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#841126 01/30/25 08:06 PM
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Another channel-swap and remix, the original posted in April last year, the next paragraph from that post:

When I first created the chord structure for this instrumental my plan was to compose a sequel to my "Quan Yin", but while the idea worked it lacked any oomph, so I abandoned that plan and decided to use totally different instrumentation and make a solid rock track dedicated to my CGI/3D character, Zuzu, as my other favourites, Deya, Venus and Aya have all had titles named after them. Once I had a very solid rhythm section arranged with a total of 6 rhythm guitars in the mix by the time it plays through to the 3rd of 3 cycles (choruses) I intended to use 3 completely different solo instruments, but just to see how the original 3 from the no-oomph original mix worked - tin whistle, tenor sax and dizi flute - I tried them and to my total surprise they worked perfectly, so I've left them in.

1st & 2nd rhythm guitars: Jovian Divine Alt Rock Soloing ~ Mike Durham
Organ: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba ~ Gene Rabbai
Enya & Sirius Warm Pads & Strings hybrid mix
Drums: Nashville Radio Power Bal Solo ~ Miles McPherson
Bass Guitar: Bricks Indie Rock w Guitar Solo ~ Tobin Frank
Tin Whistle: Tin Whistle Light Folk Pop ~ Geoffrey Kelly
Tenor Saxophone: Slow Country Pop w/ Tenor Solo ~ Mark Douthit
3rd rhythm guitar: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba ~ Darin Favorite
4th rhythm guitar: Centaur Gtr Solo Hard Rock Bal ~ Darin Favorite
5th & 6th rhythm guitars: Nashville Radio Power Bal Solo ~ Danny Rader
Dizi Flute: Silk Smooth World Groove ~ Charlie Lui


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
WaoBand #841135 01/30/25 10:26 PM
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Chay,

You create the character first and then write the music to match it.
That certainly allows you to create a song that matches the visuals.
I think it's a very fantastic video and music.
Enjoyed my listen and watch a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

WaoBand #841160 01/31/25 05:14 AM
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Chay,

This is an excellent tune. Love when the sax comes in. Great build and mix.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Bob

WaoBand #841183 01/31/25 09:12 AM
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Always feel better after listening to your music, Chay. Why is that? It's not just cuz it's good --there's a lot of good stuff. I think it's the passion with which you create these. Anyway, it's a much better mystery to enjoy than solve. I really like how you bring in the individual players so seemlessly well.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

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WaoBand #841193 01/31/25 10:30 AM
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This is a beautiful composition. I really like the intro and the flute sound.
Laurent

WaoBand #841218 01/31/25 02:55 PM
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Chay, nicely done as always. Know I've heard versions of these remixes before, and recognize the themes. But my appreciation for what you are doing as an arranger just continues to grow. The intro of each soloist and the placement in the mix is much more nuanced than what I remember. The overall effect is a very vivid ambient feel that preserves an interesting dynamic flow. Easier for me to say than to do. smile


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WaoBand #841336 02/01/25 11:17 AM
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A nice and relaxing song, and just when I thought a change would be good to keep it from getting boring, the sax came in.
Perfect timing!

animarorecords #841480 02/02/25 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by animarorecords
Chay,
You create the character first and then write the music to match it.
That certainly allows you to create a song that matches the visuals.
I think it's a very fantastic video and music.
Enjoyed my listen and watch a lot.
Best regards.
Shigeki Adachi

Many thanks for the great response, Shigeki. I've been doing 3D Modelling/CGI for 12 years and so now have way over 300 images, but alas the vast majority don't suit the themes of my instrumentals.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
rsdean #841481 02/02/25 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by rsdean
Chay,
This is an excellent tune. Love when the sax comes in. Great build and mix.
Thoroughly enjoyed!
Bob

Thanks for listening and responding, Bob. The biggest problem I have when getting the instruments' volume balances right is that the music always sounds different depending on which program I'm listening to them in. What sounds like a perfect balance to me in Audacity won't sound the same via VLC Media Player, then that'll sound different to when I'm creating the video in CyberLink. The latter always gives a warmer feel to everything, but the balances sound very different. An example is that I was just rebalancing a track in which the 2 solos sound too low via VLC, so I decided to add 0.3 and 0.2db to them but they now sounded too loud in Audacity. I saved the file anyway and went to redo the video, but then in CyberLink they don't sound loud enough! I'll next listen to the track in a playlist so I can compare it to others, but even then I have to play the list 3 times, once at average volume, once at low volume and once loud as I often find that what sounds right at one volume won't at another. Regarding "Zuzu" I'd listened to it oodles of times, also on other sites before posting here, but it was only once I posted it here that I now think both the tenor sax and the dizi should be a little louder, though probably only 0.2 or 0.3db It's very frustrating!


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
BabuMusic #841482 02/02/25 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by BabuMusic
Always feel better after listening to your music, Chay. Why is that? It's not just cuz it's good --there's a lot of good stuff. I think it's the passion with which you create these. Anyway, it's a much better mystery to enjoy than solve. I really like how you bring in the individual players so seemlessly well.

Thanks Marty! It was only after reading your comment that I realised that I never do sad music. "Zuzu" is one of a few which are definitely good feeling instrumentals.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
laurent4114 #841484 02/02/25 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by laurent4114
This is a beautiful composition. I really like the intro and the flute sound.
Laurent

Thanks for the response, Laurent. Both the tin whistle and the dizi flute are excellent BiaB instruments, plus they often go so well together,


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
DC Ron #841485 02/02/25 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by DC Ron
Chay, nicely done as always. Know I've heard versions of these remixes before, and recognize the themes. But my appreciation for what you are doing as an arranger just continues to grow. The intro of each soloist and the placement in the mix is much more nuanced than what I remember. The overall effect is a very vivid ambient feel that preserves an interesting dynamic flow. Easier for me to say than to do. smile

Thanks for the feedback, Ron. For me the dynamics are the most important thing, then the flow of one solo instrument to another is due to my collecting as many different instrument samples as I can and then when I've found those which fit best try many different regenerations of them. More and more I'm finding that I have to cut and paste solo sections to get the right dynamic - also so that the end of one solo blends into the next - plus also to avoid instruments I've used a few times repeating the same phrases, though that's not always possible.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
B.D.Thomas #841486 02/02/25 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by B.D.Thomas
A nice and relaxing song, and just when I thought a change would be good to keep it from getting boring, the sax came in.
Perfect timing!

Thanks for listening and responding, B.D. See my reply above to Bob Dean as only on posting "Zuzu" here did I feel that the tenor sax and dizi should be 0.. or 0.3db louder.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
WaoBand #841489 02/02/25 06:38 PM
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WoaBand:

I was first off blown away by the number of tracks you have used here. It doesn't sound busy, which is a sign of good production given all that's going on. Like the tin whistle, sits nicely above the mix. The transition to sax is very cool (though wondering if the sax should be lower in volume just a tad or softer . . . but that's a total nit). Very engaging throughout. Well done!

Deej

WaoBand #841739 02/04/25 10:57 AM
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Good listening, Chay.

Deej56 #841801 02/04/25 08:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Deej56
WoaBand:
I was first off blown away by the number of tracks you have used here. It doesn't sound busy, which is a sign of good production given all that's going on. Like the tin whistle, sits nicely above the mix. The transition to sax is very cool (though wondering if the sax should be lower in volume just a tad or softer . . . but that's a total nit). Very engaging throughout. Well done!
Deej

Thanks for the positive response Deej, though the tenor saxophone is clearly lower in gain then the preceding tin whistle.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
floyd jane #841802 02/04/25 08:24 PM
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Originally Posted by floyd jane
Good listening, Chay.

Thanks for listening, Floyd. Appreciated.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
WaoBand #841908 02/05/25 04:39 PM
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Chay, you are a master of creativity, mixing, and producing instrumental masterpieces.
This a really great piece of ear candy.


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Me: My child causes trouble at home, do I ever call you?

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MarioD #842063 02/06/25 09:07 PM
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Originally Posted by MarioD
Chay, you are a master of creativity, mixing, and producing instrumental masterpieces.
This a really great piece of ear candy.

Thanks for that great response, Mario, though I ended up unhappy with the sax's gain so I've already done a better remix. In doing that I also found I'd made an error in that one of the rhythm guitars was accidentally left on the left in the channel-swaps so I corrected that. I only noticed that as the wave-form of the final render was just biased to left, which made me check the Audacity file. However, as I've got so much to redo, plus I have 2 new instrumentals, I won't be reposting the new mix for some months.


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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