Need your opinions- inspirational and uplifting

[aldicicco]

Hi everyone,I'm thinking about submitting a tune for this listing.INSPIRATIONAL AND UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTALS in all styles are needed by a great Production Music Library/Publisher that has signed tons of TAXI members over the years, and has made money for many. These Instrumentals can be lush orchestral arrangements, simple/acoustic piano or guitar pieces, lilting/playful Alt Country/Singer-Songwriter tracks, etc. The only absolute must is that the overall tone is very inspiring, heartwarming and light. Think of a commercial where children are laughing, a couple is holding hands and walking along the side of a lake, a baby is playing and giggling with a grandparent, etc. - these pieces need to reflect a warm and glowing mood to support visual scenes of this nature. I have two working versions, both about 1 minute in length. The first, V0, is probably too busy given that a voice over will most likely be done. Yet, I like the overall feel, with the Harmonica lead.The second version, V1, is more muted. The jazz guitar intro is gone and the lead is a subdued jazz organ playing fewer notes in the lead. Might be better for a voice over, but is it too muted?Is either version a better fit? Is a hybrid version of the two the answer?The song is called "Chasing Leaves". I really had this imagery in my mind when I composed it a few years ago. Hopefully this comes across.www.taxi.com/aldiciccoBest wishes and thanks,Al

[remmet]

Nice, pleasant pieces, Al. I can envision these for the type of uses the listing mentions.One thing I'd suggest is to loosen up the quantized feel of the melody instruments. In both versions they sound pretty stiff.Another suggestion would be to add some variety to the drums so they don't sound so loop-like.Overall, these pieces were well produced. With a bit of revision, I think they'd be ready for prime-time. Richard

[davewalton]

Dec 10, 2008, 11:04pm, aldicicco wrote:Hi everyone,I'm thinking about submitting a tune for this listing.INSPIRATIONAL AND UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTALS in all styles are needed by a great Production Music Library/Publisher that has signed tons of TAXI members over the years, and has made money for many. These Instrumentals can be lush orchestral arrangements, simple/acoustic piano or guitar pieces, lilting/playful Alt Country/Singer-Songwriter tracks, etc. The only absolute must is that the overall tone is very inspiring, heartwarming and light. Think of a commercial where children are laughing, a couple is holding hands and walking along the side of a lake, a baby is playing and giggling with a grandparent, etc. - these pieces need to reflect a warm and glowing mood to support visual scenes of this nature. I have two working versions, both about 1 minute in length. The first, V0, is probably too busy given that a voice over will most likely be done. Yet, I like the overall feel, with the Harmonica lead.The second version, V1, is more muted. The jazz guitar intro is gone and the lead is a subdued jazz organ playing fewer notes in the lead. Might be better for a voice over, but is it too muted?Is either version a better fit? Is a hybrid version of the two the answer?The song is called "Chasing Leaves". I really had this imagery in my mind when I composed it a few years ago. Hopefully this comes across.www.taxi.com/aldiciccoBest wishes and thanks,AlI'll have to admit... this listing is confusing to me. I listened to your v1 as I read the first part of this listing "Inspirational and Uplifting Instrumentals" and I was thinking... "no, it's warm and engaging but not inspirational". Then I read "Think of a commercial where children are laughing, a couple is holding hands and walking along the side of a lake, a baby is playing and giggling with a grandparent, etc" and I think "OK... this would work".If I were submitting to this I'd probably ignore the "inspirational uplifting" description (which to me means a much bigger musical presence) and I'd go with the description of couple holding hands, baby giggling, etc. That, to me, is a much mellower musical presence. I think "heartwarming and light" is another description they use later. That goes with the imagery they describe so that's the mood I'd submit under for this.So... based on that I'd say "possibly". But here's the thing... your composing skills are beyond your sounds and instrumentation. The overall sound is dated in an electronic way. I can say this because I was the King of "out of date, out of style music and sounds". You're nowhere near eclipsing me in that respect but you should really consider looking at some updated sounds and instrumentation. They're not doing justice to that fine composition and they'll do nothing but hold you back for the vast majority of opportunities in the current music market. For this, I think it needs more acoustic/organic instrumentation. If you replaced the organ and "rhodes" with an acoustic piano and maybe acoustic guitar, that would go a long way. Also, the "strings" really detract from the beautiful piece. You should really retire those forever because even packages like EWQL Silver offer ultra-real orchestral instruments for only a few hundred dollars and many composers use packages like that. Anyway... this whole thing is a mixed bag. This listing wording is a little hard to pin down but overall I'd go with a mood of "heartwarming and light". You've done that with your composition but I think you have an uphill battle because of the instrumentation.Time for Christmas present requests! Dave

[ideascapes]

Al,Quick listen here in my LA hotel (short stay, didn't have time to call). Richard's and Dave's comments sound right on to me--great observations. You do seem to have a talent for feel and melody and maybe it's time to spend a few $ to have your instrumentation match that.Another thing to consider in addition to sounds would be to hire/beg pro musicians to play on your tunes. I used to be the king of "I can do everything myself." I still do that at the beginning, but then make the tough call on what parts should be "outsourced." No comment on your skills, just passing on some lessons learned!Vince

[jay10music]

AL.....Sweet Dude.....SWeet......This will go for a lot of other listings I would immagine..Nice Job ...Jay

[aldicicco]

Hi everyone,I apologize for the delayed response. I've been on travel. Richard- thanks for your observations. Funny thing is that I hadn't quantized anything, but I guess I was SO mindful of time that it got mechanical. I need to get expressive. I also appreciate what you say about the rythm. Dave- I hadn't thought I was out of date until I joined taxi 3 months ago and began hearing the advancement sound libs have made. Thank you for laying it out and for your encourage. It seems that I got my Triton right at the inflection point when synths were losing their "center of the universe" status. Other taxi members have offered to educate me on my options and I'll be meeting with them soon. This will be my first attempt to use a computer while composing, so I expect a full blown epiphany! Thanks again for this generous reply. Vince- I guess I need to start networking locally to tap into that pro talent. I think I have some baseball cards to trade. Hopefully I can find some pros in Los Angeles (just kidding...)Jay - thanks for your encouragement. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can't wait to get my hands on some new tools and see where this might go. Best wishes,Al

[gburgess]

Al,Nice job. For the most part I would have to go with Dave on this one as well.GB

[ibanez468]

Hey Al! Yup, I think Dave is dead on. I listened to V1 too, and I think the tune is there, IMO. The current sounds are gonna' kill ya'. I think we all, at some point, had to turn off our old sound modules, and move on to greener pastures. I struggled with it as well. Don't regret the transition though. The sounds I've acquired by recommendation from some of the fine folks on the boards here, are outstanding, I gotta admit. This tune deserves some of those sounds, no doubt. Just my $.02. I-468

[aldicicco]

Thanks Ibanez!This topic will be a focus for me this week as I learn more from other friends. Never hooked up a computer to a keyboard (synth) before and don't know much about the best applications and libraries to start off with. Encouragement and advice from Taxi members is really helping at this stage.The good news is that I've been given (negotiated) a starting budget, thanks in large part to Dave's note above, recent advice from Mazz and guidance from my SoCal buddy Steve Barden.Best wishes,Al

[majorshadow]

An extremely beautiful peace. A song that can no doubt stand on its'on.