MaestroSegments's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[KoT - Mightnights]

Awesome

Hello Killer_of_trolls

lets begin our review by analysing mood and atmosphere the song presents.

Those tubelar bells introduction serves to make for a good ominious feeling. At that point I was thinking he could go all holy dark, or tense dark, and when the strings clicked into place right away the tense harmony came into being.

I like the string/bells combo, they wack a good wallop together. The mood is definatly set in.

Lets talk about instruments and melody works

The piano in the background of those bells, at the beginning, and again near 1:18, I question myself, what would they sound like, if they were softened. I think right now they're a tad too harsh.

If you cut their velocity to half, and copy pasted like 5 times, you'd get a softer, and more "reverbed" kind of feel, which I think may serve a better purpose. It's not a professional trick, but one I use from time to time ;).

I like the various strings, you've used different elements from different strings sections to really drive a unique feeling home. Especially around 0:48 with those strings there, they really worked well.

I know this is an older piece, still I think you overused those bells, they work great, but near the middle you have them loop I think 4 or so times, it makes them lose their power.

The only thing I can think of adding to this song would be slow string chords, not so much as to add melody or mood, but as a foundation assistance, to enhance the other instrments.

Thats all I can think of for now Killer_of_trolls. Good stuff man, keep them coming ^^. Glad to see you still submitting.

Slayer-of-trolls responds:

Yeah, I really like this piece. I think it does set a dark, tense mood. I do have a few more ideas on what to do with this mainly adding some more strings at around the :49 mark.

Thanks for the review soulstrings. I've listen to all your music already and enjoy it.

[i2 - Burst]

Impressive

Hello i2abbitz.

I've been meaning to leave you a review for a WHILE now, I kept thinking I did, and then realized that all the thoughts I had written about your pieces, never actually made it on here, so lets change that shall we?

Lets begin our review by analysing mood and atmosphere the song presents to the listeners shall we?

That piano start had a kind of angry, sad start to it. As if a person was standing against a loose barrage of energy, and the way the song accumulates only furthers this image.

At 0:41 the song forcefeeds all of its energy down my throat and makes me knock my chair back and dance. At around 1:21 the song calms down, and around 1:40 starts to build up again.

Energetic, I suppose is the best word to infuse with this song.

That piano ending makes me think that the person standing in defience losteded :'(

>:(

Lets talk a bit about melody and instruments.

I would say your repetitive use of that loop in the background would be bad, but you've added layer after different layer makes the song diverse enough to completely hide that fact, and hide it well.

Now I know this is purely my classical side just spitting in my face, but I keep hearing these french horns in my mind, that would compliment the melody just perfectly! Of course I don't really expect you to consider it, this is just my over active imagination >:D!

I know that synth program you're using for those high pitchy sounds, but I forgotelled its name, you will have to tell me please ^^. I want to try making some Trance/Techno myself you see, and I will need nice synths like these.

Nice use of the pads in the background. I also liked the gated instrument you have slamming in my face around 2:08, excellent stuff.

Thats all I can think about for now i2abbitz, keep your chin up and the spirit strong. Above all keep them coming ^^.

Goodbye i2abbitz.

[Blue Summer]

Nice

Hello orange_peel

Lets begin our review by talking about mood and atmosphere.

This song's mood is a very laid back one, but a bold one. Like the sunlight streaking through the window of a fort you know, peaceful, but strong. Resilant and resistant. This mood is nailed on the dot the moment you bring in that violin.

For some reason I see that window, with that light shining down it, gently feeding a small frail plant that managed to make a home in the cracks of the floor. The brass makes me think of voices outside, farmers, gaurds being ordered around. A peaceful life.

Sorry, my images are always medieval :D.

Anyways, lets talk a bit about instruments and melody.

The instruments are really well used, they flow well together. I didn't hear clashing parts. I felt that the melody was woven well. It tells a story, and does so with the same voice it starts.

I wonder, how this song would sound like if you added a flute as well. I can imagine a flute so well with the brass in this piece. I think a flute would have really given that "summer" feel.

The melody is diverse, yet simple.

That is all I have for this song orange_peel, good stuff, keep your chin up, and the spirit strong, keep them coming ^^.

[Dryad Whispers]

Good stuff

hello Grumbleduke.

lets being our Review by looking at the mood and atmosphere this song presents.

My first thought is that harp. It sounds very serene, very laid back. I must ask where you get your samples, I am quite fixated by them. I am not looking at your title, so the image I paint for you is purely the image I get from the song itself.

I see a great open field, with long blades of grass sticking out, swaying lightly to the winds gentle push. At around 1:09, I see a scarecrow in the middle of the field. Alone, yet smiling. A child is leaning against the stick holding up the scarescrow as he gazes up to the sky.

A brilliant, vivid image. One I am glad you were able to invoke.

Lets talk a bit about the instruments and melody.

As I stated earlier before, the harp opening was very pleasent. Normally I would suggest adding more to the song, but I feel the solo harp opening would suffice plenty.

That flute melody, now there I feel you could expand on easily, I would have liked to hear you bring in a counter melody with another flute, preferrably up on octave. Points like 0:49 is a great point to go into duel flute action! I liked the oboe segment. It was the oboe that made me thing of the scarecrow, something dead, sad, yet happy at its place.

The double flute thing idea goes again around 1:46 where the deep cello stops.

Overall impression was pretty good Grumbleduke. I won't lie, I felt the song also had a bit of a cliche feel, it sounded done before, but thats not to say anything about your skill. I would have liked to hear a more diverse, a bit more spicy happy ;).

In the end however, you are the creator, and I the mere suggestor, take what you will from the review, it is entirely up to you.

5/5 from me Grumbleduke, keep up the good fight, and keep them coming ^^.

Grumbleduke responds:

Ah, a new face :).

To begin with, during the original creation of this, I was not gifted with time (this was the last song in a line of others for a project), so I know there could be more to it. I happen to like it very much the way it is, but would like to improve it at some point. Why didn't I think of double flutes!? Brilliant idea!

As for the sounds, the harp is just GarageBand MIDI; no loops or samples have been used in this, it's all off the soundcard. The oboes are actually bassoons taken up to treble register, because they are so much more mellow sounding than the oboes are. Weird.

Thank you for a somwehat extensice review (for which I am more appreciative than you'd think). Good luck out there :D

[§Zellbot§ Theme song]

10's across the board!

I know everything now!

You know who this is ;).

50/5 for you!

[Roll]

Woh...

very dark, very dijointed melodies.

The atmosphere is that of a calm madness, like a vile corrupted disease calmly fusing with the mind.

A very strange, original piece. I absolutely adored it, I have no suggestions on how to make it wierder. I deem this an experimental success.

Good stuff Professor_Doom, good stuff indeed.

[Galactic summer (3:27)]

Neat

Hello WinTang

Lets begin our review with mood and atmosphere this song presents.

Its definately a jazzy piece, i'm not going to lie to you, its not my type of music, but I know good music when I hear it.

I see celestial dancing with this piece, like a 70's disco, but several thousand miles in space. Smooth, sweet, and laid back.

It morphs pretty quickly with that jazz and piano duet segment, a lonely segment really. I feel a kind of desolute feeling really.

Lets talk a bit about instruments and melody.
The intro was pretty good with that pad? like instrument. I found the melody was pretty neat, again since it's not my type of music per say, I didn't find it that catchy, but I did still enjoy it.

The percussional beats were simple, but effective in their little dance.

I suppose thats all I have to say about this piece, sorry for the short review, I don't have any suggestions for this piece ^^.

Good stuff, keep up the good fight, and keep them coming.

WinTang responds:

Thanks you, your review was still longer than average!
Shame you don't like jazz though, it's awesome and very flexible for crossing over with other types of music. Having heard your music, I'd say listen to some Debussy and Ravel (if you haven't already) to see what I mean.
But thanks for your appreciation :)

[Bosa Revolution]

Interesting...

Hello Bosa. I am glad to see you submit something, lets begin our review with the mood and atmosphere your song presents.

The subtle, soft beginning was pretty neat, convinient, happy, innocent, and on a lesser scale, but not insignifcantly, hopeful. The harp really did work out, quite glad you put that in there, really gives it a neat twist.

at 0:50 when you bring in that choir. I was very taken by it. It sounds very real, is that your voice? If it is, its a wonderful voice, and works well with reverb. It gives me an image of a women, probably of celtic origin, slightly dancing through a field of flowers.

All is good.

Suddenly at 1:14 the sky turns red, swirling clouds of black rage manifest to consume the sky and light the sun would want to shower the ground with.

The dark choir there, did what it was meant to do. As well as those strings that followed shortly after.

I liked the layer you added on the strings at 1:53, it gave it a much more darker feeling, yet it was a suffering darkness, a darkness bent on crushing only because of the pain it went through before. A man in black robes, standing in the flower field, watching this women, as the flowers around him begin to die.

The women looks up with fear in her eyes at 2:37, and begins to venture towards him. Holding his angry gaze, she carefully makes her way to him. She holds his face at 2:50.

Unexpectantly the man's eyes begin to water, and his hands drop to his side, and he gazes up to the sky. A single tear strikes down the ground, and he begins to crumble away.

Sorry, for the long story, this is just what I get from listening to it.

Now to talk a bit about instruments and melody.

I feel some background strings, low octaves would help make this song more powerful, some right chords could have that beginning extremely powerful stuff. I liked the silence you presented around 0:53.

I'm also thinking, when the really dark music comes in, an organ. Some bells, and an organ. Epic destructive evil, a reckoning of absolute chaos. You present this feeling with the brass here as well, I just feel it would have been better emphasised with the addition of these bells.

The brass part was a tad saturated for me too, but again my earphones suck, it just as you said, helps me focus on the song ;).

Also as a contradictory idea, perhaps having a flute in those parts too. Kind of like Ying-Yang thing, you know, happy flute, evil flute, happy flute, evil flute kind of thing.

This is what I get from this song Bosa, keep up the good fight, I really enjoyed it.

[Ice Princess(in memoriam)]

Awesome

Lets begin our review by analysing the mood and atmosphere the song sends.

Begins off on a very dark key, a very omnipotent kind of voice really. I get a lot of anger in this piece. Its subtle, but its there, in massive supply embedded deeply in there. Kind of overpowers the sorrow.

A feeling of being lost is in here too, I imagine wandering in icy caverns for weeks on end, no means or even desire to get out. I like it here, cold, desolete, and void from any distracting aspects of life.

The image I get is that of an Ice Princess dancing in total darkness, a single ray of light from the ceiling shines down, allowing glimpses of her every once in a while, but all is silent.

A very interesting image and story I get, lets get to the instruments and melody.

I really like the introduction of that oboe at 0:46, it is one of the key factors that made me envision the embedded anger. It also serves as a great way to usher in the rest of the pieces.

1:16, that large bang followed up by another smash at 1:22 launches into another feeling. A noble, defiant feeling. Great use.

I really like the repetitive methods you used to end the piece. Suffering that doesn't end.

I wonder what this song would sound like with a harp, playing with the piano. Or an organ, an organ would in my opinion really gave it some exotic and powerful imagery.

I don't have much time, so i'm afraid ill have to cut the review short here. Please listen to my track, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.

5/5 from me sorohanro, keep them coming, this was powerful stuff.

sorohanro responds:

wow...i mean, wow...!somebody really listened my music.thanx, that is probably the best review.you'r right,i was angry and sad at the same time.and i had in mind harp but somehow begining sounds better with piano, so i decided to use it for the rest of the song...to end like it begin.thanx again

[-Orr-(ST) Love]

Awesome

Hello DavidOrr

Lets begin our review by analysing mood and atmosphere.

heh, there is really not much to analyse, its a very happy, love torn song. I swear to god, the first three notes made me think of "You are my Sunshine!"

A very hopeful, bright future feel comes from this piece. Yet the image I get from it is quite strange. I an old man sitting on a bench, in Autamn, leaves falling in great numbers, in a park somewhere. The birds are leaving, people on bikes just going by him. He smiles, his love for this spot, this time is great, and unfaltering.

A great image.

Lets talk a bit about instruments.

Great work on that piano, I mean come on, you seem to play pretty damn well. Sets the mood right away. I also like the level of reverb going on here, enough to really make it special, but not enough to wash out the rest of the instruments.

I think those spic strings should be abit louder.

I also feel the flute was a tad bit overpowering. I like the idea of strings and flute playing the same melody, makes for a neat sound, though I can't help wondering how it would if you had it play a counter melody. When that flute goes on by itself, I feel it makes itself really heard.

You lost some points in clarity, because I had to really strain to hear those strings in the background, didn't even realize it until the third time I listened to the song.

Did you reverb that flute like a madman? I really like it, but I think you may have gone a little overboard ;).

I have nothing to add or remove from this song DavidOrr, very powerful stuff. I would like your feedback on my piece, I think you have a great understanding of music.

Keep them coming DavidOrr, I know you will go wherever you want to, and beyond that.