Since I've joined this site, I've been doing a lot of composing. I try to to different types and different themes. I feel that largely each song I write gets better, but I still have this nagging feeling that my music isn't on par. It's different than a lot of what I hear, but I can't convince myself if that's a good thing.

http://soundcloud.com/dakota-potts

Here is my soundcloud. I would like feedback on my music. Is it comparable to what you would hear in a video game? What emotions does it bring out in you and do you think they fit the theme and name given to them in the description? What do you like and what should I change?

I know in many of the songs there are parts that are phrased awkwardly, too many notes, etc. but each time this happens I learn from it and get better. I'm very proud of my new song (In The Shadows) because, although short, it successfully combines elements of orchestral, rock, and electronic music, and very well fits the theme of what I was going for -- a horror (specifically zombie) video game, perhaps a title sequence or level loading.

Thanks in advance for the feedback! Pick apart the really good, the really bad, and everything in between!

Thanks,
Dakota

Hi Dakota, I'm more of just a gamer here hanging out - no industry experience at all - but I would not say these sound like music I hear in the games I'm currently playing. (Defense Grid, Fuel, Jagged Alliance, Section 8 Prejudice). I think you may have done this already and know the answer, but you could likely put these tracks up next to most game music out there and quickly identify the real McCoy. Trust your own ears when comparing though. I'm only amateur musician myself, but "finesse" is something I'd encourage you to listen for and incorporate. Sounds tend toward fairly strident imho.

Again all imho - not to get you down or anything - but I've always felt straight scoop is best way to communicate. As a musician it's often easy to listen to others who'll tell you your stuff is great, but in reality they'd never want to listen to your song again or even bother listening through an entire song. I often won't even play stuff for friends/family because they'll just smile and be nice about it regarless. All imho and mileage may vary.

Hey Fartheststar,

Thanks for your input. May I ask what you mean by "strident"? I'm new at electronic music (Been doing it seriously for 10 days now) and I'm thinking you mean it's very much... on all the time? Like everything is full intensity, volume, that sort of thing? Too much going on? I am learning as I go and hope I am getting better than that.

Also, are there are any tracks you felt were particularly good or bad? Tracks I should look to or away from?

I look forward to your input so I can focus it on the next track.

Okay, first off. These synths and your use of them are... Not fantastic? I sort of think you should look into using different ones. There are a lot of free good VSTs and even soundfonts around the web that are more effective than some of these. Also, I'm not 100% familiar with a lot of musical terms, I just make covers, but...
it really sort of sounds like you need to go back to your basics of musical structure. Not too far back, just a little.

Maybe a refresher course is in order? I mean, Vacancy and Teary eyed are pretty good, but the more recent the track, I feel, the less attentive they get.

I'd listen to a lot of game sound tracks, from the biggest AAA titles to the littlest but most effective indie games. Try and separate each track in your mind and analyze them; About how many tracks are there, and what does each contain? What instruments are used, and why? Orchestral or blatant synths? Why was that crescendo placed just so? What effect did fading off the drum at that point have? Questions like this might help you further understand the motives behind the composition.

Yes, these are Reason standard synths with little editing... I just wanted something that would give me a halfway decent idea of what I would sound like.

I would question what you mean by going back to the basics? Although, I do see a connection. Teary Eyed is one I spent 16+ hours on learning how to play the piano enough to play to a click track and putting the drum track down myself with the MIDI controller. Vacancy is a chord progression I've played on guitar for a long time.

After these two, I switched to scoring without playing a real instrument... building a harmony, melody, all from out of my head. Sort of an exercise. Perhaps that is why the musical structure suffers. I may not be writing what I would actually be playing, though I do my best to play next what I hear in my head.

Also, it could be that I try to finish one song a night, and sometimes the inspiration is less than forthcoming.

Thank you all for the feedback. It is disheartening, but just as I wasn't a good songwriter on a bass for the first 6 months I was in a rock band, I believe I can get good if I can continue practicing and studying. I will also look into new VSTs as I have heard that here and on talkbass.com

I have no doubt that with little time you'll be going strong, especially with a studious attitude.
Ah, and by going back to the basics I meant with Music theory.

Good luck, and looking forward to hearing more from you.

Thanks for your input. May I ask what you mean by "strident"?

Thanks for taking it constructively - appreciated.

Crackle of Frost and New Day were 2 that had very strong/forward sounds to my ear.

By strident - I guess other adjectives would be strong, powerful, in my face. Orchestral music tends to have a finesse about it. It's hard to describe music with words, but there's really no substitute for finding stuff that you like the sound of that's similar to the mood you're trying to create and listening and comparing. Some of your music reminded me a little bit of a game I've been playing recently called Defense Grid. Here's a couple sample tracks from that game you might listen and compare to for a reference. Anyhow, again imho - and keep in mind I'm an amateur nobody - just some suggestions - mileage may vary

[media]http://www.duanedecker.com/downloads/Combat_Lull_B.mp3[/media]

[media]http://www.duanedecker.com/downloads/Combat_B.mp3[/media]

The best way to see if your music is up to par is to do an A/B comparison. Take several tracks which you wish to emulate, which you admire and then toggle playback between the those tracks and your own.

I listened to In the Shadows theme and the pounding drum beat got really annoying after a while. I appreciate what you're going after but make it evolve a bit more. Making music is just like cooking - you don't want to use too much of one flavor or seasoning. Instead you need balance. Go through your tracks and take note of what you're offering the listener. Is it too much? Too little? Etc.

Also if you use Reason - consider investing in some refills. Many are not badly priced and can really help! That and stronger production techniques (i.e. panning, reverb, velocity and modulation editing) could really help bring more depth to your productions.

Best of luck!

Nate

Thanks for all the advice everybody! After posting on my favorite forum (talkbass.com if I haven't mentioned it) I received a lot of disheartening yet constructive feedback. I realized that music's not a race and I don't need to be killing myself meeting standards that aren't there. I'm going to take a step back, continue studying composition, and continue doing it because I love it. I was putting artificial boundaries and time constraints that really made the quality suffer.

I'm also going to start doing piano lessons soon and I'm going to try to get a recording interface so I can use real instruments -- bass guitar is where I really shine, I think.

Thanks again everybody. I'll continue to post on this board which has been very helpful to me.