MSPA Fan Music 2: Now In Cut Time

[Rnd]

It's definitely improved. Still feels a little repetitive, but I like the some of the dissonance that's there.
It just seems to lack direction. There's no building to something, no ebb nor flow; pretty straight forward and consistent.
Maybe take out one repetitive section and replace it with a more dramatic section that contrasts.
That's just a suggestion, again, and there are many other ways you can play with the flow of the piece.

Thank you for continuing to critique me. I'm sure it must be boring continuing to critique my stuff, so I really appreciate it. I'm going back to work on Cloudfall as soon as I finish this post and see what I can do to make it a bit more flowy and interesting. And hopefully shorter.

Again, thank you.

I made something inspired by Upwards Movement (Dave Owns), though I posted it in the wrong thread at first >_> <_<
Anyways here.

Nice. Don't know if you want critique or not, but even if you did I don't think I could point out anything bad about it. Maybe a bit repetitive, but I never got bored, so I guess that means it's not. I like the mixing, and I like the drums, and I really like the guitar. It has amp distortion, but it does't go too far. It's a good remix, and (perhaps most importantly), it really says "Dirk" to me. It's not too long, it stays interesting, and it's always changing the arrangement while the fundamental tune stays constant. I really like everything after 1:30. It's nice and upbeat, which is interesting seeing as the original song is kind of dark and foreboding. I really like this interpretation.

So welcome. I hope you post some more music in the future.

Also, crap, I guess I critiqued you anyway. Sorry. :/

[Ace of Dark-Hearts]

I finally found some time to make fanmusic. Hurray!

Let's hear it for 8x Osc, folks.

It's supposed to be an overworld loop of the Furthest Ring (Or Green Sun. I can't really decide) if you were playing a Homestuck video game.

Criticism is appreciated.

[Rnd]

Something I've been working on lately.

It was inspired by Black Rose, Green Sun, as if that wasn't painfully obvious from listening to it (it's not a remix, though).

There are a few things I'm worried about concerning this song. Mainly, I think it's too long, but I don't really know what would be best to cut out. Also, I think it gets a bit repetitive at parts, but I think removing the repetition might damage the song's flow. So I'm at kind of an impasse here. I'd like some outside opinions.

Thoughts/comments/critiques would be appreciated (especially that last one).

Version 3 is done.

Bleh.

It seems like no matter what I do it's never perfect.

I think I'm pretty much done with it for now. I'll work on it again sometime in the future when I have a better idea of what I'm doing, but I think it's time to let it go for the time being and work on something else.

Critique would be appreciated so my future pieces will be better.

[Ace of Dark-Hearts]

Version 3 is done.

Bleh.

It seems like no matter what I do it's never perfect.

I think I'm pretty much done with it for now. I'll work on it again sometime in the future when I have a better idea of what I'm doing, but I think it's time to let it go for the time being and work on something else.

Critique would be appreciated so my future pieces will be better.

Oh I like this!

It makes a good background theme to something. It's really wispy and light, but it still has a story to tell.

That being said, I think it's kind of long. I think some of the more repetitive parts should be edited out. I also didn't like the trumpets. The soundfont was generally kind of jarring, and the harmonies sounded off frequently. Maybe add some filters? Some of the notes sound really conflicting in some places. Like the two melodies didn't come together correctly.

The chimes near the middle sounded really weird, also. I think that is actually a delay effect gone awry. It sounds like note A is played, and by the time note B is played the delay effect kicks in and makes it sound like A and B are being played at the same time.

I feel like this song has good potential. I really liked the organ parts, too. It has an overall nice ambiance to it.

[Rnd]

Oh I like this!

It makes a good background theme to something. It's really wispy and light, but it still has a story to tell.

That being said, I think it's kind of long. I think some of the more repetitive parts should be edited out. I also didn't like the trumpets. The soundfont was generally kind of jarring, and the harmonies sounded off frequently. Maybe add some filters? Some of the notes sound really conflicting in some places. Like the two melodies didn't come together correctly.

The chimes near the middle sounded really weird, also. I think that is actually a delay effect gone awry. It sounds like note A is played, and by the time note B is played the delay effect kicks in and makes it sound like A and B are being played at the same time.

I feel like this song has good potential. I really liked the organ parts, too. It has an overall nice ambiance to it.

Thanks. That's much better than I was expecting.

I added the trumpets to kind of mix it up a bit. Not my smartest move. Now that I've added organ though, I think I can fix/remove the trumpets

I suck at writing short songs, much to my displeasure. I ALWAYS make songs way too long. I think now that I have it fleshed out I can maybe mess with it some more, really make some major cuts.

As for the dissonance, yeah, it's a bit much in places. I like tension a little more than is probably healthy, so I use it waaayyy too much. I'm trying to find a good balance, and I haven't quite struck upon it yet.

Weird. I don't have a delay on the chimes. I think I know what the problem there is though, and that will take like 2 seconds to fix.

Anyway, thank you. It's nice to hear some positive feedback (and I'll definitely work on those things you mentioned).

[VeritasUnae]

The dissonance isn't even creating tension. One can create more tension with powerful, lilting chords, but it's often dependent on the situation and the intended purpose.
Anyway, it's certainly better than before. Much clearer sense of flow than before. But I'm still disliking the dissonance.

[Pyral Spinneret]

I, on the other hand, really like dissonance used in places even where it isn't functional. That was a whole concept behind some classical music from the early 1900's: "emancipated dissonance", where you could write dissonant chords and not have them necessarily "mean" anything or have to "go" anywhere; instead of using the forces of tonal progression (which a lot of composers felt were thoroughly worn-out during that era), one can use the forces of instrumentation, rhythm, contour, and all other applicable musical aspects to build a sense of form and continuity. It tends to work better if you use dissonant chords throughout the piece as opposed to small moments, however. Don't be ashamed of liking harsher dissonances—while a lot of people hate them, there's nothing objectively bad about them. If you want to hear some more extreme examples of dissonants, try checking out some of Igor Stravinsky's early works, or the atonal works of Arnold Schoenburg. Also, if you want a decent grounding of logic for the effects of different "extra" notes you can add to chords, Paul Hindemith (another early 20th-century composer) wrote a really good textbook on composition that covers that.

I liked the dissonant parts of Rnd's piece more than the consonant ones, on average, so that seems to be more a personal preference thing than a problem that needs to be improved (in my opinion). I do agree with earlier posters that the piece lacks unity. Perhaps you could try adding or including motives or melodies from earlier in the piece later on, so that it keeps the listener more engaged by reminding them of earlier parts of the piece. I also think the effect would be more dramatic if you used all that momentum you start building in the second half of the piece to build up to a clear climax.


--

Anyway, I came to this thread to dump something pretty silly: a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon/Homestuck crossover remix called Dialga Owns. It's pretty much a mashup, but I try to do it subtly. It starts out as a pretty standard cover of Temporal Tower, a theme from one of the games, but starts transitioning into using Upward Movement's chords starting at 1:22, where it subtly morphs into being Upward Movement without losing the instrumentation or feel of the other source work. By 2:30, it becomes clear that Dialga Owns.



I'm aware that my mixing here is pretty sloppy, which becomes apparent later on when more parts are being played at once. Also, the ending was kind of abrupt, but... so was the one from the source tune. I should probably figure out a way to wrap it up. Any thoughts?

[Toade Iguanadon III]

I have no idea why I didn't post here sooner, Sendificate Everything.
This was my entry in the album competition, but there were something like 500+ entries so I'm not sore over it. The piece is built around the sound of the Sendificator sendificating stuff (say that three times fast). The only element I was unsure about was the organ, but after living with it for a while it now feels right.

Feel free to remix or use in non-profit ventures.

ETA:
So I am now going back over the whole thread, listening to tons of music. Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far, cool thread badges for all.

[Rnd]

I finally found some time to make fanmusic. Hurray!

Let's hear it for 8x Osc, folks.

It's supposed to be an overworld loop of the Furthest Ring (Or Green Sun. I can't really decide) if you were playing a Homestuck video game.

Criticism is appreciated.

If there is ever a Homestuck video game, this has to be in it. I like how you incorporated bits of Doctor into very subtly (unless I'm just being an idiot. In that case, ignore me. Bluh). I also hear other twinges of music I recognize, but i can't quite put my finger on it.

I love the atmosphere to this piece. Very Earthbound ( Earthbound). It actually makes me think of music that would play leading up to the scratch (i.e. all of the build up leading to Cascade). It's tense and emotional, and emotions are certainly running high at that point. I like the instrument choices. Very unexpected and a bit weird, but that just makes the piece shine. and I like the delay you have on some of those instruments. It was noticeable, but it never went overboard.

This piece almost makes me want to cry. I don't know why.

It ends abruptly, but this song is supposed to loop (I would assume) so that's just fine. And it wasn't jarring for me, anyway, so the ending really works for me.

Sorry my review is so stream of consciousness. I feel like it's kind of unintelligible. And I feel bad I can't say more about it, or anything really helpful about it. Bluh.

I have no idea why I didn't post here sooner, Sendificate Everything.
This was my entry in the album competition, but there were something like 500+ entries so I'm not sore over it. The piece is built around the sound of the Sendificator sendificating stuff (say that three times fast). The only element I was unsure about was the organ, but after living with it for a while it now feels right.

Feel free to remix or use in non-profit ventures.

ETA:
So I am now going back over the whole thread, listening to tons of music. Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far, cool thread badges for all.

This is very relaxing and ambient. I can definitely see this as background music to something. It makes me think of Earthbound battle music or something. A bit odd and quirky, but awesome because of it.

I like your instrument choices. Nice and atmospheric, but not ever boring.

I also like the main motif. It suggests mystery and a little bit of doubt, like something isn't quite right. Perfect for GCAT. I don't know if it really fits for Dirk, but I don't know how to change that.

I like the ending. It's nice and calm, like the rest of the piece, but it resolves the song. Maybe you could make it a bit less abrupt, but it works out well as is, so it's not an issue with the song so much as it is with my own preferences.

My only suggestion would be to maybe change up the song a bit more. I know you change the structure a bit about 1 minute in, but that first minute is pretty much the same, save for some instrument changes. I'm a noob, so maybe I'm just blowing steam, but I think mixing it up just a little wouldn't hurt. But the song is good without it, and I wouldn't want you to change it too much and get rid of sort of its ambiance. It's good as is.

I, on the other hand, really like dissonance used in places even where it isn't functional. That was a whole concept behind some classical music from the early 1900's: "emancipated dissonance", where you could write dissonant chords and not have them necessarily "mean" anything or have to "go" anywhere; instead of using the forces of tonal progression (which a lot of composers felt were thoroughly worn-out during that era), one can use the forces of instrumentation, rhythm, contour, and all other applicable musical aspects to build a sense of form and continuity. It tends to work better if you use dissonant chords throughout the piece as opposed to small moments, however. Don't be ashamed of liking harsher dissonances—while a lot of people hate them, there's nothing objectively bad about them. If you want to hear some more extreme examples of dissonants, try checking out some of Igor Stravinsky's early works, or the atonal works of Arnold Schoenburg. Also, if you want a decent grounding of logic for the effects of different "extra" notes you can add to chords, Paul Hindemith (another early 20th-century composer) wrote a really good textbook on composition that covers that.

I liked the dissonant parts of Rnd's piece more than the consonant ones, on average, so that seems to be more a personal preference thing than a problem that needs to be improved (in my opinion). I do agree with earlier posters that the piece lacks unity. Perhaps you could try adding or including motives or melodies from earlier in the piece later on, so that it keeps the listener more engaged by reminding them of earlier parts of the piece. I also think the effect would be more dramatic if you used all that momentum you start building in the second half of the piece to build up to a clear climax.


--

Anyway, I came to this thread to dump something pretty silly: a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon/Homestuck crossover remix called Dialga Owns. It's pretty much a mashup, but I try to do it subtly. It starts out as a pretty standard cover of Temporal Tower, a theme from one of the games, but starts transitioning into using Upward Movement's chords starting at 1:22, where it subtly morphs into being Upward Movement without losing the instrumentation or feel of the other source work. By 2:30, it becomes clear that Dialga Owns.



I'm aware that my mixing here is pretty sloppy, which becomes apparent later on when more parts are being played at once. Also, the ending was kind of abrupt, but... so was the one from the source tune. I should probably figure out a way to wrap it up. Any thoughts?

Out of the romantic period composers, I prefer Ravel. I like Stravinsky (especially Firebird, Rite of Spring, and some of his concertos), and I like Schoenberg (particularly his Serenade Op. 24. Though it took me awhile to get in to his stuff), but I really like Ravel. I know he's not as dissonant, but his sense of melody and harmony is impeccable (in my very uneducated opinion).

Anyway, back on topic, thanks for the critique. I've only been doing this for a few months, so every little bit helps.


Now on to Movement Up Temporal Tower... Awesome.

It's a busy piece, but I never felt like it was chaotic, which is so often the case with busy pieces. I love the drums in the background, and the bell/bass combo is just perfect. It never got repetitive with the changing background instruments. The flute and choir especially shone.

The transition into the upward movement chords is perfect. It's nice and smooth, but at the same time it's noticeable, and I like how you set up the Upward Movement drum beat several measures ahead of time. The two songs fit together perfectly in this mix.

My only slight issue is that it ends very abruptly. I know that's from the source material, but it was enough to make me check if the window froze or shut down before the song was over. I actually ended up playing the end again just to see if there was an error or something. This is my novice opinion at play, but maybe you could make it a bit less abrupt? That sounds really dumb, I know. Actually, I think the problem I'm having is that you cut off the audio tail really quickly. Maybe leave a little bit more fadeout there? Again, though, I'm probably not the best judge.

I had no problem with the mixing. I don't consider myself a great, or even a decent mixer though, so my opinion probably doesn't count for much here. Overall, I loved the song, and while the ending was a bit weird for me, it certainly didn't hamper my enjoyment of the piece overall. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Ace of Dark-Hearts]

If there is ever a Homestuck video game, this has to be in it. I like how you incorporated bits of Doctor into very subtly (unless I'm just being an idiot. In that case, ignore me. Bluh). I also hear other twinges of music I recognize, but i can't quite put my finger on it.

I love the atmosphere to this piece. Very Earthbound ( Earthbound). It actually makes me think of music that would play leading up to the scratch (i.e. all of the build up leading to Cascade). It's tense and emotional, and emotions are certainly running high at that point. I like the instrument choices. Very unexpected and a bit weird, but that just makes the piece shine. and I like the delay you have on some of those instruments. It was noticeable, but it never went overboard.

This piece almost makes me want to cry. I don't know why.

It ends abruptly, but this song is supposed to loop (I would assume) so that's just fine. And it wasn't jarring for me, anyway, so the ending really works for me.

Sorry my review is so stream of consciousness. I feel like it's kind of unintelligible. And I feel bad I can't say more about it, or anything really helpful about it. Bluh.

Thank you so much!

Also to answer your question, nope everything in that song is original, but to be fair, the chord progression was heavily inspired by Doctor. I guess that's just how my brain works, I find music I like and I model my song what I liked about the music.

[Toade Iguanadon III]

This is very relaxing and ambient. I can definitely see this as background music to something. It makes me think of Earthbound battle music or something. A bit odd and quirky, but awesome because of it.

I like your instrument choices. Nice and atmospheric, but not ever boring.

I also like the main motif. It suggests mystery and a little bit of doubt, like something isn't quite right. Perfect for GCAT. I don't know if it really fits for Dirk, but I don't know how to change that.

I like the ending. It's nice and calm, like the rest of the piece, but it resolves the song. Maybe you could make it a bit less abrupt, but it works out well as is, so it's not an issue with the song so much as it is with my own preferences.

My only suggestion would be to maybe change up the song a bit more. I know you change the structure a bit about 1 minute in, but that first minute is pretty much the same, save for some instrument changes. I'm a noob, so maybe I'm just blowing steam, but I think mixing it up just a little wouldn't hurt. But the song is good without it, and I wouldn't want you to change it too much and get rid of sort of its ambiance. It's good as is.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm definitely always open to other opinions. I'm not about to start doing multiple versions and running them by the forum, too much effort for too little gain, but when I ever re-do the song to put it on an album I will take all of this into consideration.

And you did pick up on something: GCAT sorta dominated this encounter, being a first guardian and all.

[Ducksual]

Something I did for fun: A Study in Skaia.

Basically an arrangement of 'Skies of Skaia' with lots of acoustic guitars.
I found that with slight retuning and a capo it was possible to play the whole of the main theme with harmonics on guitar and so was messing around with an arrangement based on that and ended up doing this. Without retuning it's not really possible to play the top note of the last repeat cleanly. It was originally just going to be acoustics but then distortion happened for the second part.

I was kind of using this as a break from the bigger projects I'm working on. Most of the time on this was spent playing the harmonics part wrong, because harmonics mess with my sense of where notes should be on guitar.

[AlphaKnight]

ill leave this here. critique/complaints welcome

[VeritasUnae]

I really love A Study in Skaia.
It gives me memories of LoWaS on the fan album, in that it's a similar guitar interpretation of a Homestuck nature.

[Varkarrus]

Can someone make a song called "Universes Unite!"?
Doesn't matter what it sounds like. Just do it because the name is awesome

(alternatively, a theme for Gcat called Cataclysm hehe)

[Monobrow]

ill leave this here. critique/complaints welcome

It's a bit plain. I think you probably spend a bit too much repeating the same motifs over and over in your intro, especially when they are just one or two elements singled out that way. I'd say cut the intro in half and you're much better to go, before your beat drops.

The slowdown is kinda cool, but I think it could also be cut in half and still have the same effect you're going for. Condense these elements, and you're good to go. Interesting beat and cool flute sound later, although you really need a bass to fill up the spectrum. Get some bass notes in there, I'd go for faster paced myself. I do think you repeat a lot of elements, but I didn't dislike listening to the song, you have a nice combination going and decent sound.

[Capric Monarchy]

L'Makara de Gamzee is getting his loving flow on.

Critique and feedback is very much welcome.

[Steino]

I entered the Homestuck Music Competition with a piece I made with help of two friends of mine. Didn't win. So I decided to remake the song on my own.

Shoosh

It's a theme for sober Gamzee, Karkat, and the whole shooshpapping thingy.

I don't feel like writing any more words now.

[Monobrow]

Something I did for fun: A Study in Skaia.

Basically an arrangement of 'Skies of Skaia' with lots of acoustic guitars.
I found that with slight retuning and a capo it was possible to play the whole of the main theme with harmonics on guitar and so was messing around with an arrangement based on that and ended up doing this. Without retuning it's not really possible to play the top note of the last repeat cleanly. It was originally just going to be acoustics but then distortion happened for the second part.

I was kind of using this as a break from the bigger projects I'm working on. Most of the time on this was spent playing the harmonics part wrong, because harmonics mess with my sense of where notes should be on guitar.

Very cool, it's a bit lackadaisical for the intro, and it doesn't exactly build, but I guess I like it anyway. The transition was kinda sudden, but it's also kinda touching how it just comes in. Nice guitar (per usual). I think my only qualm is that maybe it's not quite as executed as well as it potentially could have been, as in it's not quite as driving and climatic. But w/e that's just nitpicking. Way cool anyway!

[VeritasUnae]

Can someone make a song called "Universes Unite!"?
Doesn't matter what it sounds like. Just do it because the name is awesome

(alternatively, a theme for Gcat called Cataclysm hehe)

I'll get onto this soon, as I had an idea for it.

[Ducksual]

Very cool, it's a bit lackadaisical for the intro, and it doesn't exactly build, but I guess I like it anyway. The transition was kinda sudden, but it's also kinda touching how it just comes in. Nice guitar (per usual). I think my only qualm is that maybe it's not quite as executed as well as it potentially could have been, as in it's not quite as driving and climatic. But w/e that's just nitpicking. Way cool anyway!

Well it was something I did fairly quickly. Kind of as a little distraction from the more complicated things I've been working on. Glad you enjoyed it though.

[Varkarrus]

I'll get onto this soon, as I had an idea for it.

awwww yissssss

[Kyntello]

(alternatively, a theme for Gcat called Cataclysm hehe)

Mind if I try this one?

[VeritasUnae]

Please do! I'm going for Universes Unite myself.

[UNDERWATER BASKETWEAVING]

I know this isn't strictly a homestuck song, so feel free to ignore this.
I just wanted the opinions of some of you musicians in here on this track:


Took me way too long to make.