Drifting Memories, an electronic symphony

[Jerome]

OK going to sit through the whole thing today - BTW busy composing my own electronic suite - long way to go but it's coming together. Will post once I am done.

Update: at the 8 minute mark at the moment. The improvised melody part that has just finished lacks one thing. I think I have mentioned before about the importance of melody and I think what you understand by me saying that is that there has to be a melodic line on top of the pads/background and this is partially correct. What I really mean is that the melodic line has to have a 'hook' - an instantly recognizable line that someone could whistle from memory. If you have a melodic line that just meanders around all over the place, people will not relate to it because they cannot remember it (subconciously). I would like to see an electronic piece from you that has a similar structure to a 'pop' song - verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus - but without the lyrics. It must have a recognizable melodic line - think of Oxygene 4 by JMJ. I can whistle that line from memory. Then once you have that add the pads, arpeggiators and syn perc to blend that with another electronic 'pop' piece later on. It will give the piece some definition and direction. The changes in tempo and instrumentation/effects are fine but it still lacks a hook melody. I would say for a piece this length you will need about 3 or 4 'hooks' to hang the entire work on. And where you are improvising with a lead key, leave some spaces inbetween the notes from time to time. The spaces between the notes are as important as the notes themselves. Recording quality is fine. Chords/harmony section is fine. Transitions are fine. It's missing a definitive melodic line. It's like a canvas, where the colours and shapes are all blurring into one. I am trying to see the prominent figure in the painting but I cannot find it. Seeing as you are from Holland, I am sure you will have plenty of opportunity to look at the old masters artworks (Vermeer/Rembrandt etc.). Your music is like the background or the ambient light in those portraits. What you need is the dominant figure in the centre of the frame. When synthesizers first emerged there was a silly but very effective piece called 'Popcorn' - give it a listen. That is a classic example of a hook line. I'm not saying you must ALWAYS have a hook line - sometimes just plain ambience is fine, but you need to diversify between the two. An example of short ambient pieces is Brian Eno's 'Music for Films'. Give it a try. Even though there are no real hook lines there is still a sense of a hidden melody. And this is just my opinion - it does not mean that it's right!

BTW - do you play any other instruments apart form keyboards/synths? What equipment are you using? If you are using arps to create the rhythmic element, try creating a uptempo piece without them.