alternativesolution's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lover's Lament]

Someone who would easily notice the intonation issues and further comment on it, must be the creator. :) After listening to everyone's submissions countless times, I'm still happy with this as my vote.

I didn't imagine black and white, personally, but more of a monochromatic red. When the harp harmonics combine with the bass, there is a definite lightening of the red. As for why the color red? Emotion. This one was filled with it - and aah it's so beautiful. Other than that, I can't explain why red came to mind instead of any other color. (I suppose now that it's revealed it had to do with love, well...)

I also didn't imagine the harp representing the woman and the bass representing the man-- What I saw was, in the beginning, a light, fading red, and the bass by itself, a deep, dark red. When they combine in the third segment, the shades continue to decrease and increase, back and forth, in lightness. This is my definition of monochromatic, in its strictest sense. However, it's nice to have a story to go along with it, like you provided above :)

In my opinion, this piece is one of the best examples of a visual concept being applied to an aural one. I posted a similar comment on SkyeWintrest's mock submission, as yours and his do really well with the theme, at least in my eyes. Or rather, ears.

Very beautiful playing of that double bass, by the way. How long have you been playing?

Can't wait to hear your second and third pieces! ^^

bassfiddlejones responds:

Yes, I probably see more mistakes than good things sometimes, haha. Thank you for the vote, I appreciate it greatly! I really enjoyed your comments here, knowing that I've conveyed some emotion or story is what makes music worth doing for me a lot of the time. And I guess I've been playing double bass for... man, 8 years now. Though, I haven't been actively studying it for the last 4 or 5 years, just playing on and off. Thank you again for the review/vote! I liked your piece a lot as well, it came close to getting my vote!

[Trapezoid]

Great composition!

I have a new-found interest in jazz, and seeing this post in the AA thread got me all excited. The playing is excellent, of course, and the quality of the recording is very nice. The expected variety in this piece does not bore me at all, yet at the same time strays from being too random -which I suppose would also bore me. So good job on that. :p

The quiet parts with that lively bass are very refreshing to hear in this busy piece. Quite the unique instrumentation, and with 8 minutes of that, too! If I must pick, my least favorite part is that very abrupt ending. The slight applause certainly startled me.

Overall, lovely stuff.

WilsonMcLeish responds:

Thank you,

I appreciate your critique and positive feedback. I'm glad my music could help you in your search to discover jazz, definitely keep searching, it is such a beautiful and expressive art form. There is a lot of bad jazz out there, if you ever need advice navigating to the good stuff, let me know!

This recording didn't turn out perfect but I'm very satisfied with what we achieved from the only time it's been performed so far...

[Farewell To Color]

Now that you are able to explain it, I can see where you got your ideas from. I think this theme was very difficult to judge, because the theme could have been interpreted in so many different ways.

So, now that I have listened more carefully, I am able to appreciate the sort of storytelling you have put into this-- an original idea, I like that.
Overall - for the contest, and not - I think this is a highly creative piece. I really liked the composition. Interesting ideas, for sure.

I do agree that a lot could be done with the piano. (I'm not exactly a pro at mastering, either :P)
Also, for that sort of double-ending you have there...if you could somehow connect it -- maybe even with a little decay before the second one hits -- then the cohesiveness issue could be addressed a little better.

Ah, I didn't get any votes, either, but, you know. My piece *did* end up being pretty long, as you mentioned in your mini review (thank you for that, by the way!), and I'm not sure everyone was able to see my take on the theme, either (being a single chord over and over in a monochromatic world). Anyway, that's all over now.

I do hope to hear more pieces from you in the rest of the contest! I will be expecting just as much creativity :)

[Monochromatic As I'll Be]

Ah, so they were lyrics indeed! Well, you already have my theme-based mini review for the contest; now, here's a review purely on the music:

I reeaally like it. As stated before, the electronic piano thing, along with the bass and drums, gives this song a very melancholic, dancey feel. I really wish I could hear the lyrics better, though. It's hard to hear them through the vocoder D: I didn't like that, as you already know.
But, now that I am able to read them, I'd like to point out how great they are! They are very sweet. I love them. Aah.
I also really like the overall feel this song is giving off. The vibe is just so familiar and comfortable. There are few songs I've heard that have both great intros and outtros, and yours is definitely one of them. I was hooked right from the start. It's so catchy, too! In a bittersweet kind of way. Great rhythm, and your sounds mesh very, very nicely together.
Anyway, lovely job on this. Can't wait to hear your piece for the second and/or third phases of the contest, if you'll be participating in the rest ! (I hope you do) ^__^

SourJovis responds:

Thanks very much. Glad you like it. Not sure if you would actually want to hear the vocals without vocoder though once you know what they sound like.

[~SW~ Colorless]

Had to share the imagery :3 Here it is:

There is very nice ambiance throughout the piece. Some hints of mystery and wonder here and there. The instruments you have, and the way in which you use them, actually exhibit a very undefined color, sprinkled all over the place in an organized fashion.
This is pretty much the epitome of one particular take on this theme, Monochromatic World. You've got this one color here, but it is quickly taken away, fading so quick that you forget it was there in the first place, kind of like how you add in shades of white and black to change the shade of the chosen color without altering its hue. A soft, and definitely intriguing piece.

SkyeWint responds:

Thanks, man! You really had some great thoughts about it. :)

[- Lullaby -]

Excellent!

Quality, composition...all of it is very well done. I honestly can't think of much critique. Your strings are perfect for this piece, and complement the piano wonderfully. Very beautiful melodies, and equally so with your playing. Soft, nice, and yes. I think I will try listening to this before I fall asleep tonight. :)

The only thing that prevents an easy drifting away into restful sleep is the very last note by the strings that suddenly rises in volume. It's only slightly startling, because it brings you right back into the piece and away from the clouds, grounding you back to Earth.
The ending piano notes would have sufficed just as well. However, this is just a very tiny complaint, and solely for the purpose of which this piece was made for; I will probably fall asleep long before it ends :)

Again, very beautiful piece! Instant favorite.

[City in the Night Time]

I hope this isn't it? This sounds pretty good, minus the clicky drums sounds on the ears before the kick hits- those make it sound somewhat messy, and are definitely too loud, in my opinion.

I really do like your melody though, and this is a great song idea! Mark it as a WIP next time because it definitely doesn't sound finished- if you do finish it, I'd love to hear it!

[piano thingy (WIP)]

I tried doing what I could with the score, I mean it's not really 0.84 stars quality :P

So here's some of that feedback. Hm...what I think you need is some more variation. Not in melodies...no. I'm thinking in instrument use. You've actually got some pretty good ideas here, but there is an overall feeling of disjointedness throughout the whole song. Kind of empty, too.
Try to work on your transitions! I do see that this is WIP, so there's still plenty of room for improvement.

As for your drums, they sound too loud, too, specifically the snare. Or just the snare, actually. I'm terrible with sound design and similar things, but I can recognize that there could be more tone to them, too.
Your bass gets really weak after 1:25, and I think it really adds to the emptiness of the song, considering you have just 3 sounds going on- drums, bass, piano. If you want to stick with the drum n bass category, put that bass back in there!

Based on what you named this .. "piano thingy", I think you are well aware that this is nothing close to what you think you are actually capable of doing, or at least you know that there is much more to be done to this piece. Right now it sounds like a dump of good ideas hopelessly glued together by laziness and/or lack of inspiration.

Make those good ideas stand out! Try adding something in for harmony, bringing back that bass, and just making everything *flow*. Also, effects! (I am very bad with this) Effects can really make simple stuff sound even more amazing if done right. So fool around with those!

Yoshiii343 responds:

Ah, I will definitely add in more instruments...probably some strings...and something else I suppose.

More layering of the snares, then. (Or more EQing)
The bass being really weak after 1:25 is intentional.

>Right now it sounds like a dump of good ideas hopelessly glued together by laziness and/or lack of inspiration.

Ouch, right in the truther.

I'll try to add in harmony...and I'm scared of effects...besides distortion.

[Waterfall]

Oh, I like!

Nice guitar stuff, and voice! Your vocals sound a little too quiet against the guitars, though, especially when singing low, so if you can, maybe up that a bit? For your outtro, I think that soft part was just really great as an ending. And I like the quiet part from 3:00-3:40 a lot. Overall, interesting melodies, and good sounds :)

LionzNTiggerz responds:

Hey, thanks a lot. I really appreciate the review. The part at 3:00 is one of my favs, too.

Maybe I will boost the vocals a little bit.. I was sensitive about my voice, but everyone keeps telling me I have a nice voice :) If I'm gonna make changes, the other change i would make would be turning the drums down on the quiet part... they've wound up being quite loud somehow.

Thx

[This is where it ends]

I actually think this is a pretty decent idea... you had my attention right from the beginning. And I can't just dismiss this song because it doesn't have a proper ending and ultimately goes nowhere, so I'll tell you my thoughts on what you have so far:
Cool!

:P Seriously, whenever you get the motivation or inspiration to come back to this, you should. (or I could finish it for you! Haha) I do see a couple of ways that it could go.
So, it's actually kinda catchy. Not bad. Drums are bit a loud, and yeah, the end killed me. Like a decent movie with a horrible ending, and you just don't want to watch it again because you know you will just end up hurt.

FairSquare responds:

Sadly, i don't have the song file anymore. Formatted my PC and.. yeah.. it's goooone :O
But i'm glad you see something in it. Although i really wouldn't know how to continue this.
If i had the file i'd have you let your way with it.. but yeah :/ It's a pity, because i'd like to see what you had in mind.
Ah well..
Thanks for the review though! :)