BlazingDragon's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Breach Birth- [Tamadrum]]

I'm floating

Lovely soundscape. It's a perfect "get lost in my thoughts" kind of song.

-Good attention to details (Velocities, etc)
-Cool sounds. Are those bowed crotales at the beginning?
-Love the subtleties such as the low, muffled, percussive bass sound and the cymbal-like thing.
-It gets really cool at :54 when the percussion picks up and. The muffled piano sound creates a great timbre.
-I liked the difference in pitch between the cymbals at :55 and those at 1:22. It added a varying color that was well placed.
-The first note had good attack and demanded attention. Nice.
-The fade out ending was very fitting. Nice again.

This piece brings a strong image of water to me. Just floating through an ocean of colors, with gently pulsating lights enveloping me. It feels sort of hollow, but relaxing. Strangely meditative.

A little short, but a great ambient track nonetheless. My only critique is that at 1:08, it felt a bit odd when the cymbal fell out. I can't even explain why. It just felt a bit off to me. Keep it up.

Tamadrum responds:

Why hello there handsome! :-) Muchas Gracias for the review. That was very in-depth.

[<MWA> What if...]

Beautiful, albeit unvaried

I like the track a lot! It is ambient, relaxing, and emotional. I have listened to it on repeat for probably twenty minutes, and I'm still enjoying it.

Pros:
-Great playing. Phrasing is good and contributes to a sort of swaying feel. Little pauses here and there are nice. The dynamics are varied. No noticeable mistakes.
-I adore dissonant chords like those at 1:57 and 2:37. Very diminished sounding and haunting.
-Good quality. No sounds distortions, etc.

Suggestions:
-For a three minute piece, it was not varied as much as I would have liked. The left hand accompaniment figure was consistent through the entirety of the piece and could have used some modification for interests sake.
-The same chord progression and style was present through the entire piece. It would have been nice to hear some sort of contrast in order to break monotony. The piece is wonderful as background music, and if that is all that you want of it, you've done fine. If you want this to be a piece that people really listen to, though, there needs to be contrast. There are several things you could do. Broaden the use of register and extend more into the piece. Change the rhythmic patterns. Use counterpoint. Use more than single notes in the right hand. Use some block chords. Change tempo and dynamics. Create an entirely different middle section that stands apart stylistically. There are tons of options.

Peaceful, contemplative, lovely. Lulling and repetitive, though. I would have liked to have heard a bit more of a climax, but this serves as good scene/background music. Probably more fitting for the ambient genre due to minimalism. Nice job, and keep it up. I'd love to hear more from you! :)

mjattie responds:

THANKS blazingdragon!

suggestion 1: true, but I wanted to keep it simple, though you're right, I did it the lazy way, but I made a piano sheet for it, so I had to stick to what I wrote.
suggestion 2: true, but well, I really wanted to keep it simple (that's what people also like to listen to (I think) :P and I'll be studying composing for the media next year, so I'm also trying to make something that'd fit under a movie.

My next song, will be my biggest ever, the first 2 minuits will be build-up and then there will be a surprise :P well

I'd really like it if you'd check it out (a) (I'm quite a big fan of your stuff, I found out about it last week)

[*- Orchestral Demo -*]

Inspiring

This is beautiful! The melody is so sweet and the chords are so lush....I love it! It sounds like film score material to me. The oboe in particular is fantastic. What did you do to compose this as far as hardware and software?

Now hurry and finish this gosh darnit!

Jebbal responds:

Ah I've had this all in my head for years and I'm finally starting to make it happen. I agree, I'm going for a movie music feeling! This is all done with fl studio and edirol orchestra, but I'm probably going to start over and use eastwest stuff. There are lots of little velocity and volume automation clips to help it sound more realistic.

And I will not hurry! I'm going to take my time! lol

Thanks for the review!

[[KgZ} Piano Collab "A minor"]

Nice!

I love the use of chord extensions and passing tones. It gives the tune a very lush feel to it. Not quite jazzy, but very beautiful. It almost reminds me of a song from one of the Miyazaki films for some reason. Like Howl's Moving Castle. The only part I don't like is the note at 26 seconds. It sounds quite sour to me, but that is probably personal preference. Nice dynamic subtleties and piano quality! Was this recorded? How much do you know about music theory?

KgZ responds:

hmm, the note at :26 is a B, which is part of the chord in that measure, E7 (E-G#-B-D). Anyways, yeah this was recorded using line-in/out on my yamaha keyboard. For a solo piano piece, midi piano doesn't usually offer the right dynamics or tone that you can get out of a piano, or a nice piano-sounding keyboard. I know a good amount of music theory by the way.

Thanks for listening man :D

[Solus- From Zanarkand]

I love To Zanarkand

This song has always been a favorite of mine. It was the first song that I ever taught myself to play on the piano, making it a piece that is very close to my heart. It is so emotionally intense.

That being said, I feel as if your rendition was too similar to the original. The piano line was quoted nearly verbatim, which is why I had to knock down the score to an 8. I feel as if this mix just didn't offer enough originality. :( Here are my thoughts on the arrangement.

-Strings: Added a nice layer to the soundscape. Simple, but effective. Perhaps a tad bit overpowering at times.
-Piano: Not a big fan of the sample. It sounded like a mix between an electric and acoustic piano, along with some bells. While you pulled off some wonderful dynamics at points, I wish there were more subtleties to make it realistic. A real pianist naturally accents the first and third beats slightly and uses gradual crescendos and decrescendos to create good phrasing. This was a bit too mechanical.
-Tempo: If you listen to the original version of this song or arrangement for FFX: Piano Collections, you will find that it is simply teeming with rubato and tempo variations. This is what breaths so much life and emotion into a piano track of this style. The chord at the end is a prime example; I was really expecting a ritardando there. It would have been SO much more satisfying!

You've done an excellent job transcribing the piano line, but I feel as if it lacks any originality. Try to throw in your own style, work on tempo changes (Very easy to manage in FL Studio) and you'll be set. I hope that helps at all.

Keep it up! :D
~Blaze

SolusLunes responds:

Aye, it was very similar, wasn't really trying to remix it at all.

Eh, it's an older piece and I've gotten better. :D

[Village Of Reese]

I dig! :D

Posting new songs without PMing me? What's this all about! :P

(I don't have much time and this is a short song, so I'll leave a relatively short review.)

Firstly, I love the samples. The guitar sample is wonderful. Is it a free sample? Which piano sound are you using?

As for the actual loop, I really enjoy it. The chord progression is peaceful and bittersweet. The violins add to that feel. The high register piano line is very pleasant and adds a nice layer. The piano part at :37 was one which I enjoyed. The guitar harmony was very enjoyable and smooth. I liked the few guitar chords following :30. This would work well as the theme for a small farm or port village.

I really don't have much criticism. When it loops, it is slightly choppy, but that is likely due to my computer. Also, I would like it to be longer. While it is nice, it would be a bit monotonous to listen to for long periods of time. Another section or two with some different instrumental textures would help make it easier to listen for extended periods as you would in a video game. Also, when the instruments (except for guitar) dropped at :27, it felt just barely choppy. I am being extremely picky here, but only because there are not many faults in the song that I can gather.

Nice job, but a little more length would be nice. I'm excited to hear more of your works. You are improving greatly! :D

~Blaze

Zero123Music responds:

Oh! Hello again - the reason I didn't PM cos you said you were busy with school and all and I didn't want to annoy you as I am submitting 14 different pieces.

Thankyou very much once more - I will try and make my new pieces that are similiar to this have more sections as I know what you mean and this will become annoying.

(All the samples are totally free! Most from Hammersound :-D)
But Thanks For The 8!

[{CW} Peaceful Dreams]

Beautiful

I love the chord progression. It is nice and simple, well paced and beautiful. The melody flows nicely and conveys that sense of peace.

When I listen to this, I think of the town where I grew up. I see myself atop the nearby mountain after a long day of hiking, sitting next to my older brother. A brilliant sunset envelopes the sky, and we marvel at the magnificence of God's creation. There is a feeling of serenity and security, and I cannot help but wish that those few seconds would last an eternity. For the first time in ages, I feel as though I am alive. I feel genuine joy. I smile.

This track carries a feeling of reminiscence, and with it, bitter-sweetness. It makes me remember the good times, but makes me slightly sad that they are in the past.

You've made a nice little track! It is soothing to say the least. You employed a nice amount of reverb and added some nice touches such as the notes at 1:22-1:23ish. The last rhythm at 2:19 was a good way to end it. As for advice, dynamics are lacking. The song is fairly stagnant in that regard. Employ more contrast in volume and you will reach the listener on a much deeper level. Also, subtle tempo changes would make it sound more realistic. I'm assuming that you are using FL Studio, and there is a really convenient way to work tempo changes in it if you are interesting.

Good job and keep it up! :D
~Blaze

CrimzonWolf777 responds:

thx for the review. btw nice image to the song lol
yes i am using FL Studio. I know this song sounded "fruity" for give me for that...didnt have a good piano sound at the time. Now that I do, I can make this sound like it wasnt from FL Studio like most of my other songs. And thx for the advice. ^_^v

[NES Ducktales - The Moon]

Manny memories...:D

This pleasant little loop brought back some fond memories. Duck Tales was an excellent game with wonderful music. The Moon theme has always been my favorite and I've meant to remix it for some time now. You've inspired me to get around to doing it!

The drums work well enough and the song loops nicely. The synths added a nice feel. I wish that you would take a bit more of an original approach, however. While this works, it is more switching instruments than actual arranging. A variation in chord progression, melodic rhythm, meter, or the addition of an original solo would have been nice. I realize that this is a short loop, but it is still too similar to the source material in my opinion. Subtleties such as velocity could also use just a bit of work. Also, it may just be me, but the tempo at the beginning of the loop seems just a tad bit faster than the ending. I'm probably just imagining that though.

Nice job as a whole, but lack of originality kept it from being a 10/10.

Keep it up,
~Blaze :)

cycerin responds:

I fully agree, I could have done a proper remix, and I intend to actually do it at some point. What I wanted to do was just recreate the song into a loop, it was stuck on my brain at the time.

I want to do some stuff to the other tracks from that game, imagine an orchestral version of the Transylvania theme. :D

[Thinking In Slow Motion]

Amazing

Such a powerful piece...I can't help but sit back and close my eyes as my past flashes before me. Bittersweet memories of my childhood come to mind, and I think about how much I've changed over the last few years. I also remember the tough times in life as I listen. It is sad, but I realize how they have built my character. This is a wonderful song for inner reflection and reminescence. It carries beauty and sadness, bringing back sad memories and yet providing me with hope as I look forward to what the future has in store.

Musically speaking, it is a solid composition which I thoroughly enjoyed. The electric guitar and strings at the violin just about brought me to tears. The chord progression tugs at the heart like no other, and the oboe that comes in really adds to that bittersweetness.

Great job, you're awesome! :D
~Blaze

SuperGoodSound responds:

A lot of times it takes hearing person after person tell me from different points of view what the a song like this really is about. I think much of the time I don't even pay attention to what I'm creating - as long as I finish it. To hear so many people remark later on concerning the defining qualities of it makes everything worth it.

[.:-{Denial}-:.]

Impressive!!! :D

This is EASILY my favorite piano solo from you. The chord progression is nice, the melody is simple, and everything flows very seamlessly. No crazy dissonant chords, no odd rhythyms, not even any arpeggios. Just a simple, beautiful piano line and some strings. That's the way I like it! :D

I love the texture. It isn't cluttered at all and makes for a song that is very pleasent to sit back and chillax to. :P I also noticed how you incorperated dynamics from note to note and added slight fluxuations in the tempo. In that regard, this is probably your most convincing piano line in terms of authenticity. The octave melody in the high notes is very elegant. It made me smile. :)

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of is the ending. I felt like the strings dropped just a little suddenly at the end. Oh, and this is too short. I was digging it, and then it ended. What the heck?! I want more! >:-)

Really, wonderful job on this one. I was very impressed by how crisp the piano sounded and how you used dynamics, tempo, and reverb to your advantage. The strings were a nice touch, and the song was over all very easy to listen to.

5/5, 10/10
~Blaze

Tamadrum responds:

Thanks Blaze! I'm always happy to have you review my music, Your reviews always help to improve. I think I made a midi of this, so I could go back and add to it when I have some time...