Author Topic: Marcoda - Mary [Progressive House / Trance]  (Read 3922 times)

marcoda

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Marcoda - Mary [Progressive House / Trance]
« on: August 29, 2016, 09:28:00 pm »
Hi guys

After my first track (Dog Days) was kind of more progressive than trance, I tried to do something more "trancey" this time - feedback appreciated! :) I'm still not happy with the Toms at 03:20, they just don't seem to fit to the rest... Anyone could lend some advice on that part?

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Thanks in advance!
Marcoda



Mussar

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Re: Marcoda - Mary [Progressive House / Trance]
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2016, 04:02:41 pm »
Great effort! This is a pretty solid track! There are a lot of really fun musical ideas in here, and I love that classic uplifting trance feel you got going on, especially with that second drop - a well deserved climax of your track.

The main points I'd like to mention are your arrangement and your orchestration.

You have the basic structure down, and you have the right kind of uplifters and down lifters and sweeps and fills, but the song doesn't quite feel like it has a perfect flow. If you listen to songs by artists like Armin Van Buuren, Gareth Emery, Arty, or Above & Beyond you can use them as reference points - hell, pull some of their songs into your next session and borrow ideas if you're feeling stuck.

Regarding the orchestration, the choruses/drops feel a bit busy - there are three or four distinct patterns going on that don't really compliment each other, so it can get hard to figure out what we should be focusing on. On your next track, try deciding on one element that you want to be the focus of the song - the drums, the bass, the chords, the melodies, or the vocals (if you have them). Make sure that everything else is used as a supporting idea for that focal element, and then pick different elements that you want to be highlighted in various sections to give the ears a break or some variety. Maybe your track's focus is the bassline, but you kill the bass completely for the second breakdown and bring the chords to the forefront for an epic supersaw progression.

Regarding the toms, they're very quiet in the mixdown and don't have a lot of force behind them. Experiment with compression, EQ, and/or light distortion/saturation to help add tone and impact, and experiment with pulling out other elements or having them fade out underneath the tom fill so that the toms are the only thing actively playing at that time.

Looking forward to your next track!

marcoda

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Re: Marcoda - Mary [Progressive House / Trance]
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2016, 08:24:02 am »
Thank you so much Mussar for your detailed feedback and all the tips! Especially the ones regarding the orchestration and focus of the song; I'm gonna work on improving that with the next song. :)