At Audiotuts+ we irregularly put up a reader track for workshopping and critique (find out how to submit a track). This is how it works: you upload your song, and every week or so we’ll publish one here and step away from the podium. The floor is yours to talk about the track and how the artist can fix problems in and improve upon the mix and the song.
Thanks for your submissions everyone – and keep them coming. We have enough to publish two or three a week at the moment. Let me know if it gets too much.
This track has been submitted for your friendly, constructive criticism. They have put their track (and their heart and soul) in your hands to learn and get useful feedback.
- Do you enjoy the song or track itself? Does it have potential?
- Can the arrangement be improved?
- How did you find the mix? What would you do differently?
- What do you enjoy about the rhythm track? What can be done to improve it?
- Is the choice of instruments relevant and effective for the style/song?
- Are the lyrics (if any) effective? Does the style, arrangement and genre of the song suit them?
- Can you suggest any specific techniques that might improve the track?
- Do you have any other constructive feedback?
Icarus Returning by A Cloud for Climbing
Description of the track:
This is an instrumental track written for falling without a parachute.
Author’s website: www.myspace.com/acloudforclimbing.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Terms of Use: Track is not yet available for download.
Have a listen to the track and offer your constructive criticism for this Workshop in the comments section.
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Need constructive criticism on your own tracks? Submit them using this form.
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By Adrian Try
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I like it! I really enjoy it, but I think breaks are too drastic, for example in the bridge the change is so drastic and it’s don’t sounds well. I think you can add some reverse cymbals or something like this to make it soft :)
great smack in the face opening, also the tension/release at 2:00 was nice. weakest part for me is the digital handclaps..which is a personal dislike for my own taste. good work on the almost dr. zhivago balalaikas ringing out around 4:00
This is not a track but a backing track. At 0:20 a melody should have started, instead you get sort of a bridge section.
The treatment of the drums is clumsy. In places like 1:13 you simply switch off the drum loop. That’s silly. It’s easy enough to put a splash cymbal on beat 1 of the part where the drum is silent.
After the 2:00 mark nice build up with the synths and all that.
So, sounds good, nicely played, not much of a composition.
With all respect :-)
personally, i’ve always had a soft spot for this type of Album Leafy pop…
i have a few suggestions in terms of sound: 1) i feel as though the use of both parallel compression and some light saturation on the percussion tracks might help lend this some additional warmth; 2) the clap backbeat that is so strongly emphasized around 3min might be more effective if you place it a little farther back in the mix– right now, they strike me as detrimental to the feel of the track because of the way they stick out in the mix; 3) have you considered dirtying up that tambourine sample? 4) the reverb on the acoustic has a pretty manufactured quality to it. have you considered drying the acoustic up a bit and maybe applying a gentle amount of mastering reverb to the whole thing (once you tidy up the mix a bit)? i feel that that would really help the recording sound a bit more natural.
anyway, take it or leave it. i’m not exactly a professional, haha. thanks for posting your track. i enjoyed listening to it.
this song has me throwing the smalllllllestttt metal signs
;)
I like it! I really enjoy it, but I think breaks are too drastic, for example in the bridge the change is so drastic and it’s don’t sounds well. I think you can add some reverse cymbals or something like this to make it soft :)