Hey what's up. Basically I've been writing music for years now but mostly band stuff (punk rock and the likes) and cheesy midis. Awhile back a friend of mine listened to a few of said midis and decided he wanted me to work on a game soundtrack for him. Ok, cool, he's a programmer who is also very new to it so it didn't matter much that I was very amatuerish. That fell through though (or I should say, is in perpetual limbo) and now I'm starting to think about getting involved in another project but I'm really, really doubting my talent. Especially after hearing some of the stuff on this forum that blows mine away. Anyway, I think I write melodies pretty well but I feel totally lost on the production side. I've been playing around with electronic music for about a year now, using Orion with various VSTs, but I don't feel like I'm making much progress. I probably need to move beyond "playing around" and start learning some things seriously. This is probably my best electronic song yet, albeit it's not really a game song, I wrote it for another music project I'm kind of involved in... http://www.negativeworld.org/mymusic/electronic/Spiraling_In_Circles_Forever.mp3 There are a bunch of other songs here, at various levels of quality... http://www.negativeworld.org/mymusic.php So, any advice on essentially how to start from square one? Most importantly how to get a better sound quality in my final product? I'm not too concerned with my ability to write and arrange songs (though I admit drums are my glaring weak spot, I'm still getting used to drum beats that go beyond basic thump pop stuff.) And as a sort of secondary question, are there people out there (like my friend) making VERY amatuerish games that don't mind some very amatuerish music, or would I have to get my skills up to a much higher level before even thinking of working on a soundtrack? I figure there have to be all levels of projects going on out there, but I really lack context to judge my own skill level. Basically, I have no idea if I'm at least competent enough for a very amateur-ish project or like... totally laughable.

Hey man,

First off, welcome! I'll answer your questions and then give some feedback on the music.

Quote: So, any advice on essentially how to start from square one? Most importantly how to get a better sound quality in my final product? I'm not too concerned with my ability to write and arrange songs (though I admit drums are my glaring weak spot, I'm still getting used to drum beats that go beyond basic thump pop stuff.)

You want better sounds? Does Orion sell or support add-ons for VST? If so, I'd check some of those out. One of the programs I use at home is Reason 4 which has a huge market for add on VST plugins they call Refills. See if your DAW has something like this. Another option would be completely 3rd party samples like ProjectSAM, East West, Komplete 5, VSL and others. These will require some kind of sampler, most often Kontakt made by NI.

Quote: And as a sort of secondary question, are there people out there (like my friend) making VERY amatuerish games that don't mind some very amatuerish music, or would I have to get my skills up to a much higher level before even thinking of working on a soundtrack?

Oh yes, all over the place. I'm sure you could find work pretty easily, especially if you're not too concerned with payment. I always tell others in the industry to try and make your music (and your talent and time) worth something. But the choice is ultimately up to you. Okay, now to the music:

Spiraling in Circles Forever- This piece starts off great. I love the clapping rhythm and then the synth pads coming in. Towards the middle of the piece my ear starts to get pretty tired of the high synth pad droning on and on. Could you either have it go away for a bit then return or have it change to a different note? That one sustained note gets pretty taxing. The piano adds a nice touch. Very synthy and poppish.

Say Hello to the Galaxy- This is very poppish and upbeat which could work really well in certain games. I could really see something like this working well in a Japanese game.

Overall your music is pretty repetitive in nature. It seems that you come up with an idea, repeat it for a good while then add on some more layers one at a time. There's nothing wrong with this approach but if this is the only compositional technique being used, then some may see this as a limitation. I think you could definitely find a niche for you music. Just keep writing and working on expanding your music pallet.

Thanks for sharing!

Nate

Quote: You want better sounds? Does Orion sell or support add-ons for VST? If so, I'd check some of those out. One of the programs I use at home is Reason 4 which has a huge market for add on VST plugins they call Refills. See if your DAW has something like this. Another option would be completely 3rd party samples like ProjectSAM, East West, Komplete 5, VSL and others. These will require some kind of sampler, most often Kontakt made by NI.

Well, I want a better SOUND, though whether that means I need better samples or just have to learn how to apply effects better, I'm not sure. Probably some of both, though getting better samples might be the easier starting point. You've heard some of my songs so you can probably tell the sound quality is very lacking at the moment.

Orion does support VST plugins, and I have a bunch of synths as well as some old school game plugins (Peach, Link, Toad, Basic.) I'm not sure what Refills are, is this a specific type of plugin? I'm also not sure what the term DAW means, sorry, told you I'm a total newb!

One thing I definitely need is some better orchestral samples. The synths I have contain a few but they don't seem to be the best quality. Too synthy, when I want stuff closer to the actual instruments... violins, and other strings specifically, but all of it in the end. I realize it's tough to get good emulation of these dynamic instruments, but there is probably better out there than what I have.

Quote: Oh yes, all over the place. I'm sure you could find work pretty easily, especially if you're not too concerned with payment. I always tell others in the industry to try and make your music (and your talent and time) worth something.

I'd love to get paid someday but realistically speaking I have a ways to go, and I think working on an actual project would get me more motivated. When I was doing the soundtrack for my friend I wrote like 15 songs in a month or two, MUCH more productive than I have been lately.

Thanks for the comments on my songs! Yeah I guess it is easy to fall into repetitiveness, especially since I come from a more rock/punk background where the songs themselves rarely change up much and the variety tends to come from the vocalist. I try to at least mix things up though, most my songs have a couple of distinct parts. Those two you listened to were both written more as song songs than game songs though, and I have lyrics and everything planned for them (I just can't sing, at all) so that would add a bit more variety there.

I've always felt that game music (in general) has a LOT more variety than your typical rock music so I tried to work that into my rock music, but now that I'm going for straight up game music I might still be lacking a bit in the variety sector. Then again most of my favorite game music is old 8/16 bit stuff and a lot of it was 1-2 minute loops.

Any good books anyone can suggest for basic techniques in producing the music? I see all these switches and levers on all my plugins and the likes and I mess around with them but it's all blind right now...