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@Wassup Thunder Hey! Nah, it's way less the factor of I "don't like the critiques". I am very grateful to get them!--I think my issue is, like you said, addressing them adequately to learn better technique and, thusly, grow in skill. It was simply I noticed that dissonance is a big flaw for the moment, and I'm just trying to sit here and think of ways to fix it (or be able to). I think the problem is there's a lot of sampling I have to work with, so yeah. Yes, BandLab / Cakewalk does have it where if you right-click on a sample, you can change the pitch, (sharpen or flatten)--unsure about actual key. I'll have to further look into it. :S Might just have to look up basic tutorials on DAW and key changes, see where that takes me. Might be a simple matter like with EQ Bands, and messing with it enough times to be able to "listen out" for dissonance in harmony and adjust for it. BUT, if people have general ways to deal with it properly, just say. ^^ Always good to take on pointers. xD TBH, the song I queried to the judges is like the 2nd one I've ever composed--so it had very little in the way EQing or general balancing passes, if at all--so I am not overly surprised at the result. Honestly, I was taken aback happily at the fact someone gave me an in-depth reply with some coaching / encouragement with it. Way different than the form rejections I used to get when I submitted a work of fiction writing to a magazine or such, so it was a nice, refreshing, different take. I'm glad that it's not super often, the dissonance issue, but it cropped up often enough to ask and see if I can make it better. And well, you're absolutely right, and TBF I'd rather have a polite but informative rejection rather than a form letter just saying "better luck next time, kid." xD But thanks for the words of encouragement. ♥

@The Vodoú Queen I understand the frustration/stress of not being sure on how to address critique you get, you got my sympathies! About the dissonance/key sig thing, I've never worked with changing the pitch/key of an audio sample, so I'm afraid I can't offer much help on that. If the program you're using can change the pitch of a sample, that might be something to experiment with. I didn't think you often had issues with dissonance in the past, just some parts on this last one, I don't believe it's a problem you frequently have had. It can be discouraging, but I believe everyone can continue to find how to improve and refine their skills, even when we're not sure what we're doing at times. And don't feel too bad about getting a rejection on OCR. The judge panel keeps a very high standard of music, and lots of submissions don't make it on the first try. I can relate a bit, I've had some projects here that were politely told were very lacking and needed lots of improvement. Try and keep hope in your compositions and ability, hard critique never means you're failure.

Ok here goes some thoughts about each of you's: TheVodouQueen - Wooow this one is long, and with good reason too. Both of these sources need a lot of time to develop, especially since Ridge Racer on it's own is 4 minutes, and a fully fleshed out variant of Lufia would also be about 4 minutes. So in theory, long tracks for long sources are good. Now what i really liked about this, is the recognisable elements from each. I like how you took the choir of the original Rave Racer track. (Which for those who are wondering, is actually taken from Soul Edge, released on the PS1. They sampled it for this track), that was a nice touch. The 80's synth elements were outstanding, the instrument choices were just great. Now unfortunately i don't know the exact process, i know you've said it's experimental, and i've taken that to account, however i feel like your trying to deliberately make the sources clash. I don't know, it just feels...dissonant. I mean this is the intention, but maybe for me, it needs to be better integrated. It felt more like 2 separate tracks being forced to work together. Oh well, the arrangement is spot on here. Definitely did not bore me for the whole 9 minutes. Also while were on this topic, i would have loved for you to explore more ridge racer. Like make a full blown section, dedicated to Rave Racer. Sure the last part of the track is mostly Rave Racer, but i could go for more of it, than maybe parts of it. I think it has something to do with my bias towards the game lol. Before i ramble, i just wanna say this is very well produced, and worth the whole journey. Well done! Wassup Thunder - This is definitely a kind of sound i would imagine for Lufia. I always love your orchestral pallets, it sounds soo nicely done. The rock elements work surprisingly well here too, i was not expecting that for a man of rich orchestral sounds. I really love the way you've blended the sounds, it sounds so much like Anime music, which i think it's a compliment. If i had to critique it, it would be that the rock element is getting pushed down by the orchestra. I feel the drums could be louder and bigger (The rock drums, not the orchestral ones), and maybe the guitar could be more pronounced. I mean i said it fits super well, because it does, however if you really want to amplify the hard guitar parts, i suggest beefing it up, to make it more aggressive. Also i felt this was a bit too consistent. The drums just kept going, not stopping, and the strings were full force. However though, i think this is super nicely done, and definitely enjoyable to listen to. Well done! Brainstar - Feels like a start to 2 tracks. Each with it's own ideas. I love the trombone usage here, creates that really nice fanfare approach. I also really dug the switch to the A major chord at the end. A beautiful transition into Rave Racer, clever. That synth bass sound is pretty lovely here too. It obviously feels like you couldn't do much, what with the laptop damage, however i definitely see potential here for a expansion. It sounds like a lovely start. Well done!

I also feel real stupid asking, as most people probably grasped this off the bat, considering key sig and tone is music 101...