by

Edward Irvin
(Irvin)

Another really good rookie-entry. With a few corrections, this tune definately belongs in the veteran-division! This tune definately has potential. It's varied - has a good structure - nice chord progression - very nice and catchy lead. What's wrong with it then? Well, first of all samples should've been a better quality - the bombastic part lacks bass, as it sounds too bright and harsh (distorted even). Perhaps this is due to the inexperience of using a tracker, perhaps not, but I'm pretty sure, that this composer knows a great deal about music, and what is perhaps more important - knows how to put together a solid orchestral tune.

This is a decent piece of music, which is quite enjoyable even though it suffers from lack of originality and a few other problems. It opens with strings and a wind lead instrument. The string progression is good, and well thought out, but the lead leaves something to be desired. It could have been echoed to improve the sound, and the sample used was not the best, but the main problem is that it is somewhat dull - it seems as though not much effort went into it. The strings manage to carry this section, however. This moves, by way of a nice string chord progression, into a loud full-orchestra section, which is unfortunately a bit over the top. NNAs are overused here, pushing the channel usage to an unnecessarily high number. In some cases, for example the wind lead, they shouldn't have been used at all, and in others the fade could be quicker. As it is, the full orchestra sections become something of a dirge. The samples are not the best, and some of them sound a little unoriginal (used many times in the past). The brass samples are quite poor - too synthetic, as is the wind lead instrument, and the percussion is a bit lifeless too. Orchestral music is notoriously hard to track, requiring great musical ability as well as a superb sample set to get anywhere close to something that doesn't sound entirely synthetic and lifeless. As for this effort, it never quite makes it. Instead it sounds much like the majority of tracked orchestral songs - sadly unoriginal in terms of chord progressions, leads, and samples, making an overall sound that was quite undistinctive. Still, for the most part it managed to be reasonably enjoyable. Overall, above average.

This song is too simple but i like it because it sound great. Here, great means like a big orchestra. It only a simple melody, with great chords played by many intruments.

The first thing I noticed was the glaring static on most of the samples, it was very hard to listen too. Also, the panning on the grouping of instrument 08/07 is very annoying. This may be due to the compsoer's speakers very close together, but on wide spread speakers its dizzing. This song also has a little bit of trouble making up its mind on where its going to go. While Despair is a propper title, it changes themes often and looses a bit of consistancy and confuses the listener.

You would do us all a favor and reduce your song's size by cutting the samples to loop ends. Orchestral is tricky stuff for the toughest of them and it is no great shame your voicing skills are not quite up to the task. Fortunately you manage as well if not better than some exalted veterans. Suprisingly, you make a few mistakes with harmony. I would have thought you really knew what you were doing, by the sound of it. Maybe those were just lapses. Not much by the way of a melody, but the structure is impressive for a rookie. Maybe intermediate division would have been better for you.