DarkeSword   Administrators 🎮

I think this arrangement has a lot of good ideas, but I disagree that the medly construction of this piece isn't bad in this case. I think it really detracts from the overall arrangement, mostly because no idea is present long enough to be fully appreciated. It sounds like I'm listening to a sampler CD for some 1990s sythesizer sample set. The piece suffers from bad samples (ugh, the brass) and sparse voicing. This piece really needs more mid voices to fill out the soundscape. Some tempo changes would help too; the constant 8th note barrage gets monotonous. NO

oooh what a hot beat man. Nice. Synths are really good too. Nice texture; nothing is out of place, and the balance is just right. The flute fits right in. Bassline is slick; present, but not overpowering. Zircon, that isn't 3/4 time; it's 6/8 in 2 (or 12/8 in 4, whatever floats your boat). Needless to say, flawless execution. These stylistic changeups are really nice. This is the kind of variation I like to hear. YES

Harmonic minor raises the leading tone, and melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th. [edit: gah, forgot to enable bbcode] Harmonic minor raises the 7th so that it becomes a leading tone. If you raise a leading tone, you get the octave.

Do whatever you want. If it sounds right, use it. Theory isn't a set of rules; it's a well of knowledge that allows you to understand how western music is constructed.

Quoting this for mix page's benefit. The rest of my post has nothing to do with this quote. Some people seem to be forgetting the point of this thread. Just post your review of the mix in question and be done with it. Stop posting about unrelated issues. I've moved a few posts to Abuse already. If you feel the need to discuss unrelated stuff, take it to PM.

Absolutey correct. There has been an historic double standard in review threads because artists understandably don't like like negative feedback without elaboration. The thing is, the listener doesn't have to be constructive. A review thread is for posting what you thought about a song. If I don't like a song, I can post "This is terrible. It sucks." That's actually acceptable, even if an artist doesn't like that. The artist can even say to me ,"Can you elaborate on that?" and if I choose to, I will. If I choose not to, I won't, and an artist can just disregard my thoughts. I've done that a few times myself with negative reviews. The real issue that we should always keep in mind is that we should never insult a person for their work. Negative feedback should always be directed towards the piece and performance, not the person. As artists, we need to be able to separate ourselves from our work when reading negative feedback. I realize that this a lot harder to do when you're a singer. A criticism of a performance feels like a criticism of one's person. But as artists, we can't let these things get to us and make us mad, or drive us away from the site and what we do here. Pixie, I realize it's a review thread for a mix that you took part in, but responding to criticism with profanity has no place here in the forum. Keep your cool, and think about what you're saying before you hit that submit button. Magi_Tekk: OCR is a dictatorship. It always has been, and it always will be. We won't control people's speech, but we will step in and moderate when necessary. This is all I'm going to say on the matter, which, in the context of this thread, should be dropped. Any other arguments should be taken to PM. Thanks.

Awesome awesome song. Decent vocals, nice guitar, but I like zircon's stuff the most. Yay pads+piano. Clean all around. How about you leave your browser/webdevelopment evangelism out of this review thread? The site loaded in my browser (Firefox 1.5) in about two seconds. You're not here to review people's websites. Post a review of the music and move on. This isn't an official warning, but do it again and you'll get one.

TO THE DUNGEONS WITH YOU! THE PRINCE OF PERSIA COMMANDS IT!

Thanks for the kind words about my mix.

Hey, glad to see a DJ MetaZero mix that isn't drowning in reverb. xD Pretty good production, but I'm gonna have to agree with Larry that the arrangement is pretty conservative. Could use some crazier interpretation. Also, some heavier harmonic support. I really wish the melody was louder too; it gets drowned out by the beats. It never really hits hard. Still, I loves me some good Megaman dance. REWORK/RESUB plz NO for now

Pretty much in agreement with Jon and Larry. The arrangement is pretty boring especially in the first half; the only thing this piece really has going for it are the keyboard solos. In the end though, the samples are weak and the texture is empty way too often. That full-stop in the middle there is pointless too; the two parts of the song are written in the same key at the same tempo with a similar groove; the best transition you could think of was silence? Also, the reverb used here is odd; this piece would benefit from a more intimate, less "performance hall" approach. The piece lacks dynamics, but the levels are bad. That piano solo at the end is too loud compared to the rest of the piece. NO

"i liek it" It's intimate, interpretive, and nicely played. Chord voicings are nice, and it sounds full, despite being a solo effort. I also agree with Jon; the Mario 2 overworld chord progression is fairly unique and recognizable. The solo section does a good job of keeping that and working it with. I'd have more of an issue if the chord progression was thrown out or radically altered. YES ...but I'd like to see a full-panel vote and a possible pretzel weigh-in on this one. Just to be sure. It's a tricky piece.

There's not much arrangement going on here. Sounds like the original arranged by ear (because there are some wrong notes) with some original stuff on top. This is pretty boring. Sounds are generic and the soundscape is pretty empty a lot of the time. NO

Wow, I like the source material. Wow, I like the remix. Wonderfully interpretive; great bassline. Jazzy and cool, with a touch of eccentricity. Nice. It's a bit short; I wish it was longer. YES

Yeah. It's the same 2 bar motif played over and over again with some embellishments. Nice piano, but seriously, a 1:15 arrangement isn't going to cut it, especially with so little source material you're working with. NO

I don't think those are trip-hop beats. I think they're just regular old boring beats with too much reverb on them. This arrangement is boring. I'm already 2:30 into it and nothing new has happened at all. The percussion is repetitive, the soundscape is barren, and the instruments are playing the same thing over and over again. This piece uses about 1 minute's worth of material to fill up nearly 6. NO

It really sounds a lot like BGM music you'd hear in a PS2 version of FFVII; that is to say, while it sounds good and is enjoyable to listen to, it lacks the sophistication a standalone orchestral piece needs. The samples are nice, the balance is right, and the production is good. The arrangement, however, isn't really compelling. It's going through the motions. It doesn't rise, it doesn't fall. The dynamics for MOST of the song are pretty much the same thoughout. It's a great start, but I want to see more development from you. NO

For some reason, this piece never really comes together for me. There's a lack of energy here; I can't place my finger on it, but I think that it might be that there's no strong melodic hook to really draw the listener in. The arrangement really meanders and the different parts never come together to make a strong melodic statement. The piece sounds like it's leading upto something, but it never really gets there. I don't mind the samples so much; piano is nice, and the bassline is really well written. The acoustic guitar's sample does sound a bit thin. Overall I think the entire mix lacks warmth and energy. The lack of could be due to the kind of reverb you've used, but I'm fairly sure that the lack of energy is because of the way the different parts are interacting, or rather, not interacting. It doesn't feel like these parts are written with other parts in mind. There's a lot of embellishment without a lot to embellish. I'm gonna say NO on this one. The arrangement is...the best word I can think of is "cautious;" it's afraid to make a strong statement. Source material like this needs that, I think.

What part of the theme is "occasional?" The only truly original melodic part in the entire song is the 16 measure section at 1:44. Everything else is A Deus.

Moved to Site Projects.

Well the judges have a soundclick account we use to get files hosted on soundclick, but it's always better to just host on some free webspace that allows direct linking. Angelfire is usually good enough, as long as you're not sharing that link with anyone else.

All of the SITE HELP threads should go in site projects, technically, but I'm going to wait until the vB switch to do the actual move. For now we'll leave in General.

Can we cut down on threadbloat plz? I'm not saying don't have fun...just be a bit more judicious with your posting.

Aw please, Jill. I didn't stop because of being "forced" to. I've had (and still have) other stuff to do, also I know when to stop. Not to mention that I have a life "outside" of OCR. However this is something that you still have to learn in your young life. Happy birthday anyway. Your condescending attitude is neither needed nor wanted. Don't post in this thread again.

I'll strip powers from the both of you if you don't cut it out.