How I judge the NGAUC

I break it down into 3 categories, which I score out of 4:

Mixing: How well the song is mixed. How well each instrument stands out (drums are a constant offender). Hopefully there are no instruments with overlapping frequency ranges. Do the climaxes sound suitably like climaxes? That is the job of a good mix.
Composition: The melodies and chord progressions. How good are they? (Sound design falls into this category, as good sound design will make melodies sound better.)
Arrangement: Does the song keep my attention? Or is it too repetitive? Does it change and evolve? Do the energy levels change over time?

My overall score for your song has nothing to do with these mini-scores. All it has to do with is how good I think the song is. I provide the mini-scores as my best guess as to what you need to concentrate on to improve your overall score.

Q&A:

How can I improve my mix? Read this... and this.
How can I improve my composition? Read this.
How can I improve my arrangement? Er, I don't have a guide on this yet, sorry. In the mean time, pay attention to your favorite songs and see how they work.

Hopefully that helps! Good luck, everyone :-)

Audition Round Statistics - just for fun - my scores for the All-Stars Round

Overall Score Histogram

> 5| XX
5 | XXX
5.5| XX
6 | XXXXXX
6.5| X
7 | XXXXX
7.5| XXXXXXXXX
8 | XXXXXXXXXXXXX
8.5| XXXX
9 | XXXXXX
9.5| XXX
10 | X

Mixing Mini-Score Histogram (+ in 3 indicates a score of 3+)

1 | XXXX
2 | XXXXXXXXXX
3 | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX++
4 | XXXXXXXXX+++

Composition Mini-Score Histogram

1 |
2 | XXXXXXXXXXXX++
3 | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX+++++++++
4 | XXXX+++

Arrangement Mini-Score Histogram

1 | XX
2 | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
3 | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
4 | XXXXXX+

Comments

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TaintedLogic 2015-07-16 22:56:40

This is great! Thanks for doing this, Johnfn. I encourage the other judges to post their "rubrics" as well. ;)

johnfn 2015-07-16 22:56:40

Sorry TL - this comment of yours only gets a 1/4 in mixing, a 0/4 in composition and a 0/4 in arrangement. Did you even try?

LucidShadowDreamer 2015-07-18 11:58:52

[chord]
(rhythm)
=> upscale
<= downscale
. longer by half

(3/4) [D minor] half D, quarter => E , quarter => F. , eight <= E, quarter <= D, half => A, quarter A, half A. quarter A. [G minor] half => Bb, quarter => C, quarter => [Cadd9] D, quarter <= C, quarter <= Bb [F] whole <= A, half A, quarter A, [C] half <= G, quarter G, [C# diminished] quarter => Bb. , eight <= A, quarter <= G, [D minor] half <= F, quarter F, half <= D, quarter D, [A] quarter => E. , eight => F, quarter E, [A/C#] half <= A, quarter => C#, [D minor] half =>D, quarter D.

What do you think of the composition in this comment, hehhe? The arrangement is perhaps a bit simple, but it's a cover of a song for children, so it can't be too complicated ;)
As usually, I think my mixing needs the most fixing :p

No, but what I really came to ask was this:

As I accidentally already had you review my track before you knew it was also for the NGAUC, do you think you could specify my scores in the different areas, if you still remember them and it's not too much trouble?

Thanks! :3
Sorry for bothering you during your judging XD

spot1techno 2015-07-19 01:20:20

Thank you for the review and all the details. I appreciate your hard work! :)

johnfn 2015-07-19 01:20:20

And thank *you* for participating!

D-Chain 2015-07-20 16:15:43

Great and well thought out voting system John! -really informing.
and thanks again for the wonderfull scores!
i see i need some composition improvements since you scored it 3/4, which in my eyes is already really good but as a perfectionist myself..... you know the drill i hope.

Best wishes!
and good luck voting in the NGAUC.

johnfn 2015-07-20 16:15:43

Hehehe. Good luck to you in the next round. Looking forward to it ;-)

Daveisgr81 2016-07-18 13:50:04

Again, this is all extremely useful and engaging. Thanks!

TheB34R 2016-07-25 06:21:21

Thanks for the review. What do you think is my best song? ☺