Was expecting silence. Heard ten minutes of piano music. Very disappoint.
Without reading the description, I'd expect this to be you playing someone else's song, since the production is distinctly yours, but the composition is much more dynamic and uses generally different tropes, especially that cool part at 3:14.
Trying new things is good, and it sounds great! Good job.
Yeah. Silence for 10 minutes would probably have been a better choice for this one. I didn't at all imagine the utter silence that exists in space at places sound doesn't travel. Nope.
Every now and then I try to do something different from my usual style :p
Still, there's a lot of 'me' in this song, at least to the extent that I can notice it myself :3
I like the idea behind the part at 3:14, but it could be so much better imo. Improvising is hard, man :/
"Trying new things is good..."
=> You ought to know, considering it's you who makes music in all the different genres XD
"...and it sounds great! Good job."
=> Thanks dude ;)
and in come the zero-bombers!
make the first part more melodic, bro. too many pads ruin the nice-sounding synths
what no drums? nub.
Oh, man. I REALLY like the sound work here. The pads at the beginning, deep and full, but with higher-pitched ones that really fit with the ambience. Those percussion effects (that cymbal-scraping - is it from a Jam Pack?). The drums, exotic enough to interest but subtle enough not to get in the way. The way that the low strings and organ just mesh. That bassy pluck that gradually fades in around 2:30. I'm enjoying this. :D
While your sound work is excellent, I think the composition here is a bit repetitive. Of course, ambient music typically is, but perhaps the bells that came in at 1:41 didn't have to go on for that long. Also, I felt that some of your synths had a bit too much resonance. Still, for the most part, I think you definitely hit many of the right spots in deciding when to introduce/take away instruments. Your melodies are also very well suited for making creepy and spooky atmospheres. :)
You're so lucky that you have a music tech class! Wish we had one. Anyways, loved your sounds and the mood. Great job! Don't overwork yourself!
Ah! I never responded to this. I'm sorry, LunacyEcho. I actually was responding to it, but I was interrupted and never pressed "respond." :( Anyway, thank you very much for the review! I'm really glad you liked all the ambiance - I worked really hard on it, as you can imagine. I'm not really sure what a Jam Pack is, but all those percussion sounds are pretty much presets. I believe I used the "Dance Kit," oddly enough. I'm glad you noticed that subtle bassy pluck. I also agree about the repetition - that's something I think I didn't manage quite as well as in "Abandoned Church," which had a better sense of direction IMO. The comment about having too much resonance is interesting, as I've also been critiqued for not using enough reverb in the past. I'll consider that more carefully next time. Thank you so much again for the well-thought-out review, LE! I'll gladly exercise the right to overwork myself, thanks. ;)
screw you i was going to use that as the title for my final song
that drum machine cowbell though
also midi trumpets
USE A MORE SOLID SNARE FOR MAXIMUM DRUMS
Ah, the old "let's just play arpeggios on the left hand". You've had your talent for composing for a long time, no?
I guess I can see how it sounds like a medley of weird ideas. But they're weird ideas played in the same tempo, style, and instrument. So it still flows. Of course, when I say tempo, I mean general tempo. Your playing has gotten a lot steadier since then. :) BUT HOW STEADY CAN IT GET?
Yikes. Army camp sounds horrible. Do you at least get marshmallows? :( Good luck, dude. At least you'll have stories to tell your grandchildren, maybe?
Hey! The left hand is actually quite different in this piece as opposed to most of my songs XD
Well, I don't know if I ever DIDN'T have the talent, to some extent at least. Of course it has developed, but I had an easier start than most, having listened to so much differing music during so much of my life :p
Flow is a word that could be applied to many of my piano compositions, I think. Good flow is very easy to achieve with solo piano songs. Sometimes there's almost too much of it though :D
I don't think my playing will ever be that steady... It's not really... My style ;)
It is horrible -_-
I have a 10 nights long camp ahead of me very soon, which I'm really looking forward to! To the end of it, that is...
You get marshmallows if you bring them yourself, which is actually not a bad idea o.O
We do get sausages every now and then though.
Thanks man! Yeah, I'll get to tell them they ought to choose civil service instead, though it takes much longer :)
Dude. This is great. Your Action Crusaders Theme showed that you were improving and definitely had tons of promise, and this is just proof that you’re only getting better and better. :D
Your production is amazing. Like Action Crusaders, this song has a bit more reverb than I think is really necessary (mostly in the main pluck synth and maybe the drums), and I think the bass could use some EQ’ing in the climactic part starting at 0:27. But other than that, I have very few criticisms about your production. :) Good job!
Compositionally, the song is still pretty strong. Your instrumentation did a great job in creating a relaxing, upbeat tune. The high-pitched plucks in the intro really set up a nice mood, and the flute that fades in at 0:13 is fits the vibe of the song well. In the climactic part, I especially love the strings you used. Sure, all of the orchestral instruments you used sounded somewhat fake, but they were still good enough to portray a very nice, upbeat tune.
I really enjoyed your drumwork on this track as well. You enter with the electronic hi-hats, but then put in organic rim-hits and an acoustic and very entertaining drum fill. Didn’t expect that! Your song’s structure was also good. If you were trying to go for a full-out song, then I’d probably pick on the fact that it’s basically one giant buildup and the way the initial plucks play throughout the entire song (that amount of repetition is a no-no), but this is a simple little ditty meant for a minute of relaxation and uplifting-ness. It just works.
You’re definitely improving by a lot! The production here was absolutely excellent. The composition is just begging to be extended into a full song, but what you have now is very nice. Great work, and I look forward to your future work!
Your reviews / Feedback never ceases to amaze me, thank you Lunacy :P
Oh wow garlagan I never knew you were Matt Bellamy
:oooo
one of the best compliments I've ever received
It's been a day and this has already been used in a game. Wow.
So, this is certainly melody-heavy. It's also a piano composition. And I'll be damned if it wasn't from 2012. You know, when it started playing, I didn't realize it started on beat 1. You use the 1-2-3 intro a lot, so I figured it was a pickup to the actual intro. :P
Loved the chord progression in this one! So many unexpected changes. I've been trying to figure a few of them out, but I'm having very little luck. It feels like nearly everything is B, when I'm sure it's not. :D One of my favorite things you did (I think) was that at 1:10, when you played the major and minor of F consecutively and it felt perfectly seamless. Although may you didn't and I'm just horrible at music theory. :P
It's interesting how names of songs come up. 'Dreams of the Dead' is a perfectly nice name that I wouldn't have been surprised to hear came after writing the piece, but it's interesting that it was named before. I've never actually tried basing a song off of a name before. :P Would I be right in guessing that the name of the friend who gave you 'Dreams of the Dead' is Milo?
Great song! Repetition-heavy, but great background music as usual. Fifty days left! You can make it!
Would you look at that; I didn't even notice until you told me :p
It'd be fun to make more games of my own actually :/ (In time, I'm sure of it!)
Melody is definitely the driving component in this composition XD
Hahha, yeah I know. I love the 1-2-3 intro! (Using it is a guilty pleasure of mine). I guess I probably intended to use it here too, and I kinda did, depending on how you decide to look at the piece, I guess o.O
I like the chord progression too, especially where it's not simple :p
B is in deed a chord that is used, but not the main one.
The piece starts in Ab minor (the first chord progression is Ab minor- Gb- E- B, which I think only is played once). The most used chord progression is without a doubt: Ab minor - E - B- Gb.
That thing about 1:10.
At 1:05, I'm playing a F minor chord, though I'm using a G tone at one point in the left hand, although I'm playing a Gb with the right hand at 1:07, which makes it a bit weird... I've got no idea what that's called in music theory though, if there is such a thing.
At 1:10 though, I'm playing a Ab minor chord (add 9, if you count the melody), which goes into a Db major chord and so on...
My personal favorite (odd) things about this piece is the place you kind of mentioned, the place at 1:29 where a similar thing is happening (although the F minor chord that uses a G transitiones right into a Gb major chord) As well as an interesting section at around 1:55. I'm switching instantly between a Db Minor chord and a Db majord chord, which worked surprisingly well in my opinion (between 1:57 and 2:00).
There's one pretty horrible transition/modulation in this piece though, and that would be the one between 1:38 and 1:43 -_-
On the other hand, there's a pretty good modulation closer to the beginning :3 (0:39-0:40).
Song names are almost always interesting to me. This isn't the only one my friend has come up with either. Let it be well known that I'm not usually very good with names in general... During certain moods I'm okay though XD
Aaaaannnnndd Nuupe! My friend isn't named Milo :)
Milo is the name of the character in my book (that hasn't been written in for ages), that this piece is dedicated to :p
Thanks for your... Like Millionth review or something! ;'D!!!!! (53 to go... I'll do my best, as usual...)
Sweet song!
As usual, your guitar playing is top-notch. I don't know if it's because I'm a drummer, but I normally feel pretty uncomfortable when I'm listening to a song without accurate tempo, which I sort of had a problem with in some of your previous songs (notably the claps in I Owe You the Same). I don't know if you're making a conscious effort to work on it or not, but it's a lot better here! I mean, there's parts where it's screwed up like 2:13, but they're pretty minor and don't really disrupt the track. Also, I really love the layered string slow chords at 2:35 (not sure what the name is for that).
The chorus sounds great as well. I really like the melody, but I wish you'd added more harmonies! The 'cheese' sounded amazing with harmonic vocals, and I wish you'd done something like doing a chorus at the end completely in harmony or something. You're a great singer! The only noticeable off-key-ness I heard was the "never have" at 1:29, but that's obviously justifiable based on the comical octave jump.
A couple issues I had with the song were the quality of sound (but you shouldn't really care about that too much; you're doing amazingly well with your not-the-best-quality mic), the opening of the guitar solo (a G-based melody during a D chord? really?), the lack of the intro (as stated below), and the repetition of the chorus. But still, except for the microphone one, those flaws are pretty minor and easily remedied.
Great work!
Great review, as always, L.E.! Let's see if I can answer for my inadequacies...
-I was once a percussionist in a brass band. I learned a lot from it, but sadly sometimes my timing isn't as flawless as I'd like, or as flawless as the conductor wanted. I hate using samples, so I avoid it when I can. Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and admit that I need a real drummer!
-My singing will sound better in future tracks. I just bought a Boss VE-20 vocal processor and a PG58 mic. Cost me a pretty penny, but dammit, I WILL be on-key and un-distorted!
-Yeah, I started my solo in G. However, the song is in G. G, D, A, Bm is the chord progression...super simple, really. I'm almost embarrassed to have written a 'Four Chords' song, but there you have it.
-Glad you liked the harmonies. Now, if you only knew how bad I suck at singing harmony! I just cant sing intervals, so I have to compensate by playing the appropriate chords on my guitar, and then isolating the individual notes, and singing them into a mic with the other vocal tracks muted. Yeah, it's that bad. The amount of work that would go into singing a whole chorus in three-part harmony...shudder...I'll...I'll do it for you, L.E. However, that should be proof that I'm NOT a great singer! A great singer would just know the proper intervals! I'm a FRAUD! A HACK! A FAKE! I'm so, so sorry!
Joined on 8/29/12
True Silence 
Wanderlust 
T-Logic - Clairvoyance 
Synaesthesia 
The One Without a Name 
Little Oasis 
Skyless 
Dreams of the Dead 
Cheese (Country Remix) 
