[Music] My Original Songs

I'm obviously not the best music composer, in fact I'm not all that good at all.
But sometimes I make half-decent songs and I was hoping for some feedback from other people.

I'll start with my original songs that actually sound pretty good. 


Good Songs

Title Screen - Genre: Rock
I use this as my title screen for my game, sounds pretty good for me.


The Paranoid Shadow of an Underground Passage
Sounds good when used in a cave, as it gives the echo effect.


Transversing Through the Mystic Abyss
Sounds good when use in a dungeon with cliffs and black spaces (EG. Falling into a black hell).


The Face Behind the Mask
The Face Behind the Mask (Rock Version) - Genre: Rock
Don't let the name fool you. It's not guitar solo stuff, it is supposed to be a touching song.


Other Songs - These are the ones I'm not sure about.

Battlefield, Training

Friendly Battle

Some Dungeon

Mind Boggling Enemy Base - Genre: Electronic


Thank you for any feedback - This includes good and bad.
I appreciate constructive criticism. 

I will be reviewing the songs as I listen to them one for one, so my first thoughts will be written down for you. Hope you will see this as feedback, I don't like to be seen as a basher; haha. I don't know what kind of game you're making, which makes it a bit harder. Yet, I thing I'll manage with my imagination.

Title Screen

The start is quite simple and I can hear that it's made on a computer because of that. The tone and depth is very basic, making it a little boring to hear. When the guitar kicked in, I waited and waited for it to reach some kind of conclusion; none. The drums are also very basic and when the guitar changed its style, I felt like it was some kind of singing line. This feeling was given even more as it repeated itself.

Conclusion

• Its very simple, almost like some beginners started a band and recorded their work. The whole rock thing isn't working for me. I don't think it will work, not as a musical piece for a band and definitely not for a title screen song.

Paranoid Underground Shadow

First thing I did as you see above, is changing the title. The title was a little to long and could be shortened quite a bit. The theme starts and makes me feel somewhat happy. Still like before, it doesn't please me in the sense to use my imagination. Then some techno comes into the piece, spoiling it even more for me. You need to keep a theme in mind and stick with it.

Conclusion

• How do I add mystery into it.. How do I give it the emotion needed and how do I stimulate the player. Ask yourself those questions when starting a new piece. It's important that the player feels the world/place he/she is visiting. This piece isn't doing it for me.

Thought of the Abyss

Again, I shortened the name. The start brings me into a scene were I fight some kind of boss. I stand there with my buffed character and.. what the heck?! Again, you forget the theme that's important. You keep the piano going and going, which makes it quite boring. The techno is a no-no. Here I start the song over, so I can hear the beginning again. The beginning is quite good, it could use some work but it's the best I heard so far.

Conclusion

• The start is good, basic but good. When writing/making something like this or anything in overall, try to given it a point of explosion. Where all the basic sounds of your song and maybe some more as you build it up.

Face behind the Mask

Without the 'the', it's the best name so far. It makes me thing of someone that hides his true identity, putting a mask on. I like the beginning, I really do. You build it up very nicely, now this is the best start I heard from you so far. At some point, the piano becomes just like your other songs before, boring and the same. It's still quite nice, but that doesn't mean it's the best you could do. You fade out without the the piano, sadly.

Conclusion

• This is the best piece I heard so far. The intro is very appealing and makes me feel truly happy when using my big imagination. Yet, the title doesn't suit the music. About me stating the boredom of the piano repeating itself.. It's nice, like I said but you could introduce other instruments to fill it in. The whole fading out thing is also a no-no. Keep in mind that your songs should be able to loop. While you may not use it as a loop and just for one small moment, others that use your music might. The rock version.. I listened to the beginning and I have to say.. Damn, you need to focus more on your theme. I'll explain this in the overall conclusion which comes.. now!

Final Conclusion

I won't review all of your songs, as I think you will have enough to work with. I'll start with the naming, as this is a important factor if you want others to use your music. The title gives away the meaning, feeling and use of the song. The latter isn't as important as the first two through. All your names are way to long and just don't fit the music at all. Also remember that the word 'the' isn't something that you should use. It has no use in most cases as "Face behind the Mask". Next would be the focus of your pieces. Let's take your best piece as example. (Face behind the Mask, again.) You take a title in mind that would suit the place or moment in your game. When I read that title, I think of mystery. I'm curious as to why that character is lying to me, while I know it. Why the heck does he wear a mask! These feelings should be stimulated with the song. A song isn't just there to sound pretty. You gave some of this feeling in the intro of "Thought of the Abyss", but the song we are currently talking about made me calm. You see my point?
Decide a theme, pick a title to help remind you of the use and stay with it. This brings me to the arrangement of the instruments. Pick them carefully, experiment. You start some techno shit at some very weird places. The first two songs are just not suited for games. Rock overall is very hard to use in games. It can work! Don't get me wrong, but finding the right place for such a thing is hard. You need to be really good to make it work.
Next would be the rhythm, which is making most of the pieces boring. Make it interesting, don't just go 1..2..3..4..AND..1..2..3..4..AND..1..2..3..4. I play guitar and even if I use awesome chords (Which I don't do often as simple can be good if..) I play with the rhythm I use. Even simple things acan sound good, but it depends on quite some factors.

Hope this is helpful.
YellowPepper

Very nice YellowPepper, just the kind of feedback I was looking for. Honest and constructive.

I like what you are saying in your conclusion's. You think of the songs a little differently than what I had intended them for.
But that's fine, it makes your review better.

Making music on the computer is just something I do in my free time, so I'm not really a music person.
That's my excuse for the weird names and instruments used

In regards to your comments about looping, these are the original songs, I've had to edit them a little to get them to loop so the ones I use in the game are a little different, but not by much.

I'm aware I put weird techno shit in the songs I don't know why though, but most of the songs I do create end up as techno crap, which is why I only wanted to get these songs feedback.
Not even a techno person, more of a rock person, but hey, it happens.


I will definitely put more work into the next song and maybe I'll edit 'Thought of the Abyss', just to give it that effect you wanted

Thanks again.

I wish I could give any useful feedback, but I am afraid I am useless when it comes to music. I can say either that I liked it, I found it unoffensive, or that I disliked it, but I cannot supply you with any constructive reasons for any of them. I wish I could be of more assistance.

I'm giving your songs a quick listen right now.

Title Screen:

The main issue here is the lack of a major theme behind it. Going with a title to define it will help with this and to be honest, this would be better placed somewhere within the game, instead as a title theme. The simple nature of it is not a major issue, but working in a buildup throughout the piece to a point where it truly defines it is key and is lacking here.

Paranoid Shadow:

If you are going to use this for an underground theme, it does fit, to a point. The trick would be to picking the proper environment. To me, when I let my mind wander through it, I see the party wandering through a cavern defined by crystal formations or even unusual (even inexplicable) lighting. This would be best suited for environments where it is clear that you aren't in your normal cave.

Mystic Abyss:

Has an interesting sci-fi feel to it which could work in an environment that is clearly outside of what the party can entirely understand. In a fantasy setting, you would need to design an environment to take advantage of this, perhaps on something which was a crashed ship and then made into something else by the inhabitants. You want to bring in a feeling of the unusual, as if the characters should recognize it, but do not quite do so.


That's it for now, I'll go through the rest of them in time. Your beat is pretty simple (not bad, but adding in some complexity can help here)

Somehow I forgot about this thread

Thanks for your feedback jgkitarel, I appreciate it

Hey, great to here some more original music around here.  I think your Title Screen Song has lots of potential, I'm not sure if you're writing it purely with recorded samples or more recording individual notes, but I can hear variations in my head that would break up the song and take it from good to great.  I think this would be an excellent overall theme for a game, but maybe 8 measures after the guitar lead kicks in, either before or after the drums do, If you had some exciting change to jar the listener, like it all stops for 4 beats, and then really hits you with a power chorus with a different progression and different rhythms to add variety and make the verse (which is well phrased in my opinion) refreshing by the time you hear it again.

I think what you have now makes a great verse, and is an excellent start to that cool theme that starts the game, plays whenever a heroic moment or that "yeah, this is a kick-ass moment" song, you know?  I imagine a chorus where the drums break with faster rhythm, and the guitar hits heavier.

Paranoid Shadow of an underground shadow definitely has some great moods of a cave.  The techno elements are what they are, keep them if you like, but to add more variety it might be fun to bring other echoey sounds or drones into the mix, to give it more of a spacious feeling.  Then again, I don't know the mood for setting of your game, if it's more futuristic the more techno and computery sounds would be right at home.  The same kinda goes for "Traversing through the Mystic Abyss," I feel like this song is kinda like a creepy mansion.  Parts of the layers are a little jarring in a bad way, like your electric blips and beeps don't mesh with the other sounds, as each is in it's own sound space; this can happen from different reverb settings.  You could experiment with making them meld together.

I agree with others that the "Face Behind the Mask" is by far the most developed piece, and has great potential for that "credits" song, you know?  When you're sad and crying, it's all so beautiful ... melodramatics aside, it really has emotion.  I like the baseline in the rock version a lot, I think you need a wailing guitar in there to really sell the Rock version, because if you're gonna go there, you may as well go all the way, you know?  Besides I really, REALLY want to hear a sweet solo over it.  Like Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" (in a good way), but original and awesome.

Thank you very much for your words

Truth be told, I haven't really done any "composing" lately, but I'm now motivated to get straight back into it

Ok, you an Amkrogh89 should go on a coffee run together, this is some good music.

I know that amkrogh89 is much better at this than I am, but I appreciate the gesture

If you want to use them, they are free for use - commercial or otherwise.