What genre is my song? What genre is your song?

[brennanhester]

Does anyone else ever record something and then think, "Hmmm...what genre of listings would I submit this to?"My example is a song called "Mortys" on my Broadjam page (linked in my signature).I figured maybe some of the...uh...smarter people on here could help out those of us who run into this question, thus the new thread. Heck, maybe it's just me!If only there was a listing for "Repetitive, boring tracks sought by major library" then I'd know where to submit Mortys

[arkjack]

Nice tune Brennan..... The vibe I get right away is "Doors".... which would maybe put it in classic rock, rock, pop ...and definitely blues feel instrumental.... I would go for any listings that ask for "wide Range" of tracks without naming an "a la:" as well as named a la that sounds something close to this track... as being good marks to bet 5 bucks on..... the other scenes that come to mind... city streets... Mannix.PI.. tall buildings.... dark bar room full of hippies smoking weed.... stoned rock artist in hotel room.. hope that helps.... somewhat... the standard disclaimer applies...ArkJack

[horacejesse]

To me it sounds like what is described as "light activity."

[davewalton]

Quote:Does anyone else ever record something and then think, "Hmmm...what genre of listings would I submit this to?"Yes but I try not to. Your track would be hard to catalog and so regardless of the composition itself, it would be hard to place, therefore hard to get into a music library or something similar.This isn't 100% true, but overall when writing new tracks, I try to think first in terms of a "mood" then in terms of a style. That's one thing (of many) that I've learned through this whole Taxi thing. I used to write something and try to figure it what to do with it. Now I try to focus on what I want to target and then write for that target.There's a balance between those two that is probably unique for everyone in terms of overall personal satisfaction.HTH,Dave

[brennanhester]

That's an inspiring (and daunting) idea, Dave. I will certainly try it out.This type type of conversation alone makes the price of TAXI worth it to me,(my zero forwards not withstanding).Thanks for takin' the time!Brennan

[edteja]

So Dave, the only difficulty with that approach for me is that I often write the music, then create the piece. I like to create a score that defines the basic melody, tempo and harmonies, and makes a crude first pass at arrangement, then generate a midi file (with the notation software) and pop it into the sequencer to create the final composition. But the second half of that often changes things. Once it is in the sequencer all bets are off. I might hear something that I really like and want to emphasize, or play an additional part, but doing so can take it out of the genre and into the limbo of "what kind of piece is this again?" Is that ever a problem the way you do it?

[davewalton]

Quote:So Dave, the only difficulty with that approach for me is that I often write the music, then create the piece. I like to create a score that defines the basic melody, tempo and harmonies, and makes a crude first pass at arrangement, then generate a midi file (with the notation software) and pop it into the sequencer to create the final composition. But the second half of that often changes things. Once it is in the sequencer all bets are off. I might hear something that I really like and want to emphasize, or play an additional part, but doing so can take it out of the genre and into the limbo of "what kind of piece is this again?" Is that ever a problem the way you do it?Yes, because I recognize that I need to be more "pure" in certain genres to really hit the target rather than just getting close. On the positive side I've gotten better at knowing in my head what a listing is asking for. I do better than I used to at translating that into a tangible music track but I still have a way to go. For example I've done electronica tracks for various projects. But as Andre pointed out while listening to some of my stuff at the Rally, it isn't REALLY electronica although it's close enough to get some mileage under certain circumstances. I immediately knew what he was talking about and also that his was an accurate assement (after I punched him in the nose ). There's a music library that I'm interested in getting into but I haven't sent anything to them because I already know from talking to the owner and listening to some of their tracks that what I have currently in the "electronica" genre wouldn't pass the standards that they have for REAL electronica music. It's not beyond my grasp but for this particular library I need to be "pure" in my approach to this type of composition and style and I haven't done that yet.So yeah, I do get musically "distracted" because I recognize that I throw in things that cause my tracks to be somewhat "cross-genre".FOCUS Dave... FOCUS!

[andreh]

Quote:For example I've done electronica tracks for various projects. But as Andre pointed out while listening to some of my stuff at the Rally, it isn't REALLY electronica although it's close enough to get some mileage under certain circumstances. I immediately knew what he was talking about and also that his was an accurate assement (after I punched him in the nose ).Dave, you should know better than to listen to that guy! I'm glad someone finally gave 'im what he had comin'. I actually think there's a broader market for clean, "corporate," dramatic or ambient sounding electronic tracks than for "pure" types of electronica (which mostly find homes in games, film trailers, and club scenes in movies)...you can turn on just about any cable TV show and hear what I mean - including in the commercials.There's a demand for almost every kind of music out there, so it's possible to get placements without adjusting your style much at all if your tracks sound great. If your goal is to get as many placements as possible, though, it pays to diversify [if you can do so without sounding like a watered-down hack ].Andr...er...Bob.

[mazz]

Quote:it pays it diversify [if you can do so without sounding like a watered-down hack ].Andr...er...Bob.I agree Bob. For me it's a continual process to find out what styles I'm good at and what I should leave alone. But the "professional composer" route is not for everyone. Some may feel that writing to a target, regardless of the style, is selling out. I think its about finding a voice that can sing through all of ones music, regardless of "style" or "genre". If it's one or two styles or genres or 18 or 20 or whatever, so be it. IMO, The benefits of doing the "writing to a listing" exercise far outweigh the potential for getting returned.Biff

[edteja]

Well Biff, In my case it isn't anything like a concern about selling out. It is more a question of getting so deeply involved in working with the tune that it takes over, and all questions about style and genre get trod underfoot. I'm the kind of arrangerr who will suddenly wonder what the string section part would sound like if it was played by steel drums. I just took a rather nice piece that was just a guitar in open G doing a lovely bit (with some percsussion and bass) and added pan pipes alternating between counterpoint melody and then echoing the lead line. It came out rather well, but it isn't particularly suitable for any market I know of. And the intent, when I began the composition, was for light jazz listing. Ah well. It's great fun, but won't buy many potatoes.You are right Dave. Focus. Maybe we should send each other emails at random intervals saying: "Focus Dammit!"Bart