To B or not to B

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eirikbj
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To B or not to B

Post by eirikbj » Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:14 am

I new to this game, though I have been writing music for ages.
I tried to send a musical cue for custom critique, and I got in the answer that " I would add a contrasting B section so that things don't get to monotonous".

However Mr. Laslo always makes a point that there should only be A sections all the way. What is right here?

Also on Taxi-TV, Laslo calls items "Musical cues" even though there are lyrics and singing in them.

Understand my frustration?

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Re: To B or not to B

Post by eirikbj » Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:08 pm

Also, I got to know that it´s "dated". Probably going to be a returning comment, until I modernize myself...

Can anyone comment what should/could be done with "QuirkySouthernRhytm.mp3"?

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Re: To B or not to B

Post by Casey H » Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:48 pm

I don't recall ever hearing that there should only be "A" sections. Most pieces should have more than one section allowing the music editor to select what they need.

For a short film/TV instrumental cue, I would suggest at least A-B-A.

Of course, if it's for a 30 second advertising spot, that's different. If could be that Michael was referring to something like that?

:) Casey

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Re: To B or not to B

Post by andygabrys » Tue Oct 21, 2014 3:20 pm

i have heard Michael talking about A-A-A and one guest he had on a while ago also felt that these kind of cues are useful but shouldn't make up the majority of your repertoire (I think the figure he used was 20%). Look for the Taxi TV episode with John Fulford.

to use an example from a pop or rock song:

A - verse
B - Chorus
C - Bridge.

Most film and TV cues have either A,B,A,B etc. and button / Sting ending

or

A, A, A, A, A and button / Sting ending.

I hear the all A sort of cue a lot in a trailer piece. They seem to establish a mood and motif and often build and keep embellishing the same thing. But you can easily hear every 4 bars (maybe 8 depending on tempo) there are going to be significant changes that help reinvent the piece as it continues to the end. Not a new chord progression, not a whole new sound, but addition or doubling of existing melodies or lines or rhythms.

Most instrumental cues never get a C section.

in either kind of piece, a few "edit points" are helpful.

Dated just means that your first instincts lead you to play and mix a piece that sounds like it came from a few years ago. To get "modern" takes some listening to what's out there today.


As far as your piece - that's kind of a tough call for me. First I would suggest that you find the listing text and post it into your initial post when you ask for feedback - as feedback is much more relevant when its talking about why a piece didn't make the cut.

At any rate - I don't really get the sense of "southern" from the cue. There are some guitar-like parts but I am guessing they are all played on a keyboard due to the sound. Most stuff that has some authenticity as being "Southern" has some acoustic roots - acoustic guitar, dobro, acoustic with a slide, banjo. And if its something more electric as in southern rock - then add electric guitars, electric slide etc.

So what listing was this for?

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Re: To B or not to B

Post by eirikbj » Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:34 am

First of all, thanks.

It was just a custom review. I was eager to test the respons for my music.

I didn´t mean Southern as a reference to the harmonica-like theme and the banjo-ish thing. The reviewer did not oppose this, but I totally get your point. Maybe "cowboy in town" is more what I wanted, but I guess it´s kind of a too narrow description?

I would guess that the most dated thing is the percussions? Straight of logics presets, i acknowledge that.

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