Month: October 2016

Broadjam Artist: Josh Walker
Song: Amazing Grace

Reviewer: Earl.C.Webb

Positive Comments: Lovely tone on the saxSome nice playing tooWell done

Constructive Comments: you know what..to my ears there are a few timing issues on the some of the keyboard chords, particularly at the beginningIt may be some glitching in the streaming so if that’s the case I apologizeNice job though

Broadjam Artist: Ober Rivers And His DUI’S
Song: Vacation

Reviewer: Earl.C.Webb

Positive Comments: Haha it is what it is….It worksWell done

Constructive Comments: Cool as it is broIf only sesame st was still going…big bird would have a ball with this

Broadjam Artist: Steve Dafoe – Songwriter
Song: Shelter In Your Lovin’ Arms (Adult Contemporary)

Reviewer: a man’s voyage

Positive Comments: The guitar in this kept to the correct timing, and it carried the song along quite nicely. This song reminds me of something that might be played at a bar or and some sort of small show. I enjoyed the artists voice, and he remained on key for the entirety of the piece. The part of this song that has the most potential in my opinion is the vocals.

Constructive Comments: The song never really seemed to lead anywhere, instead it kind of went around in circles. The vocals were good, but there wasn’t anything within the first couple of minutes that really made me want to keep listening. I would suggest adding some sort of crescendo to the arrangement. The strumming pattern doesn’t really change at all, which is why the song seems so repetitive. Overall, the artist has some potential. I would just recommend thinking outside of the box a little bit more. Go places within your music that nobody would expect, and your music will take YOU to places that you would never expect.

Broadjam Artist: Bob Higgs
Song: When These Days are Done

Reviewer: a man’s voyage

Positive Comments: I appreciated the simplicity of this song, it’s simply just guitar and vocals. Sometimes keeping it simple is a great way to highlight strong vocals or impressive instrumentation. This song would be great in a movie or TV show, something similar to the score in the movie “Into the Wild.” Eddie Vetter was the artist for that, so I would suggest checking his stuff out!

Constructive Comments: As I said earlier, I appreciate the simplicity of this song. That being said, there was not a lot of depth within that simplicity. Typically, a song with just piano or just guitar is meant to be vocally driven and highly emotional. The vocals have to be driving the song, and in this song they aren’t. The vocals were not the strongest, and they did not carry much emotion. I would recommend figuring out how to bring out some power in your voice. Opening your false vocal cords and keeping your head down when you reach for higher notes might help. It just varies for everyone. I can tell that your voice is a mature one, but I can also tell that you haven’t had a ton of vocal training. That being said, this song still could be used in many movies or TV shows, it’s just a matter of finding the right one!

Broadjam Artist: Warren Hein
Song: How They Have Grown

Reviewer: a man’s voyage

Positive Comments: This is a very soothing instrumental. It speaks of both subtlety and power. I love the melody it seems to be familiar to my ears, yet also original enough to keep me wanting more. The intro was so quiet and endearing. I imagine a bride and a groom in rooms right next to each other. They are looking at their hands and trying to fight the nerves that they feel so strongly in their stomach. Eventually, they get up and go through the wedding ceremony. The song ends quiet, and the couple is sitting in the car on their way to their honeymoon. They stare into each other’s eyes and come to the realization that they get to see those eyes every day for the rest of their life. This song would be so perfect for a wedding video, or even a movie or TV show where they only show parts of the ceremony and parts of the reception.

Constructive Comments: Honestly, there isn’t much that could be improved with this song. The only thing I noticed is that the percussion at the end doesn’t seem to be of the highest quality. My guess is that it is a virtual drum set, and not a real one. This isn’t the end of the world, but i would suggest fixing that if you want this song to get a sync opportunity of some sort.

Broadjam Artist: DENNIS MAKEPEACE
Song: there’s no glory

Reviewer: a man’s voyage

Positive Comments: First off, I must say that your voice and music style reminds me a lot of Billy Joel. I LOVE Billy Joel, so I was pretty happy when this song began. This song felt like a bit of a blast to the past, but there is never anything wrong with that. The market potential is pretty good in my opinion. It won’t ever be in the top 100 songs or anything, but it has some potential for a sync of some sort.

Constructive Comments: First of all, any advice I give you should be taken with a grain of salt. I may be a fellow musician, but I am not an expert by any means. Ultimately, if you finished this song and thought to yourself “Wow, I’m proud of how this turned out”, then you already have success in music. If making music brings you joy, then you are more successful than a lot of extremely wealthy artists out there who have lost sight of what truly matters. I can tell through this song that you truly do enjoy making music. There is a pep in your voice that cannot be taught, it’s just something you are born with. The one thing that I would be careful with is sounding too much like another artist. This song is great, but I didn’t fall in love with it. It was missing some bass instruments, as well as a strong chorus. The song started to blend together and I couldn’t really tell the verses apart. Overall, this a song with a lot of potential, but I would like there to be some more originality.

Broadjam Artist: Jeff Ashbaker
Song: Don’t Let It Scare You

Reviewer: a man’s voyage

Positive Comments: The great thing about this song is that it has a good amount of potential. The lyrics are the strongest part in my opinion. It reminds me of some older music, maybe from the 80’s or 90’s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since all music has its place in today’s market. The vocals were on point as far as the pitch goes, which is one of the most important things when it comes to sync opportunities.

Constructive Comments: As I stated above, this song has a lot of potential. The main thing that I had a hard time with me is that nothing about it really stuck out. There was nothing to pull me in emotionally, so I felt as though has I was drug through the entire song rather than me wanting to keep listening in anticipation of what was coming next. I would recommend taking some time listening to top music. Listen to how the songs drag you in with not only the vocals but also the instruments. Songs shouldn’t reveal all their secrets within the first minute or two. You are probably wondering what the heck I mean by that. Well, let me tell you. As humans, we love the unknown. We love the things that we can feel, but that we can’t quite grasp or get a hold of. As long as we can feel it, we believe it can be more than we could ever imagine. It’s the same concept for men or women that jump from relationship to relationship. They feel something intense for someone, and as long as they keep them at arms length then they can believe that person is the greatest thing since sliced bread. As soon as commitment is expected, they run the other way in fear of either them or the other person not living up to expectations. PEOPLE LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY. One of the keys to writing good music is mastering the art of creating that mystery within your music. You could start with just a simple arrangement, maybe just guitar and vocals. Then you could slowly build that song until you get to your hook, or even until you get the the big finish. There are SO many ways to create suspense in music, and I cannot stress how important it is to do this. Good luck with your music career!

Broadjam Artist: Vittorio Bianchi
Song: Piccola Canzone

Reviewer: Earl.C.Webb

Positive Comments: No comprehend…. but lovely piece of music and vocalWell done

Constructive Comments: Lovely…don’t change a thing

Broadjam Artist: Ronald Arduini
Song: FLYING HIGH

Reviewer: Earl.C.Webb

Positive Comments: The song has potential for sureSung pretty well toowell done

Constructive Comments: All sounds a bit synthesized, would sound better with ‘real’ instruments?Lacking bottom endGood effort…

Broadjam Artist: Randal Dunkle
Song: Salvation Song

Reviewer: Jason Kessler and ProRS

Positive Comments: This song carries a bit different feel than most contemporary Christian music. It is very Earthy, sort of bluesy and folksy, but with an almost overpowering beat. Sounds like something that might be good for a revival setting, although I am not sure that was the goal. I like that this artist took a fairly simple melody and kept it that way. Very tempting to go over the top, but the simplicity is a good deal of the charm of this tune.

Constructive Comments: The recording sounds a bit muddy to me. The vocals are a little too upfront. Personally, I think the lo-fi vocal effect, probably intended to increase the warmth of the performance, just emphasizes that this is clearly a home demo performance. The drum machine is a bit overpowering, although I like the simplicity. I would suggest bringing it back in the mix and maybe adding some handclaps or a tambourine on 2 and 4. Also would suggest some vocal harmonies. This is a nice simple melody, you could almost add a small choir to it to give it additional life.