Music-story's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Inspiration To {N}[Trancecore]]

Review

Hi, Ettore,

So I'm a trance fan only for the first 2 minutes before I fall asleep. Fortunately yours is a short (less than 3 minute) song. Okay, so let's see how this one went.

Good:
1) I like the piano composition. The accompanying trance lead instrument is pretty nice to here too.
2) Well, I thought the percussion used was well thought of.
3) The song is short. It's repetitive, but I didn't get seriously bored.
4) A song with a definitive ending is always a good thing to me. I'm sure a longer sustain on the explosion at the end would be better, but not a big deal.

Changes:
1) I say this as nicely as I can, but you really should use a different bass pattern. I wouldn't mind if you use that bass pattern for a small portion of your song, but you used it for the whole thing. Checking on youtube, there are probably over a million songs that use that same typical trance bass beat (heck that bass pattern has been used for more than a decade). You are putting yourself in a tough crowd to show that yours is better than theirs. Frankly, I don't think yours is as good as those other typical trance songs. However, on the positive side, I think you still managed to make a party happy feeling with that happy like bass. The new form of trance is now armin van buuren and paul van dyk. (well they are arguably the two best dj or for sure top 10 worldwide)
2) At 1:04 when the choir pad comes in....you might need more decay time. This is more noticeable at 1:30 where each time the choir plays a different pitch; there is a quick decay time that just doesn't bring the smoothness to that section. In other words, make more legato by making longer gate time or more decay time or even longer attack time. Also, not sure why your choir section is so short. At 1:36 I liked how you introduced that new instrument, but i 2 seconds later your right at the climax again. Transitions should be gradual. Build up to a climax or something like that.

To conclude, don't get me wrong like I'm bashing you. We are all trying to learn to make music as good as professionals (whether that ever happens or not), so don't take me as a mean dude. I'm only trying to provide you with constructive criticism. Keep up the learning process and as well wish me luck too. Congrats on getting top 5 and I hope to hear more from you in the future. 9/10 review and 5/5 vote.

Bye for now

[NightlifeDL]

Nice

Hi Duke,

Not sure why your song score is really low and not many have heard this song. I like french house, but I can't make it. I'm more into the space maybe deep house style. This is what I thought of your song.

Good:
1) Well done with your frequency changes. A bunch of instruments used them keeping things fresh.
2) I'm loving the kick. Has a nice hard snap to it. The usual four to the floor beat of house. I like it.
3) The space like vocals were neat. Not sure if they are just samples or you actually said those words, but it fit well.
4) I like the pad used. Keeps things filled. Your fx sounds were pretty nice too.
5) This one is right on the border line (I'll round it to "good"). The bass pattern is rather unoriginal...typical beat like trance music; however, the bass sounded quite nice so despite the unoriginal bass pattern, I'll let it slip by.

Hmm:
1) I think your saw instrument needs more ommph.
2) Well you probably won't get this from anyone except me....I like diverse music and though you got the filter modulations, not much instruments are used in this song. I don't get bored of the percussion nor the composition, but listening to same instruments over and over again gets me a bit bored. My opinion though

Overall, I'm giving this a 5/5 vote. It deserves a higher score than 2.48. 9/10 review too. Keep making house music. Your good at it.

Bye for now

DukeLukeProd responds:

Hi Music-Story
Sorry, I havent't been around for some time.
Wow, this is about the most constructive review anyone ever gave me, thanks for the extensive advice!

First off: The vocal samples are the famous Apollo 11 transmissions from Neil Armstrong found on Wikimedia Commons (There's hell of a lot of useful stuff on there for us music producers)

French house isn't all that complicated. Take a 4 on the floor beat, add chords in a 1/8th pattern (mostly square/pulse + saw, lowpass-filter envelope with rapidly falling decay - that's roughly my pad) and you're almost there. Ask if you need help.

And now for the excuses ^^
Hmm 1)
Yeah it's pretty thin, I cut off the lower frequencies because I didn't want them to interfere with the bassline. But, as you pointed out it was a bit too much. You know, with headphones it's hard to judge (Bad excuse because in the meantime I got myself Alesis Monitors and not a lot has changed ;P Gotta practise more)

2)
You've got a point there, I don't like monotonous compositions either, yet I'm too lazy to add more instruments respectively afraid to add something "out-of-style"

Okay gotta get some lunch now!
Take care
-Luke

[Imagine THis (House)]

Yeah House music got on weekly top 5

This is going to be a short review because I have to go someplace soon. This is some cute funky house music. A little bit of a space theme due to your strange filter changes. I like the upbeat feeling this song portrays. I didn't think at 32 seconds that new instrument was in tune. It eventually didn't become dissonant so that's one good thing.

1:04 mark I like the dramatic climax. That saw instrument is pretty neat. I think you will need to make it louder though. Saw sounds are great so they should be very audible.

Overall, I think you did well with your filters. The delay on the instrument at 16 seconds was right on. Well synced to the tempo. I suppose your song title fits well. A lil magical feeling in this piece. The composition is quite unique so kudos to you.

I'm pleased that a house song finally made it to the weekly five. I just recently got interested in house music and submitted my first. (Spatial) I have not yet got a review from someone else that produces house music. That will help me a lot.

5/5 and 9/10 review.

Bye for now

JohnDare responds:

I know that the sound is not tune at 32 sec. but in the program, it's sound great!
I don't know what can do that?
Maybe when it encoded in Mp3

Thank!!

[Open Ur Mind]

Hah Great stuff here

Hi VenoMuk,

These songs are so rare on ng. I'm pleased to finally here some reggae. You spelled it wrong. :) Like the jazzy trumputs and the Caribbean feel. This is what I thought.

Good:
1)The lyrics were great. The voice has the Jamaican accent. I am impressed with your voice. It doesn't suck and it doesn't sound all synthesized. The real natural sound.
2) It may not be original worldwide, but it is definitely original on NG. For that I give kudos to your music style.
3) The drums/percussion fits so well in this song. They make me feel happy. I like happy music.

Hmm:
1) I guess not a big deal but in your song you have long sections with no vocals. It does bring a little bit of emptiness to the song, but again it isn't a big deal.

A great song on NG. You probably will go unnoticed on NG because this ain't trance/techno/dance. However, you got one fan of your music. Keep it up. 5/5 and 10/10 for sure.

Bye for now

VenoMuk responds:

Wow, thanks for the review m8, i know im not very good at spelling hehe. it was around 12:45am in the morning when i made this :P.

I have to say thou it isnt my voice, it is a sample from a magix sample kit. I cant do jamaican accent hehe.

Yeah i figured id upload this after i made it as i knew there wasnt much like this on newgrounds, hopefully it gets me talents some attention :)

Il do some more work with adding a few more vocals in, thanks agian for your review :)

[-TD- State of Altered Dreams]

Review

Hi Triented,

Yeah, I used to review a lot. Now I review sparingly. Give me a pm anytime and I'll review the song you want me to anytime. Just to let you know...TD is what "techno dude" usually places when he submits music. Might get confused between yours and his stuff. Anyway, this is what I thought of your song.

Good:
1) Classical instrumentation in a DnB was really neat. Something I have not heard in a while. The piano sounded really nice.
2) The bass doesn't have the oh so common trance bass line. I like the pattern used. Sounds nice too. The filter changes to the bass is good.
3) The percussion is different. Did you make those drums? Don't sound like FL drum samples to me...but than i don't own FL so I could be wrong. Anyway, originality is one of my biggest criteria I look in a song. You did good in this category.
4) FX were quite good too. i liked the one at 1:51.

Hmm:
1) Well I would have liked more diversity. I don't think many instruments were used in this song.
2) Transitions worked out good for the most part but some transitions didn't work. Eg. 2:18. The song quickly changed moods. Move slower into it next time...that is if you remix this.

Not much to say. For the most part, I was interested in the uniqueness of this song. Keep it up with these original DnB stuff. 5/5 vote and 9/10 review.

Bye for now

[Karco - Time For Morning]

Review

Hey Karco,

This one sounds pretty neat. I'd say it might fit house more or techno. I only heard the beginning so maybe it turns to trance later. This is what I think.

Good:
1) Nice saw. I used a similar saw sound too in my house song. Saw sounds are my favorite now. :)
2) I think you were inspired by a certain artist. Forgot his name though. Beat sounds familiar, but it's a nice one so kudos.
3) The fx sounds were good. Filter modulations fit right for your transitions.
4) 1:30 I now snese the trance part. Feels ambient like. Interesting percussion used too. I suppose this may be the part that I could see linked to your song title.
5) No vocals. That was a very good decision on your part. The song wouldn't make sense with vocals. I don't sense any empty parts except near the ending part of the song.

Okay:
1) Well after the nice beginning, the song kinda dragged out. Meh, trance I guess.
2) originality factor is a bit low here (maybe I just listen to a lot of music by such artist as David Guetta and Fredde le grand)
Not much negative stuff to say. You use reason 4 right? A lot of your sounds are very similar to stuff I already heard by other artists. Reason 4 comes with these samples already? Sounds like a good program to get my hands on...but I already bought a new one. I like how you changed your style. I like house music. The originality factor is a bit low here, but I think you should expand more into this style of music. Up to you though. 5/5 and for taking the step into a new genre...a 10 rev. Keep it up. Bye for now

Karco responds:

Hey Music-story, been a while! :D Go down several reviews for my reasoning on why it's in Trance. As always, I'll go down your points one by one:

Good:
1) Thanks. :P
2) I listed my inspirations in the commentary. ;)
3) Great to hear...
4) Possibly. :O
5) You think so? It feels like there's no core melody in this song, that's the place the vocals would have taken. Ah well, whatever you say...

Okay (just say bad for once, seriously :P):
1) Really? I was going for a slightly faster progression with this one. Though it did slow down later on. :P
2) Never heard of them, I assume their styles are similar to this song?

Nope, I don't use Reason 4, I use FL8 Producer Edition. ;D None of these samples came with it either, they're all from sample CDs. Thanks for the review and the high ratings, glad you liked it!

[-victory- 2]

Oh, I like this

I am sensing a victory in this piece. It is a bit short though to be considered a song. This shouldn't be that long of a review by me.

Good:
1) Those instruments used sound very crisp and lifelike. I'm not sure if you actually played the instruments or if these are electronically played, but they do sound like the real thing. Great job.
2) The composition is well done. I heard it before it a different song, but I think yours sounds better because of the instruments used.

Hmm:
1) Well the ending of the song was a bit weird. You shouldn't have stopped there. Transition into a climax. Put some horns or something in here. This song sounds like it would fit well in medieval times.

I like that piccolo or flute like sound. That's what made this song stand out to me. I also noticed no drums in this piece which I usual consider a bad thing, but it worked really well here. You should make a victory 3 song....but this time a actual full length song. Keep up the good work. 5/5 and a 10.

howamisupposedtoknow responds:

thanks for the review...
but as i said... it's only a preview... drums will be a part of the final version... and the flute... was actually just the fruity loops piano ^^
are you sure it wasn't just the original -victory- tune you heard? (also by me)
hope im not unknowingly copying someone else :o

uploaded the next part http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/154875

[[TranceFusion]]

First submission and your first review

Hey Fatal,

Glad you are able to make electronic music for the AP. Is this your first electronic song ever made too? Kudos to you if so. I am generally nice on anyone's first submission on the AP. I would say that lead instrument does have a happy and somewhat catchy tune. I sense two waveforms used on that instrument...unless you had two instruments playing that same lead melody. For your first submission, I thought you did a great job. Sure, it may not be as good as the more experienced musicians on the AP, but everyone started just like you. (Well I think you started better than most others)

Here are some quick tips to help you improve faster.

1) I find that raising the EQ levels in the higher frequency ranges (eg. 800-1400Hz) on your percussion makes the drums have more lush...that is if your drums have hi hats and/or cymbals or any other higher frequency instruments (eg. cowbell). For this song, your drums definitely have lots of cymbals.

2) You need a bass in this song. If your going for the more happy techno kinda feel than square waveforms are generally used. More serious dark like trance the sine waveform is good. However this is not a rule. If your looking to be really unique you can always experiment with the many other waveforms and digiforms.

3) I know the song is a loop, but you could reach a climax in here. I didn't notice no climax so I see no difference in making this a 20 second song compared to a 47 second song.

I'm surprised how well you mastered this song. I heard no clipping whatsoever so you must be using your dynamics and EQ very well. Good luck with your future projects. Your on the right track. 5/5 and 10/10 review.

Fatal responds:

Hey thanks buddy this was my first submission

Your tips are helpful, i'm going to make a full song as my next submission, in a similar style of electronica/trance

I'm glad people are helpful your review was constructive I know exactly what you mean about reaching a climax it does sort of drag on as I just made it longer from about 25 seconds to 40.

Look out for my next submission i'm sure you will like it.

=D

[Illusion - [viz]]

Hey Viz

I suppose the past reviewer is correct in having familiar instruments, but everyone has their unique style. You can keep it with the happy synths further showcasing your style, or surprise us one day with a totally different style. I don't mind though. This is what I thought of your song.

Good:
1) Well, again I like happy sounds. This is just my opinion though.
2) I like the background support. The whoosing wind fuzz along with the voice effects keeps the song feeling full.
3) around 38 seconds in is some kind of effect that sounds like rain. Maybe my ears are decieving me, but I thought using ambient sounds is a neat idea. Further improves the environment of the song.
4) 1:53 I like that techno saw like instrument. I would have liked it more if you moved the composition up an octave.
5) Well mixed and mastered. Nuff said.

Bit more:
1) This was a nice song to relax to. I would have enjoyed more climaxes because right now I'm not in a relaxed mood. :) Soccer game in less than 2 hours.
2) For the patterns used, they are good but sometimes moving them into different octave ranges rather than keeping them in a specific octave range will add more variety.

Overall, its a good song. I have a song not on NG yet but might need your advice. However, only by email. I don't want to post it on NG yet. PM me if you want to help. 5/5 and 9/10 review.

DJ-VIZ responds:

Long time no see! Thanks for the review...and I have some new stuff as well Id like to send you before I sumbit. We should keep in touch via email, and ill definitly help you out. I agree with the synthing, but I orignally made this 5 months ago when I did not have much other than what I used for all my old sumbissions. Anyway my new stuff is much better, so yeah ill be happy to help you.

[AlxEllis - Tron]

Review

Hey Alex,

So I'm on NG for a brief moment. I chose your dance song because I like dance music more than pop. This is what I thought.

Good:
1) Your title Tron seems quiet appropriate for this song. I don't know what a tron is, but I heard some video games which used that word in some robotic type games. Your instruments sound rather robotic like. Hmm, not sure why I wrote this.

2) I like the deep bass and kick sounds. Has lots of reverb and possibly sub bass. Really brings out the evil emotions. I also like the bass pattern and delay you put on it.

3) The panning of the digital like instrument is neat. The fx sounds are real neat too.

4) The standout part of this song is how you used the snare or are those shakers? There was not much in this song but you managed to make climaxes and transitions without the usual snare/shaker roll. Its all in the kick pattern that plays the conductor role. Good idea.

5) Your very close to hard style trance which I typically am not fond of. However, it still remained dance like and not head banger style with super loud kick and typical bass booming pattern.

SO SO:
1) The song as said by a past reviewer is redundant or too repetitive. The high pitch instruments essentially play the exact same pattern in the entire song. However, for stuff like progressive trance, your song would be considered diverse. I never did like progressive trance for that reason.

I don't have much else to say. Your lack of diversity and shortness of the song is what took away from this song. Your instruments are a great selection though. Keep making these cool instruments and add some variety and you will get a 10 from me. For now, 5/5 vote and 9/10 review.

Bye for now

AlxEllis responds:

Cool man thanks for reviewing it its good becouse you detail it and it helps me to improve thanks for takinf the time to do tht its appreciated ;)