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Really exciting piece, was wonderful to listen to. The harmony especially is super fun, tastefully dissonant and suitably wonderous for this magical castle. I would critique that the track only occasionally dips into the more ethereal, reflective ideas I would normally associate with crystal castles in video games, like the string interjections near 1:25. Ultimately, that part of this comp is pretty much up to interpretation so I'm not marking it down particularly harshly for that. Nice work 

Overall an enjoyable listen. I'm a sucker for nice minimalistic stuff just wallowing in nice string chords, so I really liked 0:24 onwards especially. 

I can see that you are trying to build up/mix up layers of motifs (forgive me if I'm wrong on that assumption). The triplet harp works very nicely while using the held string chords, because it adds that gentle momentum that you otherwise wouldn't have with static chords, and the dialogue between the glock and the pizz strings is a nice touch, but I have to say I think the re-inclusion of the harp triplets in bar 9 felt quite forced and didn't gel as well as other sections. I think its worth keeping in mind that you can still nod to that harp motif without playing it note for note. For instance you can change the scale you're using, or fragment the motif, or change the rhythm but maintain a similar melodic shape. It can be those kinds of careful adjustments that, I believe, allow a piece to flow naturally from section to section.

Nevertheless, nice work and it would've been great to see how the track developed if you had had more time. Always glad to see another musescore user :)

I'm a huge fan. The opening is fantastically orchestrated, and though I honestly wasn't in love with the sudden inclusion of a drum beat, the beat was actually simplistic enough that I didn't feel it took away from the mystical, ethereal feeling of the opening. For the sake of suggesting an improvement, it would have been cool to see a bit more variety in the bassline, maybe a bit of melodicism even, as although their entry at 0:26 is very satisfying, that bassline then remains the same for the rest of the piece. Nice work 👍

Thank you for the kind words. Space is one of my favourite elements to mess around with in music. Its a really fun puzzle working out how to make the music breathe.

Thank you! I got the idea for the marimba from the Crystal Palace track in Paper Mario and thought it fit fantastically, I'm glad you liked it

Thank you for the kind words, and I appreciate you giving such specific feedback on the strings. I was aiming to create a surprisingly large crescendo with those strings but it sounds like it comes across as too much. Would definitely be more inclined to just dial back the dynamic on the strings at the beginning 

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the vibe and I appreciate the feedback.

Overall a very pleasant listen, I thought the way you used glockenspiel(?) was especially tasteful. If I was going to try and poke holes, I personally found that the lack of a clear melody to latch onto as a listener can make it a bit confusing when your are writing quite dense textures like this. Carefully weaving a melody in amongst all the chordal writing would elevate this piece for me. Nevertheless, nice job.  

The overall composition of this track is very impressive and makes for a super fun listen, and there are definitely moments where earthbound comes through. Definitely quite intense for a shop theme, this could absolutely shine if you added a few more goofy, mock-theatrical elements.

Nice work, I'm especially a fan of the drums.

I think you fell into the same trap I did, forgetting about the track being meant to be a shop theme, but I'm a huge fan of this track nonetheless.

The synth and trumpet sounds are super well chosen and generally the ideas are pretty creative, nice bit of panning as well. In my unprofessional opinion, I'd say to make this sound even more earthbound you could try to use silence a little bit more to break up the constant melodies, just to add that little bit of awkwardness. Still very impressive

Awesome vibe, feels pretty spot on for a goofy merchant, especially love the chromatic walk up in the bassline. For me, it does lose the ethereal earthbound feel a bit due to not using synth or electronic-sounding instrument sounds, but if you were going for a more modern take on the soundtrack then that's your creative decision ultimately. Nice job!

The compositional ideas in this piece are lovely, it's a refreshing listen - nice work.

I would say, I think you've this from others already, that the mix is pretty in your face which is definitely taking away a bit from the more chill Animal Crossing vibe this could have, but I am 100% behind the instrumentation and the style.

This is fantastic, I am in love with the space between phrases. The peaceful feel is so Animal Crossing, congrats

Nice and dreamy, am a big fan

Especially in the opening, the vibe is so nice. I thought the melodies could have been a little more creative, but overall a very chill piece