New Track for Western Listing

[davidagates]

Hi guys,

Been doing some work today on the western listing, just wanted some feedback before I progress further. Obviously not completed yet, so a bit rough around the edges but I think I'm getting there.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-gates-62481 ... al_sharing

Here's the listing btw for context. Thanks in advance for any advice, I'm here to learn so anything you can give me would massively appreciated.

Lots of SPAGHETTI WESTERN INSTRUMENTALS and/or INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by an International Music Library with lots of great placements in Film and TV.

This Library is on the lookout for Instrumentals (and/or Cues) that could be heard on a playlist with the following examples:

"The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (Main Title)" by Ennio Morricone

"I Giorni Dell'ira" by Riziero Ortolani

"A Fistful of Dollars" by Ennio Morricone

Please send well-composed Instrumentals that capture the vibe and sound of classic Spaghetti Western music. Captivating motifs, engaging grooves, and solid arrangements with plenty of dynamics, interest, and forward momentum are all needed for this request. Typical Spaghetti Western instrumentation that falls in the general wheelhouse of the references will work best for this pitch – think strings, brass, twangy electric guitars, etc. We think you have room to get creative and have a lot of fun with this one! Your production should be well-balanced and any and all virtual instruments or samples you use need to be high-quality and realistic sounding. If you've been looking for a chance to channel your inner Ennio Morricone, this it it!

Your submissions should be roughly 90 Seconds (give or take) long for Cues, and about 2 to 4 minutes long for Instrumentals, give or take. Non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings will work best. Do NOT copy the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use it only as a general guide for tempo, texture, tone, and overall vibe. Do not submit any material with unauthorized samples of other artists’ Songs, sounds, or any other form of media. Broadcast Quality is needed.

This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal, so please be sure the Instrumentals and/or Cues you pitch for this opportunity are NOT already signed with any other Companies or Catalogs. Any sync fees will be split 50/50 with the Company. You'll get 100% of the Writer's share, and the Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher's share. You must own or control your Master and Copyright to submit. Please submit as many Instrumentals and/or Cues as you'd like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PDT) on Wednesday, May 10th, 2023. TAXI # S230510WT

[Telefunkin]

Hi David (from another fellow Brit in Yorkshire),
You've got some nice sounds there that seem appropriate for the listing, and I'm sure they have the makings of a decent submission. Just a few comments though about things you might do to help its chances (IMHO)...

- The mix seems quite unbalanced to me because the lead guitar (and then the trumpet) dominates, so its difficult to hear what's going on with the galloping rhythm guitar and the bass end. Leveling the mix so that its more akin to the refs will help a lot with the clarity.
- The timing is a bit loose, particularly of the lead guitar, and although precise quantisation isn't called far it would help to get the track a bit tighter.
- There are no edit points, so you might re- consider the arrangement to allow an editor to get in/out of the track more easily.
- The arrangement is basically A-A-A which is fine, but each loop adds an instrument or two, so by the third A section its getting a bit predictable and also a bit cluttered with so many components demanding attention. Although its good to provide a sense of development, you might consider dropping some instruments out at times or backing them off whilst others take the spotlight. For example, you could drop the guitar through the second A-section and let the harmonica and trumpet share it, then have a sparse bar or two as a separator (perhaps with a gap for a few beats at the end) before re-introducing the lead guitar for the final verse. Its vital that all the instruments always sit together well though, so aim to give them their own space in the mix.
- You might also consider adding a tag as part of a more structured ending instead of a simple stop at the end of the third loop. Although its certainly not a necessity, it might provide a more interesting option to use as a final 'sting' that an editor might use on its own.
- I know its an unfinished version, but I'll still mention that it really ought to have a cleaner/tidier ring-out where all the final sustains fade smoothly together. Remember that the ending of your track could be used to end a scene, so be sure to give the editor something they can work with.

***Following some of the suggestions on arrangement will lengthen the track, making it fall into the gap between the cue length asked for (90s approx) and the instrumental length (2-4 minutes). Screeners will return submissions simply on length, so avoid giving them an option to do so. For example, although you might have added a gap and a tag, you might also be able to shorten the second or third (or both) A-sections to get you back closer to 90s. Alternatively, you could keep extending with another gap or even a B-section (as examples) to get into the instrumental length range. However, these matters depend on whether you consider it to be a cue or an instrumental. I'd say its closer to the latter, but others might disagree. Its always an interesting debate - see Taxi TV.

Just opinions of course, but I hope something I've said here helps with the polishing.

BTW, if you're unsure about anything I've said or what it means, you could try searching on these forums and/or Taxi TV for answers. Its all there somewhere.
Best of luck!

[davidagates]

Hiya mate,

Grantham! Only up the road from me.

Absolutely great feedback, thank you. Makes complete sense and I absolutely agree. To be honest it sounds a tad over produced with new ears (ear fatigue is a bastard), I think I need to strip it back a bit and make it less busy.

You're absolutely right about the structure as well, watched the rather excellent talk on TV/Film writing the other day and I'm definitely going to get a b melody in there, I was just having an absolute mind block yesterday.

I'm going to head back to it tonight, spend only a couple of hours and try and get it more in the ball park. Cracking feedback though, very much appreciated.

Dave

[cosmicdolphin]

I agree with Graham you've got the basic sonic pallete , the timing somhow sounds off to me though, like the guitar has been played to a different click to the rest of it and it's throwing me off slightly.

Arrangement wise I'm not really getting much of a feel of the rest of the "band" either , the rhymic stuff seems too distant or quiet compared to the guitar and brass. Rather than starting out with a full arrangement I think you should just start out with just the guitar the guitar and make us feel like it's that part of the movie when a lone stranger is riding into town , everyone is looking at him and closing their doors and windows expecting trouble. Then he stops in the middle of the town and the bad guys show and the track then kicks into gear.

Also I think the production / mix sounds too modern, usually to evoke these types of classic tracks they want something that sounds like it came from a previous era so I'm not getting that with the guitar tone or brass sound and the actual mix itself.

Back in 2016 I made one of these with my guitar playing co-writer for a very similar Taxi Listing. It got fowarded and signed to a Library. It's never been used for anything yet and we never got asked to do any more but it was a fun track to work on. I did a lot of research for it to find out what instruements they had in those orchestras and how they recorded them , and tried to emulate the same equipment as best I could in my DAW. We ended up not recording it to a click, I think it's the only production music track I've ever made that's not on the grid. I think I also used an EQ matcher to get a similar overall tonality to those old theme tunes.

This is it it you want a listen, 8yrs later I like to think we could do better but I don't think it sounds too bad. https://soundcloud.com/cosmicdolphin/he ... t-mastered

Mark

[davidagates]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I think one of the first things I'm going to do is strip it right back. I'm still in the habit of writing a piece and then adding as much as I can to make it full and mixed within an inch of it's life, even if that's not what the briefs sound like. A habit I need to get out of.

It's a tough one though, you want to emulate the sound but then you also don't want a "this sounds like it's been dragged through a bush" feedback and not get forwarded, it's a bit of a minefield.

[cosmicdolphin]

It's a tough one though, you want to emulate the sound but then you also don't want a "this sounds like it's been dragged through a bush" feedback and not get forwarded, it's a bit of a minefield.

" that capture the vibe and sound of classic Spaghetti Western music "

I take this to mean they don't want it to sound contemporary, as there are other more modern Western movie themes they could have used as reference tracks otherwise but you can always email the head screener to check.

Mark

[davidagates]

No, you're absolutely right. I'm very new to all of this so I need to be told, so to speak.

I'm going to have a good listen to the source material again and then remix the whole thing.