Well, I've been told my music lacks dynamics and has no sense of theory, so I made this song experimenting with both. I played around with the tempo a lot and the time signatures. The song is written in C# minor and the time signatures are 4/4 and 3/4. I'd really like feedback on this. I really do have a hard time wrapping my head around music theory and dynamics so I figured I'd do what I do whenever I'm having a hard time with something. Practice.

[media]http://soundcloud.com/lainalain/a-slave-to-theory[/media]

Thanks for listening.

Great song, it's kind of relaxing to listen to. I don't really know much about music and have no musical background whatsoever, so my feedback might not be worth much .

• I like the tempo overall, but the silences seem to be too long.
• At 0:56 there's something that's missing, I can't really explain it.
• One last *pling* after 2:33 please .
• The end of the song makes me thing there's more to come.Again, I don't know much about music and, these are just some points that I noticed.

Great song, it's kind of relaxing to listen to. I don't really know much about music and have no musical background whatsoever, so my feedback might not be worth much .

• I like the tempo overall, but the silences seem to be too long.
• At 0:56 there's something that's missing, I can't really explain it.
• One last *pling* after 2:33 please .
• The end of the song makes me thing there's more to come.Again, I don't know much about music and, these are just some points that I noticed.
  

Thank you, and trust me your feedback really helped. I'd rather someone put it to me simple and straight like that rather than lord over me with fancy music terms. But I guess that shows how musically ignorant I am when it comes to knowing the terms lol. I understood all of what you meant, and I'll definitely be working on it. Thanks again. =]

Hey,

This is definitely a step in the right direction, keep up the hard work! I still think you can do more with tempo and dynamic changes (especially dynamic changes as I didn't really hear much range with it). Also while I did hear tempo changes, they seem to mostly happen during breaks or pauses in the music. Also I found the various breaks too disruptive to the music. Experiment with ways to make transitions happen in your music instead of just stopping then starting the next section. In my opinion this will help your piece flow better. How about some tempo changes as the ends of phrases like a live performer would do? A slight pull back or pushing forward during an appropriate moment can really help add more emotion. Harmony-wise I didn't care for this piece, to be honest with you. Here are some videos for you to listen to for good references of dynamics and/or tempo:

Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe -

(plenty of dynamics, even in the first minute there's a long, gradual swell)

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker - http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ofMe9RG7-5E (listen to the violins, and later the full ensemble's use of dynamics in the first selection)

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata -

(listen to how the pianist slows down the tempo at some of the ends of phrases or other spots of the music to make it "speak" more effectively. Some of those spots include: 0:48-0:51 with a slight slow down (the term used is ritardando) and 1:25-1:27. Also check out the nice use of dynamics (in this case getting quieter) at 2:10- 2:16. There are plenty more selections and references out there. Listen as much as you can - it really helps give you ideas and more material to use in your own works.

Again, you're taking a step in the right direction but it needs more to really be effective!

Thanks,

Nate

Hey,

This is definitely a step in the right direction, keep up the hard work! I still think you can do more with tempo and dynamic changes (especially dynamic changes as I didn't really hear much range with it). Also while I did hear tempo changes, they seem to mostly happen during breaks or pauses in the music. Also I found the various breaks too disruptive to the music. Experiment with ways to make transitions happen in your music instead of just stopping then starting the next section. In my opinion this will help your piece flow better. How about some tempo changes as the ends of phrases like a live performer would do? A slight pull back or pushing forward during an appropriate moment can really help add more emotion. Harmony-wise I didn't care for this piece, to be honest with you. Here are some videos for you to listen to for good references of dynamics and/or tempo:

Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe -

(plenty of dynamics, even in the first minute there's a long, gradual swell)

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker - http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ofMe9RG7-5E (listen to the violins, and later the full ensemble's use of dynamics in the first selection)

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata -

(listen to how the pianist slows down the tempo at some of the ends of phrases or other spots of the music to make it "speak" more effectively. Some of those spots include: 0:48-0:51 with a slight slow down (the term used is ritardando) and 1:25-1:27. Also check out the nice use of dynamics (in this case getting quieter) at 2:10- 2:16. There are plenty more selections and references out there. Listen as much as you can - it really helps give you ideas and more material to use in your own works.

Again, you're taking a step in the right direction but it needs more to really be effective!

Thanks,

Nate

I am so struggling with harmony right now to the point that it has gotten really ridiculous lol. I really need to work on my phrasing. I know if I worked on it, it would become a lot better and it'd add all the emotion I seem to be missing in my music. Thank you very much for the youtube examples. I learn better with my ears than with my eyes. I really appreciate your critique.

I am so struggling with harmony right now to the point that it has gotten really ridiculous lol. I really need to work on my phrasing. I know if I worked on it, it would become a lot better and it'd add all the emotion I seem to be missing in my music. Thank you very much for the youtube examples. I learn better with my ears than with my eyes. I really appreciate your critique.

Harmony, phrasing and melody get better the more you listen. Listen over and over to all kinds of works by the masters. The more you get quality material ingrained in your mind and ear the easier it will be to raise the level of your own material.

John Williams is also a VERY good resource to listen to for orchestration as well as melody.

Not to toot my own horn but here's a piece of music that I wrote that has some dynamic range and I've included a screen shot of the waveform so you can see it while listening. It's a relatively short piece (roughly 30 seconds) and can be split up into three segments: quiet intro to set the mood -- more dramatic middle section -- climatic point and outro which falls back down to the starting volume. Also notice that each segment transitions into the other creating flow and a steady idea.

http://soundcloud.co...i-can-haz-donut

(The image was removed after I redesigned my website and cleaned out my FTP. Sorry)

http://soundcloud.co...i-can-haz-donut

Nice! Someone has been listening to Danny Elfman...

http://soundcloud.co...i-can-haz-donut

Can I haz the other half? Great piece.

Nice! Someone has been listening to Danny Elfman...

Just a little bit...

Can I haz the other half? Great piece.

Thanks! That's it, the teaser was only 30 seconds long.