Jump to content

[Final Update] Sonata for Storm and Windmill


The Mute
 Share

Recommended Posts

Well, if your thinking about adding some more instruments, perhaps you could add a flute, or a clarinet. Something along the lines of a Woodwind instrument. I've taken a clarinet sample while listening to your song and messed around with that, and I gotta tell you, I got some pretty slick sounding stuff going on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heard your "damned spot" some times... my earphones here at home are not perfect, but quite good... and I must say that I can notice no static.

And even if there's something, it seems to be very hard to notice... don't you think you're delaying this for a quite insignificant half second that no one can hear, except for you? :P

If you have some modification suggestions to try, do it and forget about this "hidden static". Put your time on some upgrades...

If you don't know anything to do on it, submit it! Saying that you couldn't even get a single 'yes' it's quite hard on yourself!

Oh! And about being repetitive... the original tune is almost like a ringtone! You raised it up to a new level! No need to worry about that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the static you're referring to has something to do with the rain effects. When the rain is loud, I can definitely hear what sounds like static. I think it's probably from the rain effect. When the rain is loud, I think the rest of the rain (the stuff that doesn't sound like it's landing nearby) can cause a somewhat staticky sound.

The thunder at the very end sounds almost like it's clipping. It's not as crisp and smooth as real thunder, but that could very well be just because it's not the real thing and recordings (especially free soundfonts and the like) are generally not that high quality when it comes to real sounding.

I've got my volume turned up fairly high and my studio headphones on. The thunder sounds like there might be minor clipping occuring at that point. If you take a look at the output levels when the thunder clap occurs, check to see if it's a danger zone for clipping. The instruments are quite clear, but when the rain dies out, I can hear a very slight static underlying the entire mix. It's actually so quiet that I'm tempted to believe you have had a very quiet rain effect going on the entire time underneath the louder one. When the rain starts to come back, it definitely sounds a bit more staticky.

I've turned the volume up quite loud, and I must say that it was a quiet rain effect I was hearing. I also think as rain effects get quieter, they tend to sound more like static as the sounds become less distinguishable.

Hmmm, at 3:37-8, there is possibly some very minor clipping, but it's not that noticeable.

As for the mix itself, I really like the feel of it. I'm a sucker for ambient mixes, and I like your take on the Song of Storms. I think it's arranged quite liberally in comparison to the original piece (and it sounds good).

I'm also a huge sucker for slow mixes that build up over minutes of a song. I really like how in the end, the rain comes back and starts to pour pretty heavily and climaxes with the thunder crash.

But damn, that thunder sounds pretty bad...

Anyway, great work on the mix! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The clipping that you're refering to is probably what I'm trying to say. :? The way the mix was originally was just fine but it was too quiet. I need a way to turn up the volume without losing the quality of sound. :cry: I do have a few tricks left to try. Suggestions welcome.

I'm perfectly happy with the background noise. That doesn't bother me at all because I don't notice it unless I'm purposely listening for it. I should hope that the piano drowns out the rain enough... which is why I've asked before if the rain was too loud. I do plan to turn it down just a touch anyway.

I'm a little short on free time these days, so any changes I make will take awhile. I apologize for that. It's sort of a tease when people make a WIP you really like and then they just sit on it forever. I know that bugs me personally. :lol: But when I do get a chance, I do plan to add just a few tiny tiny changes here and there. I decided no additional instruments were needed. This began as a piano piece and I'd like to keep it that way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can use a compressor on the thunder sound and put the threshold to something around -30dB and that should probably take care of the clipping.

The only thing that will lose quality will be the thunder crash, and the only thing that will change about is that the lowest and highest frequencies will be closer (basically the higher frequencies will be shoved down a few notches, but they will still be played).

I hope that'll help ya! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tried the compressor suggestion, and I hated the results no matter what I did. :(

But it doesn't really matter because I found what's really causing that infernal noise I keep ranting about! It's because of the choir soundfont I used. Once that is eliminated, everything sounds just fine.

So now the question is... do I try to fix that part of it, or just replace it with another instrument? I can't think of much besides human voices that can hold that one 15-second long note and get away with it. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always kept a watch over these boards, but with what posts I do write, I try to put into words how I feel about a piece of work (despite my lack of expertise on actually creating a piece). Basically, without overdoing it, I think this is a comforting piece and creates quite the tranquil mindset I personally am seeking in a song. I plan on falling asleep to this song tonight, so thanks for the wonderful piece, and keep up the good work!! :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I know, the final changes to this piece have been made.

Something that didn't come up during this process was my feelings about the second theme variation. I couldn't help but hear that it had a slightly mechanical feel to it. So what I did is bring back a couple things that didn't make it into the original version I posted. They were just little variances from several live recordings I'd done while trying to decide about the arrangement. Some may call the changes I made gimmicky, but I like them. So deal with it. :wink:

The 'choir' issue was also dealt with. I grabbed a different soundfont that sounded almost exactly the same and for some reason, that cleared up the problem. Again, I kept the choir sounds simply because no other instrument was working there. I tried everything and nothing was doing what I needed it to.

Again, no new instruments were added. They just weren't cutting it for me. I wanted to stay true to my original concept.

The volume should be less of an issue now, but the piece is still rather quiet. It *IS* a piano piece, after all. Nobody in their right mind blares piano music. And most recordings that I've encountered of such music does tend to be quiet. *shrugs* I did what I thought was best.

No, I didn't cut the beginning. It's meant to set the mood and 10 seconds is nothing compared to a techno song's minute+ long intro. So yeah... there ya go.

I hope I didn't forget to mention anything.

Anyway... if you want to keep this song, you better go grab it now. Within the next month or two, I plan on reclaiming the webspace I used to host this. But you'll always be able to find a copy on my Soundclick page.

Thank you for all your input. I want to start on another project now. It's of the Song of Healing and I began it about three years ago. So I guess I'll see you all when it's mostly finished. :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

*ressurecting thread from ashes*

Hello again everybody!

I wanted to hear some news from Mute... so long time since the last post, so many times I've heard this remix...

Have you stubmitted this? I've never seen it on 'to be judged' topic, and I don't think you are thinking of new updates, given what you've posted here! hehe

It have been more than six months already! Send us a signal! =P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted to hear some news from Mute... Send us a signal! =P

Well, okay. I'll bite.

I don't have as much time to devote to this stuff as I used to. :'( I try to check in every once and awhile, see who's doing what nowadays, but I've been busy fulfilling my academic duty! :) (Now officially a Graphic Design major with a Creative Writing minor. Yay!)

Anywho, you know what happens when you put something aside for awhile and then come back to it? You can hack the crap out of it, that's what! :D Take a look at it with fresh eyes (or in this case, fresh ears.) As far as updates, I'll have to wait for summer vacation, which will be at the end of my 6-week summer session in July. (I've even got a bunch of new material that might show up too.) I've been keeping a list of things to change with this piece the next time I get a few editing hours to play around with.

No, I haven't submitted it. I keep thinking about it, but I end up chickening out, 'cause that's what I do best! ^^ Maybe I'll try it when I stop cringing at my own work. [lol]

So yeah, that's about where it stands. No worries. The song is still alive and well. 8)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...