Two Pieces of Library Music

Written for a degree assignment. Quick definition for those who are unfamiliar with the term "library music": Production music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairly straightforward stuff, really - one slow, sweeping track for a moody cue of some kind, and another far more excitable one. They're both meant to be background-ish, which is why they end quite abruptly and are not hugely eventful.

Both of these pieces were created using Logic Pro. I had no experience with Logic before starting this assignment, but I've found it to be very powerful and quite user-friendly, at least once the initial learning curve has been conquered.

All comments are appreciated!

Wahoo! Incidental music from Mike!

I really liked them both. The slow one is nice and subtle while still maintaining a musical feel. The "digital" sounding elements were an interesting contrast with the nature sounds.

The fast one was mixed a bit strangely, with the lows turned waaay up and the rest sort of drowned out. I'd also have to comment that, besides the booming percussion and occasional ethnic flute rip, it lacked a really "African" feel to it. This felt far more like rave music - something I'd expect at a more eclectic nightclub perhaps.

Either way, it's nice to see some music in this genre from you, Mike, and it seems like you've enjoyed using Logic. Kind of amazing how easy it makes creating something like this, eh?

Good work!

I really liked both of these!

They were both exciting to listen to and really created great moods and mental pictures.

The opening of the fast track to :09 was very interesting. I was thinking "I wonder where is it going to go from here?"

I really enjoyed the use of SoundFX.

nice work.

I thought these were very good. The slow one captures the ambience of an African waterhole well - there was (is? I forget the URL) a website that had a camera pointing at a waterhole and this piece reminded me of when I used to watch. First rate!

I tend to agree with Marius that the fast one while interesting doesn't sound African. I'm not a percussionist but African drum rhythms tend to be more subtle and complex - at least that is my impression. But still a good piece and enjoyable.

OMG!

WOW!

Mike: My eyes, my ears, my tongue! All burnted! :p

*ahem*

Mike: Good thing you put the copyright notice, otherwise I would've stolen your tracks by now.

*ahem*x2

Mike: Brian will never change. He did the same things to use 3 years ago.

*ahem*x3

And now for the proper feedback.

I like them, quite a lot, both. I do agree that they don't sound African really, but who cares? Since you used the samples provided by Brian, you're ok! I find them a bit louder than I would like to, but it's no fault really.

What I would feedback as "negative" is simply that there is little variation. The do tend to feel alike, and the rhtyhms don't change, nor there is any change in notes, pitch, "tonality", or whatever. You could very well play a bit more with the audio clips provided, by altering the pitch (thus moving to a new key), or reversing them, or adding something else, apart from reverb.

For my, highly personal taste, I find the reverb quit excessive! But it is highly personal, so feel free to dissregard this comment.

In all, it's an ear adn eye opener to use something other than what you are used to, isn't it?

BTW, just go with the flow of things. If you prefer PC, stick with a PC and cubase, Sonar, whatever. If you like Logic, move to logic, especially now that there is a great deal for Logic 8 and has a bundle of great stuff. (plus there should be some 20-30% off because of Xmas)

Thank you all so much for commenting!

Marius, I think you might have a point about the mixing. I didn't apply any EQ whatsoever to the track as a whole, so the "ultra-bassiness" could stem from over-using low drum samples.

The fast one is not terribly "African", no (neither is the slow one, I guess). I did try adding various pitched percussion lines, but I couldn't avoid them sounding comical. I was also encouraged to explore electronic sounds more so than in the slow one, so I did. Perhaps I got a little carried away.

I will try to produce a second mix in line with the above feedback, and post it up here. In the meantime, thanks again for listening!

I don't think they sound overly African but I do like the way you've incorperated the animal noises in "Slow" very documentary

Of all the well-known stereotypes you can write music for I think Africa is probably one of the hardest especially with samples as in my opinion alot of its identity comes from vocals (scores like Lion King and Dinosaur come to mind). Also perhaps its because we're so accustomed to massive percussion in any action film.

The Fast piece, well I didn't think it was very fast and to me it sounded a little raveish but neat first try though

I agree that it doesn't really sound too African, but then again a lot of music in documentaires and nature shows don't always sound authentic either. They usually sound "stylized", but of course a close representaion of any authentic music is always great.

I personally would have liked more percuission instruments.

Yeah, I was thinking some higher-pitched percussion to detract from the "booming".

Funnily enough, I used to write a lot of rave/techno/dance type music (using MIDI, as with this, not loops). In many ways, it actually comes more naturally to me than "classical" style works.

Thanks fourthage! I was actually considering upping the tempo slightly...only problem then is I need to write more music to fill the gap in time.