Fisherman's Horizon

[Bowlerhat]

Hey,

Here's a small fisherman horizon cover thingy. It's by no means a perfect take, since most of it is improvised on the spot. So, some of the reharmonizations are a bit weird, and there are two or three flute notes pretty badly out of tune. For the rest it's pretty nice in my opinion. But, ya know, I'm kinda biased since I made it myself.

Things which might be a problem but could also just be me:

- it's a bit long

- too much reverb on the flute

- flute and piano playing on same frequency

- everything is recorded a tad too loud.

 

So, if anyone has an opinion on the things I mentioned above, or/and has other things to be mention about the track, don't hesitate to share your it. Everything is greatly appreciated. 

 

My thingy: 

 

 Source: 

 

[Rozovian]

The recording isn't great, but the music is lovely (there were a few moments that reminded me of this masterpiece). Fisherman's Horizon is a lovely source, and I'd enjoy a better recorded version of your take on it (with some notes changed, but you're already aware of them). I don't think you need my advice on the music. As for the recording, I'd look into how to record the piano better, be this a change to mic placement, reverb in the venue, performance style, or using a different piano. But I don't know enough about recording to be very useful in that.

Cool stuff. This is what summer sounds like.

[Bowlerhat]

Thanks for the kind words!! 

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I first recorded the piano, but I didn't bother getting it all fancy and perfect, since I wasn't sure it would work out with the flute. Then, once I assured it works together quite well, I didn't bother getting a perfect flute part since the piano was super messy anyway. When I've got some time again, I'll work out a nice pianopart, record it in a good manner, and do a few more flute takes. 

Something I don't really agree on though is that I don't need any advice on the music. Getting as much different opinions of different people will always help, no matter what. I'm not sure if the right hand of the piano is intervening with the flute part, since they're somewhere in the same frequency. It's fine in the beginning, since the piano is only playing chords, but after a quite a short time the piano gets a bit more active and especially when both the piano and the flute are playing different improvised melodies I feel like they're distracting from each other. Is it just me? Should I just play chords and calm notes on the piano the whole time when the flute is playing? Or can I avoid it if I play similar stuff in a different octave? Maybe it could be solved with some specific kind of mixing? 

Also, just generally. Is there too much reverb on the flute? I'm a sucker for reverb, and I've heard that green remixers tend to use too much reverb on their instruments. I personally think it suits the style, but, I'm not really sure. 

[Rozovian]

I don't think you need _my_ advice on the music. I can find things wrong with production and point out obvious flaws in the arrangement, but I don't think that's the type of feedback that would benefit you. You're at the point where you're hearing flaws in your own work, stuff you're not satisfied with. Follow that instinct. Too much overlap between instruments? Find a solution. Play fewer notes. Play different notes. Separate with EQ. Separate with pan. Try them all, see what you like the most. I don't terribly mind how you've done it so far. I listen to it and hear it as a kind of improvisation, a for-fun piece. The production makes it hard to listen more critically.

When it comes to reverb, the advice I generally follow is that I turn it up so I can barely hear it, then turn it down slightly from that. It makes for a clean and clear sound. For a two-instrument piece like this, you can probably let it have a bit more reverb than that, depending on the type of reverb and the sound you're going for. Case-by-case thing. Try everything.

[Bowlerhat]

Yeah, I totally see your point actually. Didn't look at it from that angle yet. I'll experiment, and go with what sounds best. Is a more rewarding experience than having everything laid out in front of my face on a silver platter anyway. Thanks!!

 

 

[Bowlerhat]

Soo, I redid the whole thing. I'm not overly happy with the sound of the piano yet, but I don't really know how to improve it further. If anyone has some tips on that, that'd be very appreciated. Everything is still mostly improvised, but I did more takes and I was more familiar with the source this time, so, in my opinion, it came out quite nice. Any feedback, comments, and input is greatly encouraged. I'm also gonna go ahead and put this up for mod review. Thanks for listening!!

 

[Gario]

EVAL

Damn, this is filled with quite a lot of emotion. It honestly sounds like improve on a piano that you might here in church, with slick flute above. It's very different, and it's something that I personally enjoy quite a lot. It's a little nostalgic, in some ways. The flute is very jazzy, and works wonderfully with the piano. Sometimes it loses a little power and becomes a touch too quiet, but it's not that big of an issue to an otherwise great performance.

I can hear the issue that you have with the piano - it sounds like it's recorded in the back of a room, whereas the flute sounds more up close and personal. That's an issue with the recording set-up; you probably have the mic somewhere in the room, correct? For a grand piano the ideal recording placement is to take two microphones and place one in the room (like yours is now) and one above the strings. That way you can mix the reverb as you please against a more clean sound.

From what I can tell, though, this isn't a grand (or baby grand) - it sounds more like an upright. The ideal placement in this case is one mic in the room (again, as it is here) and one right behind the upright. If you want the best sound, you can remove the back panel of the upright and expose the strings - that way you can place the microphone similarly to how you place it on a grand piano. If you only have one microphone to use, placing it on the back of the piano will give you the cleaner, stronger recording, and thus will let you add whatever reverb you like (though I really like the reverb here - it's something that can't be imitated easily at all).

The piano itself is slightly out of tune, as well, but I actually think that's part of this piece's charm. When the piano is just slightly out of tune, it actually makes the whole tone warmer. Again, something that is very difficult to imitate, so I would personally take advantage of that. The piano execution has a few mistakes here and there, too - the judges would catch you on that. They're not frequent, but it'll knock it down a little bit.

As far as whether this can pass the panel as it is, I think it has a shot, but the piano recording might hold it back a little bit. You might be able to mix it more to the front to give it more presence, but I'm not sure if that would take it over the bar on it's own. I really like this performance and overall mood, though. It's up to you - it has a shot on the panel, but if you're not comfortable with the piano recording here hopefully my recording set-up advice will help you get the recording quality you want.

Good luck! I think this is a great idea for a track, so I hope it does make it's way to the panel, either as-is or with a more ideal recording.

[Bowlerhat]

Thanks for the kind words and the feedback.  

I actually recorded this on a grand piano, a Steinway even, and the the microphone was right above the strings. I didn't have a microphone in the room. I'm thinking of buying another microphone, so that I can record with two at the same time, but if it's possible to get a better sound with just one then I don't think it's necessary. But since you thought that it was recorded at the back of a room from an upright, I suppose it might be a good investment.  

I suppose I could give this song one more shot, and go for a third version when I've gotten myself another microphone, so that i can capture the piano better. I'll then go for a better piano take, record a new flute track, preferably with a bit of a nicer tone, and then give the judges panel a try. I wasn't really sure the vibe I was trying to go for was really working, but after your comments on that I'm a bit more confident. 

Thanks again!!

[Gario]

Is the microphone a directional one or an omni? It'd be odd that it's catching so much of the reverb if it were a directional microphone - an omni would absolutely cause some issue, in that regard.

The upright piano sound comes from the intonation of the piano itself. I was just a goof on that, and was trying to cover my bases as much as possible giving advice on both styles of piano. Good luck on the next recording, though - I look forward to it.

[CHz]

Gario's got the business down, so I just want to say this:

1 hour ago, Bowlerhat said:

I wasn't really sure the vibe I was trying to go for was really working, but after your comments on that I'm a bit more confident.

It's working, trust me. A lot of people are going to dig this.

[Bowlerhat]

14 minutes ago, Gario said:

Is the microphone a directional one or an omni? It'd be odd that it's catching so much of the reverb if it were a directional microphone - an omni would absolutely cause some issue, in that regard.

It's an omni, yeah. I recorded it in 2ch, but it can also record in 4ch. I suppose that it'd be best to buy a directional one next, and place that at the strings, and place my omni mic in the room for ambiance. 

[GSO]

I love this track. would you Consider submitting it to my Project?: