ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Frenchie (Piano WIP)]

Much more held together than that previous improv. Much much more. Really very nice melody. It turns so easily here. Both hands are interesting, or perhaps the generally constant change of chords masks the pulse of the left hand, which works just as well. I might just listen to this to learn what you're playing so I can really analyze it. Maybe even collab? I really love this style of music, I just can't get my hands off it. Very nice idea going on here, definitely could benefit from an elongation of more ideas.

drumdude responds:

To be fair, this isn't an improv. I love this type of music as well. Some of the music that started me playing piano was similar to this style.

Not entirely sure about a collab. I'm certainly open to it, but I have very little experience making music and 0 knowledge of theory, so I feel like I wouldn't be much use.

Thanks a lot for the review!

[A Death of a Butterfly]

...what is that voice you're using?! That is the most fantastic program I've ever heard, if it is a program...since that is extremely convincing. In fact, I think everything about this is so very convincing and realistic. Well...I think the rain could use some tweaking. I thought it was a little harsh to be underlying the entire piece, though I did like how it was used as a sweeping filter like introduction. I'm just really blown away by the realism in this song. Yet, for some reason I wasn't really hearing it in an emotional sense. I don't know why. Maybe it is because of the rain kind of stealing from the instrumentals and making the mood kind of gritty. I'd definitely love to hear the instrumentals more in depth. But obviously you did a wonderful job. Much love <3

DesoloZ responds:

Best Services - Forest Kingdom (The Eternal Female Voice)

[A Night to Remeber]

I can see you really tried with getting those different characters, which I think you did a good job with. I have a feeling this was all one take and you were switching voices around in real time? It would help to record in bits so that you can focus on each character more. This could also help with projecting the voice of the characters more efficiently because they felt held back, perhaps due to thinking about transitioning. This could also benefit from at least some sound effects and reverb. With just a small echoy drone and a touch of reverb, I would further understand that it was a cave they were in, and then just cutting those effects off at the end would tell me that the atmosphere changed and the main character woke up. So in general, you've got the foundation of the story and the characters, I just think they need a lot more extra stuff to back them up. Nice work! I liked your Ryan character, I kinda wasn't expecting that demeanor or tone from him.

vinnw541 responds:

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I've been meanin to get around to adding the effects but have been rather busy. And I never even thought of doing them in segments. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks again!

[Sleep Wrapped in Love ~ T]

So that leaves the marimba and I think glockenspiel doing the twinkly stuff? And some extra strings near the end. Oh and a cymbal roll. It's great that you panned the instrumentals to leave your voice in the center, but I'm having difficulty picking out how this connects to the original lol, I guess because you transposed it. I think I can hear that melody line some...anyways, it is always good to hear singing, just wish it was clearer. I think a part of that is mixing issues, but at the end of the day the hardware makes a difference. But, overall nice work!

Troisnyx responds:

+ 4 brownie points!

Thanks for listening by the way! ^_^ And yes, I used a Samson Go mic for this (which is a significantly better mic than the integrated mic I used previously) -- so if anything: it's mixing and reverb.

Changes I made from the original: 1) transposed it from C maj to Ab maj, 2) changed the time signature from 4/4 to 3/4, giving me room to stretch the melody line out quite a bit. I only hope...... it'd be recognisable after a listen or two. o.O

[Minimalism Improv (Piano)]

Pretty good. Yes the last measures were really taking off from the starting idea and were very developed, a song based on that would be great. This improv session seems like a great start to a nice minimalist piece, though I do think the left hand could use some extra spice somehow. Perhaps even more tempo fluctuation would be great, and some more less-obvious dynamic changes. Also, I can't quite tell if you're using pedal or not...but I think it sounds flat and would benefit from either more defined pedal or more reverb. Of course, this is just a quick improv done in one take, so I guess these are just things to think about for the constructed piece. Yeah overall, a nice minimalist start. Nice work!

drumdude responds:

Great review! Reviews like this are especially useful considering I am self taught and know pretty much nothing about the complexities of music, so reviews like this make me think about things I never would have thought about otherwise. I definitely agree about the left hand needing extra spice. I already have a million ideas on how to add to it.
I definitely am using the pedal, but I agree that it sounds a bit flat. Not sure whether it's due to me not using the pedal very well or just something to do with the recording. I will definitely experiment with things like reverb to try to create a more defined sound.
Thanks for the great review! I will definitely think about your points whenever I start writing the actual piece.

[Salvation -> Suffering]

Love that beat. And the ethereal beeping filtering in and out is so mystical. What a perfect blend of hardcore and softcore. But, your idea just falls flat on its face in the end. Were you thinking of more or did you just give up? I felt like the suffering section was going to be the next advancement in the song but then it just said nope and ended. Anyways, nice synthy things and percussions. I really do enjoy this, I just thought it wasn't done speaking.

Anchorwind responds:

You are correct in the incomplete status. It is common for me to release a project that is part-way through its process, and get some feedback from it [I generally have most of my conversations with people via messaging or skype] and re-visit it when it feels right, update the track and inform interested parties of the update. In time, this will likely be longer and progress into harsher territory for the second piece. If you would like to be kept updated, let me know and I will do so.

[Zero Gravity Ballroom]

Omg stoooopppp this is delightful!!!! A waltz!!!! <3

Also, your musical writing is so developed here! The orchestration is perfect and your melodic lines weave around as mystical as a waltz itself. The piano definitely added a serene texture to it all. I personally would have added some percussion to the beginning then have it stop about 60% through. I also think that looping quality could be fixed, but not biggie. Just the timbre of the horns in the beginning is so triumphant and majestique. Excellent. I can't really resist a good waltz. Much loves <333

stunkel responds:

Haha, glad you liked it :D I love anything in 3/4 or 6/8 time. Yeah the looping sounded great in iTunes and logic. I think it might be an issue with newgrounds. But thanks for listening dude! And I'm glad you think my music writing skills are developed. That means a lot to me! Thanks for listening and reviewing!

-Ryan

[Arvid's Airy Attitude]

Cool! Videogameish 8-bit with many twists. Really nice melody that catches on. The dramatic change at 01:22 caught me off guard...at first wasn't sure if I liked it, but it got to me eventually. Ahhh yes especially since now I hear it's like a segue into the melody's key change. Very nice and creative. The ending made me smile with the filter sweeping that last note into the echoing void ha. I really like this, great job!

Mawnz responds:

Thank you very much :D I too was sceptical at first regarding the change at 01:22, but the song needed a little variation ^^ Thank you again for listening and for the very creative review!

[Cafe con Classe]

ANT POINTERS! I love you.

Synthapse responds:

Awwww thx man!

[Backpack]

OhhhHHHHH. Sexy. Nice range. Generic guitar+guy, but changed up a little in the chorus with the marimbly xylophonic things...oh and pizzis how cheerful. Why isn't this a full song?! Your mixing is great, balanced, and fair. Just need to get on with it and write out a nice little bridge and a come-together final chorus. Yep, nice job!

Michael-Flaherty responds:

Yeah, I'm a little self conscious when it comes to my vocals, so maybe that's why I didn't invest my efforts into a full song, but thanks for your kind words. I suppose I could throw a quick bridge in there, that wouldn't be too hard. Thanks a for the comments!