johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[RIDE]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Hey GALICROSS! I capitalized your whole name because you did. Anyways, this is a neat song. I'm always a fan of the addition of vocals to a piece, and they seem to fit alright. What's not working for me so well is the arrangement. The background synth noise hardly ever changes, and so the song gets very repetitive very quickly. Furthermore, the mixing is not really all there; the kick is kind of absent from the mix. Still, it's not a bad start!

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 2+/4
Arrangement: 1+/4
Composition: 2+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 4/10

[Serenity]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Hi FrontBut! Cool song here. I think my favorite part about it was the arps at around the 1:00 mark; they sound very cool (though be careful - sometimes the notes double up). However, in the end, I think the problem with the song is that it's just too repetitive. You play those same chords over and over again throughout the song. I think the song would have been much better if you would have varied up the structure a little bit. Also, the mix needs a little work - the kick is kinda quiet and it clips at times.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 2+/4
Arrangement: 1+/4
Composition: 2+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6.5/10

FrontBut responds:

Thanks so much for your review! I'm still an Amateur at this point so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[Being]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

I’m always a fan of indie songs with singing - some people have even called me biased! :P This one is pretty good. I think I like the chorus the most - I really like the harmony that you did there. Where this song is struggling is the arrangement - the energy level of the song seems pretty constant throughout. I’d prefer it if there was a little more energy during the chorus and right when the verse starts, so that I just naturally know when to pay attention. 

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 3/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6/10

[FLS 12 - AdVancE]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Wow, an 11 minute EDM song. That has to be some sort of NGAUC record! I really have to commend you on your ambition. In the future, though, maybe condensing the song down to its best bits would actually be a good idea? While you try to keep the song interesting, and there is quite a good bit of variation, it would be hard for *anyone* to make a riff so interesting that you could repeat it throughout the whole song without changing it. Furthermore, the song gets so crazily distorted through the end that it is quite hard to listen to at points. I do appreciate the momentary breakdown at 9:00 - it would have been neat if it would have lasted longer!

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 1/4
Composition: 2/4
Overall (this is not an average): 4/10

Doublechindoge7 responds:

Wow, this really was a wake-up call. I was really proud of this... I mean, I didn't expect much, but I expected at least a 3. Then as I read this it sounded pretty positive and I thought I might get a little more than that. Then I scroll down to see a 2 and it really caught me off-guard, got a real pit in my stomach.

Yet I can't disagree. The reviews I've had so far have mostly been too easily pleased I guess, and the people in real life who've commented on my music had commended it, but I guess they were a bit biased. Even my music teacher seemed impressed so I thought I was doing great... Guess not, but ever since this song in particular I've been changing a lot faster. Better luck next year I guess.

[mc chris_Subspace (Sneak VIP Remix)]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Hey DjSneak! This is actually a cool piece, but unfortunately it is quite difficult for me to judge because the best part of it is the vocals, which are (as far as I am aware) not actually your own. So I’m left to judge the accompaniment to the vocals, which is quite difficult. I mean, it’s not bad, but it doesn’t stand out either - and yet, isn’t that sort of the point of accompaniment? Bah. The accompaniment COULD be varied up a little more however, to emphasize the variation in the lyrics.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 2/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5.5/10

DJSneak responds:

Its Jungle and Dnb its supposed to be Repetitive and shit. I mean you're right it is a "cool" piece
This is the beginning of my sound. However if your scale is the same as Pros I think a 5.5/10 is pretty good Lmao. I have minimal mastering and other things in this track. I was planning on remastering this track before the Contest. But I ran outta time. Thanks though. You'll be seeing me again. My only gripe is that there doesn't appear to be a Judge that knows Jungle too well.

[Cs - 'Night Siege']

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

I just have to say, your description is really funny because it sounds exactly like how I used to write descriptions. I would always name my songs after totally random things that didn’t have to do with the song. :D Anyways, this is a pretty neat piano only song. However, it falls victim to some of the common problems of piano songs composed on the DAW. First, the loudness of the notes are relatively static, making it feel more like a robot played the song than a human. Also, the energy level stays the same pretty much throughout the song. If it had a slower section, I feel like it would be a much more effective song.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: n/a
Arrangement: 1+/4
Composition: 2/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

Csucskos responds:

Thank you, I guess.
No, no, sorry. I mean I am really satisfied with this review and happy to have a soooooo long one. This was actually useful. The lesson was: You can't give good title, You can't mix, arrange and compose, the overall is bad, BUT you are doing great. (Yeah it seems I am a bit offended so don't take me really serious.)

I have to say that although I can play the piano, while composing I never use it. Just sit down, write the melody on the computer (which has come to my mind while I was doing something like cycling) and then write some chords and thats all. Sometimes I change the piano sound to something else and then add drums, bass and other bonuses. (Usually I write the melody to the instrument which will play it and only sometimes I first write on piano and then change it.)

I actually sometimes just sit down to the piano and improvise but there is no real melody just the chords. (I can't really improvize.) After that these 'songs' are decaying because I play them on the piano and then forget them. Never do with them something on the computer.

And I don't know how to 'humanize' the loudness.

SOoo. Thanks again and I will try to improve my skills. (I don't know how to do that so I will keep making this 'bad' music.)

I hope we will meet on the next contest. ;) (Or somewhere else.)

[Fugue in c minor]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Hah, I remember you from last NGAUC as the "8 minute organ toccata” guy! Go figure that you submit another organ piece ;-) I almost wish I had sheet music for this one; the organ sample you’re using has a lot of reverb and I think I’m missing hearing notes. Again, I have to commend you on submitting a 5 part fugue - it’s not something I hear many people trying. I can’t say much about fugues, as they aren’t exactly a genre I listen to very often, but I do feel like this one needs a bit in the way of arrangement; the notes kinda flow together without a sense of structure to them.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: n/a (but watch reverb levels!)
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 2+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6/10

[Lemon Drops]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Hi ChadWiggy! This piece is definitely a very unique piece that really stands out compared to all the other EDM that was submitted to this round, hehe. It feels like a very organic piece, too, which is cool; is that you playing the flute? On the other hand, the uniqueness of this piece also somewhat acts to its detriment. The piece goes on and on without taking any breaks or changing the energy in any way - it’s kind of like a run-on sentence. The composition too, while interesting, kinda flowed together a little too much.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 1/4
Composition: 2+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

[Working Drunk]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

You tagging this as 'weird' and 'drunk' is highly appropriate! This is a highly experimental piece and quite unlike most music that I've heard. The massive bass is fascinating - it straddles the line between acoustic and electric really well. However, this piece feels to me like it never really does anything - it just *is*. (It comes close to progressing at 1:44.) That's fine for background music for a game, but is a bit of a questionable choice for a contest. 

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 4/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 1/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

[XTechno - Sunset Mountains]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

So first, I have to commend you on writing an excellent acoustic guitar piece! I don't often hear guitar pieces on Newgrounds, and I honestly wish I did. Probably if every single submission to NGAUC was an acoustic guitar piece, I would be happier. :D Anyways, this is a really nice piece! It follows a fairly standard chord progression, but the final chord on the chord progression is slightly modified (sounds like you added an extra note to me, but I don't have a piano nearby to identify which one). Unfortunately, as you add more and more instruments to the piece, it starts to get a little messy, both in terms of mixing (especially with that synth) and just general structure. I don't really have a clear melody or motif to pay attention to, so I start to get confused as a listener. Still, your guitar playing is fantastic, and the overall vibe I get from this piece is lovely.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 3+/4
Composition: 3+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 8/10

XTheNewgrounder responds:

Wow, thanks man! And yeah, I do tend to add some chords and things get a little messy :/ but seriously: thanks you!