Some of your thoughts

We're putting YOU in the drivers seat!

Moderators: admin, mdc, TAXIstaff

Post Reply
kouly
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas Nevada
Contact:

Some of your thoughts

Post by kouly » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:34 pm

Thanks for stopping by,This is a recent instrumental I have been working on. I wanted to get some thoughts on what genre to put it in. Also whatever else crosses your mind. Constructive input is always welcome. I have my ideas on what needs tweaking but I do not want to put any pre conceived ideas into anyone's mind. It is called Monterey.www.broadjam.com/whitewing

User avatar
hummingbird
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 7189
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:50 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by hummingbird » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:02 pm

Hey Phil, good to hear another piece from you. This is serene with a nice flow to it. Definitely an atmospheric film/tv orchestral instrumental, for sure. It's a little jazzy as well. Very nice work on the guitar. I like the change-up around 3:30/3:45. Just a suggestion, to make this a little calmer, you might think of changing up some of the trumpet with some breathy flute. IMO the trumpet gets a little 'strident' after a bit, and it's not as comfortable feeling as the guitar. good work,cheersHummin'bird
"As we are creative beings, our lives become our works of art." (Julia Cameron)

Shy Singer-Songwriter Blog

Vikki Flawith Music Website

kouly
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas Nevada
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by kouly » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:39 pm

Thanks, I will look into that.

dgolding
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 222
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:04 pm
Gender: Male
Location: SC, USA via UK
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by dgolding » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:29 am

It bounces along nicely, but to my ears the trumpet and guitar are ruining it. The trumpet isn't the greatest sample, and while the guitar has a real nice sound, the playing on both is rather wooden and stifled.I agree that a flute or something a little softer and more expressive would give the song more interest. That, along with a better guitar part, and I think it would be 100% better.
It's a fine line between a thick soup and stew.

kouly
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas Nevada
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by kouly » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:06 pm

Hey D Tell me what you really think No I am glad you responded. For a future reference could you recommend a good trumpet sample? I am always looking to improve my sound. I will have to work on the playing myself unless you can recommend something for wooden and stifled musicians

dgolding
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 222
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:04 pm
Gender: Male
Location: SC, USA via UK
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by dgolding » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:36 am

LOL - sorry mate, I really didn't mean to sound quite so blunt. It's that demon control freak in me. We've just moved, so everything is still in boxes right now, but as soon as I get back to some kind of normality, I'll be happy to dig out a sample or two for u to try.
It's a fine line between a thick soup and stew.

User avatar
mazz
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 8411
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:51 am
Gender: Male
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by mazz » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:44 am

Hi,Nice atmosphere you created with your piece. I like the direction you are headed with this piece. My suggestions are, of course, my opinion and some ideas I'd throw out if I was producing you.The vibe reminds me of some of the Jean Michel Jarre stuff from the 70s (Oxygene). That's good company to be in.I agree the trumpet sample is not good. It may be worth exploring going more to the synth side of things for your melody adding a bit of modulation to give the notes some expressiveness and movement. The melody is also a bit wandery and could use some editing. The problem with using even really good samples in a very exposed setting such as this is that, unless (and even if) you edit the crap out of your MIDI track, it's usually pretty easy to pick out non-trumpet-like behavior. Also, no trumpet player in the world can hold a note and then play another note as a harmony. If you're going to do that, it needs to be a different sample played on another track.The guitar sound has nice potential and if I were mixing I would take some of the chorus/flange effect off. It sounds a bit like it's strangling some of the dynamics out of the sound. I would also edit down the solo just keeping the best played parts.Your synth material around 3:30 is my favorite part of the piece and I would have liked to hear more of that much earlier. Judicious editing/tightening up of the form would be another suggestion. Leaving more space in the melody would also allow for your background synth parts to speak. Those parts are very nice and it might even be good to do a break down where you feature those and then build it back up.I know it's a lot of information and I hope it doesn't sound harsh because it's not meant that way at all. Keep up the good work.Mazz
Evocative Music For Media

imagine if John Williams and Trent Reznor met at Bernard Hermann's for lunch and Brian Eno was the head chef!
http://www.johnmazzei.com
http://www.taxi.com/johnmazzei

it's not the gear, it's the ear!

kouly
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas Nevada
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by kouly » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:11 am

Thanks Mazz, very helpful!

doctoreternal
Active
Active
Posts: 37
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:51 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Portland, Maine
Contact:

Re: Some of your thoughts

Post by doctoreternal » Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:19 pm

You might look up this site: http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php Lots of good synths that can reproduce a trumpet well. I recommend Synful. It's not a photocopy (sample) of a trumpet, it's a synth recreation. http://www.synful.com/Dr.E

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 40 guests