Gothic Horror

Very effective piece Randy, those crescendos must have taken some work with the ol' velocity controls eh?

I liked the change from the jaunty major key at the start to something very creepy, I could imagine some demonic dolls appearing on stage ( or maybe that's just in my head..aaarrghh )

Highly crafted stuff as usual, be great to hear this whole thing eventually.

James

Thanks for taking a listen, guys, and for posting your enthusiastic replies.

James, you're of course right that it's a time-consuming process to get the crescendos and all that, and I love every minute of it. And the dynamics, the highs and lows, are actually accomplished with a combination of what I can do with MIDI plus a LOt of mixing with audio file mix downs of the MIDI tracks. The largest contrasts are done to the audio tracks.

That opening bit is a take off on a theme we associate with the main character. All seems Kind of OK, but there's an air of Something About to Happen. Then the other themes start tumbling in, more dissonance enters, and--as you can hear.

One idea for this mammoth project is a "musical for the mind"--or "for the ears"--meaning, something intended for the stage which is first presented as a recording, with all the dialogue, sound effects etc. I have a full demo of something like that, with Me doing all the voices--lol--NOT for public consumption. The big hurdle to jump is getting all the singers I need, with the type of voices this material calls for--ranging from natural "pop" style singing to pretty much full-on operatic style for the leading soprano. There are singers in town, but the logistics of going to a studio, not to mention the $$--not able to get all that together yet.

It would be great if online collaboration with singers who are eager to be heard without much if any monetary compensation--maybe on a deferred contract. But even though that is theoretically possible, and I've actually come across one talented gal who has done exactly that-add vocals to projects people have sent her--But how many good singers are likely to be available + have a set up where they could actually make decent recordings, with a good mike, no dogs barking outside etc.

Anyway, SOmething more concrete will happen with this Thing eventually.

Thanks again, really appreciate you stopping by.

Randy
rbowser

Great work Randy!

Quite a dynamic, operatic piece (as it should be)

From the description you gave of the show, it sounds like you are hitting all the right notes for the material. I know a bit about the gothic horror Genre, and this fits perfectly.

Will be nice to hear the whole bit, or even see it played out to music if possible. Keep us posted. Thumbs up on this passage!

-PSO

Thank you very much, Ken, Sean and Chasekh for listening and giving me such wonderful support on this.

Sen you asked about the software and process I use.

I'm using Home Studio 4XL with Garritan Personal Orchestra as my primary sound engine. Augmenting that is my old Korg X5dr hardware synth module, mostly for drums and sometimes bass, other odds and ends of support as needed. A few soft synths from the internet are sprinkled here and there.

It's actually been quite an odyssey to get these pieces to the form they're in now. The first MIDI tracks for them were done in Cakewalk's old Pro Audio 9 software, and the Korg module was the main sound source. Then I discovered GPO and knew I Had to have its more natural sounding orchestral sounds in this project.

I had to upgrade my PA9--I'd been stubbornly clinging to it, but had to upgrade because that's the last sequencer made by Cakewalk that can't deal with VST. Even the Cakewalk adapter doesn't work with it--GPO is VST, so I had no choice but to buy Home Studio.

There was a brief period when I was working with the MIDI files in Cubase LE, since that program came with a Tascam unit I bought--but I really wanted to get back to Cakewalk, so then bought HS.

The foundation work had already been done on the MIDI tracks, but getting deeper into GPO made me expand the musical arrangements and get more accurate with the way I was using the acoustic instrument emulations--mainly the strings. I hadn't been properly scoring for 1st, 2nd, Violas et al--Working with GPO inspired me to learn more and get better at that.

Much of the work I've done for the last year on this project is adapting and re-arranging the MIDI tracks--MUch MIDI controller work had to be completely re-done, because GPO uses controllers in a different way than in the standard MIDI spec. Controllers were not only re-recorded and edited, but I had to play with all the velocities also. At this point it's not an exageration to say that every single note has been worked on massaged.

Enough info for now? lol.

Sean, it's great that you're in to Gothic Horror and felt that kind of vibe especially on this new clip I posted. The full musical itself really is almost an opera--a "pop opera" I sometimes call it, since even though the music is fairly sophisticated in its harmonic structure, it's not quite the complex wild thing that traditional Grand Opera is. I keep saying it's a musical--well, it is, but it really doesn't fit what's considered the Broadway model for a musical.

Chasekh, it's always so nice to hear from you. Your encouragement is appreciated. One note--I put up a photo of the set for one of the stage shows I've directed, so I could brighten up my Sound Click page some--but that set isn't for this current show. That's a wild hippie-era dream-like set done for the rock musical "HAiR" which I directed.

Thanks again all. It's so enjoyable to share music on this Forum.

Randy
rbowser

Randy every time I make the mistake of listening to your music I am reminded of how music is supposed to be. Music, to me any way, should invoke an emotional respone. Your music does that on so many levels it is amazing.

Your arrangements are nothing short of masterpieces.

Well done!

This is almost overwhelming--On this day, my birthday (something we get less excited about having as time goes on)--this is such a great and unexpected gift, coming here to see the new responses to my post.

In a word--you guys are "Great."

When I put up this particular underscoring cue from my show, I really didn't expect much notice to be taken. The show is full of these musical mood pieces for scene changes, music under dialogue--in this particular case the music is the only thing heard during the scene. But it's not as if those "incidental cues" (as they're called in theatre) are Songs per se--I just didn't expect this clip to be appreciated as much as these replies indicate.

Beagle, Dazed and Robert--you've made my day. All I can say is say Thank You, to you and to the folks who replied earlier on this thread--your kind words make me feel humble but happy.

Randy
rbowser