FF6 & Chrono Trigger- "False Gods"

[Kenogu Labz]

Alright, I'm VERY new here, but I thought I'd throw this out as an example of something I'm working on.

FF6 & Chrono Trigger - False Gods

This is an arrangement using Catastrophe and Dancing Mad from FF6 (but who didn't know that already? ) and World Revolution from Chrono Trigger. Very unfinished, obviously, so I'm asking more about the direction: is this headed the right way, does it sound like it can be taken farther?

Things I DO know I need to fix:

Intro's a little long, I've had a couple ideas for this.

May need more meat, thinking of bringing in my friend's guitar skillz.

Yes, that bell IS dissonant sometimes. It's resonating with the fifths, methinks.

No, I have no clue how to master these things. Tips are welcome!

So, fire away, nothing's too harsh or too obscure! Thanks for your time.

-Kenogu Labz

[Nekofrog]

You've pretty much covered most of the criticism. By "intro's too long" I'd go so far as to say it's not just too long, but it drags. For both Dancing Mad and Catastrophe it just feels very very very cover-ish... as if not a whole lot of original thought went into it.

The lack of percussion probably hurts the first two minutes. To be honest with you, I enjoyed it at the beginning, then about 45 seconds in I got bored. It wasn't until 1:53 that my interest was peaked again at that strange sound that comes across (really awesome by the way), but then it's almost killed by going into a percussion-less organ chord session for too long. Finally at 2:12 it starts to pick up again and, once again, I was interested.

But then it stopped

To sum it up:

Far too much of it just relies on organ chords and little else, and when it does get interesting it only stays interesting for a little bit and suddenly we're back to organ chords.

If this were my mix, the first priority would be to trim the fat and rework the first 2 minutes until it had a bit more originality to it.

This has a lot of potential.

[kobuu]

ok, i agree with nekofrog, that beginning is just too long. either make it the same tempo as the end OR (and better suggestion) just start the song at 0:55. perfect solution...just might have to make a better intro crescendo so the song doesn't sound like it's coming from no where. also, Dancing Mad is an awesome song but there are a TON of pieces to it. what about maybe tying bits together in a totally new arrangement to balance the organ. there would still be a lot of organ but maybe in a better way. the percussion is beautiful at :55 and again later in the piece. some bass might really help carry the beat and tone also.

and, in my opinion and probably lack of knowledge, where's the chrono? if that's where the sound fx/sample came from, kudos! i guess i don't know my odl skool square as well as i thot. but if not, or if you haven't put chrono in, or if it's there...it needs some power! dancing mad is a formidable opponent for any other song so you have to balance the image and weight of pure kefka evilness. lol.

overall, really great start. can't wait to hear the next installment!

[Kenogu Labz]

Alright, I think I see what you're getting at. I'm trying to give it a better start with a nice Timpani roll; maybe stick in the laugh for evilness sake at the beginning too. (Then again, maybe not. )

I'm definitely gonna try and get guitar on this, because this seems to make for more of a back-track.

By the way, the Chrono reference is practically the whole last part of the song, after the roar. Hear Lavos' theme? Maybe it's too muddy to tell. *shrug*

[Orochimanda]

Very nice music! I loved the use of the organ, good job.

Do you know where can I find the sheet for Catastrophe in MIDI format, if possible? Thank you again if you can help me

[Undefined]

Ah... This sounds like something I wanted to do when I was starting out (and I still haven't started; I wouldn't be able to make something like this, so don't think I'm coming down on you!)

You wondered where this piece was headed... Well, only you could say that, but as it is, it is very, very close the original. Arrangement wise, it is little more than Catastrophe/Dancing Mad/Lavos' theme strung together with a few tempo changes. You even have a 'demon breath' effect, which was awesome when Uematsu did it, but here it only makes your song sound like a cover. Still, this is definitely workable.

As others have said, it would be wise to cut the intro, and also change the arrangement up a bit. You could, for instance, use the fanfare at the end of Catasrophe to lead into Lavos' theme, though you should probably work on some original writing as well.

As for the production, I really like your use of sounds/effects. The bell is cool. The organ, however, is not very good given its lead role. It sounds unnatural, and I'd definitelly look for a better sample... but maybe it's not supposed to be overly realistic. Still, I know I would have the organ play the bass note to mask how abruptly the chords sound during the intro. Of course, it's your song, so you decide.

Anyway, keep going. Organ-centric arrangements are cool, as long as they're done right. Don't forget that you need at least some original writing to get your song accepted at OCR. Good luck!