[James May]

Parts that I fixed or will mention will be next to each critique for Minuit. Again, thanks guys

Originally Posted by bmah

Minuit A Fond La Caisse / James May
rating: 3/10 [?]
- 4.78s,etc.: I'd argue that the timpani isn't any more emphasized than other timpani hits at a different pitch, so a jump is good enough removed the intro section. As for the timpanis, I usually add the emphasis on that as a hand to distinguish it from the congas/drums
- 15.55s,90.13s,etc.: I don't see how this merits a triple arrow jack. I can understand a two-arrow minijack, but the third conga hit sounds different.
- 20.41s,etc.: similarly, take the pitch of the conga sounds into account (doesn't sound like a trill) Will fix that. I wasn't sure how many repitions it had,
- 45.66s: ghost 16th Removed it.
- 47.88-61.40s,101.96-115.48s: color theory not really justified here, as it literally encompasses the entire section, which weakens the purpose of showcasing an element; in fact, I'd support color theory on the loud timpani hits in which you currently have hands for those Actually, the colour theory was used to change the mood of the movements after each main section of the song. I was going to originally apply it to just the hands but then I was against it since it felt like it would break the consistency of the timpani that was being used in the song.
- 59.71s: again, way too soft/tinny for a hand. It sounds like you're layering to the number of sounds present simultaneously. Usually I'd be completely fine with this but the isolation and lack of emphasis really stands out. I'll change it. But I kept it as hands because of consistency. I suppose I can fix up on that issue?
- 64.04s,70.80s,101.85s: missed 16th to conga oops. I'll fix that now.
- 118.02s,121.40s,etc.: 64th bursts? Really? Removed it. I was debating on making it a 192nd jump/hand for emphasis. Would that work instead? Or would a single note be better?
- 119.49s,160.59s: missed arrow to bass drum
- 120.66s,etc.: missed 16th Will fix those now
- 197.45s: bad PR PR really isn't my strongest to be honest :/
- Summary: Strange song, but it was also long and did not do much more with its percussive rhythms. This resulted in a file that dragged on for a long time, along with choppy stepping.

Originally Posted by Silvuh

[6/10] Minuit A Fond La Caisse / Alias Conrad Coldwood // James May
// The music is soft for the most part. Layering is good but the patterns need work. Lots of repeated arrows when the same pitches aren't repeating. But your minijacks are placed well except for some of the ones between the hands.
21.57, 24.95s etc: Would be better to make the 16th a minijack with the 8th hand so the two hands can be different. It's pretty apparent that they don't go to the same pitch. And the percussion does do minijacks anyway. You did it at 28.33s, so it works. Fixed.
29.07s: Missing 8th to the bass. Hmm...I actually didn't hear the bass there but I'll add it.
30.55-30.97s: That percussion has some different pitches here, so it's not a trill. Agreed and changed the patterns a bit.
38.37s: Different percussion pitch and shouldn't share a note with 38.15s. Making that jump [34] fixes it. Fixed it.
52.97s: This should be a jump with 50.44s because they go to that secondary instrument. Or they can both be singles. Fixed.
57.62s: Jump to the primary instrument. Fixed.
62.13s: Same thing about the minijacks again. I'll fix it up soon.
62.87, 69.63s etc: Bass, same as 29.07s.
64.35, 67.73s etc: Incorrect trill, same as 30.55s.
65.51, 68.89, 72.27s etc: Minijack should be with the 8th, not the 4th. I'll clean that section up.
66.67-67.10s, 74.91-75.55s etc: These 8ths all go to different sounds, so this shouldn't be an anchor. Oops x:
101.95-115.48s: Try only stepping the 8ths that go to the kick thing here. And sometimes the kick repeats, so like 108.32, 108.54s can be the same arrow. (+ for add, - for remove)
+102.20, +103.89, +107.27, -107.69, -109.38, -110.23, +110.65, -111.92, -112.76, -113.61, -114.45
There's that chimey sound that plays pretty constantly, so either step all the 8ths, none of them, or only the ones to that one percussion sound. I'll fix it up soon.
116.43s: Move to 4. Shouldn't be a 2 minijack because it has a higher pitch than the ones around it.
117.69, 121.07s etc.: Missing minijack to the same sound.
144.63-145.90, 148.85-150.33: This is unneedingly left-hand biased.
159.00, 160.69s: Shouldn't have repeated jumps to different percussion sounds. Fixed.
160.58s: Missing bass note. Bass is barely audible for me to warrant that note and the one on 160.48
183.08s: It would be fine to end the file here. Will cut that out.

Originally Posted by Niala

Minuit A Fond La Caisse (James May)
5/10
-There are three predominant issues with this file: length, jack consistency, and PR.
-First of all, the length. I'm sorry to say it, but it's just too long. I would think it needs some cuts before anything else. Yeah the length is a problem but I could cut out the intro and the piano at the end...
-Second, the jack consistency is a problem, and a big one at that. Using jacks is meant to attribute an identical sound back-to-back. Whether that's the same instrument on the same note, or drums, or whatever it may be. The issue here is that the jacks don't have any rhyme nor reason, and the whole file is inconsistent with them.
For example: Take a look at measure 104. Every other jack has been three long, which is debatable in its own right, but the note at beat 413.500 is not a third jack. There's no reason to change it, as it's identical to the set-up you've been using previously. Issues with consistency like this are apparent throughout the entire simfile. I'm cleaning up the file on that. I'm really no pro at this hehe, I'm just teaching myself along the way so I guess that's a hazard oops.
-Lastly, the PR. This doesn't take place at the end of the file, but judging from how you stepped the ending, I'll assume you haven't been told about it before. PR stands for Pitch Relevance-- in its most basic terms, it's a simfiling theory that states as sounds get higher, arrows should go from left to right, kind of like how a piano notes get higher as they go to the right. The point of it is to attribute musicality to the steps, and in doing so, make the player feel more like they're playing the music, not random arrows.
The ending of the file has very obviously ignored that system, and while it's not completely necessary to make a file, it's still a very important aspect of what makes a good file into a great file. Lacking it just lowers the overall quality. Help me senpai I suck at this ;_;

Originally Posted by Jimerax

Minuit A Fond La Caisse (James May) [5.5/10]

m22, 41, 43, m54, etc - awkward pattern choice with jacks
m113- - PR can be improved, also this part can be cut I'll be fixing those up.

song is quite monotonous/repetitive for a simfile, at least can be shortened imo.
some patterns are too strong for the song, or awkward to hit in general.