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Hi - I'm working on a "dispatch challenge" for this listing:Upbeat CAROUSEL/CALLIOPE MUSIC INSTRUMENTALS are needed by the President of a Los Angeles-based Publishing Co. Think music from a circus or carnival; from a horse carousel ride; and from 1950s/1960s children's TV shows (e.g. the Howdy Doody Show theme). That's the general vibe they're seeking. While they want tracks that relate to/represent the innocence of children, they also want these tracks to appeal to adults. Your instrumentals must be at least 1:30 in length. I'd love to get your feedback on what I've produced. Since Broadjam doesn't seem to be working, I posted it on Soundclick:hi fihttp://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player ... hi&ref=2lo fihttp://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player ... ef=2Thanks!!!

Ok, that song made me dizzy. Given the listing, I would say good job! Musically, right on the money. One small thing... some of the sounds seem a little too midi-ish. I'm not quite sure how that would be fixed, especially if these are the only sounds you have to work with. Maybe someone else on the forum could comment on that?For example, I know that with some string sounds, you can make them seem a little less fake with some eq-ing. Perhaps the same thing could apply here.Best of luck!Dave

I'd definately agree with the other guy.Musically you're right on the money and the melody even has a bit more interest to it than the adverage circus ride theme tunes. (I grew up around one of the last remaining steam fairs in the world. Even Michael Jackson tried to buy it).The big down-side is the Midi sounding instruments.The flute sounds....very unflute-like.And the drum sounds are like something from an early Yamaha keyboard.If you can get the parts of the song divided into Midi tracks you could take them to a studio which has (I hate to say it) "high end studio gear" and then choice the instruments for the parts.Or alternatively you could ask some nice folk here if they'd be willing to replace tracks with fresh instrument sounds.In fact you could turn it into a challenge...collaboration...thingy.Ask one person to take one Midi track (ie flute, bass, guitar etc..) and add their own plug in sound and then send you back the wav. track, you could then put them all back into your software editing programme and play about with the overal composition and extra effects, eq's etc... to get a final sound.This idea is totally unethical, but it might just work

Thanks for the feedback. I was going for a sound as close to the calliope as I could get. I listened to several circus/clown/carousel instrumentals and tried to come up with something that was very close to that.Here's a sample:http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop- ... 74-6519312 and here's "Carousel Ride"http://www.soundclick.com/player/single ... q=hi&ref=2

Very good Vikki. I can imagine being at the fairground when listening to it. I would say to add something modern instrumentally to it, to appeal to adults, but that might spoil it.Probably not necessary, because I found it appealing anyway.

I noticed that listing too, but dismissed it because I don't have the skill to create such music. But this is exactly how I'd expect it to sound (though I agree with the input given by others a tad bit on the synthetic side. Overall though, I think they'll have a big possibility of a forward.Here's a suggestion:Record it to analog tape, cut the tape into little pieces and throw them up in the air, then edit them back together in a random order. In that way you can have three for the price of two, (Being the benefit of Mr Kite)

Hi Vicki,I kind of like that it sounds mechanical. Given that a carousel is a mechanical device and the old ones probably used mechanics or piano roll type devices to play the music, I think it could work in the right context. This piece also could be the sound of a 21st century music box.What I think needs to happen is that you need to add something to the repeat of the song. It sounds like the same thing repeated so that the piece would be 1:30 to meet the requirements of the listing. A string counter line playing long notes would be a nice addition to the second time through. Also doubling the melody with bells or something bell-like would add to the childlike character.I'll be posting my take on this listing later this evening.Keep up the good work.Mazz

Quote:Hi Vicki,I kind of like that it sounds mechanical. Given that a carousel is a mechanical device and the old ones probably used mechanics or piano roll type devices to play the music, I think it could work in the right context. This piece also could be the sound of a 21st century music box.What I think needs to happen is that you need to add something to the repeat of the song. It sounds like the same thing repeated so that the piece would be 1:30 to meet the requirements of the listing. A string counter line playing long notes would be a nice addition to the second time through. Also doubling the melody with bells or something bell-like would add to the childlike character.I'll be posting my take on this listing later this evening.Keep up the good work.Mazzthanks for the listen! I appreciate those thoughts... see what I can come up with...

Quote:I'd definately agree with the other guy.Musically you're right on the money and the melody even has a bit more interest to it than the adverage circus ride theme tunes. (I grew up around one of the last remaining steam fairs in the world. Even Michael Jackson tried to buy it).The big down-side is the Midi sounding instruments.The flute sounds....very unflute-like.And the drum sounds are like something from an early Yamaha keyboard.If you can get the parts of the song divided into Midi tracks you could take them to a studio which has (I hate to say it) "high end studio gear" and then choice the instruments for the parts.Or alternatively you could ask some nice folk here if they'd be willing to replace tracks with fresh instrument sounds.In fact you could turn it into a challenge...collaboration...thingy.Ask one person to take one Midi track (ie flute, bass, guitar etc..) and add their own plug in sound and then send you back the wav. track, you could then put them all back into your software editing programme and play about with the overal composition and extra effects, eq's etc... to get a final sound.This idea is totally unethical, but it might just work Thanks for those thoughts. Drums? There are no drums in this piece. I deliberately choose sounds that are like the carousel sounds from my library of instrumental sounds. I'll try for more realism...V

Quote:Thanks for those thoughts. Drums? There are no drums in this piece. I deliberately choose sounds that are like the carousel sounds from my library of instrumental sounds. I'll try for more realism...VWhen I say drums I was thinking of the cymbals (which, for me, all fall under the persussion section). Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds to me like there are cymbal crashes.As Mazz pointed out carousels are mechanical but the original ones do actually use pipe organs and small cymbals etc.The pipe organ sound was made with real air passing through real pipes and the pipe sounds in your demo are too synthetic for my ears. You can tell what I mean by listening to the very final note of the song. It just ends with no tail-out.I'm also having trouble hearing any bass notes. Everything is too much in the treble range. I can tell you from my youth spent riding old carousels that the bass pipes are really deep. You can feel them vibrate through you.This is one of the problems with emulation software of pipe instruments. Cheaper software just takes a general note and pitches it up or down without really trying to emulate the property of a bass pipe or treble pipe.Have you ever been to a church with a really big pipe organ?Have you seen the size of those bass pipes. When they vibrate you can feel them in your bones.Likewise for the treble notes. In your demo, when they get very high, they sound like a mid-note being squeezed. They don't have a pleasing treble sound.Just a thought.