Opinions on similiarity - CLOSED thanks!!

[Cruciform]

Thank you all, for taking your time to listen and your comments. Mucho appreciated!

[pboss]

That is a really cool track. Maybe I don't watch enough movies, but it doesn't sound like anything I've heard. I would say mix away. (and the mix doesn't even sound bad at all, it sounds really close. The only really glaring thing for me was a little bit of drum groove being off around the middle of the track, but you probably hear that too). This is a track that I would just listen to on an album. I love stuff like that).

pboss

[VanderBoegh]

Not ringing any familiar bells to me. Would love to hear it when it's done!

~~Matt

[Cruciform]

Thanks Patty and Matt.

Patty, yes, so far there's just some stock midi clips on the drums. Need to finesse them a bit. Heh, and in that section, replace it entirely!

Since it's not ringing any alarms, here's the culprit for comparison. https://soundcloud.com/john-murphy-comp ... eartbeat-1

[Russell Landwehr]

Heya Rob.

I hear the similarity you are talking about when yours kicks in at around 1:20.

The differences between yours and John Murphy's being that his same 8 beat melody plays over different 2 measure chords where your melody changes and the chords follow the melody. The similarity being that both melodies are a rising 4 note motif... and the similar feel in that 2nd half, although the first part of yours has a completely different feel.

Is it too close??? Geez! It doesn't sound like a rip-off to me... more like a nod to John. But then who knows. Maybe email him and ask him?

Russell

[Cruciform]

Hey Russell,

Thanks for your thoughts. They pretty much mirror mine. I mean, I wasn't using ITHIAH as a ref track but that rising note tension motif...well, it's hard to avoid comparison ever since that soundtrack.

Jokes aside, I did actually think about emailing him but the movie studio will own the score so his opinion actually wouldn't matter in the big scheme, sadly.

-------

EDIT: have updated it to a place I'm now happy with. Bit of mixing and production left to go.

[VanderBoegh]

Hey Rob, I just listened to both tracks back-to-back. Yes, now I can hear a similarity in that 4-note rising motif as well, but you gotta wonder how many people did the same exact motif before John Murphy... When there's only a limited number of available notes in music, stuff pops up again and again.

In this case, this little rising pattern is the sole focus of John Murphy's tune, running throughout the entire thing without changing. Like Russell mentioned, yours changes notes to fit with the chord progression underneath it, and didn't even make an appearance until at least halfway through the song (and then didn't play too long).

I'd also agree that it's not plagiarism so much as it's a cool little nod of your hat. You could probably just call it good and push it to your publishing people. Or, you could err on the side of caution and change up one note in that sequence to alleviate the thought of future trouble. Not sure what I'd do in your situation, but I might be inclined to change a few notes.

P.S. Is CypherTM your other alter-ego? Methinks you're having an identity crisis, haha. But I laughed when you put the location as Antarctica!

~~Matt

[Cruciform]

Hey Matt,

Thanks for stopping by again. I'm curious which link of mine you listened to. In the third one in the OP, I have the most recent revision where I kept the 4 note motif for one 8 bar (IIRC) section in the middle, then developed it away with more movement. I guess I'm just curious if your opinion applied to the third one or if it was from listening to the initial arrangement.

Cypher TM is an exciting project (to me, anyway!) I'll be going public with in the not too distant future.

Thanks again.

[thekman]

Hey Rob
I think it's great and is far enough away from JM. Sounds killer! I vote to mix at will.

btw that movie is still one of my faves. Cheers!

[VanderBoegh]

Whoops, I guess I didn't see the most recent link in your edit. I think you've done plenty enough to put this in the clear with no worries. I like that high note at the end of the "Murphy Run"! Nice work, as usual, Rob.

Ever heard of a British post-rock band called Anathema? The sound you've got here really reminds me of them. Here's an example, but it's pretty representative of the band as a whole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn-VabI6O68 It's long, but if you go to the end you can hear that post-rock stuff that reminds me of the 2nd half of your track.

~~Matt