Further explanation of feedback

[Hauschild]

Hi fellow Taxi passengers,

Hope you are doing well

I am wondering if there is a way of getting a more in depth explanantion of the feedback I got recently on the UPLIFTING PIANO AND STRINGS listing S220216US from the screener that reviewed my track?

I have been a member since around November and have generally been able to take away some good points from the feedback I have gotten. However, this time there are some things that are quite unclear to me that I really would like them to explain a bit further so I can actually take something away from the criticism and improve going forward.

Thanks in advance!

[ballereau]

Hi,
I got a strange review on that one also. I sent an email to taxi about it to clear up the comments on the review. I have not heard from them.
I would contact them to ask if they could be more clear on the review.
It's worth a try

Thanks

Larry

[cosmicdolphin]

However, this time there are some things that are quite unclear to me that I really would like them to explain a bit further so I can actually take something away from the criticism and improve going forward.

1. You could post it up in the forum along with the track and get some further feedback from other members. There's some pretty experienced folks here.

2. You could opt for a Taxi custom critique at $20

3. There is a new Pro Feedback service being launched by Jesse tomorrow over at Sync My Music - there are some example reviews up on the channel to see if that type of direct video feedback works for you. I've no idea on the costs I don't think they are announcing it until tomorrow but it may be worth checking out.

[Hauschild]

Hi,
I got a strange review on that one also. I sent an email to taxi about it to clear up the comments on the review. I have not heard from them.
I would contact them to ask if they could be more clear on the review.
It's worth a try

Thanks

Larry

Hi Larry,

I saw your post as well (I also tried responding, but as I am a brand new member of the forum that response got stuck for a while waiting for approval from a moderator). I will do what you have done and write to Taxi asking for some further elaboration if possible

Thanks!

[Hauschild]

However, this time there are some things that are quite unclear to me that I really would like them to explain a bit further so I can actually take something away from the criticism and improve going forward.

1. You could post it up in the forum along with the track and get some further feedback from other members. There's some pretty experienced folks here.

2. You could opt for a Taxi custom critique at $20

3. There is a new Pro Feedback service being launched by Jesse tomorrow over at Sync My Music - there are some example reviews up on the channel to see if that type of direct video feedback works for you. I've no idea on the costs I don't think they are announcing it until tomorrow but it may be worth checking out.

Hi cosmicdolphin

Great suggestions! Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it

1. This is the track in question if anyone here on the forum interested in giving their feedback: https://www.taxi.com/my/artist/songs/0y ... lden-light

Thanks in advance to anyone listening!

2. Part of my confusion was with some unspecific phrasing in the screener's feedback, so I would probably need to be able to ask them specifically (which I guess you cannot do as the screeners would probably drown in emails from frustrated composers).
Anyway, to be specific they wrote "...I like effected pianos in general... but some effected pianos are too noisy and add too much unwanted noise to the track".
However, without mentioning when the effected pianos are too much and when they are ok I can't really take much of use away from that. Furthermore, they don't specify what they mean by "effected pianos" - I have a few bits of reversed piano (inspired by the reference track "Just a Little Hope" by Adigold), some piano ostinatos with some reverb and delay, and then there is the main piano sound itself which is a close-miked felted piano which by it's nature is a bit noisy.

Beyond that they wrote that: "We also need to remember that the listing specifically asked for cues ... 'that feature Piano and Strings as their only instrumentation', so the extra effects and pads are not going to work for this pitch".
But I have not added any pads to the track, there is only strings and piano in there. And then of course the "effects" (but again they are unclear as to what they are referring to here). And at any rate I would argue that effects are not instrumentation but production, and the listing asks for modern production which I take to mean that you can be a bit more creative than just plain piano and strings (which the reference tracks also confirm).

3. It sounds really interesting with the Pro Feedback service. Will check that out!

Thanks!

[cosmicdolphin]

Your link isn't working so I couldn't listen, there are instructions somewhere on how to format the links correctly so they work for others or use SoundCloud.

Either way it's best to do a new post in Peer to Peer , and post a copy of the listing containing the links to the Reference Tracks as well as the screener feedback.

Without being able to listen suspect there was too much mechanical noise from the felt piano which is often quite prominent in those types of libraries. I always try to reduce it as much as possible if the instrument settings allow for it as I find them a bit distracting and layers of compression and limiting bring them out even more.

Someone else mentioned they got dinged for non piano and string sounds too so I'm not sure what this screeners criteria is , if the references have reversed piano then they should be fair game. Some effected piano and strings sounds do sound pad like but I would be guided by the references.

[Hauschild]

Ah, sorry about that. I will post it in the Peer to Peer section instead.

Yeah, it could have been that they meant to say that there is too much noise from the piano. But as it is a live recording I don't really have a way of turning down the noise (except for moving the mics further away but that ruins the close-miked, intimate effect). Also, I have used that piano, played and recorded in that way, on pretty much every other track I have submitted so far and had a good deal of forwards without the piano sound being an issue, so it is at least not a general problem to the screeners

Yeah, I saw his post too and heard his track. To me it is quite evident that it uses only piano and strings. I don't know what the screener thought they heard as they didn't specifically mention what the other instruments they heard were.

I guess I may have gotten carried away playing with some tape delays to create a nice vibe and forgotten that that wasn't in the references.
Perhaps you can help me here: When the listing states that a company is looking for music in "the general ballpark of these references" does that actually mean that I should really not do anything production and instrumentation wise which does not have a direct counterpart in the references? I took the "general ballpark" phrase to mean that it was a bit more loose than that. But perhaps some screeners don't see it that way while others do?

[cosmicdolphin]

Perhaps you can help me here: When the listing states that a company is looking for music in "the general ballpark of these references" does that actually mean that I should really not do anything production and instrumentation wise which does not have a direct counterpart in the references? I took the "general ballpark" phrase to mean that it was a bit more loose than that. But perhaps some screeners don't see it that way while others do?

A good idea when you start out is to write down everything you hear in the ref tracks so you end up with a kind of recipe card for that listing and stick to that.

Your recipe should include :-

Instruments used,
How they are played
Production stuff like reverbs, delays
Structure if they are Library tracks
Also the emotion.. What the music is meant to convey

You'll probably get more hits than misses that way so long as the track is well played and produced.

Taxi can be a bit overly prescriptive and a lot of my returns are in libraries

[Hauschild]

Thanks for the recipe!

I have been doing that - except for writing it down. And that might be a key ingredient (pardon the pun) as I sometimes get carried away once I start writing and inspiration strikes. Having a clear map like that written down to reference back against will help make sure that I do not go overboard or lose my way. Thank you