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Transitioning ....from one sound style music to another

L

Libby

I think thats the correct word.


One scene has soft instrumental music and the next is a fast paced comedic piano music...how to do you transition from one to other smoothly?

It was something I hadn't thought of until now...because right now it sounds terrible. I tried leaving a portion silent to introduce the faster paced music but that didn't work.

I have no vocals in what I am doing. So I cannot just have people talking...right now...its just video and music so whatever I do is obvious.

Thanks.
 
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Agree, it's better to see and listen such a things, not read about it :)

But anyway, there are just a few things you could do...

- Start piano part slow and smoothly increase its tempo
- Use the same key for both parts
- Creatively use some additional sounds to mask the start of piano part
- Separate both parts by the Panorama for transition period

Good Luck
Julian Ray Music
 
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JRM said:
Agree, it's better to see and listen such a things, not read about it :)

But anyway, there are just a few things you could do...

- Start piano part slow and smoothly increase its tempo
- Use the same key for both parts
- Creatively use some additional sounds to mask the start of piano part
- Separate both parts by the Panorama for transition period

Good Luck
Julian Ray Music
Click to expand...

Great advice! Especially having the music in the same key. That would help you a LOT.
 
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Music with the same tempo (or multiples thereof) helps with transition as well as you can then match the beats on the way in... You could ramp speed on the incoming as well so it starts matched, then moves up into its own tempo.
 
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Every situation (scene/film) is different and so the approach will be different for each. Smooth transitions are nice, but hard cuts can provide comedic contrast, shock value, etc. The individual source music choices will also be a very important determining factor as to how you arrange/cut the music. You can even have them playing simultaneously - yes, it can work.

It also is a help if you actually have an understanding of music editing and arranging - from the beginning of the first track then cutting directly into the next isn't your only option, you can completely rearrange a song so it begins, peaks and ends very close to where you want it to. Many times I've edited a four minute song down to 90 seconds - or stretched a 2 1/2 minute song to 3 1/3 minutes. I've also rearranged songs so just the instrumental sections play during dialog. There are also a number of audio suite plug-ins that can change the speed (to make that 90 second edit 87 seconds or vice versa) and the pitch of a song (so the keys of the two songs are more compatible) which can also make transitioning easier.
 
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If you can't post the pieces, try this...

Do you know on what beat you want the music to start? Even with different styles you can usually find two moments that might blend.

If you're using Final Cut Pro, transitions are set at a second long. So that means the transition down is 30 and up is 30. You might want to change that and make it longer. Most of the time I put 2 second transitions.

Anyway, find where you want the one song to end and the other begin and leave a minute or 30 seconds ahead of the beat. Then when you put the transition in, it'll be at it's peak there.

If you doesn't sound right to you, then it probably isn't what you're really looking for. If you can visualize and hear it in your head, it's just a matter of aligning it in the software.
 
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Throwing up in your mouth isn't good.

Thanks all. Some great advice for now and future.

Reading each one...I think I will try and fooling around with trimming the first pc of music shorter and then it will end sooner...but thats much harder than it sounds...which most of this is...as I am learning.
The first scene is a surfer cruising up against the sunrise on the ocean.
The second scene are people walking on hot stones to get into the water on the beach so they all tipsy trying to balance and falling sideways ...ect. They are not actors...I was just sitting close to the this part of the beach with the camera on a tripod and just let it roll.
Later:
I was fooling around and changed the scene to an old style black and white and the music is from the 20's.

Eventually the two scenes may never merge together and I could change it all over again.
 
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Libby said:
Throwing up in your mouth isn't good.

Thanks all. Some great advice for now and future.

Reading each one...I think I will try and fooling around with trimming the first pc of music shorter and then it will end sooner...but thats much harder than it sounds...which most of this is...as I am learning.
The first scene is a surfer cruising up against the sunrise on the ocean.
The second scene are people walking on hot stones to get into the water on the beach so they all tipsy trying to balance and falling sideways ...ect. They are not actors...I was just sitting close to the this part of the beach with the camera on a tripod and just let it roll.
Later:
I was fooling around and changed the scene to an old style black and white and the music is from the 20's.

Eventually the two scenes may never merge together and I could change it all over again.
Click to expand...

Are you using Final Cut or Pro Tools? Because it's actually pretty easy to cut using these. Don't just do it by ear, look at the wavelengths. Try it a couple of times and you'll see where the cut should be.
 
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