Zelda MM - Healing Majora

[C7]

Some of you may remember this WIP from a while back. I had to stop working on it for a little while for many reasons, but I finally got back to it and got to the end. I'll update a little later with a breakdown of theme use, but for now know that it is based entirely off of

and the

from Zelda: Majora's Mask.

0:00 - 0:20: Piano notes are Song of Healing beginning backwards.

0:20 - 0:38: Brass parts are Majora's Theme straight through, verbatim but with changed rhythm. Song of Healing interjections.

0:39 - 0:55: Song of Healing chords

0:55 - 1:10: Song of Healing melody harmonized

1:12 - 1:57: Majora's Theme, pretty straightforward statement

1:57 - 2:10: Development of piano motif, based on Song of Healing

2:11 - 2:38: Majora's Theme inverted

2:38 - 3:02: Strings are tapping Song of Healing

3:03 - 3:23: Piano is playing Song of Healing, but repeating each melodic unit.

3:23 - 3:30: Brass is playing around with Majora's Theme melodic material

3:30 - 3:58: Bass line is Majora's Theme, unchanged

3:58 - 4:19: Trumpet is playing second part of the Song of Healing

4:19 - 4:27: Brief Majora use in brass

4:27 - 4:42: Strings are playing the beginning of Majora's Theme with an added note

4:42 - 4:54: Combination of the starts of both themes in the strings (don't expect anyone to notice)

4:55 - 5:16: Majora's Theme with Healing interjections, ends with Song of Healing

5:20 - 5:46: Song of Healing, Both the piano repetitions and the single notes of the melody (omitting a few) interspersed in piano.

I don't expect everyone to hear all of it, but the themes are crucial and always present in some form or another. I do not want every statement to be perfectly clear--this is an arrangement, so neat uses of the melody are important to me.

Things on my checklist currently:

Some leveling.

Some EQ, etc. to decrease any mud.

Let me know what you think and what I can do to improve it!

Click here to listen to Majora8.mp3

[M249-M4A1]

This sounds amazing, but it's a bit hard for me to pick out the 2 themes later on in the song. Sounds almost like a complete original piece after the half way mark.

I feel that another great MM theme to incorporate in here, based on your style of remixing, would be the final hour theme

I'll definitely be giving more feedback later when I finally get enough rest and can think clearly

[C7]

Thanks for the comment! I think two themes is sufficient saturation for a sub-six minute piece, but final hour is one of my favorite tracks from the game. I did a remix of it when I was younger (for personal enjoyment) and would likely do another at some point. But, for now, I'm happy with these two.

I've included a breakdown of where the themes are used and how in my original post. I admit to using them in supporting roles at times (ie, the bass line later on), but either the themes or some sort of derivative of the themes (or melodic patterns or whatever) is basically always present. I hope the breakdown helps.

I look forward to more comments, particularly on things to check out or things that sounded off on your speakers that might not have on any of mine or headphones!

[Evahn]

the link's not working for me.

edit: buuuuh I don't know why it didn't work before ...

anyway, I love the sound of this, very intense, I agree with Acolyte, quite cinematic, and great sounding instruments. It's mixed really well already, it sounds great on my speakers, and even the mp3 isn't hurting it too much. I'd say maybe make the main brass a little less harsh. For the trumpet solo, give it some more high end, so it sounds a bit more real. It sounds distant, which is cool, but to my ears it needs more of that brassy trumpet bite. I really like the quieter parts with the soft percussion too.

But you're right, I heard hardly any of the sources, both of which I am very familiar with. This reminds me of Majora's theme, and I can hear references to the themes in the instruments, but other than that, and especially melodically, I really cannot hear the sources, even with the time breakdown. I dunno, in your arrangement I can't even pick out similar chord progressions and you've altered the melody so much it's to almost hard to believe you didn't just write like 90-95% of this. Clearly you can compose and arrange really well, but if this was not labeled MAJORA'S MASK it's possible I could've missed the connection altogether, besides that one spot early on where the Song of Healing chords stand out.

Obviously at this point you're not going to change it, and I don't think you should because it's great now. I'm hoping the judges recognize the sources in there more than I do.

[Acolyte]

East West samples in there?

The whole flow of it sounds cinematic in that it sounds like it would go to something visual.

Did you picture a sort of "movie" or scenes in your head when you did this.

I love everything about it as it takes me on a journey.

Great Work so far.

I am not certain what to add as constructive criticism for this particular piece, but I really like what it does for the themes.

[C7]

Thank you for the comments! I wasn't really imagining any particular scene or anything. I just wanted to make the two themes and aesthetics they give off 'fight' back and forth within the form I had planned out. If anything, it feels most like the creation of Majora's mask to me (how the song of healing embodies an individual in a mask).

Perhaps it's due to writing it, but I can't NOT hear the themes throughout. They do go through some good, old-fashioned development and are often reharmonized, but there are plenty of extremely straight-forward statements in there as well. I'd like there to be things to discover for the intent listener, so not everything will stay in the foreground at all times, but I'd argue there is plenty of presence throughout. However, I appreciate that I'm going to have a dissimilar perspective from someone not familiar with this piece. I try to keep the minor second motion as a starting indicator for the majora segments with the tritone that the song of healing outlines for those moments, but I'm curious to see if the themes are too hidden for most or if it will vary.

I'm glad it is sounding pretty good to all of you, though. They're all East West samples, save for the live trumpet solo (which still isn't EQed how i'd like it for it to fit in right). I hope I can get some leveling work done this upcoming week to make it sound a bit more polished.

I look forward to more feedback... there're a lot of listens so far. I'd love to hear some opinions before I wrap this up and sub.

[Benjamin Briggs]

I'd say submit right now

if I had to complain about something it would be the more subtle percussion sounds are a bit TOO subtle imo... maybe turn the quieter ones up a bit more

but seriously that is nothing but nitpicking; you could submit this just the way it is. and I would recommend including the source breakdown for the judges

[Clem]

You should be proud. This is excellent. I'm sorry I can't be more useful

I guess I do kinda echo your own sentiment regarding the trumpet solo. It sounds great, but it could be mixed to fit in a little better, I think.

[Daybreaker]

I heard a little Song of Healing here and there in the background piano. I couldn't tell where the main melodies came from. I'm also very familiar with both of these songs (I've played the game a few times and remixed the Song of Healing) so I think Evahn is right. I'd say this sounds completely original except for about 5 seconds when I can hear the Song of Healing in the piano.

I'm thinking maybe you use too small of a portion of one source and then immediately jump to a different one? If the listener can't pick up more than a few notes of a melody, he won't recognize the song.

Sound-wise, though, this is absolutely amazing! I have nothing to criticize there. I hope you can make the source more apparent because it sounds amazing otherwise.