ectogemia Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 song is here So my friend came over last night and demanded that we make a mix that sounds like "press start" menu music a la FF11 or Mario Kart or Armored Core. Couldn't say no, but he had to head out just after giving me my assignment for the night, so I put this together. This is kind of "part A" of the song. "Part B" is in the works and will be very subdued, double-time DnB-type stuff in all likelihood. Does it sound like menu music? What improvements could be made to the arranging, instrumentation, mixing, processing, etc,? I'm still very new, so even fundamental suggestions would probably be very constructive! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guifrog Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Actually, this is great! Does sound like menu music I think turning down the volume of the cool synth starting at 0:37 onwards (0:35-37's okay) is the only thing I'd do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Thanks, man, and after another listen-through of the piece, I think I agree with you about the volume. And that "cool synth" is nothing more than a sine on top of a triangle with a little reverb thickening and delay stereo-fying (but I think I did that wrong?). The simplest waveforms often sound the best long live chiptunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamphibious Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Simple waveform leads are amazing. I really like the feel of this. That beat is really sweet. The ambient vibe throughout is certainly welcome. Personally the lead didn't seem too loud to me, but I could see it still sounding great if it was toned down a tad. Sounds great, hopefully part 2 will be a real treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Awesome, glad to hear you think the ambience aspect worked. I was a little worried that the whiny pad that plays throughout might not achieve that goal, but it seems it did. Anyway, I'm finished with it at the moment, I think. I have a couple of more things to add that I played while improving over it, but I really don't feel like sequencing it :/ I'm awful with quantizers, and it has a lot of weird rhythms and pitch bends. It'll probably just remain in improv-land. And since I don't yet know how to mix or master well, I'll have to defer that til later. I think it serves its purpose pretty well as a file select loop. Any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Schwinghamer Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Love the triplet(?) at 0:47. It's a nice melodic touch that isn't expected. Very jazzy, relaxed atmosphere, perfect for a menu! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 And again, thanks for the feedback! That's the grand-daddy of all triplets, the triplet 16th note. I listened to entirely too much speed metal back when I used to play guitar, thus I think in triplet 16ths. There's no going back. Glad to hear it sounds like a menu song to other people. Seems like things are coming along for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megatone Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 It reminds me of the end title song from Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere. Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erineclipse Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 repetitive but good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Thank you! It's supposed to be repetitive to some degree, but you're probably right that it may be a little too repetitive. One bassline pattern chopped a few different ways, one drum pattern with a couple of fills, one chord progression, one pad... eh, but it does its job well enough I think. Hopefully the automation and solos vary it up enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erineclipse Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Thank you! It's supposed to be repetitive to some degree, but you're probably right that it may be a little too repetitive. One bassline pattern chopped a few different ways, one drum pattern with a couple of fills, one chord progression, one pad... eh, but it does its job well enough I think. Hopefully the automation and solos vary it up enough. Yep it is good now, but imagine how good it will be if you add some melodic variation by changing the chord patterns and stuff (provided you know what you're doing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 song is here See, now that's the thing. I only kind of know what I'm doing, and definitely more so in some areas than others. My biggest weakness is just that -- developing interesting, dynamic chord progressions. I can usually come up with something catchy and workable pretty easily, but then, I struggle to transition it into a different progression or to color it as it goes. I added the whiny pad to complement the driving bell EP-type chords because that track was very tiresome without anything distracting attention from it. The resonance-LFO string sort of pad that comes in after the first drum break was meant to distract from those chords to so that maybe the listener wouldn't notice how narrow the structure of the piece was. Looks like I couldn't fool you I guess I need to work on that aspect of my music some more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erineclipse Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 song is hereSee, now that's the thing. I only kind of know what I'm doing, and definitely more so in some areas than others. My biggest weakness is just that -- developing interesting, dynamic chord progressions. I can usually come up with something catchy and workable pretty easily, but then, I struggle to transition it into a different progression or to color it as it goes. I added the whiny pad to complement the driving bell EP-type chords because that track was very tiresome without anything distracting attention from it. The resonance-LFO string sort of pad that comes in after the first drum break was meant to distract from those chords to so that maybe the listener wouldn't notice how narrow the structure of the piece was. Looks like I couldn't fool you I guess I need to work on that aspect of my music some more After the 6th chord repeat I suggest something like a darker chord progression, altering the chimey thing so it fits in with the new chord progression (da-do-de, da do de da) Currently it sounds fine, kind of reminds me of a pleasant sofa, with that chimey thing, so I guess it's up to you. Or you could wait a bit and change it at 0:57, that way you could leave the chimey thing in .don't know what key your song is in or BPM, but here's an example that might get you on the right track :http://soundcloud.com/erineclipse/chord-example dont know if it fits that well but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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