Troisnyx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Dragon's Honor]

It's a short track, but I enjoyed it. As a bodhran player and Celtic music afficionado, I heartily approve of this. <3

SilverPoyozo responds:

I love Celtic music as well, but only recently I've got the VSTs to actually pull it off.

Well, I'm glad you liked it!

[Lascia ch'io Minimal]

The song itself featured some very solid ideas, but I agree with xToxicReaper below me; at 1:00 there was a very abrupt tempo change and an even more abrupt change of feel.

What would've been nice is this: Keep the entire piece at the same tempo throughout (if it's 120 BPM, keep it at 120 BPM). For that transition in the middle, I can tell the melody and chords could be built up on far better. So, picture it this way:

Section A: Buildup from drums to the minimal sounds/breakdown
Section B (1-minute mark): Still maintaining the same tempo, but introducing that melody which we all heard there.
Section C: With more buildup and a little bit more instrumentation, continue the melody from Section B, and then RESOLVE IT.
Section D: Breakdown from there. Start by taking off the piano, then the synths, until what we have is similar to the ending of this piece.

That way, the piece won't sound like there's a break in the continuity somewhere.

The sounds themselves are alright, and I haven't any complaints about the mixing -- partly because it sounds balanced on my headphones and partly because I have much more to learn on mixing myself.

3/5.

Airprogressive responds:

thank you 4 your review & tips!

[Dearly Beloved - Cover]

That, my friend, is a perfect example of rubato used well. It's not everyday that I hear an expressive cover of Dearly Beloved. Keep up the good work.

Aikata responds:

Thank you so much!

The main reason I'm able to be so expressive on this one is because this is the first song I took upon myself to learn 7 years ago. The notes and movements have been engraved in my head after so many years, so all I have to focus on is expression.

Thank you for another good review, TNE. :D

[Namine's Theme - Cover]

As a Kingdom Hearts fan and a pianist, I heartily approve of this cover. Well played.

My only pickle with this would be: Add a little bit of rubato where the theme takes a slight pause. It'll give more body, more expression to this piece. Not that this piece doesn't have expression already, but it'll add more oomph to what is already there.

Also, it's not that NG isn't big on piano covers because I know of a few people who do make piano covers (I did upload a live piano work on NG some time back and it was fairly well received). But I would love to hear... not a standard take on Namine's theme, but *your* take on Namine's theme. Can you vary it, for example? Can you make that cover *your own*? Covers are accepted on places like OCRemix on the grounds that the people making those covers put their own spin on video game themes. And judging from how well you played, I believe you can too.

Aikata responds:

Wow, I really appreciate your critique, and from a fellow pianist no less!

I can you see what you mean about "owning" the cover of a piece. From a music education standpoint, I've always been taught to express the ideas written on the paper and not anything else (except in jazz. That's anything BUT what's on paper!) I guess I should delve into having a bit more freedom here on the NG Audio Portal.

Thank you very much for the review, TNE. :D

[Adventurers Sonata]

Having been classically trained, I love that style of writing. Very Rachmaninov-ish, if I do say so myself. I find that this music would be much better illustrated in an animation for a lot of people.

You've brought the feelings out quite well, and it kinda pains me that a lot of people were looking for pomp and circumstance. A bit of evident dynamic variation a la early Beethoven could help get the message across to our audiences.

4/5. Favouriting.

FooRight responds:

You and me, we're on the same page ;)

Rachmaninoff is a very influential figure in both what I play, and who I look to for composition "advice." It's funny you mention the animation aspect. It's funny because the story I created within the music was envisioned as specific imagery in my head while composing. So creating a specific animation to follow this music would be best suited IF I wanted to illustrate the story more clearly to those who don't otherwise see it. (I don't want to for a few reasons, like being specific about the sex of the character for example).

I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I agree, a little more expansion in the variety of dynamics would be helpful (late mozart/early beethoven).

[8-bit loop thing a ma bob]

The minimalism sounds like something I'd hear off Picopict. There's not very much variation, but in reality, how much time are people going to spend browsing a menu? (Unless there are very many options...)

It's quite catchy -- perhaps build up on the melody and synths, if you aren't going to change the chords.

4/5.

Yoshiii343 responds:

Picopict. I'm assuming it's something pixel-y...?

Also, apparently I'm a bit slow server-side, so you might need to give a solid definition of "building up" the melody and synths.

[Platformers are difficult]

I love just how this turned out. Initially I thought I wasn't going to be impressed with the repetition of the Em - C - B chords, and then you just blew me away with the section that came after that, which would sound beautiful with other forms of instrumentation too.

Great work!

5.

Genclops responds:

Thankyou for the the review, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Edge of Time]

Sounds like something that I would find in a Kid Icarus remake, minus the rock influence.
I'll agree with Thei-Mortal about the lack of power in the percussions, but I do like the chords you have used in this piece, by and large. : )

stunkel responds:

Thanks! Glad that you got some sort of video game feel! And I'll try to fix the percussion before DoS ends! Thanks for the review!

[Aslal - No Drum, No Bass]

Okay, before I go on with my review, let's put into perspective what ambient music is all about: creating an ambience, either tonally or as a sort of background setting.

That having been said,

1) The piano could do with some expression. As is, the piano sounds like it's at one volume setting, and it sounds as if someone is trying to jam the piano rather than provide expression. If you are using FL Studio (or any sequencer for that matter), make use of the individual note velocities. You would normally see it below the piano roll as vertical lines. You want to make use of that section: changing the individual note velocities by running your mouse through (or by individually clicking each note's velocity) until it sounds natural.

2) The watery synth coming in after the piano sounded beautiful, but they HORRIBLY DID NOT MATCH the chords the piano was playing, making it a difficult listening experience.

3) Around 3:15, a random synth appearing in places which does not match the chords of the piano and the otherwise watery feel of the piece.

I mean, I get it: ambient music can be either chill or disturbing or anything we want it to be without having any melodies to sustain it, but this one is neither -- it is jarring. I highly recommend you to review your chord structure: modify that, and you will make your piece a whole lot better and a lot more pleasing to the ears.

1.5/5.

aslal responds:

Yeah, I wasn't too sure about this track either. I'm scrapping it, and just starting over.
EDIT: I'm having a bit of troubles, I'm trying to load it, but the old version's still playing.
EDIT 2: The download file's right, but the player file's not right for me.

[Nature's Miracles]

I don't know whether to say this is Final Fantasy-esque or Zelda-esque when I first listen to it, but when the drums kick in, it sounds more like Final Fantasy X-2 material. At least, the opening sounds promising. I love the sound effects you used here too, they do reflect the whole nature theme.

Then from around 0:39, your melody could use some imagination.... The same chords repeat all throughout the piece, and while I do sense some form of buildup, you could make it sound more miraculous. Right now, the piece in its entirety sounds like a bit of a mishmash of genres and I don't know in which direction the piece is going.

One track for you to listen to on YouTube to see where I'm coming from: Look up "Shelanoir's Forest". While neither you nor I have Akiko Shikata's production level, there's something to learn: she has a SOLID MELODY, her CHORDS ARE VARIED, and she still manages to keep to the whole nature theme.

2/5.

Ausghost responds:

The melody at 0:39 repeats in total 6 times (throughout 3 minutes, 14 seconds), but there are only 3 areas in the piece in which it is heard. At 0:39, 1:26 and 2:14. They were meant to represent the beginning, the middle, and the end. But if you think it gets a little repetitive, that's fine, I accept your opinion and I'll try to make it not sound so repetitive the next time around. And if it just sounds bad in general, then I'm sorry, I tried my best to make it sound good.

About the mishmash of genres; you are right. I never intended this to fit in any genre. I just went with the flow and added what I thought would sound good (while still trying to maintain that 'video game' feel). But how does defining a song's genre affect how good the song is? It may sound a little more disorganized, but not necessarily bad. Either way, noted.

I've checked out the track, and while it's not my cup of tea, it's not bad. The lyrics were especially good.

Thank you for taking your time to write the review. :)