samulis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Focus]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

Your Score Breakdown:
Production: 21/30
Composition: 28/30
Orchestration: 13.5/15
Originality: 9.5/10
Interest: 14/15

Total: 86/100 or 8.6/10 or 4.5 stars (rounded).

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As a trombone player, I can certify that I would be playing on this track without question. :3

The composition of this track is quite incredible tbh. It has a nice Nimble sound, but unlike a lot of your previous works, voicings and levels are considerably better so there's a lot less harmonic confusion and a lot more clarity overall, giving me more reason to enjoy the composition and instrumentation going on. You do a lot to make sure that the track never becomes boring or stale, with nice contrasting parts, the solo section, and the nice ensemble sections. I really enjoyed how each instrument got to do its part in the harmonic and melodic construct of the piece- the voicings and lines were especially nice.

Something I feel you might want to consider is touching up on transitionary stages, such as 0:18 (drum fill? windchimes? pick-up?). The drums are doing a lot of grooving, but I feel some more fill-type stuff could help in places (and don't forget, guitar, bass, and piano, can all do awesome fills too). Aux percussion can also come in very handy here. I might suggest adding something like a tambourine or shaker during some parts just to add that extra feel.

Speaking of drums, your drum set is REALLY WEAK and QUIET. If you listen to someone like Trombone Shorty and his band (which this reminded me a lot of), they can be a very good example of a good mix for the acoustic elements you are working with (ex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLfsLx04GjE, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRb3nM6q1Vg). Notice particularly how powerful the drums sit in the mix and where the engineers placed the instruments aurally to keep the parts from conflicting. Also notice what techniques are used to keep the melody on top of the mid-ground and background elements in the mix and the orchestration.

For some reason, I REALLY enjoyed the sound and feel of the brass/saxes. They just felt really good to me, I guess you worked really hard to get them to sound good, which is great. Also remember to explore instrumentation and voicing techniques and options that can also assist with realism when dealing with limited samples.

I think the next step for you is to take some time and try applying things like EQ and compression to channels, and just experiment around and see what they do. A word of caution- try to keep the reverb light, especially for this kind of close-mic'd sounding stuff, which is generally produced relatively dry, so be VERY CAUTIOUS with reverb. It's very tempting to just drown everything in reverb, but in the end you'll just end up with mud, especially with freeware or basic reverbs. With EQ, try playing around with increasing and decreasing certain parts of the instrument to get the tone you desire- more punch? Increase mid-highs. More roundness? Increase low-mids. etc.

Some things to watch out for:
- Mud: At 3:58 it's a little too busy, so things tend to blend and get stuck together in a not-good way.
- Crackles: 4:05 is one point where we have some crackleitis. Be careful with the gain knob- remember, compression can do a lot to bring in more of that punchiness without having to worry about crackles.
- Unclear Melody: At some points in the song, there are a lot of ideas and lines going on at once, which can be a great thing if mixed well or terrible if not mixed. This was not mixed well. Always make sure your melody is clear and is the most INTERESTING thing to the listener. If someone is playing a more interesting phrase at the same time as the melody that is louder, the ear will go there and not to the melody.

Keep up the good work!

[The Abyss]

This is an NGADM round 1 review.

Your Score Breakdown:
Production: 27/30
Composition: 28.5/30
Orchestration: 14/15
Originality: 9/10
Emotion: 12.5/15

Total: 91/100 or 9.1/10 or 4.5 stars

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This track really was one of my favorites out of the contest. I really enjoyed the combination of various influences. I could hear a bit of Russian Romantic (mussorgsky-esque) and some Impressionist and post romantic. Then along came the cinematic part... which was another story, but I will get to that in a bit.

My first point of awesome was the inclusion and detail of woodwinds in the first part of the work. There's a lot of nice runs in there and some good use of orchestration to paint the intended picture. I really felt it had a great set of textures for the most part.

The big problem here is that the piece is not memorable. I can listen to it and I can't even remember what I just listened to. My memory sucks, but this isn't just a matter of that. I can remember that cheesy pop song I heard earlier on the radio. Just because you're writing scary music doesn't mean there is no need for any memorable phrases or something that stands out or really has a sense of "you" to it.

A slightly smaller but also important issue is continuity. You start off with this great impressionistic-style piece, an then transfer into this brassy, almost modern climax. I don't ask that you write a piece that sounds like a period, heck no, but when you do mash up stuff, make sure both parts are equal. The contemporary action-horror cinematic portion was very basic- brass tropes, drums, some runs. Lots of big bold noises played very loud and without any resemblance of effective phrasing as present earlier. It just kinda pops in our face and goes BWAAA BWAAA BWA BWA BWA BWAAAA. It doesn't really make me feel anything, it's just a bunch of obviously sampled instruments and the effect, the texture the first half strained to produce, is shattered on impact.

This piece made me think a lot about some old Bernard Herrmann music (guy who scored all those old Alfred Hitchcock movies like Psycho and Vertigo), the "grandfather" of the "horror" music in movies. Herrmann managed to create very powerful pieces without losing the effectiveness of emotions to just blasting brass, and without sacrificing the quality of his composition. I think taking a listen to his work may help you come up with different ways to approach the climax of this sort of style without having to lean back on tropes. He also is a certified black-belt at leitmotifs and their effective use, so maybe there's something in there that will help you come up with ways to make your music more memorable. (examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMTrVgpDwPk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5AzFc3coo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMMDvDUXzA, etc)

The thing that makes horror (or all music for that matter) music effective, and is something that really defines why your first half is super effective, is tension and release. Being able to grab the listener's heart and release it is a very challenging thing to do, but with effective use of dynamics, tensions, and textures, it is considerably easier. Also important an hand-in-hand is the dynamic of the textures and orchestration you are using, notably for the climax. Blending instruments via doubling or harmonizing in thirds or sixths is a hugely effective and powerful art that is mostly ignored by many today. Consider an example from Vertigo, composed by Bernard Herrmann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytC5jUBpMls

In this scene, the main character is waiting for his love to emerge from a bathroom (silly, right?). Yet, we hear this great tension and release, and a buildup as she approaches, finally releasing in a full-out climax, featuring a resolution to major, with a central motif throughout it all. If you don't have this little earworm in your head for at least a day, I would be quite amazed. In the world of music, tension and release is the most powerful force in existence. Consider ways it might apply to creating any emotion or texture, not just love or fear or anger (although tension that doesn't release or fails to resolve can create feelings of desire and longing). Even in scary music, feeling the tension and release is important to stir the emotions of the listener. ;)

I hope at least one thing in here will prove helpful. As the doctor recommends, take with a grain of salt, after lunch, and KEEP COMPOSING! :)

DamienFleisch responds:

This is a really great review, thank you. I am actually very familiar with Herrman's work as he is one of the first composers who inspired me to pursue a career in scoring. I wasn't referencing him very much in this piece, although now that you have mentioned it that may have been a good idea. With this piece, I had intended to have some of our friends the Russians, and a good deal of Britten. Even Herrman's less rhythmically intense scores (like Vertigo) still have much more energy than I wanted for this piece. But I do hear the similarities listening to that main title again now with the big chords in the brass.

I understand and agree with what you mention about the earlier parts vs the later parts. The fact is I started writing this piece right into my DAW, which I don't always do. If I had gone into the sequencing of it with a better idea of where it was going, I think that would have helped it a lot. What happened instead was that I got through the first half or so of the piece and realized it was rambling and lacked cohesion so I had to do something to pull it together. What I came up with is more of a band-aid than a cure, I suppose. This is definitely another piece that I plan to revisit in the near future. It deserves to be longer and it deserves the attention and detail the beginning has all the way through to the end.

Thank you for your words!

[Dance of the Poltergeist]

This is a NGADM round 1 review.

Your Score Breakdown:
Production: 24/30
Composition: 24/30
Instrumentation: 13/15
Originality: 9.5/10
Interest: 10/15

Your Total Score: 80.5/100 or 8.05/10 or 4 stars

========
This track was da shit bro, in a good way. I really enjoyed the "polka" elements (sounded almost a little more ragtime to me, esp. with the syncopations). Definitely reminds me of Steampianist. ;)

One of the best parts of this piece is the flow. I felt that out of all the entries, this one had top-grade flow between ideas and parts. Everything felt like it happened for a reason and that it made sense, however strange the piece. The diversity also made the apparent lack of a contrasting section more tolerable.

I felt that the sounds fit rather nicely. However, it should be noted, I know very little about chiptune, 8-bit, or trance. The mix was acceptable, but not mind-blowing. Since you are just starting out with stuff like chiptune, I feel with some more time, it will improve for sure. Keep experimenting with different blends and textures you can put together and contrast! I really liked the trance components, and I think you could do even more awesome work if you explore more ways to blend between trance and other genres.

(this is what Ragtime is btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgda3qc8S0A, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8IM5-wUdng)

Azhthar responds:

Thx a lot for the detailed review. Glad you liked the ideas. I´m also glad you liked the sounds I used because after Step´s review I was a bit unsure and experimented a bit with different chipsounds. Actually I did not find any other sounds which fitted better to that piece than the original ones I used but I definetely understand that these sound quite raw... Yep, I sometimes like to mix genres a bit. You are right that since this was my first experiment with stuff like chiptunes I definetely should learn a lot here productionwise. For the ragtime ctually I don´t really agree or maybe I don´t see what you mean. I have always the feeling that polka has more of an offbeat feeling while ragtime is more a backbeat... The tonematerial is also a bit more blues related I guess.

[Tree of Life]

This is a NGADM review.

Your Score Breakdown:
Production: 27.5/30
Composition: 25/30
Instrumentation: 13.5/15
Originality: 9/10
Emotion/Interest: 14/15

Total: 89/100 or 8.90/10 or 4.5/5 stars

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Let me start this review off by saying that this is one of my absolute favorite entries in the whole contest. Not only does it have a fabulous emotion to it, but it just has all these wonderful tasteful ornaments and some great contrast and shape overall. My favorite points were around 1:14 and 2:21- jaw on da floor!

First off, MAJOR kudos for the vocals. Tuning, phrasing, and performance are all very good. My only comment is on the production side of the vocals. Your own voice can end up sounding a little flat and mid-heavy at points, maybe consider trying some EQ or other options. Also, although a luxury, recording in stereo might add an interesting feeling of scope to the vocals more fitting of a world or ambient feel. I also feel Merry's voice could be very slightly louder.

The main thing that I think could benefit this piece is a larger climax, maybe the addition of more instruments would help achieve this. I also suggest considering adding a fitting drum, perhaps a frame drum or bodhran, even a tambourine. I've done a few collabs with Camoshark over the years and that has suitably convinced me of the need for [tasteful] ethnic drums in world music. The light percussion is nice, but could definitely be supplemented with more instruments, especially around transition points like 2:21.

The mix is quite pleasant. I do feel some more time could have been put into the middle-ground and background of the piece, which as it stands is rather simple (not necessarily a bad thing). Perhaps the addition of some recorders or flutes to play along with the vocals would be an interesting addition.

-SG

etherealwinds responds:

Thank you for the review! I definitely have a long way to go in terms of learning to mix. Hopefully next year I'll have learned a lot more. I actually did make some percussion for this and ended up removing it because I felt it didn't suit the piece and overwhelmed it a little. I think I've just gotta learn to balance it all!

All the best :)

[MJFarts EPIC electro track!!]

Restored my faith in humanity.

[Pendragon Legacy]

Nice, but sounds nothing like medieval/renaissance music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvVtszPyTs

Sounds like the Civ III Japanese music though!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgT4TE9ILT4#t=86

Good piece, aside from having Super Slidy Violin syndrome. Might want to take that part to a doctor to get fixed.

ChronoNomad responds:

I don't believe that I ever actually purported this to be either medieval or renaissance style anywhere, so the argument feels spurious. I don't really want to sound like this or that or be pigeonholed because hey--it's all been done in one way or another. I want to sound like myself and share the crazy, offbeat, and sometimes confusing music that's rattling around inside my head. Does that make sense? I hope so. Musical interpretation can be anything the artist wants it to be. I like to call that freedom of expression, and I subscribe to it heavily. :)

Not that hearing that it sounds like something out of Civilization III bothers me, mind. Fantastic music, that! Pendragon Legacy is something of an amalgam I suppose, and using unexpected musical styles to portray things in a way that they wouldn't normally be portrayed is actually quite fun. The soundtrack from Samurai Champloo comes to mind. It definitely doesn't fit in with Edo-era Japan in a traditional sense, but that's one of the things that makes it so unique.

All that aside, I can certainly admit that the violin suffers from more than a bit too much slide. SSVS is a very serious issue, and it is one that I hope to have gotten out of my system now. Nevertheless, I am very glad to hear that you enjoy the music regardless of its shortcomings, and I appreciate your review. The YT links were also a nice touch. Perhaps I should focus on doing something with a decidedly Japanese flavour at some point in the not-so-distant future...

[Loved and Lost]

Hey Wingo,

I absolutely loved the start (aside from being so quiet- had to turn up headphones a lot to even hear it), but I was deeply disappointed by this piece. It started off with a great deal of energy and a wonderful feeling of awe, but when the cello arrived so sharply (this is what the exp patches are for!), it was a jolt, and then with the blastissimo cinematic brass, any feeling of awe and love just shattered like a pane of glass hit with a thousand rocks at once. Use of some calm, NOT blasting brass would greatly enhance the piece.

I feel like there is a lot missing to this piece texture-wise- like it is a sketch that never got finished but ended up getting uploaded in a hurry. Instead of staccato strings, consider expressive, sustaining strings. Think Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcekLCkaP0A). Consider adding woodwinds, especially for some chord backing and counter-melodic movement. I find Bassoons at a quiet dynamic and molto expressivo especially good at dealing with sorrow, their sonorous lower register filled with despair and their high register filled with heart-ache.

In general, a solid and well-composed premise, but just not enough texture and vocabulary musically to grab on to in order to feel the emotions you are trying to get across.

[She is Lovely]

I like it so far, but you need more tensions in your chords (major 7ths, 9ths, sus4's), notably on the I chords to bring out the strain in the romance. I did a track in a bit more calmer of a light but still in a super-romantic sort of feel and I used some strings doing some pretty thick chords and it wasn't until the final chord that they lost the tensions (sent in a PM). A piece that really pushes the tensions = love thing is from Civ 5 and formed an inspiration for me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmE1J6xt4gY). Just tears at your heart, esp. at 0:50. :)

It's an interesting route you're taking. I just caution you to keep your theme clear and textures dynamic. Love is an emotion that can lead to staleness or oversaturation of the texture if not careful, therefore it's important to have strong dynamics between portions so the richness of the texture doesn't overwhelm the listener (unless it's score, in which case, you can probably get away with overly rich texture).

Definitely an interesting path worth exploring!

[Of Summer]

Hey man, I am loving this piece. Great vibe!

I might consider ways to add variety to the pizzicati such as passing the part on to woodwinds at some point. Also, maybe some ways you can add additional counter melodies to the piano and clarinet at the starting parts so they're not so alone, or ways to ornament their parts further to add interest.