Wagtunes Production Music

[wagtunes]

If you have Ozone 8 or better the O2N2/3 bundle, you already are more than covered with what was suggested above.

Unfortunately I don't. I only have Neutron 2.

[JoeCat]

If you just want to record audio from any source on your PC to save as a wav and dump in your DAW or comparison (I do that just to look at spectra, etc.), you can use Audacity, and it's free.

[Distorted Horizon]

I use Audacity to record anything that goes through mobo soundcard.

[wagtunes]

Okay, after reading some of the comments and suggestions, what was liked and not liked, I came up with this track. It is very minimalist. In fact, it's 2 tracks. An evolving soundscape and assorted gongs and that's it.

If you think it's too bare, let me know. Adding things won't be a problem. Personally, I like this a lot. Has a real creepy feel thanks to the Lydian Augmented scale that I used. Works really well for what I was trying to achieve.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/haunted-house

[vurt]

remember it might sound bare, but there needs to be space for voice over/sfx if it's for film/documentary.

[wagtunes]

remember it might sound bare, but there needs to be space for voice over/sfx if it's for film/documentary.

I'm thinking of this one more for an actual scene from a movie or trailer. But I'll leave what it's for to the people who want it.

[wagtunes]

I think what everybody needs to realize is that it doesn't really matter so much how dense or not dense a piece of music is. Listen to some of the voiceovers for the Action Park commercials. You've got all these screaming guitars, drums, bass and screeching FX in the background while the announcer is talking very loudly about Action Park. Most of you would listen to that piece of music and say "There is no way in hell that could be used for anything" but you'd be wrong. That was just the kind of rocking music you needed to get kids excited about going to Action Park. And there was absolutely no breaks in the music anywhere for voiceover. They simply ducked it low enough for the speaking to be heard over it.

Not every voiceover is some guy talking quietly with some soft little thing playing in the background with all these huge spaces in the music so you hear nothing BUT his voice. Yes, there is a demand for that kind of stuff too. Doesn't mean I have to fill that demand.

We all need to understand this or nothing I do is going to be good for anything. I write music that starts and ends and in between there are no breaks or silent parts. Now if nobody wants this stuff, don't worry, I'll find out soon enough and then I'll adapt and write something else. But right now I'm going with my gut and writing what I think will be acceptable.

[wagtunes]

Here's an Action Park commercial from 1986. All they did was duck the music real low but it's a full blown rock track with drums, bass and guitar.

[vurt]

that is true, but a haunted house, gives an impression it might be a quiet place
i didn't mean leave gaps, or that all the music has to follow a certain map.
as you say, different situations require different styles.

[wagtunes]

that is true, but a haunted house, gives an impression it might be a quiet place
i didn't mean leave gaps, or that all the music has to follow a certain map.
as you say, different situations require different styles.

Also, just because I named it "Haunted House" doesn't mean that somebody is going to see it who ISN'T looking for haunted house music is going to automatically dismiss it. Maybe they're looking for creepy or eerie sounding music for a scene from a documentary about UFOs or a commercial for a "Friday The 13th" theme park or who knows what?

See, a lot of the advice I've gotten, and I understand where they're coming from, is to write to specific cues. The problem is this. I'm going to be submitting these tracks, hopefully, to Music Vine or wherever if Music Vine rejects my application. The site, if they accept my tracks, will put them on their site under the general category they feel they best fit in. From there, visitors to the site will then go to the category of their choice depending on their needs. They will then try to find music that best fits those needs.

These are people who can't afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for custom scores or for big name songs that are popular on the radio. They are looking for things that are affordable. These tracks will cost them like $50, if that. They understand going in that they're not going to find tracks tailored specifically to their unique situation. They're looking for the best fit possible.

When you're writing for sites like these, there is no way you can know what somebody will or won't want. All you can do is listen to what's on these sites and make an educational guess. Before I started doing this, I did just that. I listened to a number of tracks from various categories. The only thing I found almost universally true about all these tracks is that they didn't have what I would call a singable melody. And I can understand that. You don't want a strong melody distracting from the voiceover. But other than that, pretty much anything went. I found no common thread between the tracks in the various categories. Only thing I definitely didn't hear was vocals as I am sure that would be very distracting listening to a spoken voice and singing voices at the same time. To that end, I plan to do ONLY instrumental music. I think I'd be a fool to try anything else.

Would I like to do a custom score for somebody where the cues EXACTLY match up to what they're doing in the video? Sure I would. But nobody is going to hire an unknown with absolutely no track record to do that. So I have to start small. Maybe one day somebody will hear one of my tracks at one of these sites and contact me directly to do custom work for them.

Hopefully, this clears up EXACTLY what it is I'm trying to do and how this industry works in regard to generic library music. Because that's what this all is. Generic library music.

I'm not writing the soundtrack for the next Transformers movie.

[vurt]

all that is true, but...
i dont work in tv, but i read haunted house, the track sounded to me like it could be used on one of those most haunted type shows....
and i didn't even suggest changing anything

my point was, i could hear it in that arena no issues.
if as you say, something totally different ends up using it, i could see that too (theres a lot of kids animation for example that is creepy dark stuff).

[wagtunes]

all that is true, but...
i dont work in tv, but i read haunted house, the track sounded to me like it could be used on one of those most haunted type shows....
and i didn't even suggest changing anything

my point was, i could hear it in that arena no issues.
if as you say, something totally different ends up using it, i could see that too (theres a lot of kids animation for example that is creepy dark stuff).

Pretty much. Ideally, I'd love to be able to write to the site I'm submitting to and ask them "what are you looking for?" But all they're going to do is tell me to go to the site and listen to what's there. THAT'S what we're looking for. These sites are too big and can't cater to each person individually, which is why they don't give reasons for submission rejections. They have too many writers. So you take your best shot and hope for the best.

Nobody said it was going to be easy and I don't expect it to.

[JoeCat]

that is true, but a haunted house, gives an impression it might be a quiet place
i didn't mean leave gaps, or that all the music has to follow a certain map.
as you say, different situations require different styles.

Also, just because I named it "Haunted House" doesn't mean that somebody is going to see it who ISN'T looking for haunted house music is going to automatically dismiss it. Maybe they're looking for creepy or eerie sounding music for a scene from a documentary about UFOs or a commercial for a "Friday The 13th" theme park or who knows what?...


...When you're writing for sites like these, there is no way you can know what somebody will or won't want. All you can do is listen to what's on these sites and make an educational guess. Before I started doing this, I did just that. I listened to a number of tracks from various categories. The only thing I found almost universally true about all these tracks is that they didn't have what I would call a singable melody. And I can understand that. You don't want a strong melody distracting from the voiceover. But other than that, pretty much anything went. I found no common thread between the tracks in the various categories. Only thing I definitely didn't hear was vocals as I am sure that would be very distracting listening to a spoken voice and singing voices at the same time. To that end, I plan to do ONLY instrumental music. I think I'd be a fool to try anything else...

Same here - I got the impression from listening to what's available that production music ran the gamut. And to that end, there were even tracks with vocals available - often in versions with and without.

I think you do something engaging that sets a mood, decently produced, and you're half-way there. In any case, I've heard tracks on some of the major sites that made me think "meh - some guy putting strings over piano tinkling", but it's out there, 'cause 99% of producers are working towards something else. There's competition, but nothing you can't handle.

(Haven't listened to your latest track yet - working on site, but got phones with me so hopefully later )

[wagtunes]

that is true, but a haunted house, gives an impression it might be a quiet place
i didn't mean leave gaps, or that all the music has to follow a certain map.
as you say, different situations require different styles.

Also, just because I named it "Haunted House" doesn't mean that somebody is going to see it who ISN'T looking for haunted house music is going to automatically dismiss it. Maybe they're looking for creepy or eerie sounding music for a scene from a documentary about UFOs or a commercial for a "Friday The 13th" theme park or who knows what?...


...When you're writing for sites like these, there is no way you can know what somebody will or won't want. All you can do is listen to what's on these sites and make an educational guess. Before I started doing this, I did just that. I listened to a number of tracks from various categories. The only thing I found almost universally true about all these tracks is that they didn't have what I would call a singable melody. And I can understand that. You don't want a strong melody distracting from the voiceover. But other than that, pretty much anything went. I found no common thread between the tracks in the various categories. Only thing I definitely didn't hear was vocals as I am sure that would be very distracting listening to a spoken voice and singing voices at the same time. To that end, I plan to do ONLY instrumental music. I think I'd be a fool to try anything else...

Same here - I got the impression from listening to what's available that production music ran the gamut. And to that end, there were even tracks with vocals available - often in versions with and without.

I think you do something engaging that sets a mood, decently produced, and you're half-way there. In any case, I've heard tracks on some of the major sites that made me think "meh - some guy putting strings over piano tinkling", but it's out there, 'cause 99% of producers are working towards something else. There's competition, but nothing you can't handle.

(Haven't listened to your latest track yet - working on site, but got phones with me so hopefully later )

Exactly. I mean if I do something that's poorly produced (muddy, 5k ear shatter, etc.) that's one thing and all of that can be corrected. But if it's a matter of "I think that cymbal should be replaced with a gong" or whatever, then I think we're getting into personal taste and being nit picky. Don't get me wrong. I've taken some of the suggestions and actually liked the redone track better. But it's bound to happen that I'm going to do a track that I really love and I'm not going to want to change it regardless of what somebody says unless it's the site I'm submitting to and they specifically say "Replace cymbals with gongs." Except they won't because, like I said, they have too many writers to cater to each one. They either accept or reject your submission with no explanation why.

It's frustrating but that's the way this business is.

[telecode]

I say go original and dig into your own influences and.personality to find a voice that is distinctive.

But don't re-invent the wheel. It's a trap. Agree or disagree?

I think things evolve and are reinvented and made original all the time. Sometimes its just a matter of mixing and matching in ways that wasnt done before. I always liked the opera scene from Hannibal and what Ridley Scott did. I think it turned out more memorable than the film itself. I don't think you will find a crime thriller made in the 80s that used such a long sequence of a staged opera scene to prep the story line.