Plazmataz Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 So I'm in the middle of replaying Zelda: A Link to the Past, and I found that I'd forgotten just how similar the two main themes for the Dark World are (The main theme and the mountain/forest theme). I wondered, "What would happen if I just... played them at the same time?" So I did. And I was quite surprised when I ended up with some pretty intense polyphony. I changed the rhythms to make it sound a little, I don't know, funky, then changed all the tracks from pianos to different synths. Added some drums, played around with the two main themes, and ended the song kind of abruptly. And then I added a kick drum throughout the whole thing for good measure. Pros: I really like the sound of it in general. Very pleasantly surprised by how nicely that worked out. Cons: I didn't do much as far as structure goes. Just ABCB, then the song ends. Feedback, suggestions for improvement, and any comments are very welcome. Also, if this... thing is a lost cause, don't be afraid to let me know that it's not worth continuing. VERSION 1 (3/14): VERSION 2 (3/16): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackPanther Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Heh, the only way I know how to explain the sound is "organic" this sounds very organic and I like it lol. That airy synth that starts at 1:28 playing the main dark world them you should probably bring up since it's playing a lead sound that's about all I have for you though. I really like this I hope you plan on submitting this when it's ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Kinikacha Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I like it, but its more "Omph" Add some Build-up, Mess with the EP's, and don't be afraid to add some originality in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSneak Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I always loved these themes and I don't think they're mixed enough, honestly. I think the whole things a little bubblier than I would normally prefer. It lends itself to feeling very artificial. I still did enjoy listening to it. If I had one request, it would be that you increase the importance of the main Dark World theme. Right before the end it gets a little quiet solo time, but before that it seems dominated by the mountain tune. I'd love to hear you roll with this. I've always enjoyed it when tracks match up in fun ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLyGeN Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Death Mountain is heavily in minor. The beginning of the dark world theme, not so much. I haven't really studied the Dark World theme, this is all just by ear.. but consider moving your dark world backing to the parallel minor key. edit: Or, move death mountain to the relative Major.. it would certainly be different. I personally hate Major, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselectbselect Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 First off, your percussion is lots of fun, and it's unique enough that it doesn't feel too repetitive- that said, more variation certainly couldn't hurt. I'll second Red's call for more bass - especially the kick. I want to hear it pumping! The lead that comes in at :08 is good - especially those tiny breaks and staccato notes, which keep it from sounding too 'drone'y. The thing is, it stands out too much - it doesn't feel enough a part of the rest of the music, it's almost like it's just sitting on top of the other instruments, you know? Maybe a little reverb, or panning it around a bit could help sort of fill that out. And once it's gone at :40 (or once it's transitioned into the higher notes) it feels like it leaves a hole in the sound spectrum. Also, in general, although there are a few areas where this changes, for the most part the bass and sort of airy accompaniment pad are just doing the same notes of the same chord over and over again - it really needs a little progression to help move things along, even just transposing the notes so they're not so repetitive would be good. The ending synth fade down is cool too - and lends itself to a quieter, more sparsely instrumented passage, maybe with some sort of spaced-out drums with some delay - some nice classic snare hits or claps perhaps? Anyway, you could easily carry that on for a while, maybe taking things up a minor third before returning to the previous pattern again, and that'd be a great way to keep things fresh, while sort of lengthening the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plazmataz Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Alright, I've got a second version here. I went ahead and did some simple things, like turning up parts that were getting the shaft (kick, bass, the main Dark World theme), and then went through the second half of the song and added more melody to the dry parts. I didn't add any new voices, but I took hold of the weakest/most repetitive of the backup parts and gave them larger roles. The length of the song hasn't changed, but I hope the quality has. Note: I still haven't mixed up the drumline, which I will do, never fear. I haven't lengthened the song or drastically changed its structure, although I plan on getting the former done, if not the latter. Enjoy! VERSION 2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Death Mountain is heavily in minor.The beginning of the dark world theme, not so much. I haven't really studied the Dark World theme, this is all just by ear.. but consider moving your dark world backing to the parallel minor key. edit: Or, move death mountain to the relative Major.. it would certainly be different. I personally hate Major, though. forest mountain is aeolian and Dark Overworld is dorian. I dislike major as well lol. With today's pop music, a lot of them are written in major, and it gets so boring after awhile. But that's just me. A minor to Maj7 progression or vice versa are one of those type of progression that instills a lot of emotion imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLyGeN Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 forest mountain is aeolian and Dark Overworld is dorian. I dislike major as well lol. With today's pop music, a lot of them are written in major, and it gets so boring after awhile. But that's just me. A minor to Maj7 progression or vice versa are one of those type of progression that instills a lot of emotion imo. I've found a buddy. Please post more. Yeah I haven't looked at the Dark World's theme real closely, but Dorian sounds right. Not sure what Am to Maj7 means though, that looks like guitar jargon that I don't understand. Is the Maj7 an A Maj7 as well? A C E to A C# E G# ? The upper portion of Dorian is major-sounding, and I think that's what my ears are hearing that appear to clash. So if you lower the sixth and seventh notes of the Dark World, that'll be fixed. Or you can raise the sixth and seventh of Death Mountain... but I like the idea of moving everything to Aeolian much better ooh move it all to phrygian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I've found a buddy. Please post more.Yeah I haven't looked at the Dark World's theme real closely, but Dorian sounds right. Not sure what Am to Maj7 means though, that looks like guitar jargon that I don't understand. Is the Maj7 an A Maj7 as well? A C E to A C# E G# ? The upper portion of Dorian is major-sounding, and I think that's what my ears are hearing that appear to clash. So if you lower the sixth and seventh notes of the Dark World, that'll be fixed. Or you can raise the sixth and seventh of Death Mountain... but I like the idea of moving everything to Aeolian much better ooh move it all to phrygian! The 7th is lowered in both dorian and aeolian. The only difference is the 6th so that's what you've been hearing (aeolian has a lowered 6th and dorian doesn't). Theoretically if you were to have forest mountain follow the chord progression of dark overworld in the beginning four measures (i,IV, i7,IV), then the melody in forest mountain would go something like this: C, C, C, F,F,F,C,C,C instead of the Eb. Right now this is considered dissonant since the chord progression is clashing or isn't matching with the 2 sources (not that it's a bad thing). The chord progression for forest mountain is i all the way for the first 4 measures. Off topic: I meant minor to maj7. The "A" in the sentence probably got you confused lol ("a" as in "a" song; singular). ei. The key starts out in Amin and later progresses to Fmaj7. In an Fmaj7 chord, the melody is centered around Amin while the bass is centered around F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plazmataz Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Perhaps someone has some feedback for the second version of the song that doesn't have to do with what mode the tune is in. Am I going in the right direction? Did I manage to improve the song, even just a little? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewhoisiam Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 eh, hol on hol on. I'l tak a look at ett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewhoisiam Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I like the feel of what you have now. As far at theory goes, you've all left me behind. But for the sake of argument, I love major scales. (I learned all my scales in major, it's all I know) When your main melody synth comes in at 7 seconds, it sounds good. But the patern repeats too many times to be what the emphasis is on. It either needs more variation, or pushed into the background more. The synth hear does not really sound like a background sound, so my vote is for just enough variation to keep it fresh. At least until the fun bit starts at 39 seconds. I want more boom in your kick. But that's nothing new for me, I always want more boom in the kick. But towards the end is where I really want that boom boom. at 1:44. BOOM BOOM BOOM, not tap tap tap Some variation in the kick would be good too. It's pretty static as is. The triplets in the percussion and subtractive synth are great. I'd like to see more of them in the transitions to give a bit of a 'hold on, okay go' feeling. The ending just sort of dies off. I like the synth pitch drop down thing okay if that's what you want. The bass drums feel out of place here at the end, also it feels anti climactic. My first thought is to write a bar or two just before that drop down using a mostly triplet feel and really draw out an idea to that it feels longer, thus slower, then into the fade away. hope this helps -H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plazmataz Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 hope this helps-H And it does so wonderfully. I heartily agree with you that the main theme should be shelved at certain points to leave the floor open for other voices to take the stage, so I'll make that my next project. And I also agree that the ending sucks. I do plan on changing that, though, and adding a lighter section at the end to wrap everything up. Thanks again for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarmakuizz Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I have heard the two versions, and I prefer the second version now. When I thought about a word who resume the song, I thought "odd". I don't know why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabond23 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I gotta admit, thats definitely interesting, lol. Seriously though, its definitely catchy. I think its a good base but needs to be built upon more. Maybe some string synths or a square lead or sumthin along those lines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Ooh! Funky! This is great. Of course, I'm biased in that it's a LoZ3 mix. The arrangement is very interesting and lively. I enjoy the fact that it could stand on its own even if you don't know the sources. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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