NGADM Review

You introduced the piece well, from the warm pizzicato strings to the more textured tones from the rest of the strings. The ebb and flow of the track is also delightful thanks to your clever use of dynamics throughout.

I had to take a point away from composition as I felt it ended(?) badly (did it end?) and that was a let down compared to the rest. An unsatisfying conclusion.

There’s not much I can say from a sound-design perspective as it’s orchestral. Things sound correct to my untrained ears although it’s a bit difficult to have so many parts relying on the strings, maybe with more thought about the instrumentation you could have made something which more fully utilised the whole orchestra. In the louder sections there was definitely space for the brass woodwinds to be playing the louder parts. Considering they are there anyway, might as well make use of them rather than making the poor guys wait around. Maybe you planned to all along but didn’t have time… As you said, the piece is unfinished.

Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot, good work!

Scores:
Composition: 4
Production: 5
Sound Design: 4
Instrumentation and Performance: 4
JeNeSaisQuoi - genre and case specific, also synergy: 4

I like the waltzy meter and sound design. The strings have a great, warm sound, and there’s a rather satisfying climax into :23. The harmonic shift at :31 is really well done, despite the fast pacing through that section. The mix is a bit quiet here, but otherwise well-balanced and full-textured. I think you could’ve stood to flesh out the composition here a little more. Right now, it bounces back and forth among several distinct sections very quickly, and the sense of cohesion suffers as a result. Still, these are minor complaints that only slightly detract from my enjoyment of the wonderful orchestration, whimsical storytelling, and impressive compositional details of this piece. Keep up the good work, CloakedSoup! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10