Hi forum friends,
I have been away from the Showcase for a little while but here is my latest musical offering: A SONG ABOUT LEONIE

https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172/a-song-about-leonie

MUSICAL INFO
The melody features, at different times, flute, strings and a horn section (all Kontakt instruments).
PIANO: Written by me (featuring sforzando grand piano), plus an eight bar RealTrack section from Miles Black (I think)
BASS: some written by me, plus RT701 (Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesSync Ev 085) and RT909 (Bass, Electric, SmoothPoppy Ev16 090)
GUITAR (solo): RT1237 (Guitar, Electric, Soloist SmoothJazzPoppy Ev16 090)
GUITAR (rhythm): Various selections from Darin Favorite’s PopBalladClean tracks: RT838-plus
RealDrums: various selections from Ricky Laws’ JazzFunk tracks, plus CongasEv16[single]
and TambourineEv16

I would be grateful if you give my song a play (or two).
I encourage your comments, criticism and suggestions on everything from melody, arrangement, production etc.

Cheers,
Mike

Hi Mike,

I enjoyed the listen. It's a great melody and I love the key changes that you took us through. It's a very creative composition and with lots of attention to detail.

Thank you for providing the music image on Soundcloud. I enjoyed reading along with you while you played. I hope Leonie felt very special

It's thumbs up from me!
Noel

Bob,
1st off - cool melody and nice tense sadness/reflection after the upbeat intro.
Personally I'd cut the intro, (or at least the percussion at the very start), lots of variation and interesting stuff happening BUT I'm hooked on that fisrt pensive section. I wanted that to repeat as I was listening to the newer sections.
Caught me!

Nice work on this - I thought it flowed really nicely, and held a lot of emotion behind it. It's a really vibey tune and I thought it was easy to follow and nicely catchy.

Thanks for sharing

Mike,
I like the melody ( begins at 15 sec) and the jazzy guitar break. I`m impressed by the creativity and skill that goes into instrumentals created mostly with MIDI.
For my taste the piano sounds a little busy, otherwise the layers and instruments work well together.

Robert

Thanks for your comments Noel. I'm glad you enjoyed the song (and the sheet music).
Cheers,
Mike

Nice melody, good arrangement. A lot of contrast in the various sections, and the things move along nicely. I enjoyed listening through it a number of times.

I'm with Robert that the piano seems a tad too busy, but it's nothing that needs to be changed at this point. At 0:48 it sounds a bit like wrong note on the rolled chord.

The pizzicato at 1:12 is a nice touch.

The MIDI instruments you have work well and are pleasant to listen to. I think there are more realistic instrument libraries available, but in the end, it doesn't really detract from the enjoyment of the music if the sections aren't 100% realistic.

I do think MIDI instruments are a harder to mix in a way that they sound like they're coming from a "real" space.

Love the ending.

A lot of talent on display here, wish I could do MIDI as well as you do. I agree the intro seems disconnected. Otherwise, great job!!!

Mike,
Very impressive composition! I like the breaks and mood changes and yet, it still holds the shape well. Ending was very cool.
As per your request, I listened to it twice
I think the piano and flute are mushed together a little. I believe if you treat them with different FX / EQ might help to separate them a little. Maybe piano a little brighter and flute with more reverb and higher EQ so it sits on top? Just ideas... Enjoyed it!

Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Very cool song. This song has a very familiar feel to it. Maybe a theme from a tv show. Very well done

Thanks for your kind words rayc.
I always appreciate your honest opinion and insightful suggestions.
Cheers,
Mike

I really enjoyed the arrangement you selected for this song. Well done!

Wow! From fresh lively to sombre in an instant.
Good job on the track quality.
Enjoyed my listen. This is very well done,
Rob4580

Thanks Derek. Your comments are much appreciated.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for listening Robert. I appreciate your informed comments.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks David. As always I appreciate your honest and detailed appraisal.
Cheers,
Mike

This is an amazingly beautiful and elaborate musical production!!! FANTASTIC!!! What is the flute sample? I'm looking for a better one! Take care. Greg

Thanks TuneMonger. Your kind words are much appreciated.
Mike

Enjoyed the many different sections each evoking it's own mood. Well done.

Thanks Misha. I appreciate your comments, especially re piano and flute blend as this was an issue I grappled with quite a bit. I need to read more on the art of EQ.
Cheers,
Mike

Mike

Quite an intricate and complex piece - evoking many different moods.

Some very nice flourishes and unexpected twists.

Nice work.

Peter

Nice. A lot of interesting changes. Even though I am not as big a fan of some of the midi voices, you did a good job of mixing. Everything sits in its place well. I agree that some of the instruments are just a tad too busy at times. But that's just my personal opinion.

Thanks for sharing this! Don't wait so long to share more.

Steve

Hi Mike,

that's just awesome - what an excellent use of BIAB. A wonderful arrangment, very nice melody lines.

Very, very nice!

Take care

Stefan

Quite the ride you took me on. Lovely progression and leads. Emotive and interesting. I enjoyed the listen.

Thanks Scott. Appreciate your comments.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks so much Rob. I appreciate your interest and comments.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Greg for you very kind words.
The flute I used is from the Kontakt Factory Library. It's very nice. I'm on the road until mid-October, otherwise you could have sent me the midi file to convert to audio.
Thanks again,
Cheers,
Mike

No doubt a lot of thought and effort went into this production.

And it paid off.

Both midi and that number of tracks are beyond my music pay grade!

Beautiful and cinematic in feel.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

Hello, 'mkg50'...

I'm pretty sure your post is the first one I've listened to that caused me to think about its orchestration and arrangement, which is a testimony to how intricately it unfolded. It sounds like a 'chart' written by someone who knew what he was doing! It was easy for me to imagine you in a studio, wearing headphones and standing behind a podium, baton-in-hand, as you conduct the orchestra .

It's a lovely, tender and evocative composition that played back like a tightly-structured musical drama, while being quite obviously a portrait in sound of very special person in your life. Also, unique, memorable, and finely textured in an emotional sense.

Very skillful production, sir !!!

- bluage -

Thanks Mark for taking the time to listen and comment.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for listening Peter. I certainly appreciate your comments.
Mike

Thanks Steve. As always it's a pleasure to get your opinion.
Cheers,
Mike

Nice work on this, Mike! You held my attention throughout the entire piece, I was wondering where you were going to take it next.

I wouldn't know where to start arranging and mixing a project like this, but you pulled it off very well indeed.

Enjoyed!

Thanks for listening Stefan. Your comments made my day.
Cheers,
Mike

Hi Mike ...

Loved it! You did a marvelous job transitioning from one part to another. I might be odd-man-out here, but I liked the opening intro ... it opened the door for the surprise that came afterwards. It's obvious you dedicated a lot of time and effort into this wonderful composition.

I'm almost a total idiot when it comes to midi ... it seems you have a terrific grasp on it!

Thanks for a great listen. Wishing you the best ...

Alan

Thanks for your comments Tangmo. Glad you enjoyed the ride.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Janice and Bud for listening. It's always great to get feedback from you guys.
Cheers,
Mike

bluage, your words are music to my ears. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and very kind words.
Cheers,
Mike

Lovely sounds well produced and its been said emotional I totally agree.

Thanks

Hi, Mike !:))


What mighty a tune indeed !:))
I think it would sit in a
movie just absolutely perfectly !
Wonderful tune !


Congrats !

Cheers
Dani

Thanks for listening Karla, and for your generous comments.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Dave. Coming from one of my favourite Showcase artists, your comments are very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Mike

Hi Alan,
Thanks very much for your encouraging words. It's always great to get comments from you guys.
I've been away from home for a couple of weeks and haven't had a chance to listen to other Showcase artists but I intend to catch up in the next couple of days.
All the best to you and Di.
Cheers,
Mike

Mike,

A very nice piece. So many different textures. Like chapters to a good book. It kept me engaged throughout. Surprise pop up regularly. I really like the slow down of the ending, too.

fj

Thanks for listening beatmaster. Your comments are appreciated.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Dani. I have long had a love of movie music so your words are particularly pleasing.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers,
Mike

T
Thanks for listening Floyd. Your insightful comments are always very encouraging.
Cheers,
Mike