Oh no, I meant when it comes to the song, is it ok if the drums come in later? Do you have to have drums playing all the way through?

Because if so.. X_x

Alright! Mine is finished.

It's a classical/rock-ish piece.

I have the instruments listed in the thread.

An Ode For Death

Didn't think I'd get to submit..*phew*.

And since time wasn't specified, I hope you don't mind if the drums come in later in the piece..=/

@#%!...

Alright, I'll see what I can do. =/

Is it too late for me to join?

If not I'll be submitting a classical piece.

When is the deadline for having a track submitted?

I will defintely do that. I'm going to check out some 3osc tutorials as well.

I want to be at least halfway decent with them.

Thanks guys!

Alright, I'll jump right to it.

I'm a musician, of some sorts, and I use fruity loops. The problem is..People notice right off the bat that I do. =/ I've been told, multiple times, to venture out in search of Vsts and the like, and to stray away from the vice-like grip that FL's presets have on me. I've been trying to use 3oscx, or however you spell it, and sytrus as well as sound fonts in my songs to kind of make it moreso..my own. Yet, I would still like to go out and find other Vsts to give my songs a more creative twist so to speak. Thing is, when it comes to finding good Vsts, and downloading Vsts from sites that aren't really computer viruses in disguise, I get an F for effort. Does anyone know where I could download good piano, string, synth, bass Vsts and the like? And if you know any real good orchestra ones I'd love to have it because I want to make symphonic songs as well. Oh yeah, to add to that, the good free vsts? I'm broke..lol

Help please. So far, .this right here is probably my best song where I tried to use the minimal amount of presets as I could to get the overall sound I wanted.

P.S.- I'm sure you all know that my explanation was drawn out. Sorry about that, lol

Ok. Thanks alot.

I'm a Final Fantasy fanatic, and after getting my PS3, I thought it would be pretty freaking nice to play my FF8 game on my PS3, since I could never seem to get it to play correctly on my PS2.

Well, if you have played the game..

Right in the beginning, when it's Squall, Seifer, Selphie, and Zell, and you're fighting in the seeD exam, and you have to follow Seifer into the communication tower, my game goes black.

I've restarted, cleaned, wiped, the whole nine, but everytime I get to that exact part, it goes black, RIGHT THERE.

I'm tired of spending 20 minutes stocking f'ing magic for Seifer and Zell just for me to turn around and do it all over again because it blacks out on me.

Has anyone else had this problem? And if so, anyone know a way around it? I'm hoping it's not because of my discs. And it shouldn't be, because I get past that part just fine on my PS2. People keep saying to wait for an update but..=/ And that's if they even make one.

So..Help please?

Oh yeah...

I know I'm asking many questions, you just tell me to stfu when you've had enough..

So you say that we have to compose in two different keys? Like it can't be just one?

So..hypothetically..

Could I have a melody based in B flat..

And have a counter melody that coincides with it that is based in a C major scale..

Because I mean if I do it like that, I could find certain notes throughout that can harmonize..

Eh..I think I'll go online and look into this more.

At 8/23/08 11:44 PM, Quarl wrote: The reason I'm guessing is because I was too ignorant of this idea to realize what it meant at the time. I've always been trying to convince other people that the things I make are amazing, because to me, they are. However, to the guy standing next to me, every thing I produce is "crap" or "uninventive" or "meh." I've never even considered that the reason why it's so hard to get people to like the things I produce is because they've never been exposed to the things I create. Essentially, I have to create a market for myself if I'm ever going to get any where with what I do. At the moment, I'm trying to find a balance between creativity and commercialization and it's damn near impossible.

It may not just be that those people aren't or haven't been exposed to your type of music. It could just be that they don't take interest in it. And I mean that's ok, as a musician that's bound to happen. Not everyone is going to say your song is the bee's knees because people have opinions and different point of views. But don't discourage your music solely on those who say that you're music isn't good. Take pride in those who like your music and have pointed out the good points in what you make, as well as those who give you constructive criticism on your music. Usually, the ones who leave you long, informative reviews care, and see potential in what you have made and want you to do better. But I understand about marketing. If you're trying to make it big with music, you want your music to stand out and I mean, after a while, if you really do improve, someone is bound to notice and take a liking to your music. But also, trying to find a balance between commercialism and creativity is damn near impossible. I wouldn't be surprised if it were close to non-existant. Commercialism takes pride in creativity to a degree. If it isn't going to get someone money quick and fast, they usually aren't going to waste time on you.

Another thing on my mind lately is that my girlfriend is currently looking into ivy league schools such as Harvard and Princeton. If she gets in, I'm essentially a trophy husband in the long run. She'd be the bread winner. The only way I could compete with that is if I sold my soul and produced everything I've grown to hate...

I have to agree with Sanryd and Suspended. You shouldn't have to compete with your gf as the breadwinner. I mean honestly, you shouldn't want to. Since you're a guy I could see that as a slight sign of egoism, but honestly, it shouldn't matter who makes the most. As long as you are able to help a great deal financially, who makes more shouldn't really be a problem. And I mean, you said you were looking at becoming an art teacher. Who said you couldn't teach art and produce music on the side?

Other than get disqualifyed? lol..

Hey! I probably won't be able to submit a thing in time for the contest but if I do get my computer back up in running or if I get another and can start making music again..

Can I submit a song to you just so you can judge me and tell me how I did? Because this is pretty cool.

I guess I could give you a few of my mixes. I wouldn't really call them ambient or whatever but I mean if you like it, then heck, have at it.

The Barren Desert

and

Experiment #6

But if those don't cut it, I'd recommend these NG artists..

AloysiusRexford..His songs The Silver Monster and Moonlight Through Misty Air are really good.

Another is Nostrap. His song [[=FQN=]] is old but very good.

And lastly I recommend SineRider. His song In a Safe Place has guitar and flute in it and it sounds..<3.

These guys are alot better than me so I would probably check them out if you want quality.

Honestly, I get my inspiration from everyday things. But it's never the full length song that I conjure up in a split second. Usually I'll just get a feel for a particular ryhthm. It might be the part for a bass, or a synth or lead. And I'll write it out to make sure I never forget it and then build from there.

This is a cool thread. I'm sure someone already thought up this topic but I'm glad I was able to at least reply to this one.

I had wanted to say that I liked what you put at the end Nosferatu. I had screwed up my previous post =D. Forgot to add it.

I understand where you're coming from yet I've heard some songs on the AP that would be considered mastered on an amateuer level, but really do sound very good.

I guess for me it doesn't have to sound perfect or be mastered for maximum quality for me to grasp all the aspects of a song.

Oh ok, I see what you'rse saying. Kind of like just write whatever inspires you, regardless of what genre or category society puts it in.

I try to stray from that way of thinking. Trying to place what I make in a specific category, but of course I always get wrapped up in it.

And I commend you for writing "selfishly" lol. So many artists now-a-days are basing their content on what the public might like, and what will make the viewers listen. And it's cool because many artists on the AP don't follow those guidelines towards making music, and are still making breath-taking music that people love because of it's originality. I like the fact that I can find people of that calibur on NG.

At 8/22/08 07:54 PM, endlessnumber wrote: If anyone is interested in submitting, you can give it a go and post here... no one will kill you

Honestly, if my computer wasn't screwed up, I would give this a go. It'll be interesting to see what people come up with as they enter this contest though.

Sorry, I meant B major and C flat major.

At 8/22/08 05:55 PM, endlessnumber wrote:

At 8/22/08 05:08 PM, SkatingIsGenetic wrote: I know this may be a bother since I know I probably won't be a part of this contest but, for those who don't understand what Polytonal/Atonal means, such as myself, could you post a link that gives an example of an at least qualifying song that fits the needed requirements for the contest?

The basic concept of it is that you can be in more than one key at once, and have it sound good, or avoid keys all together. I'd rather not post or link to a song as that'd give people the wrong idea.

If you have no idea what it is, you can still participate - try to avoid the pop-ish chords you might normally use. You can be polytonal very easily by having a few synths doing something in the key of D, maybe, and then have a bunch of other synths doing A mixolydian, which is basically D rooted in the key of A.

It's not supposed to be easy - the contest is a challenge ;)

Oh! I see. Wow that's pretty cool. But like, could someone be a smart-ass and like compose a song in a certain key that is the same as another. For instance uh.. B flat major and C major? Or have I like completely gone off subject and just disqualifyed myself? Or is it much more complex than that? Because this is interesting.

Music is my life, no doubt about it. Composing, listening, giving advice, no matter how amateur it maybe, is something I love to do. And as a musician who creates music, you usually have your own style or ways to create music.

I realized today, as I leisurely browsed through all my submitted material, that I haven't found my definite style yet.

All my tracks jump from one thing to another, and I don't just stay in one genre, I honestly prefer to mix. I know what I want into my music, but I don't know what shape I want my music to be.

And the thing is I just want to know if there are others who have this same dilemma. That love music but haven't yet found their definite style as a musician. Or, for those who have found their style, how long it took you to realize what your style was, and when you realized it, or if you knew exactly what you wanted to make as soon as you began making music. As well as where you got your influences.

Another thing is I tend to make music that I like. But as a musician you want others to like the music you make. So another question..

Do you feel music should be based on how you feel, regardless of what others think, or that you should take into account what your audience thinks. If people say your music sucks, it sucks, regardless of what you see it as. Or, should your feelings and the feelings of others be incorporated in your music?

This might be kind of confusing at first I'm rushing, I'll come back later to brush up on this if some people are confused about what it is I'm asking.

At 8/15/08 04:08 AM, nubbinownz wrote: More often than not when I am naming my songs it comes last (with the exception of the mistakes series)

I usually start a track and name it something like " I like this chord progression" or " Breakcore song with crazy lead"

Because the song takes shape on it's own. I don't actually get a name for it until I get a chance to listen to the whole thing once it's done. Then I envision a story set to the song, as if it were in the background or the song were telling a story.

That's pretty cool because I use the same weird method. I ususally base it off of what I was spending the most time working on when I first started the song. Like if I had been working hard on a piano progression, I might name it, Piano Awesomeness, or something lame like that. But once I've finished the song entirely, of course the name of it changes because over time it's taken on a new shape and has a new meaning to it.

Hm...I hope this reply was relevant..

I know this may be a bother since I know I probably won't be a part of this contest but, for those who don't understand what Polytonal/Atonal means, such as myself, could you post a link that gives an example of an at least qualifying song that fits the needed requirements for the contest?

I had heard about the Underdog list and I just now decided to look into it, and I think whoever started this is brilliant!

Anyway, I would like to nominate two people.

First is ChronoDestiny. He does alot of videogame remixes, but they are BY FAR much better than the avergae posts you usually see on NG, and I think he desrves much more attention than what he recieves. Check out his song that is aFFVIII remix of laguna beach.

And the next is an artist named Jedidiah. He is more of a classical composer so I don't know how many people will look into that but.. Here are two that he made that I found were quite nice.

Reprise and Finale

and

Lyrical Piece for Strings

I don't know if I followed the guidelines..

So don't chew me out if I didn't. =D