Lifeformed

Thanks for the tips guys. The style I'm going for is drum&bass, electronic, IDM. I know that's different from normal composition, and I know a lot of the flavor lies in the processing, but I feel like I should first understand compositional basics.

Anyone have tutorials on (midi) drum composition? It's really hard for me to emulate drums that I hear in songs. I put down a kick every few measures, separated by a snare, with a bunch of hi-hats. It always ends up sounding lifeless and dull. Is it a processing issue?

I've had quite a few years of piano lessons when I was younger, but I never was great at sight reading. I was just taught how to play specific songs. When I try to play some sheet music, it takes me forever to get comfortable with it (4-6 weeks of practice). Does anyone have any tips for how to learn both playing the correct notes and also playing in the correct rhythm? I want to be able to eventually play a piece fairly competently on my first attempt. I also have a midi keyboard, so if there's any cool software out there, I'd be interested in hearing about that too.

What's the difference between gaming soundcards and audio production soundcards? Other than having more input options, are audio production cards basically the same (given the same specifications)? Also, for something like the 0404, would I be able to hook it up to a 5.1 or 7.1 channel sound system?

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you guys liked it. So from what it seems like I need to work quite a bit on my percussion. I really don't know where to start though. I haven't ever played drums before, I haven't listened to many percussion-heavy songs, and I don't know of any drum sequencing techniques. Does anybody have any resources that I could look at? From what I understand, the drums need to be a bit fuller, synchronized better, clearer in composition, and maybe just completely removed from certain parts. Anything else to add to the list?

Batman and Robin was awesome. "Ice to meet you."

Great movie. There were a few problems though: Spoilers below! The beginning was a bit disjointed and did not flow well. Up until they caught Joker, it was kind of hard to keep track of all the characters. They used everyone's names like we should know them all, when theres tons of cops, mobsters, mob leaders, civilians, and politicians all with names. Some parts were kind of awkward, like when Batman falls off his bike. It's like, what? You're Batman. Do a cool trick. But after they caught Joker it was awesome. Another thing that could've been a bit better was Two-Face's development. I thought it was a good idea for him to go corrupt and crazy, but they didn't really convince us enough that he could turn that way. I mean, his fiance died and his face is half burnt, but he totally shifts the blame from Joker to all the good guys, which doesn't make much sense. He even has the chance to shoot Joker. Then he goes emo repeatedly asking his victims the same question, "Have you ever talked to your fiance right before she died?" or something. It's like, yeah we get it. You had a really bad day. Now if they focused on developing how Rachel girl was supposed to be saved instead, and that it really was a giant unforgivable mistake (which it wasn't), then it'd make much more sense and we would have some compassion for him. One last thing: why does Batman have to take the blame for the murders? Why don't they just blame it on Joker? __________________

I think I've got something like it. The kick sounds about right, but the cymbal stuff doesn't sound quite right. I think it may just be a compositional issue. I'm not really sure what drum sounds should go where. Does anyone have any tutorials or resources on drum sequencing for a non-drummer? I'm really interested in learning how to make some good drum parts with a midi sequencer, but I have no experience in drumming. I don't know what all the things you hit are called, and I don't know the theory behind what sounds good with what.

I'm not too experienced with drums. I'm trying to recreate a certain drum sound/style, but I am having problems. I can't tell if I'm using the wrong instruments or if I just need to process it differently. Here is the type of sound I am going for: In a cologne commercial: At 00:13 the drums come in. From Angel, a Massive Attack song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygw2zmEVsvc Go to 1:40. The drums start at 2:02. The drums have a sound to it that makes it kind of muffled and slightly detuned (maybe). It is most apparent on the cymbals (or whatever kind of metal crash that is). How do you get that effect? Can you help identify the individual sounds on the cymbal? It's like a ride or bell that sounds really thick, and maybe a snare? Is that sound just a special kind of instrument, or is it a normal drum set with processing applied to it? So what would you do to try to recreate this style of sound? Thanks.

need a dispenser heah! </allcaps>

I noticed that the Linkin Park song "What I've Done" (the one in Transformers) sounds a hell lot like the Ocean Palace song from Chrono Trigger. Compare: - The intro to the Linkin Park song here: - To the Ocean Palace song at 1:32 here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9UCEdaxwQ The piano riff is nearly the same, the bass is very, very similar, and you can even draw some similarities with the melody, although that might be stretching it. It wouldn't seem out of place if this song was accepted here as a submission for the Ocean Palace theme (I mean if it wasn't already a real song by a real band). Coincidence, or liberal use of an "inspiration"? Does anyone know of other mainstream songs that have an uncredited hint of specific video game music?

Is that how you pronounce MIDI... The guy was pronouncing it "meaty". I thought it was "mid-ee" ("mid-" as in "middle"). Also: if this is as robust as they make it look and works that well for most instruments then this is truly revolutionary. Maybe once the technology is advanced enough, you will be able to "decompile" songs, and see their inner workings.

That looks really cool; I wish they had a demo

I'm new here and to mastering audio, and I'm really bad at it, but I think I have a good tidbit of advice. When making a song, I listen to it over and over for hours and start to get too used to it, making it harder for me to be more discerning. When it comes to mastering, I missed a lot of parts that I simply just got too used too. I found that an easy way to get a fresher look on things is to turn my headphones around backwards. It reverses all the panning and the song sounds familiar but new. Peculiarities jump out immediately. Of course, the best way to prevent fatigue is to take breaks and work on it in smaller chunks of time, but sometimes that's not an option. I hope that helps.

Hm. Well, I tried it with 2 different headphones and they sound the same. I just hope it's my laptop that's muddy, not my desktop being very non-bassy. I'm sure it's fine, and that my desktop is a better representation of the world, but I'm afraid that it will sound muddy to some extent for most people. I'm really paranoid now I guess I'll just see what happens.