Jul 14, 2008 10:13 am Well done. Sounds great. I only listened with my cheap pc speakers so can't really offer any advice but I like the song.
Begin Again
Posted on Jul 14, 2008 08:11 am
mclir9
www.witchsmark.com
Member Since: Aug 13, 2006
This is a new song I just got finished mixing last night. Critique please. It's a song about life and our existence on this planet and preserving that, because Mother Nature will eventually preserve herself even if it means getting rid of all of us to do it. Oh yeah.... also I used the Vocalist Live 2 on the backing tracks, and I know some were interested on hearing how this sounds on recordings.
www.homerecordingconnecti...sic&id=4195
[ Back to Top ]
Jul 14, 2008 10:13 am Well done. Sounds great. I only listened with my cheap pc speakers so can't really offer any advice but I like the song.
Jul 16, 2008 08:57 pm Interesting sound for sure. I liked the song for sure. Teh backing vox sound great with the Vocalist 2 on them.
I guess my only critique would be to master it and fatten it up a little bit. Its pretty full sounding but could use a little fatness in the lower end on the whole mix.
I really liked the vocals though for sure. Great voice for that type of song, made it very listenable.
Jul 25, 2008 01:16 am Your syncopation is astray. Try the rhythm below on guitar. You will have to add/adjust a note or two for it to make better sense. This is just the first half of the phrase.
(1+2 3+ +)( + +3+4)(1+2 3+ +)( + +3 )
Actually, you got a really cool thing going on here but you have got to sturdy up the structure. It needs all the right notes in the all right places. Until it has that, it will be flawed. I am sorry, I am a mean man. lol
But that is the honest truth.
If you need help let me know. I will write it out if need be. I will probably write it out anyway, because I like it that much.
Give it a try. :)
Jul 25, 2008 07:48 am I'm sorry you lost me Clutz. Can you give me an example of some sorts??
Jul 25, 2008 03:46 pm Ok, great. I can see you want your songs better. This is what counts. So what I am thinking at this point would be some general perspective. I hate to take over your thread here, but one day you may thank me. :)
I herd on TV one time a record producer say music takes three things.
1)Knowledge: This would be a musical theory, basically, but it can actually be things you know about music that work and are stored in your brain. I call this a "bag of tricks". Termanology helps here. Try to learn what words like grove or hook mean, but if you have to, make up your own words to describe something. I do this quite often. If you can name it, you can remember it.
2)Talent: This would be considered feel for music, but no matter what people say about this, all humans have feel for music.
3)Technique: This is simply the physical playing of an instrument.
How you balance these three is up to you. Just keep these three words in mind for future growth.
Now for your song. Lets just look at the very first part. This is what I call a "revolving door" melody. (I made that term up, lol). Think of a revolving door in an office building. This is how your melody is working. These are the very best melodies, but also the very hardest to make.
Every note should lead from one to other as the melody in time moves its self back around to "loop" again. Every single note and every single placement of that note in time affects every other note in the phrase/melody. It is like trying to find a combination to a lock. It is either correct or it is not, basically. Think of Jimmy Page here. He is the master of these loop melodies. Think of "heart breaker". If one single note is changed in pitch or placement, it would destroy the whole riff. Now he could change a note, but then he would have to change another and another and before you know it, it is another riff. This is the precision needed to make quality stuff.
Ok. Now the hard part. How do we make these sorts of melodies? Actually, it is not just loop melodies that need this sort of attention. Chord progressions flow from one chord to the other in the same kind of way if you think about it. The actually lead themselves back around again, don't they? It may be useful for you to think of your loop melody as a condensed version of a chord progression. Actually, what I do sometimes is just that. Say have chords of(E.....)and (G.....). I may do this.(E.G...). Then fill in the blanks with more notes and more rhythm.
Another idea to keep in mind is to stretch out your melodies. If you only are using notes close together on the fingerboard, you will not have much to work with and it may not sound good. The fact that you do stretch in your melody is one thing that caught my ear. That and the syncopation. We will get to syncopation later if you like. Syncopation is big time important.
Another way to fix melodies is through sheer repetition by playing the same thing over and over again until it becomes good. This is tough because if you make a change in the melody that is good, you may not remember that change and next time around you have changed something else and forgot the first change you made. This is one reason I finally learned to read music. So I can physically see what is going on. Another way would be to record as you are fooling around with something. Then listen close, maybe you will find that magic melody in several hours of fumbling around. If you can just make this phrase a little bit better it will be great.
For a good example of how repetition can correct a phrase do a utube search for "Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot (Rehearsals Part 1)" There is a part "2" as well. Their basic idea is there form the start, but you can listen to Page fumble around for who really knows how long until he finally gets it perfect. Keep in mind here, all three of these guys are very specifically aware of where they are in time down to the smallest beat. This is why they are great!
To help increase your awareness, make changes 1 note at a time and repeat that a few times. Think if you like it or not. Think again. Don't forget rhythm here. You may keep that changed note and move it in time over half a beat or whatever. Then keep it there or not. Rinse and repeat. Another thing to keep in mind here is that you want your idea to always remain sturdy, but not so sturdy it becomes boring. This is what syncopation is.
I will touch briefly on syncopation in a way I think you can understand. Syncopation creates interest in music. In theory it it the removal of an instrument from a strong beat. Think of a Johnny Cash country song. The bass bass guitar is very boring. He stays on the beat.
(BOOM BOP)(BOOM BOP)or (1 3)(1 3)
Now lets syncopate that.
(BOOM BOP)( te BOP)or (1 3)( 23 )
You do this in your song, but in a much more clever way than the example above.
All of this is going to be a hand full to understand for you I imagine, but read all of it a few times. It will start to sake in.
I wrote out your song last night. I see exactly what is going on with it. I have worked it a few different ways trying to keep it the same melody and not morph into something else. I don't think you read music so I need to figure out a way to send something to you. We will see.
Jul 25, 2008 09:31 pm I think the song rocks!
But it is also good to see, there's a mad musician here like myself.
I know where you're coming from Clutz.
these are the things im always concerned with, though these days i just do it rather than think about it.
I second the syncopation comment, tis "the" most important to me... with all instruments. You can make just about anything rock to a certain extent if you pay attention to what it is that's making it, well, "not" rock so much.
just my 2 cents worth though. I'll shut up now.
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.