Dreamy Brambles: A mellow stickerbrush sympohny mix

[General Gilliam]

So, I got bored a while ago and have been working on this mellowish remix of the song Stickerbrush Symphony from DCK2. Thought I'd share with you guys and get some feedback on what could use some work and such.

http://soundcloud.com/general-gilliam/dreamy-brambles

[Skyline Drop]

I know right off the bat that people are going to suggest that you do something to humanize the piano/strings/choir deal going on at the beginning. The sounds themselves are probably pretty workable, but need some velocity editing so that the playing comes out more expressive. The ending leaves the piano even more exposed, so you'll definitely need to work at that.

You might want to do something about the drums. Every time they come in, it's the same 1-bar pattern - occasionally with a crash falling on the first beat.

Um... I dunno. This is just a taste thing, really, but I feel like everything is drenched in a bit too much reverb. It's kind of like ordering a nice salad only to find the bowl is overflowing with ranch dressing. You might want to turn that down a bit.

That's my stance on it.

[Monobrow]

He's right.

Right off the bat, you need to humanize everything basically.

Piano needs release/decay/sustain.

Strings need some crescendo/decrescendo. Use volume automation, it is your friend. You want to the strings to flow in and out, they are your tool for building and then releasing.

Your drum writing needs a lot of work. Please try to vary up, don't rely on that loop over and over. You need to use the drums as emphasis for the beat, you basically want to use them as a tool to emphasize the structure of your other instruments... Think of it like this, every measure counts with drums, you want each particular rhythm you write to coincide with what's going with the song, they all go hand in hand, so if you treat them that way, as important as the melody etc, you will be happy.

Your bass would also do well to coordinate with the drums and melody better. Try to write these things with other instruments in mind, rather than separating them out.

If you have problems with this, I suggest youtubing or just listening to one of your favorite songs that has similar writing to what you are going for, and then just work at getting that sound down.

The song overall is very repetitive, try to make it more interesting, don't be afraid to try new things, or delete sections and start over, or move things around... No need to be conservative.

Is this a midi by the way?

Anyway good luck, I like that cool little synth... You know the one I am talking about :J