Please, any and all feed back is welcome! I wrote this with the theme of calming a giant beast into complacency, instead of the old Hack-n-Slash-everything-in-my-way mentality. I present, Soothing the Giant!

Hey, 

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your work! When I read your description, I had much different idea of what the piece would sound like than what I heard when I played it. You used words like "calming" and "soothing" but your music is pretty aggressive actually. From both a production stance as well as a harmonic and melodic sense. 

Because of this, I think folks may be thrown off by your music. Since you're using lower quality virtual instruments or samples, take some time to add reverb and really try and product these sounds to be as pleasing as possible. Overall, your drums are way too loud in the mix. Also take a look at the layers you have in your piece and see how you can make the arrangement have more progression and take the listen on a journey. As it is, the listener basically gets everything right way with little diversion from that texture/intensity from the duration of the piece. 

Also when I listen to your piece, I'm having a hard time really finding a melody or hook that the average listener/player would be able to hum and remember after hearing your piece. 

Sorry to provide critical feedback but I hope it helps you! 

Thanks again for sharing! 

Nate

On 6/6/2018 at 9:19 PM, nsmadsen said:

Hey, thanks for the criticism! I need these kinds of pointers! That was an early piece, while still learning my software! I realize now that I errantly misrepresented myself. Dynamics and sound mastering are hard when you use the format for production I use. (Musescore-->Audacity--->produced.) Might that you would be interested in reviewing another?

 

Is there a particular reason you use Musescore as your main composition software? I would consider investing in a DAW if you want to efficiently create music.

Audacity is a DAW...I thought.

A more traditional DAW for music creation, such as Pro Tools, Ableton Live, FL Studio, etc. Having one of these at your disposal is practically necessary in order to create music efficiently today.

I have often thought of this, but so many people just use samples...I can't actually play any instruments very well. I also don't really understand all of Audacity's capabilities, either. I originally began writing music on Groovemixer and using Freesound for sampled pitches, but never looped phrases....I looked for the tones themselves, Piano--A#, Trumpet---C4, etc. When I found Ensemble Composer for android, I went crazy and started learning every thing about music I could to better understand and implement the knowledge. 
  Inevitably I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to use samples. Occasionally, I can pick out a decent riff on the piano or guitar, but I always end up putting it into Musescore and building on it.
  How would I use Pro Tools WITH my Musescore music? I actually was investigating Pro Tools this morning in response to your earlier comment.

You can import the MIDI content that you've created in Musescore into Pro Tools (the reverse is true as well I believe). If you seriously considering a future as a composer, I would recommend trying out various DAWs and see what one you like best. Creating music in Musescore is just too slow and contains less functions compared to something like Pro Tools.

I started out just like you, using only sample loops to construct songs. I think that creating music without them is more fulfilling, but it did help me understand how to structure music.

Thanks for all the advice, mate! You bring up another area I struggle with...I have no idea how to fully utilize my equipment. I have had a less than affluent life, and this is the first computer I've ever owned (I'm still paying it off.) I'm sure that I have absolutely no idea about the nuances and full capabilities of even Musescore. I acquired a decent mic and a computer interface to do some live recording, but again I'm not even 100% on how to fully use Audacity, either. Having done some research, I can indeed see the difference between Audacity and more conventional DAWs. Everywhere I read said Audacity was great for mastering....So obviously I'm not even doing THAT part right....The youtube videos on DIY mastering leave much to be desired...I export each instrument from a song on musescore with an empty staff on the bottom for dynamic reference (Musescore needs a relative staff or the dynamics on a single staff won't be played back,) then somewhere during the equalization, compression and limiting I mess up....My usual steps start with a "Normalization" (Audacity effect), equalization (Bass boost for lower register instruments and tones, bass and treble on the percussion, treble boost on high lead tones,) then I'll do a compressor(No idea what it does, but it helps even the waveform out,) then a reverb setting with an average room size of 76. However there is still so much more that I have no idea what does....I've even tried to experiment with Wah-wah and Phaser, but I always just make a mess....
   Any way, thanks again, man. I'll be using Pro Tools soon! 

In case you don't know, there is a big difference between mixing and mastering. Mixing is adjusting everything from the volume, to panning, to effects and combining them all to create the best music possible. Mastering is getting the already-finished song and putting it in its final format to be released. In that case, Audacity is great for mastering, just not for mixing.

Since you are about to use Pro Tools, find yourself a great tutorial that covers basic fundamentals. Don't jump ahead and create massive songs at first. Another tip I would give is to not an effect or plug-in just because someone told you to use it. Not every instrument needs to be EQ'd and compressed for example. Take time to learn what each plug-in does to a sound and decide for yourself whether you need it.

Good luck!