ShedOneTear

[erineclipse]

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/4/3/2815300//ShedOneTear.mp3

Need crit.

[AngelsDen]

It sounds like the Track is in an early status.

The overall-quality sounds close to a midi track and theres missing alot of dynamics. At the first listen it reminds me of the overworld Track of Phantasy Star 2. I Could help you more if i know the direction you want to take. Will there be percussions and a bassline or do you want to keep it minimalistic? Try to get more depth into the Hapsichord.. as it is now it just repeats the Strings on a different scale. Maybe a typical classical appregiation of the Harpsichord would sound nice along with some major-quality Pad or warm string. I realy like the aero-lead *-*

[erineclipse]

It sounds like the Track is in an early status.

The overall-quality sounds close to a midi track and theres missing alot of dynamics. At the first listen it reminds me of the overworld Track of Phantasy Star 2. I Could help you more if i know the direction you want to take. Will there be percussions and a bassline or do you want to keep it minimalistic? Try to get more depth into the Hapsichord.. as it is now it just repeats the Strings on a different scale. Maybe a typical classical appregiation of the Harpsichord would sound nice along with some major-quality Pad or warm string. I realy like the aero-lead *-*

It's supposed to sound like an Anime, sort of in the future. What exactly are dynamics? I would like a little bit of percussion, if they are ambient sounding. Don't have any good samples though. The bassline might be good as long as it doesn't turn it into an acidic drum and bass. The harpsichord isn't really a harpsichord it is actually 2 pianos combined as a layer with the global pitched increased (the sound is too dark with the pitch at 0 - currently it is set to 12 cents.) Also included in the layer is a midi String, which may contribute to the overall "midi-ness." A question about the arp though, wouldn't that make the song seem too fast paced? Not sure though. And major quality Pad, do you mean any Pad playing a Major chord? And I'm not sure what an aero-lead is, i'm guessing it's my whistle? =)

[AngelsDen]

Dynamics.. Your Song at the moment sounds like A-B-A-B.. adding more dynamics would let it sound like this A-B-A-C-A-D-A(E)

A for the main Theme B for the Chorus C for the Bridge and D for the alternate Chorus leading into the ending.

I have to agree that an appregiated harpsichord (in your terms 2 pianos) could make it to fast paced, but only if the Leadinstrument does the same as well as the percussion.

Maybe this could help you a bit:

The Harpsichord in this Track runs at the normal trackspeed while the Lead-E-Guitar changes alot from half to normal speed. Its Like playing in 8/4 for a bit and it takes the pace up and down making the track more dynamic.

Sorry, its pretty hard to describe if you only know it in practice.

Also for Sample Quality.. there are alot of free Samples/Soundfonts and VSTs out there in the web. Feel free to ask!

You can find some decent here: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4556

For Piano you could use CV-Piano.. it is a free VST and has a decent quality.

[SonicThHedgog]

It's supposed to sound like an Anime, sort of in the future. What exactly are dynamics? I would like a little bit of percussion, if they are ambient sounding. Don't have any good samples though. The bassline might be good as long as it doesn't turn it into an acidic drum and bass. The harpsichord isn't really a harpsichord it is actually 2 pianos combined as a layer with the global pitched increased (the sound is too dark with the pitch at 0 - currently it is set to 12 cents.) Also included in the layer is a midi String, which may contribute to the overall "midi-ness." A question about the arp though, wouldn't that make the song seem too fast paced? Not sure though. And major quality Pad, do you mean any Pad playing a Major chord? And I'm not sure what an aero-lead is, i'm guessing it's my whistle? =)

midi is not a sound,sample,nor intrument, its data that controlls a sound,sample,instument,etc.. those sounds are microsofts default wavetable synths ;P (lots of format saws and squares)

your master mix is compressed, reduce the overall volume.

its sounds like your using fl's piano sample..... try to use the one Angel said or if you like it then no problem. your synth sine needs some EQing, it does not sound fat as all , it sounds dull.

and Angles pretty much summed this up to a point, switch up the song a bit, UNLESS your planned it like this (note its your song ) then or you plan on making it Loopable for a game or somthing they this is a nice .

not a bad track at all pretty good

[erineclipse]

@Sonic Yes you are right about the midi. What do you mean by synth sine though? Are you referring to the whistle, harpsichord, or strings? (I think those are the only instruments in the song.) It is compressed, otherwise there is heavy distortion (I don't think it can handle two pianos at the same time.) Actually, I am using a FL studio piano, but it is not FL Keys, they are the grand pianos from Morphine. It's supposed to sound Anime ish but also fit for a game as well.

@Angel I'm not sure what you mean by A-B-A-B, does A count as a phrase, or just a quarter note? Because in one measure it's Chord 1-Chord 2-Chord 3 Hold Chord 3. And what should my chorus be? The song is supposed to be emotional but uplifting as well (not too sad or uplifting though. It's not supposed to be exactly "happy".) Thanks for the piano suggestion, any idea for drums? Sort of looking for drums that are kind of ambient style and sound good with reverb.

Added an arp. Is this what you meant? http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/4/3/2815300//ShedOneTear_8.mp3

[AngelsDen]

A-B-A-B as explained.. they are parts of the song.

Your Song takes a good direction now..

all you need to add is more overall-quality.

For Drums i would recommend the Nskit (Natural Studio drumkit), but i cant find the link.. its one of the best free drumsamplepack/Soundfonts.

Your Track has so much potential.. keep it up and make it as great as possible ;D

[erineclipse]

A-B-A-B as explained.. they are parts of the song.

Your Song takes a good direction now..

all you need to add is more overall-quality.

For Drums i would recommend the Nskit (Natural Studio drumkit), but i cant find the link.. its one of the best free drumsamplepack/Soundfonts.

Your Track has so much potential.. keep it up and make it as great as possible ;D

Thanks for the encouragement, I will try and google the drum kit (though you probably already have lol =)

[AngelsDen]

You got 2 private messages

[erineclipse]

You got 2 private messages

thanks, my screen resolution is kind of small so i didn't know =)

Btw, I found a drum kit called Blue Noise, supposed to be high quality.

[AngelsDen]

I Just looked into the Plugins from Blue Noise...The Drumkits are easy to use and sound quality isnt too bad.. but they use up alot of ressources.. maybe since they're beta. There's also a Plugin called "Seven" on their HP which is pretty useful but in potential terms not even with the 3xOsc from fruity loops.

[erineclipse]

I Just looked into the Plugins from Blue Noise...The Drumkits are easy to use and sound quality isnt too bad.. but they use up alot of ressources.. maybe since they're beta. There's also a Plugin called "Seven" on their HP which is pretty useful but in potential terms not even with the 3xOsc from fruity loops.

I found another drum kit which might be helpful, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tradebit.com%2Ffiledetail.php%2F834290-free-ambient-chill-out-drum-pack-acidized&rct=j&q=ambient%20drum%20pack&ei=SmIyTfi4KordgQemld2-Cw&usg=AFQjCNELzDZpR0PhrVdB5plbO45UDISAFA&sig2=Yn4vk7ZoWen8xgcxuy66Zw&cad=rja a series of wavs specifically made for "chill" music.

[DarkeSword]

Dynamics.. Your Song at the moment sounds like A-B-A-B.. adding more dynamics would let it sound like this A-B-A-C-A-D-A(E)

A for the main Theme B for the Chorus C for the Bridge and D for the alternate Chorus leading into the ending.

That is absolutely not what "dynamics" means.

Dynamics have to do with the changing volume of your piece, i.e. soft sections, loud sections, crescendos and decrescendos.

[Rozovian]

That is absolutely not what "dynamics" means.

Dynamics have to do with the changing volume of your piece, i.e. soft sections, loud sections, crescendos and decrescendos.

QFE.

Also, lemme quote from my in-progress remixing guide the section on arrangement. Any thoughts on it can be sent to me privately, so as to not derail the thread. I just thought it might be useful. It's remixing-focused, but a lot of it still applies.

A typical song is intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-ending, and sometimes has a bridge before one of the choruses. Older video game music tends to be written more like A-B-C-repeat because so much of it is looped. When you remix, it usually produces interesting results when you break from this mold and make your own arrangement, your own order of the parts. it gets even more interesting if you break up the instruments so you can use them wherever you want.

This is something newbs often have trouble with. A typical newb will start with the original and expect to alter it as it progresses. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't. I prefer to start from the middle, building the bulk of the song and then deciding what I want to use in the intro. By then I'll have a middle that's different enough from the original, so no matter how I start the remix it'll lead into my version.

A lot of music is based around dynamics, which could also be called intensity. How heavy, or driven, or big is a moment in a song? How was it just before? Throughout the song, it'll increase and decrease in intensity. A typical song with verses and choruses will downplay the verses so the chorus sounds bigger, heavier, more driven, more intense. A typical progression leads towards a big finish, usually a chorus, and then ends, either quickly or through a softer section. A lot of music today doesn't change much in volume, which is what dynamics traditionally is about (and still is, to audio technicians). Dynamics is the difference between loud and soft. A dynamic track has soft parts and loud parts. A good arrangement will have more intense parts and less intense parts.

Note that dynamics often refers strictly to volume. While more intense parts are usually also louder, this doesn't have to be the case. It's hard to do it otherwise, tho.

Also, I haven't heard the song this thread is about. But this looks like a place where it's needed.

hm, noticed some minor things I need to edit in this part of the guide. doesn't change the point, tho. dynamics isn't the same thing as progression, and it helps to understand both when you make music.

[erineclipse]

I think the reason a lot of music today lacks dynamics, is because everything is electronic now. They have to make sure everything remains audible, especially on the radio for use in loud car environments. Back then everything was conducted in a symphony concert. You still have exceptions though, like movie soundtracks, because they are designed for use in a controlled environment.