Sound Project: Voice and Music

I commented on "Green Eggs and Ham and Music", "Yar Tha Gulzar Tha", and "Dreams: John 3:16-21"

Switching between different loops to emphasize the attitude of the characters was effective and not jarring/awkward, as I would have expected it to be. The sound effects to go along with the narrative of the story (e.g. car horns for "Would you like it in a car?") also added to the piece. The music and sound effects lets the audience experience the well-known story of "Green Eggs and Ham" a new, interesting lens.

This piece is very cohesive on a whole and the composition of the various instruments is well done. I enjoyed particularly the sound of the percussion.

The reverb is a really awesome effect. It's also cool how you managed to have the speaker's voice come through so clearly even though there was so much going on musically. And the selection of music was very appropriate to the goals that you were trying to achieve.

I commented on IQ84, How to make it in Macro, Squeeze

I think that this is a great example of using music to add/constrain the mood of a piece. When I had originally heard the reading I had heard it as much calmer, but this music sets the reading in a much different scene. Your beginning was especially strong, as you added more loops in slowly and peaked our interests with the first loop.

I think you used your recording to create a really fun sounding and interesting beat. I feel like this could be used as a jumping off point or a beginning for longer, more dynamic song. Perhaps it would have worked to layer this onto your original recording, and add more loops into there.

I think that the loops that you used in this piece worked really well together, and you transitioned them in really smoothly. For instance at 35 seconds in I didn't even notice the more energetic piano transition in, but then I felt an increase in emotion in the piece (it was very natural). At first I was thinking that it might be interesting to add more change in the middle, for example a change in key or another loop for a little while, but your ending definitely caught me off guard and you worked with the recording in building your ending, which worked well.

I commented on On Women, Death by Malloc, and Chinese Room Argument.

The chatter and the sound effects were perfectly timed, and this piece very much reminded me of a radio play from the golden age of radio. If you decided to incoporate not even notes but maybe a rhythmic beat, this could come off sounding like a funny radio story such as you'd find on NPR or other such stations.

I really liked the selective cutting of the original voice, the parts that you chose to highlight with the music, perfectly accompanied the music to express the doom that is malloc. The loops are seamless, but the initial softening of thee loops when the speaker starts is a little abrupt. I think this may have been better served if you had started with just a simple soft bell loop instead of everything else to further the gothic imagery.

The robotic voice that makes your voice unrecognizable serves the purpose of this piece as a piece of music, but it undermines the work in it's second purpose, as prose. I think that even though this is the case, the focus on music and composition and hearing beyond the filters makes this a really cool concept.

I commented on Chinese Room Argument + Music, Silent Sounds, and Dreams: John 3:16-21.

The echoing around her voice as she's reading this verse makes the piece more ominous but also very dreamlike. You managed to capture the mood of the passage very well. This was really cool and interesting!

Changing your voice into a more robotic one makes this a very interesting piece! By mixing your voice and altering it to match the beat, it becomes music rather than just a reading of an excerpt. This was very cool and I look forward to hearing more of your pieces!

You captured the mood of the excerpt well with the dramatic music playing in the background. I agree with with the footsteps in the beginning as it created an interesting introduction into the piece.

I commented on the Lord of the Rings, 1Q84, and Bartimaeus Trilogy Edited.

I thought this was very good. It starts quiet and crescendos as you progress in the monologue and the tension starts to build. It's definitely accentuating what's going on without being overbearing at all, the voice is still totally the focus of what's going on.

I thought that the music was pretty fitting for your reading, but I thought it was a little loud compared to your voice and I had a hard time hearing that. Also, there's an extra two minutes at the end of this, I'm not sure what's going on there.

I thought the fire effect was definitely a nice touch to represent being in a volcano. The music was very good, noticeable but never overbearing.

I commented on Macro, King Lear, and Malloc.

This is a good example of minimalism at work! It could use some lengthening and clarification on the goals (I am extrapolating), but I like the use of the pop as a beat device. Make sure it is perfectly even though - in a smaller scale project like this, even tiny variation is noticeable!

This song is amazing. The introduction was perfect, and the cutaway with the start of the voice was masterfully executed. I could heap a lot of praise on this, but I'm going to highlight the effective use of loops and the way the music/voice balance is achieved. My only criticism is that the voice itself could use some modification, but that's only because the rest of the piece is so well done - you'd probably have to re-record the voice to get after the dramatic effects I'm envisioning.

I think the very beginning sounds a little strange actually, as the voices are so rare. As the sound complexity increases, however, the theme comes across very well. This is an interestingly mixed piece! Good job using the sounds to carry the project rather than simply layering them across the vocals.

I commented on: Amber Jones, Kevin Lee and Amal Sahay.

I like the way you fade into an electronic beat, and then a largely guitar based, non-electronic rhythm. The robotic vocals make for an interesting final addition. By being so processed, they end up working as background more than foreground, which is an unusual notion.

The chatter in the background is really well done. Your voice in the foreground, however, sounds like it has been layered on, as opposed to being a part of the 'bar'. Consider perhaps a little more reverb on your voice?

I love how you set the soundstage. The Electric Piano seems to come in from the sides of my Earphones while the voice comes in through the front. How'd you do the centre panning? Its really good!

I think you had a really solid idea of your plan and realized it well. I think that the flow of your voice fits well with the tempo of the piano loop, and the fire sound effect makes it feel homey. Did modifying and playing with the EQ's give you a noticeable difference in the sound of your voice? To me it sounds almost the same as it did in the original recording.

I really like how you made your voice sound like music! It really fit well with the robotic theme, and I think you really nailed what you were going for. The only issue I have is that now you can't tell what it is you're reading, but since you probably wanted that, it's fine.

I really enjoyed the different themes that the two different characters had. The only suggestion I would make is that when a character had a particularly short line, the jump between the two different themes seemed kind of fast or awkward, but overall great job!

I commented on "Chinese Room Argument + Music", "Giver Realization", and "Green Eggs and Ham and Music".

@Dan Cheng The ending comment... so obvious in hindsight! That's definitely something to look at. It makes a lot of sense, especially considering the way the piece fades in after chatter. Obviously I focused too much on the beginning.

It is very interesting to listen to. I really like how you add the sound of the dice and sound of clapping hands. It makes the listener more engaged and focused. But I think the ending is a little bit too abrupt, since I was expecting there might be something more and it suddenly stopped, maybe you should extend the background noise and fade it out to make it end more smoothly.

Commented on "On Women", "Lord Of The Rings" "God of Small Things"

It is an excellent creative piece! The background music fits the foreground robot voice well, and I really like how you let the voice follow the beat, it sounds like a song rather than a human voice recording. The increasing volume in the beginning does give the listener preparation to the loud music.

I love the beginning with the lightning, it really caught my attention and set the mood. Mine had the same music you did, and I agree that it set the tone really well. It was a interesting buildup as well in the end and you clearly achieved the effect.

I agree that you did well in achieving the atmosphere you wanted, and thus the voice is that much more interesting to listen to.

The background music does sound really scary, I really like how you pause the voice and just let the background music dominates for several seconds, it definitely creates tension and make the listener worry about what horrible thing the speaker is going to say.

I used some similar piano loops and so i agree with it contributing a lot to the mood of the reading. Though there are certain places where they don't fit too well, especially some entrances.

I commented on death by malloc, The god of small things, Lord of the rings

This was an awesome use of loops! I like that the voice wasn't entire consistent in the piece, the foreground-background variation in the voice and instruments created a much more dramatic effect.

I commented on "On Women," "Silent Sounds" and "The god of small things"

The chatter sounds in the background and the dice really help create the bar atmosphere. It really sounds like a recording men talking in busy setting.

The footsteps at the beginning were a good way to introduce unresolved harmony concept from the book. The dramatic music in the background also helps create a nice atmosphere (when in the context of the lyrics of the song).

This was such a great use of background effects and loops! I really enjoyed the buildup that you created at the end. I actually think that, with respect to the reading, your form might be binary - at the beginning was the soft piano, and from the middle to the end is the dramatic orchestral part.

This is a very good piece. I think an important aspect is to ensure the distinction between the melody and the reader's voice. Often times in music, these gets jumbled together and it's difficult to discern when the singer/speaker's voice is "on." I think you did a great job at maintaining these two separate.

I definitely think that you achieved your goal of having it should like an audiobook exceptionally well. The background piano look remains to consistent in a way that doesn't diverge my attention to the main focus of the piece - the narrator.

I commented on "The Bartimaeus Trilogy Edited," "King Lear Beat," and "Green Eggs and Ham and Music."

I agree with Jake, the variation and sound effects definitely added to the reading. Perhaps it would be clearer if the voices were distinct (i.e. two different people reading), but you did a good job regardless.

I commented on Giver Realization, Green Eggs and Ham and Music, and Silent Sounds.

I commented on King Lear, Lord of the Rings, and Silent Sounds

I used that piano loop too! I think it fits very well with the vocals. The rain sound effect in the background creates a perfect tone for the piece.

I agree with Ivan. You did a great job of setting this spooky theme. I found that your use of a somewhat electronic background music actually fit this excerpt from Shakespeare that is set centuries ago.

I liked footstep introduction, and bringing those footsteps back later in the piece added a cool layer to it. I also liked the people-talking/crowd effect that happens later in the piece. I listened to this a couple of times - I'm definitely a fan.

I really like your choice of background music as the climax of the excerpt approaches. It might have been nice to add a change in background music as the climax passes and gollum falls, rather than to only use a fade out. Good work!

I like the idea of going back and forth between the upbeat, fun background and the serious, ominous, background when the different characters speak. I also enjoyed the sound effects you added. Good job!

The reverb you added to your voice helps set the tone of the piece. Some of the sound effects also assist the meaning of your excerpt. In some sections, however, the background music seems a little too calm for the text. For example, when you say, "Then my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light...," there are somewhat soothing background footsteps and music.

I commented on Silent Sounds and The Bartimaeous Trilogy.

I think this is excellent. I like the crescendo throughout the piece, because it slowly increases the amount of tension while the character talks about giving up equality.

I think that the dramatic music you have in the background is very interesting, and your use of sound effects in the background is very cool. I think more of a beginning that builds up the tone would have been nice (like, if it had been slower to go into the words).

I really liked the spooky theme you created. The build-up of sound effects in the beginning piqued my interest, and your voice editing was very rhythmic and mixed well with the loop. I would suggest increasing the volume of the last narration loop ("hide thee, thou bloody hand") as it was almost drowned out by the rain and background loop, but otherwise the volume was well balanced.

I like how well the intro beat matched the background melody! In addition, the crescendoing loop ("All is Violent, All is Bright") was well-chosen in terms of timing with the narration. My only comment is perhaps to fade out the background music over a longer period of time-- it ended in the middle of a measure, whereas two more notes would leave a better conclusion.