
http://compo.thasauce.net/files/materials/PRC422_05_-_Ruins.mid
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertale
http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC422
 
The deadline is Wednesday February 24th 2021 at 10:59 am ThaSauce time (18:00 UTC, 19:00 GMT), check the link http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC422 for the exact time left. Make sure that the song is uploaded to ThaSauce or that there’s a download link posted in this thread. 
You may enter as many mixes as you like and work with as many people as you like on each mix. You are free to create a second ThaSauce account for that if you use ThaSauce, it's needed to be able to upload a second remix if you use ThaSauce. Of course you can also upload it somewhere else and put a download link in this thread.
Do not make qualitative comments on an entry until the results of the vote have been posted in this thread.
Mixers cannot vote for themselves but if they vote they receive a free first place vote added onto their score.
The winner of this round may select the source for PRC424.
The winner of PRC420, Wassup Thunder, who picked this source, can only participate by submitting a Bonus Mix. His vote is doubled in the voting stage. 
You can find the full rules list at this page as well.
 
GOOD LUCK!
 
PRC Home Page

Is anyone else having trouble getting the midi? Clicking on it just makes my screen flash, and doing Save Link As claims that it can't be downloaded securely. 

I am trying to turn mine in but it keeps giving me this screen:

IDK what to do... It's past the allotted time now. :/

And then it booted me from it entirely. LOL.
Is there any way to re-open it or turn it in at this stage? I tried for the past 10 mins prior to it being due, and like I said, it kept giving me a weird error screen no matter what I did to try and force it to work.

Thank you so much! ♥♥♥
Hopefully it'll work this time--if it freaks out again I'll let you know.