Without You - A nice gentle piano piece

Hey guys
 
So this is my latest track. It's called "Without You." It's a piano piece only at the moment but I'm also going to be writing some lyrics to it and then it will be more of a complete song. So in a way it's still a work in progress right now. Anyway I hope that you like it and I'd welcome any feedback or criticisms that anyone can offer. Enjoy :)
 
http://soundcloud.com/user9603240/without-you

The piano that I used is Native Instruments Upright Piano. I have it as part of the komplete 7 package. Here is the link... http://www.native-instrum...kontakt/upright-piano/ It runs in Kontakt 4 along with some of the other instruments included in the package, although you can get everything seperately and the actual players are free. I would definitely recommend this upright piano, it has such a warm and resonant sound. And to be honest it sounds a lot better without the crazy reverb that I used for this song. But for this song it just seemed appropriate. But the built in reverb is extremely high quality and really good, if a little bit subtle. Anyway, check it out. Since I discovered native instruments piano's I haven't used anything else.

Thanks Rus W. I'm glad you like it. I'm not going to be changing it too much to be honest. Just add some vocals and maybe adjust the reverb etc to better match the vocal track. Also I'm not sure whether to tighten up some of the timing a bit. My girlfriend says she likes it like this because it's more natural, but I'm just not sure that it has the polish that it needs as it is now in its current form.

logan86


Thanks Rus W. I'm glad you like it. I'm not going to be changing it too much to be honest. Just add some vocals and maybe adjust the reverb etc to better match the vocal track. Also I'm not sure whether to tighten up some of the timing a bit. My girlfriend says she likes it like this because it's more natural, but I'm just not sure that it has the polish that it needs as it is now in its current form.

Well, don't try intensely tweaking because you'll probably tear it up more than fix it.

Very nice listen Logan. Thanks.

logan86


@Rus
I have done that so many times you wouldn't even believe it. This time I will actually make a copy of the file as it is right now before I do any messing about, so at least I can't actually lose what I've got at the moment. Also it's funny how the more you hear a song, even with mistakes, the more it grows on you in the state that it's in. So often changes do sound worse even if they technically should be better. So in the end I'll probably end up changing very little, apart from some of the left hand bits as Janet pointed out. 

Yeah! I'm so bad at it that I have to clean up (delete) files (I have to now) often, but for the most part just work with two and hopefully the modification between the original and copy is significant to enable discern - even if they are exactly the same. AMMOF, I recommend that. Have a Dry and Wet file and tinker with one or the other (all tracks open in one; some tracks silent in the other).


And yeah, lots of times you find yourself reverting back - not a bad thing though as you said when comparing. However, if you are a perfectionist, tweaking like there's no tomorrow is understandable. (Guilty!)

Hi Ali, nice one, like it.

Rik

Very nice Logan! I wouldnt mind hearing it slowed down a bit..and if it was to stay a piano piece I think you could get away with slowing it way down at times and having a free tempo.
 
I also think this could be a nice orchestral arrangement.  Either Harp or the middle strings (V2,Viola or Cello) playing the left hand arpeggios while V1 leads the melody with the remaining strings

Lots of options

Hey guys Thankyou so much for all of the feedback and the advice! One thing that is already very clear is that the reverb is a bit much, and as several people have said it prevents the left hand from being heard enough. But the problem is that when I take away some of the reverb it just doesn't sound as full or as... I don't know the word. But you know what I mean, it just doesn't sound as... full.
 
So I want to find some way of keeping the fullness of the sound whilst still reducing the reverb. As for the left hand being a bit busy, that might just be because all of the reverb makes it sound so unclear. Actually it's just a simple arpeggio over and over again. If anything most people seem to think that the left hand could do with more variation. But I think that as daryl has said, a seperate left hand track could help in this situation because I could tweak the mix only for that hand and preserve the clarity, and then that way I might not even have to lose much reverb for the right hand track.
 
As for strings, I think that's a really good idea. It might help to give the song more variation and keep it sounding full even with less reverb. It would change the feel of the song a little bit but I'd definitely be willing to give it a go. The problem is that I can't seem to get the feeling that I want whilst still having a technically tight and precise mix. I can only seem to have maximum feeling with no finesse, or maximum finesse with no feeling. But I think that backing off the reverb and adding in some strings is looking like a good idea. I'm quite excited to try that now :)
 
Also thankyou again everyone for all of your comments and advice and everything :)

I agree with Mike above....I'm curious to hear this a little slower too.  Save it as a separate file and mess around with it that way, if you're so inclined.  Or not.  :)  It's up to you.  But with that busy left hand I think it would sound nice a little slower.  I think that would help bring out the feeling you're wanting.

I don't think it's all a matter of lack of clarity in the left hand...it's just that we're ready to hear a change after a little bit.  :)  

Sounds like a great start to me. Can't wait to hear what you put for lyrics. It may only need the lyrics to be complete.

Well done!

I really like this - I agree with all the comments about left hand needing to be less repetitive and more distinctive, and with the reverb.

But overall I think this is a great track. The end, where you take away the left hand and just leave the chords on the top is particularly effective.

Cheers,
Terry.