Stunning. I don't have much to say honestly. I love your musical mind. I love your instrumentation and tone of all of the voices. I love the key you used, some kind of mode right? I'm curious to know the harmonic structure of this, what mode you used. Mostly the main melody part, with the little sextuplet part. The part right at 2:14.
THe only thing is there seemed to be a little clipping? Might be my system, It's beautifully balanced. I just love this so much. listened to it like 6 times.
In terms of modes: d minor (natural), some chromatic tones in there, goes to Bb maj for "chorus".
Harmonic structure: I wrote a progression with the melody, then just made the accompaniment do pads to try and mask it. There are some parts (2nd "verse", soloists + piano arpeggios) where the harmony/accompaniment is more clearer.
The clipping might be the subtle pops/tears in the audio? I noticed that, but hoped it wouldn't be super obvious. It's really noticeable in towards the end on the big crescendo with the cymbals. It's a byproduct of one of the audio plugins I'm using.
Congratz on making it to the next round of the NGAUC!
I have judged your entry and I will be judging your KNockout round piece.
First off you scored well above my average scores, most people scored around a 6, where you scored a 7.25 which is very good. You got a 7 in the general category, an 8 in composition which is hard to achieve with my scoring, a 6 in mixing, and yet another 8 in originality.
The 7 for general is simply the overall quality, effect, and enjoyment of the piece was very good. I score a 5 as "just alright" 6 is pretty good, 7 is very good, 8 is fantastic, 9 is amazing, and 10 is very very very rare and basically perfect.
The 8 in composition is because you had masterful chords, fun melodies, fun to listen to sound design, really cool chords progressions, great form and great transitions. I dont have anything bad to say about any of that honestly. I love your sense of progression and harmony. It was really really fun to listen to. Keep that up seriously you are very strong at all of it. The reasons you didnt score higher in composition was because I couldve used instrumentation that sounded a little more crisp and clean and professional. I also wouldve appreciated a little more nuance in your percussion. Not that I expect you to write like a pro, but that wouldve gotten you a 9 or ten. :P
In mixing you got a 6.
This was because the drums were always balanced way way way too low. Especially for any edm genre that should be a focus for you. You should take advantage of slight sidechaining in your kick, and you should eq your voices to get the tone of your snare to pop a little more. i.e. leave the frequencies around the tone of your snare (the lower more poppy sound) more clear. cut the frequencies around there just a bit. Other than that your voices and bells and stuff were all balanced very well!
You got an 8 in originality because this piece is simply awesome. 8 is a huge compliment from me very few people got 8's. I could simply just use some better sounds, but you write so well it almost didnt even matter.
Good luck in the knock out round can;t wait to hear what you make for us!!!
Thanks for the tips! The percussion mixing makes a lot of sense. I'll have to keep that in mind for my next electronic track. Looking forward to the knockout round.
Congratz on making it to the knockout round of the NGAUC!!!
I will be judging you future entry a I have judged this one!
First of I wanted to say that I thoroughly Enjoyed your song. I Really Enjoyed the main distorted bass voice you used. I gave a you a 6 score in the general category, which essentially means its was pretty good overall. This is only a blunt "to the script" way of putting it I actually really really enjoyed this. There were ssome parts where the voices were clashing over all and it just slightly messed with the overall quality of this piece, for example from 1:43 on until that newly introduced lead goes away around 3:00, it was just very jarring to my ears. That was what brought you down from a 7 in the general category, which wouldve meant "very good."
I scored you a 7 in composition because the over form of your song was very good for a trance song. You had great transitions with good automation and great impact moments. I really liked all of your transitions which was a key struggle element in a lot of the songs I judged. Well done there! That being said, I really could've used a little more nuance in the grand scheme of voices. Maybe some nice little risers or more work with percussion. Also the voices you chose for the cymbals and snare seemed very basic to me and I didnt enjoy those too much. But I didnt plan on giving you a large dock of points for that one fact.
I gave you a "5" in mixing. In most edm genres I included sound design in this category. I included sound design in the composition category because i really really enjoyed that bass you made and the way you used it. You're mixing however was just ok. The kick needs to be way more powerful for this genre and that could've been solved with some simple sidechaining. the cymbals also came across a little over balanced for me, but thats just my taste, and it may have been jsut because I didnt like the voice. The part in the middle from 1:43 to 3:00 as well docked you in this category. The main lead you brought in conflicts way to much with all those juicy frequencies in your awesome bass voice. And it just completely over shadows the entire mix here. I like the notes you wrote for the voice, I just dont think it blended with the song at all.
And finally I gave you a "7" overall in originality because simply put, it was very original. It wasnt ground breaking the way you did a trance sonmg, it pretty much fit the typical trance form, but the style and the way you used that awesome bass voice just simply took the cake for you.
Congratz again and good luck in the Knockout round!!!
Thank you! I'll do my best to give you a song worth judging on the KO round!
Hello ILG924!!
I have judged this piece as a tryout to the NGAUC and will be judging your next piece along will all of the others! Congrats on making it to the knockout round!
Your piece overall was pretty good! Well done!
I gave it a 4 for "general" due to it lacking a bit of overall depth. It seems to have the same chord progression throughout, and the more electronic style drums seemed not to fit due to your intro not having very many electronic flavors or voices at all. The drums are about the only thing. And they have the same pattern throughout the whole piece, with no variation.
I scored it a 5 for "composition" for multiple reasons. Within Composition, I included instrumentation, dynamics, melody, and form. (among others but these were the primary focus points) The instrumentation was good overall, save for the electronic drums. They had a high frequency cut-off the entire song with no variation. In my opinion, in order to "sell" the idea of those drums, you needed to include more electronic elements. This could have been executed very well if done right. On a dynamic front, there didnt seem to be much dynamic variation within each separate voice. You did well at layering many voices to simulate a climax, but there could have been more automation within seperate voices to create more emotion. Your melody was changed often and many times. You had very many variations on your melody within your chord structure, but your chord structure was almost always the same. Your form was a little weird as well. it was fine honestly, but each new section, was almost completely different. Your small clmix moment at around 2:04 was very good, and I loved how you brought it back down, then went back to it, introducing some tambourine-like percussion for more energy, however you ended the piece immediately after this small climax. You almost always want your climax around 2/3 into your piece, then simmer back down to a smooth ending, thinning out the amount of instruments you have.
I honestly don't know why I scored you a 5 in "mixing" as that would apply to the balance of voices in your song rather than more complicated mixing techniques used in an EDM song. I must have had a reason but for the life of me I cant think of why. I apologize for that. Listening back at it now I wouldve given you a 6 or 7 in that category. LUCKILY YOU MADE IT IN!!! (trying not to show me deep regret behind my sweaty clammy smile)
I gave you a 6 in "Originality" because I actually enjoyed your piece in that aspect. It had very well written melodies and great intent and great energy. I simply think it couldve stood out a bit more in the "video game music" genre.
Overall, I think you needed to focus more on changing up the pace and energy of your piece. It was very stoic with the constant and consistent drum pattern, and I really wouldve loved to hear a flute/oboe duet or something. All in all I enjoyed your piece, but I may have judged it a little too seriously being from a strong orchestral background. Dont be discouraged by your score. There were many "low" scores on my part but that was due to what I considered "just ok" or "great" or AMAZING or PERFECT. there were many a song that scored much lower than you.
All that being said you should be very proud of this piece. Especially your melodies which I must highlight again, they were spectacular. Just try to execute the changes a little better ;)
Good luck in the rest of the competition my friend! I look forward to hearing what you make for us!
That's a lot of good advice, and I'm glad I can recognize and agree with all the points that need work! I actually didn't notice it was the same chord progression throughout. I haven't studied much when it comes to music theory so I just mainly focus on melody, which is why I choose to write music in the video game music genre. I'll be sure to focus more on drum variation and different chord progressions in my next song.
Thanks for the review, it's very helpful!
Hello DSyk!
I remember competing with you in last years NGAUC! Now I will be judging your entry along with everyone else's!
I was excited to see your name on the list! I have been reviewing the few pieces that stand out to me (as there are a lot of entries, so i don't review all of them) And I thoroughly enjoyed your orchestral piece! It was a great concierto style piece, a very somber ballad that I could hear being played as a piece in a symphony! Your form, chord progression and tambour changes and flow were all very beautiful! I have been going to school for composition with the goals of composing orchestral pieces so I really appreciated this a lot! I have very little negative things to say about this, your climax point was great, and your outro was also very great.
I can only say that it ended very suddenly. I would've loved to hear the textures thin out a bit more at the end, maybe solo clarinet with only harp accompaniment into just a simple harp luck melody at the end, that being said the ending was still very good! just a little sudden!
Great work and good luck in the first round!!
Hi Trunotfals, thanks for the huge compliment!
Hello adieuwinter!!
I will be one of the judges reviewing your entry to the NGAUC!!
First off I have to say That I love your style!!
I loved the chords you had going on in the intro, very great compositional style!! great jazzy chords and awesome little bends. Youre transitions were really really great (excuse my lack of proper diction to avoid usuing "realy" over and over) but i truly loved it.
The style of the drums you have going on were amazing, so smooth. It sounds like you had a professional drummer drumming just for you. So tasteful, so smooth, so jazzy. (I may be a bit biased, I'm a drummer myself) And I'm honestly curious how you did it. The wholesong just has this laggy little jazzy relaxed vibe to it. each transition was amazing, every thing flowed.
That all being said. I could never understand what the vocals were saying, there was always too much going on with the vocals, and way too much reverb on them. That would be something to definitely work on!
I wish you the best in the competition!!!
Hi trunotfals, thanks so much for the kind words! I noticed the reverb the morning after (was cramming work in til early hours of the morning), it's definitely something i'll note for future reference. I really appreciate your comments and I'll do my best as the competition continues!
Hello 5TanLey!!
I will be one of the judges reviewing your entry into the NGAUC!!!
First off I wanted to say great piece!!
Here are a few things!
I love the overall vibe so much. As a whole I love this song!
The only thing i didnt quite like is the transtions were very awkward. You had a cymbal crash just before the inital drop of each section, and then when it dropped, there was nothing but the traditional Amen break beat. This was not very satisfying to each of your build ups. I would suggest making sure you somehow make each drop section feel like the tension settles, maybe move that cymbal drop right on the down beat, or add a different one in the moment of the drop.
But over all you had great form, and great mixing!
Good luck in the competition!!!
Thanks for review/advice, the song is far from being perfect, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Great percussion and plucks in the beginning. Found you on the scouting list. Love the vibe and energy, great sounds and great mixing! THe only thing I have to say is it is a little repetitive for my own tastes, but very well done! You should be a great addition to the audio portal!
Thanks so much! I did realize it was a bit repetitive, and I'm still working on making songs that aren't as repetitive! :)
“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.” ― George Carlin
Age 30, Male
Metropolitan University of Den
Joined on 4/21/12
Far And Wide 
I Need A Kick 
Power Onion 
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Random Robot Dance ![[Dubstep] - Adamant](https://aicon.ngfiles.com/646/646738_small.png?f1444381317){kind=small}
[Dubstep] - Adamant ![[Dubstep] - Seventh](https://aicon.ngfiles.com/640/640299_small.png?f1440186657){kind=small}
[Dubstep] - Seventh 
