Am I sombre enough?

[tpwmusic]

I thought I'd have a crack at this listing:

Lots of SOMBER PIANO & STRINGS INSTRUMENTALS and/or INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by an International Music Library with lots of great placements in Film and TV.

This Library is on the lookout for somber Instrumentals (and/or Cues) that could be heard on a playlist with the following examples:

A Lie to Die For (from 1:15 - 1:38) https://youtu.be/9NIzl2PJp9w?t=75

A Lie to Die For (from 0:20 - 0:50) https://youtu.be/rZjS-e16nts?t=20

A Lie to Die For (from 5:19 - 6:26) https://youtu.be/l4sfc9zT_iU?t=319

"Undertow" by Scott Buckley https://youtu.be/mGpFFxNOiII

"Immortal, Universal" by Alex Baranowski https://youtu.be/XMGkgyazAvU

Quoting the Library: "I need quite a few cues that just use piano and strings that have a very serious and sad tone. The strings will be what I am listening out for – to make sure they sound as believable as possible."

Please submit well-composed Somber Instrumentals (and/or Cues) that feature Strings and Piano as their primary instrumentation and could work well for serious and/or sad scenes in a crime docuseries like Snapped or A Lie to Die For. Your submissions should have mournful motifs that capture a somber and sorrowful sound and feel, and have captivating instrumentation in the general wheelhouse of the references. Engaging arrangements with plenty of dynamics, forward motion, and interest are needed, as well. Please be sure your production is polished and any virtual sounds or samples you use are high-quality and very realistic sounding – nothing dated-sounding, overly MIDI-driven, or stiff will do!

Your submissions should be roughly 90 Seconds (give or take) long for Cues, and about 2 to 4 minutes long for Instrumentals, give or take. Non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings will work best. Do NOT copy the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use it only as a general guide for tempo, texture, tone, and overall vibe. Do not submit any material with unauthorized samples of other artists’ Songs, sounds, or any other form of media. Broadcast Quality is needed.

Here's my track: https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... f-solitude

Am I in the right ball park?

Cheers,
Glenn

[superblonde]

it sounds somber enough from my perspective but i hear a conflict in musicality (maybe fixable with change of form) and production (velocity sounds too midi). i would describe this track as having the form " long through-composed A, short A' " although it could also be heard as " A, very similar B (starts 00:33), A' " . basically the first 2/3 of the track sounds meandering (as unresolving through-composed works do) and the harmonies in the B sound awkward. so i would say the track's weakness is that B section and could be improved by rewriting the music in that section to be different, rather than the odd reharmonization of the prior A. but that is just my perspective.

[tpwmusic]

it sounds somber enough from my perspective but i hear a conflict in musicality (maybe fixable with change of form) and production (velocity sounds too midi). i would describe this track as having the form " long through-composed A, short A' " although it could also be heard as " A, very similar B (starts 00:33), A' " . basically the first 2/3 of the track sounds meandering (as unresolving through-composed works do) and the harmonies in the B sound awkward. so i would say the track's weakness is that B section and could be improved by rewriting the music in that section to be different, rather than the odd reharmonization of the prior A. but that is just my perspective.

Thank you for this feedback. I too see this as "A, very similar B (starts 00:33), A" - and I intentionally tried to make B just subtly different, whilst at the same time introducing fuller strings. I often get returns which basically say my submissions are overly complex, so thought I was on the right track with this one. Also, I'm wondering if the reason my velocity sounds too midi is due to compression. I'll have a look at the that and tweak. I will also look at making B somewhat more different to A.

Thanks,
Glenn

[cosmicdolphin]

The " A Lie To Die For " tracks are blocked here so probably only those in teh US can listen.

I listened to the other tracks and the thing that stood out to me is your piano sound is kinda plain / trad and not really modern souding like the refs. I think you need get the right sound which will help with the mood , lowering the velocities might help as mentioned , some piano libraries you may have to go down to 20/30 on your velocities to get the right tone for this type of thing ...softly played pianos turned up louder basically. You might want to see if you've got a felt piano instead so it sounds more damped and intimate. As far as the music goes I think you're in the right ballpark.

Mark

[tpwmusic]

The " A Lie To Die For " tracks are blocked here so probably only those in teh US can listen.

I listened to the other tracks and the thing that stood out to me is your piano sound is kinda plain / trad and not really modern souding like the refs. I think you need get the right sound which will help with the mood , lowering the velocities might help as mentioned , some piano libraries you may have to go down to 20/30 on your velocities to get the right tone for this type of thing ...softly played pianos turned up louder basically. You might want to see if you've got a felt piano instead so it sounds more damped and intimate. As far as the music goes I think you're in the right ballpark.

Mark

Thanks Mark. "A Lie To Die For" wouldn't play for me either, probably not licensed for UK perhaps. I will revisit my piano sound and experiment with velocities.

Cheers,
Glenn

[tpwmusic]

I created an alternative version using a different piano sound.

https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... ude_piano2

What do you guys think of this?

[cosmicdolphin]

I created an alternative version using a different piano sound.

https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... ude_piano2

What do you guys think of this?

Defintley better although I think you could go even further in a sound degisn / prepared piano type vibe and come up with a sound that's a bit more out there.

I kinda feel the same way about the strings, they sounds very traditional - I don't know it you have of these more trextural type libraries where it's string based but then processed in interesting ways. I think something along those lines would made it sound more contempory like the the ref tracks and less like traditional piano/strings of old.

[tpwmusic]

I created an alternative version using a different piano sound.

https://www.taxi.com/members/k42FZOv_Sp ... ude_piano2

What do you guys think of this?

Defintley better although I think you could go even further in a sound degisn / prepared piano type vibe and come up with a sound that's a bit more out there.

I kinda feel the same way about the strings, they sounds very traditional - I don't know it you have of these more trextural type libraries where it's string based but then processed in interesting ways. I think something along those lines would made it sound more contempory like the the ref tracks and less like traditional piano/strings of old.

Thanks Mark. The brief says strings to sound "as believable as possible" and any virtual sounds to be "very realistic sounding". I did hear the strings in the references, the Scott Buckley track in particular uses synth strings/pads. I reckon if I go all out with the hybrid strings & pads, plus getting all creative on the piano sound, I'll get a return saying the sounds I used aren't realistic enough