Sep 28, 2009 07:44 pm Can you make the link complete. I can't get anything to turn up following it now.
Need Feedback
Posted on Sep 28, 2009 06:13 am
Interv
Member Since: Sep 28, 2009
Hello, I'm new to the community - looking forward to learn alot here :) -hopefully
Anyways, I have been working as a hobby on different songs the past year, mostly went really active a few months ago when I realized I prioritized creating music before computer games (Hell yeah! Finally closed that corrupted door)
So anyways! Since you here are most-likely way ahead of me in techniques etc, I would love to hear some feedback on the stuff I have created so far.
You can find the music on www . youtube . com /user/djinterv (had to add DJ in front since Interv was used..by me :D - without access to the account / e-mail etc - I'M NOT A DJ)
I'm trying various different styles in each song I create. I start up without thinking of what it should become, I just let it become whatever it becomes :) So I hope that's little bit special at least.
Hope you enjoy it and that you can provide me with some tips. Since I feel that all my songs become boring / deadclip at the endings... It's like something is missing, but I dunno what.
Looking forward for replys!
Cheers
Interv
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Sep 28, 2009 07:44 pm Can you make the link complete. I can't get anything to turn up following it now.
Sep 28, 2009 08:08 pm Yeah I can't get anything either. Google suggests a djintern but no interv.
Depending on the filesize, you should be able to upload a track or two in your profile here as well. Just sayin'.
I'll try looking up the username on youtube proper, and see if I can look you up that way.
Edit: Nevermind, I think that was my fault. Think I left a space in the link when I copy/pasted. :P
Anyway, my first impressions are that the levels sound good to me, and nothing immediately jumps out at me as out of place in the mixes. You make good use of the sounds/texture, and everything fits with the style of music. Also, while some of the tracks might seem a little repetitive at first, you do change things up and that helps keep the listener's interest.
I know higher compression is used on purpose in this style of music, but some of the songs felt like it was just a -little- much. That's the only real crit I have.
Anyway, sounds good to me :) For the record, I felt that the DnB remake of Milith were especially well done.
Sep 28, 2009 09:39 pm I like it. Good theme and well worked out. I do have issues with the bass. A little too dominant for my taste at times.
"Milith" is a true gem in its genre imho. I really like it a lot. All you need is a good video to go with it and you score a hit in my book. But what's up with the abrupt ending?
I have to agree with J-bot that going a little easier on the compression would improve the listening experience.
Nevertheless, very well done!
Sep 28, 2009 10:16 pm Ah yes, I must have mis-typed it or something. This isn't what I got first couple go rounds. Very interesting sound scape's indeed.I"ll have to give them a little better listen's but on first go round they are very nicely done. I'll be a bit more critical when I listen tomorrow.
Sep 29, 2009 03:05 am Hey again.
Sorry for the link, I tried to paste it fully by URL but then the forums just splitted it up making a huge space in my post without the link. So I ended up with that. The username on youtube is "DjInterv".
But yes, I have to agree on your feedback. My own opinion is that most of the song are somehow "dry". And I'm a huge bass lover, so thats why you hear alot of it dominating the sound :)
In all the songs, I kind of get this creative rush at start, just going nuts seeing how things can work together. And then something always happens, I loose creativity and I just cant find a mid plane / ending. This results in the buildup of just adding sounds for it to not sound boring. :S
I'm really new into this creating music stuff, so if you have any suggestions on what to think in theory before starting a song.
I know that you need to think of a Intro, mid break and then ending.
Another thing I have thought of alot is vocals. They add so much to the song. But I'm unable to find any free vocals on the internet - just 1 which is already mixed to death and aint really that good.
Nightcap: Yes, Milith was my first song actually that I created. It was truly hit for me aswell. I had to rebuild it 3 times from scratch for it to sound normal.
J-Bot: The DNB remake of Milith, I put alot of time and energy on. But now, few months later, I see alot of fail in it unfortanly. For example, the high hats at start, way to sharp for the ears and to be played in such silent. They even sound to electronical in my opinion.
Unfortanly, I had a computer virus a while ago, so all my original build-up files are gone, meaning I can do no changes to Milith, milith dnb and klofh. But the rest are open for business.
(I'm sorry, I just can't stop going on)
What I made at start, was putting a lot of time into finding good sounds and making them cooperate in a fashion manner, with the first songs. As you might hear on Autumn for example, I instead put alot of time into effects and rebuilding the sounds making them very original.
I'm right now just experimenting what kind of style I'm going to go for full time. As from what I have seen so far from feedback from different places is that I do a great job on the chillout section and apparently pretty average on DNB. But the rest is pure fail in my opinion. I would really love to make music that makes people move, instead of relaxed. Would love to be one day at a club, and tell my friend "hey guys, you know I made this song?" and see people going nuts on the song... And dreams are targets right? ;)
But if I cant find a proper mind-theory on how to do these kinds of music, I will probably have to stick to chillout / trance.
Looking forward for Noize2u critics :)
Edit: Oh yeah, one more thing. Please don't mention the overdist on Autumn on the bass in the middle of the song :P
I dont know why and how it happened, as MP3 it was flawless.
Sep 29, 2009 04:25 am Sorry to hear that you lost the original project files. That's a bummer, and I've been there done that, got the t-shirt, screwed-er um anyway, yeah, it sucks.
A great EQ guide can be found here:
www.independentrecording....ain_display.htm
It's been tossed around a few times in various threads here in HRC hehe. Knowing where certain sounds lay within the frequencies is helpful for taming certain areas, and carving out places in the mix for the different sounds to breathe without having things get cluttered or muddy.
Youtube probably isn't really the best means of playing back/showing off your tracks. Something in the way they stream the music or something else going on in their end I think. It's like something gets lost in the translation, or they recompress the mp3 to their standards or something.
Honestly, a great place to host your music would be something like the sixtyone. www.thesixtyone.com
It's a nice site, and there are a ton of indie artists hosting their works there. The site also supports the creative commons licensing act. and that's a plus in my book.
Now, on the theory end of things, I tend to have the same problems sometimes. I'm notorious for starting a track, taking the idea and running with it, and having no thought to the form or structure of the tune itself. Sometimes I also have a tendency to have the same dynamic throughout, and it just becomes a same-ish boring mess. I'm trying to improve myself in those regards to become a better composer overall, and I like to think I've made some progress.
A good example of what I'm talking about:
Listen to this one here:
www.thesixtyone.com/jbot/...py+Area)/47495/
I wasn't 100% happy with it, posted it on a WIP forum over at OverclockedRemix, got some great feedback, and thought about how I could restructure it to make things more interesting. Also I felt the tonal structure, and hybrid sound I was going for didn't quite work.
I ended up birthing this one next:
www.thesixtyone.com/jbot/...py+Area)/62613/
I decided to go pure-electronic, and came up with some ideas to better break up the structure and bring a more organic and cohesive feel to the whole thing. I'm MUCH happier with the newer version.
One thing I learned when I started getting into composition (and I took a class or two as an independent study back in college) was start small, and then try to work your way up. Meaning, think of an idea, or a motif, 4 or 5 notes. They could be in a repeating pattern in the bassline, or a melodic motif.
Now, think about what can be done with those notes. Think about key-change, pitching the notes up or down, increasing or decreasing the length of the notes, filtering or other electronic effects to add interest in places, inverse the pattern, reverse the pattern, or both. There's a lot of different ways an idea can be changed.
If you've got several instruments or synths going, think about dropping a synth, or changing the texture/combination of sounds.
Think about the rhythm you want for those 5 notes. How can the rhythm be messed with, but keep the feel of the whole idea?
Also, to place a limit on how much you let the idea run, try limiting the time of the track to 3 or 4 minutes and figure out how you can develop the idea within that time frame. Maybe add another contrasting thought to the piece to change things up and transition back to the original idea.
Another thought from my instructor, was that you could think of a piece of music as being a conversation. The subject matter can change over the course of the discussion. Other people can enter and leave the discussion, adding their own input into it, and eventually the conversation ends after people have to leave or part ways, or run out of time, etc. It could be a very loud discussion between many people in a large room, say at a convention, with a lot of different things going on at once, or something quieter, more intimate like a chat between lovers.
Beyond that, all I can say is listen to a lot of different types of music. Classical, Jazz, Rock, DnB, techno, electronica, rap, hiphop, etc. etc. etc. The more you listen, the more your pool of thought grows. It's kinda a subconscious thing I think, but it's good for helping to generate fresh ideas.
Hope that helps a bit!
Edit: Whew, this was a longer post than I thought hehe. You know, I've got some old CDs from when I took an education technology course (we had to build a webquest, and mine was for music composition) I should dig those up and post my "webquest" in tutorial form for beginner composers, and flavor it with my more recent experiences. It'd be a good starter guide for my site at least. Hrmmmm.
Sep 29, 2009 09:55 pm Wow J-bot, you didn't leave anything out, did ya? LOL
Interv, don't be too discouraged about the fact that creative ideas sometimes seem to vanish after the initial idea. Happens to most of us I guess and it surely happens to me. I just save what I have so far and go back whenever I feel like it. It can take months before I work on it again.
Like J-bot said, the only way of getting to know all kind of musical styles is listening to them. Not only will it expand your ideas, it will also raise your awareness of how music basically works the same in all genres.
Sep 29, 2009 10:44 pm Interv, I am running short of time tonight but will be giving them a listen again for sure. More then likely tomorrow evening after running some errands.
Nov 06, 2009 03:23 am Hey all again.
I've just released another song, please give feedback on it also :)
Thanks in advance!
Nov 06, 2009 11:06 am Nicely done indeed. I think this is my favorite so far from what I have listened to.
I can't find anything to really critique in this one. The mix seems pretty well done and the arrangement is well put together and flo's nicely along.
Nov 06, 2009 03:52 pm You listen to much Ulrich Schnauss, Interv? You would probably dig "A Strangely Isolated Place" cd. Blumenthal is a great track from that one.
Sounds good!
Nov 06, 2009 04:22 pm Just gave it a quick listen here too. The mix really sounds great. Really well done, and pretty balanced from what I can hear. Great use of sounds, and they fit together very nicely indeed. I think the arrangement is put together pretty well, and you have enough changes and things happening that it doesn't get old or stale.
So yeah, great job on this one man. Definitely think this is your best yet.
Nov 09, 2009 05:40 am Thanks for the positive feedback :) Its good that its getting better and better ;)
Quincysan: Thanks for that link! I got the chills on that - really!
I don't know what it's called in English, but the straight translation from my language would be "I got chicken skin" from listning to that song :)))
Though didn't have the pleasure of hearing it in good quality - but that artist really seems someone worth looking into!
I'm going to start another chillout song.. getting the feeling that is what I'm best at and have the feeling for. Though I would really wanna do faster bpm music, for clubs etc... but ahwell. If it's not ment to be, it's not. No point in avoiding the enevedable :)
Nov 16, 2009 05:17 am Gave a listen to Dasha. Haven't had a chance to check out your other material on Youtube yet...
What I hear is something that would benefit immensely from a good vocal performance. I'd say female, but that's all in whether or not you know a good female singer. If not, find someone who can project without sounding like Ronnie James Dio and see how it fits.
It has a very uplifting, inspirational sound to it. Maybe something that David Sylvian would sing over or something of the like.
Just a thought. Musically, it's solid, but I think outside of a club environment, it's going to need something more going on over the top of it to be an engaging composition.
Nov 17, 2009 11:42 am Hello Runicen, thanks for your reply.
Yes I have considered this already since my second song. I feel the emptyness also.
But it's kind of hard for me to find someone... Anyone have a singer in their backpocket? :D
Another issue is a microphone without background buzz :|
Nov 17, 2009 02:14 pm Hah! I never knew what those lyrics meant. "I have chicken skin..." That's some strange symbolism.
Ulrich's A Strangely Isolated Place has the same effect on me, he seems to create so much anticipation in the verse...then the chorus is always so satisfying. Very emotional listening experience in my opinion.
Nov 23, 2009 03:47 am Hey all again.
I'm this time, actually giving a preview of my next song.
It's a D'n'B song .. kind of .. But it feels like it gets to dry.
Anyone have any ideas on how to make it more alive?
I'm so far very proud of it, spent alot of time on it already as it is (more than other songs).
You can find it here as MP3:
www.zshare.net/audio/68871366e1ba21b8/
Nov 23, 2009 05:58 pm I'm gonna give it a better listen later. But I liked the tune so far. I do agree its kinda D n B like, but not to much like it. It is still in a mainstream electronic type feel with some classical bits to it.
I'll ask what exactly you mean by gets to dry though. I'm not really hearing what you are getting at.
Nov 24, 2009 02:49 am Well, it does not feel alive. I mean its all great until 2:35. Then it gets boring. Or is this just me? :|
Nov 24, 2009 09:56 am Ah i see, so you mean more along the lines of the composition. Hmm. I actually felt exactly the same way, by about half way through i'd already heard every major theme and beat you'd played except for maybe a few small "fills" in the song.
I could be biased here though, because thanks to you i was expecting it to get boring after 2:35 ;)
Well, i'm not much into the more upbeat electronic music (though call me gay, i must admit my chick friends got me quite into "owl city" :\ his music is sickeningly sweet but i liked it quite a bit). So anyway, don't take my advice too seriously. For electronic music, especially anything instrumental, i'm more into artists like Nine Inch Nails, which is far darker and therefore his structure is going to be different than any structure you'd be going for.
Anyway, as background music, this piece is basically done i'd say. It wouldn't get boring as is, it'd just need edited to whatever video was going along to it.
As its own piece however. Hmm. I liked how at about 1:40 you started repeating the main theme. Then went to something different we hadn't heard yet, then the main theme on top again. (i'm listening to it a third time as i'm writing this lol).
But after that we'd already heard everything new, now it was just variation. and 2 minutes of it. A simple solution would be to just make the piece end about a minute or two sooner? I would also suggest introducing a major change into the music, like a sort of a bridge. But i'm not sure how you could do this, you've already shown us quite a bit of dynamic in the song. Any of the typical techniques used to introduce change would only be repeats of what we had already heard.
So, just a thought. If you still wanted the piece to be longer and felt it gets boring. Maybe in the earlier section changes don't introduce quite so much dynamic, pick one major change in the music (like around 1:05 or 2:05), and figure something else to do there. Then introduce either that entire section to us here, or just that major change (like the drum beat becoming the focus of the music).
Hmm. i didn't write that too clearly. Ah well, is what it is. That'd be my suggestions to try out and see if they work. Though, like i said, i'm not too familiar with this style of music.
Nov 24, 2009 05:20 pm While Fragile makes very valid points I'll admit it really only needs that one extra element of change to break up the area that you are stating it gets cold or lifeless. A bridge or breakdown of some type would breath a bit of life into that space so you can bring the listener back into the electronic bit of the piece again without it sounding repetitive.
The slow intro works very well, but i would as well suggest maybe an extra instrument added behind the main theme to add a little change around midway through that portion. This would work pretty well in a dance club setting but the mood would need to keep changing a bit quicker then it does for the most part.
Otherwise, I dug it and didn't really get distracted until the very late part of the piece.
Dec 09, 2009 03:56 am Fragile: Thank you so much, been a great input.
I've worked with this project now like a maniac. And its done!
Had greater plans for it than it eventually resulted in, but whatever, I'm happy with it.
Reworked the whole beat, added some more stuff at the ending, more up and downs to keep it alive, splitted up beat into more categories, and also recovered the intro piece in a fashion way at the end :)
hope you like it like I do :)
And off for the next project! :)))
Quincysan: Heard Ulrich Schnauss - Blumenthal? Awesome work by him on the mastering part. I'm so impressed by the componsition that I almost cry! :D
He makes a main melody, out of background. You can feel it but not really hear it. It's awesome!
Its like, 2 tones, then lowering that sound into background, and letting the strings take over with bass making you almost hear the melody... awesome. Littlebit offtopic.
Dec 09, 2009 11:26 am Quick reply here (I'm on my iPod)
gave it a quick listen here waiting for the airport shuttle
(about to fly to vienna)
it sounds like a good improvement with the arrangement and it has more going for it now.
I'll give it a better evaluation after we get back on the 24 th
(we're on a 2week honeymoon =] )
you get better with every post that's for sure.
Ciao!
Dec 10, 2009 03:49 am Sorry everyone, I actually re-released it twice after the above link.
This because I found more errors in the song, so I repaired it twice.
Here is the final version:
Dec 15, 2009 12:46 pm Okay! Since no one has replied since my last post, time has gone by so much that I actually finished another one.
Got somekind of rush, took only 5days :) (Loved it so much I could not stop working on it)
I really enjoy it and I hope I'll get positive feedback from you :)
(Don't forget you have now 2 songs to give me feedback on)
Dec 19, 2009 04:09 pm I'd say both pieces are pretty well done. They would work very well behind a video of some kind for sure. The mixes on both sound great as well. Nice definition to each instrument and nothing is getting lost in the mix.
Dec 30, 2009 03:07 am Hey all again.
Noize2u: Thanks.
Now I have done another project, damn they have started popping in.
Anyways, I built this one into a never ending builtup strategy. That makes it never sound boring atleast.. was the plan. Let me know what you think.
I got both bad and good critics on this one already. Some felt it was annoying with the never ending buildup and others loved it (Guess that has to do with taste)
But I mostly wonder is the mastering. Someone with a good ear please comment on that part.
And did I succeed on the "all out" moments ?
Eager for response,
Interv
Dec 30, 2009 01:56 pm What do you use to sequence your MIDI? MIDI sequencing is definitely my weakest area in recording...sounds like you've got a pretty good grasp of it.
Noize if you happen to read this...don't you use some built in MIDI sequencing in Cakewalk? I don't know if the MIDI sequencing in Pro Tools is inadequate or if I just need to buckle down and practice. It's pretty straightforward...a big time grid with MIDI steps that you can click/drag to enable. Velocity is in a separate window at the bottom of the MIDI editor. Automation is just as easy as regular audio...I think I just need to suck it up and practice. I have two new Soniccouture libraries to encourage me :)
I like all the stuff you're coming out with, Interv. I just bought Glassworks and the Balinese Gamelan from Soniccouture...seems like something you might like. Glassworks especially.
Jan 02, 2010 09:36 am Hey Quincysan.
What do you mean? :)
All I have is 2 synths, one connected with USB to my computer and other one (big) for improvise.
All the sounds are from software really, no hardware used except for recording tones. Glad you like all the stuff I make :)
Its crazy that my last song ticked 300 views today. In only 3days.
The last song, which is like 2-3weeks old, got 280 :P
So its getting better and better.
But I still feel stuck in devolepment :(
Think I need to try something new for the next song :)
Jan 16, 2010 09:41 pm Interv, what Quincy means is what software are you recording you midi or audio with. Such as Sonar, Cubase and so on.
@ Quincy, yep Sonar has the best midi functionality around. And yes, in PT midi is a complete afterthought and not very well laid out. It does work but it isn't built like Sonar's is. Everything is in one place in Sonar and its very intuitive to use even from a beginning view. You can get most stuff done in PT but it just isn't as easily accessible like in other programs with midi built in from the get go.
Interv, I'm not a big fan of commenting on the mastering of an mp3 as it really doesn't do the piece justice in my opinion. But from what I can hear it sounds like this piece is pretty well done and the sonic palette is pretty well covered here. AS for the piece of music itself. I dug it and did not get bored or droned out by it.
Feb 02, 2010 06:23 am I don't know. Feels like I'm loosing the touch :(
And I'm using Fruity Loops :P
May 11, 2010 07:53 am Hey guys.
After 3months break~ I have returned with another project.
Feedback please :)
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