Score: 9

"Great instrumentation"

submission: Forest of the Unnamed

date: October 25, 2006

I just love the instrumentation in this piece - could I please know which instruments it was written for?

Every instrument was distinct, and it had a magical Nutcracker-opera-like feeling... kinda like the first snowfall.

This would make a great soundtrack for a game, and it also seems perfect for any Christmas flashes on Newgrounds that might want to use it - have you thought of entering that audio contest?

I don't have too much criticism, I'm afraid. I give a "9" because the piece simply isn't too ambitious - it's a little simple, but that's ok. It's great just the way it is.

P.S. Just a suggestion to avoid the confusion - instead of saying "this is a piece from x.com" say "this is a piece FOR x.com". I admit that even I wasn't sure what to think, until I saw your response to the guy below.

Score: 7

"Unlike the 2 below, I'll try..."

submission: Bosanian Beauty

date: October 25, 2006

...to leave a balanced review.

You have quite an eclectic mix of styles here. Although by themselves any of the different sections are quite good, they are frankly not integrated very well at all, with no transition from one style to another.

At first you have this nice plucked violin/cello duet, then it sounds a bit like the Braveheart soundtrack a little after the beginning there... and then you have this weird brass/bagpipe thing, a flute/woodwinds section, etc. I would have very much liked to have heard each style as a natural progression from the previous, or at least for there to be some kind of overlap. The plucked string solo at the beginning could have easily been continued and merged into what follows. Also, even if a particular style is subdued, some elements from it should make way into the parts that follow (in subtle ways like similar harmonies, rhythms, etc) - things like that give a piece cohesiveness.

This is why I gave you only a "6" for diversity, despite the wide range of the styles - the lack of integration.

Another thing that marked down my score is that the song had no real ending, and it doesn't really work as a loop either because one can tell quite easily that the loop has ended.

The individual sections of your piece would, if developed, have easily earned an "8" or a "9" from me. However, this is one case where the finished product is clearly less than the sum of its parts.

P.S. I got hit by the ZeroVoter guy too, but somehow I think that he may be a guy pulling a stunt to draw attention to the audio portal's complete lack of the review rating system that the flash portal has, and the consequent problems. See my post in the Audio forum. So, strangely enough, this may actually turn out to be a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, the leaders of the site will implement the same review rating mechanism that is employed in the flash portal - the audio portal has a much bigger review problem, after all.

Score: 9

"Quite impressive, again!"

submission: _-={An Ambitious War}=-_

date: October 24, 2006

Well, this is your second-highest-scoring submission right now, and no wonder! Your use of drums and instrumentation hits all the right notes here. The title seems a bit tame for the piece, even.

I love how the melody was developed, with different instruments changing it slightly. One thing that might've been nice would've been an insanely fast solo for the violin up at the top there - after it played its more slow bits, that is. That would have trully made it sound spine-chilling! Well, that's what I would've done probably - I'm a sucker for those fast solos that go up and down the scale within the boundaries of the harmony.

But it's a perfectly great song as it is. I just had to suggest some way that I would make it better, or this wouldn't be a very constructive review, would it? ;)

P.S. Sorry I haven't been around for a while - a very busy, busy week... :( I finally managed to upload my song, though it's the first thing I ever composed and so is not nearly as good as this!

Score: 8

"Exciting arrangement"

submission: -The Epic Battle v2-

date: October 16, 2006

I can't give you a high originality mark unfortunately because the melody is from a Soviet musical film called "Prisoner of the Caucasus" ("Kavkazskaya plennitsa").

That having been said, the arrangement of the piece isn't half bad. It's very energetic and would fit well in a flash submission. High marks on everything else.

I'm not entirely sure that the melody is not copyright-protected, though. The "pre-1973 USSR works are public domain in the US" copyright ruling was overturned a while ago.

Score: 10

"Hola!"

submission: The Volcano's Wrath

date: October 16, 2006

I can't believe this hasn't gotten any attention yet... excellent piece! You have some beautiful harmonies there, and excellent build-up. Best of all is a really sublime ending.

I'm definitely going to keep a lookout for your later work! Congratulations on finally submitting some stuff to the audio portal! I can see that you've practiced before. ;)

Could I know that chord that you used at 1:50? I really like it... it also sounds a bit like the final level of "Golden Axe" on the Sega Genesis.

P.S. I PMed you about this, but your latest submission seems to have no sound.

Score: 9

"Short, but it's good."

submission: /|\A Legendary Legacy/|\

date: October 16, 2006

Gah, I submitted my review to the wrong place. Anyway...

Yes, it's short, but it's an excellent, excellent loop (despite the slight break between the beginning and end). I can see this really helping out someone who's looking for a sad mood in their flash. Thank you for submitting these songs to Newgrounds!

Oh, and Maestro(whatever), would you be so kind as to tell me what you think of my latest audio submission? I'm trying to get better and would really like some advice... thanks.

Score: 9

"Some very, very good bits!"

submission: Welcome to the Field

date: October 16, 2006

Most of this was a joy to listen to... my only beef with it was that the violin solo sounded rather colourless - but that's the fault of the samples you used, not yours. Still, it does mar the experience a little.

Other than that, beautiful! I especially like what you did when the drums came back (the violins at the top).

It has a weak ending, but that makes it work better as a loop, so I didn't deduct any points for that. :P And you can be sure that I voted "5".

(oh, and could you please check out my latest submission and tell me what you think? Advice from the pros is always welcomed! ;)

Score: 8

"Hey, that's pretty good."

submission: Autumn Leaves (Improv. Jazz)

date: September 2, 2006

That's really nice for a first try - no, actually it's really nice in general. The reviewer below me had some pretty good things to say, so I won't repeat them. I like your conclusion especially - most people here don't really know how to end a song, but yours ended pretty well.

Score: 8

"Liked it. :)"

submission: Easy Balanced

date: September 2, 2006

I don't know what Ejay is... but I do know that I rather liked this one. It's fun to listen to, and would fit well in a flash submission. Good job.

Score: 8

"Pretty good."

submission: Star Wars: Cantina Theme

date: September 2, 2006

The only thing I didn't really like was that your right hand was sometimes too far ahead of the beat. I'm not sure if that was intentional, but it didn't sound right to me.