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Brave Fencer Musashi - Kilobyte Warrior


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Alright, third attempt at Remixing. I've only gone about a minute into this song (the last thirty seconds is unfinished), but I want to see what people think before I put my heart and soul into it.

The source (already awesome):

The mix: http://soundcloud.com/exobyte/work-in-progress-corona-jumper-remix

Are my samples OK at least? I finally went out and actually bought some (affordable) samples. Thanks for any feedback.

EDIT: One thing I already changed was the lead synth's volume. It seemed too loud to me.

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A guy I knew let me borrow Brave Fencer Musashi and I loved it, but I didn't have enough money to buy it then. Not long after, the guy accidentally dropped the game, stepped on it, and broke the disc. I wept abjectly. The guy later gave me for my birthday a copy of Samurai Legend Musashi, which is an okay game but one I'm just not sure matches up. One day I will acquire this particular beast, and then I will hug it and squeeze it and call it Mu. Anyway . . .

Being an untechnical person, I'm not sure how helpful I'll be, but I'll try. I do think the samples sound good, clean, and they all seem to be pretty evenly balanced. However, I'm not sure the mix as a whole is all that . . . fresh? If you're going to make the mix longer that would be great, but if not then what you have doesn't seem to change itself much – it's a very safe sort of mix – and I'm having trouble picking out the source material (although I believe you've slown things down, so that may just be me having auditory adaptation issues). So yes, I think you have a good start here, but I feel it does need more work.

~LS

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Yeah, it's slowed down. The breakneck pace of the source just makes my head spin :P

By 'fresh' I'm guessing you mean it's just not very 'catchy'..and if that's the case extending the song isn't the solution. I'm really not sure what to pinpoint.. maybe someone else will come along.

Sorry about your luck with the game. Haha.. I've actually never played past the first chapter because I put in on my PSP and the controls were just too awkward, but I loved what parts I did play. It was like... Goemon and Zelda combined. The whole OST was fantastic too. I wonder if it's on PSN now...

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No no, it's plenty catchy – I did like listening to it as it was. I suppose what I meant by 'fresh' and 'safe' was that it didn't seem particularly original, and extending it would give you more room for experimentation. Of course, that's understandable if you don't have many samples or are just feeling things out, but I thought it worth mentioning.

~LS

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Well.. due to college and my recent obsession with Assassin's Creed II, I haven't had the opportunity to finish the arrangement, but I did make quite a few changes to the beginning, including the EQ which I haven't ever messed with in a song until now. Again, the last 30 seconds only has the melody and is not even close to how the final mix will sound.

I added a sound bite from the game's Start Screen too :)

Please let me know what's lacking.. the arrangement, samples, balance.. whatever it may be. I like compliments too but I've only been making music for a little over a month so I'm not counting on getting any :P

EDIT: I just noticed that at :42 I didn't put the bass line in yet, so just FYI I plan to add that.

http://soundcloud.com/exobyte/work-in-progress-corona-jumper-remix-revision-2

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The new arrangement is much better than the older one. Like I said before, the older one is good but doesn't reach far for originality; the new one, by contrast, takes that extra step. Something of particular interest that I noticed was that the older version runs to 1:32 while the newer version goes only to 1:26, but the newer version actually sounded longer to me – presumably because there was so much going on that it didn't come across as tedious, so I didn't tune it out. Also, I think the soundbyte was quite well-placed.

Unfortunately, I can't offer anything in the way of technical concepts you have included or may need to include, but I can safely say that I'm confident you're going in the right direction.

~LS

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at 0:58 something weird seems to be happening. It's like you have one bar of an irregular time-signature in that little synth flourish! I don't know if that was intended but it sounds quite jerky when it comes back in. I don't know the original at all so I can't comment much on that. I love the build up to "Let's do it!" at 0:27, I don't know if that's a sample from the game, if it is GREAT!

This seems to be distincly lacking a melody in some form or another, I don't know if the original is mainly based on chord or something, but yeah I'm kinda listening out looking for somethin' to hum along to! Also, as you're probably aware there are some timing issues at the end where everything seems quite bare as well!

keep it up!

EDIT: I've now listened to the source and there's all kinda melodies and other sections going on there! There's a lot to be fleshed out. The style remains quite consistent to the original, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it's not the most creative way of interpreting this song. In your version the melody and bass move together which it seems like in the original the bass often stays the same, like a pedal underneath while the melody changes. That might be why I couldn't discern the melody from your version. I think i'm just a little confused.

Sorry, anyway, OK!

that's all.

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at 0:58 something weird seems to be happening. It's like you have one bar of an irregular time-signature in that little synth flourish!

I see exactly what you mean. Yeah, it needs to be a full bar.

I love the build up to "Let's do it!" at 0:27, I don't know if that's a sample from the game, if it is GREAT!

Yup, it's from the Start screen :)

Also, as you're probably aware there are some timing issues at the end where everything seems quite bare as well!

Yeah that's not done at all. I just threw in the notes from the source so they are there to mess with later.

I've now listened to the source and there's all kinda melodies and other sections going on there! There's a lot to be fleshed out. The style remains quite consistent to the original, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it's not the most creative way of interpreting this song.

I really don't know how to flesh out a source song like everyone suggests. It's something I need to practice intensely along with arranging in general. I'm honestly bored with making this song because I don't find it interesting or fun to play with anymore because it doesn't sound anything like other remixes on this site. My song feels stiff; blind's songs sound dynamic. My song doesn't evoke any sort of emotion; blind's songs overwhelm me with emotion. My song has no subtle elements; blind's songs have hundreds of subtleties.

I'm not a natural musician, but I believe it's a latent ability of mine trying to emerge. I can feel what I want to make, but I don't know how to make it, know what I mean? This mix here isn't what I wanted to make, but I hope you guys in the WIP forums will keep commenting on my work until things start going in the right direction :) I don't give up easily at all so you might as well get used to me :D

Anyway, regarding this mix.. I'm going to go work on some originals to develop my skills then I want to try this source material again from scratch in a few weeks, months, whatever. Thanks for all the feedback.. I feel like I'm being guided effectively :)

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I really don't know how to flesh out a source song like everyone suggests. It's something I need to practice intensely along with arranging in general. I'm honestly bored with making this song because I don't find it interesting or fun to play with anymore because it doesn't sound anything like other remixes on this site. My song feels stiff; blind's songs sound dynamic. My song doesn't evoke any sort of emotion; blind's songs overwhelm me with emotion. My song has no subtle elements; blind's songs have hundreds of subtleties.

I'm not a natural musician, but I believe it's a latent ability of mine trying to emerge. I can feel what I want to make, but I don't know how to make it, know what I mean? This mix here isn't what I wanted to make, but I hope you guys in the WIP forums will keep commenting on my work until things start going in the right direction :) I don't give up easily at all so you might as well get used to me :D

Anyway, regarding this mix.. I'm going to go work on some originals to develop my skills then I want to try this source material again from scratch in a few weeks, months, whatever. Thanks for all the feedback.. I feel like I'm being guided effectively :)

In regards to fleshing out songs I guess if you, although it may be laborious, work out and write down some notes maybe with little diagrams all the sections and everything so you can be completely open minded and aware of every aspect of the song. Also when I think about making something my own or changing it/fleshing it out in some way I try to see the music as objectively as I can, trying to detach it from the way I hear it, then hone on in certain aspects. You may want to take the melody and completely throw away the chords it previously hand underneath it and make up your own completely oblivious to those that had gone before. Or you may want to isolate the chords and do something interesting with that. The main way I think about a ReMix is by detaching myself from the source so that I can see it's full potential in all aspects! Though obviously you should definitely keep all the aspects you love about the original in mind and try and display them as correctly as possible. Something which completely loses all that the original has to offer is as bad as a straight cover in my opinion! Though neither are all that bad ha ha. But for this purpose, yeah they are!

I don't know who blind is and I only joined the site about a month ago. I'd been on it a few times before but found it too hard to navigate and confusing. I had done tons of VGmusic but only became aware of them when they added me on youtube! ANYWAY, enough of my life story. Well take this inspiration to drive you to improve. Honestly i think you're being way too hard on yourself though, I'm in no way an electronic music wiz/enthusiast but what you had done was certainly not novice work and you will keep improving. I've improved my production skills an awful lot since joining! It's great. By continuing to make stuff you will become far more able to make what you feel. I'd suggest listening to what others have done, trying to recreate that and make note of particular techniques they've made use of, be it a chord-sequence, a production technique whatever. If you just enjoy what you're doing learning will come naturally.

Well enough of this inspirational speech! Keep working at everything and hopefully see you soon with more ReMixes and originals!

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I really don't know how to flesh out a source song like everyone suggests. It's something I need to practice intensely along with arranging in general. I'm honestly bored with making this song because I don't find it interesting or fun to play with anymore because it doesn't sound anything like other remixes on this site. My song feels stiff; blind's songs sound dynamic. My song doesn't evoke any sort of emotion; blind's songs overwhelm me with emotion. My song has no subtle elements; blind's songs have hundreds of subtleties.

...

Anyway, regarding this mix.. I'm going to go work on some originals to develop my skills then I want to try this source material again from scratch in a few weeks, months, whatever. Thanks for all the feedback.. I feel like I'm being guided effectively :)

I am a writer, and I have found it both easier and harder to write a story that is based around a universe already created by someone else. It's easier in that I don't necessarily have to create new characters, new clothes, or a new setting; it's harder in that I have to stick to the personalities, politics, and geography already created, and if I don't then I have to give a reasonable explanation as to why I'm deviating.

Similarly, I imagine that it may be both easier and harder to create a mix based around a song that already exists. I also wouldn't advise comparing yourself to other remixers – who likely have considerably more experience than you – except as far as qualities you wish to acquire rather than those you lack. Returning to your original creations for some practice is a fine idea, and while this WIP may be something you aren't impressed with right now, I see – or hear, rather – good stuff and am certainly looking forward to your return.

Whatever method you choose to improve your skills, definitely don't give up!

~LS

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