Zelda - Windmill

[greggh]

http://timegrinder.googlepages.com/Zelda.mp3

[Asmodean]

So far, this is okay, but you need to add something more to it. It sounds too much like the original; it needs some more oomph! Maybe have a heavy drum line the background and switch the clarinet halfway through with an electric guitar?

[Rozovian]

This is far from the arrangement standards the site has. It's repetitive, and while I like the synths used in it, they don't blend well with the non-electronic parts. The first iteration of source was pretty much a midi rip, and the progression is just iterations of the same with different instrumentation.

The biggest problem here is the interpretation/arrangement. Compare a few ocremixes to their respective sources and listen to how the source is used. Rewrite the source into a new arrangement.

I'm not gonna give you a technical analysis of your wip because at this point that's not what you need to work on. Good luck with it, hope this doesn't discourage you.

[WillRock]

I agree with rozo, this is too close to the source. You need some variation in your piece other than instrumentation. (BTW work on putting transitions between sections)

Not sure I like the bass either, its sounds distorted and doesn't fit with the texture of the piece. The whole track instrumentally cept the bass is pretty laid back, then you have this BIG bass sound and it doesn't quite mesh together well.

For variation, simply mess around with the source tune a little, change the chord sequence, hell, you could even try switching the time sig to 4/4, but I think thats already been done. Not sure.

you did have this cool swirling effect in-between sections in the middle though, that was cool.

Keep workin' on it

[Rozovian]

you could even try switching the time sig to 4/4, but I think thats already been done. Not sure.

It has. But there are other time signatures.

[WillRock]

It has. But there are other time signatures.

Ah ok. Maybe I could try and do a remix of the song of storms with a 7/8 time sig... maybe not

[Red Rum]

Well, let's start this from the top.

I don't know if this is a midi rip because I never download MIDIs these days.

Well, this is more of the less of a cover than it is an arrangement. I actually like Ocarina Of Time's music and I listen to it quite alot. Anyways, I have heard no changes yet. But I think if you continued to work on this, this could be good.

You can develop a metal feel to this if you just get some better drum samples or maybe make the drums louder. You should also add some of your own pieces into the piece and it'll make it bitchin'. Rearrange the parts so it isn't too close to the source. What I would do is add some Electric Guitars and give it a unique bassline.

I'm not saying that it's bad, it's actually not a bad cover at all. But I just recommend that you work on it and give it your own original feel and I think you would have yourself something here.

Anyways, not bad. Keep working on it and I'll keep listening.

[greggh]

This is far from the arrangement standards the site has. It's repetitive, and while I like the synths used in it, they don't blend well with the non-electronic parts. The first iteration of source was pretty much a midi rip, and the progression is just iterations of the same with different instrumentation.

The biggest problem here is the interpretation/arrangement. Compare a few ocremixes to their respective sources and listen to how the source is used. Rewrite the source into a new arrangement.

I'm not gonna give you a technical analysis of your wip because at this point that's not what you need to work on. Good luck with it, hope this doesn't discourage you.

please give the technical analysis. no i am not discouraged.

[Nohbody]

the bass part is the same as the source, which is bad. experiment with mixing things around, like D, D, F, F, Bb, F, F+Bb, F+A instead of D, E, F, E, Bb, F, Bb, A.

I tell you its actually kind of cool

if you change the bass, the rest will follow

and drop the chimes, those are for fags.

also nothing says too conservative like a reed organ in a windmill hut remix. So drop it and get maybe a good bass violin, something classic.

[Rozovian]

All right.

0:00-0:28 - The little silence at the beginning is a little too long. The accordion/drawbar organ doesn't quite sound like either of them. The bell or chime or whatever in the background is way too hard on its high frequencies, and is pretty repetitive. gets old fast.

Bass in this part is okay-ish, but sounds pretty mechanical. Would be nice to ehar it humanized, which means volume/velocity automation. Not just changing note velocity, but automating it during the sustained notes.

I do like the distant cymbal, but only the first time. Might work if it was softer the second time.

0:28-1:29 - The toms are hollow and not panned in a way that makes sense with the rest of the percussion. Drums sound a little weak, you could give the kick an EQ boost of a few dB somewhere in the 80-150Hz range to give it more punch. A similar process could work for the snare, but I can't remember where it's punch range is, and am not sure if low punch is what the snare really needs.

The bass that comes in is pretty dry sounding, and its high range interferes with the rest of the sounds. The bass simply needs more bass and less treble. It runs over the other sounds a bit, takes over the show, and while that's great in some styles, this isn't one of those. Not like this, anyway. Drum writing is decent for a 3/4, but the drum sounds aren't, and the repetition in the writing highlights the snare's sound. And it's not pretty. More fills, longer drum loop, stuff like that might help you with that problem. The bass writing is kind'a boring.

The synths are cool (metroid prime, anyone?), but seem a bit redundant. They also don't quite fit with the general soundscape. Might work if you'd establish the style earlier, not take us through the first iteration of the source in a style that's got very little in common with the main part of the remix. Making the overall sound more synthy might work in your favor, tho I should warn you that relying too much on cool synth effects doesn't make up for uninterpretive writing, and the Judges™ are gonna pick interpretation over effects every time.

A lot of this seems to be loop-based. There's no variation between the iterations. Each part seems to play the exact same thing, making the overall progression pretty static. In pretty much every genre, you need dynamics, you need variation. Even in the most repetitive genres, there's filters and stuff changing the sound and intensity of it. You should write more than one part for each instrument.

Mixing is overall pretty decent, but there's EQ needed to put each track in its place. Like I said before, the bass is getting into the high range and stealing the show. You don't have a clear lead driving the track, either, and the melody from source gets run over by the bass and drums. The synth effects are pretty loud compared to the more important parts of the track. It's one thing to make the source serve as backing for something else, or take an ambient approach, but here they feel more like a crutch. Making them softer would alleviate that a bit, but you still need to write a more interpretive arrangement.

There's also a weird pan effect that seems to come from right-panned string notes shorter than what's played on the woodwind. That's an interesting effect, but it doesn't quite work. Just pushing one of them an octave up or down could solve this, and writing a more interpretive counterpoint melody would be even better.

Shaker and tambourine is a nice combo, and certainly better than using just the high-range bell sound from before. You might need to add some more typical drums, like hihat and crash, to make this fit with the kick and snare.

1:30-end - Pretty. The arrangement here is probably the ore interpretive in the whole track. it's not just added rhythms, the source takes on a whole new feel because of the different backing. Some piano notes feels a little too strong. Yes, dynamics, realism, but this seems to be more of a sample-related problem. Use the dry and punchy notes for emphasis, and the softer ones for the rest.

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There, a more technical analysis of the track. Hope this helps. Keep in mind that I think you should focus on the arrangement at this point. Good luck.