Hello

Zeo · #1 May 10, 2010, 1:01 PM

Hey there I'm Zeo. I thought I'd go ahead and start my own thread for my own musical rubbish.

A little bit about me: I'm 28, from England and have been obsessed with the Doctor Who theme tune since my DW obsession started back in '96 when I was reintroduced to the good old Doctor with the TV Movie.

My favourite theme is a toss up between Debney's and Keff's. After hearing so many decent fan made works over on Whomix for the past 5-6 years I thought I'd get off my arse and have a crack at it myself and so here I am.

My first piece, which I will upload when I'm satisfied with it, is a simple Derbyshire remake to get me started. My main goal though is a Debney remake in a more electronic sound. But that's a long way off because I'm still learning about the theme and all the different parts and of course learning to use my music software (FL Studio 9).

I'd like to thank Danny again for his initial help regarding theme construction. Tempo at 140bpm, got it!

I'll probably blog about my escapades while I continue with this, so that maybe others can glean some small measure of information for their own themes.

Also if anyone has any input regarding FL Studio compatible sound effects/synthesizers which produce sounds similar to those in any of the themes it would be very helpful.

Till next time.

Danny Stewart · #2 May 11, 2010, 9:18 AM

Welcome Zeo! I'm still working on a response to your latest email, as well as that MIDI file, but you'll hear from me soon! Looking forward to that theme, and happy to help if you need it.

Kody · #3 May 11, 2010, 3:22 PM

Welcome to the forums!

Zeo · #4 May 11, 2010, 8:51 PM

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Something else has been on my mind. The theme is supposed to be in the key of E minor. With the exception of the Debney arrangement which starts in A minor and after the middle 8 is transposed back to E minor. My question is how do I make sure my notes in the piano roll are in the correct key?

Recurring Villain · #5 May 12, 2010, 4:31 AM

what i want to know is where his six other posts are

Danny Stewart · #6 May 12, 2010, 8:08 AM

Originally Posted by Zeo

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Something else has been on my mind. The theme is supposed to be in the key of E minor. With the exception of the Debney arrangement which starts in A minor and after the middle 8 is transposed back to E minor. My question is how do I make sure my notes in the piano roll are in the correct key?

This article might help you out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_minor

But honestly, don't get too hung up on keys and scales. Just know the theme. (That MIDI I've got should help you with that.)

Zeo · #7 May 12, 2010, 6:57 PM

I think I'm quite satisfied with my first creation so I've uploaded it to YouShare (since they're free). You can listen to it directly from the link http://www.youshare.com/Zeo/419515a3fc97d95e.mp3.html.

Enjoy (hah!)

My next piece will be a lot better now that Danny has given me a much better template to base my work on. So back to work

Danny Stewart · #8 May 13, 2010, 7:38 AM

Ah, Flash. The bane of my existence. Good thing I didn't come here on my iPad first.

Still, well done for a first attempt. Looking forward to hearing where you go from here with my template!

Might want to look into Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTU1NjA4NTk

Great way of sharing files for free.

Zeo · #9 May 13, 2010, 10:16 AM

Here's the dropbox link to my first creation:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7058628/Doctor Who - Trial.mp3

Danny Stewart · #10 May 13, 2010, 11:43 AM

Couple of quick comments:

- From a mixing perspective, I would turn down the melody and/or turn up the bassline.

The rest of these comments are things that are correct in the MIDI file I gave you, so please feel free to skim/compare them to the MIDI.

- Diddly-dums (four notes) during the first melody phrase, dum-de-dums (three notes) during the second.
- The first note of the bridge should be down a tone (starts on A instead of B).

A few other little niggles, but the littler they are, the harder they become to explain via text. It's all in the MIDI.

All in all, great for a first effort. You'll quickly improve!

Zeo · #11 May 14, 2010, 2:26 PM

Okey dokey here's my next piece which is essentially a remake of my first piece but using Danny's template.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7058628/Doctor Who - Spaced.mp3

Danny Stewart · #12 May 14, 2010, 3:04 PM

Dig the TARDIS-like sound effects you're using (presumably for the drones).

You should also experiment a bit more with what octaves you're using. I would move the bassline down an octave for instance, and you might want to play with the melody octaves as well. I did the MIDI based on what sounded best on the piano so you could get a feel for how it would sit within a mix. It wasn't necessarily intended to be used as is, and you'll find that the best octave will vary depending on the instrument.

My remaining advice would be to continue to play with mixing. I'm still of the opinion that your melody is too loud and the baseline needs to be boosted.

Other than that, you're well on your way.

Zeo · #13 May 14, 2010, 4:58 PM

Yeah I'm not totally satisfied with it myself I'll play around with it and re-upload it.

Messing with the octaves is something I've not played with yet I'll try that too hopefully with decent results.

Thanks

Zeo · #14 May 14, 2010, 6:10 PM

I've re-uploaded a new version of Spaced to the same link. I think it's better.

Recurring Villain · #15 May 15, 2010, 1:14 AM

my food is problematic

Danny Stewart · #16 May 15, 2010, 1:53 PM

Definitely better.

Zeo · #17 May 17, 2010, 1:29 PM

Right here's my next piece titled "Unreal" @ http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7058628/Doctor Who - Unreal.mp3

I'll probably do some small tweaks to it but I think this could be a contender for a whomix submission. But before I do I'd love some feedback.

Danny Stewart · #18 May 18, 2010, 8:34 AM

Nice work on this one. I love the accuracy of it, but I suppose I would considering it came from my template.

Couple of thoughts.

I like the bassline. It's a little offbeat and different, but that's fine. I think it works well.

The melody on the other hand I'm not sold on. I think it would work better with something lighter, and with some glide on it. It pains me to hear the "oo-ee-oo" not bend.

I'd also consider making some changes to the structure or at least some of the components. I did specifically tell you that this template was to educate you and not necessarily meant to be used as the basis for a theme, but you're using it that way anyway. That's fine, but I would consider (for example) taking out the repeated emphasis notes at the end of the bridge. I just wanted to show you that that's what the Derbyshire theme did. It doesn't necessarily mean that that sort of thing is always appropriate in a follow-up mix.

You also might want to shorten it a bit. I find (after a few years of work, mind you) that simpler themes work better when they're short. Either vary things up a bit, or cut the theme in half. (Assuming you're going to cut it, I'd cut it right before the bassline pause in the middle of the theme.)

Anyway, just some thoughts. I'm at work here so forgive me for not being a bit more in-depth. But let me know if you want more advice or have questions. As always, I am happy to help.

Recurring Villain · #19 May 18, 2010, 8:51 AM

needs a guitar solo

Zeo · #20 May 18, 2010, 9:22 AM

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

The melody on the other hand I'm not sold on. I think it would work better with something lighter, and with some glide on it. It pains me to hear the "oo-ee-oo" not bend.

Yeah I know what you mean I went through loads of different sounds to try and get a sound similar to howells oo-ee-oo sound with no luck. Either that or go with something similar to Golds oo-ee-oo in the new 11th Doctor's Theme, which you seem to have found a decent version of in your recreation (unless that's just your amazing sampling skills at work)

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

I'd also consider making some changes to the structure or at least some of the components. I did specifically tell you that this template was to educate you and not necessarily meant to be used as the basis for a theme, but you're using it that way anyway. That's fine, but I would consider (for example) taking out the repeated emphasis notes at the end of the bridge. I just wanted to show you that that's what the Derbyshire theme did. It doesn't necessarily mean that that sort of thing is always appropriate in a follow-up mix.

Again I agree with you it doesn't work and it's one of the things I want to fix.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

You also might want to shorten it a bit. I find (after a few years of work, mind you) that simpler themes work better when they're short. Either vary things up a bit, or cut the theme in half. (Assuming you're going to cut it, I'd cut it right before the bassline pause in the middle of the theme.)

Yeah I'd like to make a shorter version like the version of Matt Smith's Theme that was released.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

Anyway, just some thoughts. I'm at work here so forgive me for not being a bit more in-depth. But let me know if you want more advice or have questions. As always, I am happy to help.

Thanks, you essentially confirmed what I thought was needed to make it better. Back to work.