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Rothgarr's midlife crisis music composition thread...

RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular
Howdy. Mild mid-life crisis setting in. I've always enjoyed tinkering with music as a hobby but never really made any effort to share it. I thought I'd start throwing it out there, beginning with something I put together over the holiday weekend. Maybe I'll post some other things I've written in the past.

I use Reason software on a Mac with a keyboard controller.

The song I wrote this weekend is called “Alito”:


Open to all kinds of suggestions, etc...

Posts

  • RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular
    edited June 2014
    Finished up another piece “Cascade”. I originally wrote this one for my wife's birthday last year but something didn't feel finished so I rewrote, re-recorded some parts.



    Open to critique, suggestions, comments, etc.

    Rothgarr on
  • Cherry Berry GangstaCherry Berry Gangsta Registered User regular
    Alito: In terms of the mix, everything is spaced apart really well. Good variation in percussion throughout, and I especially like the distorted break-beat drum pattern you got going on. All the instruments are great, the ghostly pad, the 80's sounding bass. The piano melody (IMO) is somewhat boring, I can't help but imagine what the track would sound like with an actual pianist jamming along throughout. But yeah, chill track.

    Cascade: The piano melody is much more interesting this time around! Again, your mix is great. I love how the bass at the begininning plays along with the strikes of the lower piano notes. Gives it some serious oomph. This song is (IMO) much better than Alito in terms of both composition & instrumentals. The combination of synths towards the end (just before the outro) is super cool.

    What DAW do you use? and what plugins?

  • RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular
    Thanks for the feedback, Cherry! I really appreciate the critiques.

    Right now I just use Reason software (stock modules) with an 88-key digital piano as my controller.

    Music is a hobby for me. I took a few lessons as a kid, always had one or more keyboards lying around, but I never played consistently -- sometimes going for years without playing a single note. I recorded most of my songs in my parent's basement in my 20s, one of these days I'll post those. Now in my 40s I'm trying to find a nice hobby for myself. I do not consider myself a musician, I just think music is fun and interesting.

    Thanks again!

  • RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular
    edited June 2014
    Just posting another song:


    I originally wrote and recorded this back in 2003 but found my files on an old computer and tweaked the mix a bit and re-saved this weekend. Not my normal style but I still had a lot of fun with it.

    Rothgarr on
  • RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    Posting another throwback that I just posted to Soundcloud...



    I wrote and recorded this song some time between 1992-1994... but it was never completed (wow I can't believe this recording was done TWENTY years ago...). I eventually wanted to add some vocals and more guitar. Unfortunately now, the sounds I used are long gone and this only recording was done at a terribly low bit rate (hence the awfully-compressed sound). But still, to this day it remains one of my favorites. The kick ass guitar solo starting at 2:17 was done by my friend.

    Rothgarr on
  • The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    Rothgarr wrote: »
    Posting another throwback that I just posted to Soundcloud...



    I wrote and recorded this song some time between 1992-1994... but it was never completed (wow I can't believe this recording was done TWENTY years ago...). I eventually wanted to add some vocals and more guitar. Unfortunately now, the sounds I used are long gone and this only recording was done at a terribly low bit rate (hence the awfully-compressed sound). But still, to this day it remains one of my favorites. The kick ass guitar solo starting at 2:17 was done by my friend.

    I have nothing really constructive to add right now, but i just wanted to let you know that this song REALLY reminds me of the Unreal Tournament music, a game i spent way too much time in in HS. Thanks for the blast from the past :D

  • RothgarrRothgarr Registered User regular

    I have nothing really constructive to add right now, but i just wanted to let you know that this song REALLY reminds me of the Unreal Tournament music, a game i spent way too much time in in HS. Thanks for the blast from the past :D

    Hah hah, awesome. Thanks for the comment. I, too, played Unreal Tournament to death -- loved it so much. When I originally wrote that particular song the closest thing out was the original Marathon and even that didn't come out until after I wrote this. (Marathon also had a pretty kick-ass song as I recall).

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