EmperorCharlemagne's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Journey]

Tally Ho!

That's what the opening horn fanfare made me think of...

Though I admit that it would have been nice to see the horns return again at some point of the song, because if they are only used at that one spot they feel kinda out of place and almost detract from the feeling of the rest of the song. There were parts where the horns would have been a welcome addendum to the strings; just remember that if you have something in your ensemble, make sure it gets a good amount of time on there too.

The below review is correct in saying that the drums were too loud. When the really cool choral part (where you did interesting harmonies that warranted a second listen from me- very good job!) came around, having that drum beating loudly away took away from the intended effect. As the advice said, panning (or even lowering the volume at that point) is a welcome idea.

All in all, this was a rather good piece from you, and one that it quite enjoyable in its listening, and full of adventure. Continue with the good work my man.

Iodyne responds:

Hey, thanks for the review. This being my first orchestral piece ever, thanks :D

Not much to reply, but the drums are kind of an important part in the design -- I'll see how they work out a little lower next time. About everything else... well, it's sort of a themed piece.

Thanks, though. Roger, wilco!

[Forgotten Winter]

A good start.

Sometimes, having a specific aim when you write a piece of music can be a very good thing; it gives you direction, it gives you a sense or idea of where you are going and how you are getting there, among many other things. The only thing to ever watch out for is that your imagined world doesn't get in the way of your musical vision, so to speak.

Now on to the review...

The strings/piano combination is a very popular one when a newish/amateur (not in the bad sense) starts off writing music that he/she deems 'classical'. This is because both of the sections in question are very expressive, and useful for communicating easily any overlaying message the composer has. The flipside is that this has a chance of limiting the overall expressiveness of the piece by limiting it to a few instruments. Sometimes, in a string quartet, this is not a problem, but for larger-themed pieces it can be. That said, I think in this song it veers a little close to that area. Not completely, though. I would recommend, if you should try this style again, experimenting with using more instruments to say more things, to make more ideas made tangible for this listener.

Also, key to composition is utilizing your instruments to their fullest, and bere is where I think some good constructive advice is necessary. The strings and piano here mainly never leave a general area of the scale, and I feel that this limits the piece from being everything that it can be. They all hover around the same chord progression, never going much higher or lower than that. You wanted to capture sad nostalgia, I would explore that idea completely! Having the piano travel the excesses of the keyboard, high and low notes sounding in unison, all of these and more have a powerful effect on the listener, and it really allows you as the song-writer to breathe a sigh of relief as you explore the feelings you feel when you think up a melody. If you are confined to a single area, and the feeling conveyed is not a bit claustrophobic, then in my personal opinion, something is lacking.

This is not to disparage the melody or makeup of the composition, though. This is to push you, should you continue to write music like this (or any music, for that matter) to not confine yourself to a small set of tones and trying to make a melody out of that. A good composition fully explores things, it leaves no stone unturned. It doesn't matter how many instruments are there; what is there is enough for the song to communicate, or to even reverberate some thing about life. If a song can do this, then it really is worthwhile.

All in all, this is not a bad song by any means. It merely lacks an imprint that can make someone say that"This is a ViceOfFire work". I think if you can find that voice, it will be so much the better when you write songs like this. Hope you continue on.

ViceOfFire responds:

Thanks so much for the in-depth review and constructive criticism!

I agree with you on all points, but you have made them that much more clear to me that I can now focus on them and work on doing that. Especially the being confined to the chord progression and not higher or lower. Thanks so much for this, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it :D

[Under Troubled Skies]

Very nice piece!

I like the working of the melody in this one, which is, as your others in this set, very inspired by video-gamesque music. It all works out very nicely and sets a good tone and atmosphere relative to the song and what it is trying to do.

I would have liked to see a more complex melody at points, but that is beside the point, as this works out very nicely all in all. Continue with the good work.

[Desperation]

For what it's worth, it's good.

I especially like what happened around 1:04, when I felt the song really getting good.

This is a nice loop, very video-game inspired, which is nothing bad. I liked the melody, the changing drum parts, and the other various things. All in all this is a pretty good song and I encourage you to keep up the good work. I would say that a melody is not necessarily needed in such a song, as it does a good job of bringing out a good feeling with what it works. Good one.

[[JD]whammy city]

Whole lotta whammy...

Nice beat, and good for you using real instruments on it.

Thining of this song as a whole, this is a nice underlay, background stuff, and I suppose that that is the goal, what with it being under 'ambient' and all that. However, I don't think ambient means 'no melody'. I personally feel that if there was a really slow melody up higher, one that only shifted around a few notes, the song would have been ace material. I was waiting for it to happen, but it didn't.

But keep up the good work and continue towards making what will look to be a cool album.

enders1 responds:

The main melody was the whammy part, But I know what you mean by that, I will experient.
thanks

[Melodic Drama]

I like improv...

The end kinda sums it all up, where everything just kinda mashes together and falls apart, with no rhyme or reason.

Now, in pieces like Pierre Boulez' piano sonatas, this works and gives it a high amount of energy. But this is just you and some friends messing around.

Glad you had fun, but not too many people will be rushin' to download.

Keep on truckin'.

SimonG responds:

Totally agreed. Thanks for the nice review :)

[Os Vs Mjattie -of Softest Rain]

An excellent song

Very very nice, and this collaboration produced something that was quite a pleasure to listen to. Everything seems to be going along smoothly all the instruments work out well...

Usually, I'd say a lot more, but there is little to criticize here.

If anything, I would have liked to see some more lower piano playing, with the 'left hand' and a bit more lower songs.

But aside from that, an admirable and commendable piece.

ObsidianSnow responds:

Thanks for the review, Emperor Charlemagne. Your input is appreciated.

[Katrin]

Very nice

This composition really picks up towards the halfway mark, when both hands start really working around the theme and melody. All in all, it is a good 'working around', and an admirable effort. I must say, the minimalist intro gave me my misgivings, but in the scope of the whole song it works very nicely.

You did a good job on this one.

[The Accusation]

I rather like the intro

And the instrument used for that and the outro as well.

Very well put together, and a nice little piece, all things considered. Not too much I can say here in criticism, because it was designed as a background piece and fills out that role admirable well.

nathanallenpinard responds:

Yup, that was definitely the purpose, as dialogue was running on stage during this.

[Music Theory Final Composition]

Check out Jean Pierre Rampal

I say this because he really shows what can be done with a flute, and plays extremely complex Bach sonatas and suites for the flute. I only say that so you can see what the flute is completely capable of.

I only say the above because the flute melody is a bit simple, and the piano accompaniment seems to play straight chords for the most part. Baroque and Classical would have arpeggios up the wazoo, and counterpoint melodies and whatnot, while Romantic would have staggering rhythms and elegant and epic scope to their songs.

But then again, you are probably my age and have plenty of time to refine your technique. I hope this goes well with your teacher.

paradiddlesjosh responds:

I don't know about how my teacher feels about it yet. She wasn't specific about a time period, though, so I'm not sure if it matters. She did ask that the melody be simple, though -- and I think I pushed her limits even with what I have.

There are arpeggios in the accompaniment, but only in the right hand. I wanted a blocked left hand so that the chord analysis would be easy.

Thanks for your review. :D