I Think

Very fun arrangement! A few aspects felt a little bit off to me, but overall I quite enjoyed listening! At 0:59, the instrument that carries the B(?) melody sticks out because it sounds thinner than everything else we've heard; all of the other instruments sound (impressively) like typical orchestral instruments, but this one sounds like an oddly-processed saxophone, or something. At 3:03 and through several sections to the end, the rhythm in the timpani sounds a bit jarring. I enjoy 3+3+2, but personally I don't feel that it fits into the "Russian folk" style. I could be wrong! At 4:15, the dotted rhythm feels over-dotted; it sounds like a mistake because it occurs nowhere else in the arrangement. Compare 4:12 and 4:25.

This was really entertaining and a really interesting take on the source! I would personally have enjoyed it more if I didn't have a bias against hip-hop/rap backing tracks (which this was unfortunately reminiscent to me of), but the track is really well-crafted and surprisingly relaxed/calm for all its strangeness :D

The only thing that stuck out to me was the intonation and timing on the flute, especially in the earlier parts of the track. I really, really enjoyed the rest of it!

Dang, that sounded quite difficult! A few thoughts: Either your microphone or my crappy earbuds (or YouTube's encoding?) did not really capture the low notes very well. I wonder if there are better spots for breaths -- honestly I'm already pretty impressed at how few breaths you took but they really do stand out a lot Your note transitions sound very clean, intonation is quite good except a few bits where you seem to stretch a bit hard at the higher notes. I like your tone!

This sounds intriguing but your link appears to be broken! edit: aha, fixed your link from "https://youtube.be/SDR39fhyZRI" to "https://youtu.be/SDR39fhyZRI"

I'm going to use the checklist, since I'm 100% a beginner on this. Seeing a post with no comments makes me sad though, and makes me worried about my own future prospects (... when I actually finish my attempt at an arrangement and then at recording...), so here's an effort at some feedback! ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION I'm not familiar with the source, can't speak on this! PRODUCTION [ ] Low-quality samples: The main thing that stuck out in this regard is the trumpet synth, especially where it is super in-your-face around 2:00; as one of the more "realistic" instruments you use, I feel like it needs more realistic articulations, too. [ ] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics): Dunno about any compression per se, but I feel that the dynamic contrast could be stronger. STRUCTURE [ ] Lacks coherence overall (doesn't "flow" enough): around 1:00 for instance, the introduction of the high voice feels very abrupt; I think it's a combination of its contrasting timbre and high pitch that makes it particularly piercing. [ ] [not actually abrupt] ending: I feel like the ending overall needs some attention. At 2:52 it feels like you're introducing a new idea, and then it sort of goes away, and then you have the lingering cymbals and... other stuff... which sounds overall a bit odd to me. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE TRACK [ ] Instrument choices: Aside from the trumpet, I feel like there was quite a bit of color in the instrumentation! PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) Overall I found the tune quite catchy, even though the style isn't quite my cup of tea. I think it has a comfortable amount of complexity/subtlety, and mainly wants a stronger sense of overall structural development?

I think probably not. Even if he is using digital tools to touch it up, he's probably working with rather good raw material anyways... It is really hard to take not-so-good audio and patch it up to sound great, as far as I recall.