*NO* Super Mario Galaxy 'Falling Stars'

[Liontamer]

Contact Information

* Your ReMixer name - waffleboy5787

* Sam Antonioli

* waffleboy5787@msn.com

Submission Information

* Super Mario Galaxy - Wii

* Mix of Gusty Garden Galaxy and "Reading a Story"

* Originally Composed by: Koji Kondo

* Made in Acoustica Mixcraft 4 (Nice program in my opinion) all played by me... see what you think

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Thanks to CHz for the source tunes, of course. Super Mario Galaxy's a pretty deep soundtrack though, so we may need to double check the rest of the it to make sure everything checks out.

Super Mario Galaxy Original Sound Track Platinum Version - 249 "The Girl's Sadness" & 117 "Wind Garden"

The volume is pretty low, but upping it would intensify the light hiss. Maybe someone can offer some tips on boosting the volume yet effectively reducing the hiss, though I don't mind this as is. Good start with "The Girl's Sadness" before moving over into the 1:24 section of "Wind Garden" at :54.

Very nice usage of the crystal sound effects and string work at 1:46 to bolster another iteration of "Wind Garden", before moving back into "The Girl's Sadness" at 2:30 with a bit more melodic interpretation, and closing out at 3:09 with more of "Wind Garden." Great tradeoff between the two themes.

I thought the arrangement could have been more interpretive beyond the genre adaptation, but what's in place was still effective, albeit understated. Solid stuff, Sam. Very elegant.

YES

EDIT (2/23): With the other judges point of view, I'm definitely feeling the criticisms of the relative uniformity of the left hand performance as well as the complaints about the sound balance between the strings and piano. The left hand was more of a potential dealbreaker than the sound balance, but either way, the rejection is pretty reasonable. Without trying to overhaul the piece or change the mood you're going for (no one's saying that), see what else you can do to take this to another level.

[Palpable]

Conservative but well-executed arrangement. Though most of the right-hand melodies are kept intact, the left-hand is new. The switch between songs was seamless.

Overall volume needs an increase. I didn't hear whatever hiss Larry was talking about though.

The strings and crystal chimes were nice ideas to keep it interesting, but I thought they added their own problems. The strings competed with the piano a lot, especially around 2:04. You definitely need some EQ so the strings don't drown the piano. The tone for the crystal chime was really odd, sort of like an alien whoosh, and I thought it really stuck out. I'd say either tone it down, EQing some of the presence out of it, or try some different samples. Ironically (I'm using this in the Alanis sense), I think I would have passed this if it was just the piano. Either way, it's close - just needs a little more work to pass the bar.

NO (resubmit)

[zircon]

The left hand writing here is really plain, considering this is basically solo piano for the entire first half the piece. The right hand melody is also quite simple and unembellished in this time. Considering the fantastic texture of the original "Gusty Garden" and all of its rhythmic and harmonic intricacies, I feel like this remix really simplified that. The left hand writing basically staying very similar throughout in arpeggiation & rhythm was a minus here, IMO. I did like the crystal chimes, but thought they could have had more 'space' to them - stereo reverb + delay would help with that. You probably could have used them a little more sparingly too.

The strings were nice, but very simple in that they were just used as a pure pad and again somewhat subtracted from the harmonic complexity of the source material. They also seemed rather mono and dry. I think a more lush and warm sound might have worked better, perhaps even a synth pad. I would have also introduced that element earlier and kept it going longer, possibly with the addition of a fretless or acoustic bass to fill up more of the space in the absence of more engaging left hand piano writing. As it is, the chimes and strings aren't there for very long, but the rest of the piano material doesn't do enough to keep the interest when they drop out. I also think the volume is too low, as Palpable pointed out.

That might seem like a lot of critiques, but I think this is a solid start in terms of the foundation. Listen to some recent solo piano remixes here by artists like Dhsu and Bladiator to get an idea of where our bar is at. Expression and dynamics are key, especially if you're going to keep the writing relatively simple.

NO

[zykO]

i want to, mostly, echo zircon's last paragraph as it hits the real issues most squarely.

i don't have a problem with the simplicity, at all. it is to die for. transitions from theme to theme are done with such fluidity... it is the technical aspects of the piece that don't sit well with me. i can hardly hear the piano when the strings come in and they are not very good sounding strings... they're quite jarring given the subtle and sweet piano tone. the chimes were a great idea, too but then they became too frequent and awkward in the soundfield as the piece moved forwards.

you're only a step away from turning this into a knockout punch. i don't necessarily agree with the other judges on the arrangement angle as i think the simplicity is what gives this piece its intrinsic strength... but in order for it to work, the entire section in which you bring other players into the mix, you need to straighten out their placements relative to each other in the soundfield. as zircon suggested, maybe even replace the strings with a less intrusive pad. you'll be surprised how much more magnificent it would all sound if the piano was able to truly sing over the rest of the orchestration.

anyways. i liked it a lot. you're almost there.

NOresub

[CHz]

The fusion of the two themes was very nice. The Girl's Sadness lent itself well to the more reserved sections, and then contrasting that by just letting go with the Wind Garden was a pretty good arrangement idea.

I thought the chimes were a nice touch, to be honest. They fit both the game and the mix title, and especially from 2:28 on they're a good addition to the simple piano. It's not like they're just at the start of every measure or whatever.

1:46-2:28 is a weird section. As my compatriots above have mentioned, it could use some major work on the production side. 2:04-2:10 is especially bad as far as the sound balance goes, and the sound of the strings is kind of off-putting. Concerning the composition, I thought climaxing there with the piano and the Wind Garden melody was a good idea, but since the strings just kind of hover around without building and cover up the piano, it really kills any power that that section could've had. If the strings weren't there, the piano picking up there would've been really good, I think.

I'm kind of mixed on the simplicity. The left hand is rather plain, and while there is some effort to change things up in a few places, it's mainly just the same patterns over and over again, as zircon mentioned. There are shifts in the tempo and dynamics to keep the whole thing from staying in one place, but I feel they could be even more pronounced. I'm hesitant to use the word "boring," because I'm definitely feeling the, well, feeling, but with more expression, this could be taken several levels higher. Right now this sounds like something I played in the sixth grade, and I really think it could have some "wow" moments with bigger tempo and/or dynamic shifts, changes in the left hand pattern, or even just more actual chords to contrast with the mostly single note playing.

NO