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).

[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!