Hi. Here for M4M. Hope this helps!
[Easy]
00:47:919 (1) – One thing I like about this slider is that the finish hitsound on the reverse makes it really obvious what sound you're going for which lets me better understand the expression the map has of the song. I feel like you could use that technique at 00:38:919 (1) – etc. Is there a custom hitsound that would nicely reflect that string instrument you're going with?
00:51:669 – Skipping this note was bit complex/unintuitive which isn't the most appropriate for someone just starting to play osu. Maybe I'm being too strict because the melody is nice here, but an Easy diff isn't the best place to capture all the subtle transitions between drums and melodies, and that's best saved for Normals and above.
00:56:919 (1,2) – here too and wherever else this happens
01:28:419 (4) – Consider putting the red anchor at 01:29:169 - like
http://puu.sh/xYONc/89c111e2e2.jpg . The change in flow at that location makes it feel like the beat there is what's causing the flow change, which is a detail I like. The map I learned this from is the Normal of
https://osu.ppy.sh/s/55644 at 01:16:248 (2) –, and so if you're not convinced, give that a play.
01:19:419 (4) – also this one
[Normal]
00:15:294 (2) – Try rotating this by 15 degrees so that the flow/aesthetic into it from (1) is more smooth:
http://puu.sh/xYNrD/98a0931258.png00:50:919 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) – I want to say that the rhythm in the previous bookmarked section of the song was well done. This part I start to disagree with. I think it's because you're starting to acknowledge melody notes, but this intention was not clear to me and it led to some confusing/disagreeable rhythms. I think I would have expected 00:51:669 (3) – to be a circle instead of a slider to provide rest and keep the map calm, especially since this is starting to get note dense. Really that's my issue, I thought the map ought to be more calm. A different way to address that might be to make 00:50:919 (1) – into a 3/2 slider and delete (2).
00:53:169 – The drum/guitar is really strong here, and I really didn't like that this wasn't clickable. I realize your goal is to transition to the melody, but there has to be a more clear and intuitive way to do this, because right now 00:52:606 (6) – is going so strong with the drum which puts all my expectations on the drum sound at 00:53:169 –
00:57:856 (3) – Consider ½ reverse slider?
00:58:419 (4,5) – Ctrl + G this rhythm. The whistle admits that 00:58:793 – is a strong note, so that's where I think the click should be.
01:02:919 (1) – This section didn't feel bad in terms of note density, but if you want to add rest, again consider turning this into a 3/2 slider.
01:09:856 (3) - This makes me focus on the melody, so that made me want to hold the note at 01:10:419 (4) – with a 1/1 slider.
[Hard]
00:58:794 (7) – and 01:10:606 (7) - That whistle hitsound is a bit odd for two reasons. One is that an actual whistle sound is more for party music while your song has a calm, reflecting tone. Using a custom hitsound like a bell or a ding would fit better (let me know if you want a .wav file of one). The other reason it felt odd was that it was a one time thing throughout the majority of this section of the map. It kind of made me ask “why did it come here, and why did it leave. What is the mapper trying to express with the whistle?” If you're going with the drums, then I'm confused why you didn't put whistles on 01:07:044 (4,6) - . If there really aren't other places for this kind of hitsound, that's all the more reason you should the hitsound more unique with a chime.
01:07:231 (5,6) – This spacing felt slightly odd to me. It's not the most obvious thing for me to expect a jump just by listening to the song. One way you could make it clear to me that there definitely ought to be a jump is to not only change spacing, but to change the flow as well. The changes in both will compliment each other more and make the jump more agreeable. A quick, not-thought-out example:
http://puu.sh/xYN6L/8cf8c8c061.jpg01:19:794 (2,3,4,5,6,7,1) – I don't have enough perspective on what Hard players actually think, but it might be difficult for them to read this with all the overlaps. I personally would say it's fine, but try getting more opinions on this.
[Insane]
You do a great job with the rhythm and using slider ends to provide rest.
00:01:419 (1,1) – This felt too fast for what I perceived as something calm. There's not a lot of time between the end of the spinner, and I spin mostly at the center, so the big DS and low time felt like a fast way to introduce the map.
00:20:919 (1,1,1) – Does this have to be the same spacing as ¼? You can achieve a very similar effect by doing something like
http://puu.sh/xYKEt/e83d5d22f4.jpg without confusing the player.
01:23:919 (1,1,1) -
00:17:919 (1,2,3) – This is nice to map because both the melody and and drums are doing the same thing, so there's no conflict. At 00:14:919 (1,2,3) - , the current mapping could kind of go either way. So to me, a lot of the kiai went with the melody (especially when you use unique spacings like 00:20:919 (1,1,1) – to really emphasize the melody), which is why it was a bit surprising that at 00:22:419 (1,2,3,4) – it doesn't go with the melody. Particularly, not hitting the 00:23:356 – note to go with the increased tempo was a let down, so consider making the (4) slider into two circles.
01:35:169 (4) -
00:37:794 (5,6) – This felt more intuitive when they overlapped like
http://puu.sh/xYMuy/27fa3da4a2.jpg01:16:981 (2) – This felt fine by itself, but it set up low expectations for the note density later. So at 01:19:231 (5,6,1) - , I was like “oh crap, we're going fast now.” For this reason, I think making 01:16:981 (2) – a triple puts the player in a frame of mind closer to the intensity of the map.
01:29:169 (1,2,3,4,1) – This felt just a bit too much, particularly the (4,1) jump. Scaling it down by .95 would be nice. Don't get me wrong, I love that this is a big jump, but compare it to places like 01:32:169 (3,4,5,6,7) – and 01:34:981 (3,4,5,6,1) – which also feel pretty strong. These other moments are pretty small in comparison. It's just a little too out of sync for me. In fact, that would be one way to address the concern. Instead of nerfing 01:29:731 (4,1) – , you could buff up a lot of these other parts a bit more. Another small factor that contributed to me thinking 01:29:731 (4,1) – was big was that (4) is in the bottom corner of the screen. Usually, the corners are hard to reach for the tablet and mouse, so they are actually a bit more difficult then if they were at the center of the map.
Nice mapset, have a star. Good luck!