# Galactic Melee - Main Title (2011 version)



## Lunatique (Jan 1, 2011)

UPDATE:
http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality ... rsion2.mp3

I tried to implement all of your suggestions, and some of them worked and while some didn't work as well (or I couldn't make it work)), so the final update contains some of your suggestions, but not all.

What was updated:

-The synth melody in the middle got a drum update that makes it sound like it the track is being propelled forward more instead of repeating the same percussion.

-The percussion is now spread out more in stereo and lower in volume, as well as more reverb.

-The cello spiccato's balance with the synth is now altered to have the cellos dominate more, for a less synthy but still aggressive sound.

-The balance of the strings during the synth melody part was changed.

-The middle glitch break is now strings only, and it's no longer a glitch effect but a simple telephone mono effect.

-The Drums of the second half was updated with a punchier kick.

-The bassline before the strings come in is changed to mostly double the guitar instead of fighting it. Since I lower the volume of the guitar when the strings come in, there was no need to change the bassline once the strings show up.

There are probably other tweaks here and there but I didn't keep track of all of them so I can't remember now.

I wanted to implement the suggestion of bringing back some of the staccato feel of the strings for the second half, but as I realized that there's already a lot of percussive elements going, so perhaps keeping the entire string section lyrical and flowing would be a better contrast. 

Thanks for all your very helpful comments!

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ORIGINAL POST:

http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality_website/music/2003-present/galactic_melee/Galactic_Melee-Main_Title_2011_version.mp3 (http://www.ethereality.info/ethereality ... ersion.mp3)
(Try copy/paste the entire URL into the address bar if the link is broken.)

I've been meaning to redo the main title (used for the main menu) I did for the Galactic Melee game score (since the game was canceled) because I was always unhappy with how it turned out originally. For the 2011 version, I changed quite a bit of stuff, such as:

-Rewrote the string section in the second half with better counterpoint. Although my understanding of counterpoint has greatly improved since when I did the original version, it's still not to my total satisfaction. I have to experiment even more--especially on crafting compelling dissonances that serves as intriguing tensions before they resolve. 

-Completely redid the drum section in the second half.

-Complete redid the bassline in the second half.

-Other changes of how the glitch effect is handled, and redid the whole mix/master.

I know that compositionally, this is really simple and mainstream stuff that some of you probably would turn your nose up at, thinking that it's unsophisticated and without any meaningful development, but this kind of stuff can be fun and satisfying in a different way, and serves the purpose of a modern sci-fi shooter pretty well.


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## johan25 (Jan 2, 2011)

Great energetic piece 

Although I didn't liked the first percussion part so much, but the strings theme here is very nice

Cheers


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## Lunatique (Jan 2, 2011)

johan25 @ Sun Jan 02 said:


> Great energetic piece
> 
> Although I didn't liked the first percussion part so much, but the strings theme here is very nice
> 
> Cheers



Thanks! 

Can you tell me what you didn't like about the percussion part, and exactly where they occur in the timeline? Same with the strings--do you mean in the first half or the climax?


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## johan25 (Jan 3, 2011)

I like the Strings part from 00:30-01.09 min. It has great energy to it, which you repeat a couple of times. This then is an nice contrast to the more slowing/emotional theme the Strings play in the second part.

As for the percussion, you introduce an percussion part in the intro, right, this is cool, but you repeat almost the same percussion part at 00.30 when the strings are playing a more energetic motive, I feel the percussion here could use some more action.

This is just my opinion bro, other than that, nice cue for an game.


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## Dracarys (Jan 3, 2011)

Link isn't working for me


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## Lunatique (Jan 3, 2011)

That's a good point. I tried to inject some movement and variations with the toms and cymbals, but yes, the percussion is mainly a similar groove, though I tried to make that more organic by varying the patterns instead of just a one bar loop. I play all the drums/percussion by hand, so it's very easy to introduce slight variations here and there. Maybe I could introduce a more radically different pattern when the synth melody kicks in at 0:48, or just add another layer of percussion on top, perhaps metals instead of skin.



Casalena @ Mon Jan 03 said:


> Link isn't working for me



Sorry about that--I think it's because there are spaces in the file name. Can you try just copy/paste the entire URL into the address bar? That should work. Thanks.


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## erockrazor (Jan 3, 2011)

Very cool song. I like the arrangement, seems like you had a clear mind of what you wanted. Thought the hand drums in the beginning of the song might have been a little up in the mix. There is a drum fill at 39 seconds or so that is a little unclear. Some tones are clashing or are rhythmically convoluted. Very good piece though. Fits the application for sure! Eric.


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## hbuus (Jan 3, 2011)

Percussion is sometimes stealing the picture in a bad way IMO. Also the 'flashes' that occur right before 1:07 is not my cup of tea. Apart from that, nice piece. I like it. Nice driving rhythm, nice bass, nice strings, nice synth FX.

Best,
Henrik


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## Dracarys (Jan 3, 2011)

The link is working, the song won't load and play :S. Internets fine here btw


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## Ian Dorsch (Jan 3, 2011)

Some cool stuff going on there, man. 

A few miscellaneous thoughts/constructive criticisms:

The string sound is nice, especially the legato stuff at the end.

The second half feels more cohesive to me than the first half, both in terms of the mix and composition. The drums and perc in the second half work really well. 

Out of curiosity, what was the 2nd half bass line like before? Generally in an arrangement like this the bass guitar is most effective doubling the rhythm guitars an octave down. The bass line in the current version is okay, but in a few spots it is competing with the guitars and adding clutter to the arrangement IMO.

I wonder if the hand percussion at the beginning might sit better in the mix if it was less dry and panned away from the center? 

Thanks for sharing, nice work.


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## Lunatique (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks so much for the comments!

I actually had the percussion quieter before but it didn't seem to groove as much as I wanted. Is there a better solution to having a nice groove without having the percussion dominating too much?

Does anyone like the glitch effect right before the heavy guitars? If no one likes it except me, then that's probably a sign that I need to rethink it.

erockrazor - Can you be more specific about where the tones are clashing/rhythmically convoluted (in the timeline)?

Casalena - Maybe try a different browser? It seems others don't have the same problem.

Ian - The original bassline was less prominent and more like the kind of simple doubling you're talking about. It sounded a bit too boring to me though, but you're probably right about it sometimes competing. Maybe I got too excited about getting a bunch of new bass libraries and wanted to feature the bass more prominently (which is very obvious during the fadeout when the bass starts going off on its own). 

The percussion was even drier before and I put some reverb on it. I guess it wasn't enough. I can try spreading it out to be more stereo. 

I really do want a nice percussive groove happening in the first half, but looks like I went about it the wrong way based on everyone's feedback.


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## Ian Dorsch (Jan 3, 2011)

Lunatique @ Mon Jan 03 said:


> Ian - The original bassline was less prominent and more like the kind of simple doubling you're talking about. It sounded a bit too boring to me though, but you're probably right about it sometimes competing. Maybe I got too excited about getting a bunch of new bass libraries and wanted to feature the bass more prominently (which is very obvious during the fadeout when the bass starts going off on its own).
> 
> The percussion was even drier before and I put some reverb on it. I guess it wasn't enough. I can try spreading it out to be more stereo.



I see, I totally understand on the bass thing. 

I think maybe part of my reaction comes from where the bass line sits. With guitars like that, I expect to hear a deep 5-string growl, with the meat of the bass line hanging out on the low b string. I like to hear the bass prominently, but I like it to sound belligerent in a mix like this, and with samples that often requires keeping it _low._ That's just my personal preference, so take with appropriate grain of salt. 

Also, I don't have a problem with the percussion being up front in the mix, I just would like to hear a little more room behind it. The overall mix at the beginning seems a little claustrophobic to me, as though it's mainly bunched up around the center of the stereo field. I think pulling the percussion further out of the middle would make room in the center for your drums, which currently seem to be fighting to inhabit the same space.


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## Lunatique (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for elaborating, guys. I'm now working on the next iteration and trying to implement some of your suggestions. I'll post the next version once it's done. 

In the meantime, keep the comments coming. I'm quite a ways behind many of you in terms of experience and training, and being completely self-taught doesn't help either, so I need all the help from you guys I can get. 

And to think I pretty much had given up posting my music here because I felt so insecure among all these trained classical composers. I'm glad I did because I got some really nice help from you guys. Maybe I've improved enough this time so that more people are willing to comment now. :D Anyway, I'm very grateful for your help.


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## hbuus (Jan 8, 2011)

Nice work. This piece really sounds nice!

One thing I hear now, which I didn't notice earlier:
The strings that enter at 1:26 sound a little 'sluggish' up until 1:31.
Perhaps a faster attack will help.

Best,
Henrik


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## Lunatique (Jan 8, 2011)

Doh! I just realized some of the effects drums in the beginning didn't get bounced in the final render! I re-uploaded it (same file--I just replaced it). If you listened to the updated version before this post, then it's the older one--now it should contain the effects drums in the beginning.


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## Lunatique (Jan 8, 2011)

Thanks guys--I'm glad you like the update. 

hbuus - Yeah, the strings are probably a bit slow around there, and if I have time, I'll try tweaking the expression on that a bit. I tend to overdo the expressions sometimes because I keep thinking it doesn't sound natural enough. Guess I'm paranoid. Thanks for pointing it out.


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