KVR Audio

artlowell · Post by **artlowell** » Fri May 17, 2013 2:02 am

I started this in the '80s on a sequencer called Musicshop, dabbled with it in the '90s with Tracktion and finally finished it on Logic.

It's not exactly classical, but not intended to be classical/rock fusion of any sort. I just used sounds that I liked.

Musical critiques welcome. (I already know I suck as a sound engineer).

https://soundcloud.com/artlowell/senor- ... ittle-tone

jakepetsounds · Post by **jakepetsounds** » Fri May 17, 2013 4:17 pm

woah, so this has been in the works for 30+ years?!

artlowell · Post by **artlowell** » Fri May 17, 2013 4:20 pm

jakepetsounds wrote:woah, so this has been in the works for 30+ years?!

That's right. Ridiculous, isn't it? Not sure why I didn't just discard it way back then, but there must have been something about "unfinished business", and I thought there was something there worth building on.

I actually like a lot of the later parts.

jakepetsounds · Post by **jakepetsounds** » Fri May 17, 2013 6:24 pm

no no, i'm so glad you didn't discard it! what an odyssey! i quite like it. especially where it goes around the 2 minute mark. and it's production history only makes me like it more! this track is older than i am! well done, and congratulations on finally finishing it

artlowell · Post by **artlowell** » Fri May 17, 2013 6:35 pm

That makes me laugh. The 2 minute mark is where I directly ripped off Ravel's Bolero. Thanks for the kind words.

jakepetsounds · Post by **jakepetsounds** » Fri May 17, 2013 6:42 pm

THAT'S what it was! no wonder i enjoyed it so much

Shangsean · Post by **Shangsean** » Mon May 20, 2013 2:45 pm

A strange track really. I kept thinking it was going to go certain ways and it never did. It's almost like it's searching for a direction or a melody the latch onto, but it never gets there. It gives it a sort of uneasy feeling, at least for me. It a bit like classical being played by someone under the influence. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's really quite unique. One thing I'd say though is that some parts drop really low in volume. Low enough to make me want to turn it up.

I listened to some of your other stuff too. Also very different.

artlowell · Post by **artlowell** » Tue May 21, 2013 4:06 pm

Shangsean wrote:A strange track really. I kept thinking it was going to go certain ways and it never did. It's almost like it's searching for a direction or a melody the latch onto, but it never gets there. It gives it a sort of uneasy feeling, at least for me. It a bit like classical being played by someone under the influence. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's really quite unique. One thing I'd say though is that some parts drop really low in volume. Low enough to make me want to turn it up.

I listened to some of your other stuff too. Also very different.

I'm glad you brought up that volume thing. I've gotten many complaints about this, and struggled to solve the problem. As with many classical pieces, there is considerable dynamic range within a piece. I have tried a number of re-mixes to flatten out the dynamics in both my pieces, but the character of the quiet parts is destroyed when I do so. For me, some of my quieter parts are as detailed and "interesting" as the louder parts. This music would not be good for listening to as background music or over a car radio, like most popular tunes. You can see just from the waveform that there is little resemblance to pop tunes with flat dynamics.

I would like to know how professional mixers who do classical music handle this problem while simulating a concert-hall experience. Without these answers, I can only ask people to use earphones, or at least earbuds. Just using the computer speakers, 80% of what's there will not be heard.

Also, I'm surprised that you found my music so unique. In my mind, it was all really quite derivative. Most music is. Most of what people do is putting familiar sounds together in different ways in order to create a familiar emotional experience. Especially in tone poems, where listeners are invited to conjure events or visions or concepts with which they can identify. Just like what poetry is intended to do. To tell some kind of a story.

Shangsean · Post by **Shangsean** » Thu May 23, 2013 3:23 pm

The track has some derivative sections, but the way it is put together, the laid back feel and the synthy orchestral sounds give it a odd tone. Maybe it's just me, but the first thing that came to mind when I listened to it was that it was odd.

artlowell · Post by **artlowell** » Thu May 23, 2013 5:16 pm

Ah, now I know what you're talking about. Over time, I just got used to the electronic sounds being there. I learned to hate the synth keyboard sound, but never came up with a suitable acoustic substitute or appropriate thematic material to go with it. On the other hand, it was Vaughn Williams who used the vibraphone in one of his symphonies, and the electric bass did something for this tune that I felt was in keeping with the intended ambiance. I never wanted to be trying to meld classical and pop music. Those attempts are almost always a failure. (Gershwin did it successfully, but then there will never be another Gershwin).

As an aside, one of the things I appreciate about movie music is that none of the old traditions seem to matter, and just about anything seems to be OK. On the other hand, today's movie music seems designed to not be intrusive, and seems to lack strong melodic content. The days of Elmer Bernstein and Max Steiner seem to have passed. A previous poster on your thread mentioned Thomas Newman. Not strong in melody, but really nice, compelling soundtrack stuff. I like the idea of taking that kind of thing a bit farther and making it more "complete" as stand-alone music.

Another aside. Today's "dance music" is a completely different animal, and seems to defy analysis.

I'm rambling now, but these are my thoughts.

Finally Got This Out Of My Hair