Fruitcake MIDI Forum Treasury

[Dr Fruitcake]

I come bearing both good news and bad news. Bad news first: The MIDIs section isn't yet finished being rebuilt. However, the good news is that the MP3s section is! And, to celebrate, I cooked up a new piece in about three hours last night. It's entitled "Corridors", and it makes me think of an abandoned mansion, with hundreds of twisting passageways leading to rooms which hold secrets long forgotten by time itself.

I will caution you, though; it's not the typical 'upbeat' fare you've come to expect from me, so do not listen whilst drowsy!
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[Damian]

[Cheese Monkey]

This is awesome stuff, Fruitz. Although I maintain that you still can't do truly creepy stuff.

Which is not to say this doesn't have its semi-creepy moments. It's quite a departure from your usual style, in some places. But when I heard this, I kept thinking, "ruins" or "sky temple" or something. Though I can kind of see where it would fit into a haunted house setting, I just think it fits those others better.

That said: how hard would it be to MIDI-fy this? Would most of its awesomeness be intact, or is there a lot of MP3-only stuff in there?
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[Conian]

Yay, new stuff from Fruity. AWESOME. You do need to get a new soundfont for your violin though. If I'm not mistaken, that's still the same soundfont you used for H.M.S. Centurion, and that one is off-key. (or at least sounds crap )
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[Upsilon]

Wahey! It's been a while since we've had a new MP3 (for entirely justified reasons, of course), so this was a treat. Regarding CM's comment, I was about to say 'forest by night', but then the choir came in and I realised that wasn't quite right. Then I was about to say "castle", then the harp bit came in and brought my mind back to a forest again. By the end I wasn't sure where it belonged, so let's just say "castle in a forest at night"

Very moody piece, quite a departure from your usual style, but you pulled it off well. Nice one
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[Dr Fruitcake]

@Damian:

All in all... Not much melody, although a piece like this doesn't often need much of one.
Yep, I was intentionally going for more of an ambient feel than usual.

Some chord progressions I personally question (one felt kinda awkward in particular)
Really? Which one(s)? I'd be very interested to know what parts specifically don't seem to flow as well.


@CM:

Although I maintain that you still can't do truly creepy stuff.
Pfah! I'm gonna take that as a challenge. ..One o' these days.

But when I heard this, I kept thinking, "ruins" or "sky temple" or something. Though I can kind of see where it would fit into a haunted house setting, I just think it fits those others better.
Mmm, perhaps you're right about that. I should emphasize, though, that I wasn't envisioning a haunted mansion, per se -- just an abandoned one. It's not a place that's completely run-down, inhospitable, and filled with ghosts. Looking out the windows, you can see sunshine or perhaps a clear, starry night sky -- not a dark and stormy one. It's reasonably clean and tidy (except for the layer of dust), and things are still in perfect working order; it's just that nobody happens to be there anymore, for reasons unknown. Does that clarify things?

That said: how hard would it be to MIDI-fy this? Would most of its awesomeness be intact, or is there a lot of MP3-only stuff in there?
Oh, probably not too hard... *opens Cakewalk for the first time in months*


@Conian:

You do need to get a new soundfont for your violin though. If I'm not mistaken, that's still the same soundfont you used for H.M.S. Centurion, and that one is off-key. (or at least sounds crap)
I wouldn't doubt it. You're right, I have had that one for quite some time now. A new strings font certainly wouldn't hurt... *goes ambling off in search of one*


@Upsi:

Regarding CM's comment, I was about to say 'forest by night', but then the choir came in and I realised that wasn't quite right. Then I was about to say "castle", then the harp bit came in and brought my mind back to a forest again. By the end I wasn't sure where it belonged, so let's just say "castle in a forest at night"
Ah, fair 'nuff. I can see that.

Very moody piece, quite a departure from your usual style, but you pulled it off well.
Ta! I guess you could say it was an experiment in "broadening my horizons" or some drivel of that sort.
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[Cheese Monkey]

[Damian]

Uh, the one around 0:52 kinda stuck out to me as being a bit odd. Second listen doesn't reveal it as being as much so as I thought before, though. Hope I didn't make you mad, as you are after all the senior composer here.
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[Dr Fruitcake]

Mad? Pffft. I'm always open to comments, no matter the nature.

*listens to that section* Hmmm. I can sort of tell what you mean, there. I think it seems to stick out because it's only the tonic and fifth of the chord being played, no third.
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[Damian]

I love my ability to produce music without technically knowing exactly what the hell I'm doing. It's like I know very little music theory, but somehow know what chords I can throw together and utilize to make a song, and how to create harmonies and melodies from there. And I don't know what 95% of them are called.

(Read: Unfortunately I don't know what that means, but as long as we're on the same page, I guess that's what counts!)
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[Dr Fruitcake]

Ah. Yeah, by no means is music theory necessary to write awesome st00fz.

I'm the kind of guy who loves to understand all the little details and mathematics behind things -- even music. For that reason, I personally recommend learning at least the basics. I took two semesters of theory in college, and I really feel like it helped me a lot. But some people feel more creative freedom when they don't bother to learn the "rules" in the first place. What I'm trying to say here is, YMMV.
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[Damian]

Well, I'll be taking an AP Music Theory class next year, primarily just for "oh, I'm taking this, maybe it'll help me with college" factors. I don't mind not knowing what something is, per se, though; to me it's just knowing what... well, knowing what it is in my own terms, rather than official ones. If you know what I mean. Did I lose you? Probably.

Still, I probably need to at least know what they are for college purposes and, later, for others. Whether I use that knowledge is likely up to me, mostly.
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when the world is sick, can't no one be well? but i dreamt we was all beautiful and strong
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listen to my music!
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[Xenofan 29A]

Fruity..this is amazing stuff. You've reinvented your entire image, in my mind at least. I'm very impressed, and if you can write this, you could write professionally for video games if you so desired. You'd just have to learn to be able to be prolific.
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日本へ行こう！

- ゼノファン

[Dr Fruitcake]

Well, I appreciate the high praise.

[Xenofan 29A]

True indeed. But you have to be productive within that space. As a writer, I have to learn the same thing.
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日本へ行こう！

- ゼノファン

[Shadow Blade]

This may by off-topic (and/or none of my business), but what is your job, Fruity?
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[The Dragon]

I'm pretty certain his job does not involve music, and more than likely involves databases.
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Some things are best read out of context.

[Damian]

Isn't he a programmer for some company? Shoot, I forget, but I thought it was programming.
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when the world is sick, can't no one be well? but i dreamt we was all beautiful and strong
-
listen to my music!
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facebook | twitter | last.fm | youtube

[Dr Fruitcake]

Mm, you're in the right ballpark. I work for Lockheed Martin, and I was supposed to be a programmer -- but the week before I was to start, the department that hired me got a budget cut and no longer had the funds for another programmer. So I took a job with a different department. I'm not sure what my official job title or description is anymore, but I spend most of my time reading 60-page Word documents, querying a database (*ding ding ding* Dragon wins!), and attending meetings wherein every other word spoken is an acronym and every other acronym is one I've never heard before.
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[Upsilon]

Congrats, Fruity, you're now officially part of The System. Without you, corporate America would come crashing down.
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Delivering very monthly quotes for over six freaking years, it's Upsi's Quote of the Month:

"Don't have premaritals - it hurts your pre-genitals!" -chzrm3

[Powerlord]