deckard1 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Hello, I just finished this project using Logic X. Any constructive criticism regarding the track in any form is welcome. I guess I would call the track 'electronic movie music' with regards to the genre. The title of the track is: "One for the Birds" Instruments used: U-he DIVA Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 SSD 4 Platinum Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel paterson Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I enjoyed listening to 'One for the Birds'. A few observations which I hope you will find helpful: Consider shortening the sea bird intro & use your sustained bass note (technical term: Pedal Bass) to lead you into the new, percussive section. Writing for synths is not the easy option that some folk imagine. Melodic, harmonic & rhythmic interest can result in 'overlayering', producing an 'everything but the kitchen sink' feel! I think you have the balance just about right. How to end...finish or fade? You went for fade...consider extending the fade by a few more bars & perhaps adding some unexpected 'instrumental sparkle', the occasional note(s) thrown across the mix...magic musical dust. Reintroducing some of the bird sfx from the beginning might be another option. This will also help to give your piece a greater sense of structure (Form). Enjoy your writing, Musically, Nigel Paterson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javamad Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 HI, I really was missing a bass line ... especially when the drums came in. I think it would hold it together more. The drum loops are a bit swamped by the synth pas wash too. Try isolate a frequency on the bass drum and another on the snare and give them a 2-3 db boost with eq. Then route the synth pads to a bus and cut those same frequencies by the same 2-3 db. That should help open up the mix. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Off-the-cuff replies: Start at 0:01 ... don't wait 10 seconds. In these days of short attention spans, consider ruthless editing. "Nothing much happens" until the synthesizers kick in ... by which time your back-button-happy listener may already have lost interest ... and, when the synths do kick in, they spend precious seconds ... before the drums appear with their promise of "something more-interesting is about to happen real soon." (I'm sorry to say this but ...) After just a few more seconds, I'm "scrubbing forward" to see if anything else is happening, and ... "... Within seconds-more, I'm gone." IMHO, the one thing that this composition lacks is: "a melody." "Melody is a compass-bearing in an otherwise-formless sea of 'sound effects.'" S-t-r-i-c-t-l-y I-M-H-O, it is the guiding light that says to the listener: "Stick with me for three minutes: we're going somewhere and I know where we're going." It provides a musical framework upon which everything else is subsequently hung. And so, it provides an all-important setting upon which all "subsequent sonic adventures" are able to take place. I humbly suggest: "Superimpose, upon this sonic gesture, a definite direction." A truly lead part. "Go somewhere, and let everything else follow." (Even if, dancing backwards and smiling all the while, I whisper that you are stepping on my foot.) JM2CW ... JM2CW ... JM2CW ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deckard1 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks for listening and the constructive criticism! Very good suggestions, indeed. Will give the track another go and see what happens. What's so hard for me when listening to my own material is how to be objective...to listen in the third person, if that makes any sense. So, having others listen and offer suggestions sheds new light on everything. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF_Audio Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 If there is one line of...logic...(no pun intended) that has really helped me, it's this. Part of the joy of songwriting, in my opinion, can sometimes be the discovery of acoustic soundscapes. A more objective term would be "noodling." We, as creators, like to just tinker with sonic palettes for hours on end. Often, this propensity for noodling can sometimes come out in our writing. The thing that we forget is that the reason why noodling is fun is because WE are making those sounds. To someone who isn't actively making those sounds, and are just listening...it might be very bland or repetitive. The question that I will ask myself during the writing process is: "Am I trying to say something with this musical statement, or am I filling up space because I think it sounds cool?" Maybe a different way of asking the same question is: "Is this just a cool texture, or a vital, contributing pillar to the intent of the song?" By asking those questions continually through the writing process, it really helps me to stay focused, and it helps me to empathize with the perspective of my listeners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 ... and, to pursue that thought ... "yes, we need creative musical sound-scapes," and as music consumers we look for them, if only to re-remind ourselves that there is a musical world beyond Taylor Swift. But then, we expect that sound-scape to go somewhere. "The thing that leads us" does not have to be a "'pop' melody," but IMHO it should have some recognizable musical form; a structure. Repetition, for example, "to remind us where we've just been." Progression, "to take us someplace new." A dose of 'the familiar,' to balance 'the new.' A piece of string that we can pick up and follow. These quixotic elements guide us comfortably through this strange and exciting new world of sounds, in a way that we have long ago become accustomed to expect. Their presence makes us feel a participant in the experience, but that we are being led all the while by a confident and experienced guide. "What should that 'structure' be?" "I have no idea. You provide it." 8) ... B-u-t: "provide it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ordinary Rabbit Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I like it, lots of neat sounds placed tastefully together. Maybe cymbal crashes after those drum fills, but I only say that because that's what I typically hear, & so I miss it when it isn't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel paterson Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Just want to underline everything that has been posted above. Some of the best, most carefully considered advice I've read in a long time. So, deckard1, I await your next piece with great interest. There is much here for your consideration which can only help to make you a better composer. Get those fingers moving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF_Audio Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I just went back and listened to this again, and I have to say, this would work very well as underscore in TV or film. It would provide movement to a scene, without stomping on dialog. I'm not sure what your vision for this piece was...but it could definitely work, as is, in that context. Also, this would probably work well in a music Library as an ambient/mood track. Worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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