Looking For Tips to Improve Piano Sounds (WIP Track welocmes Feedback and Advice)

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Mistro17
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Location: Brooklyn, NY

03 Sep 2017

Hi, I decided to record 2 parts of this song I been practicing (Because I Love You by Stevie B) It's one of the more challenging songs I learned so far.

As of this post, I am 2 months in learning the piano/keyboard on my own until I can find a live teacher I can afford. For now, YouTube is my teacher. I only had Reason 9.5 for about 2 months also and I know nothing about professional mixing or what devices are good for certain uses in a mix. So I'm asking for advice and feedback here to help me improve this song and maybe I can learn a lot from this going forward. The only thing I did was add 2 devices (Thor with Analogue Cathedral and a ID8 set to orchestra strings) and copy the recorded piano track to them. The very first part is the raw piano recording of the verse. In the middle is the raw chorus piano where I really could use some advice to make that part sound good with warmth and not so boring.

For the piano I'm using "Reason Pianos" Steinway Floor Blend for the leading piano and Steinway Concert for the Chorus...not sure if it's a good idea to change up. Any help, advice and tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.



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Loque
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04 Sep 2017

I am not an expert on pianos, but you just may add some reverb (according to the room you want to simulate) to the piano. Because the piano is the main part, give it a bit more EQ in its main frequencies and at the same time reduce the other in that frequencies.

You may want to pan the strings a bit to the side or give a bit more reverb than the pianos, to let it sound "behind" the piano.

In general for the piano, some chords work wonder. and i cant hear any musical accompaniment in the back for the piano at lower notes.

To give the chorus more power in general, use higher velocity (harder pressed, louder keys). You also may add some additional effect like a bit chorus an additional short reverb and maybe a additional note or just make it a bit louder.

To have it feel more a pop-real piano, try duplicating technique, where you double the track, pan each to left and right, than alter slightly the note in start position and length (each different, press F8 for tools-menu). This may increase the chorus-like effect. You may use this only for your main/chorus part.

Add some swing, use shuffle from the groove mixer, just a tiny bit. It sounds very static actually.

Sometimes to give a sound more pressure, duplicate it and add it with a low-pass-filter, where most of the lower frequencies comes through, giving the impression of more pressure.

Hope that helps. Maybe a bit too many tips for the start. Hopefully some more advanced piano experts hop in.
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aeox
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04 Sep 2017

I'd say you want to start with the right piano sound you are looking for. I'm assuming the piano you chose is actually what you wanted?
I personally don't like how a lot of pianos sound. So it was hard for me to find ones I liked, I had to do research because I don't know anything about pianos.

I don't really know how to play piano, but I think it also has a lot to do with the velocity of your playing and really trying to finesse certain notes with softer/harder velocties.

I believe in your case, you may want to single out the piano and make it sound extremely good on it's own. Then build the track up from there, it sounds like it needs some lower frequency instruments in my opinion but I'd work on the main piano sound first.

Aside from that, I use some saturation, EQ, and reverb for effects.

Heres an example:


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Mistro17
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Location: Brooklyn, NY

04 Sep 2017

Thanks for the tips Loque and aeox! I will focus more on the piano and less on the other instruments to start, making the piano the main star of the song.

I been experimenting with the different piano presets to find which one I like the most. So many choices in this refill. But either way it sounds like I should record the piano voicing over and try expressing mood with velocity. I may need to get a new keyboard though. I have a AKAI MPK49 which have stiff keys so I have to work my fingers a little more than other keyboards.

I'm also gonna study up on using reverb. But first I want to explore all the options within the Reason Pianos devices with all the mic setups.

@Loque- What do you mean by musical accompaniment? Are you talking about other instruments? Is the groove Mixer a default Reason device?

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Loque
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04 Sep 2017

Mistro17 wrote:
04 Sep 2017
@Loque- What do you mean by musical accompaniment? Are you talking about other instruments? Is the groove Mixer a default Reason device?
You could use other instruments, but i meant lower piano notes (normally your left hand). Play something with the right hand, the main course melody, and play a few lower chords with left hand to fill the space between some higher notes or to attract your main melody.

The Groove mixer is is this nearly invisible thing on the bottom left side on the transport panel that says "Groove"
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Mistro17
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Location: Brooklyn, NY

04 Sep 2017

Loque wrote:
04 Sep 2017

You could use other instruments, but i meant lower piano notes (normally your left hand). Play something with the right hand, the main course melody, and play a few lower chords with left hand to fill the space between some higher notes or to attract your main melody.
Ah...yeah, I actually learned how to expand on the left hand bass line last night. Gotta do some left hand gymnastics :D I will post an updated version when I do the second recording.

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ThisIsNotTheMusic
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05 Sep 2017

Reverb for sure and a little delay can work wonders. I'd also suggest duplicating the track and changing the duplicate with some nice effects (just experiment) to provide some depth. I struggle with Piano as I don't like a lot of the standard piano sounds, but you can bring it to life fairly easily. Kinda wish I could play it as well as you - have fun!
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