[rock] Stoneside ( MP3 / IT )

[migileke]

First of all, thanks a lot for MODPlug, it's wonderful!

I've now finished my third song with MODPlug. The first 2 aren't worth posting I think. Even this song is probably still very bad, but I felt courageous enough to upload and post it :wink: . I want some advice on what could be better and what I should give more attention the next time I try to assemble samples (you can't call THIS composing, can you :wink:).

download (mp3): http://www.mediafire.com/?1xs1j5ynf1z (1.90 MB)
download (it): http://www.mediafire.com/?6rsbix0qamd (1.38 MB)


Please download and give a small review!

[Saga Musix]

For samples, look here... Have a look at my last post (TMA Waveworld), it's a great collection!

[Sam_Zen]

I can call this a composition, not of a song, but of a structure.

1) and 2) are off-topic here. Such questions belong in the General forum.

[migileke]

Thanks for your replies.

Jojo, thanks for the link. Did you also listen to the song? If so, what did you think of it?

I can call this a composition, not of a song, but of a structure.

Errm, what do you mean with that? That my patterns are too similar too each other? That the song sucks and is not even worth calling a composition? Please be more clear.

I will upload the song in IT format too, just for the sake of getting some comments so I can actually learn something from them... :wink:

Greetings,
Migileke

[Sam_Zen]

Please, take no offense. After all, you triggered this by saying "you can't call THIS composing, can you".
Let me explain about my concept of a composition. It's not only a song. One can compose a sequence and even a sample.
If I listen, I hear a structure, a buildup accompaniment to something that isn't there yet.
So it's not that the song sucks, there's still no song. The only 'solo' sounds outside the structure were two very soft sirenlike things at 2:00.
And you could add some more attention to the panning of the instruments.

[migileke]

Please, take no offense.

The world's so full of misunderstandings! I wasn't offended by what you wrote, no, I was happy to get some comments so I could learn something by posting this... structure :wink: . That's why I said "some comments so I can actually learn something from them", which was indeed a wrong choice of words.

I hope I now understand you correctly. I even checked the definition of a "song", which it is indeed not as a song is per definition "sung". In my... piece of music, there's no melody, no main line that tells the story throughout the 'song'. I thought that a repeat of the thing I would have called the 4-second-long melody with only a slight variation near the end was enough for this kind of music.

Just for your opinion, do you think that Hellmarch 2 by Frank Klepacki is a 'song'? (I can't really think of another of it's kind right now) Does music have to be a real song or can music also be "good" and "nice to listen to" without being an actual song?

About the panning, I rather leave that untouched because I often listen to mp3 players with a friend, me one ear, he the other. If there's too much panning effects, it's not nice to listen to unless you can convert it to mono. But in my attempts, I will pay more attention to panning too.

Sorry for the anoying questions, but I know that my opinion about music (certainly about my own), is sometimes very different of the world's general opinion. For example, I never liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers and all others in the same style, and the songs of them I like are generally called their "bad" songs.

[Sam_Zen]

In my... piece of music, there's no melody, no main line that tells the story throughout the 'song'.

Of course 'song' shouldn't be interpreted so, that some vocals have to be added. It's one of those general expressions for a finished composition, like 'track' or 'piece'.
And if you deliberately decide not to add any melodics or solos, it's fine by me.

Does music have to be a real song or can music also be "good" and "nice to listen to" without being an actual song?

More. One should have the freedom of making a piece which is 'not nice to listen to', but e.g. nerve-racking.
Sure. It doesn't even has to be music. One can make a landscape, or a virtual fireworks.

If there's too much panning effects

I don't consider panning an effect. It's not about things moving around. It's a basic element of a production in stereo.
Giving every instrument its own position in the L-R panorama.

Sorry for the annoying questions

Not a matter of annoying. Questions are ok. It's just a matter of being in the right place, and one at the time.
This is the download forum, and certainly nr 2) has nothing to do with music, but is a technical one about your keyboard.
As far as samples are concerned, I've posted a small collection in this download section.

[bvanoudtshoorn]

With panning, you don't have to stick everything hard left or hard right. In fact, most of the time this is exactly what you don't want to do (except maybe for effect, in which case it be very cool! =P) But it's much worse to have a track in mono. You have two ears: use them both! Because everything's not only left or only right, you should still be able to listen to it with just one ear (although, of course, it'd sound better with two...)

There are a few general rules about panning, though, that it's normally a good idea to follow. (Feel free to correct me about these, anyone; they're just the ones I tend to use.)
[list=1]

• Try to keep your bass (and kick) near the centre (if not dead centre), especially for dance and pop tracks. Having it off to the side for the entire track can get very annoying very quickly.
  
• Try to imagine an ensemble playing your piece, with you (the listener/conductor) standing in front of them, and pan the instruments so that they sound like they're coming from where you imagine them to be. (That was a bit convoluted - sorry!) This works really well for orchestral and pop tracks, where you're working with "real" instruments. It's a little bit more abstract for synthy tracks.
  
• Don't go overboard with crazy panning! Most of the time, if you put an instrument at a certain position in the panorama, keep it there. Don't have it jumping around from ear to ear. Of course, you can use this for special effects... If you really want bouncing stuff, maybe try using a delay plug with "ping pong", but keep the initial note in the same place.
  
• Try to ensure that each instrument has some presence in both ears (except for effect). Often, you can do this really easily by using a reverb plug (which you'll probably use, anyway).
  [/list:o]
  
  A really easy way to add some "space" to your tracks sound is to fiddle with the panning of notes in your pads (for pop and synth tracks). If you decide to centre your pad around, say, a panning of 48 (in the 0..64 range), and you've got a simple three-note chord for your pad, try setting the first note to 44, the second to 48, and the third to 52. It's subtle, but it helps to spread the sound. But again, don't go overboard.
  
  If you can get hold of some professional (stereo or better) samples, especially orchestral ones, you'll often find that you don't need to play with the panning all that much, because they'll have been recorded in a (reduced) "orchestral setup". That is to say, they'll generally be recorded as if they were in an orchestra, but the orchestra only took up an eighth of the space: everything's more central.
  
  Moderators: I know this is probably the wrong forum for this post... Feel free to move it. =)

[Sam_Zen]

No need to move it I think. migileke asks for some advice to improve things, so you did, about the panning. Nice work.

[migileke]

Well, thanks everyone!

I'll certainly keep those panning techniques in mind when composing my first real song.  

Greetings,
Migileke