JULY 2001 ALL REVIEWS

Gerry Ellenson

CLASSICAL

MIRAGE - 9.9
Woa! This piece is just opening and I'm impressed already. S'cuse me while I throw rocks at my synth (gotta blame something). Then only thing I can say is that, overall, the composition seems too light.  More bass in passages may have helped - and I have a subwoofer.

FLYING FREE - 7
Very pleasant melody!  It has the sound of something from a musical.  It's not hard to picture it with lyrics.  The composition is compromised by being choppy in note length, as well as somewhat flat in volume expression - which lends to the repetitiveness becoming old. This could be an absolutely marvelous piece with a bit more work. 9 for composition, 5 for sequencing. If the composer would like, I'd love to work on this as a collaboration.

MIONA - 2

ADAGIO #2 IN G MAJOR - 2.5
There are some lovely themes in this piece, but the composition lacks any expression in volume. The same volume for instruments is maintained throughout. You may wish to check out the Tips and Tricks section of the site for some tips on how to make this work. You are very much on the right track, but need to do a lot more work to make this composition sing as I think it can.  Keep on composing! It takes time to get the hang of it all.

MELONCHOLIC IMPROMPTU - 5

COUNTRY ROADS - 4

OPENING THEME - 6.1
There are some very interesting themes here, but the quantize locking and lack of expression seriously detracts from the piece. This is a nice song - very much worth keeping and tweaking.

AVALON - 4

MISSING YOU - 4.2
You won't lose a single point on sound fonts from me - only on attention to expression. If the piece is locked into sequencer quantizing and doesn't sound like a realistic performance in terms of timing and volume, it will lose points (at least) from me. This piece has possibilities and some really nice orchestration but sounds like "computer music" because it is locked into your sequencer's choice of timing and note length. Rule your sequencer (I know this is getting old) - DON'T LET YOUR SEQUENCER RULE YOU!

PURE JOY - 5.5
Boy! That's one loud piano! What's John Lennon say at the end of Number 9? "I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!" This does have nice, churchy sound to it. It has a great deal of possibilities and deserves much more work. It suffers a great deal from lack of expression, but you can fix that.

TRIO - 5
This is an excellent composition but poorly presented. There is no pan. All instruments are uniformly loud. There is no attention to timing. 10 for composition, 0 for expression. This could have been a winner, in my book.


CINEMATIC

I WILL BE A SONG IN YOUR MIND - 9
There are some delightful surprises in the various passages of this composition. Sometimes there is a tad much repetitiveness where patterns of bars are repeated, but that appears rare. The piano could have been a bit less choppy - picky, picky, picky. Nice piece! Very pleasant melody lines.

NEBULA M-16 - Recuse

ENIGMATIC GALAXY - 8.2
This is an interesting listen. There were times when I wished that the melody had not become discordant because it was so lovely and deserved to bloom. A bit more expression in volume dynamics would have added to the drama - some well-placed crescendos would have been very nice, as would have some variation in tempo and timing. The composition keeps interest with its constant variations. There are some wonderful themes here that could be developed to stand alone.

THE TADAANIANS ATTACK - 7.3
Very nice attention to volume expression! Some attention to timing would have enhanced this piece even further. It's easy to picture this as a sound track. Nice work.

BATTLE OF ANTARES - 6
The only constructive criticism I can offer here is in orchestration. For the title, the piece seems too "light" in orchestration. Some brass and some percussion here and there would have lent a more a more martial feel.

LOST IN DEEP SPACE - 5.9

NEW YORK METRO - 6.8

WHAT IS - 5

THE BATTLE - 8.8
This is a very nice piece! There are times when the tempo seems a bit fast for the theme, and the orchestration (otherwise very nice) seems a bit light for the theme as well. A battle, one might expect, would be more "thunderous".

CHILDREN AT WAR - 6.5
I loved the way the rock-like rhythym and percussion worked together with the classical orchestration in this piece. Very inventive!

ROLLERCOASTER - 8.8
I can taste the cotton candy and smell the hotdogs!  What fun!


POP - ROCK - RHYTHYM

THE ONE FOR WHO - 9.4
(Actually that should be for WHOM - picky, picky, picky). That being said, I found this to be great fun. The composition and composer have great promise, but the latter needs to do some editing.  It is too flat in volume and could use some pregnant pauses for added punch. Still, it is an inventive piece and it does sound like you HAVE been to Vegas. Been there and done that. Somebody put a great deal of work into this, and should have credit based on that alone. I'd have called this cinematic - I can easily picture it as the background for a movie with Vegas scenes on the screen.

STORM - 8
The percussion track on this is too loud for the rest of the composition. The piece is mostly quite repetitive but very listenable. Cute effects with the echo from side to side. That took WORK and attention to detail.  It's a keeper.

NOVA - 7.4
I think the composition would have sounded better had the accompaniment been louder against the percussive instruments.  Fun to listen to.  I'd have been tempted to put this under cinematic.  It would make a great sound track, and reminds me of John Carpenter's self-done scores.

NOCTURN - 7
One nifty effect stood out in particular, rather akin to the famous Psycho stair-well shot by Alfred Hitchcock with the camera tracking back as it zoomed in: Moving an instrument back by steadily quieting it while steadily increasing the reverb and chorus. Very inventive. The fun thing about listening to so many excellent midis is learning new performance tricks. I can picture several waves of that effect with various instruments - a sort of musical "moon walk."

WAIT FOR THE SUN - 8.2
Makes me wish I was in Belize or something. I can smell the air and see the bikinis. VERY pleasant listening and quite lovely. It does feel at times as if there should be more of a melody line - sounds like background or accompaniment music. I would like as well to have seen more emphasis in volume where some phrases come in.  Ain't your fault, but: Why doesn't midi have more sustain for the classical guitar. It always sounds so dead unless it's being used for flamenco or something.

GET OUT OF MY NIGHTMARE - 4

THE APPROACH - 7.8

LOVE WILL PREVAIL - 5
A lot of work went into this, but it is is monophonically loud, has no expression, and there is not enough melody to rescue it.

THE EARTH - Recuse
I really liked the opening melody. It became discordant and you lost me after that. On suspicion, I pulled it up into my sequencer and found all parameters were defined at 0001.01.000. It is extraordinarily difficult for synthesizers to nab all that info in a microsecond. I could not take the time to repair all the parameter timing. TIP: NEVER, EVER begin a midi composition in the first bar! Do so in the second or third bar, and check the timing of parameters, spreading them out a bit. I suspect this piece might have been very nice, but there was no way to tell. I'll recuse on this so the score won't be affected.

P.S.
I would suspect MidiSoft Studio is the culprit, especially if you are also the composer of "Mother". Your sequencer should take care of the business of spreading out parameter timing without your intervention. I'm not familiar with the program, but you may wish to consider using a different sequencer to avoid all the work you'll have to do if you stick with what you have.

LIGHTNING - Recuse
I'll recuse on this piece.  It is too meandering and tuneless for my tastes.  (Actually, it sounds like I do when I try to play metal on my electric guitar.)

CHOCOLATE WITH MUSTARD - 4
(Sounds yummy)  I suspect that another guitar would have worked better than the woodwind, particularly if it used some two-note chords for emphasis here and there.  There is a bit much repetition with no variation in the repeated parts.  Interest can be added to a midi composition by such things varying melodies a bit, varying chords or even swapping out which instruments play which parts. Nice beat, but the song tires quickly. The percussion instruments would have more presence and power if the timing of notes was spread out by a few ticks.


BLUES/SWING

CLOSING TIME - Recuse


COUNTRY and WESTERN

BACCHHH - 6.5
What great fun! Jerry Lee Lewis and Homer and Jethro try to play Bach.  Cute "doppler" piano.

OH SUSAN - 4
Though not original, this is fun. It would have benefited greatly by swapping out the choir with other instruments, switching the choir to be harmony for instruments, etc. Lacking that, It gets boring very quickly. It runs off of a cliff (or into a wall) at the end. Some orchestration overall would have helped.  This is tempting me to re-sequence a version of Hotel California I've had on my computer for years (one of THE greatest rock songs of all time).

HILLBILLY FUGUE - 6.8
Technically it isn't a fugue (picky picky) - unless, of course you are referring to a psychological fugue state.  I'll buy that the dudes jamming on this went into fugue states. Very fun composition! Nice to see you here, Mr. T.


JAZZ

Sf2 - 2
The performance is very flat in volume.  There is no emphasis even on the first note of each bar, which could have added greatly to the composition.  The repetitiveness turns one off VERY quickly.  There is something here to be developed, but it is not. This composition definitely has some things worth developing, but there will have to be some attention to detail and some work done. Fun at times, but gets on the nerves with the repetitiveness before it gets interesting.

TIEMPO DE TIMBRE - 9.7
I'd have given this a higher score had it been more expressive.  VERY, VERY NICE COMPOSITION, but a bit too much of a toe-tapper.


TECHNO - NEW AGE

MIDNIGHT FLIGHT - 6
The opening theme repeats itself too much without much variation. That's redeemed a bit when, after the introduction, some variation is thrown in. Redemption is lost when no other counterbalancing theme is introduced. Pleasant to listen to, but (even forewarned) I tired quickly. Nice stuff in the background, and a nice shift to the background toward the end - which would have been nice to bring in sooner and develop more.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE - 4.1

PORCELAIN TO ASH - 5
Pleasant but too short (undeveloped).

T-BEAT - 7.4
Rave on, man!  I shouldn't have liked this, but I did. Sounds like taiko drums in a galactic collision with a John Carpenter score.


AMBIENT

MOTHER - 7.9
The piano sounded awfully flat to me at first - as if a bit of pitch bend was drawn in and was left.  It was royally mucking up an otherwise very nice composition. I reset my synthesizer and reloaded the midi twice to be sure there was not an error due to a previous song. Then I pulled the midi up into my sequencer and believe I know what the problem was (I was able to fix it and everything sounded much better). All the parameters for tracks (instrument definition, pan, etc.) are sent at exactly the same time at the very beginning of all the tracks, which is hard for a synth to keep up with. SEQUENCING TIP: NEVER begin a composition in the first bar of your sequencer. Begin it in the second or third bar, and check the timing of the parameters. They can be spread out by several ticks before the first notes come in, allowing synthesizers to keep up. This is a very nice piece which might draw low scores due to technical problems. The choir could have been softened a bit more by overlapping notes - it comes off as choppy. Use of a smoother voice may have helped as well - it has too much of a "doh" sound where "ahh" would have worked better. The piece would benefit from attention to expression as well.  This is worth keeping and spiffing up. Very pretty!

AO CESAR - 9
I don't know what this is doing in Ambient, but what the heck. This is a very pleasant composition which suffers only in expressiveness. The song is worth some band taking note and making a recording.

COIMBRA - 4.9
Nice detail on the sax, but the squeeky effect at the start of notes sounds a bit strange and is overused. This is a pleasant listen. There are at least some elements that sound a bit much like an old standard, taking away from originality quite a bit.

ABSTRACT - EXPERIMENTAL

ARTHROPOD SQUAD - 8
Cute little bugger! Nice mixing of rhythyms. Makes me want to go bug hunting with a flashlight. (Always loved bugs, and was in entomology in the Army. I'm one of probably relatively few people who would describe some mosquitos as "beautiful".)

HARD MAN - 7.2
This has the flavor of an old Irish or Scottish folk song. I liked the mixing of rhythyms, but would have liked a bit more percussion at times.

CHINATOWN - 5.3
TIP: Repetitiveness is to be avoided most especially in the opening of a composition. It can turn people off to the piece very quickly - before they've had the chance to hear what else is offered. This is excellent as a percussion composition, and I liked it on that account. Beyond the beat, there's not a lot else to which to listen.

X - 6.5
The Mothers of Invention meet Alien!  Whoever is doing a space horror/sci-fi movie next should consider this.  Very fun experimental piece!


OTHERS - UNKNOWN

YELLOW ROZE - 4
I have no idea what the introduction has to do with the rest of the piece, other than the symbolism of the yellow rose. The composition is highly repetitive and becomes boring. There is some nice attention to crescendo but it keeps feeling like some melody line should come in against the background, which is underorchestrated. This is worth keeping and developing. Please do so. It has great promise but is very undeveloped. Lawsy but I really began liking this after the introduction and hoped it would take off. Work on the volume of the orchestrated chords. They are flat in volume expressiveness.  The composition dies gradually yet suddenly, and does not deserve to do so. Don't put this composition on a hospice program. I suspect that the composer is impatient. He/she needs to take some time, listen to what he/she writes and work a little harder. If you don't listen to your own composition at least 50 (if not 100) times during its development, you haven't done your homework. Spend at least a month on a composition, if not two or three (while you work on others). Let it set a day or two and then proof-listen again - and do that several times.

AWAY FROM THE SCREAMING CROWD - 6
The bells would have been better in triplets than locked into your sequencer's quantizing. It could have been a very nifty effect.  It starts to get quite interesting when the guitars come in but the single chord structure makes it tire. This piece has some real possibilities if you get into some nitty-gritty editing.

Top

Ron Roos

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RON ROOS - REVIEWS for JULY 2001

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This batch of MIDI's was really difficult to review. You'll notice a lot of pieces, I scored fairly high, with many in the 8's. I'm glad we aren't using a bell curve, because it would have been an impossible chore. Excellent group of fine composers we've got here. A real challenge to review and score. Looking forward to what August has in store for us! -RR

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CLASSICAL

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MIRAGE - 8.7

Very smooth and flowing. I think this is more suited for the Cinematic catagory, but that really isn't important. Overall, composition is beautiful, and arrangement is well done.

FLYING FREE - 8.3

This tune is very familiar to me. I recommend splitting up your tracks for better definition. Your 2 piano tracks are both on channel 1 and both string tracks on channel 2. Also, your strings are set to full volume (127) and piano at 84, with no use of volume as expression... One last note about MIDI technique, pan is set to 64 (middle) for all instruments. You would get a better feeling of depth if you offset the position of the instruments just a bit.

MIONA - 6.0

Sorry, but this just didn't grab me, as I felt it was underdeveloped....However, I do feel that the idea could be expanded upon, and could very well be developed into a fully orchestrated arrangement that would indeed, grab anyone with an ear. Keep working on this, it's worth developing, and shows great promise.

ADAGIO #2 IN G MAJOR - 4.0

BOOM! Haha! The volume setting on this one took me by surprise. (full blast) I found this piece to be a bit lacking, in that the "movements" if you will were not tied together well. When the changes came, they seemed to me like they didn't belong.

MELONCHOLIC IMPROMPTU -6.1

Interesting, but somewhat trite, for lack of a better word. I like the arrangement, piano and flute has always been complementary. I like the odd chords near the end, and the consistancy of the flute, which didn't seem to mind the odd progression, and just kept on doing it's thing. It worked well, surprisingly.

COUNTRY ROADS - 5.4

Timing is a bit regimented, and overall flow could be improved by playing with variations in the tempo throughout the piece. I like the progressions, but feel a change in instrument voices could have enhanced the changes in the song, and given it more "punch" and definition.

OPENING THEME - 7.5

Dramatic composition here.... patient opening that intrigues the listener and sparks my curiosity... Piano break comes in a bit weak, and timing is too exact, sounds over-quantized to me. Could have been better presented with minimal effort towards expression. I do like the 3rd part, and would suggest only that you try to make the brass a bit more powerful.

AVALON - 5.8

Nice arrangement, but methinks you transposed, and forgot to leave the drum track (track 10) alone. Transposing the percussion track often results in the whistles and odd sounds in the drum track... This couldn't have been deliberate, was it? If so, subtract a point. hehe! Overall, the progressions didn't really grab me.

MISSING YOU - 6.1

Interesting and dramatic, but I would have chosen a different voice for your lead melody. My interest seems to come and go, as I listen.

MISSING YOU - VIOLIN - 7.1

I am unsure which of these I should review, so I'll review both..... I see that the different versions were for different sound fonts, but I will say that the violin works better than the voice "oohs" as a melody instrument, and fits the composition much better. Adding more harmony to this track would bring it to life, in my humble opinion. I bumped the score up a full point, just for better orchestration. This arrangement is much more suited to the music, and my ears like it much better.

PURE JOY - 6.5

This piano number to me, sounds like the pianist should put his cigarette down, because the timing sounds more than just a bit off. I think the overall composition has merit, though, and catches my interest, and my mind fills with possibilities, so it is worth developing, and I think deserves kudos for the ideas layed out here... but really needs some work, in my humble opinion.

TRIO - 8.8

Great arrangment, and an excellent work that lacks only some minor tweaks. You could have adjusted the pan, just as you did the volume, for each of these 4 tracks, and given the piece more depth, for example...Minor details, but something that would have had a major impact on the way this piece sounded. Composition vs. expression... I only downscored 2 tenths of a point for this, but it would have made the difference. Nice piece, I look forward to more from this composer.

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CINEMATIC

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I WILL BE A SONG IN YOUR MIND - 9.3

Now I know where that rhythm track idea for the collaborations came from. hehe! This piece develops naturally, and flows beautifully. Arrangement works well. This composer did a whole lotta things right, because I'm giving it a 9.3.

NEBULA M-16 - 9.0

This piece is dramatic, and deserves a 9 just on the goosebump scale. Could be developed into a longer version, and I wouldn't mind a bit.

ENIGMATIC GALAXY - 9.4

Progressive and dynamic, this piece has my interest from start to finish. The patience of the composer is clear to me, when I hear how each progression is developed and then built into complex arrangements. Then falling back into simplistic harmonies, which again build into powerful climaxes. An excellent understanding of orchestral arrangement is obvious. Unusual and clearly original, this piece well deserves the 9.4 score I gave it.

THE TIDAANIANS ATTACK - 8.5

Dynamic and expressive, this one got my attention right away. Here's a good example of how simple attention to expression can make all the difference in the world. Just the volume dynamics alone bring this number to life. Cool concept, well done!

BATTLE OF ANTARES - 8.6

Beautiful melodic intro... the minor progressions add a mystic feel to it, and the voice tracks work well, which is rare, in my opinion.
Overall very imaginative and well developed. Excellent arrangement for this composition. I can't pin down what is lacking, but I'm only counting 8 goose bumps. Perhaps you could have built on the drama a bit. Hard to explain.

LOST IN DEEP SPACE - 6.5

Original, off-center idea here, somewhat reminiscent of the old Lost in Space theme (which was one of the tunes in the "Name That Tune contest, by the way).... but a bit too much cacophony for me, particularly when the piano jumps in. Although I like this kind of thinking, it just didn't work for me, in this case.

NEW YORK METRO - 5.1

This just didn't strike me. Only comment I have is that it sounds like an LP set to play at 45 speed. Might have worked at a slower tempo.

WHAT IS? - 5.2

Intro could have been a bit more powerful. What follows needs development, for this to work as a cinematic piece. A lot of attention needs to be payed to expression and builds, overall dynamics... I'm not talking about MIDI technique, I mean the music for each instrument in the orchestra.... building upon each other towards a climactic conclusion, and during less complex parts, the simple interactions between insstrument voices. Difficult to explain. Anyhow, this piece could use development.

THE BATTLE - 9.1

Excellent arrangement and well developed. This is what I mean by development, that I was trying to explain in the last review (what is)
Patiently drawn out, while at the same time, powerful parts punch in without mercy, making this a dynamic and interesting piece.
I think the arrangement could be played with a bit, and better instrument complement could be found, but this actually works just fine, so no points lost on that account. I like the melodic harmonies, and think this could be expanded upon, but overall I count 9 goosebumps.

CHILDREN AT WAR - 8.0

Extremely simple yet reaches me. Simplicity is sometimes the key. I suggest experimenting with the arrangement a bit, and play with different instrument voices. I think a more pizzicato sound would work better than the vibes, for example. Just my opinion, for what it's worth. No points lost. I think you developed this a bit too quickly though, and could have been a bit more patient, and could have improved it's effect and it's impact on the goose bump factor.

ROLLERCOASTER - 7.5

Carnivalesque ragtime number, somewhat mis-timed, or over quantized, I can't decide which. I must admit, I do like the brass trills you throw in here and there... no lack of imagination, for sure. I think this could be worked into something I'd likely keep in my personal collection, but it's not quite there.

OLIVER'S SONG - 7.8

Ray Manzerik would be proud. This carnivalesque organ piece demonstrates how the voices can "talk to each other".... sort of like new orleans jazz arrangements, but a whole different genre. Short and sweet, I liked it.

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POP - ROCK - RHYTHYM

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SPEEDWAY to LAS VEGAS 8.5

I love this progressive number! Very interesting, and exciting. A bit weak during the breaks, but picks right up. Syncopated rhythm is captivating. See below for more.

THE ONE FOR WHO - 8.5

This is the same piece as Speedway to Las Vegas. I love the slap bass, and the syncopation. The timing is interesting... sort of Thelonius Monk mixed with a little Chris Squire. Really an interesting off-beat piece, this one. Originality gets a 10; Overall, I think it deserves an 8.5. What is different about this version?. I can't find it, but there seems to be a subtle difference. Is it my imagination? Anyhow, Well done.

STORM - 8.6

Reminds me of something. Can't put my finger on it. Interesting progression, to say the least, and odd, but effective choice of instrument voices. Leaves me wanting for a more powerful movement added, and overall, I was a bit dissapointed because of this.

Great work, but like I said, lacks a climactic progression, in my opinion.

NOVA - 8.1

Nice composition, and overall nice piece. Interesting pitch bends give it added appeal. Melody doesn't really grab me. A minor key progression would have been cool with those pitch bends, but then it'd be a whole different song, wouldn't it? <grin> Drums were refreshing, in that they weren't simply generated with a progression composer, and inserted, it sounds to me. Ending made this apparant, and if the composer didn't write the drum track manually, he sure fooled me.

NOCTURNE

Cannot review this one.... it's mine.

WAIT FOR THE SUN - 9.1

Smooth and inviting. This one reminds me it's time for a cocktail right about now. I usually don't care much for tunes this mellow, but this one reaches me in that deep place where goosebumps come from. Where's Tom Jones to sing the lyrics?

GET OUT OF MY NIGHTMARE - 4.5

This one reminds me of a garage-band version of "Leave them Kids Alone" but is nothing like anything from Pink Floyd, if that makes any sense. I think the ideas behind this one have merit, but the overall arrangement is muddy and too choppy for me.

THE APPROACH - 6.6

Neat ideas are expressed here, but the rhythms don't quite do these ideas justice. Try muting the percussion and you'll see what I mean. The whole thing flows better without it.

LOVE WILL PREVAIL - 4.5

This one is too choppy for my ears, and overall, just doesn't grab me.

THE EARTH - 7.9

I like the progressions, overall. Pizzicato behind woodwinds work well. Could have, in my opinion, worked into a more dynamic segment, but well done, with neat sound effects well placed.

LIGHTNING

Since I know who the author is, and don't want to be accused of stacking the deck, (or dealing from the bottom of it) I think I should disqualify myself from reviewing this one. I will explain further, after all reviews are in.

CHOCOLATE WITH MUSTARD - 6.3

Interesting, but a bit on the cacophonic side for me. I think the composer is on to some neat ideas, and demonstrates a great deal of potential here. Imagination, alone, rates a 6. Further development and attention to harmonies could turn this one around, in my opinion.

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BLUES/SWING

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CLOSING TIME

I can't review this one, it's a collaborative piece I did with Gerry Ellenson

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COUNTRY and WESTERN

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BACCHHH - 5.1

Although I give this one credit for being off- the wall and interesting, it lacks the stuff great music is made of. Whatever that is.

OH SUSAN - 3.0

C'mon now. Gimme a break.

HILLBILLY FUGUE - 7.6

I recognize the style, but not sure. This piece adds tracks one at a time for a slanted, unique approach to an old fashioned hoe-down. The odd harmonies become a bit muddled, though, and probably would have worked out better with a more "normal" approach to this kind of ditty. But then I suppose I wouldn't have given well-earned points for originality, so who knows? <grin>

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JAZZ

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Sf2 - 7.2

Interesting piano work, nice methodical bass track to back it up. Has a Thelonius Monk quality in some spots. Lead melodies could have really exploded from this platform, but I was a bit disappointed in the lack of development of the melody lines, and lack of diversity. Bottom line, this one could be developed into something explosive, and could have been a real firecracker, but was more like a sparkler.

TIEMPO DE TIMBRE - 8.1

Initially, this one leaned toward boring, even though I did like the progressions used here.... very jazz fusion. The break introduces a cool melody then winds down nicely. Quite an interesting piece, after all. The ending brought on a grin. A big difference, when listening with GM vs. Roland VSC88, and I suspect I'm missing the finer points without the sound font used here. Score is therefore based more on composition than arrangement, in this case.

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TECHNO - NEW AGE

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MIDNIGHT FLIGHT - 8.9

Beautiful, expressive, and a real goose-bumper. Great use of echos, and arranged very well. This composer has my respect, as well as just a touch of my envy <grin>. Actually, this is a somewhat simple piece, but is so well put together, I hardly noticed. I would have preferred it be worked into a dynamic, powerful movement, but it stands alone with a lot of grace. Very nice work, this one.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE - 7.0

Somewhat reminiscent of some of the later works of Jarre, and I do like the composition, itself, but could use some work with the timing and expression. Comes off a bit over-quantized, and choppy to me. This one is a good example where expression could have improved the overall outcome of the song dramatically.

PORCELAIN TO ASH - 4.0

A bit trite, and lacking in development. I hate to downgrade for length, but this one doesn't get any real ideas across, in my opinion. The minute waltze it is not.

T-BEAT - 8.9

This one is intriguing. Use of odd harmonies and strange syncopation are it's strong points. At the same time, the harmonic distortions (possibly from too many voices at once), weaken it, though, and make it sound a bit muddy. This composer demonstrates an imagination that won't quit, and I'm curious to hear more of these kinds of ideas. Hard to explain why the good points and the bad points of this piece are nearly the same thing.

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AMBIENT

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MOTHER - 8.1

Beautiful, captivatingly simple intro leads into a somewhat methodical rhythm, but because it didn't seem to progress into anything much different, or more dynamic, it didn't quite get my attention. Keeping in mind the catagory, however, I won't downgrade the score on that account. As an ambient piece, it's quite well done.

AO CESAR - 8.9

This MIDI has no place in this catagory. It should be in jazz, so should I consider the catagory, in this case? Nah... I will consider it's placement an oversight, and score this piece according to my appraisal of it's worth as a jazz number. This JAMS ! Excellent arrangement, and travels well.

I liked it very much.

COIMBRA - 8.9

Wait a minute, let me find my castanets. This piece is flowing, and well arranged. Passionate and easy to listen to. Good job!

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ABSTRACT - EXPERIMENTAL

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ARTHROPOD SQUAD

This is my own work. An objective review would not be possible.

HARD MAN - 6.6

Changes are a bit weak, though overall composition is interesting and shows a lot of promise. Lack of development is the down-side here.

CHINATOWN - 7.2

Nice use of instruments and effects for a real oriental sound. A bit redundant, although the break helps. The composer's outstanding success with this one is definitely the sound itself. Great effort!

X - 4.0

Strange, which is good. I like strange. No error in catagory placement here, for sure. Too heavy on the cacaphony button, though, in my opinion. Great effect, but overused. Diversity is much needed to develop this. Don't scrap it though.... it has it's good points. Just not as a stand alone work.

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OTHERS - UNKNOWN

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YELLOW ROZE - 6.2

Cool and imaginative use of sound effects. Are you a war veteran? Odd harmonies follow and except for the whistle in the drum track, got my attention. This one shows some imagination, and a gift for expression, and unusual composition.

AWAY FROM THE SCREAMING CROWD -7.9

Timing seems to be off a bit. Choice of instruments is well done, as is the overall composition. Efforts in expression don't go unnoticed here.... they help a lot. Lead melody is well placed, and the saving grace of what was beginning to lean toward mundane. Imaginative work, and probably deserves better than the 7.9 I'm giving it.

______________________________________________

Top

Lavio Pareschi

CLASSICAL

Mirage = 10
Very beautiful. Reminds me some Debussy music. Hat's off, or, in other words, deserves the Top Quality Award in my opinion.

Flying Free = 9.0
Simple and effective. Very nice melody and traditional accompaniment with arpeggios. Good use of instruments for introducing some variations based on the same melody and chord progressions (also traditional but effective). Very good.
Yes, the midi was not so much worked, the dynamics could be better and the music sounds a bit mechanical, but I will not low the score because of that. As musical composition it is really good. One can evaluate the quality of a melody if he remembers it after listening. This is the case, because the melody keeps playing in my mind.

Miona = 7.5
Good melodies and chord progressions, but it is a bit "empty" and the structure is too much repetitive. I think the composer of this piece should focus to fill the gaps and ellaborate more his/her creativity doing more variations and introducing more instruments to color the melodies.

Adagio #2 in G+ = 8.0
Very interesting piece. I would score it higher if I could find better melodies in it.

Melancholic Impromptu = 7.5
Yes, it is melancholic. It creates a very interesting atmosphere and has very good melodies. Could be improved with more orchestration.

Country Roads = 9.0
What nice melodies! Reminds me some forgotten land :-) The "voices" are great. The percussion is weird. The better are the melodies, the variations with flutes, and the harmony. The result sound is very pleasant to listen to. Very good chord progressions. The midi performance could be improved. The end could be a bit improved. Beautiful.

Opening Theme = 8.0
The piano start is too hard and without a continuity. It just pops up!. The composition repeats the same melody pattern several times without a development, or variations I think would be better. The change of instruments and orchestration are very good.

Avalon = 7.2
Very similar to the above, Opening Theme. Same goods and bads. I don't like to say that, but a few more expression would help a lot. Probably, the lack of good melodies is the main weakness of this music. If you have no good melodies, there is nothing to express unless sound effects (some music are based, not this one).

Missing You = 10
One of the best musics I have ever heard. It has beautiful melody, excellent orchestration, variations in time, in instruments, in form, in accompaniments, plays very well with the primary melody and counterpoint, it has dynamics in volume and in time, finally, it has everything a great music should have. Also, the double melody played with tuba and violin before the end is really incredible. And the string accompaniment after the double melody is amazing, although the sound card was not able to sound it very well as should (too much voices and harmonics together for the hardware). I listened to it several times and wanted more, but can't because I have other midis to hear. Excellent violin **expression** when using the soundfonts indicated. Absence of sound effects, what is good, because this is a very good example of music and not just use of midi controls. Hat's off. Deserves the Top Quality Award in my opinion.

Pure Joy = 8.2
Strong, heavy and very good orchestration. Maybe it should be in Cinematic but that does not matter. Reading the description in the submission page I would expect more feelings about God listening the music.

Trio = 9.0
Very good!. I liked it very much. The construction is simple, with good chords and easy listening accompaniment. Simple and effective. A little too short for comparing with other submissions in this contest.

CINEMATIC

I will be a song in your mind = 9.2
Great orchestration. The only weakness in my point of view (listening) are the melodies too much obvious, traditional. Lacks the surprise effect and some beauty or original chord progressions. But the variations of instruments and orchestration on the same melodies are VERY good and well done.

Nebula M16 = 5.5
It lacks musical material. If  the piece wanted to express something, I didn't get it. Just mechanical effects and too much based on sound effects. Timing and dynamics are present just to achieve effects, but no music. Also, although cinematic, it didn't create any mood or atmosphere needed for this type of music. There is not enough melody or continuity and the creativity is all forwarded to achieve sound effects through midi, but not music. Yes, maybe it could be a sound track for a scene in a movie of 5 to 15 seconds, however not as music. The best part is in the middle, when some real instrumentation begins, but it does not keep playing more than 15 seconds. Just effects, not enough music, soul, nor life in my opinion.

Enigmatic Galaxy = 9.0
Oops! This one is really good! Started as sound effect, but now introduced a nice and simple melody to catch the listener attention and say what the music is for, express some emotions. Very good orchestration. Hum... now it lost some continuity, mixing melodies and sound effects for creating atmosphere. Well, as music it is mixing too much melody themes and being confused. As cinematic, it should describe something changing a lot. It has not a clear mood or intention. What does the music want to express? That's its weakness. As orchestration is not 10, is 1000. As a whole, about 9. I was almost voting it for the TQA (Top Quality Award), but the mixing of themes and lack of structure was a serious counterpoint.

The Tidaanians Attack = 8.2
The percussion is the heart of this piece. And what a heart! Sometimes it lacks some orchestration which could be improved to fill the gaps and build a more developed work.

Battle of Antares
Puke ;-)

Lost in Deep Space = 8.0
What is this!? I was shocked when it suddenly started. But that was nothing compared to the strong piano introduction. Very original!! It lacks some structure but is scaring...!

New York Metro = 9.0
What a rush!! I am without breathing. Good for "running" in metro or in any place. Excellent cinematic description!! Have strong appealing. The orchestration is perfect and the piano solo is amazing. The structure repeats some patterns a bit and it is its weakness. It is light and happy. Very good for listening. Should it deserve the TQA? Almost.

What is? = 9.0
I am not sure, but the introduction reminds me some road accident in a cinematic scene were the victim souls are scared and waiting for hell... Very good resultant sound and choice of instruments. Simple melodies. I didn't like the way the percussion does the accompaniment. In the structure, as a whole, the end could be extended and improved because the theme asks for. Poor souls, it seems they didn't find the way to Heavens. This composer uses few instruments but is VERY sensitive. The listener have to pay attention to the melodies and the sequence to get it. Some more work in midi performance could improve it a lot. Also, it tells a story. I didn't like the end, it was sudden and doesn't fit.

The Battle = 9.1
Wonderful orchestration. Lacks better melodies I think, but the orchestration skill hides the melody weakness. Excellent harmony. Deserves the Top Quality Award in my opinion.

Children at War = 8.0
Has nice melody and chord progression, also very good harmony and the choice of instruments in a whole is very good. Its weakness is the extreme repetition of the same percussion accompaniment ALL the piece and also the only ONE melody pattern. It needs variations and the links between (continuity). Also, I have to say it didn't transmitted me a "war" or chidren at war suffering and atmosphere.

Rollercoaster = 9.0
Sounds like an old movie track. For an amusement park is excellent as cinematic. For a rollercoaster it is too light. Although the melodies are not original and obvious, the mood it expresses is very effective and the midi work is very well done.

Oliver's Song = 8.0
Another amusement park! The best part is the cat meow. As sound effect, 10; as music, 0. As cinematic piece, 6. Complex average = -j8.0 for the originality.

POP - ROCK

Speedway to Las Vegas = 9.0
This guy is good....

Storm = 8.5

Nova = 8.7

Nocturne = 7.0
Why nocturne for a music that looks like a midday at Cairo?
Hum... now, the second part with guitar is better. But too much mechanical and sound effect. I would score it higher if I could listen more music instead of only a mix of sound effects and short fragments of melodies which never develop.

Wait for the Sun = 8.0
Should be better if you fill the gaps with a more powerful or complex orchestration. The simple melody line is very effective for the type of music. Has good ideas not enough developed.

Get out of my nightmare = 8.0

The Approach = 9.0
The electronic music maker is here again! I know this guy...
Impeccable use of electronic intruments and sounds.
Lacks better melodies, because it is based too much in the repetition of some patterns as usual in this kind of music I personally don't like. But as midi composition is very very well done accordingly the style selected by the author. The changes of instruments is VERY clever, original and good for listening.

Love Will Prevail = 6.0
Should change dynamics more. The first variations only happens after 1 minute!

The Earth = 8.2
Slow. Too much obvious, like other thousand songs alike. The percussion drums sometimes get over the melody line and get harsh. But has good melodies.

Lightning = 0.5
Sounds like a bad percussion exercise. Seems the playes are trying to break their instruments.

Chocolate with Mustard = 7.0
Traditional drums and melodies. Repeats a lot the same pattern!!

BLUES  - SWING

Closing Time = 4.0
Sorry, but it sounds mechanical and traditional. Lacks better melodies, beauty, emotions and feeling. The chord progressions are poor. Excellent pan and reverb, dynamics are a bit plain, timing and performance are acceptable as a midi work, but as music it plays without soul or creativity.
Also, the volume of some tracks were too loud and unbalanced! It hurts my ears! Sure it was a midi flaw (XG x GM?), but I will not let it pass because the midi work is based on premises which didn't work.

COUNTRY - WESTERN

Bacchhh = 8.4
Very appealing. Excellent for listening. Expresses joy and pleasure. Lacks originality. A bit sound effects biased in detriment of music. A bit short when comparing it with other submissions and the work involved I have to score.

Oh Susan = 7.0
Lacks originality, but yes, as the author said, it is an arrangement and is very well done. Repeats too much, even as arrangement it could have more variations, what would be very interesting and a true exercise to composition skills.

Hillbilly Fugue = 8.0
Melody is simple and effective. It grows very well adding orchestration complexity based on the same melody and accompaniment pattern. Lack of variations of theme (there is only one always repeated using different orchestrations). Reminds me Tom & Jerry cartoons. Of course, Jerry is escaping... (in portugues, "fuga" is escape).

JAZZ

Sf2 = 8.5
Very well orchestrated and with good choice of midi instruments. The resultant midi work is perfect based on a technical aspect. But the music is a bit annoying, lacks beauty and emotions.

Tiempo de Timbre = 8.5
Similar the above. Worst orchestration but better melody line.

TECHNO _ NEW AGE

Midnight Flight = 8.0
Why a starry sky at midnight should have such percussion?

Would you like to dance? = 8.3
Yes, very effective. Repeats too much the same patterns.

Porcelain to Ash = 6.33
48 seconds of joy. Because it should be 3 times longer, at least, the 10 will be divided by 3 and a joy offset of 3 will be added. This guy has potential, he does not have patience to work hard and build a whole masterpiece.

T-Beat = 9.4
Wow. It is so good I have nothing to say. I want to listen it!
Hum.... the midi needs some work, but maybe you have a problem with your speakers or sound card, because the volume is too loud for all tracks, what makes it lose expression. Take care with your equipment because your music is GREAT but probably your equipment is not helping you.

AMBIENT

Mother = 9.0
Beautiful melodies. Sometimes it reminds me classical pieces. Harmony and chords very good in several parts. Should be used for a classical work I think. Repeats a bit some patterns and changes style in a bad manner (seems to change from classical to pop or new age and return).

Ao Cesar = 9.0
As a brazilian style of music, perfect. It has all tricks and subtles a bossa nova should have. For my taste, lacks more beauty and emotion expression (not midi expression, in midi expression it is very good!).

Coimbra = 9.0
Traditional folk songs of Portugal. Very pleasant to listen to. The composition orchestratin matches very well the goal. Lacks melody originality.

ABSTRACT - EXPERIMENTAL - FUSION

Arthropod Squad = 8.5
As sound effects, 10! As music... well, it reminds me a talkative bacteria :-)

Hard Man = 8.0
It has a very good melody line, but the orchestration and accompaniments should be improved. The second part is very better than the first (with the piano playing the solo part). The chords are very interesting.

Chinatown = 9.0
See comments in T-Beat. They are the same.

X = 7.0
The martians are invading the Earth!!
Not music, just sound effects. Because it is in Abstract, deserves a good score. Could be cinematic as well. Better impossible for the "Killer Bubble from Outspace".
Sh..., how is difficult to score comparing an abstract sound effect with a classical music! It is very good as experimental and atmosphere, it is nothing as music.

OTHERS _ UNKNOWN

Yellow Roze = 8.8
You probably watched a lot of movies at TV...
Very good transition effect between the starting sound effect and the music after that. Nice melodies.

Away from the screaming crowd = 9.0
A mix of styles, sound effects and a bit of music. The result is a very pleasant and interesting piece. The use of certain instrumens is very good and effective (whistle?). Good work! Very original. Almost deserves the TQA in my opinion. A bit more music instead of sound effects and it would deserve it.

Top

Donya Quick

CLASSICAL

Mirage
Score: 9.5
Comments: Wonderful listening music. My only criticisms would be that it started to wander aimlessly in one section in the middle and almost had
the effect of a false-ending about 30 seconds before the end.

Flying Free
Score: 8.5
Comments: Too choppy for my tastes as a midi, but it performed live it would be wonderful.

Miona
Score: 7
Comments: Needs more development and structure. Normally I don't listen to pieces for anything but the piece itself, but this one would have
benefited from some structure.

Adagio No 2 in G major
Score: 7.2
Comments: Wandered too much. Good harmonies though.

Melancholic Impromptu
Score: 7.8
Comments: Could have used more development, but works almost as
background music. Some of the harmonies didn't seem to fit.

Country Roads
Score: 7.5
Comments: seemed very disjointed in a couple places. Good melodies and harmonies but they could have been elaborated more.

Opening Theme
Score: 8.3
Comments: Good use of drums. I think the piano could have been integrated more with the orchestra.

Avalon
Score: 8.5
Comments: Nice chord progressions and polyphony.

Missing You
Score: 9.9
Comments: Excellent expression. I had to play with the voice synth a while (on my current SB card that is, works very well on my older SB
card) but ignoring sound-card differences it is wonderful. Only criticism would be that beginning was weaker structurally and with less
developed harmonies than the rest of the piece.

Pure Joy
Score: 7.8
Comments: Good rhythms and harmonies, but compared to other midis in the contest it lacked more advanced orchestration.

Trio
Score: 7.5
Comments:


CINEMATIC

I will be a Song in your Mind
Score: 9.8
Comments: Wonderful expression in this piece. Only criticism is that the fade-out after the first theme was a little too ending-like.

Nebula M16
Score: 6.8
Comments: This piece had good section ideas, but they could have been expanded into more complete musical thoughts that flowed better. The
strings and brass created interesting dark sounds. Ending was too abrupt.

Enigmatic Galaxy
Score: 9.9
Comments: A very impressive and outstanding piece. I love the transition in and out of sound-effect like sections. Some transitions were too
abrupt. Almost like a musical journey.

The Tidaanians Attack
Score: 9.5
Comments: Impressive dynamic changes. The drums got too repetitive in a
couple of places. Good theme progression.

Battle of Antares
Score: 9.5
Comments: Good interwoven themes. I particularly liked the effects the strings created. A little disjointed at times, but overall very good.
One section at about 4 min 45 sec sounded like a cut and pasted part of  Illusions Fantasy...it fit nicely but confused me a bit.

Lost in Deep Space
Score: 7
Comments: Very disjoint and repetitive in the beginning, but the crash-bang piano solo was very effective with the echo. The percussion
later in the piece seemed out of place.

New York Metro
Score: 7.2
Comments: Almost too fast and furious for my tastes...which is hard to achieve heh. The bells were a welcome interlude to the other choppy
instruments.

What is?
Score: 8
Comments: Very monotonous most of the way through. Some sections picked up with changes in atmosphere, but they could have been longer. Good orchestration.

The Battle
Score: 10
Comments: Outstanding orchestration, and wonderful use of ornamentation on the wind instruments. String accompaniment was very effective and
gave the piece a feel of being very "alive", which I have seen in remarkably few pieces, midi or otherwise.

Children at War
Score: 6.8
Comments: Too repetitive with no particular direction. I had a very hard time following this piece.

Rollercoaster
Score: 9.2
Comments: Sounds right out of an old black-and-white keystone cops movie.

Oliver
Score: 6
Comments: Good sound effects. The circus-like theme gave me a headache though.



POP-ROCK-RHYTHM

Speedway To Las Vegas
Score: 7.8
Comments: Sounded a bit like a combination of rush hour and a car chase to me...too frantic for too long.

Storm
Score: 8
Comments: Got too repetitive after a while, but still good.

Nova
Score: 8.2
Comments: Nice melody lines and use of guitars, though the bent notes seemed out of place and the ending was odd with the mood in the rest of
the piece.

Nocturne
Score: 7.5
Comments: This piece obviously had a lot of effort put into it, but I don't think it's really a nocturne. The best sections started around
4:50 min and got progressively better from there, but the preceding sections seemed chaotic without direction. The section around 5:15 min
was very good, very suspenseful. I think that section and what followed could have been taken out of this piece and turned into another very
spectacular orchestrated composition. The first few minutes get a 5 or 6, but the last couple of minutes get a 10.

Wait for the Sun
Score: 7.5
Comments: Seemed more ambient than pop rock or rhythm.

Get out of my Nightmare
Score: 9
Comments: I don't quite understand the title, but I was really grooving with this piece. Good and interesting key changes. I caught a couple of
boogie piano ornaments here and there (maybe jazz? Not sure...); it gave an interesting twist to the piece.

The Approach
Score: 9.5
Comments: Beginning was odd and I couldn't see where it was going initially, but it all got tied together later in the piece. I liked the contrast about 2/3 of the way through the piece where it switched to mostly percussion instruments.

Love Will Prevail
Score: 7
Comments: The piano was to droning most of the time. It picked up and started to get a little life periodically but then went back to the same
even-time rhythm again.

The Earth
Score: 7.2
Comments: Percussion was odd in the beginning, seemed like it almost wanted to be a piano solo then a duet with the wind instruments. This is
another piece that I don't really understand the reason for it's placement in this category...

Lightning
Score: 6.5
Comments: The guitars and synth leads could have used some more instruments besides just the drums backing them up and more structure.
It just wandered around and then repeated the beginning.

Chocolate with Mustard
Score: 6.8
Comments: The title in combination with the description mystifies me...overall I think the piece could have been improved with less repetition and a lot more variation.



BLUES-SWING

Closing Time
Score: 7
Comments: Good piano opening, though it felt like it was leading into more of a boogie piece.


COUNTRY AND WESTERN

Bacchhh
Score: 9
Comments: Whoah...those really are some piano leads. I wish I could play stuff like that; never have problems with scales again heh. I liked the
drawn out pauses in the piece, very humorous. This is one of only a few pieces that I've heard that has managed to capture aspects of comedy in
the music. Too short, but well done.

Oh Susan
Score: 5
Comments: Can't score this one higher because it IS an arraignment, not something original. It needs a new twist of some kind to set it apart.

Hillbilly Fugue
Score: 7.5
Comments: Percussion was to repetitive, but the rest built nicely. I think the percussion could even have been removed entirely and the piece just left purely orchestral. It didn't quite follow the structure I had learned as a fugue though, more minimalistic it seemed.


JAZZ

Sf2
Score: 5
Comments: Way way too repetitive. I couldn't find any direction, or unique qualities in the piece.

Tiempo deTimbre
Score: 7
Comments: Percussion needed more variation with the mood of the piece I think. I didn't understand some of the key changes that happened and the marimba at the end.


TECHNO-NEW AGE

Midnight Flight
Score: 8.5
Comments: Percussion sounded a little weird with the mood of the rest of the piece, but other than that good work.

Would you like to dance?
Score: 9.9
Comments: I love the polyphony in this piece. I really connected with the opening section that repeats throughout the composition with various
key and tonal changes. Only criticisms would be that the very metronomy section that comes in at measure 11 seemed to dampen the spirit where it occurred, and the ending seemed too abrupt.

Porcelain to Ash
Score: 6
Comments: This piece doesn't really have an ending...more like a section  leading into something instead.



AMBIENT

Mother
Score: 8.5
Comments: The opening with the combination of bells and chord progressions sounded to me like it wanted to lead into an E.T.-like movie score. Interesting mix of styles.

Ao Cesar
Score: 9.5
Comments: Great orchestration and it sounded wonderful on my sound card! Some of the best percussion and upbeat rhythms I've heard in midis.

Coimbra
Score: 8.9
Comments: Good, but sounds like several other pieces I've heard somewhere.



ABSTRACT-EXPERIMENTAL

Arthropod Squad
Score: 8.8
Comments: Great sound effects throughout; would be good background music. The end seemed to drag out a bit rather than cutting off when it
seemed expected though. And one odd comment that has nothing to do with the piece's score...my parrot was grooving to the beat through the whole  piece while I was listening to it heh.

Hard Man
Score: 6
Comments: Interesting chord progressions, but it was not very unique.

Chinatown
Score: NA
Comments: NA

X
Score: 6.5
Comments: Can't really give this one a higher score because it's just sound effects, but it would make a great score for a scary sci-fi move scene.
 

OTHERS UNKOWN

Yellow Rose
Score: 7
Comments: Weird transition between the effects and the main theme. I think the beginning detracted from the feeling in the orchestral section.

Away from the Screaming Crowd
Score: 8.5
Comments: Odd. Very odd. But, the oddness worked in this piece. I think the drums needed more variation though because there wasn't much going on aside from the few main instruments. The classical beginning and end were nicely interwoven.

Top

Louise Missen

July PIXELARTS REVIEWS.
Listened to with MerlinGM soundfont and SBLive.
Scoring- 1-3 silence
         4-5 Painful noise
         6-7 Needs work.
         8-  Good, could be improved
         9-  Brilliant! Maybe one small complaint.
         10-  Top class.

** Classical.

Mirage:8
Fantastic string opening, though the dynamics could have been worked on. You made good use of the harp and piano, but the strings became a bit annoying after a while.

Flying free:9
This had a lovely poignant melody on the flute and the strings came in smoothly. The dynamics were good, my only criticism being that the violins sometimes drowned out the flute and piano.

Miona:8.5
Wow, 1 year? I would mainly say that it needs more instrumentation. There are some great ideas, but they will come across better if you use strings/woodwind/brass etc. I’ll give this a good score because there are some excellent melodies.

Adagio:8
This started off a bit jumbled, with the bass piano too loud and frequent. The repetition at 0.48 was lovely to hear. For ‘amateurish’ this is excellent. I would just suggest toning down the piano.

Melancholic Impromptu:6.5
Umm, very melancholic. I think you could have done more with it, by making the piano part more frequent and adding another flute. It gets a bit boring after 3 minutes, but has a good ending. 

Country Roads: can’t review. It’s mine.

Opening Theme:8.5
I enjoyed the timing of this. It had a very patriotic feel, I thought. When the piano came in it could have been more supported by the wind instruments. I liked the orchestra hits towards the end, which went on for too long.

Avalon:8.5
Nice orchestration at the start but the piano was repetitive and boring. I’d advise adding a harmony line to it earlier than you did. Other than that, very enjoyable.

Missing you:9.0
My complaint would be that the violin tremolos were annoying, and I was using the recommended Merlin soundfont and the right file. The rest of the song was fine, well written with good moods. The ending was good.

Pure Joy:7.0
This would be better if you used another instrument than the Harpsi. It is very droney and doesn’t complement the piano. There were some nice melodies here but it needs more work.

Trio: 8.5
I liked the start of this but the bass piano needed to play a different beat, I think, maybe dotted semi-demi. This was generally beautiful, though quite short.

** Cinematic.

I will be a song in your mind:10
I loved the intro to this, and the excellent use of strings. The balance to all the instruments and the dynamic variations were good too. This kept me interested all the way through - great work.

Nebula M16: 7.5
I thought the organs sounded a bit confused in a few places. This was weird, in some places it sounded weird, others like Star Wars music - I didn’t know what to make of it! At 1.47 it got clearer and I started to enjoy it. Interesting…

Enigmatic Galaxy: 9
Wow, great start. Good use of the piano and cymbals, because often they can be over-used. Good orchestration, and percussion, throughout. I would just say it seems kind of disjointed near the end, though the ending is cool.

The Tidaanians Attack: 8.5
Great atmosphere, though after a while the drums started to get annoying. For a battle, you could have made a lot more use of the brass instruments. The ending was a bit prolonged for my liking, but overall a really good piece.

Battle Of Antares:8
This had some great ideas though I would have used some instrument other than the piano around 1.00 as it was a bit harsh. There was good use of the choir, but overall it was very long and I got bored of the harp and harpsi/celesta runs.

Lost In Deep Space:7.5
The ‘seashore’ at the start became annoying quickly, this was inventive with lots of good points like the vibraphone. The piano was too loud and, I felt, spoilt the mood. Good try, but needs more work.

New York Metro:8.0
Some cool piano runs in this and held together well with the drums. I think another instrument, maybe a piccolo, would have been good. I liked it as it was, though, and it was very original.

What is?: Mine, again.

The Battle:10.0
I loved the changes of instruments, and the overall instrumentation. At 1.28 I mutes the piccolo and the whiney sound disappeared. The percussion was very good. The glockenspiel was good too. Excellent.

The Childrens War:7.0
I didn’t like the percussion here, it was too loud and drowned out the bass instruments. The rest of the music was good, but slightly empty. The strings worked well with the orchestra hits.

Rollercoaster:7.5
I liked the fairground feel of the start. I felt you could have left out the tuba. Overall this didn’t do much, it just seemed to keep repeating the pleasant tune. I liked the music box later on.

Oliver's Song: 8.0

** Pop/Rock

Speedway to Las Vegas:7.0
I like the starting bit, but the percussion was a bit over the top. Then again…this is Vegas ;-) The sax sounded a bit squeaky, I know nothing about these instruments but would an alto one solve the problem? This was ok, but a bit repetitious.

Storm:8.5
This had a good start, but the piano seemed out of place and the drums were too heavy. I liked the tune at about 1.00. I would make the ‘charang’ a bit less echoey.

Nova: 8.5
The sax had a nice piece to play in this, it was kind of jazzy which I liked. The percussion was good, though the sliding guitar got to me after a minute and ½.
Still, original and inventive. Well done.

Nocturne: 1.5
Sorry, but this was just too jumbled to listen to! It had some nice melodies but they changed roughly and I just couldn’t see where this was going. By the end I was bored and confused.

Wait for the sun:9.0
I don’t often hear a piece with a harmonica in it, so this was a change. The strings, when they came in, complemented it well. In some places it felt a bit empty, and you could have kept the strings all the way through. Great!

Get out of my nightmare:9.0
Good piano starting and good percussion. When I turned the volume on the guitars down this was even better :) At 1.41 the tune seemed to disappear a bit, but after that it was fine. Good work.

The Approach:8.0
The drums on this sounded a bit wild, but the rest of the instruments were well done. You used a lot of synths and they worked well together. The ending was excellent.

Love Will Prevail:7.5
This is a nice tune, and changes just before it gets boring. I found the electric pianos quite annoying, but I liked the ending. Some parts sounded muddled (2.17-18)

The Earth:8.0
The starting theme was nice, but the percussion sounded quite harsh. The oboe was beautifully done, nice to listen to. I muted the sound and it sounded like a classical piece. Great work, but you lose marks for the drums.

Lightnening: 6.5

Choco with Mustard: 7.0
Because I love chocolate, I can't be fair!!

** Blues:

Closing Time:9.5
Nice piano melodies, good percussion, cool rhythms. Well done! The rock organ was well done, fitted in nicely.

** Country and western

Bacchhh:7.5
Well, it certainly made me smile :) This was a really good idea, I think, carried out well. The really fast runs were so annoying though: please, no more! Nice to listen to once.

Oh Susan: 5.0
I thought it was ‘Oh Susanna’? I don’t see how I can grade this as the composition isn’t your own. The percussion is a bit irregular but I liked the ending.

Hillbilly fugue: 8.5
I liked the repetition and then the part where the electric piano came in.
The cymbals at 1.05 were too ‘swishy’ I would advise changing them to a different kind of cymbals. Very good, though.

** Jazz:
I won’t review Jazz, because I don’t like the sound of it and never listen to it, therefore I don’t think I can judge it.

** Techno/New Age

Midnight Flight:8.5
The Rhodes piano with the high bits really hurt my ears: I would suggest using a violin or flute to make it more relaxing. There were some relaxing and god melodies. Impressive.

Would you like to dance?:9.0
I liked this: I can imagine it becoming a huge hit here in the UK. It has a great catchy tune and I think the only thing that might improve it is some other synths playing in the background where it’s a bit ‘bald’.

Porcelain to Ash:4.0
This was far to short to get a good understanding of. The sweep pad annoyed me but the music box had some nice parts. This needs to be finished!

T-beat:9.0
I really liked the opening of this, but when the saw wave came in it drowned everything out a bit. In between there were good parts and the drums were excellent. Nice use of different synths as well.

** Ambient

Mother:7.0
A really nice, comforting, soothing piece. Very ambient. It was quite repetitive though, and I got quite bored by the end.

Ao Cesar:7.5
I’ve never heard a Bossa Nova before, but this sounds really jazzy. It had a good percussion line. Listenable, but not earth shattering.

Coimbra: 9.0

** Abstract & Experimental
Arthropod Squad: 8.5

Hard Man: 8.0

Chinatown: 9.0

X: 7.0

** Unknown:

Yellow Roze = 8.0
The guns went on for a bit too long but when the melody came in it was beautiful. The guitar gave a nice effect but overall I felt the percussion let it down.

Away from the screaming crowd:5.0
I liked some of the effects and the whistle, but where was the menacing guitar? I heard some squeaky guitars :) This sounded more experimental than unknown. It’s just too confusing!

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John Engelmann

General notes: A lot of the MIDI files below are balanced TOO DAMN LOUD.

CLASSICAL

Mirage: 9.7
This is the most realistic-sounding MIDI file I've ever heard. How many years of work does it represent? Since it is obviously quite good, I am going to go against my principles and offer a criticism: The only reason I did not give this piece a "10" is that I keep expecting there to be more contrast. It seemed like the dynamics never rose above mezzo-forte, and there don't seem to be any fast parts to help one appreciate the slowness of the work. A slow piece with nothing fast in it will not seem slow; likewise, a quiet piece with no loud parts will not seem quiet. Please disregard these comments if this is part of a multi-movement work; often, other movements provide much-needed contrast.

Flying free: 4.7
Every note is well-placed. Ending is a little different from what I expected--made me smile a little.

Miona: 3.5
I like how the "left-out" notes (at 0:38) defy the listener's expectations.

Adagio no.2 in G Major: 2.0

Melancholic Impromptu: 6.1
The melancholy emotions are clear in this piece.

Country Roads: 3.0

Opening Theme: 6.1

Avalon: 5.5

Missing you: 6.7

Pure Joy: 5.0

Trio: 6.4

EXPERIMENTAL

Arthropod Squad: 6.6
This is by far the busiest MIDI file I've ever heard. I think there are more MIDI effects in here than I've heard throughout my lifetime up to this point. I particularly like the B-flat-A-G ostinato (played by the tuba) that appears once in a while in the middle sectiion. The places where speeding up/slowing down occurs help to give the piece a sense of the night progressing in time.

Hard Man: 4.5
I dig the way the orchestra hits are used--they add punctuation and space to the music, as if they periods that end musical sentences.

Chinatown: 8.0
The unique use of kotos at the beginning gives the effect of constant motion, which gives the listener a feeling as if he or she is swimming. The combination of music box and steel drums makes for a very interesting timbre, and gives the piece a pop/new age oriented sound.
A side note (does not affect my score): You might want to turn the volume levels down a bit when making a .MID file of this one, because some users (myself included) will experience distortion on their sound cards because the volume levels in this MIDI file are quite high. Not all sound cards are equally loud when playing, say, a timpani at a volume of 127: on some, you'd barely be able to hear it; on others, it would be so loud that it could damage speakers.

X: 7.5
This would be an excellent film score for the most terrifying movie ever made.

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Reinhold Behringer

In giving my review grades for the MIDI files, I have tried to be very objective. But judging music is always a subjective, personal thing… (counting the goose bumps… J ), so please accept it if you may see a bias in my judgment. Fortunately, this is an anonymous contest, that is I don’t know who wrote which piece. So nobody can accuse me then of being personally biased! J

My reviews are based on the answer to the following question:

"How much would I like to listen to this music on MIDI again?"

A midi file is supposed to be played in games, or from web pages. And it will have to be played on any existing computer hardware, without the final user / consumer having to adjust a specific soundfont or parameters. In the case of web pages, a user often does not even have the opportunity to stop the file or to alter its sound appearance. But a bad sounding MIDI file will annoy the listener… no matter how great the musical structure of that music is, and then the listener will just switch his speakers off.

Therefore, I have paid attention to the technical implementation of the MIDI music as well as the musical content itself. Following the proposed guidelines in this contest, I have given several grades, addressing different criteria, plus added my comments.

The overall resulting grade is not the mathematical average of the criteria grades – those serve only the purpose of making the score more transparent. In the various MIDI files, I may have applied and weighted these criteria differently, depending on the overall personal subjective impression I had when listening to the music. Following the grade scale, I consider a 5.0 to be average. Most of my given grades are above that average – but in one criterion, many midis received a low score: midi technique and equipment. I have not used a bell curve to normalize my results – instead I only have applied my personal judgment within a fixed absolute scale.

MIDI allows – beyond the pure music scoring – a certain degree of interpretation by intelligently using the limited MIDI capabilities. The tradeoff is often considered to be an incompatibility of various synthesizer hardware. But this is only partially true: pan provides a distinction between left, center, and right. Even the very cheapest soundcard has at least these three pan positions, but most soundcards support a pan spectrum which is discretisized (is that the right word? – my spell checker between does not recognize it…) between 0 (left) and (128) right, with 64 being the center.

Expression is another important controller: creating a change in sound volume, after the note is "on" and being played with its velocity. Also the velocity itself is a good way of creating accents / emphasis on notes. These two are not hardware independent – their effect can vary and can distort the balance of a carefully instrumented arrangement. But not having these parameters at all means giving up the possible phrasing and the possibility to add a crescendo and a diminuendo while the notes are on.

The note duration should be varied to achieve a legato or a staccato. What about tempo variations? They are 100% hardware compatible! So there is no excuse of not using this interpretative tool!

Using "interpretative Midi" is not required for all music in the same way – some music sounds good even without it or with only a limited controller amount (usually fast-paced music, or with percussive instruments). However, especially classical music cannot live without interpretation, otherwise it sounds dead. Therefore, it was especially surprising to me that most of the classical works did not use this interpretative tools…

Another important technique: Use a RESET ALL CONTROLLERS at the beginning of your MIDIs! This makes sure, that the default settings are used, and that the controllers are not in a state, left over from listening to a previous midi (happened to me while I was reviewing – I was very surprised to hear that veeery long solo, until I realized that all the other channels were set to expression zero…)

And finally: It is a good idea to leave one measure of silence at the beginning, to let the synth initialize, and to give the listener a little break, to "get comfortable", before the music starts after pressing the play button.

--- This time I wrote a lot… therefore I could only review most of classical and cinematic. Since I am usually very busy, I might not always give so detailed comments.

Enough said – Here are the reviews.

Originality: 8.5

Form: 6.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 1.5

Instrumentation: 7.0

Short piece with 5 piano tracks, 2 solo violins, and string ensemble, style reminiscent of baroque, but with 20^th century freedom of harmonies and thematic development.

The ending comes suddenly, there is some expectation of "more to come", but it doesn’t.

Is overall a bit too loud.

No pan, no expression, no legato/staccato, no tempo variation.

Some pedal is used, and also in places the note length has actually been varied. But in general, no use has been made of "interpretative MIDI" technique. A pity, because this piece has potential.

Originality: 5.5

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 3.0

Instrumentation: 7.5

Must come from the same composer of "Opening", because the initial controller setting was the same… J

Enchanting beginning, covering the listener in a sound sphere.

The harmonic development is a bit banal, schematic, following the same pattern, and slow in changing its pace.

The piano solo segment in the middle part provides an interesting contrast to the strings

Definitely can benefit from the expression controller!

Originality: 7.0

Form: 6.4

Midi Technique and Equipment: 3.0

Instrumentation: 8.0

Pleasant composition, has a folk-like "bucolic" feeling to it. Nice idea of the chorus in the middle. Its harmonic structure is very simple. The runs of the solo flute add a little complexity.

Nice spatialization with pan, but otherwise only limited use of "interpretative MIDI" (a few notes have different velocity). Could win a lot from "interpretative MIDI" phrasing.

Originality: 6.5

Form: 7.8

Midi Technique and Equipment: 1.0

Instrumentation: 7.5

Nice melody, pleasant to listen to, in conventional tonal harmonies. Well arranged instrumentation, using the flute as melody, and strings and piano as accompaniment. Logical development of the theme.

However, the MIDI capabilities are absolutely insufficiently used!

There is – besides the initial track volume settings and centered pan – not a single controller in the whole piece! Neither a crescendo or a diminuendo (no expression controller #11) appears, constant velocity for all notes (64), and every note has the same length. The melody in the flute would require some legato (overlap of consecutive notes).

No pan – everything is monaural centered. You could have at least separated the two string tracks into a left and a right one – that would provide a nice spatial sound field.

This composition deserves definitely a better "interpretation", and this is possible with MIDI. Just listen to a few of the other Midis in this contest, and look with a sequencer software at their controllers in the tracks.

Originality: 7.0

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 3.5

Instrumentation: 8.0

Flute and piano. Yes, it is melancholic.

Midi is not used effectively, but yes – here are tempo variations! In some parts they could be a bit more "fluent" and not so abrupt and static, but this is a beginning! More of that sort, please!

Originality: 4.5

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 1.0

Instrumentation: n/a

Slow piano solo piece. Interesting harmonies and development of the theme. Promising beginning, but the further development is based on known and predictable turns, and is in parts repetitive. This especially becomes evident due to the absent use of MIDI as an interpretative tool. Sure, piano solo does not require much MIDI controllers – since it is a percussive instrument, there is no diminuendo and crescendo other than from the note velocity. But also this piece – like "Flying Free" – has constant velocity and note length. Considering that these two parameters are the only ones that make piano music worthwile listening, it is almost a musical crime not to use them! Piano also has a pedal (controller 64), which is compatible with every MIDI hardware I know.

On the musical side, this piece could really use a faster tempo than the 80bps, especially in the parts where the 8 identical notes are being played by the right hand.

Originality: 8.2

Form: 8.6

Midi Technique and Equipment: 8.0

Instrumentation: 8.7

Finally a MIDI, that does not use the strict quantization and exploits MIDI as an interpretative medium! Velocity values are natural and musically chosen, probably resulting from live play at the keyboard.

Originality: 5.0

Form: 6.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 3.0

Instrumentation: 6.5

Composition: Fanfare-like beginning (well, this is an Opening).

The next development, however, is simple, predictable, and in parts repetitive. Nice idea of the contrasting piano segment. As an opening, it is a bit lengthy. Could be used in "cinematic" – beginning of a movie.

Midi: piano appropriately played.

No tempo variation. Constant velocity, although different for various instruments.

And, hey, there is a very appropriate diminuendo at the end! It is using controller #7 (volume) instead of expression, which should be avoided, but it works.

Originality: 7.4

Form: 6.7

Midi Technique and Equipment: 3.0

Instrumentation: 6.3

Nice composition, with interesting ideas.

It has been statically sequenced instead of live play, which makes it a bit less alive.

Joyfulness of this composition is present, but would win with better use of MIDI.

No use of "interpretative MIDI", constant velocity in the piano notes should be avoided.

Originality: 5.5

Form: 6.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 1.0

Instrumentation: 5.5

Promising beginning, but then in the course of the work gets tiring and falls into clichés…

No use of interpretative MIDI. Could need tempo variations.

Does the cinema only consist of space, galaxies, and attackers?

Well, it just makes such an ideal background for impressive music…

Originality: 8.5

Form: 7.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 9.0

Instrumentation: 8.0

Very impressive and "goosebumpy" piece of music! Great treatment of the brass instruments.

A bit monotonous in the constant percussion beat, but I guess that’s how the Tidaanians are…

Fabulous transitions, sudden volume changes… now I want to see the movie to this music!

Use of MIDI is very interpretative – BRAVO! Nice crescendi and diminuendi.

Just a minor thing: you used controller 7 instead of 11. The effect is the same, but for easier adaptability to other synths, it is better to use #7 just once in the beginning, as an overall track volume, and then use #11 for all those changes in the middle of the piece.

a Sysex is in the beginning for GM on – very useful in resetting a GM sound card!

Originality: 9.3

Form: 8.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 9.0

Instrumentation: 9.0

Another battle, but completely different in character. Fascinating and capturing transitions from one segment to another. Not exact quantization (live play?) gives a very natural musical feel – here is not the computer playing, but one can hear the human behind it. Interesting and unexpected harmonic turn – absolutely enjoyable!

The end come a bit sudden – could have a more captivating climax.

Midi: uses GS reset – very commendable!

What is the sysex #1? This might be incompatible with other synthesizers and set them to a state where no music comes out… so better remove it!

Although very few expression controllers are used, the overall impression is still very musical – due to the fast pace, and the high degree of velocity variation of the short notes.

Originality: 6.0

Form: 5.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 1.0

Instrumentation: 6.0

Begins loud, and continues loud. Interesting rhythm pattern, but melody follows a very standard pattern. Interesting turn around 4:38. The percussion seems to mimic childrens toys, but overall, the title does not refer to anything in the music structure.

No interpretative MIDI – no controllers, always the same velocity, therefore relative static sound.

Originality: 8.5

Form: 8.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 7.8

Instrumentation: 8.5

Nice contrasts between calmness and pathos. Interesting percussion, wide variation of mood, impressive handling of instruments. Is not necessarily bound to the space themes, but also creates an atmosphere of "normal" life, with moods, interactions, things happening…

Midi: although expression is used rarely, the appropriate velocity variations provide enough "musicality" for the "goosebump" criterion. Nice sweep of the percussion from right to left at 2:58 ! The solo instruments could use a bit more of the expression factor. Excellent tempo variations.

Originality: 6.5

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 6.0

Instrumentation: 8.0

This time not "lost in space"… but lost in someones mind. Pleasant.

Midi: good use of velocity. Could need some more expression in parts; also tempo variation would add a lot.

Originality: 9.0

Form: 8.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 7.0

Instrumentation: 8.5

Midi: SysEx GM on – very commendable!

Despite the fact that no expression is used and that the velocity often is the same over long periods, this piece is musical and captivating. The feeling of "lost in space" comes well across – maybe because of the initial controller settings (e.g. #91 – reverb).

Originality: 8.5

Form: 7.6

Midi Technique and Equipment: 6.5

Instrumentation: 7.5

Interesting and promising beginning and development, but the last third could be made a bit more "intense". Interesting harmonies.

Partially live play (good variations of the velocity values) creates a very musical atmosphere. A bit more expression would not hurt.

Originality: 7.5

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 7.0

Instrumentation: 7.5

Fast paced, as life in the Big Apple. Of course, even the metro has to stop eventually… J

The end is a bit abrupt – as if something is missing.

Live play provides a good musical feel and a natural velocity value distribution.

No expression, but the fast pace and the velocity variations make this fact almost forgettable.

Originality: 5.0

Form: 5.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 6.0

Instrumentation: 7.0

Nice pipe organ melody, short "character piece".

Not really a breakthrough in musical avantgarde J , but humoristic – I can imagine that orange tiger strolling around…

Sysex for reset – very commendable!

Other controllers: uses only wheel

Originality: 6.0

Form: 7.7

Midi Technique and Equipment: 6.0

Instrumentation: 7.5

Nice, well rounded composition – brings you immediately in a good mood.

This must have been recorded in live play!

The bass could be a bit louder.

Although controllers are not used, the musicality comes from the live play and the natural choices of velocity and note timing (beginning and duration).

Originality: 6.0

Form: 7.0

Midi Technique and Equipment: 2.0

Instrumentation:7.0

And here we go to war again…

Begins quietly, then the fighting erupts. Sounds as if this battle is kind of in a medieval setting – is different from the high-tech space battles. The music implies this by using antique little motives and phrases. The melodic pattern is a bit repetitive and simplistic at times, but there is a nice contrast of

Midi:

Solos need expression, also any long lasting notes of non-percussive instruments.

Could certainly win a lot by appropriate use of interpretative Midi!

Originality: 5.0

Form: 4.5

Midi Technique and Equipment: 2.0

Instrumentation: 6.5

Composition is a bit simplistic. Kind of emulating an antique style. Little variation, but gets more interesting in the middle. The end comes very suddenly.

Midi: long solo notes need the expression controller!

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Mike Sekuloff

July Ratings
Mike Sekuloff
General comment to all.
There are lots of excellent songs here; it`s to bad they all can win something. As I have discovered, putting a MIDI together is not always as easy as witting the tune. "Storm" gets my full attention because of the felling of the song, as well as many other things this song has to give. Congratulations to all you for partaking in the MIDI contest. If I did not comment on your song, sorry. Commenting on very song can bee tasking. I had little time this month (a week) to make all the comments I would have liked too, and going some detail. So I`ve made some general comments for all to read. I`m sure you can pick out your own mistakes by reading this and viewing your score.
Some of the songs lacked good mixing qualities, or were too loud in all the wrong places. (please see the MIDI help pages) The mood is and as important as the usage of different instruments, and the mixing of the sounds. Some of the effects were great but lacked everything else. The melody in most of the songs in this contest were all very good, I don`t think any of you lack in musical talent. If you would like more of my personal input you can always email me at sekukloff@attcanada.ca -that’s if you can take it.
You may dishearten to find out that your song did not win, or get a great review. Reviewing is not always a simple task. But please don’t take to hart what we say, reviewers are just a way for you to get a reaction from what we hear, to give you a different perspective of what we thing about what we here. Thus hopefully improve your perspective. This is my 1st review I`ve gone over the scores 9 times and have heard your songs 3 or more times. I`ve been a Guitarist and singer for too many years. I`ve played in many different types of bands. I like all kinds of music. Good luck to all of you.

POP - ROCK - RHYTHM

Speedway 8.9
This song has lots of "piazza" Love the trumpets in this Traditional pop style of music. The Base Guitar is well used here, and the keyboards work well together. It`s almost technology
Storm 10.0
I can help but rate this song with full points, not only is technology put together well, put it has lots of felling, lovely and Haunting. It rocks the soul with a soft yet hard tune. It`s just like seeing the band on stage.

Nova 8.9 some how this song is missing something in the deep background, other wise it’s a decent tune. This is another one of those well-put together midi`s that sounds like a band. The Guitar is Excellent in this song, well done

Nocturne 8.8 Very inventive, but I think there is a bit of over kill on some of the instruments here. So why the high mark? Because beneath all the noise I can still here the true master peace of the keyboard work in the song. It's very classical in its own write. And I'm sure you'll work on bringing out the true nature of your works.

Wait for the Sun 8.4
I love the usage of the voices. Excellent back round work. Keep up the good work.
Get out of my nightmare 7.5
The Guitar could be a little softer for this tune, as well as the drums, it tents to cover up the keyboard, good tune all around, very nightmarish.

The Approach 7.0 please read general comment to all.
Love Will Prevail 5.5 please see general comment to all.
The Earth 6.5 please read general comment to all.
Lightning 4.9 please read general comment to all.
 

BLUES - SWING
Closing Time 8.5 Nice blues song, please read general comment to all.
 

COUNTRY AND WESTERN
Bacchhh 6.5 please read general comment to all
Oh Susan 5.5 Very inventive -please read general comment to all.
Hillbilly Fugue 6.9 please read general comment to all.
 

JAZZ
Sf2 8.0 -please read general comment to all.
Tiempo de Timbre 7.9 please read general comment to all
 

TECHNO - NEW AGE
Midnight Flight 8.5 please read general comment to all
Would you like to dance? 7.5 please read general comment to all
Porcelain to Ash 7.0 please see general comment to all
T-Beat 7.5 please see general comment to all
 

AMBIENT
Mother 9.0
Very elegant, well done. The melody, the mood, every thing about this song is right on.
Ao Cesar 8.0
Very jazzy, sounds great there seems to be an abrupt ending, did you end this way on purpose?
Coimbra 8.1
 

ABSTRACT - EXPERIMENTAL - FUSION
Arthropod Squad 8.2
Interesting mixture of rhythm and style of music, truly a creative peace.
Chinatown 7.5
Hard Man - XXXX my song. send me your review "pay back time- ha ha)
X 7.8
 

OTHERS / UNKNWON
Yellow Roze 7.6
Interesting introduction,
Away from the screaming crowd 8.0
This is well put together, and very inventive. I sense a bit of classical here.

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