That absolutely perfect loop though.
Teensy little nitpicks: the snare felt a bit stand-outy, the high-pitched arp that came in at 0:27 seemed a bit cliché, automation at 1:45 was too sudden, and because of the synth bling bling bling at the end, the non-looped beginning sounds a bit dissonant (although when you loop back into it, it's still perfect).
But seriously, this is such an awesome little loop. Great job. Are you going to be uploading your Ludum Dare game to NG?
Arps? Cliche??? That's like saying that sound waves are cliche! That's like saying that basslines are cliche! That's like saying...
Nevermind. Anyways, thanks for the review. My game is really bad but I might post a link to it in a news post sometime, or something.
Pretty solid track for something who just started making music! There's lots of potential here, and I'm glad you've become one of the GDers who're using Newgrounds the way it was meant to be. :)
The song starts with some great instrumentation, although the melodies are a bit off. Not sure how much you know about music theory, but when you set a chord, you want to make sure that the notes that the melody plays are within that key and that chord changes are also close to the same key.
In the next part, at 0:15 (nice transition, by the way!), the melody gets better, but the saw melody completely drowns out the rest of the track (same for that dirty synth at 0:38). You want a good melody and nice synths, but you also don't want them to take away from the rest of the track either. Also, when you make a transition like that, feel free to change up the drum pattern. The drums are also a bit lackluster; there are some much fuller snares and cymbals that you can download for free that would improve the track a LOT.
0:38 is the awesomest part of the song. The melody and the crunchy synth fit together perfectly, but other than that synth, the drums, and two thin higher synths, the instrumentation is a bit lacking. When you add more synths, you can make it so that they aren't muddled up by using a technique called EQing, which allows you to change the level at which an instrument plays - you can make stuff more bass-y, more treble-y, or just make sure the frequencies don't clash. It's a mixing technique used in virtually every single professional-grade song that you should definitely learn if you haven't already.
That ending is also pretty cool. As you grow compositionally, you'll probably begin to favor transitions that don't rely on buildups and downlifters, but for now, they're pretty cool and fit really well with the dirty techno vibe you're dealing with. As a suggestion, you probably wouldn't want to put in those extra notes in the fading ending, since they end when they start to lead somewhere, leaving the ending somewhat unsatisfying. But other than that, it sounded good!
Sorry if you already knew all this stuff already, but I hope I helped you learn at least something about music. I've admired your GD work for a long time, and I'm happy to welcome you to the Newgrounds Audio Portal. Great work, and hope to see more!
Hey man! Thanks a ton for writing this all out, means a lot, seriously!
I don't know much about music theory, I'm currently in highschool and have played the trombone for 5 years, but other than the knowledge that comes with that, I don't know much! I saw in a tutorial of some sort about a guy a fruity plugin to get his chords right, which Is something I am going to try and do next song.
For the drums I used exclusively vengeance drum packs that I thought sounded decent!
For the drop I original got together the melody and "crunchy synth" then went to add on to it. I went through a couple patterns for the high notes then I settled with the one I have now. I kinda rushed to get the song out (although it's definetely not a full length song, it would be easy to add on to what I had at the end) and just stayed with the notes.
As for EQ, that is something I really want to focus on more in my next song.
Once again thanks so much for the feedback! Helps a lot <3
Only seven minutes? You should try your hand at writing a chip concerto sometime. :)
Ooh, that high bass. Yes. Love it. Wish it varied a little, though. Perhaps a different, lower melody when the drums come in?
Funny that you decided to make your drums that slow. I thought the song would sound pretty nice with drums twice as fast. It might have been less emotional, but personally, I would have found it more engaging. Also, hi-hat triplets. So nice. :D
I've always really liked the coffee-shop-esque ambience you put into your songs like soar and 80s getaway. It fits in really well here, but I would've liked it if it continued on a bit, at a lower volume. I guess that would've cluttered up the mix a bit, though. You sure know more about that than I do!
A bit over a year ago, I remember reading one of your author's comments saying that you were trying to work on buildups without the use of white noise. Well, you've certainly done that very well here! It's almost like i believe in terms of its gradual progression, non-repetition, and climactic ending with softer conclusion. The transitional tidbits at 5:13 and 5:45 were so satisfying, and that main melody of whole notes of the chord progression that plays after 5:45 is so simple but effective and beautiful at the same time. How does he do it?
Another thing I really like about your music is that you use silence very effectively in your pieces, but I think 6:22 dragged on for a bit too long. I was hoping you would add some reverb-y sounds since the absolute silence is paradoxically a bit startling, since to me, a song like this is meant to be fully experienced with few breaks to get, like, a zen vibe going. :P
You know, if you don't practice your endings, you'll never improve them. :D Don't run from them! Although tbh the fadeout was quite nice.
Super-awesome work! At this point, it feels selfish to ask for more. :P More?
I agree with LSD that ambient is your strongest genre. Clairvoyance and Erasure were both great, and this is another amazing piece! Also, you and johnfn with your awesome creative poetic names. Grr.
I also agree with LSD in that your title is pretty fitting. The first few synths give the idea of a calm ocean, and that bit at 0:41 gives the idea of some sort of cool tidal disturbance! Personally, I love the ocean. Especially the animals in it! They're awesome! The second part of the song has a great drum beat, and the open snare (or maybe it's just a really high tom) helps give it a sense of lying on the shore, watching the waves roll by. You're pretty good at creating ambient atmospheres!
As for issues, all the reverb at 0:41 made it sound a bit dissonant at first, and it sounds to me like there were a couple balancing issues, since some synths sounded too loud (like the one that enters at 2:16). Then again, my earphones are quite crappy, and you've commented that they don't give me the best image of your music before, so that critique probably doesn't have a lot of weight. :P Great job, and hope you're having fun at your family reunion! Happy Easter!
Thanks so much LunacyEcho! :D I'm glad you like the title. I tend to overthink naming my pieces a lot because in a way it's the first impression someone gets of the song. :) I believe it is a high tom at 1:37, but for all practical purposes it's the "snare" of the piece. ;) I totally agree with your complaint about the balancing issues. I'll continue to struggle with finding good ways of mixing diverse textures in Garageband. As for :41, I love using dissonance, but I understand it's not for everyone. This is a really positive review though, so thanks for all the encouragement! I'll review a TON of your tracks in a couple weeks, I swear, haha! Thanks again for stopping by, LE! ^^
Cool song! The production here's very good, and you have a great ear for sound design. I just love that drum beat, and I've always had a penchant for vox-y instruments like the ones that come in at 0:08, 1:44, and 2:25.
Compositionally, all the parts flow together pretty well, but it's a bit repetitive. You're doing that thing I do a lot and just letting stuff keep playing and adding an instrument or two every eight bars. Not saying that that's a bad composition, but for me, at least, it does get a bit repetitive after a while.
Great work! I really enjoyed the piece and I'm looking forward to whatever you put out in the rest of the year! :)
I'm so glad you like it ^^
Yeah, it's a bit repetitive. That's why I'm trying to wean myself off of trance music. Problem is, trance/techno music is the easiest.
no wubs
utter disappointment
go die
How did this get 2 downloads?
What, there are like 3000000 wubs in every second. Maybe it's so fast that you can't hear it :/ ?
Lol, I am already dead. 'Tis my ghost coming back to spook you, is all.
You're alive!
Hey, this is pretty cool. The melodies here are really groovy as usual, and I especially liked that blurb at 0:49. And that loop is so perfect! Damn.
The only things I could say to improve the piece are that the kick meshes a bit too much with the bass synth and the transition at 0:26 could've used a better crash. Other than that, this is great! Hope it means you'll be uploading more stuff soon!
YAY! It's funny because the stuff you mentioned was the stuff i tweaked on in the last 5 minutes or so. Go figure. I think I bitcrushed the kick which lost a lot of the umph. Oops
I might be uploading more stuff soon! Maybe...
Hope you had an awesome opposite saddy deathday!
I did indeed have an awesome synonymous, joyous 24 natal hours.
Whoa. With a bit of production practice, you'll be a Newgrounds Maestro in no time.
I can't even begin to get into the compositional aspect of this song. You used a lot of EWQL's features very well. That transitions at 0:31 was great, and the juxtaposition of the xylophone, harp, and tremolo-y thing at 1:23 sounded really cool (although they did make me think my computer was screwing up for a sec).
Your percussion did its job; helping progress the track and adding mood. I thought the drums in the first part could be brought out a bit more, and the snares in the second part - I mean, if you want to make it sound more realistic, you probably don't want to have a snare roll and snare hits going at the same time (unless you're going for a full orchestra sound; even then, rarely do rolls and hits intertwine).
Even though the structure lacked a bit of order, I really liked it. It just went from one idea to the next really quickly, with not much repetition - just the kind of thing I like to listen to! And that ending. Eh. Anyways, great job! For your first full-on orchestral track, it's extremely well done, even with your compositional background. You have a great sense of which instruments sound good together, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what else you can put out with EWQL! :)
Thanks, LunacyEcho, IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME.
"you'll be a Newgrounds Maestro in no time"
=> If by no time you mean 10 years ;)
Whaa, you liked the transition at 0:31? I guess it has its charm to it, with the strings and all :D
I had to do 1:23! As I had barely used any of those intruments earlier in the track, i thought: "Hey, let's put them in all together."
The "tremolo thingy" is actually some kind of miscellaneous percussion (half of what you probably assumed is the xylphone [which is actually a marimba], is a celesta. I wanted do do a kind of up/down contrast between them).
Yeah, I guess that the part can sound a bit out of place at first if one does not anticipate it XD
I REAAAAAALLY want Stormdrum 3. And all the other percussions. And all the other intruments. Know what, just give me the world? (please :3)
Anyway. It's a shame that the percussion is a bit limited in EWQLSO (at least in the silver edition), but even more of a shame is that I don't know how to use it :D!
Thanks for the tips though, they have been noted and will surely be implemented in the future!
"unless you're going for a full orchestra sound..."
=> LOL! As If I was actually going for something XD We both know I just did the first random things that came to mind :p
You know, I secretely like the structure too! Apart from the very last part. I would've wanted to make this longer, but we both know that we've got "other stuff" to do ;)
The ending indeed.
"You have a great sense of which instruments sound good together.."
=> I'm telling you, listen to the FF soundtracks, the KH soundtracks, and you might throw some Okami in there as well. And all other great game soundtracks. But mostly those. It will slowly dig its way into your subconscious mind, in a good way :D
Thanks a lot for the very positive review! When I'm finished with "Other Stuff", and a collab (which is also going to be awesome), I'll probably try making something else with EWQL. Probably something more slow paced :p
Joined on 8/29/12
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