The Eluryahn Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 http://tindeck.com/listen/utjn I thought I'd mess around with three of my favorite Legend of Zelda songs on the piano. This is what I've come up with so far. The songs are Tal Tal Heights from Link's Awakening, Dark World theme from Link to the Past, and Song of Storms from OoT. I know there are no dynamics yet; I haven't added many. Tell me what ya'll think. BTW, I'm using Finale SongWriter 2007, so it's not the best of quality. Here's the checklist for copying purposes. I marked a few I thought applied to it already. ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION [ ] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source [ ] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing) [ ] Too much direct sampling from original game audio [ ] Borrows heavily from non-source material (eg. a theme from a movie) PRODUCTION [ ] Too loud [x] Too quiet [ ] Low-quality samples [ ] Unrealistic sequencing [ ] Generic/cliche sound choices [ ] Drums have no energy [x] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics) [ ] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range) PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts) [ ] Timing not tight enough [ ] Wrong notes, general sloppiness [x] Poorly recorded [ ] Bad intonation STRUCTURE [ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [ ] Pace too plodding [ ] Too repetitive [ ] Too short [ ] Abrupt ending PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) [write here] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daybreaker Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 A lot of the transitions sound like two different songs put on top of each other, and there's a lot of that. I'm not sure what I should be listening to, and sometimes so much is going on that it's hard to pick up a melody. Some of the notes clash here and there. I don't like that impossibly fast repeated note about two-thirds through--until then I suppose I could imagine two people sitting at different pianos and playing this. I hope you keep working on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Gill Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Yes! More piano is always good. And while I know you already know it, the dynamics and tempo changes really do a LOT to make it sound better. Just imagine how it sounds when you play it on the piano, and that's what you want the computer to do. I know its a pain (I'm working on the same thing with a solo piano song I'm writing - trying to get the volume and tempo to match how I play it), but it really is what adds the final touch to anything. Anyway, arrangement time. Around 0:25 - 0:40 it feels kinda cluttered, there seems to be two competing melodies. Try to eliminate or quiet one of them and bring out the other, or alternate them (pass it from one hand to other or something) to keep that less confusing. Also, for most of it, the bass repeats notes or chords a lot - it gets kinda repetitive as it just keeps banging out the chord currently being played. Around 1:04, you bring some arpeggios out, but at 1:14 they go away again and its back to bang-bang-bang. For some parts it works (like 1:30, when the main theme comes out), but in some of the other places, look into switching those bass parts out for either held chords, arpeggios, or some variation of the chord structure. The ending also doesn't appear to exist, so I hope you have something in the works for that All in all, I love piano, and Zelda, and this sounds pretty good so far. Keep working on it! (even if it takes a long time to finish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eluryahn Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 http://tindeck.com/listen/wzbr Haha, what's this? An update on a year old song? Yep This is written for two pianos, so that's why it sounds that way. Added an ending, finally. Not sure I like it, though. I added a few more arpeggios; I realized you were right, SuperSlacker, about the excessive bass. I also added some dynamics, but it really is difficult to get them right on a computer. I found that when I put Pianos, it lost intensity, not just volume. Cleaned up some areas so they weren't as cluttered, but I still feel it in some places, like at 1:22ish. Anyway, let me know what ya'll think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifthom Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 You know what, I really, really enjoyed this... It segues from one song to another really smoothly, and the interpretation you've added really brings it to life... Quite liked the ending, it doesn't feel too sudden or forced, and after the intensity of the previous minute a moment to relax felt quite called for. Listened to the previous version and I don't feel as many bad clashes as the previous version posessed - your decluttering obviously worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isidor3 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 This actually doesn't sound that it would be too hard to just play... Dynamics wise, it seems like even though you have more variation from note to note, there is very little variation between sections. Another thing to think about would be to separate the pianos a little more, it sounds like it's written for four hands rather than two pianos. Even some simple panning would do the trick. I do love the arrangement though. Can't wait to hear the final product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Paper Planes Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 It's coming along really well, on a compositional level. My gripes are with the production: - Pan the two pianos. Right now, as previously mentioned, it sounds like someone playing with four hands on the same piano, rather than two pianos. - The piano sounds MIDI at times. It lacks that dynamic feeling of a piano (the little touches, tempo changes, etc). If it is MIDI, I'm tempted to ask if I could personally give it a go with my EWQL pianos. As I said, I have no qualms with the composition itself. Well done. Edit: There's an example of one of my pieces (recorded with a Korg M3). It's still lacking something when compared to a real piano, but it's definitely one of the best keyboard sample libraries I own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eluryahn Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Thanks you guys! All I'm using is Finale SongWriter, so it is midi quality. I don't own a DAW. I didn't realize the program could pan until you guys just asked for it, so I'll do that quick. Pyro Paper Planes, if you'd like to take the midi and work with it, I'd totally be okay with it. Okay, I got the midi. Here is the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?5b0ipob196ygo66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isidor3 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I worked the tempo a little, and did some panning on the piano's, and this is what I got. Still a little robotic, but quite a bit more human in my opinion: Click to Listen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eluryahn Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Updated! http://tindeck.com/listen/pdsr Downloaded LMMS and edited the song. Here's the latest MP3 version. I tried to put more humanization in it. I changed the tempo in places, put more volume changes, and put one piano slightly behind the other. I also made sure there was no clipping that I could hear. I did not change the arrangement at all. Let me know what ya'll think. Most changes are subtle, but I felt they added a bit of reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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