Movin' Out

So I just joined "tumblr" on a whim. As it turns out, they host MP3 files on-site. That means no fiddling with google pages, and with links arbitrarily breaking. Granted, you can only post one song a day, but that's never really been a problem with me. You can view it here:

http://hypno-sis.tumblr.com/

AutoTune Is Harder Than It Sounds (3/13/10)

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[Get ready…1-2-3-4]
Dance until the break of dawn / Move it ‘til your body’s raw
Even when the drugs are gone / Keep on groovin’ to this song (chorus)
I’ve got this girl that I love / She’s called the sun
Though I’m already burnin’ for her / Our love has just begun
I don’t need no sunscreen / I’ll just get a tan
If you’ll be my woman, baby / Then I’ll be your man (verse 1)
Slow down time / Control your mind
Then you’ll find there’s room / For everyone
Our dance is pure / But I’m sure
We won’t get any / Radio time (“slow section” 1)
[Boost my track!]
(Chorus)
It’s hard to see her / So far away
Up in that big blue sky / Just burnin’ all day
Put me on a spaceship, baby / Set course for the stars
We’re never comin’ back / Now here’s the guitar (verse 2)
[Guitar Solo]
All must end / As we ascend
Our eyes are set / Upon the sun
Though we’ll burn / At least we’ve learned
Never point your ship / At a flaming ball of gas (“slow section” 2)
[Outro]

What I wanted to do musically:

In my revised write-up, I mentioned how I wanted my track to be a combination of T-Pain and Bob Dylan. Now that I have the finished product, I don’t think this is the case. Personally, I think it’s closer to “T-Pain meets Lonely Island” (the comedy rap group with Andy Sandburg featured on SNL). Granted, T-Pain and Lonely Island have already collaborated for the song, “I’m On A Boat,” but that’s a different story.

My initial plans for this piece were to merge ukulele and various synths to produce an interesting, novel sound. This process was mired by the fact that I couldn’t get the two to mesh in the way I wanted, or a way that seemed cohesive. I think it can be done, but in this instance, I took my project in a different direction. My first step was to re-record the Am-F-C-G chord progression using a bass synth. This provided the underpinnings of the rest of the song. After that, I improvised a quick line on top of the initial chord progression (first heard when the vocals come in). I decided to make this my hook. After that, I set myself to writing lyrics that were both interesting, and funny. When I was studying Dylan’s writing style, at least some of the magic seemed to come from ambiguity. When the listener is left to their own devices, they can come up with narratives that are extremely rich. For that reason, I tried to leave some ambiguity in my lyrics. I acknowledge that this is not a particularly deep song, but I think it is worlds better than the first set of lyrics I was writing (much better flow, much less sappy) for the ukulele / synth combo song. Ultimately, if listeners get a laugh out of the lyrics of this song, I would consider the song a lyrical success.

Instrumentally speaking, I’m reasonably satisfied with the synth and guitar parts. The beat is okay as well, driving enough to keep the song moving without being overbearing. In the future, I will vary the beat more, but in this case, I think it gives the song an aesthetic of, “sameness” that makes it cohesive. I am not as satisfied with the vocals. T-Pain I am not! If nothing else, I’ve learned that if I have the chance to collaborate with other musicians, I should take it! I’d be willing to bet my song would have been more polished with more skilled musicians performing the individual parts.

What I wanted to do technically:

Initially, I wanted to combine ukulele and synth. This was not to be. Instead, I settled on having a catchy, if somewhat simple synth-driven pop song. One of the first things I hope people will notice is the use of AutoTune. I’ve heard over and over again how Autotune is, “dead,” but I enjoyed tooling around for it. I think the song is better for it too, but that’s probably more as a result of corrections being needed to my own poor singing. I did have some trouble controlling the notes AutoTune chose; there are some little snippets of singing that briefly touch on notes that just sound wrong. I am again inclined to attribute this to my singing, but further experimentation is in order for me. I was very happy I managed to have several different sections within the piece. The chorus, verse, slow section, and intros/solos/outros flow into each other reasonably well. I’m a little bit disappointed I didn’t write in a bridge section that changed key, but I feel that the song works well enough without it. You may also notice the track titled, “AutoGuitar.” I wanted to use AutoTune to get a cool new guitar sound, but I couldn’t manipulate it to produce the sort of novel pitch changes that easily come out when recording vocals. It did seem to come out more on a heavily distorted guitar, but even then I just could not produce a satisfactory effect.

I had a heck of a time changing the volume, panning, and effects on each track. For example, there was a weird little click in the recording of the first verse. I tried to use the volume levels to cut it out of the song, and I think I did an okay job. If I had more time, I would have simply re-recorded it, but I’m glad my work around wasn’t a total flop. I’m disappointed there isn’t more control over the panning in GarageBand. I really appreciate the accuracy of the pencil tool in ProTools; it’s great to be able to draw in exactly what you want instead of having to grapple with a bunch of little dots. All things considered though, that was only a minor inconvenience. I really like the convenience of GarageBand, and it’s becoming more full-featured all the time. For what I want to do as an amateur musician, it works pretty well. I’m not sold on the need to purchase ProTools or Reason, but I’m the owner of a professional recording studio. Also, I have access to the AMC. In any case, this project has turned me on to AutoTune. In general, this class has helped me to better understand how to record a higher quality song using my preferred software (GarageBand). I plan on putting this knowledge to good use, especially while I still have access to the AMC and mics (and other equipment) that cost more than $20.

Finally, An Update! Yay!

First Song - Ingrid Michaelson's, "The Way I Am," multi-track version. The tracks in question include bongos, Brazilian drums, bass, ukulele, and vocals. I don't think it's as good as the original, but as I practice and record, my skills are increasing!



Second song - Green Day's, "Good Riddance." This was also multi-tracked in GarageBand. It was a pretty fun song to record, especially the intro and middle bit. I know it's not perfectly in line with the record, but as they say in the business, it's, "close enough for government work."



Third Song - Final mixdown of my 2nd assignment in Music 51. I'm not entirely satisfied with how the final product turned out, but I really like the samples. The samples are easily 5-10 times better than the ones taken for my first project. I'm trying my best to get this one to load, but because it is an .aiff file and not an .mp3, I might be out of luck. I'm just glad it wasn't as big as a turd as my last one (though, admittedly, it did suffer from being strictly written to the guide posts for a grade rather than to what I really wanted to write; that is water under the bridge at this point).

EDIT - After converting the song to .mp3 format, it seems to load without issues. It may also be worth noting that the samples for this project were recorded in GarageBand, but the song itself was assembled in MULab. MULab is a free sequencing tool (though you can pay for the full version and get more features, like additional tracks) that is similar to GarageBand. It has some features I like (EXs: "sampla," a tool that allows you to sample and actively manipulate pre-made audio samples, or the ability to assemble your own synthesizer based on specific parameters). It also has features I don't like (EX: the user interface is often counter-intuitive; I found the save system to be particularly frustrating. Also, I had trouble getting my external MIDI controller to work properly (it only worked approximately 2 times out of three)). All in all, for free software there is a fair amount of things to like. I don't think I will be using it extensively in the future, but if I ever need to do a "remix," this is probably the software that I will turn to.



I'll have more coming soon, including more videos to my YouTube channel (lancer327). See you soon!

The Long Lost Music 51 Project

There are a few people who read this blog who I know in the, "real world." These people probably have a vague recollection of the fact that I am taking a music class at school this quarter...Music and Computers. It's an interesting class, with an especially interesting professor (who is strangely similar to Chairman Kaga of "Iron Chef" fame). I was looking forward to the assignment, until the day it was due. That was mostly due to the fact that I had not yet started it. I admit that all of this was entirely my fault...but trying to record a multi-tracked ANYTHING (let alone a 1 minute song) in lab an hour before it was due was a mistake. The project resulted in what experts are calling a, "tremendously awful, steaming pile of manure." It was so bad, I was ashamed to turn it in. If I get full credit, it will undoubtedly be due to the fact that I met all the stated requirements of the piece, not because it was worth listening to, or even the time I spent working on it.

In short, I will not be posting my turd of a project. There is one more assignment due before the end of the quarter, though. After learning my lesson from assignment one (that lesson being to NOT start the day of, and to not take new software for granted), I should have something much more polished for assignment 2. I hope so, anyway.

If nothing else, I'll probably have a new video or two on YouTube of me playing uke. Hot damn I love the uke.

That is all for now.

From The Wayside

I'm back for a quick update. I'm too frustrated that none of my songs seem to be loading, but unfortunately I'll have to leave that for another day. Today, I'm going to post song lyrics for a song I just wrote. The song was inspired by a question, that question being: "Which side is the wayside these days?" I thought about the question, and decided to offer this in response...

[C] I come from a long lost land
[F] Where the scenes and the skies are grand
[Dm] Maybe you have been there too
[F] Maybe we can save a spot for you
[C] On the wayside

Chorus: [F-C7-F] On The Wayside... (x3)

[C] Walkin' down this road again
[F] Has got me wonderin'
[Dm] "Will I ever see my home
[F] Again?"
[C] On the wayside

Chorus

[C] When your car has broken down
[F] 100 miles from town
[Dm] Let your eyes hang
[Fm] Down
[Fm-C7-G7-C]
[C] On the wayside

Chorus

[C] And as you start to dream
[F] It's doesn't matter where you've been
[Dm] Or - where you're
[F] Going
[C] On the wayside

Chorus

[Csus4-C-Outro]

What Makes A Well-written Song?

So I'm back, and a lot sooner than even I expected. I was tooling around in GarageBand after hearing a friend of mine got a synth, just to see what I could do / come up with, and this was the result. It was all played using a MIDI controller; the goal was to create a mash-up of sorts between more "electronic," style music and, "classical," music. I can't say the results were stellar...but the song did allow me to experiment in a few ways, and to bring a few questions into the front of my mind.

The most obvious experiment was the combination of sounds. I feel my results were somewhat limited by the types of sounds available in GarageBand, as well as my lack of experimentation. I'd be willing to bet many more sounds could be produced with a little tinkering...but I'll save that for later. Another experiment was using instruments that played in different ranges: oboe in the highest range, harpsichord in the middle range, and tuba in the lowest range, plus a smattering of electronic sounds. This produced some satisfying interplay, and I look forward to further testing the water in future songs. The last little experiment was my implementation of a few chromatic runs, and my key shift in the middle of the song. While the chromatic runs seem a little on the long side, they were fun to play. I would consider the middle section to be akin to the "bridge," section in popular music. All of this experimentation would have been for naught if I hadn't come up with a few questions and new ideas to pursue.

If the song taught me one thing about harmonies, its that I still don't really understand them. It also showed me I'm not really very good at writing a, "normal," pop song. My mind just doesn't seem to bend that way (though, to be fair, I didn't really have my heart set on composing a pop song with this one). Maybe, "normal," alone is a better way to describe what I cannot write - if nothing else, the song doesn't sound like anything I've heard on the radio. This brings my to my big question of this post: "what makes a well-written song?"

I find this question very difficult to answer, for several reasons. First, is that there is no explicit formula or rules that guarantee success. For example, it would be silly to suggest that all well-written songs must contain a G7 chord, or some other arbitrary figure, form, or riff. Secondly, it seems the question can be roundly answered by one word: musicianship. Shouldn't any song, regardless of style / statement / etc. be judged based on the craft that is put into it; the time, thought, and consideration put into the piece? I feel the answer to this question is, "yes." This, however, does not always guarantee commercial success. That point raises a different question, "what must a song contain to be commercially viable?"

I will not seek to answer that question, as it seems to have too many variable and factors to consider. Should the song be up-beat? Down-tempo? Should it have a conscious? What if the lyrics are, "political?" Perhaps, instead of thinking about hypothetical situations I will instead consider what I want to do in writing music. Since my goal is not to make money, to write a hit, or to, "make it," in the music industry, I think it would be worthwhile to make a list of things I would like to do with my musical ventures.

1) Hone my craft / musicianship / ability, whether it be through lyrics or any particular musical instrument.
2) Express a message - whether it be political, social, or just my own hopes, dreams and fears. I feel like music should always have a point, even if it is as simple as, "let's dance!"
3) Invoke emotions - This one is a little trickier. It's something that cannot be parsed out, made into a formula, or otherwise homogenized. It's not something technique alone can produce, in my opinion. It's something I've struggled with...but more and more I'm finding that listening back, I mean really listening in to the music is a good way to see what sort of feeling is being established.

It's all just a journey, I guess. I dunno where it'll lead, but I'm not really worried. The following song is really little more than me tooling around on a keyboard and producing some bleeps and bloops by ear. It's not great, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. The way I see it, this will only help me improve, and produce better songs in the future. With that said, I think I've said quite enough. It's time to get to the song!



PS - The song is called, "Synth Disaster." It seems worthy of that title.

A New Beginning, Sort Of.

I've been away for awhile.

I've been pursuing interests outside song-writing, and as a result, it seems things have become a little bit of a mess here. Apparently, the site that previously hosted my songs (mp3tube.net) has been all but eliminated. It has been replaced by what I can only guess is a free flash-based games site (the site is in Spanish). I've been spending the better part of this morning trying to find a solution to this problem, and I've yet to be fully satisfied by any of the solutions. Here are just a handful of the sites:

filefactory.com
opendrive.com
youshare.com
esnips.com

...and the list goes on. After finally stumbling on a useful guide on how to do it in GooglePages (http://tinyurl.com/nht4zc), the day was more or less saved. One other blog (http://tinyurl.com/mf6wcg) set me up with the player you'll see later in the post, so a big thanks to them (or he / she / it) as well. Of course, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have some new music to share, so here it is:



The song is called, "Burned," though the file name is called "Quickie, 2." The reason for this is that the song started life as a way to get out some musical ideas. Really, I just wanted to get my "juices flowing," again. In that regard, I think it turned out pretty well. I just used the line of reasoning that nothing is too silly, stupid, or dumb. To me, censorship would be a greater failure than putting out a song that was, "less than perfect." I've also been doing a little reading about song-writing, a nd I'd like to think I've improved, if only a little bit. The song has more structure than some of my past works (ABAABA), and it tells a story from beginning to end. I think my voice has improved (or at least my control over it), and the fact that I have a bass guitar again has really bolstered my confidence (truth be told, this all started as a 12-bar blues based ("bassed," lol) rock riff). All in all...I'm looking forward tow improving my skills, and writing more songs!

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The Lyrics -

Stan was a real corporate man
Working for his company
They were keen on puttin' out fires
And so was he
Then one day he caught a flame
And things were never the same

Burn it down...

Flint and tinder, sticks and matches
All were brought to work, you see
All had a place within his cabinet -
He smiled with glee.
Then one day his bosses came
And things were never the same.

He wouldn't wear his suits to work
Or finish his cover sheets
Then they found his fire-starters
He started to weep
That was the day he took the blame
And things were never the same

[mini-solo]

Burn it down...

His eyes grew wide and his hands grew sweaty
He was canned, simply un-hired
The job was his life, and how it was over
He was fired
That was the day the firemen came
And ended in insurance claims...

[outro]

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Side Note 1 - I seem to have a thing about writing songs about people slowly coming off their rocker...lol.

Side Note 2 - I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the older posts. I'm not going to delete them, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to try and find all those tracks again. I may set up a jukebox of "oldies" on a separate site; if I do, I'll make note of it in one of my upcoming posts.