Another Sleepless Night - Note Wise

[Note Wise 30]

 

This was my submitted song for the album Ponies At Dawn. (Which sadly I didn't get on) I went for a another chill/relaxed track. I feel it gives a bit of dream like atmosphere and was themed a bit after "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep" The title is referenced to how Luna went through sleepless nights due to the nightmares she had.

 

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Note Wise

 

 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

It's an okay listen. 

 

However, the percussion took away from the dreamy and chill feel you were trying to convey. It really just felt more like a driving song for me, which is not really a good thing...

 

In the chill genre, some composers do use percussion, mainly just kicks. The thing is, they spread their kicks out in long breaks just so they could make sure they're not getting to off beat. However, there is some chill out there that basically has no beats, which really leads more into the ambient/avant garde genre. 

 

Also, watch your sawtooths and plucked leads. They sound to sharp. Lower the attack on them to give them that soft and dreamy like character that this piece needs. Really, sawtooths are very risky to use in chill, that is, unless you run them through a filter. In the middle, right before the piano part, I noticed you did use some sawtooths. The thing is, they were too sharp, meaning that they were too bright for the character that you wanted to convey for this piece. Another option is to use either square waves or triangle waves. Better yet, use a special LM Square Wave, where the actual square wave is run through a filter and compressor, that softens the attack and filters the sound to give it that smooth and chill character it lacks. You may have to make one from scratch, but you can use the guidelines I just explained. 

 

The pads in the beginning sounded like fat and porky leads, probably because you had a plucked lead right as the pads came in. To be honest, the plucked lead adds unnecessary attack. I know I'm using the word "attack" so much, but I must stress it, for the chill genre does not have that many sounds with high. I should mention that attack is how long it takes for the note to fully sound. Most of the time, it is within the snap of a finger or a blink of an eye. But for chill, it's longer, which is why the plucked leads either need to be swelled or completely removed. 

 

In the piano section, I would completely remove the percussion. As I said before, percussion adds unnecessary drive in certain genres. I see you had some filtered synth strings in that section and slowly swept them out of it. I give you kudos on that. However, I'd turn up the volume on those string pads. They sounded a little quiet. Also, I would've had some low end piano stuff. It would've given the piece some low parts, which this piece was lacking quite a bit of. 

 

The part after the piano, where the plucked leads are playing in front of the pads, is amazing. It perfectly fits what the genre and the piece is calling for. Without the percussion, it really just makes the character of the piece shine. 

 

In terms of your chords and progressions, I've gotta tip my hat to you. This is probably some of the best progressions I've ever heard on this site. You used just about every single thing that you could do around the key of F major (also that's a great key choice). Love those B flat major 7th chords you had running there. Also, great use of inversions. They really come in handy when it seems like you've run out of orders. And also, the piano part, great job with those 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, and 15ths. They really just added this feeling of mystery and...I really don't know how to describe it. Also, I heard a couple of tritones in there. 

 

So...to sum things up...

 

• Great chords and progressions
• Make sure you watch your percussion. Your percussion, was probably your biggest setback in this piece, as it sort of compromised the genre
• Watch your attack on your sawtooths.
• Watch how you layer your plucked leads and pads
• Great use of ideas to create a well-crafted piece.

 

I'm here if you have any questions about what I said in my critique.  

[Note Wise 30]

It's an okay listen. 

 

However, the percussion took away from the dreamy and chill feel you were trying to convey. It really just felt more like a driving song for me, which is not really a good thing...

 

In the chill genre, some composers do use percussion, mainly just kicks. The thing is, they spread their kicks out in long breaks just so they could make sure they're not getting to off beat. However, there is some chill out there that basically has no beats, which really leads more into the ambient/avant garde genre. 

 

Also, watch your sawtooths and plucked leads. They sound to sharp. Lower the attack on them to give them that soft and dreamy like character that this piece needs. Really, sawtooths are very risky to use in chill, that is, unless you run them through a filter. In the middle, right before the piano part, I noticed you did use some sawtooths. The thing is, they were too sharp, meaning that they were too bright for the character that you wanted to convey for this piece. Another option is to use either square waves or triangle waves. Better yet, use a special LM Square Wave, where the actual square wave is run through a filter and compressor, that softens the attack and filters the sound to give it that smooth and chill character it lacks. You may have to make one from scratch, but you can use the guidelines I just explained. 

 

The pads in the beginning sounded like fat and porky leads, probably because you had a plucked lead right as the pads came in. To be honest, the plucked lead adds unnecessary attack. I know I'm using the word "attack" so much, but I must stress it, for the chill genre does not have that many sounds with high. I should mention that attack is how long it takes for the note to fully sound. Most of the time, it is within the snap of a finger or a blink of an eye. But for chill, it's longer, which is why the plucked leads either need to be swelled or completely removed. 

 

In the piano section, I would completely remove the percussion. As I said before, percussion adds unnecessary drive in certain genres. I see you had some filtered synth strings in that section and slowly swept them out of it. I give you kudos on that. However, I'd turn up the volume on those string pads. They sounded a little quiet. Also, I would've had some low end piano stuff. It would've given the piece some low parts, which this piece was lacking quite a bit of. 

 

The part after the piano, where the plucked leads are playing in front of the pads, is amazing. It perfectly fits what the genre and the piece is calling for. Without the percussion, it really just makes the character of the piece shine. 

 

In terms of your chords and progressions, I've gotta tip my hat to you. This is probably some of the best progressions I've ever heard on this site. You used just about every single thing that you could do around the key of F major (also that's a great key choice). Love those B flat major 7th chords you had running there. Also, great use of inversions. They really come in handy when it seems like you've run out of orders. And also, the piano part, great job with those 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, and 15ths. They really just added this feeling of mystery and...I really don't know how to describe it. Also, I heard a couple of tritones in there. 

 

So...to sum things up...

 

• Great chords and progressions
• Make sure you watch your percussion. Your percussion, was probably your biggest setback in this piece, as it sort of compromised the genre
• Watch your attack on your sawtooths.
• Watch how you layer your plucked leads and pads
• Great use of ideas to create a well-crafted piece.

 

I'm here if you have any questions about what I said in my critique.  

Holy Celestia thanks man! That feedback means a lot. Ever since A Night Under Equestria and the success of it as well as how much fun I had with it, I've been wanting to make more chill and relaxed tunes but I never really know where to actually begin and of course, I don't want things to sound to similar to A Night Under Equestria. I'll definitely take some notes down( haha) and look where I can do better. I do appreciate your critique and I'm glad you did enjoy it to an extent for what I had.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Holy Celestia thanks man! That feedback means a lot. Ever since A Night Under Equestria and the success of it as well as how much fun I had with it, I've been wanting to make more chill and relaxed tunes but I never really know where to actually begin and of course, I don't want things to sound to similar to A Night Under Equestria. I'll definitely take some notes down( haha) and look where I can do better. I do appreciate your critique and I'm glad you did enjoy it to an extent for what I had.

 

Hey no prob! Perhaps we can work together sometime! I've been trying to find a brony musician who I can work together to make a piece. 

 

And were you able to understand the things I said in my critique?

Edited November 2, 2015 by C. Thunder Dash