230329LS - Pulsing, investigative tension instros

[stansongman]

I just received 3 returns on this listing (I am 0 for 20 with this screener so far this year, I'm desperate to break through that. I'm an avid re-writer, no ego there, but it's getting a little discouraging! I really want to nail this genre. FYI I do all my own programming/sound design, nothing is out of the box). I'd be grateful for any and all pointers from your ears to turn these into forwards, so that I can fix these and do better moving forward with new work:

Grains of Sand
What I like most about this song
Great track duration and tonality. This has potential for the listing.
I think you could improve this song by
The element that comes in at 0:10 is a little funny and distracting. I think we could make our sounds darker / more ominous. The high pitched synth at 01:21 sounds too shrill.
I returned or forwarded this song because
I think we could work more on the sounds and chosen synths we have here.

Hard Evidence
What I like most about this song
Track duration, mood and style complies with the listing.
I think you could improve this song by
It feels like one of the elements around at 0:30 might be have some distortion. I think we can also clean the mid frequencies more. It would be great to have some pauses or quieter moments.
I returned or forwarded this song because
Production and structure could use a bit more work.

The Missing Piece
What I like most about this song
The stops at the intro was pretty interesting. I like the textures and forward movement was present.
I think you could improve this song by
The main synth that starts at 0:10 sounds like we could cut off some frequencies to this. It also feels a bit repetitive after a while. Maybe we can remove some elements and introduce new sounds after some time.
I returned or forwarded this song because
Developmental arc and mix could improve.


Here's the listing:
PULSING INVESTIGATIVE TENSION INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a top-notch Production Music Library that's landed tons of placements in TV Shows, Films, and Commercials.
NOTE: This Library is BRAND NEW to requesting music from TAXI, so this is a great opportunity to create a new relationship for you and your music with an award-winning Company!
This Library is searching for suspenseful Instrumentals in the general stylistic ballpark of the following references:
"3.3_5-vengeancep4ct.sib" by Mac Quayle
"Investigation (Connor)" by Nima Fakhrara
"Technically, Missing" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
"Leave It or Take It" by Bleeding Fingers
"Race to the Finish" by Kenneth E. Belcher
Please send them well-composed Instrumental Cues that evoke a suspenseful, tension-filled vibe and feel that is oozing with dark, moody energy that could work well for a variety of investigative scenes in TV shows and Films. Your submissions should have engaging motifs, pulsing rhythms, and solid arrangements centered around a central motif with layers, forward motion, dynamics, and interest. Your instrumentation can range from Orchestral-based to Electronic to a Hybrid-style approach and should fall in the general wheelhouse of the references. Whichever approach you choose to take, please be sure your production is polished and any virtual sounds or samples you use are high-quality and state-of-the-art. If you have tracks that could enhance, complement, and create an overall uneasy tone and mood, send them in!

[garrettmiller]

First of all I think these sound great as is, programming is excellent and they do land in the pulsing investigative tension genre to my ears. I did play the first two references after playing yours and noticed how simple the references were. Basically one simple riff and layering over time based on the original riff. Yours have a lot more movement compared to the references (and stated in listing: “centered around a central motif with layers”) No doubt yours are great and would find a home somewhere as is but compared to the references they might be too busy with perhaps too many new musical ideas throughout the piece. Just my two cents.

[cosmicdolphin]

I've dived straight into this without reading the screener comments

Grains of Sand

First thing that hits me is the synth is quite bright and you start out with a long fairly static chord, there isn't any movement or pulsing - normally I would go for a deeper darker sound for these types of cues and try to give them something pulsing or moving straight away. An editor would probably skip over your cue becuase of a lack of interest in the first 10s. At 2s there is a sound like a dripping of water, this is a bad idea as it sounds like foley and foley is not something we should ever put into our tracks as this will render them useless for scenes without dripping water for example.

Once the cue gets going some of the sounds come across a bit chintzy , the bright FM bell like sound doesn't really suit the genre IMHO and I get a sense that something has a low bitrate type sound to it which makes it sound cheap and annoying.

At 1.03 it gets more a little better when the faster arpeggio joins in but I thin there is too much going on in the arrangement. THe dense synth chords that appear through more of the cue take up a lot of space in the mix and the whole thing sounds quite bright but kinda congested in the mid range.

Hard Evidence

Right off the bat I get dated cheesy synth sounds which aren't really used in the genre. You would probably do better to use an interesting dark or felt type piano instead of a bright 80's synth lead.

The cue sounds better around 30s. The sounds you use there could be used for the intro. Not sure about those sweep sounds you have, again they sound like they may have been through a bit crusher which I don't think helps.

Despite a lack of edit points I think after 30s this one is much better than Grains of Sands and is closer to the ref tracks

The Missing Piece

This one starts out much better than the first two for me ,I like the low synth part altough I might be tempted to not punctuate it the way you have as this might disrupt the flow of the scene.

I like the synth melody, it has mystery about it and the sound is well chosen . At 30's a new sound somes in which sounds a bit like a vacuum cleaner - I'm not a fan of it and I think is spoils the vibe somewhat

There's some good ideas as it evolves but I'm not so sure about the wobbly organ type sounds at 1.02 - Some dark piano chords may sound better.

Overall I think you need to select some better sounds, which should help improve the arrangements and production. There's no extra points awarded for making your own sounds so consider finding the best presets in your chosen instruments and tweaking them just enough so they sound a little more unique - this might give you more time to work on the arrangement side of things and developing your motifs.

My highest earning cue to date has been in this genre and has been in 20 different TV shows now. I don't think it's anything amazing but editors seem to keep selecting it in different countries and different channels so there must be something about it that appeals to them : https://www.megatrax.com/tracks?tracks=clk037-1

Mark

[stansongman]

Thank you! I appreciate your great candid feedback. I will definitely look into all of this and see if I can rescue these cues

[SteveR]

I’d like to give added appreciation to Mark’s detailed feedback. I’m also an also-ran on that listing. The screener (shoutout to screener #452) took the time to give very useful feedback on the two tracks I submitted. I sense I was very close to getting over the line on both, but that last 5% seems to take around 50% extra attention to detail.

I found this thread because I am researching how to make maximum use of that feedback. Thanks for wearing your heart on your sleeve and posting, and generating the input that we appreciate from our fellow members.

[Paulie]

Have you ever tried to deconstruct a reference track, as accurately as possible, in order to see how it is built? Doing so is an excellent exercise that can improve your tv music composing game. I created a video on this very topic where i analyze a track to identify all of the instruments. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbbcfsQMqZA

[tpwmusic]

Much to my surprise, I got a forward for this request. Here's my feedback:

https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... ng_GSQQuwg

Here's my track:

https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... rliner-i23

[Paulie]

Congrats on the forward!
[lengthy post warning, but I think the details here can be very helpful.]

Have you heard back from the client on this? I had one forward and two returns. Listening to your forward, it is a fun track, but I don't think it's right for the listing. I think it gets too busy too soon. With the drums and additional sequenced elements starting at 0:32 you reach an energy level that is probably strong enough for the actual ending. The track sounds more techno/action to me, not "pulsing investigative" as the listing was titled. Here is the important part of the listing:

This Library is searching for suspenseful Instrumentals in the general stylistic ballpark of the following references:

"3.3_5-vengeancep4ct.sib" by Mac Quayle

"Technically, Missing" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

"Leave It or Take It" by Bleeding Fingers

"Race to the Finish" by Kenneth E. Belcher

Please send them well-composed Instrumental Cues that evoke a suspenseful, tension-filled vibe and feel that is oozing with dark, moody energy that could work well for a variety of investigative scenes in TV shows and Films. Your submissions should have engaging motifs, pulsing rhythms, and solid arrangements centered around a central motif with layers, forward motion, dynamics, and interest. Your instrumentation can range from Orchestral-based to Electronic to a Hybrid-style approach and should fall in the general wheelhouse of the references. Whichever approach you choose to take, please be sure your production is polished and any virtual sounds or samples you use are high-quality and state-of-the-art. If you have tracks that could enhance, complement, and create an overall uneasy tone and mood, send them in!

Go back and listen to the references. None of them are as energetic as your track, except maybe the Trent/Atticus track, but only after a few minutes into it. Your track does not match the references in mood or style. And this puzzles me, considering the screener's perspective. It was not a "perfect for the listing" as the screener said.

Now let me add some context that I think will help clear some things up. First here is my forward and my two returns (links plus feedback from Screener 396):

Forwarded track: Time Running Out
Feedback:

• Nice pulse element, and the deep piano notes are working great in the texture.
• The one edit I'd think about is not quite going to zero on the volume for the transition at 1:00. That little hole sounds a bit more sudden than we'd need. (super minor I know!)
• Good sounding cue in this style.

Returned Track: Panic Move
Feedback:

• The first section is working well, the steady drive forward is working well for this style/genre.
• I'm not too sold on the gunshot sound that starts at :32, sticking with textural elements that don't jump out like that is more true to the style.
• I also question the atonal drone sound, it also feels heavy in this texture. Overall sticking within a narrower range of sounds, dynamically and tonally will make for a more consistent feel throughout the cue.

Returned Track: That Does Not Help
Feedback:

• More good ideas for the extra elements in this texture ...
• ... but we're missing having that strong focal pulse to base the sound of the cue on. The dotted rhythms don't give us the steady rhythmic pulse we expect from this style.
• A clear pulse driving the cue is needed to drive these cues. The panned syncopated rhythms don't give us that steady feel they're after.

I'm sharing these so you can hear them for a reason: The library contacted me about the forward on April 10: "I really liked your submission to the TAXI brief – Time Running Out. Would you like to create an album in that style for our production label?" and included sample paperwork to review (a very nice touch that I've not seen before). I agreed, and the first thing I did was send him my two returns. He responded "These two tracks are great." Fast forward to this weekend, I just wrapped up the project and sent him a Disco playlist with all ten tracks to review. I'm also doing another album of a different genre for them.

If you've not heard from the library by now, my guess would be that he is not interested in the track. I know, it can be subjective, but I think the screener missed the mark on this based on the references that were provided, along with the feedback I got from the client directly. I think an objective listen to the references support my opinion.

Keep the track, it is good and will find a home!

If you've made it this far, I thank you for your attention. This post was really written by me, not ChatGPT.

[tpwmusic]

Thanks Paulie. No, I haven't heard back from the client, and being honest, don't expect to either. I agree with you, the feedback from the screener was dubious at best, which further adds to the frustration and credibility of the whole screening process.

[tpwmusic]

Btw, your tracks sound great Paulie. After listening to them, I am clearly making my tracks for this genre too busy. I'll try harder next time