I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. By :27, there’s a lot of reverb in the texture, and the sidechaining is a bit heavy for my tastes. That said, I like the melodies and progression here. The sound design is a bit cheesy at times, and the mix could use some more polish, especially during the second refrain at 1:36. I would make sure to cut back on the reverb on the lower-register instruments and maybe pan the pads to both sides to make more room for the lead melody and rhythm section in the middle of the mix. Still, this is a cute, well-structured piece with a rich atmosphere and some strong melodies. Keep at it, MiniMusicPieces! Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

You don't use NG often -- but you should! Because if not, I'm going to come to your house and demand more instrumentals.

There are some issues of clip distortion going on either before or after the master here, particularly in the right channel on louder sections. I recommend checking that out. It also sounds like there is a lot of low end reverb wet that is getting in the way of the bass.

I recommend carving out sonic space for each individual instrument. You can do this with hi-pass or EQ.

Solo each instrument and listen to them in isolation, examining the lower ranges in particular. At what point does the sound profile of the low or low-mid range become unintelligible? Where does it overlap the body of the bass and kick without conveying meaningful sound?

Take this region and gently shave away the mud until you think the soloed track sounds just slightly too thin, then back off very slightly. Compare the result via bypassing the FX.

Do this for each instrument that isn't bass or kick, particularly leads, and also apply it to your delays and reverbs, which ideally have a low and hi-pass setting for this purpose. You will be surprised just how much more forgiving mastering compression becomes when you do. Everything will be clean, allowing you to pump the bass just that much more!

It will also keep other frequencies from clashing or "beating" against the bass, or even phase cancelling it out!

Hope this helps with future productions. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the composition. It's right up my alley aesthetically, and I'd love to hear more like it in the future! Best of luck!

The way this song grows until those drum hits at 00:26 is wonderful. Phil Collins would be proud! I really enjoy the choir pads that come in at 1:22; your choice of harmonies is very heavenly and really adds to the piece. It was a pleasure to listen to, and I wish you all the best for this year's finals :]

Love it!

gah damn this hits hard