Return for Romantic Film Score Instrumental D130816RI

[ttully]

Hi,

I got this critique for listing D130816RI
Here is the listing:
Owner of an LA-based Music Library is seeking ROMANTIC FILM SCORE INSTRUMENTALS that could be featured on the big screen. He's looking for a stylistically contemporary sound that would thematically play along side some of the same scores from Hollywood's brightest Composers, such as James Horner, Randy Edelman, Alan Menken, etc.ÊHe's specifically looking for pieces that have a ROMANTIC FEEL. All tempos are welcome.ÊQuoting the Source: "I'm looking for music that gives the listener a strong sense of romance. Particular styles are not as critical as the feeling that the music conveys. The music can be organic, or have more electronic elements."ÊÊYour pieces should evoke feelings of warmth, happiness, and love. Please deliver tracks with strong themes and a healthy sense of dynamics. Instrumentals that will help to add emotion and move a scene forward will work best.ÊBroadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine). Great sounding instrument samples will be key for this pitch. Please submit ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTALS ONLY. Light background vocals like choral oohs and aahs, etc., can be used but only to accent the feel, mood, or tone of your piece. He's NOT looking for anything with full lyrics and storylines. Do NOT submit covers or Public Domain songs for this pitch. Your instrumentals must be at least 90 seconds long. Buttoned endings are a plus, but not required.ÊThis is a non-exclusive 50/50 deal with the library. You must own or control 100% of your master and copyright to pitch for this request. All tracks will be screened on a Yes/No basis. No full critiques. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD no later than Friday, August 16th, 2013. TAXI #D130816RI

Here is the track: http://soundcloud.com/timtully/wonderful-splendor

Here is the critique:
Although this track has good movement and a definitive theme, the performance is not convincingly authentic. To portray the intense romantic mood requested the strings should be more sweeping and lyrical. To be more authentic the aim should be to create the sound of the individual musicians playing in a believable acoustic space - this will take (at minimum); high quality, realistic orchestral samples; authentic, humanized performances with realistic articulation; a mix that positions the orchestra sections in a realistic three-dimensional performance space.

I am using East West Symphonic Orchestra Platinum Complete Plus
and Symphobia on this track.

It doesn't bother me that it wasn't forwarded because it wasn't sweeping and lyrical... BUT the reviewer is saying the samples are not realistic and not in their acoustic space.
I thought I was using realistic orchestral samples...East West Symphonic Orchestra Platinum Complete Plus and Symphobia.....
I am also using them in their default acoustic space.....
Please have a listen and let me know what the problems are.
If it sounds like fingernails on a blackboard... let me know!
Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings!!!

Thanks!

[HectorRContreras]

Dear Tim,

I really like : "Wonderful Splendor". It is very well conceived, it is original and it is pleasant.

And yes, it does sounds authentic, as if several Musicians were recording the Piece together in a room.

If something is to be said, my suggestion would be concerning the Violins and the manor with which they perform the Staccato.
It is a wee bit too repetitive, a wee bit too much the same all along and too clock like.
In reality, Musicians cannot do this. They naturally add a tone, a flavour, and slight differences at times, even if the Music tells them that the notes are very similar all along.
But precisely, I do not think that a Composer would ask the Violins to keep a constant Staccato all along.

For me, it is that which could make "Wonderful Splendor" not quite authentic.

I tried to find a Music Chamber composition to illustrate this, it was hard to find.

Anyway, there is this one, J S Bach Concerto for two Violins :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJTuVehxoWg

[davewalton]

I don't know about Symphobia but EWQL Platinum is certainly a top-of-the-line orchestral package even though it's several years old. In this case it's not the virtual instrument but how it's being used. I think the staccato thing has been pointed out both to the point of it being too static and repetitious. The melody that's being played, presumably by the violins, it doesn't have any expression to it (it doesn't crescendo and decrescendo like what would happen when a player sweeps the bow back and forth).

There's a link below for you. I did just two measures of your piece only using these two articulations:

VAS Stac RRx8 (Violas stacatto round robin 8 times)
11V Emotn DXF 1 (11 violins (2nd violins) in the ModXld section

Anyway, you'll hear that there's a lot more expression in the melody line which naturally comes from that particular articulation and that the staccato violas aren't so repetitious, somewhat due to the round robin thing in that particular articulation but also from varied velocity as I played/recorded it. I also moved the notes around to match the movement of the melody to give it a little variation.

Personally I think that violin section melody lines are notoriously difficult to get realistic. I almost never have the violins do a melody line in my virtual instrument orchestras. If I ever do, I'll always try to double with something else, french horn, maybe flutes/clarinets or whatever but usually I'll try to move everything else below along with the melody so that in essence, each melody note is accompanied by a different "chord" or variation of a chord if you want to think of it that way.

I think we always have to experiment around with all the various articulations to see which works the best for whatever situation. Also, I find that I have to write to the strength of the orchestral virtual instrument. There's just some things that don't sound right no matter what or that would take a millennium of tweaking where it's just not worth it. Sometimes it gets down to wanting to write something in particular but having to modify in some way to fall in line with the way the virtual instrument articulations work.

Anyway, hope that helps a bit.

Link is here:

http://www.DaveWaltonMusic.com/PrivateA ... xample.mp3

[ttully]

Thanks Hector and Dave for your in depth replies!
I've had alot of success with orchestral stuff that are for
tension and drama...
This is my first try at a more flowing piece.....and of course, I can't get away from using some type of repetetive staccato sound....like in a dramatic piece.

I can hear now how the spiccato is mechanical sounding...
I think I quantized the volume on them.......mistake!!!

Thanks for your links and examples...they are a big help.
I will definetily use all of your suggestions for my subsequent orchestral pieces!

Thanks again,
Tim

[ttully]

It's not the rejection that bothers me....I've probably had thousands of them!

It's that the review says it dosen't meet even the minimums....


Thanks again for all your replys and suggestions,

Tim

[HectorRContreras]

You are most welcome, dear Tim.

And I have also learned from the excellent answer of Dave myself.

Yes, it is nice to experience new Genres and see what works, how it works, and how it can be done and improved, etc.

Although your strength will always be in the Drama Genre. Yes, to express Tension, it must be quite interesting to learn how to do that.

Myself, I am doing fine in the Abstract and Avant-Garde Genre, for instance.
However lately, I enjoyed composing for a TAXI Listing, a big loud Contemporary Dance/Party Piece. It was fun !
http://forums.taxi.com/topic124790.html

And here is an example of a much more Abstract style, the Instrumental is called "I should have imagined SIMPLICITY" :
http://www.taxi.com/E-2013-1844