Pokemon GYM Theme [Orchestrated]

[leoniscaeli]

An orchestrated version of the pokemon gym theme, inspired especially by the Gold&silver one. =D

[SonicSynthesis]

I'd appreciate it if you guys could let me know if any or all of my points are correct, and correct me if i'm wrong anywhere so i can improve.

I've never been a critic on this site yet, i'm still learning after all, but i reckon an important part of the learning process is being able to describe what i hear in a piece and recognise things that could be improved so i'll give it a go.

Firstly the arrangement is pretty much an exact replica of the original theme, try and add variations to the melody, switch up the chord harmonies, customise the chord progression to add an entirely new feel to the song. You'll notice a lot of the YES voted remixes on here will sound vastly different to the original pieces, but you can still hear the source material in them.

Secondly you need to make your instruments sound more real. A useful tip is to make every note have a different velocity so it sounds more human. It feels like there's a lot of empty space in the mix, orchestras should sound really full. You should maybe add more instruments and pan them to fill it up a bit more. There's also a lack of bass. I'm not saying everything needs bass, but's it's appealing in most music. I love the piano part at the end, it was pleasant.

As for mixing i'm not seasoned enough to pinpoint any problems with it. I can mix, but probably not well. I think the piano sounded like it needed some of the low frequencies cut, but i'm not 100%.

[timaeus222]

Sounds like B/W-esque. This doesn't sound realistic though. That aside, this sounds exactly like the original's notes, key, rhythm, tempo, and harmonies. If I'm reading you correctly, you were just doing this for fun, so... no comment on the conservativeness nor the realism issue.

Since this isn't exactly intended for OCR, as I believe is the case, it doesn't have to be realistic. However, if you were to want this to sound realistic, this would be what you may end up going through:

First of all, you would need resources that allow you to sequence realistically, and that pertains to sample libraries with keyswitching and MIDI CC, as well as your ability to work with them and write realistically. Realistic orchestral writing requires careful studying of the individual instruments in an orchestra (tuba, french horn, trumpet, trombone, violin I & II, viola, cello, double bass, oboe, clarinet, flute, bassoon, glockenspiel, piano, timpani, chimes, cymbals, bass drum(s), misc. perc. [such as clave, guiro, vibraslap, etc], and harp) and how they sound in real life. Basically you'd have to reproduce that quality with careful velocity edits, keyswitching (using particular articulations---types of expression---at any given time), and MIDI CC (for volume swells to add that extra piece of realism). Not to mention there's still some mixing involved in the forward/backward stereo imaging (reverb + minimal delay), left/right stereo imaging (panning), and making sure the reverb sounds cohesive all across the board. Something to keep in mind, perhaps.

Edited November 21, 2013 by timaeus222