Dreamer in the Dark

Hello all. This bit is about death. I tried to convey the feeling of neurons firing off as you die with the glitch near the beginning, and the climax describes the coming of the grim reaper.

Dreamer in the Dark

Yep, for those of you who caught it, the title was inspired by the play Dancer in the Dark, but otherwise has little in common. This was also one of the first times I spent any significant time on mixing and mastering, so if you have any pointers, I'd like to hear them, as learning to mix/master on your own can be a dimly lit road at times.

cheers :-)

I love it! The sound quality is quite good!

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think for one of the synths you panned from right to left and back and forth. It was a cool effect!

I like the cymbal crashes on 1:24. Very intense.

I don't have anything truly negative to say. At 0:36, the drums that enter with kicks and toms (I think) sound a little a weak. Experiment with other drums sounds until you find something darker, stronger, and possibly tighter. Right now, they don't have enough presence.

Another idea! Have you thought about changing the texture of the piece after the epic climax? You pretty much just repeat the opening. While I like the return to the beginning, it's doesn't fit with your story. The ending is after the person has been taken by the grim reaper versus the beginning which is the person dying (with the neurons firing off etc.) These are too very different situations and should sound differently too! Likewise, the whole form of coming back to where you started (ABA) is unoriginal.

What if you changed the texture at the end by adding (subtly of course) a synth pad in the background? Try to mix it up because it sounds like a plain way to end your epic piece.

Lastly, what program did you use?

Peace on Earth,

-John

Thanks for the advice, Doovongeman, it's a big help :-) Your point about the ABA structure is a good one, I hadn't really thought about it when I was writing this song. I find myself falling back on the ABA structure too often, and it's true that it doesn't really fit in with the story that accompanies this piece. I may tinker around with this song a bit, but for the most part I'll be keeping your advice in mind for future works, although the synth pad at the end would be a great idea. I write and mix within FL Studio 8 XXL producer's edition. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to help me out, John. cheers