Weekly Update #1

So now that college is starting up and all, its time to do the weekly updates to keep all my fans and subscribers in the loop.


College is pretty much the same as it was last semester, classes on mon - thur and friday I have off. Im taking all the boring general education stuff so i can get that out of the way as quickly as possible.  I've been talking to people about what I should remix next, my original plan was to do the "pinky spy" theme in Ep.25 Party of one.  It's a fun little piece, that has some potential to become quite epic.  But someone sent me the score to "vanquishing the Ursa minor" which is a beautiful pice. The thing is that I don't want to just duplicate it, that would be boring so Im trying to see what I can incorporate into it.  Its a bit difficult to say the least, trying to find different harmonies and what not.


Im also considering actually re scoring half of a MLP episode with different soundtracks from other artists. Its an idea though.




Anyways Ill be posting cool audio tech every once in a while so here's some neat stuff.

1. Griffin Power Mate - This cool little knob is fully assignable to anything, literally. Use it for volume, pan, verb, compression, display brightness, zoom, anything.  (Mac, PC, and Linux compatible)     Price: $40

2. Ultrasone DJ1 Pro Headphones - These are phenomenal headphones! I own a pair and the sound quality is simply superb, the highs are crisp and clear, and the midrange is not muddy.  It also has a surprisingly good amount of low end reproduction to them as well, but there not bass heavy. There a bit more pricey than the average headphones but you definitely get what you pay for.  Price: $149

3. Klipsch Promedia 2.1 - If your looking for computer speakers and don't know which ones to get, then I suggest getting these.  They have excellent bass response and sound really good across all frequencies. And if you hate wires it also comes in a wireless version.  Price: $149 ($229 for wireless)

4. Griffin iMic - This handy little device adds 2 stereo inputs and outputs to your current setup. (works on a pc too!)  Price: $40

5. Mackie Control Universal Pro - This is a nice thing to have if you constantly do mixing and need automation for faders and other various things. Its a control surface, meaning it doesn't pass audio through it at all. It connects to the computer by a usb port.  Its expensive, like really expensive. So you might want to see if you can bag a used one off of Ebay.  But if you make it rain Benjamins on a daily basis then spring for a new one, you wont be disappointed.       Price:   New: $999  Used: $680



Please note that Im not trying to sell you anything or endorse any company, nor do I get paid for advertising.  Im just showcasing cool audio technology that makes life or editing a little easier.

I hate bees

No seriously, I do.  Im allergic to bee stings and I happened to get one on sunday.  I was rushed to the emergency room and was in a bed before I knew what was happening.  They gave me some epinephrine (thats synthesized adrenalin)  and another shot that had three different types of steroids in it to help combat with the swelling and hives that I got.  Fortunately I caught it early,  If i wasn't so lucky I could have stopped breathing due to my tongue swelling up.   Any ways for the past 3 days ive been pretty loopy with all the drugs they gave me.  That being said Im trying to work on an orchestral score, but its slow going.  I have a 1:10 so far and Id like to have 2min total.  Now I know that some of you have complained about my scores being a bit short, and i can understand that.  So Im thinking about just doing LP versons of them instead of thinking up new things to re score. Also,  school starts for me next week so I wont be able to crank out 1 a week anymore, its going to be one a month 2 if Im lucky.  I should have done about 10 scores before I posted the first one so I could have a "buffer"but thats water under the bridge.  Now Im hoping that i can still get some time in for scores here and there but i just don't know.  So thats this weeks update.  Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow.

-Michael

Party of one Re-score

I decided to re-score or "extend" this orchestral bit because liked how it captures Pinky Pie's innocence and sadness.  There was such emotion in 5 seconds.  I felt like I had to extend that score.

The arrangement itself that you hear from the episode consists of 3 triads starting at Fm (F minor) then E aug (E augmented) then AbM (A flat Major).  It was difficult to transition form A to E so I added a fourth triad B flat Major to complete the melody.  Having the second note in the B flat Major cord land on F it was easy for me to transition back up to Fm.

After that it was jut adding different instruments to flesh out the arrangement and add some harmonization. I wanted to keep the front half of the song melancholy, while the back half is more epic so to speak.  To be honest the back half of the song was created to end the whole song on a more upbeat and happy note.  Because pinky pie is upbeat and happy in all of the episodes I felt it necessary to end the song on a happy note.

The whole project took me about 8 hours (not all at once) to compose, I find im most productive at night so thats when I usually start composing.  Composing music is not my first strength, that would be sound design and mixing.  But nevertheless I do find it fun to compose music, it just takes me a little bit longer to do than say,  John Williams, Allen Menken, Thomas Newman, or Bear McCreary (whose blog is awesome by the way).   The first thing I do is look for a piece of music that I like and is not over 10 seconds, if it were over 10 seconds theres not much i could do because its already fleshed out by the composer.  When I do find one, I then listen to it and play by ear until I get the notes right, which doesn't take long.  Then comes the hard part, adding notes and creating a melody.  Its weird because I usually find this part difficult so its kind of a hit or mis thing.  But inspiration usually slaps me in the face and then i hammer something out in one night.  Then I take it and refine it and add some harmony to it and BAM there you have a re-scored version of a song.  Im currently working on another re scoring thats pushing my limits notation wise, Pizzicato stings are fun to use however you must use them diligently or it wont sound that good.  So yeah, something should be up this coming saturday.  After that Im hoping to do one more before school starts and I have to extend my releases to once a moth.

Later

FAQ's

So here are some frequently asked questions that ill cover in this post so I don't get a ton of emails that have the same question. So here they are.

**PARTY OF ONE RESCORE DOWNLOAD HERE** (aif version)

**MP3 Download here**

1. How often will you be uploading content to Youtube?  

It really all depends on how busy I am with other things such as college, homework and other things. I try to keep re-scoring stuff high on my priority list. That being said Ill try to upload one every week or 2 weeks. But mostly every 2 weeks.

2. How long are your scores going to be?

About 2 min, anything longer and I would have to be uploading one a month you cant just replay the same three notes over and over and expect it to be interesting.

3. Do you take fan suggestions?

It depends on what it is and how complex the arrangement (how many instruments there are) is.  Suggestions are welcome but its up to me to see if it can work or not.

4. Can we have the MIDI tracks of your re-scores?

Simple answer, no.  Mainly because not all of you have the vast collection of software instruments that i have so it would not sound good anyways.

5. What format will the downloads be in?

I will be doing two formats, one in .aif 16bit/44.1kHz  and the other in .mp3 16bit/44.1kHz

6.  What program do you use to compose your music?

I use garage band with Symphony Orchestra and Voices Jam Packs.

7. What instrument do you play?

I play the piano/keyboard.

8. Why don't you use logic or pro tools?

Well, logic would be nice to have, but the other software instruments that are included with logic are not really necessary for what I do.  Pro Tools is the industry standard for mixing and recording, however i don't see the need for it and its kinda pricy.

9. Will you be re-scoring other shows besides MLP?

We will have to see.  MLP has tons of orchestral beats in it that could use a good extension for them, and I haven't found a show that has this much AWESOME in the score.  So probably not.

10. Can I use your music in my video?

As long as you give credit to me I suppose thats ok. Email me soundscore64@yahoo.com first to give me a heads up of what you're planning to do with it.  Just be sure to make it clear that I did it.  Or I will send physco pinky pie to your house to kill you.  And then I'll send evil ninja monkeys to finish the job and clean up the mess. It will look like nothing ever happened, except that your gone now :)

Greetings

Hello everyone, I will mainly be using this blog to post things about soundtracks and scores.  This will also keep you updated on what Im currently working on.  This first post will be a bit short because Im working on other things but not to worry, there will be plenty more on the way soon. :)