Critique Needed! Commercial Pop Ballad

arjunchawda · 13th April 2011

Hey guys, i'm going through some very rough patches at the moment musically. Not feeling so inspired or confident, not being able to achieve the sound i want. I am an "extreme" perfectionist.

Anyway, i have been working on this new big pop ballad that my songwriter has written, i have produced and mixed it.
I am just basically looking for any type of constructive criticism..

Thank You.

djscotta · 13th April 2011

I couldn't find anything wrong with it. I liked it.

arjunchawda · 13th April 2011

Seriously?

john caldwell · 14th April 2011

Some very pretty moments here certainly. For me, the elephant in the middle of the room is your drum machine part. It's quite a risk, as I see it, as it hijacks the listener's attention - not wise given the nice vocal easily able to occupy centerpiece status. It's also a very non-musical rhythm, as I hear it.

John Caldwell

staylor200 · 14th April 2011

Great tune! And a great mix so far. Personally, I like to hear the vocals automated up a bit in the chorus and possibly down 1-2 db in the verses (possibly). Maybe set up the chorus vocals on a different track and add some slight parallel compression to bring it up.

Also, I thought the piano was slightly boring. Maybe add a short stereo delay to the piano so you just hear the effect on trailing notes. Give it some depth. And try brightening it up slightly.

jasonro · 14th April 2011

Great tune! The bassline sounds muddy to my ears. Some automation in the vocals is def. needed. Try to clear some of the low mids in the vocal and brightening the piano to give it more life! I really like what you've done with the snare and the delay, cool!

Keep me updated when you release the final version!

targa2 · 15th April 2011

Good song..... I found it lost it's rhythmic drive a bit in the second verse. Needs a percussion instrument or something there to keep the flow.

Also maybe push some of the instrumentation harder left and right to clear out the centre for vocal.

arjunchawda · 15th April 2011

wow. these replies are brilliant !

thank you guys for your views. i definitely wanted a real smooth stereo spreaded shaker in verse 2, but can't find one anywhere!

the whole track is vst based apart from keys and vocals of course.

i will definitely brighten up the piano, and volume automate the chorus vox.

mcgruff · 15th April 2011

I agree with some of the comments about the drums. The strong, simple "stomp crack!" works fine in the sections where it all kicks up a gear but not anywhere else.

I used to think drummers "just bash stuff" but then you learn that percussion is a highly skilled craft and absolutely fundamental to the success of a song. The drums are the framework on which everything hangs. They're a vital part of the pacing. If you play back the percussion tracks on their own you should be able to clearly hear the ebb and flow from one section to the next with clear changes of pace and little fills and lead-ins to announce the end of one part or introduce a new one.

Actually I'd like to have a go at writing a drum track?

arjunchawda · 18th April 2011

yeah.. i see what you mean.

although having that powerful stance on drums in the verse's makes it stand out for me.

i actually have been playing the drums for a little over 15 years.

14th April 2011	#5
staylor200 Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2009 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 154	Great tune! And a great mix so far. Personally, I like to hear the vocals automated up a bit in the chorus and possibly down 1-2 db in the verses (possibly). Maybe set up the chorus vocals on a different track and add some slight parallel compression to bring it up. Also, I thought the piano was slightly boring. Maybe add a short stereo delay to the piano so you just hear the effect on trailing notes. Give it some depth. And try brightening it up slightly. __________________ Sam Taylor

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13th April 2011	#2
djscotta Gear Head Joined: Jul 2010 Posts: 70	I couldn't find anything wrong with it. I liked it.

13th April 2011	#3
arjunchawda Gear interested Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 19 Thread Starter	Seriously?

14th April 2011	#4
john caldwell Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2005 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 1,169	Some very pretty moments here certainly. For me, the elephant in the middle of the room is your drum machine part. It's quite a risk, as I see it, as it hijacks the listener's attention - not wise given the nice vocal easily able to occupy centerpiece status. It's also a very non-musical rhythm, as I hear it. John Caldwell

14th April 2011	#6
jasonro Gear maniac Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 164	Great tune! The bassline sounds muddy to my ears. Some automation in the vocals is def. needed. Try to clear some of the low mids in the vocal and brightening the piano to give it more life! I really like what you've done with the snare and the delay, cool! Keep me updated when you release the final version!

15th April 2011	#7
targa2 Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2011 Posts: 271	Good song..... I found it lost it's rhythmic drive a bit in the second verse. Needs a percussion instrument or something there to keep the flow. Also maybe push some of the instrumentation harder left and right to clear out the centre for vocal.

15th April 2011	#9
mcgruff Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2011 Posts: 1,051	I agree with some of the comments about the drums. The strong, simple "stomp crack!" works fine in the sections where it all kicks up a gear but not anywhere else. I used to think drummers "just bash stuff" but then you learn that percussion is a highly skilled craft and absolutely fundamental to the success of a song. The drums are the framework on which everything hangs. They're a vital part of the pacing. If you play back the percussion tracks on their own you should be able to clearly hear the ebb and flow from one section to the next with clear changes of pace and little fills and lead-ins to announce the end of one part or introduce a new one. Actually I'd like to have a go at writing a drum track?

18th April 2011	#10
arjunchawda Gear interested Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 19 Thread Starter	yeah.. i see what you mean. although having that powerful stance on drums in the verse's makes it stand out for me. i actually have been playing the drums for a little over 15 years.