(Super GnG) Sea of Despair GPOrchestrated

**Friendly Floyd** · 12-14-2011, 09:38 PM

This is one of my first tries at using GPO. Ever since I heard this theme, I believed more could be done with it. Since I couldn't find any one else who had tried, I gave it my own shot.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/QNHtbc_xnpQ

I'm mostly looking for critique for the strings, especially any other ideas for the intro, and also if the quieter section sounds real enough...

**RichR** · 12-15-2011, 06:56 AM

That was interesting. I like the graphics of the instruments. The music has some really good ideas. I didn't really hear any dynamic contrasts so I am not sure about your question

I'm mostly looking for critique for the strings, especially any other ideas for the intro, and also if the quieter section sounds real enough...

.

You said this is one of your first tries using GPO. Have you read the manual and understand the use of mod wheel as opposed to volume control for GPO dynamics? This is important to explain so you can get answers to your questions that will help you.

Again, this is a very interesting concept and I hope others will respond to your request.

**swinkler** · 12-15-2011, 08:05 AM

The graphics remind me a bit of animusic except all your instruments represent real instruments of course.

I'm not sure if this is a theme you've composed or an existing theme you've "repackaged". It's pretty solidly orchestrated. I think as RichR says, you can dig into the manual a bit and learn about some of the controllers you can use with GPO if you want more realism. Like there's a variation on attack (CC21 or CC22 I forget) that you could use for the strings in the opening repeated notes. It will lessen the machine gun effect. Things like that you can tweak to make it sound more and more realistic.

Anyway I'd say for a first attempt it's really good. I can't say I was that successful on my first attempt.

I would be interested to hear more about the music itself though. Is this your theme?

**qccowboy** · 12-15-2011, 10:42 AM

/sigh

the age of our posters on this forum is starting to show!

ROFL.

this is from a video game, called (if I got it correctly) Super Ghouls and Ghosts (there IS a game called Super Ghosts and Goblins as well).

It's one of those relatively primitive side-scrolling games, where you run and kill stuff (in this case, we will presume ghouls.. and... ghosts?) as you go, jumping on platforms and avoiding pitfalls, etc...

**RichR** · 12-15-2011, 11:16 AM

Okay, my age is definitely showing on this one. Thanks Michel for the enlightenment.

**Plowking** · 12-15-2011, 11:17 AM

One of my all time favourite games. Played it to death and know all the music.

Oddly, though memory is a 'funny' thing in these cases, that sounds EXACTLY like the SNES rendition. Which is on one hand, is great, but on the other...it sounds like the output from the SNES 20 years ago :-) - though perfectly so.

But I looked it up and here's the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0fZhnOgSTg

You can hear the pinkle-tinkle charm of the old sounds.

Next step is to colour and add expression to your rendition to give it a more realistic vibe.

The instrument animation is a curious thing...

**Friendly Floyd** · 12-15-2011, 11:42 AM

Quite the response!

I guess no-one read the description on YouTube; the visualization comes from a program I downloaded, called MIDIJam. Unfortunately, there are two problems with it in the video: 1. the English horn is not visualized, and 2. for some reason, it won't visualize the French horn in the octave I had it written in.

Yes, I am well aware that the CC1 Modulation wheel is the "new Expression"; I found that out trying to figure out why the instruments suddenly got all quiet on me. I kinda wish it wouldn't reset to 0, without me having to set an event in the beginning of every track.

I hadn't thought that it was the "robotic" repetitiveness of the opening tremolos that was bothering me. I figured it might be just the sound I had chosen! I'll might try that...
But yeah, what I was saying was, I was wondering if there were any other ideas, like other interpretations for that intro...

You're right, Plowking, that this is basically a sequenced version of the original. All I did was tweak the strings section and added a percussion line--that's what I think this piece really needed.
And one thing I was definitely looking for tips for was how real it sounded. I did try to tweak it as much as possible, with what I knew about GPO from what I read and how I screwed around with it myself. What are your suggestions then?

I'm glad you all like what it, and thanks for the tips!

**swinkler** · 12-15-2011, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by qccowboy

/sigh

the age of our posters on this forum is starting to show!

ROFL.

this is from a video game, called (if I got it correctly) Super Ghouls and Ghosts (there IS a game called Super Ghosts and Goblins as well).

It's one of those relatively primitive side-scrolling games, where you run and kill stuff (in this case, we will presume ghouls.. and... ghosts?) as you go, jumping on platforms and avoiding pitfalls, etc...

DOH! C'mon, I'm not that old.....I think.

**Friendly Floyd** · 12-15-2011, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by swinkler

DOH! C'mon, I'm not that old.....I think.

Haha, I think he's saying you're all young!

**Plowking** · 12-15-2011, 12:22 PM

There's a LOT to do when working with someones rigidly quantized MIDI files - I'll try to sum it up.

These files need a large amount of adjustment in order to start instilling any sense of natural 'human' performance. This is why I particularly like Finale notation program with its 'human playback' feature and GPO together.

In a DAW options are shifting notes by minute amounts, and changing start and stop times. Deleting whole melody lines and instead playing these into the DAW from a keyboard with minor adjustments later. Playing with expression and volume (use mod CC#1 though on sus. instruments for changing dynamics)

Adjust the velocities everywhere (sustained insturments in GPO Vel. affects attack - other instruments it of course effects how loud they are). There's a ton of work involved.

Every individual instrument (or family of) needs to play with its own expression and dynamics with small tweaks and adjustments so no two insturments are playing the exact same thing, exactly on time, at the same volume with the same MIDI control settings...etc.

Even in my own pieces there are so many times I forget to change a midi control from a default setting as there are lots of 'clips' and elements to remember for tweaking.