pixelseph

Hi Devsman! So happy to see some Megaman Legends love!! Is the intention to keep this piece as just the 3 instruments? I’m not a pianist, however I’m not hearing anything in your piece that sounds impossible for a single player to accomplish. That said, the sequencing for both the piano and the flute needs more volume and velocity automation - the velocities sound the same throughout (particularly the piano), which make it hard to retain interest with the short melodic figure. Having the same reverb for your instruments is always a good idea, as it makes them sound like they are in the same space. Did you create a reverb send/bus or is it two instances of the same reverb plugin on the instrument channels? The concert bass drum rolls are a good way to signal the transitions, however they don’t sound like they are in the same space as the flute and piano. The other issue is that they are currently only being utilized for the transitions, which makes them feel a bit awkward in the space. Would you be against having them in one of the sections, like say the climax of the piece, to help drive everything toward the conclusion? The section at 2:51 would benefit a lot from the bass drums accenting those first two stabs on the piano each bar! Keep working on this one! Glad to read this is your return to music - definitely looking forward to what you’ve got cooking up next

Yup! Tanaka wanted the score to have feel and mood, not be harmonically pleasing - and that first Metroid OST nailed it. Musique concréte is definitely a better classifier for it than, say, song.

Hi Uffe! The track you linked doesn’t sound like it contains western harmony functional chords inside. I’m hearing trills between half-step notes and an occasional whole-step note to make the tension ramp. However, to answer your question, the method I use to determine chords when listening to arpeggios is to listen for the lowest note and then work out what the interval is between it and the closest note to it, then do the same for the next note. The relationship between the intervals will usually give you the biggest clue to the chord. Sometimes there can be multiple chords being outlined during a single arpeggiated melodic line. It’s not always easy to pick out when this is happening, though one trick for that is to listen to the harmony/support instruments and if the notes shift under a particular spot in the melody, it’s highly likely that the chord has changed

Hi Nase! My time to review the workshop is getting strangled by work this week but I will be popping in to give some more comments soon!

Hi Pipko! This one's ready to sub. Worst the panel can do is give you some targets to focus on for a resubmission. :)

Hi Janet! I love chip arrangements and Freya's Theme, so this is a fun listen! The reharmonization starting at 2:44 is a nice touch, as are the filter sweeps with the swells. The syncopated 4:3 pulse that starts at :39 feels stilted in the center channel currently - some ping-ponging between the center and left/right channels opposite the swells would give it more impact. Great cover overall! Looking forward to more posts from you :D

I'm pretty sure I've seen Hemo mention humanizing your MIDI velocities, durations, and timing at least once a week to someone on the forums or Discord. This track is exactly how you do that with a piano piece! It's not done to sound more real, although that's a consequence of humanizing - it's to bring the emotional weight of the writing into focus for the listener. Don't mind me, just gonna go sob in the corner for a bit. :'-)

This track was my absolute favorite in all of GSM1 - favorite to track, favorite to listen to, favorite of all the rounds. Game Set Mash! works by having an arranging/recording/producing round that lasts about a week, and then a voting round that lasts about a week. Emunator brought essentially the entire arrangement to the team by day 2, and by day 3 it had all of the guitar layers as well as Paradiddles’ acoustic kit additions (I think cymbals and some toms?) ready to add. The finished result is a song I’m proud to have been part of, and proud to add to my “lemme introduce you to VGM remixes” playlist.

Hi VQ! I’ll be giving this one a listen in full a few times, along with re-reading the judges’ feedback, before giving you some recommendations. It may take a bit, but don’t fret! - the goal is to improve and that’s what we’re gonna do! Will likely need to edit this space several times, so I’ll make another comment once all the thoughts are put together! - Opening SFX set the scene. Bar 9 (around :15) is when the mallet percussion and cello enter. The cello seems to be giving a low pad/bed for the percs to lay on; the reverb here is good, though the stomp sfx bury the instruments by about 1-2dB when they occur. I would recommend dropping the volume on the stomps at this point by about 3dB and see if that doesn't open the space up more for the melodic content to come. - Around Bar 21 (:40), we've reached the transition to the A section of Blizzard Buffalo. The cello swells up to a peak around :44, and the sustain on the peak here softens the impact of Bar 25 (:48) where the A section kicks into gear. The sustain seems to be a combination of the reverb tail and compression on the low-end; automation on the reverb (decay first, and then the reverb bus as a whole) would be my first area to tackle. - Bar 25 (:48) has harp (or pizz strings) running an arpeggio against the chords created by the perc, cello, and added violin(s), as well as the thunder sfx in the back. The reverb here is really strong, making the articulations on the strings harder to distinguish. The instruments feel stacked on the center channel as well; I would consider spreading the percs suuuuper wide to free up some space for the arpeggio. The cello will maintain its center channel position throughout to give a solid foundation, and a slight widening of the violins will also help give some room for the arpeggio. - Bar 41 (1:21) has a wonderful solo violin swell! This is good dynamics here! The reverb level is appropriate given the space it's filling out, however, it's worth automating the level of it down for the next section at Bar 45 (1:28) since the soundscape is about to be more dense with instruments. I would also keep the violin center here, even if you panned the violins earlier. - Bar 45 (1:28) trades the mallet percussion for a piccolo and adds a muted piano(?), with bells at Bar 59 (1:56). The first bell strike comes in late (about 50-60ms after the rest of the orchestra) and makes its addition feel awkward until the tempo change around Bar 60 (1:58). This combined with the reverb still being too high in this section makes distinguishing the individual parts harder, just as before. Before we look at addressing the EQ of the reverb, let's see if we can't fix it by adjusting (and automating) the verb's output volume first.

Hey Vylent! As was mentioned in the live feedback, having space between vocal phrases is helpful for the listener to digest what the vocal passage is doing and saying. The guitar lead in the older version is a great example of creating that space between the vocal phrases! The intro in the older version has a stronger build than the current, though it goes without saying that your vocalist, Sirenstar, is absolutely wiping the floor with the AI vocal. Returning the levels to the drums on the out (as in the older mix) would better realize the vision of getting this mix close to Imagine Dragons. There’s some rough cutting on the vocals around 2:44, and the breath coming in around 2:48, 2:52 is a bit hot. I think that’s most of the feedback from last night! I am really looking forward to hearing this get polished and see it get submitted!!

Hi Peshti! This is coming along nicely! The change to the melodic tags works really well - like Larry, I would love to hear a more complete resolution to it, perhaps with some more build after 1:45? Looking forward to more!

Hi Rukunetsu! Gonna drop the source of the track here for reference later. This is some slick D&B on this track! The vibe is on lock right from the get-go and every shift just maintains it. The pitch bends on the source melody are a great touch.

Hi Mellow Sonic! This one's a damn good cover. I really enjoy the change-ups at 1:59 and 3:30 - interesting palette swaps and epic trap-style drums. Is this one you're working up to submit to the site or just looking for general feedback?

Hi Seth! The 12/8 vibe for the opener is killer, though the energy drop at :48 was rough. The writing during that phase has a lot of promise by itself, it just feels disconnected from the intro and outro - is there a way to weave the melodic content from that section into the others? Or place the slower waltz bit ahead so that the change to the industrial bop feels like an upswing? Down to hear more of this!

Hi Peshti! You've said this is halfway there, and I agree. You've got a nice balance of voices in the piece so far; the Tee Lopes influence comes through here. One thing I'm noticing is that the piece currently stays the same dynamic throughout; part of that is the drums keeping the same 4-bar loop (with the same fill) after the intro. I recommend leaning into the hits at :42 and seeing what you can come up with to bring us back around to the A section around :45. The lack of percussive transition to the B section around :17 also plays into this feeling. You're off to a good start here! Looking forward to hearing how this progresses ?

Pretty banger stuff going on here! That down-pitched tambourine-sounding cymbal at 1:27 works well in the drop. Any chance you have a link to the source for this one? Trying to find it for comparison and not having much luck. :)

It's a huge pleasure to be fulfilling this role! Over the coming weeks, you'll be seeing my mug replying to your posts in the workshop and (if I'm doing things right) I'll be providing you with means to make improvements to your writing, arranging, and/or mixing. Can't wait to hear more of what y'all have cooking out there!

The groove changes in this are tasty! Interesting use of the synth ostinato throughout. Short, sweet, and to the point! Are you considering submitting this one to the panel?

The swells from the brass and walking bassline were great touches. I feel like it’s just missing an ending, there’s a solid amount of quality material here already. The vibe is on lock

I do like the key change at the end, would love to have heard it come in for some difference in kind earlier in the piece. What would you say is the direction you’re aiming this piece at - sound upgrade, love letter to the game, etc?

This round is another hard one to vote! Both teams brought forth polished mixes and executed really creative ideas. Infected Waters: Psytrance heaven! The gated vocal, triplet transitions, and distinct sections make this a wonderful listen. The Bloody Tears motif from Purification comes through strongly even with the syncopated line, and the Maridia theme holds tightly throughout the piece. Pure Zebes: Enya vibes proudly on display! Despite having zero melodic correlation to it, this piece would feel right at home in RuneScape - I’m attributing that to the instrumentation (flutes and strings and pads over light percussion). Both themes are strong throughout; the 3/4 meter helps bring both ideas together. Livin' Out Our Last Days: It's Metroidvania but if the Gorillaz did it! I love nothing more in a mashup than taking the structure of one piece and applying the melodic and harmonic content of another to it, and this track does exactly that - Feel Good, Inc is clearly the template here. I'm hearing Overture in the "theme"/verse riff and Tallon in the choruses. The organic instruments (guitars, bass, and vocals) are well performed, and the mix is tight. Cruisin' Down Overture Blvd in the Depths of Tallon Traffic: Synthwave magic! That Tallon bassline rides through the whole piece and never once gets stale. Love the way the melody trades Overtune and Tallon back and forth, and the little chromatic splashes here and there keep the lead interesting. Smoke and Marbles: Live jazz club sound! Great mix on the quartet throughout - the lead trade between piano and guitar on the Marble Gallery theme is brilliant. Bass and drums hold the groove tight. Environmental Mystery as the bridge is another brilliant choice for such a short source. Gallery of Mysteries: Progressive metal time! Periphery and Tigran Hamasyan meet a sort of Darude vibe on the intro. Lots of time signature shifts for those wanting to count - 4/4, 5/8, 7/8, 5/16... math music nerds, get in the comments! Love the use of Environmental Mystery as the arp throughout the piece. --- Great job everyone! As with round 1, I can't wait to see these pass the panel!

Strong tracks from both teams! Love to hear it, just like from GSM 1 :D I find it interesting that both teams’ tracks are about the same length for each mash up as well. Twenty minutes of good listening altogether ❤️