Courtney's Song

I am uploading two files. One is a finale music file showing the score for the piece. Since I do not have much control over a finale notepad piece, I have also uploaded a midi file of the same song because I feel it better portrays the dynamics I would use in the song. I've noticed that the finale file makes the melody very quiet, and makes other parts of the song too overbearing; I did not intend this. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated. Please be as MEAN as you can!

sample1b.MID

Some made up thing 48w.MUS

I think this would work better in the pop/jazz section :)

As a pop-song, the suspension chords that are arpeggiated and repeated are very effective in creating a background for the melody. Just make sure that you don't change them too frequently while they are in the background. That will create interest, and you will lose the effect of background. The orchestra textures are very clean, which is a plus. I just wish there was more material to chew on, but this is a pop song so I guess I'm ok with that.

Overall, not too heavy. A pleasant listen.

It's very poppy. I almost want to play it in a club lolz. The constant repeated notes bug me a little, I think there could have been more done with the actual figure itself in the piano before you started repeating it.

Its a decent short song. I felt that it went nowhere - the piece built and built, but it never really finished.

The drums were more distracting than anything else, possibly because of their simplicity.

Pretty melody though.

When I first created the song it was just the piano parts by themselves, there were no drums or strings. All my friends considered it too bland, so I listened to it over and over again till I could figure out what to do with it. I was experimenting I guess, and I found that the strings especially brought the song up a notch in my opinion. The drums I felt were good too, but I think that the midi overpowers it, and if I were to perform this in a studio I could have more control over what to do with it. I just want to know if it's worthy of an official recording, and what needs to be worked out in the song before taking the time to perform it. The song seemed perfect to me at one point (a long time ago when I had barely finished it) but the more I listen, there seems to be something unsettling about it, but I feel like I don't have the knowhow or the expertise to give this piece its full potential, or even improve it any more. The feedback helps a lot, but do you think it could be a favorite if it was taken to the next level? Or would you consider the whole concept dead in the water?

When I first created the song it was just the piano parts by themselves, there were no drums or strings. All my friends considered it too bland, so I listened to it over and over again till I could figure out what to do with it. I was experimenting I guess, and I found that the strings especially brought the song up a notch in my opinion. The drums I felt were good too, but I think that the midi overpowers it, and if I were to perform this in a studio I could have more control over what to do with it. I just want to know if it's worthy of an official recording, and what needs to be worked out in the song before taking the time to perform it. The song seemed perfect to me at one point (a long time ago when I had barely finished it) but the more I listen, there seems to be something unsettling about it, but I feel like I don't have the knowhow or the expertise to give this piece its full potential, or even improve it any more. The feedback helps a lot, but do you think it could be a favorite if it was taken to the next level? Or would you consider the whole concept dead in the water?

This is good music. Poppy isn't always a bad thing, as it will sell. The reason you feel something is lacking is the same reason where I feel most poppy pieces are lacking - variation. Throw in some other notes, break away from the chord progression, change time signatures/ key signatures, new melodies, change modes. There's a lot you can do!

This is good music. Poppy isn't always a bad thing, as it will sell. The reason you feel something is lacking is the same reason where I feel most poppy pieces are lacking - variation. Throw in some other notes, break away from the chord progression, change time signatures/ key signatures, new melodies, change modes. There's a lot you can do!

The truth is, I feel the same way about pop - everything is repeated and it feels like a lot less variation than you would want. With this song, every phrase was different, but I guess it all feels the same--something needs to be done to take away from the overall feeling for some contrast, and then bring it back--but I just don't know quite what to do with that. I could change the key signature, but it's something I've never done and I have no experience with it.

That's the big skill with pop - for it not to be mad repetitive. Contrasting B-Sections, recording techniques, and marketing are what makes songs interesting.

I'm actually surprised at how much poppy music is done with finale and the like on here - there are cheap and open source recording programs, and ways to get many of the biggies "cheap and open source"...

To me this kind of piece needs to be heard the way you intended it to be heard. I can't do that with a MUS file or a midi file. They both sound okay, but it would be so much better if you posted a mp3 that defines the sounds you want.

Ron