GrapheneKid's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Routine]

This is a cute song! I imagine driving a car down a busy freeway. If there's a connection in this song to routines then I'm probably missing it, but I enjoyed this nonetheless.

SkittleWaffle responds:

Don’t worry there isn’t a connection to routines. I just needed a song name haha. Glad you like it

[[Day 2] It Walks]

This makes me feel like I just won a battle and got some gold and XP.

Scareev responds:

YOU WIN! 352+ Gold coins, 1888+ XP, Leveled Up!!

[Self-Destructive - Jamuary Day 2]

Not bad!! It definitely grows on you. The juxtaposition of the upbeat, energetic melody and the pessimistic lyrics is really interesting to me. I love how they both build to a hectic climax, it plays really well to this idea of being under lots of pressure under such a short amount of time. I think the mix could use a little work though, your vocals are fine for what you're trying to do, but they kind of overpower the beat instead of playing to the natural energy of the song. Put another way, it sounds less like the two are seamlessly integrated and more like the vocal track is just sitting on top of the beat. It's a tricky thing to work out a good balance of the two but I think it would be a great addition to what you've demonstrated here.

MasterHand4444 responds:

Really good advice about the vocals just "sitting" on the track; I didn't even think about it that way! I also kinda gave up on the mix in favor of just spitting the track out, which in hindsight I do regret lol. Thank you for the constructive criticism!

[1/1/23]

This was pretty interesting! Has almost a haunted castle kinda vibe to it. The dissonant harmonies threw me off a bit in the beginning but it's reigned in just enough to where it totally works.

[Directory - Day 1 of Jamuary]

This is a cool beat! I love the way it builds up. Not sure I get the same feeling of reading outdated phonebooks as you do, but this gives me the feeling of an old ruined building that's been reinhabited. Sort of a mix of age and decay with liveliness and coziness.

[The FIRST Night]

Ooh, this gives me a haunted vibe. Like abandoned houses and whatnot.

[(#1) Chiptune misfortune]

Don't feel bad, I learned a similar lesson with Day 1, lol.

I like this! Has a bit of an adventure-like feel to it. I get the feeling that Jamuary is a good excuse to really experiment and try new stuff or build an existing skill without the need for polish or a long running time. Really, it can be anything in the name of building yourself as a musician. Keep at it!

FL-DMD responds:

Those are some wise words! Thanks for the feeling of reassurance 🙃

[Welcome Home - Jamuary Day 1]

This is a great beat! The whole thing sounds clean, everything fits so well together. You've got a good strategy, it can be quite helpful to start in a familiar corner and "branch out" as the jam goes on.

MasterHand4444 responds:

Thanks much; glad you liked it! I'm excited to see where I end up taking things as the jam moves forward.

[JAMUARY 2023 - day 1]

This beat is so smooth and clean, like good liquor.

arbelamram responds:

thank u very muchhhh♥♥♥♥

[No Service (Day 1)]

The instrumentation here is good, I'm a sucker for big city style jazz. You mentioned drums in the comments and I was hoping there'd be some kind of percussion here to guide me along the unusual time signature. The bass is a little too freeform to give me an idea of the song's progression, but the piano is absolutely excellent, it feels so natural and those keys just SING.

My advice for programming drums for stuff that isn't on a conventional time signature is to not think about it. All you have to worry about are a kick and a snare, the rest of the drumset is just for fills. Let your hands and feet guide you when placing the notes. Think of how drums can walk you through a melody that may sound complex or inaccessible. That might sound kind of strange but it's the best way I've found when programming drums for nonconventional time signatures.

SilverPoyozo responds:

Oo, glad you liked it, my friend. If you enjoy this kind of stuff, my biggest inspirations for this one are probably Hiromi Uehara and Avishai Cohen Trio.
I always go a little overboard on the bass, especially with this one piece, since I wanted to finish it in one sitting, But I guess the piano reined it back in a little.

I might give it a try on another one, percussion never really came naturally to me. But as you said, if I play with just the kick and snare more often, I could get something out of it. I might try it on another piece with simpler time signature, though.