samulis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Penguin - Theme]

You should try putting this on celesta or a whole mallets section (lower notes on marimba, higher on xylophone and glock) dude, it'd rock on that. ;)

I seriously wish more of the classical section had stuff like this... great harmonies abound!

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot my friend! I can change it however you want it - just tell me what exactly you are rocking on and i will create it :) My goal was to express the clumsy little penguin which waddles around. It should sound peaceful, happy and clear with a few melancholic chords for a little emotional alternation. Making this has been fun - no great effects - just pure and simple.

I am really glad that especially you with your overwhelming musictheoretical knowledge like it :D

[Can't Express Myself]

Sounds good. I'm not quite one for solo piano music, but it sounds nice. Very expressive.

[Ode to the Reader]

I applaud the use of fog horns at 1:06. :P

Overall a pretty good piece. Nice work! I'd give more feedback, but I am tight on time, sorry...

[Memories of a Forgotten Land]

Good emotion in this, a nice sense of motion and wonder, but I really think you could benefit from a few things... first, a nice rhythm going on during the "pacing' part around 2 minutes, just a light frame drum or bass drum. Second, choirs dude- some "ooo" in the altos would go perfectly. The harp is a nice touch, but I think the passage around 0:50 could have had more embellishment and motion to it in the harp line.

Overall a very good piece. I am glad to see someone making a serious effort at music of emotional value. :)

Keep compos(ed/ing)!

MichaelJ responds:

I actually experimented with a drum there, but I didn't like. In my opinion, it took away from the mood.
I did use choirs in the piece, maybe they weren't loud enough? They start right at the beginning and then return at 1:34. Now that I listen, I can't really hear them anywhere other than the beginning. That is probably a good thing anyway, because my choir samples don't sound great.
You're probably right about the harp's section. I guess I like to keep things simple. Maybe I'll play around with it a bit.
Thank you for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Supercollide]

I don't listen to Jazz often, but when I do, I listen to Supercollide. Stay Jazzy, my friends! ;)

[Sustain This Night]

Decent piece. My main issue is one I have with many many pieces- the background instruments feel like pads, not people. This isn't an issue with the way you humanize it or mock it up or anything, but an issue with the way you write for them. It's not an issue in pop genres, but is one for music with an orchestra in mind. I feel as if you originally wrote music in a pop or electronic style and recently decided to start writing orchestral/cinematic.

Your strings section sustain patch has too long of an attack- listen to some real strings on youtube and try to bump the start of each note a little ahead of the measure so it's seamless- so it starts at the start of the measure, not a little in.

I also agree with Step- percussion are not very well used. Snare drum, clash cymbals, gong, are all crucial members of the percussion section that are key to having a strong intense section. Percussion can also help with transitions, another area you should work on, as Step said. Bring in elements and changes more slowly, and stagger them. Avoid sudden transitions until you have other forms of transition down first. :)

The last half of the song sounds like some ethnic Far East thing... like you should get a Guzheng and have the melody played on Erdu with some gong crashes in the background. XD

Overall a decent piece! Keep working! Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

[History?]

HOW DID YOU NOT LAUGH?!?

The delivery is the best... reminds me of the famous review by Axeman13...

SkyeWint responds:

I INSERTED ORANGE JUICE UP MY NOSTRILS, OBVIOUSLY.

I also just realized that I oopsed on another word. Oh well. :D Forgetting to pluralize one word isn't too bad among all this!

[Fanfare of the Emperor]

Where's the bass my friend? You desperately need some bass trombones and tubas!

Also consider less tutti and a bit more movement within the chords. Things like turns, passing tones, etc. This can really create a good melodic flow within even the strongest tuttis! You might also want to consider having multiple strands of melody and such.

If you haven't heard it already, Bosa's "King Samulis" is a fabulous example of good brass writing, especially the first minute and the last half-minute.

BrokenDeck responds:

"Where's the bass my friend? You desperately need some bass trombones and tubas!"

I used the drums for bass lol. I didn't think that there would be tubas or bassy brass in a fanfare environment. Any lower brass and I think those instruments (a big tuba for ex.) would look cumbersome on those svelte elves. lol

"Also consider less tutti and a bit more movement within the chords."

I only have five fingers per hand dude :P

[Path to Glory (Reprise)]

Gentle, anthem-esque. Sounds more classical than cinematic imo... where's the f'ing organ dude? XD

Good work on harmonies and voicing in this. I really like the phrasing around 0:39 and the brass soli afterwards. I just wish there was more reverb on those strings... they cut out so suddenly for the lush sound they have.

All the best & keep compos(ed/ing)!

BrokenDeck responds:

Thanx! Good luck to you too! ^_^

[Journey to the Edge]

Wahoo, another Finaleite! :D

Garritan is one heck of a beast to tangle with to get a good sound out of and you did a plenty fine job doing that... better than I could with the default sounds!

I like the general atmosphere of the piece, and it's clear you put quite a bit of effort into this, and although the sound is not the best, the composition is quite good.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!

WingoWinston responds:

It's all about Finale. Thanks for the review man!