Well, it's been a while! Our beatem up music track has had quite an evolution since last time. Now I also made a variation of the song. Same drums, same synths, same notes (kind of), just different arrangement. Why you did that lajeandom you may ask? Let's talk about it.
When in doubt, just scrap everything?
More often than not, it will happen that one gets overwhelmed by its own composition. It's normal, we have to work with our limitations. I am far from being a top master composer but I know that I have certain qualities that others don't.
This incentivizes me to play with those strengths. Sometimes I will just go in a complete different direction just to see what will happen. Now, I have two different versions of this beatem up music.
Here's the first one, to which I added a lot of stuff since the last blog post:
And here is a completely new arrangement, with similar notes, instruments, and loops:
Where to go from there?
What I like about this is that now I have 2 tracks with each their strengths and weaknesses. Also, it's fun that they both sounds as if they are coming from the same game world.
What I don't like about this is that both tracks, despite being interesting in their own rights...
kind of suck! haha!
There, I said it! It's the hard truth but making this new arrangement has opened my eyes on the fact that we are not quite there yet.
Now I am seeing all the cracks and the flaws more clearly, which will help me bring these 2 tracks to the next level.
What flaws are we talking about here?
Now that I had time to listen to the first arrangement, I notice the following flaws (thanks to some of my friends who gave me good feedback):
- The intro is a bit boring
- The overall mix is a bit annoying
- Maybe the sound of the big chorus synth should change, and be more upbeat
- The verses that begin later after the bridge with the weird orchestral hits... meh!
- These verses have fun transitions, and the 2nd chorus at the end is kind of cool, but why it's just 'kind of cool'...?
- The kick and snare in the bridge after the first chorus (at the 0:52 mark) sounds quite amazing, maybe they should be everywhere?
- Maybe I should start a melody in that part as well, and make that part longer?
What about the second arrangement?
It's safe to say that as of right now, the second arrangement is more mature than the first one. I got more positive feedbacks from my friends who listened to the latter.
But if you think about it, it makes sense. This track was a direct result of me basically saying: 'I am tired of this project, let's just change everything that's bothering me'.
I'm really happy with that move. Now I have 2 tracks, and a clearer picture of where I want to go with these tracks and with the Beatemup Music Pack.
Thanks for reading and listening. Hopefully, I bring something hot for the next blog post!
And you, which track do you prefer, and what do you like or hate about these tracks?
Let me know in the comment section below! ^^