Please give feedback on Pizzicato piece

[ETarnow]

Here is the piece "Pizzi pizzi" I am thinking of submitting:

https://www.taxi.com/members/eY31Vdu6SZ ... eph-gunnar

This is the description of what Taxi wants:

FUN, PIZZICATO-Based INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a great Music Library with International Distribution and lots of success in Film and TV placements.

This Library is on the hunt for Instrumentals that could fit on a playlist with the following references:

"Kids Welcome" by Felix Thoma

"Pizzicato Playtime" by Sam Fonteyn

"Take A Walk" by Felix Thoma

Please submit fun, well-produced Instrumentals that feature Pizzicato Strings as their focal point. Additional instrumentation like xylophone, drums, clarinet, etc. is fine, just be sure that Pizzicato Strings remain the focus. We suggest crafting your pieces around a singular mood and motif so they remain cohesive throughout. Please be sure that your production and any virtual instrumentation you use are polished, modern, and not dated or obviously MIDI-driven.

All submissions should be about 2 to 4 minutes long (give or take) with non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings. Do NOT copy the references in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, texture, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed.

[gitanosoy]

Link didn't work.. click on the mail below left of your track, when mail opens copy the track link and paste...preview and test before posting.

[ETarnow]

I think it works now.

[Peterg]

I think you need to work on the sound a bit, the pizz chords sound very muddy, partly the reverb (which sounds possibly a bit distorted to me) and the eq (too much low end. Pizz strings are usually light and dainty, yours sound too thick.
Also at about 30 secs where the tune repeats the same note, it sounds too midi and is obviously a sample being repeated. I think you need to look at that too.
I quite like the intro melody, but the other sections don't add to it, its a relief each time it returns to the main tune.

[AlanHall]

I liked the overall development, and I think you are homing in on a "fun, playtime" piece. Definitely worth pursuing.
The one drag for me is the repeated notes ('B' section?) almost seem to stop the forward motion. Fun, kids-oriented music should have a little more unexpected action. I'm thinking change a note in the repeated sequence, then change a different one to keep the listener 'tuned in' and guessing what will happen next.
Some mixing changes (as mentioned) will help too. When the bassoon (?) enters early in the piece, it is totally in a different space than the strings. Too loud, too much reverb. You could probably get away with louder/less reverb (closer to the listener), or softer/more reverb (farther away), but the current combination sounds like the bassoonist has a really big ego problem and the amplification to back it up

[ETarnow]

Thank you both. I adjusted the music accordingly.

[BradGray]

Hey ETarnow,

I do agree with the others, that the piece is muddy sounding, and that there's no top end. Sounds like the EQ is rolling everything off past 700Hz. It's really giving a lighthearted piece a much darker tone. What I would suggest to the mix is to try eq'ing the instruments in their own space.

I.E.
- Bass instruments roll of the high frequencies. Somewhere around 500-700hz.
- Violins/Violas roll off the low frequencies; 150-200Hz. Also consider increasing some of the high frequencies for these instruments.
- Marimba, you could roll off some of the lows and highs.

EQing and cutting frequencies that you don't need, can often clean up a muddy mix.

You can also eq reverb when it sounds too dark. Send the Reverb to a separate return (or track) for the instruments and roll off the low, and high, and push in the mid-range. Abbey Road reverb trick, that works well on vocals and clarity.

Hope that helps!
Brad

[ETarnow]

Thanks, Brad.

I redid it using FL Studio DAW. While the pizzicato sounds better, the bassoon and the base sometimes seemingly play the wrong notes.

[BradGray]

Thanks, Brad. I am doing them all on Musescore so I will see if Musescore has some EQ settings.

What might be a good DAW to use if one has never used one before? Musescore will export into MIDI

I really like Ableton. Originally I was only using the DAW for recording Guitar, bass, vocals and drums (acoustic), so I was not using the MIDI functions hardly at all. Over the last year during lockdown, I started using it for all sorts of midi, and then sound libraries, and I don't think I could go back. In Ableton it's very easy to either record or simply draw in what you want, and to change the sounds by dragging and dropping instruments overtop. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface too.

I would try a demo of a few different DAWs and see which you like the best. Like most people, we all seem to stick with the one we tried first.

Cheers,
Brad

[AlanHall]

Thank you both. I adjusted the music accordingly.

I like the ensemble balance much better now. Sounds like a real acoustic space with players in it. Good work!

I agree with others, though, that the mix seems to lack sparkle; and sounds a bit muddy, with a low mid-range heaviness that is contrary to the desired 'light', 'fun' mood. If you can, at the very least run the mix through EQ to shave a dB or two off the low mids (200Hz?) and add a little sizzle to the top (3kHz or maybe higher). If you can address the frequency balance during mixdown, you can get a lot more "surgical" with your process. What you can accomplish, and when, depends on your setup. What package do you use for generating the audio? Whatever it is, it should have a mixer section with some options.

edit: I just googled MuseScore and see that the built-in player is very limited. Good enough to hear what you're doing at least. Probably not good enough to impress the screeners, though. Bummer.