Hey LE! Thought I might as well leave a review since you asked me to help you decide what to audition for NGADM with. ;) I really like the progression with this one, although I will say that the chords at the beginning seemed a little indistinct (maybe you went a bit overboard on the reverb, or otherwise the mix could be clearer). I liked the cute melodies, and the transition at :56 was really cool. The minimalistic section at 1:33 could've also used some more texture - maybe some light pads or something. I liked the melody at 1:51, but I think it would do you some good to make sure those notes are held right up until the next one starts. There are a few awkward pauses in there (like at 1:57), but that's a pretty small detail. Still, it's a really flowy, cute, and upbeat piece. The ending was appropriately conclusive. I think I like this one more than "Analog Rush," but it might be worth your while to simply clean up "Shimmer" based on the feedback you've received if you have time. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck! ^^

Melodies: The main riff is pretty nice! It definitely merits being repeated throughout the song. Good job! My main criticism is that when you try to do variations or solos on it, you're using too many quarter notes and you need to mix up your rhythms a little bit. 1:54 is a good example. Or 2:19. More complex rhythms can spice up a melody nicely. (I've actually been thinking about this in context with my own music too.)

I like the break at 1:43. I thought the song was over for a second! haha. I think it might be more effective if you didn't bring in the bass immediately. I do enjoy how the song is empty for a second though.

The mixing sounds pretty good to me! The bass stands out and the other voices are not fighting to be heard. The only thing that I thought could be fixed was the drums. They're too quiet! EVERYONE gets drum loudness wrong, all the time, always, including me, even though I already know this - so don't feel bad. Slap a compressor on those bad boys. It doesn't have to be aggressive, but I do think they should be louder.

Synths: I think they sound cool, but I don't really think that they belong in a song like this. Like the first synth that you introduce (:18) has got this really eerie feel to it that clashes with the otherwise chill and happy vibe the song has going. I honestly think that a piano would be perfect. Though I always think a piano would be perfect. :D Other orchestral instruments to carry the other voices (like strings, woodwinds especially) would do well, too.

While I'm talking about sound choice, the drums are kinda electro and a clap is pretty weird in a song that's emotional like this one. I would personally use someone like Skullbeatz on newgrounds as a reference. He has beats with emotive tracks all the time, and he does pretty good at it. (I mean, come on, he has the word "beatz" in his USERNAME).

I'm all for using reference tracks. Good artists copy, great artists steal, blah blah.

I was also thinking that you could switch up the progression somewhere in there and get more feels out of the piece. The main progression is great and carries the feel of the song nicely but if you switch up then you can get even more mileage out of it when you switch back to the main progression. One that I think might compliment your main one pretty well is d minor -> g major -> c major -> a minor. Bonus points if you do the descending baseline C -> B- > A for the chord change from C major to a minor. It gives it that extra emotive feel. :D

Also last thing, don't be scared to loop your main melody a little more, you don't have to always make variations on it. Good melodies deserve to be repeated!

Overall, I like this song a lot. Good job! I think the biggest thing to focus on would be synth design. With more organic sounding instruments that match the feel of the piece, the song could go far! :D

Oh, I hear noise in the begining, that is realy annoying! I understand that it is connected with synth but IMHO this is not good. Yes, i hear there your own style, but "there is room to grow"(i du no is correct this proverb here).

Notes while listening:

-Intro needs a bit more complex of a chord progression...mostly in the rhythm of the chords. Think of your chords as a drum beat, and you'll see how the same chords with a less predictable rhythm can really enhance your song.
-Lead line...pleasant...to alter it a bit more, try adding a bit of flanger to it.
-Drumbeat: Where are the fills? I know there are a couple, but fills are where you can REALLY get creative and show your chops!

OK, now for the full review:

This is a wonderful start! There's so very much that can be done with the gorgeous melody here that I almost wanna steal it and do it all acoustically! The overall feel of the song reminds me of the end of a Sega Genesis-Era videogame. It sounds very much like the over-happy type of ending, where you get some pretty pictures of the heroes celebrating. Yeah, sentimental is the word.

Now, it needs some edge. It's very simple, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I've found, as a musician, that when one plays a simple note, it can't just be held, but it needs to be MILKED for everything it can be! If I were to try this sort of melody on acoustic guitar, I'd have to pull out every single dynamic trick I know to keep it interesting, and that's what you, as a mixer, need to be doing as well. I recommend going over the whole. damn. track, note-by-note, and messing with volume, tremolo, bend, attack, EVERYTHING in order to make every lead-line note a special and memorable one.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh...I really do love the overall composition. It's solid already. But to take it from solid to pro, there's more work to be done!

R4R. 3.5/5

-Ceevro

Very sweet of you to write a birthday song for your dad, that alone deserves 5 stars in my book, but it's about the song I have to review, so here we go.

To begin, I wouldn't tell if this is truly an Ambient since most ambient tracks are really spacy and it mostly sets up this relatively weird atmosphere. It sounds dreamy at first, but it suddenly takes a structure that could turn into a pop-music anytime.

The melody set is solid, very sweet, can't add much about it. Good use of the synth that goes in harmony with the bass and other sounds.
The kickdrum feels a little weak. I feel like you could've give it a little more power to it, so it leaves an bigger impact, but that's all subjective.

Overall I'd give this song a 3.5/5