Please listen to my instrumental composition (^^;;)

[ficsci 50]

https://soundcloud.com/b455-7474

 

 

 

It took me forever, but I've finally recorded something I wrote

 

Any feedback is appreciated

 

Thank you!

[bada9412 28]

This really reminds me of the first few songs that I tried to make. And just like me, you REALLY need to pay attention to which melodies go together and which ones don't. It sounds good for a first attempt, but the rythm guitar just doesn't go with the lead guitar.

 

You do have creativity, I can hear that. So keep in mind what I told you, and keep making music

[ficsci 50]

^ Thank you!!

 

I tried to make the lead and rhythm guitars sound different. Maybe I tried too hard that it became counter-intuitive. Do you have any suggestion on how to make them work together? Should I use more similar rhythms?

[bada9412 28]

^ Thank you!!

 

I tried to make the lead and rhythm guitars sound different. Maybe I tried too hard that it became counter-intuitive. Do you have any suggestion on how to make them work together? Should I use more similar rhythms?

No prob,

 

What I try to do is make the lead guitar not sound similar, but have similar notes in it. That way, you can make lots of different melodies, but still have it sound as if the rythm and lead actually belong together (hope that makes sense).

 

I could upload one of my songs sometime, so you could see what I mean.

[StriderSubzero 53]

I think your rhythms sound fine—I actually like that aspect of it. 

 

The main problem that I hear is that your guitar is out of tune (or maybe you're just playing a few really strange chords). There are also the occasional notes in the lead guitar, towards the beginning especially, that sound like they are in a different key than the majority of the melody. It sort of starts to work after awhile because it sounds like you're playing in some sort of jazz mode, but it's rather jarring.

 

It's really difficult to give any concrete advice on this, but the most crucial thing I would say is "less is more." There's a lot going on in some of these parts, and it makes it difficult to focus on any one thing in particular. I wish I could be a little more direct, but hopefully someone else can be more helpful.

[lichtlune 915]

Good bass playing

[ficsci 50]

@AltermaliceNero Thank you!! XD

 

I think your rhythms sound find—I actually like that aspect of it. 

 

The main problem that I hear is that your guitar is out of tune (or maybe you're just playing a few really strange chords). There are also the occasional notes in the lead guitar, towards the beginning especially, that sound like they are in a different key than the majority of the melody. It sort of starts to work after awhile because it sounds like you're playing in some sort of jazz mode, but it's rather jarring.

 

It's really difficult to give any concrete advice on this, but the most crucial thing I would say is "less is more." There's a lot going on in some of these parts, and it makes it difficult to focus on any one thing in particular. I wish I could be a little more direct, but hopefully someone else can be more helpful.

 

Ah ok, I see what you and bada9412 are referring to now Yeah, actually I really like using dissonant chord progression, jazz chords, etc. Math rock is kinda a big influence (hmm maybe I'll use that tag).

 

There's also that one line where the guitar plays 2 notes a half-step apart (I thought the out-of-phase frequencies could sound really cool on certain pedal effects... lol XD)

 

But I find your "less is more" advice really useful, thank you!! I'll work on it ^^

 

 

@bada9412 Cool! I'd be interested in listening

[Ro plz 1290]

I really like what you have going here. Could use some work like everyone else said but it was very enjoyable to listen to!

[Manabu 144]

Your bass playing is really good, or at least what you've composed on it is pretty good, it's funky but doesn't distract you from the song too much and the song itself is good, everyones posted about the few off notes so I won't go into that

but I think the general mixing of it could be improved, the guitars tend to overpower the drums in some parts and speaking of the drums, whilst this might be down to the mixing, I think they could do with a bit more power, the snare and kick sound a bit empty

So all in all a good song with some nice parts, I'm sure with a bit of tweaking it could be great

[Pandabear 414]

Yeah the weird guitar intro has been addressed, other than that the mix could be improved. Drums could have slightly been more prevalent and perhaps try to pan your lead to the left instead of the right. It's fine the way it is, but it threw me off, since I usually pan lead guitar left like everyone else does. Although that's just personal preference. You could also experiment with having some leads in the center. You don't have vocals so it would be easy since most of the instruments in the center are bass and low mids and the guitar could easily fit into the unused higher frequency range.

 

Maybe the rhythm would have sounded better without the chorus or flanger effect on it? Just some nice clean rhythms with some delay or reverb to taste. Or perhaps you tried that and it it didn't sound good? You could always do another take of the rhythm but with a clean guitar and then mix that behind the rhythm guitar with the effects and you'll get the chorus/flanged guitar with the sparkle and more defined attack of the clean guitar. 

 

I did really enjoy the bass playing on this track.

[ficsci 50]

^ Ok! Thanks @Manabu and @Pandabear for the advice on mixing + drums+ guitars! I'm pretty new to all those (in fact I just kinda recently figured out how to use this guitar pedal, lol *ignorant bass player fail*). I did have kind of a hard time finding the clean sound that I wanted for the rhythm guitar :/ need to do some more pedal-probing. Wow, didn't realize that lead guitar on the left is a thing, thanks for bringing that up, Panda (O_O). Also just started using some free drum sample plug-ins, but I think there should a way to figure out how to adjust the sounds better.

[ficsci 50]

I've uploaded a new track on my SoundCloud, please check it out! And I'll really appreciate getting some more feedback

 

https://soundcloud.com/b455-7474/plankton

[relentless 254]

On the discussion of lead and rhythm guitars:

 

Handling both sections CAN be tricky. You don't want the lead to not be prominent enough; but you also don't want it to be too excessive. You can make it sound different; but try to follow the same chord tones that the rhythm is playing so you can have harmony. Example: If the rhythm section is playing a C major chord (C, E, G) in the key of G, and the lead is outlining an F# diminished chord in its progression, it's not going to sound too good (though, I guarantee there would be ways to make it work). Instead, whatever the lead is playing, it would be best to always go back to the notes C, E, and G.

[Velvet_Alchemy 6]

I'm not even going to pretend to be any color expert on the matter, but how's your theory? I really like the song called "Plankton" on your page, I just keep hearing these really off notes in places where it really just doesn't wok for me. When I decided I wanted to start writing, I crash coursed myself in keys, what chords where where in those keys, and how they flowed together typically. (Recently, I've been looking into how different keys fit together, but that's harder to remember if you don't know any theory. xD) If you haven't already, I suggest maybe taking a quick look for reference sake, especially at what notes make up what keys. I really like your style though.

 

 

(P.S. If you decide you need vocals, I can help, heehee.)

[ficsci 50]

Actually I got straight A's for the entire college music theory course (counterpoint, 4 voice harmony, Baroque and everything). Except when I write, I ignore nearly everything I've learned.. Reason for it is, when I think of theory when I write, my stuff ends up sounding really stiff Also I really dig 7th chords and dissoances for a really self-indulgent reason. Also modal music (non-tonal stuff, but not atonal). I realize that it tends to go a little too far (^^; ) Haven't found a middle ground to make it not sound so jarring.

Thank you for listening! I'm working on more stuff, so taking all your feedbacks ^^

[ficsci 50]

I've just finished a new track. I wrote this pretty recently, after listening to everyone's suggestions. I'll really appreciate it if you give a listen and a bit of feedback. Thank you!!

 

https://soundcloud.com/b455-7474/ztl7b740koii