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| I Love You America by Didier | 6 years ago |
 A Beatles-esque arrangement imo. Nicely done. America loves you too. |
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| Sea Fever (Re-Recorded) by imnotreallyscott | 6 years ago |
Hey Not-Scott, I've been looking forward to the completed version of this song. I really enjoy this. Your instrumentation really creates the atmosphere to perfectly match the vocals. I really like the vocal harmonies you've done. Production/mix seems to me like it could be better. But this is not something I'm very well versed in so I can't say for sure what it is that I think could be improved (and hence won't rate on it  ) Again, I really enjoyed this, thanks so much for redoing the vocals and all the general improvements you've made. It really paid off!Chris |
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| Gymnopédie 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Dan, Phase and Mrs E, I'm glad you enjoy the piece. Cruz, I'm not really the best person to talk to about that. I would suggest a post on the forums. I have a digital piano which I use as a midi keyboard (all my instrument sounds are software based). So the only equipment I have is a little Midi > USB adapter. Chris |
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| Send Me Down An Angel by WRG | 6 years ago |
Reminds me of Moby. While I agree with UncleT about other genres showcasing your strong singing voice, I like hearing this variety from you, and I really look forward to hearing more diversity. Chris |
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| ( Cordelia's Dad Cover) The Rover by WRG | 6 years ago |
I'm waiting for the Johnny Cash cover Nice version of this song WRG. Chris |
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| Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| I'm glad you enjoyed it Kristy, Teddy and Doc. Chris |
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| Gymnopédie 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks for the comments everyone! Adrian, That would be excellent! Especially since I don't have any recordings of that music in my library yet Chris |
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| Gnossienne 5 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
As always, thanks so much for the comments. I'm glad that people are enjoying Satie along with me  Chris |
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| Another Gin & Tonic by UncletupeloFan | 6 years ago |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What WRG said Chris |
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| Dream (meditation mix) by Mystified | 6 years ago |
Ok, so would it be alright if I just took this to my masseuse for our next appointment? Great atmosphere. Excellent use of panning. A fine collaboration. "Worth the wait!!!!"...Word Mrs. E. Chris |
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| Gnossienne 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| LOL, I think that might run a bit larger than the 20mb per song upload |
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| The Other Side (demo) by Pilky | 6 years ago |
| I'll write this as I listen...I like the guitar. I feel like your vocals come in too softly. Or rather they are being overpowered by drums/guitar. The drum loop, as I'm sure you're aware, needs to...change. I don't really feel like it compliments the guitar work. Collaborating with an actual drummer will do some good here I think. It's hard for me to say much about your vocal work because of the production of this tune. One thing I am noticing is that your breathing doesn't seem to be steady all the time. Which results in, sort of, choppy sounding vocals. (I'm not a vocalist so I sort of lack the vocabulary to explain what I'm hearing well). I'm also thinking this song could benefit from a key change at some point? or maybe some additional chords throughout the piece? Overall I feel like the progression suffers from repetition (which is something i know a lot about because my improvs also suffer from simple, repetitive chord progressions). I'm also wanting a solo in there to compliment your vocal storytelling. Maybe some more variation in the vocal melody would be good too. Basically, I feel like you've got some good things going in here, but the ideas you've presented can be fleshed out a LOT more in my opinion. Collaborating with someone I think can help, some more takes with the vocals and some tweaking of the production. I look forward to hearing some of your refinements to this piece. Be sure to message me when you've got a new version, or if you want to discuss any of my notes. I also like to remind people whom I critique that, all the above is just my opinion. In the end it's up to YOU to realize YOUR artisitic vision. So, if my advice smells like horse***t then by all means, scoop it up out of your way Chris |
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| CHICKS' GRILL by wal4u | 6 years ago |
So much as been said already so I'll just say... "One beautiful song. Great singing. Great playing. Great songwriting. Your production skills are awesome!!!!! One of my favorites." ditto. Thank you! Chris |
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| My Child, My Love by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| This is a simple two-chord improvised lullaby. I wrote a little short story to go with it. The story is actually what I was imagining in my head while I was playing the song. Hope you all enjoy Chris P.S. I have to credit enicholsic (and in turn Mrs Ed for plugging Mr. Ed\'s stuff) for inspiring me to do a lullaby  P.P.S. If anyone has an image they think would be good for song art, hit me up with a message. Edit: Found an image. |
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| Vocal Test by HeadCheese | 6 years ago |
| I was a...little disturbed by this, and I like that. | |
| Canon in D for Mixed Ensemble by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Actually the instrument progression is: Orchestra Bass (Pizzicato) and Bassoon (Staccato), then Orchestra Viola (Pizzicato), then the first flute comes in, then the second flute takes over with Clarinet for harmony. The next instrument to come in is Cello (Pizziccato) then another Cello (Staccato). And that's it! So we have: Orchestra Bass Basson Viola Two Flutes Clarinet and Two Cellos Of course they will sometimes vary between playing Staccato, Legato and Pizzicato. Edit: Oop, forgot there are actually two Clarinets at one point (One playing Legato and one playing Staccato) Also forgot to say, Thanks everybody for your nice comments!! |
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| Concrete and Barbed Wire (duet) by Dyl | 6 years ago |
I'm really touched by the heart in Natalie's singing. That's a kid with an old soul if I've ever heard one. Top notch cover, everyone involved. Chris |
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| Drinkin Too Much by WRG | 6 years ago |
I'm gonna give you 5 stars just for having a bar in your living room. |
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| My Way Home by Mystified | 6 years ago |
Agree completely. The guitar playing, vocals, all superb. Your first recording on an honest-to-goodness condenser mic, is an honest-to-goodness GREAT song! Chris |
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| Bach's Prelude No. 2 in C minor by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| I actually just used motor oil, I find it holds up better under heat |
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| Gnossienne 3 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks for your comments |
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| A Friend's Lament by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks Ob, and Zaka. | |
| Gnossienne 4 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks all, this is my favorite Gnossienne as well Perc. I'm am flattered beyond words by your comments. Chris |
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| Gnossienne 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks once more everyone! | |
| And Know the Place for the First Time by Balok | 6 years ago |
Congrats on 1 Year Balok! What a great composition to mark the occasion. Cheers! Chris |
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| 2S2S5S-9-Emptiness Sphere by DavidBowles | 6 years ago |
"wow this is magnificent"-ghost Ditto-Chris |
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| Drum Jamming [Live] by joachim | 6 years ago |
| lol, love the double-kick madness at the end. | |
| Amber by DJ_Sokolov | 6 years ago |
| Alright RFI, I won't comment on the piece compositionally. It's a very nice song. I'm sure your girlfriend will love it. Performance wise I do have a few suggestions that you can apply to this song or to future solo piano compositions. There were two things I noticed in your performance that are typical mistakes of amateur pianists. The first is your use of sustain. From about the 22second mark up until 1:16ish the sustain is being over used. A general rule of thumb is to release sustain at the beginning of every measure. Now, this rule is not set in stone and there are times when you can hold it for longer (and shorter) periods of time. But with this piece, I felt that the use of sustain, in the portion I noted above, causes a very swampy, or muddy sound as all of the notes are running into each other. The second common mistake (and the most difficult thing to fix) is not realizing a balance between melody and chords (usually right hand vs left hand). My piano teacher always told me to imagine the melody as a boat sailing on a body of water (the chords). Again, as a general rule, you want to make sure that your melody plays OVER the chords not under. Don't sink the boat!! Now note that this does not necessarily mean you must play the melody LOUDER. Your left hand generally plays a larger role in the volume of a song. My next suggestion is to use a broader range of dynamics. At about the 10 second mark the velocity on your notes (melody lines) bumped up to 50 and did not vary at all until 28 seconds, and then only jumping around in between 50 and 60 shortly before returning to the 50. If you have difficulty playing long passages well, try just playing/recording one measure at a time over and over until you get the dynamics that you want, and then doing the same for the next measure. You can then edit these perfect measures together to form your composition. This will be a lot easier for you than playing the notes and then going one by one to set the velocity and fix the timing. Ok, I do have one little suggestion regarding composition. The fade away on a solo piano song is kind of a pet peeve of mine. Personally I prefer to have a song resolve itself (this doesn't mean you have to resolve chord progression, it just refers to choosing an ending for the song that isn't the fade away). I hope these notes help RFI. Please don't hesitate to ask me for more advice in the future if you want it. |
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| Loopsy by lilichi | 6 years ago |
| heh, I waited too long to comment..It's all been said. Great arrangement Lili. Chris |
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| Tristezza (Sadness) by Mystified | 6 years ago |
... speechless. simply stunning. Have you thought about shopping around for a publisher for this piece? Bravissimo!! |
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| Balok's 'Pathos' (remix) by Mystified | 6 years ago |
| well, it's all been pretty much said...Nice work Mysti |
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| On & On II by Mystified | 6 years ago |
| This is just beautiful Mysti. | |
| Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks for the "wow"s ! | |
| A Friend's Lament by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks you 3, it was an emotional time. That's for sure. When I was prepping the recording for upload I considered going back and redoing the chords as I could probably do them much better, but decided that it would be better to preserve the piece as a sort of snapshot of what I was feeling at that time. Chris |
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| The Light Exchanged by Citizencal2 | 6 years ago |
A great arrangement. I really enjoyed this Citi. A great example of what people can do with "only loops". Quite the emotional journey...I look foward to more from you. Chris |
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| Go! by etgilles | 6 years ago |
| heh, great pop tune. Anyone else think etigalles voice is kind of Clay Aiken's? (I mean that as a compliment ) |
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| miss you more by amandachapman | 6 years ago |
| Death is something we can all relate to because at some point or another we've all had to cope with it. This piece is a beautiful way to pay tribute to a loved one. Thank you for sharing this with us. Chris |
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| She's Thinkin' What She's Thinkin' by WRG | 6 years ago |
| Corrupted file?? Oh no!! You should consider re-recording...I think the possiblities for collab with this song are quite exciting. | |
| Bach's Prelude No. 2 in C minor by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Hey thanks for the comments guys. Yea sickboy, I should mention that like the first Prelude I did, this is for a possible collaborative effort with Raisin427, so what I did was i recorded it at tempo, but went into the midi editor to make sure all the timing was exact. Normally I would never do this (can give songs a really robotic feel to it imo), but I think it just makes it easier on raisin to add to it or sample it. I'm glad you all are enjoying it! Chris |
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| She's Thinkin' What She's Thinkin' by WRG | 6 years ago |
| Love the vocals. Guitar work is simple, but it's rhythm, it works. The solo stuff could be cleaned up I think. hmm, I dunno if I'm just imagining things, but timing also seems to be just a bit off in some spots (with the rhythm guitar). I also wonder about instruments other than the jazz flute? That's mostly personal preference I think though (Just not that big a fan of it in any context). I'll forego a rating for now since I've nearly been awake for 24 hours and my listening ear is slightly clogged with the desire to sleep. I'll check it again tomorrow (today?) and see if I can come up with anything else. Bottom Line: 3rd song I've Favorited since returning! Nice Work |
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| I got A Goove On by WRG | 6 years ago |
 Love the beat. Really like the little funk effects. Vocals are really good. Production...I'm wondering what this would sound like with the vocals dropped down a notch or two in the mix, but I dunno. Overall very good. I like the mini drum breaks and the little guitar riffs that precede them. Overall a very funkified piece. |
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| Morning Walk (slideshow) by Mystified | 6 years ago |
I loved this! Such beautiful imagery. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this and sharing it with the community Mysti! And if that's the sort of scenery around where you live...well, do you need a roommate by any chance? Chris |
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| Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Ok, Fortunato convinced me not to do a rubato version. And since forty is my hero I'm gonna listen Which is really a shame because I had a great title for it. Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major (Artistic Licensed to Kill) Oh, don't worry, I'll use that somewhere yet!! |
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| Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| lol, yes, Bach can have that affect on people sometimes Thanks Enich. |
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| Gnossienne 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks everyone. Again, I'm glad to find some fellow Satie fans. | |
| Gnossienne 2 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks everyone for your nice comments. It's nice to see some fellow Satie fans |
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| A day in Slovakia by alexandre | 6 years ago |
| I also really liked this. Very nice writing! Chris |
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| Electronica Fun by Mongo228 | 6 years ago |
 Welcome to iComp Mongo!! I feel like this piece is a decent attempt at tasting electronica. The challenge now is to really sink your teeth in and do something a bit more complex. The beat you've got here is decent enough, but the entire song only really has two small musical ideas in it that repeat. Which, I know electronica repeats A LOT, but I would like to see more variety in the storytelling here. Or, more variety in the ways that you convey the mood/atmostphere you're trying to create. The concept for the piece in general is alright for me. It actually reminds me of some late 80s early 90s synth. But you really need to flesh out the idea and not rely on those first few loops that you've strung together. Production wise, there can be some improvement. I'd like some more bass and some panning. All in all, a good first effort, but now you need to spice it up a notch. Bam! Chris |
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| Gnossienne 1 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| Thanks cyberian and Granz. I'm actually interested in doing some Satie arrangements with a lyra (guitar/bouzouki) and a flute. Maybe an oboe and/or violin (sparingly?). I don't know but considering I don't own/know how to play any of those instruments its gonna take some collaborating. thanks again for the positive comments. Chris |
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| Gnossienne 2 (E. Satie) by ChristopherAllen | 6 years ago |
| You certainly may! It's a slightly modified version of the "Orchestra Steinway Piano" software instrument which can be found in Apple's Jam Pack 4. For reverb I'm just doing the "Classical Chamber" preset (unmodified). My keyboard is actually a Technics SX-P50 which is a digital piano. So that allows me to really emulate the feel of a real piano. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to say so! Chris |
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