Hello, I’m Snowy! I am a novice music composer who started making music a few months ago. I use Beepbox to create my music. I can be a bit limiting but it is the best option I have at the moment.
Anyways, here is some of the original music I have made over the past few months. I welcome all feedback! Also, let me know which one is your favorite so I can get a feel for what type of music I am the best at making.
Please do not use any of these, thanks!
I think they are actually pretty neat. I especially like the way you used developed the themes in the fifth and the first soundtracks. I also like all your songs choice of chords and layering too.
Nice use of instruments I think and I definitely feel it does sound snowy no pun intended
The only problem I personally have is that all your melodies are not syncopated which makes them quite boring to listen to after a while. The third one I feel is probably the song that could greatly improve with some offbeat notes.
I did a quick search for snowy songs and I found that pretty much all of them use syncopation. I don’t know if you can do it on your software but I highly recommend it.
There are quite a few resources on the internet about syncopation. Well done and good luck!
example of syncopated melody
Thank you for those compliments and feedback! I have never heard about syncopation before but I will definitely research it!
(Also Undertale is my favorite game so I know the song that you sent by heart lol)
All of the songs have their own unique sound to them but all seem to fit within one style. My suggestion is to fix melodies in some songs, like the third one as it just does not sound like it belongs there. My other suggestion is to add more contrast, sometimes it repeats a little too much, such as the first one where it’s the same thing for 12 seconds.
Last suggestion is to work on harmony a bit more, the last one the clarinet & glockenspiel do not sound too pleasant and have way too many clashes. Good luck composing!
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting everything to fit together so nicely. Usually when I’m giving feedback, it’s pure chaos.
In your first one, that wind synth has some really high frequencies. Try to EQ to tame them. Then the quarter note drum hit comes in, I’m totally getting some Seven Nation Army vibes. I don’t know why, but I am.
For the 2nd, try to add some velocity changes to your drum hits. If you don’t know, velocity is how hard you hit something. If you edit the velocity on a piano to be super low, the piano would sound very soft. If you made it high, it’d be like banging a piano. Same thing with those high pitches in the chime sounds.
In the 3rd, that sounds like a glitch hop kick, which is interesting. Not sure it fits, but it’s interesting lol. Try an acoustic kick.
4th, it sounds like you’re eventually doing an arp pattern in a diminished scale. Which definitely gives off that creepy and suspenseful vibe you’re going for.
5th, some of your notes are clashing with the chords. Make sure the note is diatonic to the chord you’re playing. When the chime comes in with a sort of… echo? it gets chaotic. Lower the volume of said echo/mimic.
Happy for me to see more people using BeepBox.co! I recognized some of the notes and stuff! anyway, The first one, I don’t like how it ends at all tbh. from what I have heard, it would be better if you made it so that it doesn’t just cut of like that, you did the same with eh second one… Loops can make exceptions.
Honestly, the fourth, third, and last ones don’t have a variety of instruments, it also seems like you use the same instruments for those 3 in specific.
Considering your a starter, I just think that you should practice more, use different and more Instruments, and find a better tune to your songs!
Music takes time to learn and prefect!
Look at my song for an example, I used a variety of instruments and ended it in a good way
Wow! Thanks for all of that help! The main reason why most of the drums don’t sound that great is because the pre-made drum options aren’t that good and there are not many to choose from, and it is very hard to customize instruments. I’m going to try to save up for a better music composing program so I have more options.
But thank you again! That really helped!
Actually, theirs a lot of options to choose from, like you can change decay, twang, flair and a few other things!
The first one was made to be looped and it sounds much better when it is.
For my first songs that I composed, I used mostly the same instruments but I have been trying to branch out and use new ones. (The first one that is posted is actually my newest so that is why that one has different instruments.)
I hope to get better and continue making music! Thank you!
Thank you! I will try to experiment using different types of drums more!
They’re all very nice. They give me myth vibes. Here’s the song I made in Beepbox.
Sounds like it can work for a Title Screen or Options Menu!
Keep working hard musicans!
Thanks! I was going for a retro-like style.
Regarding the last 3:
I like No3. Reminds me of the Phantom Vortex music from Animal Jam, and that’s a good thing.
I like No4. as well. Classic horror music.
No5. Is so cheery and upbeat!
About that… Snowy and I work on a game together and that one was made specifically to sound snowy! It’s pretty well captured.
Thanks for all the tips! I just have one question: What do you mean by: “the third one just does not sound like it belongs there.”
The chords and everything underneath the melody seems dark but the melody seems very bright & happy. It may just be me but I would think more of a minor chord outline would make it fit in more.
I think they mean it doesn’t sound like the rest. (Which it isn’t a soundtrack for one game specifically, as we discussed.)
I don’t think it sounds bright. Besides, it makes it creepier, which I think was the intention.
Actually, that theme was originally supposed to feel calming but while I was making it, it started sounding ominous. So I get what AnimalBot99 was saying.