Thanks to 396 but a slight rebuttal - other opinions welcome

[justbobcross]

First, I really do appreciate the time reviewers give to explaining returns, especially when they point out weaknesses and strengths. The parts of my piece Waitin At The Syncopation Station were heard by the reviewer to be "out of sync" with each other. Specifically the piano part with the other instruments. I don't hear this. As you might expect, the rhythm is very syncopated but it was kept loose on purpose. I'd appreciate others reactions. I guess I'll just have to plead artistic license on this one, or maybe the old software developer rejoinder that it's not a bug, its a feature. . Here's the link.
Https://soundcloud.com/bob-cross-1/wait ... on-station

Thanks.

[DavidSJH]

Great song. I do hear the syncopation you mentioned.

Perhaps the reviewer just wanted it a bit tighter than the loose feel you currently have.

D.

[cassmcentee]

Hey Bob, can you include the listing?
A good tune doesn't always justify a forward!
Needs to meet the listing criteria first and foremost.
Without the listing, all I can say is...
It's a very nice piece!
Well Done!
Cass

[justbobcross]

Thanks Cass. I should have posted the listing earlier. The reviewer didn't seem to have a problem with the appropriateness of the piece, it was the "out of sync" that was the issue.

U160419DC

CUTE, QUIRKY DRAMEDY-Style INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Library with global distribution and a long history of awesome Film and TV placements. They’re looking for playful Instrumental Cues in All-Tempos that you’d expect to hear in fun and lighthearted scenes in shows like (but not limited to): The Little Couple, Long Island Medium, My Cat From Hell, etc., etc., etc. Please take a listen to the following examples to get in the general stylistic ballpark of what they need: “Will Dives In” The Little Couple (0:27 to 0:55): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSnuEbcaOY0 “Car Before License” Long Island Medium (0:08 to 0:50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNTz6ONRZJM “Meet Baxter, a Cat with OCD” My Cat From Hell (0:44 to 1:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqxnwFvPodE Please submit bouncy, fun, and lively Instrumental Cues that could work really well for hilarious or silly scenes in TV shows. Instrumentation like pizzicato strings, clarinet, glockenspiel, tympani, oboe, xylophone, or various percussion elements could work nicely for this pitch. But don’t limit yourself! Get creative, but not too over the top! Many music libraries have a lot of Dramedy-style cues, so give them some fresh, new, competitive material, and they’ll love you for it! Craft your Cues around a compelling melodic idea, while adding and subtracting instrumentation as your Cue progresses to add dynamics and forward momentum.

[garywhite]

Hi Bob,

It's a cool piece - great for a quirky scene or a 'mock-up' silent movie type thing.

I get that you are going for 'a bit loose', but to my ears, the bass part (pizzicato) gets a bit ahead of everything else in places - especially from 0.30 to 1.00. It seems to settle back in the groove after that... maybe that's what the screener is hearing, and it distracted by that rather than hearing the piece..?

Gary

[andygabrys]

That's a really cool piece as far as textures and sounds.

Couple things I feel (an opinion - take with salt if needed):

I agree that its a bit rhythmically loose - so the question is when you are multi-tracking something by yourself "is this the kind of loose that an ensemble would do in a live recording?" or, "is the kind of loose that sounds out of time?". I think you would agree we shoot for the former, but often end up with the latter. As these kind of pieces are minimal - something has to keep a steady pulse. Is that the bass? the piano? both? Something has to be the reference by which you hear all the other parts in relation. I hear the piano part and the bass part roaming around with respect to the pulse.

Second thought - this is TV music, and if its way more complex than the star of the show (dialogue) then its either going to be pulled way down in level so it doesn't compete, or it will be passed over if there is something more straight forward in the editors available music, and so its possible that its a little rhythmically complex as well as being slightly out of time. How many parts can you keep track of at the same time? One, two?, Three maybe, especially if one of those is percussion. Beyond that?

If it were me, I would thin out the parts a little, concentrate more on doubles and octaves of existing melodies and parts rather than adding new parts to keep it developing, and tighten things up a lot rhythmically. Then keep it on the shelf for a similar opportunity or to pitch to a publisher if you already have connections (or will get them).

[Len911]

The bass is not used in it's traditional role.

Avant-garde.

And traditionally, avant-garde isn't always readily acceptable.

[justbobcross]

Thanks to all for their comments and suggestions. Great to have many ears available.