RaDaFoo's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Cliffhanger]

good work

good instrumentation. nice use of percussion and changes in time signature. good sense of minor harmony and tonal center. im guessing you have at least SOME influence (or have listened to) dream theater?

if you want the criticism portion of your review, email me at [e-mail].

there are too many people on NG who have too much pride to take advice. i can tell you though that my comments are usually very constructive and that im well versed in composition. ill give you my musical background if you decide to email me.

regards,
raph

[Street Fighter-RyusTheme-Piano]

oops sorry

i review this song under Liscio - Piano b/c i had both review windows open at the same time.. so ill review liscio here..

awsome song! really simple chord progression, but the ways u divided the parts really makes it a powerful song.. the contrast between the really low whole notes and the octaves in the melodies at times. and very good early romantic period influences. i guess u like beethoven and chopin, huh? (im assuming u like "classical" music b/c of the piano heh)

awsome job! make sure you read my other review! i wanna kno whether i can borrow the street fighter song for a school thing!

afliXion responds:

Heh, don't worry about the flipflop it happens. I was actually influenced by a Final Fantasy song when I wrote Liscio. I guess some classical sounds came out of it cause I am a classically trained musician. Its cool that you would say that.

[Liscio - Piano]

now... THIS kicks ass

i like this version waaay better than ken's (prolly cuz i used to play the game over and over just to listen to this song)

suggestions though: there's a part that randomly slows, i think its 4 measures before the measure with the Eb, thats constant in the game... and the two note transition (D-Db) from the main theme to that E-F#-G-A-E melody could be dropped one octave lower for a thicker texture.. thats just me tho. in the intro, u forgot the trumpet layer, and close to the very end u forgot that high pitched run down when the beat shifts from 1st to 3rd (that pause that picks up with D-E). otherwise, this is awsome. nevertheless, one of the best versions ive seen. and dont b discouraged by my criticism, i just find that it really helps ppl (as it helps me)

question: do you hav an original midi version of this song? if yes, i wud REALLY appreciate it if u cud send it to me because im doing a guitar solo of this song for my finals in music theory class next year (in around 5 months cuz those come earlier). id definately giv u credit for the arrangement. if i get a hold of the tape after recording, my friend will prolly use it in a flash too and u cud get credit for that. just email me at [e-mail] n lemme kno if ur interested

awsome job man. this is one of the best versions of the song out on the net.

[Street Fighter-KensTheme-Piano]

*tear*

all these SN soundtracks make me deeply sad because my mom threw my SN away like 2 years ago... and since then I haven't played SF2, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, Mario games, Kirby games... so i really love the street fighter songs, ESPECIALLY the ken, ruy, guile and vega ones.

anyways, the song...

u did a pretty good job at it. The piano does make it sound more emotional and i think u captured most voices. It's just my personal philosophy that anything thats not completely accurate shudnt get over a 7. if u listen to the original, ull see that the melodic lines moves at a different rhythm in the beginning and it just bothers the hell out of me when im humming along.

but awsome job figuring all the layers!

afliXion responds:

Idk man I'm pretty sure the rhythms matched the file I was listening to..

[Camel Jazz]

daaaaamn

that was as smooth as it gets man.. OW that was amazing! the harmony and chord progression isnt very original, but the jazz twist you gave to it kicked ass! and if you can get a better program to play this... it could be sweet.

what REALLY hit me as amazing was both the rhythmic and instrumental texture... incredible use of offbeats and rhythmic contrast, as well as the layering of different instruments. wow and the title is perfect too. its definately these three things that nailed this to a 9.

Ra(ph)DaFoo

mason-master responds:

Thank you, i've been working on my audio lately but haven't released it, so if you liked some of my stuff maybe check back soon!

[[Dud] Improvisation 15]

regarding ALL of your improvisations

I listened to nearly all of them in order, this being the last one.. few comments about your style that you might be aware of, but i just thought i'd let you know:
- a lot of your songs sound the same cuz you start in a minor and resolve to a major.. try more variety, maybe some modes? (chromatic, pentatonic, blues and half-diminished modes make good variety)
- chordal! i can NEVER criticize anyone for writing in chords because i do that myself.. but i get so angry for getting stuck in harmonies and making my right hand chords or arpeggios. Try unresolved extentions in your chords instead of triads and such (like adding a 9th or 11th to the top).
- spice the rhythm up a bit. i personally found that even rap and latin music can help with classical / romantic music, especially when it comes to melodies -- being latin myself, that influence especially helps me :)

I think thats all.. don't take this as discouragement, those aren't necessarily bad traits but things you should add to your music knowing the other options. That's my two cents.

Ra(ph)DaFoo

Dudidum responds:

Perhaps you're right I should change a lot.
My Adventure Music songs were my first steps to make someting new :)
I think this will be the last Improvisation in this style. But I'll go on and I'll try to find some new things ;)
I won't take this as a discouragement don't worry^^ It's just good to get some serious criticism. ;)

thanks for your review :)

[Thunder]

reviewing as i listen...

nice riff there the rhythm's pretty cool... when the other instr's come in, i was expectin a change in the bass notes, otherwise theres almost no change. actually... i havent heard a potential change in the bass note throughout..

ur last riff goes something like... C Eb G Bb (or along those lines).. i wud vary the last Bb between other notes that can add variation to the riff, like D Eb F mayb even B if u feel especially crazy...

good instrumentation... the rhythms are good too. my biggest suggestion is: drop those bass notes 1 or 2 octaves so they can set the mood. vary the chords with one or two note changes. and relate melody and accomp somehow

Joelasticot responds:

Thanks for the helpful comments... I'll try these things later. It's just sad that I can't update it on NG

[Addicted To Everquest]

hehe

funny. never played the game, but funny. and the annoying voice adds to it, so nice job there too. the chord progression is really repetitive though. and good use of the melodic scale and V-I.

lessthan3 responds:

Yeah, I think that was the intention. That was totally Phil's baby. He wrote everything on it.

[Trogdor!!!!]

well

it could be really really good. like, really good. but it's slowed down. and there's no scratch to the singer's voice. and i understand its like a remix... but those two things are what make the song good. otherwise, it's just some song out there. speed it and scratch it. otherwise, the arrangement isn't bad.

lessthan3 responds:

Well, the first time Phil did the vocals, he did it that way and it didn't sound that good so on the rerecord, we let him sing the way he wanted to.

Thanks for your review. Just wait until you hear our next cover.

[Knockin On Heavens Door (Solo)]

good job

well i personally dont know your level of technique.. and although the solo was pretty clear, its really really easy and u messed up some hammers and bends. so.. well... not bad.

Tancrisism responds:

Well, thanks man. True, I didn't spend a ton of time on this. But thanks for the constructive critisism.