Troisnyx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Road to Everywhere]

The mixing, I haven't got complaints with, except that the snare is a bit dry and lacks a little depth. The tempo changes are very, VERY well done in this piece.

The intro was what gave me complaints, because of the lack of dynamics in the piano and other things, but when the piece reached 1:21..... it sounded quite nice. And it kept going.... it was a joy to listen to after 1:21. Those synths blipping at the back behind solid chord framework really reminds me of something that comes off Epic Battle Fantasy.

The only thing I would suggest with this is make that intro softer, to justify buildup to this piece. Also, don't make the speed changes halfway through sections unless you are making a definitive end or change in section, which will be shown by change in buildup or resolution.

There is a breakdown around 3:21, and that sounds like a good tension-breaker before the piece picks up what it originally had.

I could imagine myself walking in space, riding on shooting stars, hopping from star to star, while around me I see so many beautiful things around me.

This is a beautiful piece -- knock the kinks out, and you've got a winner!

4/5.

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks for the review!

About the snare, how would you recommend making it better? Better use of reverb or EQing? I'm still a noob when it comes to mixing drums.

The intro...was something I was confused about when I was making it. It wasn't exactly an intro yet my ears said it was and that it worked. I went with what my ears that. After 1:21, that's when I go into my niche in music, and just let the composition take control.

The speed changes where tricky, as I know that when it comes to electronic music, people generally dislike it and don't use it much, so I didn't have much to base off of. I'm great at building tempos and slowing them at the outros, but when it comes to slowing it down in the middle, that's where it's just experimentation and trial/error. I'll keep that tip in mind if I ever try tempo changes again.

Thanks again, Troisnyx! I really appreciate the review!

[The March Home]

There's something I notice about this piece which is similar to the last one: heavy use of counterpoint. The intro was different from the main body in terms of chords, but within the body, there's a lot of chord repetition going on. You do vary it around 2:00, which is great, but then there's another sequence of chords repeating... You've got an otherwise strong musicality going on, the sounds in the song are balanced out.

Things I suggest:

1) I notice that this has a bit of an A-B-C structure, given that the intro, 0:30 and 2:00 are different from each other. C could've just as well been another B. Taking the intro out, we would really have an A-A structure. Try creating a secondary theme, one that softens the volume a little, while still keeping the military feel. So for instance, keep the drums there, play them lightly instead, give more focus to an instrument which would otherwise be backing melody. Then when you come back to A, your final section, you can bring back your original melody, but with greater ferocity.

Now the piece we can draw inspiration from, for this, isn't a military one per se, but has a very strong sense of structure and dynamics. Look up "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix Secret Ending" on YouTube and listen to the music for the cinematic in question. There's a lot to be drawn from there. Frankly, that same piece can be done with drum flourishes and a military feel as much as it was done here, but listen for the general musicality. That's what makes a piece memorable.

2) A lot of the notes don't have volume changes between them. Trust me, I can hear it, because in my earlier pieces (especially those from 2011), I made THE EXACT SAME MISTAKE. Now I know it's cumbersome to have to mouse-click the bars at the bottom of the piano roll for volume control, but even just holding your mouse down and passing through them would work. You want those notes to have the feel of someone actually *physically playing* the instrument, not a MIDI-ish feel. Think about touch-sensitive keys on electronic keyboards for instance.

The idea behind this is that when you listen to an instrument being physically played, you'd expect the volume to go up and down with some notes. As far as volume is concerned, playing an instrument is like speech. There are some syllables (or in this case, some notes) that we would emphasise, and some that we would allow to trail off. With that idea in mind, try adjusting the individual note volumes in the piano roll for this piece -- and just see how much of a change this will make!

3) Then comes the issue of reverb and mixing in general, but I will handle that in a PM or in a later episode. Once you've nailed these earlier things, we'll move on to reverb.

This was certainly a great effort, but much more can be done. Still: having heard just how much this piece can bring, and how good the music here already is, I believe in you.

3.5/5. Voted 4.

Bardash responds:

Thank you kindly for your brilliant review. Fruity loops is a new tool to me and I know I have a lot to learn with using the program to its fullest potential. Basically all I did to 'mix' the piece was to make sure all of the parts blended well and sounded balanced on multiple audio setups. (What can I say? I am a composer with no experience in mixing or mastering!) The introduction was composed over twelve years ago and I never got around to knowing what to do with the song until about two months ago! I am looking forward to learning much more as time progresses. Thank you again.

[Dance in the Emerald Fore]

This sounds like a round (in terms of song structure). The drums in this piece call out to me, they really call me to dance. That's one thing about me, I pick out rhythm first, then everything else. This one fits an elven dance, or even a medieval setting.

While I really enjoy this version already and think it stands good on its own, I would like to hear a fully instrumentated version of this -- so basses, mids (celli etc?). You've got the highs and you've got the percussions -- adding the other instruments might make this a theme for something else, but it would be nice to see what you could add in terms of chords. Something to explore, I guess.

5/5, Favourited. And I am watching you.

Bardash responds:

Thank you. I am honored for your visit. I almost forgot I still had this song up here. Now that I have a better music studio to work in, I might just revisit this song. I used print music to write this song and it was inspired by an entry entitled 'the Wandering Woods' on the imaginary country website, Umbagollah. I have a few other songs that I am preparing to release.

[Follow Me]

For starters, the synth melody is overly repetitive, going on for 49 seconds >_< Plus the bassline has been repeating its shift between B and A# for over a minute. Listening to the intro made me wonder whether this was experimental, or something a person in GCSE would do if he had a DAW and started making music for his class project... it really gave off an uneasy vibe with all those repetitions. What *would* be catchy is if you had a song with a singable melody, a memorable melody, but certainly not one that repeated for that long a period of time. Honestly, even the piece of background music, 'VS Kracko' from Kirby's Epic Yarn, didn't come to THAT amount of repetition even though it was a very short loop!

1:00 has those beautiful, watery synths that come in and create a beautiful ambience within the piece. That part is quite alright to listen to -- I really like what you've done with those watery synths. Might I say, it's my favourite. I notice it's the part you really enjoy as well.

1:43 has a variation in the bass AT LAST! Some parts sound like they're trying to create a bridge section to link up to another. I got disappointed at the very end because there could've been a sort of breakdown before bringing the general tension of the piece back to normal (for lack of a better word) -- variation in a piece does suggest buildup, and it was kinda sad because the piece just ended like that.

TL;DR: There is one hit and a lot of misses, from what I've heard. I do understand that in experimental music, you play with all of its forms, whether it be chords or melodies. But that doesn't mean we throw away our understanding of general tonality. Like that intro, for instance, which gashed it a lot. If anything, it should complement our understanding of general tonality.

What do you want your experimental song to evoke? What do you want it to BE, either to yourself or to the listener? Ask yourself these questions, and these might provide you a bit of guidance on how to proceed.

2.5/5.

MockOff responds:

Hmm, I thought the synth melody was nice and a bit catchy and I added a tad variety to the background with it to try to make it not overly repetitive. The bass line has like 7 different notes (if counting octaves) its hitting in the first part of the song so I'm not sure what you're saying about it just shifting between B and A#...
Thanks for the compliment about those watery synths, but that is actually my guitar playing, not a synthesizer. I'm not sure I completely agree with what you were saying, but I thank you for taking the time to review my song as such.

[Steampunk Irish Pub]

As a Celtic music afficionado, I quite like this little piece of music, and would like to hear an extended version, complete with a counter-melody.... Standard Irish pub fare would involve 1) tuneset - bodhran solo - tuneset, or 2) a simple Irish jig. I don't doubt you've got the instrumentation for those, so whichever way you make the extended version, I will be looking forward to that. As you can tell, my only pickle is that it is short. I do understand that it's meant as ambience, but it ultimately does depend on how big the game is etc.

I can forgive the percussions (there not being a bodhran would otherwise be a travesty!), because it is meant to be steampunk after all.

Length aside, I truly enjoyed this. One, this is something for me to beat the bodhran to, and two, I love the melody and the chords. Sounds contemporary Irish, and I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

4.5/5, favourited.

conorstrejcek responds:

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the piece!

I'm not very familiar with traditional Celtic forms. Do you think you could possibly shoot me a short PM with the characteristics of a jig vs. a ternary tunset/solo/tuneset? I couldn't really find much info on them just searching around. Also, countermelody-wise, what would you suggest for the instrumentation? Right now I have a bagpipe drone for the accompanying harmonies, and acoustic guitar/violin for primarily melodic sections.

It's great to hear positive feedback from someone who is an expert in the field!

[Angels In The Sky]

I agree with many others in that the intro was quite long. That synth could've started muted, and then went on progressively brighter and brighter until 1:15 when everything started kicking in. Because, were it not for the drums, there wouldn't be too much of a dynamics change.

The synth around 1:40 sounds beautiful and true to the title -- very angelic.

There was a sudden change of mood around 1:59? There was a gradual progression back around 2:22... and then the drop after that was alright.

I like the sense of buildup you have around 2:40 onwards. Everything is introduced gradually, and there's a sense of something greater coming on.

3:40 onwards was my favourite part of the song. This could've been made as a theme for this piece in and of itself.

The fact that this piece is called "Angels in the Sky" kinda hints at the fact that this piece is meant to have an ethereal quality to it. Yes, it does in some places, but there are places where there's a sudden change of mood with those sawtooth synths. And it.... doesn't fit. Throughout the piece, I swear, I was THIRSTING for a warm pad somewhere to balance out the basses, drums and the highs. There were very few mid-range sounds that gave a sense of angelic warmth. Right now, it sounds like something dirty and gritty, rather than something angelic.

Great effort, just try and see what can be added to complement the mood of the piece.

3.5/5.

idfpower responds:

First of all, thanks for the very detailed and to the point review :)

Now, a little explanation about the song's title... this one is part of an album that was built upon a main theme: aliens. So the "angels in the sky" - although hinting a bit at the more ethereal nature of the song, is in fact reffering to extraterrestrials. Hence the "unexpected" harsh sounds used in the song. And there's a reason for the longer intro, because its role is to calm down a bit the album's pace. I can see though why taking it out of context may draw such observations :)

Thanks again for the suggestions & all the best :)