SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bipolarity]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Lovely 8-bit! With this type of music, you can actually master it at -1.0dB instead of lower as it is currently. Do be careful to mix it a bit better though, the particularly high frequencies should be filtered slightly to make sure they aren't quite as sharp when you raise the lead up an octave. It would also be excellent to have a section with lower volume to provide a point of contrast with the earlier intense sections.

- I think what this track REALLY needs more than anything else is a hook to really pull the listener in. Since this is 8-bit, I think this might provide a wonderful point of comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks3RNLNvpCg This track IMMEDIATELY hooks your attention with the arpeggios. When the chord comping comes in later, that becomes a second theme to keep your attention throughout the following sections and as an idea you can come back to. Themes and hooks are not just melodies alone. Without this type of hook and theming, the piece can feel 'flat' and not very memorable.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Realistically there's not much actively wrong with this track. It's perfectly reasonable and would fit very well in a video game. I think your theming is good, and the tempo changes does help make it much more memorable and interesting!

Final score: 7.2

[W A R P E D]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- So, this appears to be organized into a series of 8-measure hypermeasures with the same loop being repeated. It tends to be at least consonant aside from the rapid notes starting at 1:37. In this case, they become very disconnected from the chord progression. However... the larger issue here is really that this is 'speedcore' only insofar as there is a note on every single 16th note. I think perhaps you might find it useful to look up other speedcore tracks or Camellia's high bpm music for inspiration on how to keep this type of high bpm music engaging.

- Secondly, let's look more specifically at the sound design. First of all, each individual instrument doesn't vary in terms of volume. You can perhaps use a psytrance bass instead of filtered saw waves and similar in order to maintain a higher bpm bassline with this rhythm. However, using different rhythms to express more variable points of emphasis will help tremendously. The way the kick drum is used here is rather basic and could certainly be used along with a snare for tension and release.

Compliments to the Composer:

- At the same time, this DOES keep energy up throughout the whole track with the constant hits. I simply think that it could do so far more effectively and dynamically to create a piece of developing music. You can definitely improve from here and have plenty of your musical journey left to go!

Final score: 3

ThePhoenix25 responds:

Very much thank you for the criticism, i will continue my journey of a musician and improve my music. Good luck to the others!

[Complete Darkness (TGP ver.)]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Be careful with how intense your bass is! Notice how large your waveform is the whole way through. This is because your bass is VERY BIG from the beginning and all the way to the end, with essentially no variance. The kick's reverb also contributes to this, as it generally floods the lower frequencies with the main intense bass and causes other instruments to have their volume reduced unnecessarily. If you wanted to add more elements, it would be essentially impossible without fixing up the bass. This also gets very fatiguing to listen to over time due to the bass frequencies. Here's a comparison of another synthwave track: https://soundcloud.com/pong-man/gravitation In listening to this, you can hear how much room and space there is in the mix, due to the relatively minimal bass.

- Continuing to compare to Gravitation, notice how there are some main themes such as the delayed pluck with phasing used to maintain a steady evolving texture, along with a very clear and clean melody sticking out through the rest of the track. This is arrangement, and very important to keep your track memorable. In Gravitation, these elements are VERY present and immediately come to mind when listening to the piece again. Having something like that for this piece would improve it quite a bit.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Honestly, I do love synthwave. This does feel very synthwavey, and the drumline's high hat loop smashes. With some more interesting textures and clear melodies, this type of basis will let you make some pretty tasteful synthwave tracks! Analyzing other tracks like what you want to make will give you some good inspiration and ideas to use to great effect.

Final score: 6.5

TheGoldenProof responds:

You may not ever read this, because I'm sure almost everyone replies to their reviews, but I'll put my response anyway.

All criticism has been taken constructively, so I really hope this doesn't sound like I'm arguing back, because I have a tendency to do that.

First, the bass and the waveform: I really don't know much about mixing, just things I've heard here and there, but all of my techniques are self-discovered. One of the things I heard at some point was that a flatter, more consistent waveform sounds better. I used to have issues with this, and it was very obvious my lack of mixing. All of my songs sounded quiet, even if it got to the point the audio was clipping. Then, just recently, I figured out how to use compressors to make the audio fill the entire space and my songs sounded fuller. I have other synthwave songs, most incomplete, that have much more room in them but for this song I was going for a very full, high energy synthwave. This brings me to the bass. One of the first places I heard synthwave about a year or two ago was Carpenter Brut's "Turbo Killer". When I made this song, I hadn't listened to much synthwave. All I had to go on was the album I linked and what I could remember about Turbo Killer. I loved the sound of the super powerful heavy distorted bass, and its something I've been trying to recreate for a while now.

Next, the part about themes and memorable stuff: I had a hard time deciding what song to submit for this reason. This song is a remix of a song from a game, Touhou 2. The size of the Touhou fan base is absolutely massive (though not so much in america), and the amount of artists there are that have hundreds of songs that are solely remixes of the near-700 song ost probably outnumbers any other game fan base. And as such, to the listeners, a big part of the experience of listening to the song is to hear how far the original can be taken. So to an average listener, the song may lack something that sticks, some theme or something, but to someone who has heard many different versions of Complete Darkness, they would immediately feel the familiarity and memorability as soon as the recognized the melodies.

Thank you for the compliments. I'm leaving for college tomorrow, and I doubt that I'm going to have much time to make music over the next 9 months, but if I do, I'm glad to have these tips here.

[Mephelina's Theme (Goth Girl Clique)]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Many of your chord progressions are very awkward and use pretty non-functional harmony. This can work, but it needs a degree of intention and contrast. Specifically, since you're using classical western harmony, you need to be aware of how to build tension and release it. In western music harmony, this generally is made by the motion from the V chord to the I chord (5 to 1, like a G chord to a C chord - give it a try and feel how there's tension that's resolved). You can also practice this by listening to one of your favorite songs and trying to write the chords you hear, one note at a time. That way, you can see how they're constructed. This may also help with some of the rhythms as well, since they can be a little disjointed in the same way.

- Secondly, let's look at the mixing and sound design. First of all, this can be mastered to -1.0dB rather than the smaller volume it currently is. The relative volume is fine, and each instrument is generally audible. I do, however, think that some of the sound design could be improved. For instance, much of your distortion guitar specifically uses phaser sweeps with the amping. Phaser sweeps can work but tend to be a very specific, watery sound. At the moment, they seem to be a bit overused and cause the track to feel watery at times.

Compliments to the Composer:

- I can actively hear how much effort you put into this track. There are a huge amount of small details, and your arrangement is quite interesting and varied. I think the intro is actually my favorite part, in which the ambient effects sit in the background. That atmosphere puts in a LOT of work in the beginning to draw you into the track before the main themes start. With some more organization of themes to allow for contrast, you'll be able to make this music quite interesting and engaging.

Final score: 6

[TEKTULA - I HATE MY LIFE [FEAT. OTU]]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Repetition is certainly useful in music, but there is absolutely a point in which it gets tiring. In this case, you seem to be using one singular rhythm for your rhythm guitar. Even in the case where the chords change, the base rhythm remains the same. This isn't wrong intrinsically, but B sections in music tend to change up the rhythm as well as the melody and chords. The reason for this is to provide a contrasting experience to the A section. It may be more interesting to change to straight 8th note rhythms or alternatively just do singular chords per measure or two, allowing room for other elements to come to the forefront. This also would be a wonderful excuse to have some dynamic variation, another way to help give the listener some respite and a point of comparison to appreciate the rest.

- Speaking of dynamics, let's look at the mixing and sound design. The dynamics remain the same because the background remains the same consistently, but it also seems to be burying some of your synthesizers under the guitar and vocals. The guitar itself sounds awfully "thin" as well, lacking bass. Try synchronizing a bass guitar with your normal rhythm guitar, and centering it around your kick pattern. Additionally, limit the track to -1.0dB after first reducing all instruments by around -10dB.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Your vocals are honestly funny to me with just how edgy they are, ahaha! They're very solid, as are the guitar patterns you play. A lot of the synths are solid as well, and you do organize the music into discrete sections very effectively.

Final score: 7

[Ascend]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Honestly, the pitched notes here are all over the place while they sit on top of the looped bitcrush drums. I don't think there's too much specific critique I can give, because any individual point I can make won't really teach you what you need here. Instead, what I would highly recommend is to check out this textbook (it's not just dry, it's meant for you to read through and test out the things it describes): http://openmusictheory.com/contents.html Alternatively, I would highly recommend first looking up chord progressions and meter, as they'll provide the firmest foundation for you to start building music effectively. If you have an instrument like a guitar or melodica, you can also look up how to play those instruments and start getting a solid grounding in feeling out harmony and melody. As one last option, I would also highly suggest trying to listen to other pieces of music you like, and pick out the notes in the chords with really any instrument, as long as the pitch is clear. That will help you feel how harmonies and melodies are constructed.

Compliments to the Composer:

- I really appreciate the attempt here, and how you definitely have some sense of how to keep everything consonant. While the specific notes are a tad random, there aren't any dissonances that make this unpleasant to listen to - it simply isn't very developed, as it sounds like you've just started to make music. I want to make sure you know, too... it's worthwhile. Keep learning, keep listening, keep working on music. You'll find so much to appreciate in the music you listen to which you would never have even noticed otherwise!

Final score: 2

Taka responds:

I'm glad that I joined the competition and even tho I probably won't go to round two but I'm happy for the criticism I got out of it to help me grow. Thank you for that and happy judging :3

[vetricatish decimationation]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- The problem with going this abstract is that there's not really any reasonable point of comparison to use within the piece. See, the reason pieces use a scale is to provide some structure for musical ideas. It allows consonance to be contrasted with dissonance. Often music in odd meters will switch back into steady meters towards the end to provide some climax and resolution to the tension generated by that odd meter, or to bring back a normal meter and make the audience feel unsettled by it because they've gotten used to the odd rhythm as 'normal'. In this case, this track tries to be so abstract that it loses that sense of 'normalcy' for comparison. Here, for a point of comparison try listening to this track by the American artist frums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2b7PUMeciM The initial drumbeats are absolutely insane and very difficult to hear as organized. However, in the following section, the rhythm becomes relatively regular. frums also plays quite a bit with tempo and other forms of meter, along with key signatures that are difficult to pin down. But you can compare these sections and have moments of reprieve inside the calmer bits. Another wonderful point of comparison is Floral Strobe, by False Noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2GeYwvqPv4 Notice how there is absolute chaos that's difficult to discern the meter or rhythm for... but it's kept consistent through the use of a steady snare to 'center' the listener and provide a constant pulse of energy. Both of these methods may greatly help you out in your desire for experimentalism.

- Ah, also, let's do a quick check of the mix. It's flooded with reverb, making it a lot harder to identify individual elements. Notice how buried the drums get at times where the mix has a lot of instruments at once. Notably, your kick also lacks bass - so that point of reference doesn't exist for listeners (and also makes it more disorienting). You also don't really... provide a break for listeners to recover from the constant drums and melodies seemingly generated by a randomizer.

Compliments to the Composer:

- I think my favorite part has to be at 1:37. That pad in the background along with the toms and snare actually sounds really sick, and you could probably develop that into something really neat on its own. It reminds me of earthbound, even. Real benefit of those chords as well, is that it provides SOME framework for harmony, even if you extend outside of the specific harmony outlined by the chords.

Final score: 5.5

[Legendary Plain]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- So much of this is cute, and yet there are elements of the composition that just do not sit well with me at all. The biggest issue is how repetitive everything is. You have multiple sections, you have different melodies that you bring back, and a very lovely harmonic line that stays consistent. However, a lot of these melodies are repeated more than just a few times, to the point that I honestly got tired of the track by a bit over three minutes since it had essentially just plain run out of content. As lovely as the harmonic line is, it repeats constantly with the same chord progression, the same constant four-on-the-floor drumbeat, and completely flat dynamics because the entire rhythm and harmony section repeats one loop the entire time. This needs variation and a breakdown without the drums to give at least some break in the constant unrelenting march.

- Secondly, while most of the melodies are very lovely, there are a couple which have very awkward rhythms and sound rather aimless. Both the melody at 0:53 and 1:32 suffer from this at times, despite being made of the same core elements. The main problem is that they aren't building to any climactic point. Even in very 'flat' and repetitive genres like reggae, there tend to be several central themes where the surrounding musical elements shape around that melody and lend themselves to a dynamic curve, even with the chord progression remaining the same. Further, the melodies themselves have direction and lead to a point of tension that is subsequently resolved. Here, give this a listen and notice how the chords change and the melodies have direction and development as a point of comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPHXqmeFmAk

Compliments to the Composer:

- Genuinely, I absolutely adore the chord progression and harmonies present in this track, even if I want some more variation. I want to love this piece SO MUCH with how cute it is. The melody at 0:23 also uses the main harmonic line as a point of contrast and is absolutely phenomenal, genuinely the best melody in the entire track. This feels so much like a classic 8-bit newgrounds flash game soundtrack (and I see it even is used for a game!) and I ADORE that about it. Please do continue making positive happy game music in the future, haha!

Final score: 8

[Moga Extended]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Biggest thing that struck me as a problem in this track is that... the transitions between sections are REALLY bad. The sections themselves are fine, but either the audio completely cuts out, or there's a low-quality gunshot sample which really doesn't fit the mix and blend of instruments... and the instruments completely cut out. There are absolutely better ways to develop sections and switch between them. (though the ending bit is cute, I gotta give you that one, haha!)

- The mix also have some trouble here. A lot of these instruments sound very thin and soundfonty. You also use some quiet pads like at 0:17 where they don't fit very well. In the other climactic sections where they exist, they aren't quite as bad as the one starting at 0:17, but these still don't fit the mix quite well enough. Just to be clear, the use of soundfonts isn't bad (steampianist has done an excellent job using them in the past), but they tend to really lack bass. Using a synth bass to double the rhythm section an octave or two down would really help, as would subsequently limiting this track with a threshhold of 1.0dB so that the detail in your composition can be brought out along with the thicker mix when the bass is added.

Compliments to the Composer:

- This makes me think of salsa and latin music a lot, based on the way it's composed. I REALLY love a lot of the drums and the syncopation from that groovy 7/8 meter is immensely tasty to me amid a flood of 4/4 and 3/4 meters. I would absolutely ADORE a good jazzy solo along with some heavier drums and acoustic playing of these instruments, especially with the more latin rhythm sections starting at 0:27 and 1:36 respectively. Those bang REAL hard. Please do make more like this.

Final score: 7.5

[AIM - Sunset Silhouette]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- This has wonderful development of instrumentation and dynamic curve, but what it could very much use is some additional ideas. There is a countermelody to the central theme, but the chord progression and center melody remains essentially the same throughout the entire piece, with very minor changes. What this piece desperately needs is some shift to these core ideas for thematic development. There many ways to do theme and variation if you'd like to take that approach, such as switching to staccato to changing the chord progression around the theme to reharmonize it. It may also be reasonable to add B sections, especially as you get closer to the ending. Right now, this is an A section, repeated over and over, with extra instruments added to create the illusion of compositional variation.

- Secondly, the melody itself isn't too compelling. Part of this is due to the chord progression, which is effectively just two chords trading off. This deserves more variation and development to build climaxes of tension and subsequent release. However, even given that, this melody doesn't really... go anywhere - notably, it is the root note of the chord which jumps up a 5th, then either takes steps right down the chord or effectively jumps directly to the root note again using an 'enclosure' for embellishment. These melodies roughly break down to 1-5-3-1, 1-5-1-1 and repeat. Using more variable chords is one way to resolve this, switching between different notes of the chord and adding notes between chords as passing notes or embellishments. With more shifting harmony, there is more of a dynamic curve and 'story' to the melody. Another way of forming variation is to use different rhythms. Right now, the melody only uses very straight rhythms, with either half notes or one note on every beat. Try some syncopation, or triplets to break up the monotonous rhythm.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Beyond the compositional issues, you really do genuinely have good ideas with arranging this piece. The pizzicatto strings are quite lovely (I do love plucked sounds, admittedly!), as is the oboe starting at 1:56. Your harmonies are nice even if simple, and your dynamic development is good. I don't hear any mixing mud either, and you can even bring the volume up a bit more with a limiter set to a threshhold of -1.1dB. I think studying classical music theory will work extremely well for you. Try going here http://openmusictheory.com/contents.html and starting around "Types of Motion". There are a lot of good nuggets of information past that point as well, which will serve you well in composing this music style.

Final score: 6.5