<Pony><WIP>

[White Cloud]

This is my first real attempt to make music with FL. I am not at all pleased with how this one turned out, so I need to really play around with it and see if I can come up with something that I approve of.

https://soundcloud.com/white_cloud-1/song-of-the-pony

[Callenby]

You've got a start, though in my opinion it still needs quite a bit of work.

When you're writing something purely piano it's a tad strange to have the volume fade in. It makes it painfully clear that it's not a human performing it and, at least to me, detracts from the experience. While it's true that many of us just don't have access to a keyboard, taking steps to keep it from sounding too artificial will be good.

As much as I dislike using the term "should" when it comes to art, I really do think it would be a benefit to take a look at this page. It details four parameters that pianists use to convey emotion, all of which are replicable in a DAW. Some of this is due to how the piano VSTI you've used isn't particularly great but what Levitin says will certainly still be helpful.

Add some dynamics. That will do a lot to help keep things varied. You already tweak the volume at the beginning and end but there's a difference between that and implementing dynamics, especially since the rest of it is at the same or similar velocity.

The left hand (aka the melody) sounds a bit harsher than the feeling that you appear to be going for. Just lightening the velocity ought to help with this. As for the harmony, try to vary it much more. It's very static and, frankly, not all that engaging. There are many, many types of harmony that you could implement that it's a shame to just repeat block chords.

I'm not really getting a pony sense from this. That might just be personal taste, but to me it doesn't seem like this has much to do with ponies. I mean, it's just called "Song of the Pony". Is there a specific pony you had in mind? That's too vague for a title, in my opinion, or at least it is without some kind of context.

The ending was also pretty strange to me. The left hand faded into silence while the right hand, if anything, seemed to become louder. It sounds like you lowered the volume when gradually reducing the velocity would have been more suitable.

How much music theory do you know, if you don't mind me asking? From this it doesn't seem like an overwhelming amount, but I don't want to make assumptions. I'm stating the obvious here, but the more you know the better your composition will be. If you're not that well-versed yet then learning it will take time but it'll absolutely be worth it.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! I hope my criticism wasn't harsh; I didn't mean it to be.

[White Cloud]

It wasn't harsh at all. but to answer your question, I have had a lot of music theory. If you listen to my other composition I have posted here (Fluttershy's Garden), you can really tell the difference between these two pieces. Like I stated before, this was my first real attempt at using FL to create a piece. Part of the problem is my inexperience with the program. I have been getting a lot of help from other artists who have been taking me through some of the various features of FL. The second piece is much better (in my opinion), and flows much smoother. There are, of course, still problems with it, but it is of a much higher quality.

The other thing I am really struggling with is the fact that I don't have an actual piano/keyboard to play around with. Though I have over 13 years of piano under my belt, it is very difficult to translate what I have in my head into FL. When I play a real piano, none of this non-emotion stuff comes through. I am very passionate with my pieces, and it annoys me to no end that I can't figure out how to make the separate notes softer or harder. This will just take a lot of practice just playing around with everything and getting more tips from other people who know FL. I really do appreciate your feedback, and I absolutely agree with everything you said.

[Callenby]

Well that's good to hear. Sometimes people come in hoping for rapid progress with little to no theory to back it up and quit shortly thereafter.

I remember having that same feeling of not being able to translate what I hear onto the actual page and to an extent I still do. My way to address it was to keep practicing (no surprise there), but also to not worry about completing full songs. Not yet, at least. Do yourself the favor of not trying to do too much at once because there is plenty of time to both learn FL and to improve your composition. For now aim small and never be afraid to ask for help. I believe art is a process, not a product.

Just stick with it and you'll improve faster than you may think.

[White Cloud]

Thanks for the support. I am trying to start small, which is no easy task for me to do because I have so many ideas. But I am continuing to practice and attempting to master new techniques using FL.

[Ruka]

As callen said. If you have a pure piano song you need to add way more dynamics.

Like, all the notes can't play with the exact strength. You need to add more flow. And the fade-in/fade-out, you should change that.

But it's a good start with fl! That this is your first fl is really impressive