Mother Earth- EB zero/Mother 1

[mickomoo]

I am more or less just practicing the basics of both composition, daw usage, and attempting to mix. Despite 2 years of, uh experience, I'm still a noob and stuff. I attempted to orchestrate this theme, but I need feedback on how I could compose, and especially mix it better. If you have any links or books related to midi orchestration that'd help.

Original source :

Cover: http://tindeck.com/listen/qogg

[Calum]

I am more or less just practicing the basics of both composition, daw usage, and attempting to mix. Despite 2 years of, uh experience, I'm still a noob and stuff. I attempted to orchestrate this theme, but I need feedback on how I could compose, and especially mix it better. If you have any links or books related to midi orchestration that'd help.

Original source :

Cover: http://tindeck.com/listen/qogg

I think the main thing that makes this kind of not work is that your lines don't lead the places they "should". And often the little countermelodies and harmonisations you have by moving around juuust don't quite work for me. E.G The trombone entry at the beginning... You should aim to make the notes you use be either 1). within the chord you are presently at or 2). be leading to one of those notes (most often moving in step). A lot of the lines i'm hearing are kinda strange and not consistent. For example there's a violin panned left near the end which comes in and leaves offering a few notes here and there. Most of the instruments need some reverb or more of a release tail on them.

I get the feeling you weren't writing each line as a separate instrument but looking at it as a whole. This may not be the case but that's what comes across and it makes the piece sound very disjointed and angular in a strange way.

I say, initially... start with a piano part and expand upon this. If you begin with huuuge orchestra straight away you sometimes get carried away and add things that don't really make an awful lot of sense. If you need more lines then try starting with 2 pianos and expanding out from that. Orchestration is really important BUT i feel (especially in this case) having a really strong foundation and starting point (the piano parts) will let you hear the piece clearly and give you direction. It might seem like a step back but i feel like you've gotten ahead of yourself a bit from the offset.

Another thing to say is that tubular bell (if you want it to sound like a tubular bell) maybe should be down an octave as it sounds weak - almost like a low glockenspiele.

I'd suggest doubling things more and not looking to fill out the chords with too much harmony and additional lines.

TL;DR - keep it simple and write with clarity and purpose.

Otherwise, I remember hearing some of your stuff from a while back and this is a pretty big improvement - it's an achievement to write a piece so big and at times you get the chord spacing and all of the harmonies spot on but i think it needs to be reigned in a bit for those times when there's too many lines that don't match up with the chords.

[Jean Of mArc]

Hey mickomoo!

Calum has some good feedback, so I won't bother repeating it all, but will give my thoughts.

I like the approach you are taking here, that being of a more orchestral sound; orchestra music is usually my favourite kind, but can be hard to pull off synthetically.

The only confusing thing is how the instruments are used, as it feels almost as if different instruments are in charge of different pitches rather than in charge of a particular line of harmony or emphasis.

When Calum says to try and just make it a piano piece, I support this idea in that in some ways it helps you to make sure that everything works when played together. Then you just allow different instruments to play the role of different lines of harmony from the piano part. For example, a trumpet playing the melody, a trombone playing a middle harmony, etc.

However, I would also say that playing a piano piece is quite different from playing an orchestral piece; for example, a piano doesn't really include the percussion parts, and doesn't take into account moments where the lead instruments might change. So although trying to write it for piano may help, you don't have to take it as gospel either, as you are always allowed to take creative measures.

Doubling would help give you some textures. By this, we mean that two (or more) instruments play the same line in unison, or in octaves, depending on the instruments. Every combination of instruments gives you a different texture, so experimentation is key in finding something nice.

I kind of wish that the actual sounds of some of the instruments sounded more realistic, but I know that that particular issue can be hard to fix without heavy cash... at least in my experience. Having someone else (who does have good sounds) when the whole thing is ready to render it for you on their system is a solution to that.

As for production, the thing that stood out to me a lot was that bell, which seemed very loud. I didn't mind that it was so high (gave it more of a harbour bell feel than a tubular bell), but it was definitely a bit piercing compared to the rest of the sounds. I would use it, but take it down a notch and I try not to overuse it.

Looking forward to hearing your next version!