samulis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Breaking Crystals]

I'd have to agree with several below- the beginning and the point after 2:20 is far improved from the middle. I know it's easy to go in strange directions when the muse hits you, but scoring is all about being able to find the balance between you and the requirements of the image (or game level or movie scene) you are working with.

The trick I always use when scoring to a picture is to play through the WIP I have while looking at the picture. If it "clicks" in my mind as revealing something about the image, it's good. If the image itself seems to move or waver with your music, you did a frelling brilliant job, congrats. In this regrettably, it clicked at the start and at the end, but that's about it.

Instruments are interesting and varied, but not all are really needed or applicable to the subject matter. As I said in a previous review, think about each instrument like a color on an artist's color palette for a painting. In some cases, you might use yellow, in others, you might not. Examine the colors the artist uses and try to find tonal equals. In orchestral terms, it might be cellos = blue water, glockenspiel = green crystals, brass = black darkness, violins = white light. For electronic, the timbres of each instrument you use would similarly have a chromatic equivalent. Symbolism goes far beyond the feel of the track and also applies to your choices in instruments. :)

FD had a good point in terms of composition and form. Think about the image you chose- it's pretty static in the state it is. You're looking at a cave with crystals and water... it's probably been this way centuries and will be this way for centuries. This means your song should try to reflect attribute this symbolically. Think about the best way you can really describe the essence of this long, dark solitude that the crystals go through, the contrast of the light on the dark walls, the cold, icy reach of the water across the hard granite basin. It's an interesting choice you made, but in terms of the contest, an ineffective one I believe.

Production is pretty good. I thought the glass breaking might have been a bit too loud, but hey, it's glass breaking, it's pretty f'ing loud when it happens.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 6/10
Relevance- 19/30
Composition- 15/25
Instrumentation- 9/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 6/10

Total: 62/100 (NG: 3 stars)

aCreator responds:

Thank you very much for this hyper complete Review :D!!!
I'm afraid I won't be able to write as much as you...
When I made the song I was aware that the mood really "went away". And I also thought about if it was really a good idea... But it was the way I felt about this picture and yes...
So I thought why not...
I see now that it wasn't a very clever idea but that doesn't matter for me anymore. So many people found things that could be improved or gave me tips... So actually I'm very proud of my song... Because of it I learned really a lot!

I will really consider your tips for the next A.I.M. contest! they will without doubt be very useful!
Thank you very much for taking your time to write such awesome reviews! :)

[Forgotten Secrets]

This song has bipolar disorder.

At some points it's really in tune with the dark mood of the image and others it's just like "happy derpy derp time!" It's interesting, but has nothing to do with the picture for most of it. The point of this contest is to try to capture the essence of the image you chose in your piece. Only really 0:00-0:24 and 4:05 to 4:30ish really felt like a destroyed city... remotely enough to vaguely count.

The instruments in this are interesting at the least. Some just don't fit, like the lead at 1:06 that makes me think of happy derpy summer party time. Think about every sound you use and what the frell it has to do with the picture you are painting. If I'm painting a sad picture, do I use the color yellow? Probably not. I'd probably use blues, blacks, and whites. The same applies to the sounds you pick when scoring to a picture.

Production is decent. I would have made that snare thing a little quieter, it's kinda annoying in my phones at least. A good rule of thumb: sustained notes = mysterious, forboding. choppy or otherwise short notes = action, motion, energy (maybe happiness). If you want your song to sound mysterious, don't have loud snare noises ruining the ambience. :P

Not a bad piece, just not really that close to the image.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 7/10
Relevance- 15/30
Composition- 16/25
Instrumentation- 7/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 5/10

Total: 57/100 (NG: 3 stars)

Spadezer responds:

Thanks for the review. I really like seeing you're rating scale, but it's really cool to see how you put a lot of thought into the review. BTW, "happy derpy derp time" gave me a good laugh.
I agree with you on a lot of the points, which is most likely why I won't be re-composing this song. It does seem awkward at times and it's a hit and miss on some of the elements of the short narrative.

But I hope that you really enjoy my next piece. That one I spent a bit more time on and I'm definitely more proud of that one compared to this one.

[Poems for Darkness]

Bonus points for live performance, I just wish the recording were better. The bass is too loud.

Composition is very good. Some good modulation, faux modulation even, and plenty of motion. Overall it sounds quite Romantic. Playing sounds great too (mind you, this comes from someone who takes a few seconds to figure out a chord on the piano even after years of using one to write music daily).

I definitely feel the motion of the waves in this piece. This sense is very important to creating the right feel of the bridge over the sea and you definitely pulled it off. I really like how the various sections fit together nicely without too much of an abrupt change and really creates a full grouping of "poems" as you might call them.

Great work, keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 26/30
Composition- 23/25
Instrumentation- 12/15
Mastering- 4/10
Emotion/Interest- 7/10

Total: 80/100 (NG: 4 stars)

MetroPiano responds:

Thanks a lot for your review, it was quite helpful! I know I had some problems with the mastering (probably because I don't know how to do it), I'm a pretty odd composer, I don't write down ideas, nor translate or start writing my pieces through sheet music, my process is to usually think of a feel of the piece I want to compose, compose it in my head, slowly translate it to piano (sometimes I have to ease the difficulty just because I sometimes compose them impossible to play, for me at least) then practice meticulously (optional, especially when their was not a lot of time too, since my main piece was taking even longer than this one). After, I usually just recorded it plain, with no added effects just because I really do not know how to add anything to make it sound better other than reverb. So the whole mastering business is a mystery to me (other than the fact my pedal was broken and their were some mistakes because of it). Anyways thanks again!

[Light in the Darkness]

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

Please go get a job scoring films so I don't have to torment myself about not being so damn good. I look at this picture and hear your music and I swear, I am not hallucinating, the girl is swinging and the leaves are MOVING. THAT is the criteria of a 30/30 for relevance. :)

Jesus, those chords at the start. Wagner would shit his pants at 0:23 and 0:32, and so would Hans Zimmer.

During the climax, there's a high horn line that's really quiet, and then at the very end it, alone, blares out. I dunno what's up with this, but it just doesn't work for me. Maybe have it at a mf or a f there and consider what else you can do for the ending... maybe have the harp pluck a low note. I've done that, heh. Works fine for release after a battle. The ending is just as important as the start, and DAYUM what a start you had. :D

I wish you added some nice timpani action in there at the climax too to back up the basses + snare, and maybe a trumpet line on top. Also consider using the gong for that lead-in to the epic part. It can really create a great lead-in.

Consider maybe some grace note stuff in the harp part to add more rhythmic diversity. Remember the harpist has her other hand to continue doing arps while the one hand does stuff on the top. The harp can pluck chords during the battle to add to the texture if you want too. :)

Keep compos(ed/ing) as always, my friend!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 7/10
Relevance- 30/30
Composition- 22/25
Instrumentation- 13/15
Mastering- 8/10
Emotion/Interest- 8/10

Total: 88/100 (NG: 4.5 stars)

Emid responds:

I am writing with immense pleasure that you have been my all time good friend as well as mentor. It gives me a deep satisfaction to have my songs acknowledged by you. Great ideas, learned advices given by you always make me do something new (for me) which I haven't tried before. I always come out from my comfort zone and try things learned by you.

Many thanks for the review. All these stars and ratings have little value compare to your advices however these stars and ratings are my motivation at the same time.

[Nocturne nr.5 in C-sharp minor]

Wow, very beautiful, very fitting!

I was going to suggest something but then you did it. :P

I think maybe having some alternatives to the arpeggiation might be interesting. Repeated pedalled chords can really have a great sound at a quiet velocity. Maybe experiment around with other approaches that can provide greater textural diversity. I also would have liked a little trip up into the top register. It's such a cold, icy zone it would match well with the piece and provide contrast to the warmth of the arpeggios in the middle register.

I may have preferred this on a different piano with a bit more dynamic and bite to it. Would you be at all interested/willing to send me the MIDI? I'd like to try a few pianos if you don't mind. The climax just didn't quite get there for me.

Compositionally solid; you're getting up there next to SoundChris in outrageously high standards of compositional quality. Better watch out or you'll be spending a week adding gracenotes and fret noise to flamenco guitar patterns so they sound just right.

If you were really crazy you might consider turning it into a violin or cello concerto or something. ;)

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 7/10
Relevance- 29/30
Composition- 23/25
Instrumentation- 14/15 (N/A)
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 7/10

Total: 87/100 (NG: - stars)

newhansen responds:

Heya Samulis,

You wrote down things I didn't even considered or thought about. All of them are great ideas which I would add in future compositions without any doubt. Thanks for taking time to review the piece! The Midi file will be in your NG inbox ;)

[New Dawn]

The first thing I see is a great deal of inconsistency. You start off with this great mellow orchestral intro and promptly add fast and completely contrasting percussion (that high click thing... just no). Ambient and pop drums just don't mix dude. If you left out the drum kit and maybe had a little bit of orchestral percussion (gong/cymbals/timpani/orch chimes ESPECIALLY etc.) this would have been a great piece. Drums were definitely too hot anyway- they were cutting out the pads there was so much compression. IF you were to keep the drums, you'd have to transition them better too, they just kinda come in and out randomly. Fills in, fills out or whatnot.

Some nice low piano notes might also be nice.

I definitely do get a vibe of the city though from the dark stuff. Feels like something bad is gunna happen soon! Is Joker going to go rob a bank tonight? D:

A not bad piece, just you really shot yourself in the foot with the drums. It was this close to suspenseful, moody, dark, etc. Think about emotion this way: Long notes = suspenseful/gentle. Short notes = energetic/frantic. By combining the two, you nullified both emotions and created an emotional rift in which the listener really has no idea what to think about the piece. I am sitting here after the fourth listen still trying to figure out what I think about it and I still don't know. It just feels strange. Dunno man.

I too know you can do better. :/

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 6/10
Relevance- 20/30
Composition- 14/25
Instrumentation- 7/15
Mastering- 5/10
Emotion/Interest- 2/10

Total: -54/100 (NG: 2.5 stars)

DESHIEL responds:

My only goal was to match the music to the art, to make it relevant. I didn't have any interest in making it an absolute earcandy business. It was just my take on the task that was was given to me.
Be it bad or not I didn't seek any victory with this entry, because I knew that I have two entries.

I wanted to work hard on my second entry tho, the AIM- CANCELED ENTRY that you can find here in my page. But I had so little time and too many other (not music related) duties to attend to that I simply abandoned it.

[JustnotEnough]

Unfortunately this piece is much like the snowman after he got melted... not a lot of consistency.

Look at ways you can better transition between parts. Remember that every instrument isn't just another line in a piano roll, it's an entire textural transformation of the piece. Where every pad and element appears is key to the feeling and integrity of the piece. Too many sudden changes and your audience will have no idea what is going on... not enough change and it will put them to sleep. It takes a long time and a lot of practice to find the right balance between variation and boredom, but I'm sure you'll get there in time.

At the start, I almost thought you were going to go for more of an ambient approach. That would have been great, baring the evil snowman thing. Maybe if there's a picture of a happy pine forest covered in snow and you instead matched this piece would have worked better for me, but it just doesn't line up with the image right. We're supposed to feel fear and terror and adrenaline rush and instead we feel like we're going to build a snowman, not blow one up with a flame thrower. :P

Some of the elements in the song are too loud for their context. For example when the bass comes in DURING the intro, it's like "BWAAHHHHH" when everything else is like "oohhh... ahhh..." Maybe try leaving the bass out until the start or try other volumes and textures to mix everything nicely. Remember dynamics always!

the part around 1:25 is confusing to the listener with all the different timbres. Also, the LFO should be lined up with the piece not slightly out of line, or else the tempo feels strange.

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 12/30
Composition- 12/25
Instrumentation- 8/15
Mastering- 6/10
Emotion/Interest- 4/10

Total: 50/100 (NG: 2..5 stars)

bolisa responds:

Thanks for your ratings!

Yeah, the bass isnt good i know. Next time i'll keep this in mind.

Thanks for your powefull advice!

[Crime FighterZ]

Hi to you too, Dutton. ;)

Despite the simplicity, I really like this song. The main thing I really enjoy is the production quality and the variation of sounds and feels I'm met with as a listener. It has a really clean feel and a great groove to it. I could daaance to dis shizznit, yo!

Maybe something to consider is more stuff in the "middle ground" of the instrumentation- some arps going up and down while the main melody is going and other textural elements like pads and countermelodies... synth strings? some sort of arp pad? Just fill in the spectral areas missing.

Another thing I'd really like to see is a contrasting B section. We have this great main melody, how about something else in the piece to really offer some nice contrast that uses a different progression, melody, and feel? It would really keep the listener going instead of just the same prog over and over again.

Overall a really neat and enjoyable piece. Got my foot tapping for sure!

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 24/30
Composition- 20/25
Instrumentation- 12/15
Mastering- 8/10
Emotion/Interest- 9/10

Total: 81/100 (NG: 4 stars)

DuttonsaysHi responds:

Hi!

Well that's good to know! You pretty much caught on to my main focus on the variation of sounds and production value. So thanks!

Yeah I totally agree! I had some much trouble coming up with a way to extend it and add new sections without it feeling disjointed but what you just said with with using arps and pads to add a little extra flavour gave me a bunch of new ideas of what I could have done. If only I figured it out sooner Dx.

Ah changing the key mid-song, that's actually something I've been doing in a lot of my songs recently but for some reason I evaded it when it came to making this.

I'll know what to do and avoid next time. Thanks for the review! I appreciate you taking your time to really analyse the song and give me feedback accordingly :D

[Glitch,Blues.Baby!]

Nice piece! I really think the feel fits nicely with the urban vibe of the art piece, but I think there are a few things with the piece that just don't quite sell it to me.

First, the transitions might need some work. You jump back and forth between these parts abruptly (notably at 1:26) and it is kinda disorienting. As a listener, I don't really know what is going on sometimes in the piece. The composition of the piece is pretty nice, there are some nice chords and catchy licks, but it's important that it all fits together as one homogenous mix to be a piece. I do think you could do more with the complexity of the melodies and harmonies though, maybe consider some ornamentation and so on.

Second, the mix isn't very full. The repetitive piano licks are really all the listener has to munch on aside form drums for most of the piece. I wish you had added more kicks and stabs in there on some horns, some pads, or some guitar comping or something to really bring out more of the piece.

Lastly, the mastering is a bit lack. For something more pop-ish like this, the piano is awfully reverb-heavy and distant feeling. The balance feels too centered for the piece as a whole (maybe using mono sound sources unpanned?). You might want to consider using a piano that is closer-mic'd and adjusting the pan and spread of the instruments.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 6/10
Relevance- 24/30
Composition- 15/25
Instrumentation- 9/15
Mastering- 6/10
Emotion/Interest- 6/10

Total: 66/100 (NG: 3.5 stars {round up to 70})

YouriX responds:

Wow! This my first stab at Glitchop and Jazz. I am used to making DrumNbass. So i was expecting some criticism. Overall i am happy with results you gave me! Ofcourse i will improve my work and push myself to the limit. Thanks for the insightfull review and your time! :D

[~SW~ Extrote]

If this were the Main Menu song in a game, I'd never bother even playing the game. :D

Great work as always, ridiculous attention to detail, and it shows!

SkyeWint responds:

Dude if this were the main menu theme, I'd totally be rocking the rest of the soundtrack. It might be worth it. <3