Too much like Morrowind??

[CheeseLord]

Today, i started to write a new piece, this time hopefully for Wesnoth. However, this: http://www.box.net/shared/u1zpu4ino4 really sounds like off Morrowind - is it too much like Morrowind for Wesnoth, or is it OK??

Also, what about quality of the composition? I personally think it's a long shot away from Wesnoth mainline, but opinions on this matter will also be welcomed

CheeseLord

[PPH]

I think it's Wesnothian enough, and you could do a lot worse than that.

[West]

CheeseLord, that sounds very good!

As for sounding too much like Morrowind, don't worry about it. It doesn't strike me as overly similar to anything from the Morrowind soundtrack, but it is definitely Soule-esque in terms of production and instrumentation (though Mr Soule would probably have used one of his trademark staccato celli/bass lines to fill out the low end rather than just sustained bass notes).

Props on the reverb, you've really managed to capture that lush, spacious feel his music has. The reverb tail sounds kind of weird though; right when the music stops you can hear a distinctive ringing that sounds very much like a spring or plate reverb. Or maybe I'm just imagining it, it might be the brief echo of the flute vibrato that's playing tricks on my ears. What plugin are you using?

As for the arrangement, the tune is really too short for in-depth comments. You have some VERY high horns in there, which sounds unnatural and muddies up the upper mid register. The flute also plays in an extreme register -- not an unrealistic one, but it sounds kind of harsh and clashes with the high notes in the violins. I get the feeling that there's too much happening in the same register.

The staccato violins (?) could also stand being a bit more interesting in terms of rhythm. If you're trying to write something in a Jeremy Soule vein, you really need to work hard on rhythm. He often uses lots and lots of intricate rhythmic stuff, especially on the strings, often accented by the brass (prime examples are the intros to Reign of the Septims from Oblivion, and Overture from Eye of the North from Guild Wars EOTN). A staccato rhythm need not be just plain fourth or eighth notes, you can mix it up with a lot of subtle syncopation and counterpoint between sections or even within sections, if you have divisi samples. Subtle is the key word here. You don't want the celli sounding like some Bay Area thrash metal band from 1988 chugging out riffs like there's no tomorrow.

All in all I think you're making some very impressive progress with your music making. Do keep working on this and post new versions as you go, I think it sounds very promising.

[CheeseLord]

PPH: Thanks!!

West: Thanks too! I actually used a default LMMS reverb - Freeverb3. For the arrangement, some more variation with the strings would be nice (I'm starting work as soon as I finish messing about with my new comp. ) You're also right about the horns, but they are the best that I could find (other brass instruments I have suck) and I want a nice little fast brass instrument playing along.

Oops, almost forgot - HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

[marcusvinicius]

good begin. Do you use that SSO samples, it sounds like that. Happy new year to you!

[CheeseLord]

marcusvinicus: hehe, I used freebies fromo the internet, not SSO. But then again, SSO was meant to be based off freebies, so there's probably some similarities

Not much work done, but here's the latest version if anyone is interested: http://www.youngcomposers.com/pg/Music/ ... ntry=23605 I haven't changed, only added (I'm working on that) so there is probably little if any difference at the start

[West]

Freeverb3 eh? That is indeed a pretty good reverb, unfortunately I think its cpu/quality ratio is way off so I rarely use it. Freeverb3's algo verbs use something like 20% cpu on this machine, whereas Reverberate LE (which is a zero latency convo verb) only uses 8% or so. So that's a little excessive IMO, looks like it could use some code optimizations.

Actually, what I meant about the horns was that they're playing in a far too high register. Never said there was anything wrong with the quality of the samples.

I listened to the new version and I really suggest that you make the piece longer rather than just adding to it. There's quite a few things going on and I think the arrangement would benefit from being sparser in the beginning. I still like it a lot though -- the part at 0:28 is lovely!

Only thing that really bothers me is that the timpanist seems to throw a fit at the end. What's up with that?

[Kenpachi]

Very nice, but at 0:52 it seems to jump, and then we have the timpanist fit at the end...

I also agree with it needing more length; 2 or 3 minutes would be nice. I'm just really getting into it, and then it's all over.

[CheeseLord]

Hi everybody.....sry for not being around lately - been busy again so not much time to comment on forums. Anyway...

Freeverb3 eh? That is indeed a pretty good reverb, unfortunately I think its cpu/quality ratio is way off so I rarely use it. Freeverb3's algo verbs use something like 20% cpu on this machine, whereas Reverberate LE (which is a zero latency convo verb) only uses 8% or so. So that's a little excessive IMO, looks like it could use some code optimizations.

Actually, what I meant about the horns was that they're playing in a far too high register. Never said there was anything wrong with the quality of the samples.

I listened to the new version and I really suggest that you make the piece longer rather than just adding to it. There's quite a few things going on and I think the arrangement would benefit from being sparser in the beginning. I still like it a lot though -- the part at 0:28 is lovely!

Only thing that really bothers me is that the timpanist seems to throw a fit at the end. What's up with that?

Freeverb3 uses 5% on my 256mb ram pc.....are you sure we're talking about the same one. And also, I was talking about my lack of choice for brass selection. However, that's solved by that awesome site you and tyler setup

Very nice, but at 0:52 it seems to jump, and then we have the timpanist fit at the end...

I also agree with it needing more length; 2 or 3 minutes would be nice. I'm just really getting into it, and then it's all over.

Yup, it need to be longer. I thnk the jump was a sowing fail I thought it was ok, but clearly not if you can tell.....

I've posted another version, if anybody is interested (it's been a while since i posted) I've been doing some extension. However, tension and mood building needs lots of work, so the last bit is a bit unfinished. Quality may suck - I needed to sort out the sound as something happened one day with the volume settings and Listen to it here: http://www.box.net/shared/u1zpu4ino4

EDIT: Some horrible beeping sound happens the french horn plays a D.......set speakers low for this - I'll try to fix problem as soon as possible.

[Kenpachi]

I thnk the jump was a sowing fail I thought it was ok, but clearly not if you can tell.....

I've been playing percussion for over 16 years, I have to notice these things...

Edit: new version sounds awesome