Mountain Mist Court (WIP) - How's my composition and mixing job?

[earman]

I feel like I am drowning in reverb. The most important aspect of this recording is the structure and arrangement of the tune. When we hear a lot of repetitive guitar strumming, we want to latch onto something- like a solo or melody, maybe a harmonica, or lead guitar, or singer, etc. the closest you have is a distant slide guitar. Most of the distortion is really bad, grating. Listen to the arrangement without any echo/reverb to make crucial judgments about the structure. There are sections that are way too long and this can be improved by shortening them and/or adding a foreground instrument. I recommend setting up a pattern of chords with the purpose of adding a melody. Try various melodic ideas- this will be a great exercise for you and help you develop your sense of melody. Next exercise would be to write a melody without ANY background chords, and then proceed to try various background arrangements.

[pat38]

Originally Posted by QuadWing

Hi!
Anyway, here's the link. It's called Mountain Mist Court.

very nice weird-america(na) vibe, your guitar micing delivers a very clear result... if only you did not clip your audio interface on the way in (AD)

to get rid of distortion post AD, make sure your daw levels stay in the green "most" of the time...

also, apply a hi pass filter on your reverb buss.... and lower the reverb sends on your tracks, you don't need that much


+1 on earmans remarks regarding arranging ... your sense of harmony is great already but you need to cut things down, more compact ...

your vibe is simple, and simple, as usual, is great - keep it up, you are talented thumbsup

[QuadWing]

Originally Posted by earman

I feel like I am drowning in reverb. The most important aspect of this recording is the structure and arrangement of the tune. When we hear a lot of repetitive guitar strumming, we want to latch onto something- like a solo or melody, maybe a harmonica, or lead guitar, or singer, etc. the closest you have is a distant slide guitar. Most of the distortion is really bad, grating. Listen to the arrangement without any echo/reverb to make crucial judgments about the structure. There are sections that are way too long and this can be improved by shortening them and/or adding a foreground instrument. I recommend setting up a pattern of chords with the purpose of adding a melody. Try various melodic ideas- this will be a great exercise for you and help you develop your sense of melody. Next exercise would be to write a melody without ANY background chords, and then proceed to try various background arrangements.

I actually feel the same way about my arrangements. As far as distortion goes, you're right--It's horrible. I think I did a pretty good job on the slide though. This is what the song sounds like without any processing: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5045940/Musi...0%28Raw%29.mp3

And I hear you--I tend to ride on certain sections, but it's not as organized as the way I record through my DAW--I recorded this through my 8-track, so it's not exactly visual. I have to figure out where I am and everything, and get confused, and I guess it just messes with my head. I normal come up with a few chords and add melodies on top. It's the times when I come up with a melody first, and then have a perfect idea for what the background stuff should be that I have absolutely no way of recording it, so it kind of bugs me. I think I compose a lot better when I just hum out random melodies stuff and play it into my keyboard and figure out what to put *around* it. When I'm sitting in front of my keyboard, all I can come up with are chords however. I think I should track down ideas, and then figure out where I should cut things down and then re-track it. Good idea?

[Lute]

Not a bad effort. I'd cut back the reverb as previously said, back off the fuzzy guitar and invest in a decent mic. Shure make good ones, as do Rode, and are reasonably priced.
Good luck
Phil

[earman]

A lot of songwriting is all about structure and balance. You have to play back your ideas and ask yourself does a particular section feel right, or feel too short or feel too long, relative to the other sections. I think another good exercise, would be to come up with a simple chord progression that lasts, say 8 bars, and repeat it over and over as you invent various melodic foregrounds. For example, I can remember playing the three chords of 'Wild Thing' E, A, B, A, etc. You could record your guitar playing those, and then try overdubbing a keyboard melody. You'll find that some ideas stink and others are great and that's how you learn to arrange music and get really good at it. It's natural to start with chords and then add melodies later. that's why it's beneficial to try the reverse method of writing a melody and then inventing a chordal background. From there, try going on to starting with a melody and adding a counter-melody instead of background chords. You've got talent and keep at it!