johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Inheritance]

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

Whoa, for a second there I think I heard 13/4, but then it switches back to 12/4. Neat little time sig trickery! The piano playing is really nice and this is a really nice and meditative piece, but unfortunately, it does not really develop at all. While it would probably be fine for a video game level or something of the sort (perhaps underwater!), as an entry to a contest you might want to submit something with a bit more of an arc to it. Still, it's not bad for what it is!

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

HoraceGreenley responds:

I'll keep notes of your constructive criticism. Thanks.

[-Firecrypt-]

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

So one thing that this song has going of it is the neato chord progression that you pull out right in the beginning of the piece. The vi-vi-vi-V thing on the piano definitely has a neat, catchy feel to it. Unfortunately, as the song goes on I feel like it starts to lack interest. You actually do a fairly good job with arrangement - you definitely introduce new sections and switch up the song fairly consistently. What's lacking is a strong melody or other compositional aspects that would keep me interested.

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

GlitchmasterMusic responds:

Thank you for the review! I had a fun time composing this piece, and it was too bad I didn't make it to the knock-out round :P. I'll definitely use this advise for improvement on future tracks :D. Thanks again!

[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!

[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.)

[Lockyn - Aqua [3MBER Remix]]

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

DAWG. This mixing is totally top notch! God dang. You did a bang up job! :D This track is really fascinating and fun to listen to. There's so many things going on, and a ton of awesome little details. I actually don't have a lot to critique about this one, it generally ticks all the right boxes. If anything, I feel like the 'drops' are a little off to my ears - I wish that the melody was front and center, rather than being played on a piano up high. Also generally speaking, there isn't that much of a catchy or meaningful melody here. Not that the melodies are bad - they're pretty good for the most part - but there's nothing that really stood out to me. Still; excellent job on the piece. Technically darn near perfect.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 4+/4
Arrangement: 3+/4
Composition: 3/4
Overall (this is not an average): 8.5/10

x3MbeRx responds:

This is the most in-depth feedback I've ever received. Thank you very much for listening and the complements!

[THE DARK EXPERIMENT - Noedig (Rushed)]

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

Whoa. First things first. I love the chords in the intro section. The pads playing those very weird and dissonant chords which I'm actually liking a lot! It reminds me al little of a horror movie or something unsettling. And then after a bit of that, you transition into a separate section where you just blast me with gated pads. And you know what, I'm totally onboard with that too. The transition from one to the other was very satisfying, IMO. There are 2 things lacking from this song, however. First is the sound design; a lot of your sound design choices sound a bit amateur. That's just something that comes with time. The second is the composition. While I love your dissonant chord progressions in the first section, your melodies mostly seem to be a bit random. I do however appreciate the overall structure of the track and the transition from dissonant into the more energetic section, and the reintroduction of the dissonant chords in the end!

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: 1/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6.5/10

Syzion responds:

Your score is very much a compliment to me, because I personally still think the music is pretty shit.
Thank you!

[[HadenTheCreeper] -Rival-]

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

Like the other guy said, distortion is a big no no. It's like turning in an english essay with typos or grammar mistakes. Anyways. The chiptune arp thingies floating above the otherwise smooth pads give this piece a really interesting vibe. In fact, I have to say, I like your approach to composition in general - the big smooth pads are really enjoyable. I'm not quite sure that I like the buzzy, hard stuff at 1:30, but fortunately you get right back to the smooth pads. Good choice. This is a very fascinating, interesting piece. If you were to get the fundamentals down - no clipping or distortion, fix up your levels so that the drums are nice and loud, and don't transition randomly into buzzy stuff when non buzzy stuff is working so well for you - this piece would be REALLY good. I even like it as is, although it is quite flawed.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 2/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 3/4
Overall (this is not an average): 8/10

MrCreeperGeometryDas responds:

Thanks for the review!
I would always like to improve, so I will look at your audio and see what I can improve on.
This is also an old song, I make my percussion sound better with the music now.