<Pony><Random><110 BPM>-Epsilon

[Guthey]

https://soundcloud.com/guthey/epsilon

Spent about 8 hours on this. This is the "drop" part, or where the bass comes in. I was planning on making this my first actual pony song, not exactly vocals or anything to make it an actual "pony" song, but I feel that my inspiration for making this song was enough for it to be qualified as one. My inspiration was mainly from Twilight. She seems to know alot about old things and lots of maths and all that good knowledge. So I chose the name "epsilon" since it is the greek letter and it sounds cool, also since epsilon is used alot in calculus and physics, and so I came to the idea that she'd be using the letter/symbol alot in her maths and homeworks. Or another generic idea was to be a VS track, since she is always the one that is assumed to make music like this and it fits alot more obviously, but I wasn't able to think of a relateable name, which is why my main idea is to go with my original inspiration/idea.

So I was just wondering if anyone had any possible idea as to what i could possibly relate this to would be great. The reason i'm trying to relate this to something is because I really want to send something to EQD in hopes of getting the spotlight, which has been my plan for about 2 months now. I'm not all that good with vocal chopping yet, so if there are any tips and tricks as to how I might be able to incorporate them, then that would be great. Also, since this only 20 seconds of the drop, I would like some feedback on how it is, or should be structured, that way I don't make 50 seconds of absolute trash, keep in mind that I only spent 8 hours on this part alone, I think, so flaws are very possible. One thing I have a small issue with is the chords, I think they might be out of tune or tone, as apposed to the rest of the track, but I just need another ear to help me clarify this issue. I think the sidechaining is pretty good, so I'm not really concerned there. The bass is also a little sketchy to me, but I just might be a little too critical on my part, which is why I crave feedback.

So that's pretty much it, so if anyone could give a little advice on anything in particular that would be great. And I know EQD spotlight is a pretty big deal and that I might be setting my sights a little too high, but I feel that I could make it with this, so be completely honest if you must, which I recommend BTW. Don't worry, I won't get my feelings hurt. Lastly, if anything catches your ear or something, let me know, that way i can either make more of it, or less, depending on how exactly it catches your ear. I had a friend listen to this before and he said it was pretty good and that the rhythm was good, but he said that there was some high-pitched noise that he disliked, but I couldn't exactly hear what he was talking about, so if anyone has an idea of what he was talking about let me know. And if anyone wants to know how I made something let me know, I will promptly post a FLP with the sound you desired.

[Twy]

I wasn't going to reply to this because as I've shown in the past I'm apparently not at all helpful when it comes to criticizing this kinda music; I don't know why, but while I can hear faults in it I just cannot seem to figure out where exactly they lie, how to fix them, or good coherent reasons as to why I don't like the things I don't like in the first place.

That said, I feel like you're one of the most deserving of listens and feedback around here, seeing as how you've helped just about everyone who had posted music looking for feedback as of late.


So, allow me to ask you this: What kind of drop am I listening to here? Are we talking about a house track that, after a good fair buildup, finally drops to explosive energy and dancebility? Or are we talking a more chill kind of casual head nodding kind of thing? If the former, then I don't feel like the chords fit much with the growls and wubs and whatnot, from a consistency point of view. I'm talking pure, unadulterated notes here.

Traditionally, a song or at least a drop featuring these kind of wubs and growl basses and everything have a more aggressive, mean or active feel in terms of the scales and notes they use. While these basses certainly could feel like that, this feeling is undermined in my eyes by these chords that feel too happy and out of place. Although, were the track going for a more chillout laid back vibe, I think you could get away with using these specific chords and it making more sense.

Either way though, the chords I think could be improved if most of their energy came out of a higher point in the frequency spectrum. Or maybe just tweaking with the sound to give it more layers higher up? Either way, it sounds too low passed to have as much brightness and clarity as it feels like it should.

Likewise for the growls and wubs, I think. Everything here just sounds kind of BP filtered, so for things like the growls it loses some of that aggressive kick-in-the-face energy that blows your hair back. In my experience, most drops you see deprives the listener of many fundamental frequencies as it builds up to the drop, so that it can suddenly slam them with everything they were missing and more in one swift, phat force of sonic power. The sounds themselves are solid, but I think that letting everything breathe in the higher freqs more could be a good idea.

As well, common ways of getting that fullness in drops would be with big, reverb-y crash symbols or things like that to wash over the song. You'd have a huge crash at the beginning of the drop, maybe returning every bar or something, with smaller percussion behind it to fill the void in its wake. I see you already have hi hats in the track, but I see them as more of a groove element than a filling one. You could try placing almost white noise-y cymbol hits mixed in a way so as not to draw attention to themselves while still fill out the song. This is a pretty common technique used in rock music, in my experience. They'd just have their drummer wailing on the cymbol every half beat or something during the chorus.


So those are my thoughts. Hopefully one of these ideas might prove at least slightly useful in one way or another.
Oh, also. In my experience with EQD, if your song doesn't have pony vocals in it or soundclips or anything, It would be safer to name it something so stupidly obvious to the MLP fandom that it's undeniably relevant to the show. I really like the subtle connections to Twilight that you've explained the current title has, but when I did similar things my songs were denied. So be careful!

And as always, keep up the good work and good luck to you!

[Guthey]

Thank You very much. I did do some massive changes with the drop in general before receiving your feedback.

The chords were taken out completely, I knew exactly what you were talking about and they didn't sound right, nor did they harmonize at all with the 2nd part of the drop. I simply added more melodic elements to it and fixed the hi-hat problem. I just added more reverb on it, not too sure about a cymbal, but I will listen to songs that follow that construction process.
I agree with you on the bass, I knew there was something strange about it, but I just thought I was being too critical about it, changes are underway.
The entire Rhythm I was going for was a sort of,not exactly chill, but some sort of Glitch hop feel, usually a funky type, or just sounding like it's "glitched" per-say. I'm not too good on the funk, so I was just gunna derive it as electro. I wasn't going for this aggressive feel, I actually hate aggressive drops, But a more smooth flowing drop, not just a tsunami to the face.
As for EQD, it's hard to say. I've always wanted to show them my previous work, but the relativity of what actually is a "pony" song, has made many people mad. The inspiration is never enough, but the reason I feel I need vocals is because I feel that most people who just slap an obvious pony thing onto their work just make it to the "Music of the Day" category, which Is not where I wish to end up, though I'm more than certain the producers who did end up there worked just as hard and proficiently, which is why I feel it's always up to either popularity within the fandom or the listener just feels good that day. I'm skeptical about the entire thing, but even if I do end up in the MofD category, I'll at least get noticed or something.
I don't really feel i'm as deserving as anyone else, I hate feeling that way. I simply do my part as part of this site, no matter the genre, which is usually some form of EDM, which I'm pretty knowledgeable in that area. Also, I really want to help struggling musicians and producers. I try my hardest to provide at least some form of valid feedback, and I try to give as much advice as possible, along with posting a free FLP in my signature for anyone wanting to see how anything works or just in case they need some inspiration. Since the Mods took out the Sharing is magic forum, I feel as if the creativity, knowledge, and flow of ideas has ceased more than it should have, which is kind of depressing, knowing so many people desire to become the next famous pony musician.

[Twy]

No problem. If I can be of assistance in any way, I'm happy.

Cool, sounds like we're on the same wavelength about most of this then. I can definitely see the more funkish, glitch hoppy style you're going for, and as I said I like it better as a more relaxed sort of thing like that than one of those aggressive drop styles. Hah, and sorry for making so many comparisons to that kind of drop then. Do you like or listen to a lot of like, French House? I'm not super familiar, but from what I've heard it sounds like a lot of it is very much in the same vein as the funky bouncy sort of electro you might be going for. Or at least, some techniques might be applicable.

I know what you mean about the EQD thing. It often seemed as though a dedicated post about 1 specific artist was largely determined by popularity or familiarity. Which does make sense in a lot of ways, and while not necessarily true all of the time I remember a lot of people felt cheated out of their 15 minutes of fame. That's a bit of a controversial subject for debate, though, and I'll be the first to admit that my feelings and impressions on the matter are formed from brief observations I made years ago, so I don't really know if it applies today. Still, if things haven't changed since then, I would not expect to get anything other than a spot on a music of the day for quite a while. No reason to stop aiming for one though, of course.


That's a very nice outlook to have, it's very noble of you. I'm less of a noble person. I like to help give feedback and whatnot when I can, but time being limited as it is and me being lazy as I am, I do not treat all things or people equally. I am not so benevolent as to resist letting outside factors influence who I'd rather give feedback to, if I am being honest.

[Guthey]

Yes, Great minds think alike! :D
Anyways, I don't listen french house, I try once, but there didn't seem to be any order in it, sounded like a bunch of mess, but I might just be listening to a bad artist :/.
EQD is just a spec to what I actually plan on accomplishing, but it's a good starting point, even if it is just 15 minutes.

Why thank you, I try to be the best person possible, at least on this site. Anyways, thanks again, have fun!