Hey, sorry it took me a while to come back around to this... I just want to be clear: the whole "chair squeaking" story was not meant to be an indication that there was anything wrong with your piece -- it was just a funny thing that I decided to share for some reason. 😆
You could be right, though -- maybe it happened at the same spot consistently because I was leaning forward while listening and leaned back right as it ended. So it seems you had me on the edge of my seat! That's what you were going for, right? Haha, anyway, thank you for describing a bit of your writing process and how you achieved those sounds, too. It's always interesting to get some detail on how people go about polishing their work. And, hey, I don't think you should worry too much about it reading more clearly. You have definitely shown you have a pretty solid foundation in building and layering instrumental tracks, so I think you shouldn't have much trouble simplifying if you want to dial some things back if that's a goal for future pieces. So yeah, no need for anxiety, you're doing great! 👍