I started it a few days ago and I'm still figuring out the arrangement/composition. My friend thought it was a flume song while I was playing it lol.. What are your thoughts, I'm always looking to improve so please give me your honest and critical input (if you think its garbage, don't hesitate to tell me) Even if you love it, find something to hate about it and tell me why

https://soundcloud.com/noose-jenner/drip-instrumentaldemo

*Cheesy response alert!*

I would tell myself to have more faith in my abilities as a musician and as a person. I wish I could have believed in myself more.

We all (or at least most of us, I believe) struggle with self esteem among other personal issues to some level, but sometimes it can feel nearly crippling. I would remind myself that everyone else is fighting their own battle and that in order to be the best version of myself I can't be so pessimistic about nearly everything that has to do with my personality or my achievements.

We're all great people despite sometimes coming off as condescending, cocky, shy or even gawky to name a few, and even though the awesome parts of us wants to be brought out, we become limited by our flaws.

We all have a limited amount of time to make the most out of our lives, and despite still being pretty young I wish I could live by that mentality and make the most out of whatever time I do have left to enjoy life

I like the blips in the intro, maybe try to introduce them by opening up a slightly resonant high pass filter. I would change your kick to something with a sharper sounding transient, right now it sounds boxy and can be more punchy. The biggest issue with your track is that it lacks excitement going along. I want to hear more contrast between sections along with smoother transitions between parts. For instance, the strings or pad chords in the background can change (Both sonically and melodically) every once in a while to keep things fresh.

also, im curious: by "video game music concept soundtrack," is that like, making an OST for a game that doesnt exist yet, or just a 'soundtrack' in that it's themed after video game music?

Thanks for the input! Pretty much just making an OST for a game that doesn't exist. Theres no planned game it just my interpretation of what various types of songs in an (J)RPG would sound like if it was my job to create them. I would love to have these featured in a game if I could, just don't have any connections to Devs and whatnot.

And another.

[/quote]

This screams Porter Robinson - Lionhearted/ some type of zedd mixture   ;D

I'm not really advocating the use of drugs or alcohol but I will share my experience under the influence of various substance I admit to have taken that have helped me create better music imo... Like I said though, none of this is meant to convince anyone that taking drugs is or is not harmful, but I have benefitted in a few different ways musically from experimenting with mind altering yadda yadda..

Weed: We've all been to college right?? Where I went to school it was practically unavoidable, and I will admit to smoking more than I actually would like to admit to anybody I know personally. For me, the stuff opened up a mental gateway and helped me make killer compositions. My workflow was off the hook, as long as I was comfortable, and ALONE (the most important factor for me) I was able to crank out probably my best work musically, and I was less hesitant in general. The stuff did make me more anxious than a turkey on thanksgiving sometimes, but man did it help my ears hear things in such detail that I could never hear totally sober.

Alcohol: I've never made music piss drunk (which rarely happens to begin with because I may be one of the few people to despise liquor) but after enjoying a few beers, the buzz I get sort of helps me relax and worry less about editing and focus on a smooth workflow. And if I have been working on something for a few hours, having a few drinks helps reset my ears a little bit and removes some clutter from my ADD plagued mind.

Adderall: I'm prescribed the stuff, taking it helps me function like I should if I wasn't cursed with ADHD. There have been some instances where I've had some pills stockpiled up from past scripts and took double to triple my prescribed dosage (For me that number was around 50-60 mg, sounds like a lot but it really isn't). You will sit down, and god damn you will be the most productive you have ever been in your life. My problem with abusing adderall for musical purposes (which I don't usually do and really don't recommend doing often in general) is that it will make you work almost too hard, and chances are you will ignore any other personal relationships and responsibilities for as long as the medicine is in effect that day

Coffee: (Yes this is a drug, is it even a debate anymore? lol)  obvious things we all probably know already aside... When working on music, the 20 minutes of slight euphoria I get is useful when I want to tackle a quick job in my DAW. Thats about it, coffee doesn't really have much of an effect on me anymore (besides causing me to go a night without sleep If I have it after dinner)

My 2 cents

If we can take a step back in time.. Even though it doesn't directly relate to me, Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross never fails to tickle the feelz gland

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmDxJrggie8

You should wrap that link with the soundcloud bbcode to make it playable inside the forum.

I've tried and it never works