Too close to the ref? Or too far from it?

[jbucklin]

Trying to find that balance between not getting too far away from the listing/ref or being too close to it. First of all I’ve taken a break from this for the past four or so years and I’ve noticed a change in the response from some of the screeners. They seem a lot tougher now and much harder to please. I've had several tracks forwarded btw but so far no cigar. I was just told that my latest track sounded too quantized and the only thing that was quantized was the drums (EZ Drummer 3). All other tracks are me on guitar and bass and some very subtle synth parts.

Anyway, my biggest struggle in writing tracks for Taxi is trying to get it to sound close enough to the original, but not too close. I was basically told that my track sounded too “karaoke.” And it's an instrumental with the ref being a vocal tune. Which is another problem I’m constantly trying to work out. Anyway, I just needed to vent a little bit. I really just need to hear from somebody about this stuff.

Here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/jason-bucklin-17 ... 8d3c41ac46

At leased I didn't get the dreaded response of it sounding "dated."

[macomposer]

Hi Jason,

I checked out Sugar Pops. Not a bad track at all, but I can hear why it wasn't forwarded.

When you upload your tracks, if you can, always post the listing, at least the title and the references so that we know what it was for...

So, while Sugar Pops is a cute name, but it gives me no clue what this would be for. I initially thought some type of children's pop song listing, but I'm not sure. So try to use a title that gives us some idea of what we are supposed to be feeling.

I don't think that it sounds too quantized. But there is something missing... I think sometimes screeners will point to the closest distinguishable issue and use that. But you have to develop your own super duper critical ear so that when something comes back, you can figure out why it wasn't forwarded. Many times the screeners will say at least one thing that is exactly an issue. But often there can be more than one and they may not point out the additional ones, or in this case, it's something that's harder to describe. (I can't tell you how many times screeners have pointed out a problem with one of my pieces, and I go, sure I hear that, so I fix it. Next time a similar listing comes up, I (re) submit, and it gets returned for something that was there last time, but I didn't realize it was an issue too. )

Now for the big one: (And I'm wanted to respond to you on this because I think it's one of the hardest things to get right when doing instrumental music that more closely mimics songs, or at least it has been for me). It does sound like a backing track, like it's just missing a vocal. And Michael has talked about that many times on Taxi TV. How does one write a instrumental track in song form without it sounding like Karaoke? It doesn't help that (usually) all of the references are songs with vocals. My answer has been to scour the internet for songs that fit the style but are instrumental to begin with. Sometimes I find ones - sometimes I don't. If all else fails, what I do is to try to break it out of the typical song form (verse, chorus, brige, etc.) That's the most typical form that we're used to hearing vocals over, so if I can break that form up and keep the track interesting and designed for television, then it may work. I should add that I have had success doing this.

I wouldn't say that the screeners are tougher, but I would say they are more nuanced. And I think that's a reflection of the industry. With soooo much music out there, I think everyone who's using music in media can be more selective.

Sorry for the essay, but I hope it helps.
Mark

[jbucklin]

Thanks, Mark. Very helpful suggestions. It’s funny, over the years I’ve had several forwarded, never got a contract though. This particular screener has forwarded more of my tracks than any other screeners.

Anyway, here’s the listing:

https://www.taxi.com/listings/D250817MK

The ref was “Sugar” by Maroon 5.

And please tell me how you would approach doing a song like that. And I did kind of scour the Internet, trying to find an instrumental that I could glean some ideas from. I couldn’t find anything though. It was a particularly hard tune to turn into an instrumental. But I would like to see what you think.

[macomposer]

Thanks, Mark. Very helpful suggestions. It’s funny, over the years I’ve had several forwarded, never got a contract though. This particular screener has forwarded more of my tracks than any other screeners.

Anyway, here’s the listing:

https://www.taxi.com/listings/D250817MK

The ref was “Sugar” by Maroon 5.

And please tell me how you would approach doing a song like that. And I did kind of scour the Internet, trying to find an instrumental that I could glean some ideas from. I couldn’t find anything though. It was a particularly hard tune to turn into an instrumental. But I would like to see what you think.

Hey Jason,

No dice - the link just goes to all of the current listings.. and it looks to have been a Dispatch listing, so I don't think those show up anywhere afterwards - not sure.. But I any rate, think I remember a rock (?) listing that had Sugar as a reference, so close enough.

So my #1 source for pop/rock stuff like this is always Booker T (and the MGs if you want to go back). You have to have enough interest in the A section that it doesn't sound like a backing track, but not so much that it could distract from dialogue. Booker's solo albums (particularly Road from Memphis) are helpful for me to just get into the headspace for structured instrumental jams. And If I'm really stuck, I'll listen to the much older MGs stuff - for structure and composition and not contemporary sounds obviously. Following on from that, many of the bands particularly in the 70s sometimes had at least one instrumental per album, or something that just didn't fit the typical song structure, so I'll reach for those. Not really thinking, but Alan Parsons, War, and Led Zeppelin come to mind.

Specifically in this case, I would try starting with the chorus (just skip the verse) and than go in to a B section that is different enough to have a developmental arc. Something Keith LuBrant said a few weeks back on Taxi TV: the most important things are how you begin, how you end, and dips and valleys as he called it.

Finally, if you haven't checked out Dean Krippaehne's books on this stuff, I would. They were very helpful to me as I remember.

All the best,
Mark

[jbucklin]

I tried the link as soon as I pasted it and it actually worked. But then I tried it again and it did what you said. I wanted you to see what the request was. It was for “in-store”
music. I guess that would be like musak, so no voiceovers. It called for lots of “catchy hooks.” All of my tracks that have been returned can hopefully be shopped elsewhere, I hope. I just bought a new Mac, with a new UA Apollo twin X, along with a new UAD 2 Satellite, so this track was my new rig’s “maiden voyage.” I also didn’t have much time to finish it since I started on it too late. I knew it could’ve been developed more, but I was just trying to beat the deadline. Also, I think it was just a particularly challenging tune to find melodies, or “catchy hooks,” for, trying to figure out what instrument to use for the melodic content.