Month: July 2016

Broadjam Artist: Eva King
Song: Instrument Of Pleasure

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Shawn McKenzie (Producer, Artist)

Pro General Comments: Thanks Eva, for submitting this song. I apologize for the lateness of this review.You have a great song on your hands. It has a dramatic essence. Dramatic, inspiring, sensual song that makes you want to listen on repeat! Truly enjoyable.If I had to nitpick I would say lose the rapper its not necessary and does not help the song. The song has so much presence and body on its own. It does not help the vibe of the song.What you wrote is a great piece of work and it stands alone without the rapper, in face the rapper takes away from the vibe. You had me at the beginning and you lost me at the rapper. The song is a little lengthy, i would bring it down to maximum 4:20 and that's pushing it.I could see plenty of movie opportunities for this song. Or a dramatic opening for a commercial launching a new product. Reminds of when Apple launch their first product, has a total drama vibe. There was no choice from drama when making the selection of vibe of song. My choice would be dramatic/passion. I had to choose Loveable/Engaging as my closest choice.

Quote From Pro: Dramatic, inspiring, sensual song that makes you want to listen on repeat! Truly enjoyable.

Broadjam Artist: J.P. Grelet
Song: It Came Like Starlings

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Brian Rasner (Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Thank you for a second submission, I can further understand your musical voice. I immediately gravitated more to this song 'It came Like Starlings' Great title! I immediately knew I could expect a spacey beautiful composition that could easily be placed in a contemplative celestial scene. I can see it in a montage where we see character setting out to accomplish or change directions. Again your Melody is the standout. The strings work great too. I would experiment more with your percussion. The intro drums are a bit aggressive and fast. What if you half timed them? what if you used the pretty strings to slowly build into melody?

Quote From Pro: Instant transformation and mood changer here! Prepare to be taken on a voyage...

Broadjam Artist: The Skylift
Song: Raindrops

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Jonathan Weiss (Music Supervisor, A&R)

Pro General Comments: Very pretty melody overall and uplifting type of a central melodic theme. The track builds towards the end and then comes down in dynamics, which gives it a nice tension and release type feel. Most of the keyboard sounds and acoustic piano samples sound pretty authentic and organic. I would try and always update the synth string sounds whenever possible in general and in particular for this song, the lower cello sample and the higher end violin sound, both of which sound a bit synthetic and synth sounding. The cue overall has a positive and uplifting feel that makes it a nice calling card for any type of music scoring opportunities that you may have a chance to bid for.

Quote From Pro: Solid orchestrated arrangement that gives the listener a positive and uplifting feeling.

Broadjam Artist: Tim Sharp
Song: Jose Cuervo on the way

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Tirk Wilder (Songwriter, Performer)

Pro General Comments: Tim,I don't think your "Jose Cuervo" reference is limiting at all. Anybody who's ever had a shot of tequila know what you're talking about.However, there is a big time producer here in Nashville who says if he hears another beach/tequila song, he will throw the CD like a frisbee through the drywall in his office. After "Five 'O Clock Somewhere", and "Some Beach", and many others, Music Row has been inundated with submissions along those lines. And, Tim, I'm talking literally tens of thousands of them. Having said that, I have to refer you to what I said about "I Call Her Fred" re marketability.But this time, you asked me about the writing, and this time, I'm going to address that.First of all, I would suggest you be very wary of saying anything like "everyone loves the song. Many folks tell me it's the favorite one they listen to over and over".There is only one person that it matters whether or not the song effects them in a positive way. I call him TCL, which stands for "The Casual Listener".You have never met this person. He/she has no idea who you are. The only contact they have with you is the 3 minutes they give you to listen to your song. They are predisposed NOT to like it, because they hear a lot of other music, and they already think they know what they like.If you can turn THEIR heads, you've got something.It's very easy to allow yourself to be seduced by the compliments to your stuff that your friends, family, and everybody who you are face-to-face with is going to lay on you. Each one may be worth 99 cents.But if you can get TCL to like your song, be he a publisher, a producer, a music supervisor, what-have-you, THAT can put a significant piece of change in your pocket while it also puts you on a worldwide musical map.When I hear someone say, "Everybody loves this song", I cringe. I don't give a rat's patootie what "everybody" loves. I have heard some of the most horrible crap played for me after that little line has been uttered. Just sayin'.In this song, I have to say that it shows talent way above the usual tripe I have to listen to as part of what I do. You have potential to write a million dollar song, no question. But there are some tools, RULES, if you will, that I might suggest you consider.For instance:You DO use imagery, and you use it well. Your lyric puts me in the spot I want to be, because you SHOW me pictures of it instead of telling me. This is excellent work. You would be amazed at how many people do NOT get this. That one is already in your toolbox, which puts you way ahead.But then you go and stick your hook in the last line of your VERSE.This really takes the punch out of the hook. The only spot it should be in, in this song particularly, is in the CHORUS. You have it there, but it's already lost its steam because of its appearance as the last phrase of the verse.(Continued in "Question" section)

Quote From Pro: Tim Sharp is ON KEY!

Broadjam Artist: Tim Sharp
Song: I Call Her Fred

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Tirk Wilder (Songwriter, Performer)

Pro General Comments: This is good work. My only objection, and in this case it's small, is that I can't in good conscience give you a critique on your writing. The reason is that you have already gotten this thing produced, and if I said that, for instance, you needed to rethink your arrangement, it's too late. It's already produced, and you're not going to change that.I recommend to all my kids that they send me a guitar/voice demo that is a work tape. Then I can tear apart what they have, and show them tips how to make it more commercially viable.But this song, to coin a phrase, is what it is. And that really ain't too bad, my friend.

Quote From Pro: Tim's music will bring a toothy smile to your lovely face!

Broadjam Artist: J.P. Grelet
Song: Takin to Corners

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Brian Rasner (Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Thank you for your submission. Overall I really like what you did there. Your guitar parts and melody really stood out and are excellent, especially the guitar phrasing and leading, teasing into hook and melody. Since there are no vocals I would suggest careful name choices..really let the name stand for your emotion you are capturing. This will help with music supervisor browsing and meta data.It seems to be like you are contemplating, looking ahead, searching, new frontiers etc

Quote From Pro: Introspective Melodies and engaging Guitars that immediately has you pondering your existence and otherwise..I look forward to whats next

Broadjam Artist: J.J. McGuigan
Song: Desperate Eyes

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Robert Dellaposta (Writer, A&R, Publisher)

Pro General Comments: J.J. I was unable to hear the lyrics...The bass, percussion, guitar and sound effects drowned out your vocal and without a lyric sheet i was unable to make out what you were saying...I want to hear this again so please after you do a re-mix and bring up the vocal and lower the instruments to a level where i can hear every word send it to me at my3kidsmusic@comcast.net and i'll do another evaluation for free...What I did hear sounded dark and alternative which i think is what you intended. Your musicianship is not in question. Instrumentally the track was very good...very professional...The mix was sub par especially if you pitch this to a music supervisor for a lyric specific spot in a movie or television show...in this instance the lyrics are very important and need to be heard

Quote From Pro: J.J. McGuigan is proving that he has the capabilities to write competitive music in any genre. He is not afraid to dare to be different and break the rules.

Broadjam Artist: amy abernathy
Song: I wish you Love

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Michael Marans (Music Technologist)

Pro General Comments: I Wish You Love has great potential. The message is uplifting, the lyrics thoughtful, and the vocal performance is sweet, strong, and sincere. Unfortunately, the very traditional instrumentation and arrangement drag the song down, giving the track a dated, unoriginal flavor---one that's truly not deserved. I'd suggest recutting the track with an entirely new instrumental approach, one that gives each section of the song a chance to grow and flourish and offer some level of unpredictability and surprise. (Several of the later-appearing chord changes do just that...take you to a place other than the one you were expecting.) Things to try might include a piano-only intro and first verse, and instrumentation that's not so familiar, such as a fretless bass and a synth accompanied by hand percussion (or whatever). You might even want to revisit the overall feel and tempo entirely, just to take the song out of it's current '80s R&B vibe. The point is to take the song somewhere else sonically, so that the listener hears something fresh and new. You've got a strong message and delivery. Now you need the instrumental arrangement support to bring the song home. With that in place, your lower and middle scores would all increase accordingly, and you'd have a solid track to showcase your vocals. If you're set on the traditional sound and feel, I'd recommend listening to some of the early Wynonna records (Wynonna, Tell Me Why) for inspiration. Last critique: You vocal sounds generally effortless (a good thing), but in a few places, the phrasing is a little bit unnatural, one example being "I hope you never lose your love and Inspiration, That you get the passion that you are craving," (2nd time) where it seems as though you might be trying to fit all of the words in, instead of just letting them flow naturally. Experimentation with some alternative phrasing could yield worthwhile results. And don't be afraid to hold back on your vocal in the beginning and belt it out at the end. Dynamics capture the listener...you've got 'em, use 'em!

Quote From Pro: The message is uplifting, the lyrics thoughtful, and the vocal performance is sweet, strong, and sincere.

Broadjam Artist: J.J. McGuigan
Song: Forces I Cannot See

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Robert Dellaposta (Writer, A&R, Publisher)

Pro General Comments: This is a strong song for you to promote on yourself as the artist...it's a deep introspective personal look into your psyche...very strong intro...great guitar and percussion sounds and technique...i love the chorus...very catchy and memorable...I could still hear it playing in my mind long after the song was over and that's a good sign...the chord progression is good...the minor chords support the lyric...the military cadence of the snare drum really made the track interesting. the instrumental will make a good pitch for movies and television background...the overall length is within commercial time restraints

Quote From Pro: J.J. McGuigan is a soulful Alternative rock artist with the capabilities to pull an audience into his lyrics and music and hold their attention till the end of the song.

Broadjam Artist: Sublimaze69
Song: There's Too Many People...

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Diana Williamson (Songwriter, Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: HI Scott:Please note I don't rate individual instrumentation since my expertise lies more in marketability, lyric, melody, and overall performance.You have an interesting way of creating the vocal effects. It's really fun in its attitude and vibe.Before I read your lyrics, this is the vibe I got from your song which is completely different once I read your lyric:What would really bring up the song is increasing your melodic contrast and builds. Right now it works if you cut the song short. I can see you working with this for the background in a film in a comedic type scene. Do you know any student filmmakers you can work with and provide some bg music?For eg., I could see a comedic type character walking through a marketplace in India, maybe someone spiked his drink and he is seeing double vision while trying to find his way back to his hotel in a foreign place. This type of song in the background could suit a bewildered comic character who the audience thinks is funny. Many times filmmakers use contrasting music to play against a scene.As mentioned earlier the melody would have to go somewhere new if you were going to use it for something else to break up the repetition. It's also good to vary up the dynamics in such a case. You want to build to the hook not give it away right away.After reading about the lyrics, it obviously doesn't seem like a comedic song due to the subject matter, man's heartlessness. So I would either change the lyric a bit to suit the vibe of the song or change the music up a bit to suit the style of the music.Just an idea, not sure if you're interested or your bg. But you might have fun doing music for sketches. There are so many people making shorts nowadays and they all need music. You might want to try your hand at this and see where it takes you. It's always great fun to see your music on film and meeting new collaborators could help your create process.You are following a good rhyme scheme. When talking about heavy subject matter It's probably a good idea to have three verses at the most and try to evolve the subject matter when moving from one to the following. Then possibly break it up with a bridge that takes the song somewhere new.Have fun and good luck.

Quote From Pro: Song shows a potential for possible media collaborations with filmmakers.