DJ-Arthur Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Something I'm working on... This Post now serves as Download "center" for all updates/revisions. Last Update: Version 7 (Aug 11th 2008) Any comments? Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 1 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 2 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 3 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 4 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 5 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 6 Download "A Rock Called Moon" WIP Version 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Update: Version 2 Changes: Actually did some arrangement (not much though), and introduced a nice Grand Piano solo. The high tingling sound has changed, and boasts a little less gate that the previous instrument. I Also reconfigured the reverb on the Dist. Guitar, but now it hangs in the balance whether it's too much or not. I might just trim it a bit to get the Guitar a little more up-front. I changed the tempo from 145bpm to 142bmp, to give the piano a more real feel, and transposed the whole thing down 4 semitones because the guitar couldn't squeeze-out the really high notes right. It's 1:58 in length now, and I need another break of some sort. A nice ending would be good too, but here's what I have now: Download Here Comments, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Update: Version 3. Changes: I nudged the starting tempo down to 140 Redid the reverb on the Dist. Guitar Played with the Piano/Guitar part (1:30 - 2:00) and slowed to 130bmp Added an ending to 110 bpm Download I get the feeling I'm missing something here... Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirChadlyOC Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I really like the overall sound of it. I think it could really use a more interpretive solo at some point near the end. You follow closely to the original, and I think an "improvised" sounding solo on one of the guitars would help make it feel like it's your own piece. Just play around within the chord changes and see where it takes you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Sounds like an excellent idea! I'll start working on it tomorrow, since today my new Audio/Video stand got delivered. (FINALLY, I've been waiting for it for 6 weeks for crying out loud...!) Anyways, I'll post it as soon as I got something that's fitting, providing I didn't exhaust my inspiration for listening to it again and again. (My cat seems to really like this track: it's lying on the speakers, purring, so I've set Orion to Loop it continuously... At least he's quiet for a change ha ha) Curious: Normally I can't keep listening to the same music again and again without the sound getting blurry in my head... Bah, I'm getting of topic... I'll try to create some guitar solo somewhere around 1:30, before the piano intermezzo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striker21 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 This is really nice. I love the clapping sound, it really adds a fun little twist. However, during the piano part, I hear what sounds like a 3 year old banging the same note over and over. Perhaps add a more varied left-hand section to the piano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progressive Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 When you've got a piano solo, you should treat any accompanying piano parts as if they were played by other hands. In your case, you've got a primo melody, a primo embellishment, and a secondo bass line that's terribly repetitive. I'd suggest either changing the bass line to synth (which won't be as exposed and jarring) and keeping the two hands you've got, or keeping the bass line as piano, changing it up, and adding another hand so you've got four. Three won't do. This is your chance to set yourself apart from the other (and there have been many) attempts to remix this song and write a kickass piano part. Play around and see what you can come up with. I also should point out that if you're planning on submitting this for OCR, there's already been an electric guitar version of this song accepted, so you many want to consider finding a better sample or switching it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Alrighty then! Updated to Version 4! Changes: # Added a Guitar Solo of some sort at 1:18 (Might need a bit more polish) # Re-automated some effects like volume slides # Re-Sequenced the entire Piano section while adding another hand, since the pattern is now so complex my three (!) unworthy sound-processors can't handle it in realtime composing (Bah), so I used some humanization algorithms. I think it went over rather well... # Whole song now 3:01 in duration # This version is encoded in 192kbps bitrate, to get a little better quality. I don't have to worry about filesize (now 4.15MB) with only 3 minutes anyway... Download Version 4 Well, what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striker21 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 This is a lot better, but I still need to draw attention to the latter half of the piano section towards the end. The higher notes sound too hollow and stand out more than I think you wanted them to. While I understand that a real piano's higher notes produce that same type of sound, yours seem a little too hollow. Maybe it's just me. However, this mix is starting to really shape up, and what you have so far is really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progressive Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Nice improvement from the last version. I don't have long so I'll just bullet point some stuff: - Some of the transitions (in and out of guitar solo, in and out of piano solo) feel pretty abrupt. - The higher piano parts are too loud during the solo. We need to hear the lower hand of the primo part foremost because it contains the melody. Overall, sounding good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kizyr Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I think it's ok overall, but the thing that struck me the most was that the piano part sounded a bit too cluttered. This may be a personal thing, since I tend to find the sound of more than two 'hands' on a piano rather... crowded. I'm not much of a musician, but my first instinct would be to find another instrument that doesn't sound like it's overrunning the piano part; but, someone like Progressive would probably be able to give you a lot more concrete ideas. EDIT: Sort of ninja-d in there. Yeah, if the higher piano parts were softened it might reduce the cluttered sound I was describing. KF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 I noticed the "hollow" uppertones: It turns out I forgot to scale the velocities of that instance... I'm also editing the guitar solo Bassline, because I decided the guitar sample is too weak to be that mch exposed. Then I'll be fine-tuning transition between aforementioned solo and the Piano interlude. Also, I changed up a bit of arrangement in the ending: I decided to let the piano continue instead of the synth bass, making the flow more natural. Not worthy of an update yet, but coming soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 Update: Version 5 Changes: # Edited the Bassline during the Guitar Solo, to expose the guitar a little less # Redid the pitch automation for the Guitar solo, less yanking on the snares now # Changed the utterly last notes of the Guitar solo and removed that sloppy chord # Edited the transition between the Guitar solo and the Piano interlude # Added some subtle velocity changes in the piano solo # Scaled the velocities of the high notes on the piano to make them sound more delicate and less Hollow # Changed the ending to make the Piano accompany the synth Strings # Tuned the Volume slides of the Synth String during the ending. It got too Loud IMO Get it here... (192kbps MP3) EDIT: Hmm, The Primo melody in the Piano solo still seems a tad too soft... I'll adjust that in the next update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Updated: Version 6 Changes: # The whole transition from the Guitar-solo to the Piano section is reworked from scratch: Drums are fading out, piano fading in, space thingy fading out, definitely more flow there. I hope it doesn't sound strangely sudden anymore. # Re-Mastered the entire Piano section and adjusted the volume of each hand. Now the Primo melody sticks out the way it should, and the lower hands are a tad more in the back # Edited the ending automation, to make the bpm keep dropping from 130 to the end of the track, instead of keeping steady at 110. # Some other minor thing... I can't remember... Something with the Guitar anyways... I believe it got a bit louder, and a tad more EQ'ed. Download Version 6 EDIT: I just came up with this idea: I could move the BMP slide from 140 to 130 to the point where the drums fade out, so that the entire piano solo is at 130 bmp... Tell me what you guys think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progressive Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Alright, I'm hearing a lot of good things in this latest version. Especially that high guitar squeal at 1:46. Perfect. If you could wammy that it would be even more perfect. Transitions have also improved greatly. I do think you need some faster, more impressive note work to offset the guitar solo, because, right now, it sounds like a modified, plodding version of your chorus laid over the same chord progression. Also, the tempo change leading into the piano solo starts too early and is too long, which makes it sound like the song is about to end. And have you tried tweaking the cut knob on the non-melody piano parts to soften them a bit? They all compete a bit because they're the same hardness and approximate volume. Great idea putting the guitar back in with the piano, which creates a nice transition leading up to the end. I would hold the last guitar note a little longer and slide it down before cutting off to simulate a real electric guitar (you may have to play around with this to get the right effect). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 If you could wammy that it would be even more perfect. Okay, as soon as I figure out what it means, I'll get on it , you mean a pitch wobble? I actually got ahead, and moved the tempo change to the fading drum section. It makes it sound less awkward. I'll try and improve the guitar solo too. I also remastered the guitar entirely, for it being too loud in this version. The ending note is no problem, I'd delay the volume slide for a second, and add the pitch pull. I'll check it out when I've got time... Vacation's over so I have to work today, bummer... I'll post it as soon as I've got around to add those points. Thanks again progressive, you're being a great deal of help here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ-Arthur Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 Update: Version 7 Changes: - Edited the Guitar Solo: Removed all the chords, and replaced some notes to make it feel more like a solo entirely - Moved the Tempo slide from 140-130 to the fading drums section; it sounds less "out-of-place" now (Might need polish) - Edited the Piano section, more velocity scaling to bring the primo hand more to the foreground, and the rest to the back - Edited the final Guitar riff to last a bit longer and pulled its pitch down (Needs polish) - Some other thing I can't remember... Download Version 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.