Feedback Needed!

[Just Willow]

Hey guys, it's been a while. But I came back here because I miss you guys, and because I'm trying to help out a friend.

My friend Jensen is a musician, and she's written a few songs. At achool, I filmed her playing her songs and we posted them on YouTube, Facebook, etc. But she recieved very little feedback from teh people who watched her videos, so I offered to post them around the internet for her.

So it would be totally awesome if you could watch/listen to at least one of these videos and just give feedback here, or on YouTube, and saywhat you think and stuff

This is my personal favorite called Romance Simplice (simple romance)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhpXUeAF2X0

This one she wrote for our friend Amber, and it's (appropriately) called Amber's Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_BS6nUbrbY

Pretty cool, has a movie-soundtrack sort of feel, in my opinion, called Fantasy Invention
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHf1BD7htis

and the last one, shorter, called Invention #3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8hV7E9OLNU

Thanks so much guys, and we'd love to hear feedback! Comment on the vids, or just post here

[AndrewCrossett]

I just watched the first one. The music and the performance are very good... as good as a lot of the professional music I've heard of this type.

To get interest on YouTube, it might be better to try for something other than just a static shot of her playing. Maybe put together a visual presentation of still or video images to accompany the music that match the feel of it. (It would be better to create this footage yourselves than to borrow it, to avoid running afoul of YouTube's copyright policies).

Does she have any Christmas, holiday or even winter-themed pieces? If so, a good place to start would be to get some appropriate video or photos that match its mood, create a video or slideshow, and put it out there before Christmas time.

[Shane]

I don't know much about getting discovered as a musician but those vids are awesome. <3

[Astray]

Along the lines of what AndrewCrossett said, covering songs from popular artists usually gets more hits as well. I listened to a few of the songs, and they are all very pretty. I wish I could give better feedback, but I'm not much of a music critic.

[Just Willow]

Thanks for your opinions guys! Anyone else care to add?

[drusillacakes]

Fantasy Invention is lovely, but they're all very pretty songs. I guess to set the mood, how about hanging some curtains or creating a back drop to sort of set the scene? Not sure what the school's lighting is like, but you could play around with that as well, and illuminate the room. I agree with the other suggestions about cover songs. She'll get a lot more hits that way. If she does tutorials, that would be a great way to get viewers and perhaps at the end of the videos, you could add a note asking viewers to please rate and comment?

[jellymoff]

I just watched two of the videos. She is very talented. The songs sound nice and she appears to be very good a the piano. I do have some thoughts overall. To give you some context, I spent 7 years working in marketing for a major music distributor and record company, so I have been around the music business.

She needs to really think about what she is trying to do with her music and set some clear goals. Getting into soundtrack or scoring work for TV and Film is very different than being a live performer for example.

I think she needs to get with other musicians. Very rarely does a solo instrumentalist make it as a recording artist, unless they are playing a particular genre, like classical or jazz. Even then, they need accompaniment. I think regardless, she should seek out other musicians to collaborate with. That helps increase exposure and also helps the musician to grow. Working with a vocalist would help as well. Most people like singing; it really limits the audience without vocals. I'm not saying that she HAS to have a singer, but it does limit her to a group of people that like instrumental music.

The most important thing is to keep at it.

[BuffyFanOne]

It seems to me that she shoudl do cover songs to get attention but she should put her own spin on them.
Like those boys on youtube that did a remake of Gimme More with an acoustic/male vocal twist.
it is incredible!
And they got soooo much attention!