Christmas Return...I Dont' Get It

[davewalton]

Quote:Dave,Yeah, 10west did a fine job on that track. I understand my tune's shortcomings so I'm not trippin' about it too much anymore. I suppose I'll have to re-work the piano for a third time now, in order for this thing to fly. Dave, let me ask you, does the piano sample sound bad? I mean, I can fix the playing, but is the piano sample not passable? Lemme' know.I-468That's the first thing I noticed... the piano sample. It sounds like it has very few velocity layers... pretty much the same sound regardless of how hard or soft you're hitting the keys. It also has a very short decay for the sustain notes. The overall sound itself contributes to an illusion of stiffness even though the playing is really more fluid. I adopted (maybe even coined) a phrase that is very applicable here... "your talent has grown beyond some of your sounds". That's an easy fix. If you took that track over to Matto's or Mazz's and simply plugged the piano part into their samples... instant fix almost. With good piano samples with tons of velocity layers you might play it a little different so the fix might not be instant but almost instant.BTW, piano has always plagued me as far as getting a good piano sound. I've managed to just squeek by with the piano from EWQL Silver... as long as I limit the overall velocity to 60% of the max, it gives a good tone. I bought Boesndorfer 290 and I hated it. But, I've heard some excellent piano samples, especially from Matto, and I know that for just a few hundred dollars there's samples out there where people will ask if it's a real piano or not. I bought Kontakt recently for a variety of reasons, one of which is that the piano samples that Matto uses can be easily loaded and played within Kontakt. I know he mentioned Sampletekk's Black Grand as an excellent choice ($139 for the Kontakt version).

[ibanez468]

Well, I'll reveal what I was using. I was using a grand piano from Edirol HQ Orchestra. It does have velocity adjustments, that's no problem. I used it mainly because it pans just like a real piano. You know, high registers coming out of the right speaker, middle registers down the center, and lower registers coming out of the left speaker, instead of everything just crankin' solely out of the center. I have EWQL Silver, and I have Kontakt 3. I've got so many freakin' programs now, it's hard to sit down and get to 'em all. I just got through fooling around with Addictive Drums for 3 or 4 hours this morning. I also have a Giga Studio program (can't remember what version, not recent) that has a variety of piano samples. Maybe I'll load that thing up today. One of my buddies gave me several DVD's worth of piano samples to go with it. He liked the pianos for the fact that they sounded fuller based on how many times it had been sampled. I take it that it had been sampled many times over, so it sounds much more piano-like than other piano software that he's heard. He was never satisfied with his piano sounds until he got a hold of that. I'll check into it today. Got some other software to load up now. Thanks.ibanez468

[windowman]

Quote:Wade's got a new avitar... the flash reflection in your eyes is gone but now I think you have something in your teeth in this shot. ....a member makes a post about what morons the screeners are, etc because their hit track got returned even though all their friends and family really like the track and they sing along with it when they drink, etc. It's the broad brush that sometimes paints all Taxi screeners as "worked at Wal-Mart yesterday... screening for Taxi today". Of course, and this is ALWAYS true... Taxi screeners are only inept when returning our music... NEVER inept when forwarding our music I'm glad you like the new avatar Dave. Sorry if I'm creeping you out Ibanez.Yeah, I get your point Dave but I've had forwards that I question as much as some returns. Or at least the reasons are sometimes baffling, either way. Music is subjective.Quote:Each track is evaluated on it's own as it's being screened, but as kind of a "bar" to judge against, check out this excellent track in this thread from 10WestMusic here on the forum...http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?a ... &page=1Now, even though that track got forwarded, pick three things that are wrong with this track and really don't work very well. I'm guessing that no one could fine one thing that doesn't work. It's not a "maybe" that could have gone either way, it's a solid forward from beginning to end. Yeah, it's a very well put together track. No doubt about it. But..... To me, the singer has a very good voice. I don't understand the need to auto-tune this to death. It doesn't seem necessary for this type of quality singer. Of course, this is just me getting a bit tired of this software & it's abuse over the last few years. It reminds me of when the DX7 was introduced. Overkill. But you're right, it deserved to be forwarded. Here's a funny ha ha about auto-tune & some other musical irritants.---http://www.cracked.com/article_15965_6- ... lQuote:The Ibanez track, to me, doesn't fit in the same "solid forward, no questions asked" category... it's very good, has a lot of appealing qualities but it also has some things that other forum members mentioned that maybe held it back (For instance, I'm with Wade on the piano sample... ).So, if I were Ibanez... I'd ask for a re-screen to clarify some things to get a better idea of what this track needed to become a no questions asked slam dunk forward as opposed to a track that was very good but could have gone either way.Hopefully that all makes a little sense without ruffling anyone's feathers. DaveYeah, the piano sound. I have the same problems. Thanks for pointing out what to look for in better sounds, since I'm in the market & don't have a clue what a good choice would be. Keys aren't my thing & talking to music store software geeks is usually frustrating. Guitar into amp is a little easier to understand.How do you get a guitar player to turn down?Put a chart in front of him.No feathers ruffled Dave. Cheers.Wade

[billg]

cool link windowman. I think it's safe to say that I'll never be accused of using auto-tune.

[matto]

Hi ibanez,when I listened to your songs, three things stuck out to me:1- The piano sound...it's extremely "midi" sounding...it seems to have one layer...forte. There's zero nuance in that sound, and as a result your opening sounds "computer generated" regardless of whether it's quantized or not. Since this is for a CD release, master quality is required, and I think your song fails to reach that mostly on account of the piano sound. That's not a master quality piano sample in 2008...you need something that sounds virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.(And btw just as a heads up, using a piano sample library "your friend gave you" would most likely violate that library's license agreement, so be very careful there...)2- The listing says While they would definitely prefer for the songs to have vocals, instrumentals could also be considered.I think given this sentence, your odds of having an instrumental forwarded aren't too good to begin with...it would have to be an absolute slam dunk, which yours is not IMHO.3- The main reason your track wasn't forwarded is "Style not close enough to what listing asked for". To which you say...well it mentions Jazz, so how could it be stylistically off target? The answer lies in this sentence: "They aren't looking for any traditional-sounding arrangements, just imaginative and diverse versions of well-known Christmas songs".I just listened to the Mel Torme original again to make sure my memory wasn't failing me...and guess what, that recording sounds stylistically A LOT like yours. It may have been called "pop" at the time, but by today's standard that's a jazz recording. Jazzy harmonies...jazzy arrangement...jazzy singing...jazzy piano noodling...Not only are both versions jazz sounding, but there in a similar vein within that style.Therefore, you are not meeting the criteria of "imaginative and diverse versions"...instead, you really have a "traditional sounding" version when compared to the original recording. The screener pointed this out and while you are correct in saying that Hip Hop and R&B were not specifically mentioned and Jazz was, the screener's point is still very valid IMHO.This jazz recording is not stylistically different enough from the the original...had you made a blazingly fast hardbop version of it, it would be a different story...I'm actually kind of surprised nobody brought this up before because it stuck out to me immediately, as soon as I got into the body of the song.HTH,matto

[vickye]

I'm listening to the song right now and as a piano player, I would have to say the Midi sound jumps out even though your playing is excellent. I echo Hummingbird about gettting to the 'meat' of this type of song as soon as possible. If they don't hear what they need in the first few moments, they won't even get to the middle part, which in my opinion, was the strongest material.Keep writing and arranging!!! We love to hear what you come up with:)Vicky

[bayouandme]

A few comments that you might want to consider.1. Your left hand needs to be a little bit more subtle or lighter in the touch. It was a bit harsh and pounding. It distracted from the nice touches provide by your right hand. If it was a little more like Joe Sample it would not have been quite as distracting.2. The supporting piano chords could have been more interesting or jazz oriented.3. Around 1:04 it starting to get interesting. To wait that long will disinterest a listener.4. You have the basics now expand upon them.If I sound harsh, sorry.

[ibanez468]

Thanks for the input everyone. Just so everyone knows, I'm not naturally a piano player like some of you may be, so yeah, there's alot of subtle things that I may not do, as they don't come natural for me. I know that's no excuse, just thought I'd mention it. If I'm gonna' play piano, well then for-god-sakes, I'd better do it right, right? Matto, you never hesitate to tell it like it is. That's GOOD! Vicky, thanks for your input, and the compliments. That helps. Bayou, you can be harsh all you want. I can take it. That's what we're all here for, right? To give our honest opinions. I'd rather you give it to me straight, than lie to me. I will make some adjustments to the piano when I get around to it, and give you all a listen soon for the next available listing, which is quickly approaching, I believe. Thanks!I-468