Watch your VSTs!

[daveydad]

Kind of a head scratcher on this one. I submitted Gray Skies for the somber piano listing. Screener returned it saying: "These guys are only looking for solo piano instrumentals. No duets with harp." Problem is, this is just solo piano...using Native Instruments' "Una Corda" piano which does have a slightly muted sound that they may have mistaken for a harp. Do you agree with the screener?

https://soundcloud.com/davidhollandsworth/gray-skies

SOMBER, SOLO PIANO INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a well-connected, extremely busy Music Licensing Company for placements in TV, Film, and Commercials. They’re looking for Down-to-Mid-Tempo Instrumentals that could work well in a variety of underscore placements. Please listen to the following references to get yourself in the general wheelhouse of what could work for this pitch: “Into The Dark” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19L9Z11D3K8 “It’s Hard to Say Goodbye” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Am4cHMBKM “Isolation” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVTP0DOL_2Q Please send them Solo Piano Instrumentals that evoke a sad, melancholy mood. A dash of introspection could work as well! Your pieces should be able to underscore somber scenes like funerals, break-ups, and other painful “life moments.” Instrumentals that stick to one cohesive emotion from top to bottom with a gradual build will almost always work best. Please avoid submitting anything that sounds synthetic, obviously quantized, or too compositionally complex. Your piano needs to sound convincingly real, so even if you’re using a great VI, you might consider adding some “air” to it by re-miking it, or adding a touch of room reverb to it so it doesn’t sound like an awesome piano that came out of a box! Keep it simple, sad, and deeply emotional! As a matter of fact, emotion is probably much more important than compositional genius for this pitch. If the music is complex, it could shift attention to your piece and not the scene! Your submissions should be at least 2 minutes in length. Non-Faded/Buttoned endings will work best for this pitch. Do NOT copy the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). This company offers an EXCLUSIVE, 50/50 deal. You’ll get 100% of the Writer’s share, and the Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher’s share. You must own or control 100% of your Master and Copyright. Please do not send material for this pitch that is signed to any other libraries or catalogs. Please submit as many Instrumentals as you’d like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis – Short critiques only. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PDT), on Saturday, October 21st, 2017. TAXI #D171021SI

[annayarbrough]

Haha, I had a curious return on a VI recently too... which had been forwarded before. Head scratcher for sure.

Yeah I mean there's definitely that harp-like tone to this, BUT.... I'm not sure anybody would write a duet where the second instrument completely doubled the lead? I don't think I would have jumped to the harp conclusion

[daveydad]

I emailed the head screener to see what they think....

[ttully]

HI Davey,

Yes I hear exactly what the screener is talking about. at :40 to 1:30...anyway..nice track!

Tim

[markhimley]

hmm very interesting indeed. around 1:19 I can KINDA hear what they mean.. but doesn't sound like a duet to me. But then again, I'm very familiar with this VST as it is one of my favorites. LOVE Una Corda. It allows me to get a similar sound to one of my favorite composers, Olafur Arnalds.

I wonder if maybe whatever headphones they used exaggerated the problem maybe?

[daveydad]

Haven't heard back from head screener... but I will remix this with a different VST and keep it for the future.

[ComposerLDG]

You know, David, I wouldn't take any of the sound as a harp, only because it's a bit too percussive sounding for it. A harp has that gentler plucky sound. What I do notice about the plugin though is that the treble voices sound strikingly different than the bass. The bass definitely sounds like a piano, but the piano melody has a bit of a different ring to it. So in certain spots it almost does sound like a piano being accompanied by a different instrument playing the treble melody.

Ah well....it's a great track, nonetheless. Like you said, swapping a different piano VI solves the problem (for this particular listing, anyway).

[Len911]

What I do notice about the plugin though is that the treble voices sound strikingly different than the bass.

I noticed that also. Then I found a review about the una corda. http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/ ... rda-637908
The damping material is maybe what is giving it a finger-plucked harp sound. And probably if you took a wooden mallet and hit a harp string it might sound like the una corda. You can read the article and come to your own conclusions, but there seem to be many similarities in a harp and the una corda, at least in what might affect the sound like the transients and having one cord, una corda.

[daveydad]

I think the Una Corda might be a little to much out of the box for most piano purposes, especially in the upper range. Live and learn.

[Len911]

I think the Una Corda might be a little to much out of the box for most piano purposes, especially in the upper range. Live and learn.

At least for a solo piano listing where the tone was fairly consistent between the examples. I deleted my original post, because I wondered if I would have even noticed if you hadn't mentioned the harp, una corda. The screener probably noticed because they probably listened to a number of submissions. I will say though, that the composition was right on target with the examples!! Kudos there!