Okay Gecko... "round 3", lol ***new song***

[SEDstar]

PentUpHarmInCminorV4.mp3

my old file hoster quit on me, so I am trying this one out.

Its a 2 minute solo piano piece.

I thought it sounded better than what I normally do on piano, but, thats for the listener to decide, I suppose.

I just thought it had a lot more feeling and nuance than I usually do on piano, plus it doesnt just run thru a basic melody 3 times and spit a chorus at the listener in a formulaic manner.

If anyone can find anything wrong with it, "that would be Gecko", LMAO

(just teasing, Geck... I absolutely *treasure* having a pro critique my stuff.

PS -I resisted "the urge" to dump anythign else on you, until I felt I took it a notch up. (flameproof nomex suit on.. check... Iron chin strap on... check... ok! let 'er rip!)

 

[up-fiddler]

SEDstar - I may be just extraordinarily dumb this morning but I couldn't hear your mp3. (Yes, the volume IS turned up!) Is it posted anywhere else? I will try again later.

 

[gecko zzed]

hi Sedstar,

I went to that site to have a listen, but danged if I could get anything to happen. I notice that up-fiddler experienced silence, but even though I saw the MP3 there, I couldn't make anything happen. Is there a trick?

In the meantime, I have not been reticent about offering criticism of various people's offerings here, and my great obsessive themes have been dynamic and sonic variety.

To put money where my mouth is, I've posted a track on myspace for you to check out. It's called 'Procession', and is a pseudo-classical piece I wrote it many years ago, and programmed using Music-X, which was a midi program for the Commodore Amiga (remember them? That makes it about 20 years ago!)


While it may not be the best composition in the world, and much better orchestral sounds are now available, it does, I hope, demonstrate the sorts of things I've been talking about.

http://www.myspace.com/mikeraine

 

[icystorm]

To put money where my mouth is, I've posted a track on myspace for you to check out. It's called 'Procession', and is a pseudo-classical piece I wrote it many years ago, and programmed using Music-X, which was a midi program for the Commodore Amiga (remember them? That makes it about 20 years ago!)

While it may not be the best composition in the world, and much better orchestral sounds are now available, it does, I hope, demonstrate the sorts of things I've been talking about.

This is the first time I've heard your material, Mike. Good stuff! My favorite of the three tracks was "Pink Boots". It has the slightest hint of Steely Dan.

I remember the Amiga... and the days of Prodigy, Compuserve, BBS, and the excitement of when my dad upgraded from a 300 baud modem to 1200 baud!

Cheers,
Joseph

P.S. Sedstar, I tried your link and it was dead.

 

[SEDstar]

Aw hells bells (which might sound better than me...lol) I went and looked when I posted it... I clicked and saw the file name, figured it was done...

I gotta change file hosters a-GAIN, dammit, LMAO

it WORKS, you just gotta work for it, lol. you'd have to scroll down, and select "free downloader" or "basic downloader" or whatever... then another click on something, THEN you get to actually click the file name and get it.

which is obviously too much work, I'll try to find one thats genius-proofed, hee hee



PS - Gecko... I dont tease you in bad humor...you dont have to post a song better than mine to "convince" me you know what you are talking about. (but I'll go listen anyways, lol)

 

[SEDstar]

after the first 2 songs, I was beginning to think you had spent all your time trying to master the 70's soft rock ballad. Procession I liked, even thru the "19.95 casio keyboard" horn sounds the good composition shined through. Procession somehow reminded me of Moody Blues classical stuff (Days of future passed? right title?)

Anklepants had an odd big band, swing kind of sound. Opening bars somehow reminded me of the "Cantina Band" in the original StarWars movie. Fun, lively tune.

Yah, after the first two I was thinking "sonic dynamics? range? eh? I mean, he's really good at the ballad, but..." then procession took me by surprise, (nods head) you have definite "classical creds". Then anklepants showed some real "range" to cover different genres.

I'm fair impressed.

I HAVE to lay some critique, or you wont respect me, eh? (looks around nervously...) the singer seems to only have a one-octave range... but that wouldnt be the first singer to have a gravelly "adequate" voice, more than capable of putting out a novel hit. Anklepants could have made the charts briefly in the states, back when Buster Poindexter was covering big band tunes "Dont you some around here no more, no more..." and Manhattan Transfer was big.

I'm impressed. Why aren't you assembling "session" musicians and writing material for them? Those 4 songs with a hot singer would make a heck of a demo to make you a producer. Classical, big band swing, 70's ballads.... you do cover some ground...

(tips hat in a well practiced foppish fashion...)

 

[gecko zzed]

If anyone can find anything wrong with it, "that would be Gecko", LMAO

Well . . . let's see what I can find.

This is a melodically intricate piece . . . it reminds me of fractals . . . with their patterns that continuously evolve. I'm pleased that you resisted the urge to conform to traditional patterns of verse and chorus, and the consequence is that we get something that moves along in an unpredictable, but musically interesting way.

I note the restraint exercised in its construction and the performance, with the spaces allowing the song and the listener to take a breath. It reminds me of the weather outside here at the moment . . . it is hot and humid, and on the verge of rain. The consequence is that the occasional raindrops are falling, and the notes in your tune are like these scattered drops, blown around by the gusty wind.

I've commented on your material before, referring in particular to the way the piano sounds, and it has always bothered me . . .and, I'm sad to say, still does.

I'll restate why, because this piece has the same characteristics.

Every piano note appears to have the same weight as every other piano note, i.e. there is no contrast within the piano playing itself.

What would help enormously in bringing out the nuances in this piece are those weight variations, and the use of a piano sustain pedal.

I'm not sure what application you use to construct these pieces, and I get the feeling that maybe the application is not letting this happen. Somewhere else I mentioned the Amiga, and that brings back a memory of using a basic notation program called Sonix. It was okay . . . you could enter notes . . . but you could not change their velocity, and every note came out the same volume.

You know what . . . I would love to get my hands on a midi of this piece and have a play around with it!

Thanks for listening and commenting on my material. You nicely threw my own words back at me . . . "sonic dynamics" . . .and I concede that the first two songs are fairly restrained. It's a case of do as I say, not as I do. As it happens, both those tracks 'needed' to be that way for particular reasons, and are maybe not good examples.