Cinematic piano underscore thoughts

[ballereau]

CINEMATIC PIANO-Based UNDERSCORE INSTRUMENTALS and/or INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a NEW International Music Licensing Company started by highly experienced, successful founders!

TAXI TIP: This is a hot new Library that's BRAND NEW to requesting music through TAXI, so chances are you don’t have any material in their catalog yet! This company is all about "new, fresh music," so this is a great opportunity to get in first and create a new outlet for your music and begin a new relationship with an awesome new company!

Hi all,

Love some feedback


Thanks

Larry

https://soundcloud.com/user-670503092/c ... al_sharing



This Company is searching for Instrumentals and/or Instrumental Cues in the general ballpark of these references:

Theraflu | The Right To Rest & Recover

Trulicity | Night Shift

Prescribed to Death

Please submit well-produced, cinematic Instrumentals (or Cues) that would work well as underscore for various scenes and scenarios. Piano should be the main focus and base of your arrangement, but additional instrumentation like Strings, Pad Synth etc. are fine, as well. Your production and all virtual instruments or samples you use should be high-quality and modern. Sticking with one mood per piece is recommended so that they remain cohesive.

TAXI Tip: We suggest trying to keep your submissions on the simpler side, melodically. Your job is more about establishing a mood rather than winning "Composer of the Year"!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This Company offers an Exclusive deal, and has a strong preference for signing material from songwriters who have worked for libraries and licensing companies in the past and understand how standard deals work. If you don't have that experience and you don't know the drill on typical deals, they politely ask that you don't submit to this request.

All submissions should be at least 1:45 minutes long and no longer than 2:45 minutes, with non-faded, buttoned endings. Do NOT copy the referenced examples in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed.

This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal. You’ll split any upfront sync fees 50/50. They’ll get 100% of the Publisher’s share, and you’ll get 100% of the Writer’s share. You must own or control 100% of your Master and Copyright. Since this is an EXCLUSIVE deal, please be sure the material you submit for this pitch is NOT already signed with any other Libraries or Catalogs. Please submit as many Instrumentals and/or Instrumental 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 (PST) on Thursday, February 24th, 2022. TAXI # S220224CP

[Margaret]

Hey there!

Couple of thoughts listening through this...

Add a tiny bit of silence before the music starts. A beat or two is fine. I didn't hear any pops or anything, but... just a tiny bit.

The strings that come in around 20-something seconds: they sound kind of fake. Part of it might be the patch, but part of it is the sharp cutoff between chords. You should extend each note just slightly past the beginning of the following note, if that makes sense. i.e. the end of one note and the start of the next shouldn't line up perfectly, they should overlap ever so slightly. Right now it gives a very weird, synthetic-y sound to it because real strings don't sound like that when playing.

The piano pedaling is a little sloppy right around the minute mark, and creates (I think unintentionally) a muddy dissonance. More broadly, in the second half of the piece, there are number of times when the chord change in the string seems to lag half a beat behind the piano. As an occasional "suspended" chord it might be okay, but it starts to sound out of sync when it keeps happening.

So that's all the critical stuff. Overall, I think this piece really captures what they are asking for. It's very pretty, but not saccharine. It's not going to compete with dialogue above it, but it still has nice melodic and harmonic development. Musically, the piece is great. It's the production end of stuff that still needs a little polishing.

Best of luck!

[ballereau]

Thanks for the thoughts

Larry

[Paulie]

Very nice music. I couldn't find the references files on YouTube without the direct links, but I wanted to make a comparison.

Good feedback from Margaret, one thing I would suggest is looking at the attack of the string patches. They lag behind the beat, my guess is that you quantized them. Many string patches have a slightly delayed attack transient, so you need to zoom in and drag them backward a certain amount, it's different for each patch. Sometimes it's a 16th note, sometimes its an 8th note. Use your ear and you will hear it.

[ballereau]

Thanks,

I looked over the strings and moved them. I didn't quantize. I just tried to pull them behind but I think went too far.
I think it sounds better now, I did submit to the listing but have not had much success lately so not that hopeful .
Just got a return on a piano/strings cue that said great piano licks but the request only asked for piano and strings.
That was all that was on the track. I followed one of the examples that had the same instrumentation. and the reviewer said:
The issue here is that you've gone beyond the client request for only featuring "Piano and Strings as their only instrumentation."


oh well

Thanks for the thoughts

Best

Larry