Secret of Mana music project: progress report

[impurfekt]

Hello everyone! Since you've been so kind to offer comments and suggestions regarding my little music project, I wanted to keep everyone up to date. Here is my first piece. I am not calling it "done" but it will likely change very little.

My main focus with these pieces is to capture the spirit of the original tracks; the settings and emotions surrounding their place in the game. Thus I have not altered the core melodies; simply accompanied/embellished them. Any feedback is welcome, good or bad.

http://magiclantern.homelinux.net/impur ... 20wood.mp3

[Kimiko]

Uh, why don't you compress that file into an Ogg Vorbis or MP3 one? That would save on download time/bandwidth enormously.

Feedback: The background chords are very noticeable, especially in the beginning. Maybe you could hold them a little longer so they blend into eachother more. The whole piece is a little slower than I remembered. Could you speed it up just a bit? Although then you probably need to make it longer to compensate.

[Tekka]

I liked your rendition of pure land music very much. I didn't think the pacing was off at all, in fact I think it was very much suited to the mysterious tranquil feel that area of the game was meant to have, and I love the way the track gradually builds. Great stuff.

All in all, an excellent job I have to say. If it's not finished yet, I can't wait to hear how it's going to sound when it's all done.

[impurfekt]

Uh, why don't you compress that file into an Ogg Vorbis or MP3 one? That would save on download time/bandwidth enormously.

Feedback: The background chords are very noticeable, especially in the beginning. Maybe you could hold them a little longer so they blend into eachother more. The whole piece is a little slower than I remembered. Could you speed it up just a bit? Although then you probably need to make it longer to compensate.

Thank you for your comments. You bring up some good points. I've left the file .wav as I'm also sending it to other artists working on the project. The final product will be distributed in .mp3 (as much as I hate compressed music).

Have you listened to the original lately? You will likely find the balance between the chords and bells is very similar. Also, I have matched the tempo exactly. It does feel slow on the first listen, however I want to match the original.

I have actually cut out parts of the original melody that repeat. The original track was quite long (about 5 minutes) and feels very repetitive. Length is of less concern to me here than maintaining the listeners attention.

[Kassidy]

I'll be listening to this soon as I get to work, and will give you feedback then.
Re compression, wonder if FLAC would help at all.

[manaman]

Hey,

I love it just the way it is. I wouldn't change a thing!

Peace,

manaman

[impurfekt]

I'll be listening to this soon as I get to work, and will give you feedback then.
Re compression, wonder if FLAC would help at all.

My brother has mentioned that FLAC is pretty darn good. But I feel I need to stick with the most common format for "mass" distribution. Not everyone who enjoys game music knows how to use a FLAC! うはwwwwww

[manaman]

I like and know how to use FLAC! But you are probably right, impurfekt. . . .

[Tekka]

There is always WMA9 Lossless, which should play "out of the box" for your standard windows user, and those familiar with other formats should be more than capable of turning it into whichever format they prefer.

[impurfekt]

Okay, here's another one. I've called this "mana". It's a cover of "angels fear" (the title piece). Listen here:

http://magiclantern.homelinux.net/impur ... s/mana.mp3

I would really like your impressions. I'm just unsure about the feel of it. There were additional notes during the second half of the original, but I didn't feel they fit well.

[Tekka]

I thought it was great. The build up and decline is really nice, but if I had to be critical of anything I'd say the ocean sounds don't really add anything necessary to the piece. But overall I loved it just as much, if not more than your previous one.

[impurfekt]

I thought it was great. The build up and decline is really nice, but if I had to be critical of anything I'd say the ocean sounds don't really add anything necessary to the piece. But overall I loved it just as much, if not more than your previous one.

Thank you Tekka!

I love the way there are synthesized whale calls in the game at the title screen. However, I went through hours of whale songs and what I have used is the closest I could come to the fake ones. So I am using real whale songs but... they aren't exactly what I had hoped for. They may just need more processing.

[manaman]

Hey,

It appears your first link is down? Are you planning on releasing these to download soon? When the project is done, are you thinking of selling or giving away an album or zipped collection? I would love to snag them in their original lossless format, by the way.

And I loved this second song. It really was wonderful. Thanks for all your hard work! Peace,

manaman

[impurfekt]

Hey,

It appears your first link is down? Are you planning on releasing these to download soon? When the project is done, are you thinking of selling or giving away an album or zipped collection? I would love to snag them in their original lossless format, by the way.

And I loved this second song. It really was wonderful. Thanks for all your hard work! Peace,

manaman

Sorry 'bout the first link. I have updated the song since so I took the old version down. Rest assured. The EP will be available for free download. I've got some other artists working on this too. Once everyone feels they are finished I'll announce the release and make links available.

Thanks for the kind word too!

[manaman]

Thanks!

I know everyone is really impressed. These are very good quality and I'm sure the rest will be awesome.

Out of curiosity, is Destiny helping you out?

Peace,

manaman