Incredibox |
The first project we did in music technology was using a website called incredibox. We played around with different pieces of clothing that represented different sounds. We put the clothes on the people on the screen and recorded a song by muting certain parts and soloing certain things. I added parts one by one, solo'd a few and then took the parts away one at a time.
Remix Project |
I was playing around with the software and found the Bounce Digital sound and the ability to transpose it to sound like a telephone ringing. I then kept adding different things I related to a phone or just sounded cool with the other sounds and I found the Turn Effects sound, which sounds like someone gossiping on the phone. I enjoyed exploring the different parts of Ableton. It was kind of putting the things I had heard about together. It was really fun just trying things and seeing what I could do pressing different buttons. I liked learning about how the push works, also. It was just really fun overall.
Bells Project |
I started out with my beat (Fat Tech Beat), which I chose because it seemed to go with the idea I had in mind. I then added the piano bass because I wanted a sound with a precise sound in order to get the melody out. Then, I started playing around and found Jarble Tweeze Strings. I thought it sounded cool and using it to add dissonance was even cooler. I wanted a higher sound so I added the flute. Then I wanted something to add more of a technological sound and create more dissonance, so I added the Formaggio Padd. Then, I added a guitar. It wasn't loud enough and it didn't match the rest of the piece, so I played around and found Warm Bubbly Pad, and it made it sound sort of space-y and futuristic which I liked. I learned about how the microphone works and how to create your own melodies on the push. I had seen both done multiple times, but this project gave me the opportunity to learn how everything was done. I also sort of learned how to be louder while using the microphone, but I really still need to work on that. I enjoyed paying around in note mode and figuring out how everything works.
Winter Hymn |
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This is a song I composed first using MuseScore and then I transferred it to Ableton. I wanted a sort of wintery sounding song and this melody in 6/8 kept repeating in my head. I made it a piano part with some chords underneath and developed it and started adding different parts. Then, once in Ableton, I added a jingle bell part to make it sound truly wintery. This was my first time using MuseScore and my first time using Ableton outside of class. I enjoyed exploring the different programs and connecting them through this piece.
Drum Battle |
I started out using an 808, then I just listened to other ones, finding what I wanted. I made the beats using the draw mode and the bass line using the second page of note mode. Those both were helpful because I could make sure everything was on beat and wasn't weirdly syncopated. I made the melodies based on the minor pentatonic scale, and used those melodies to make a bass line that worked both melodically and rhythmically. I imagined the area around the song being dark and I decided that fit a garage reverb. I then added an eighth note delay because I wanted it to still sound even, but I wanted reverb. I enjoyed learning more about Ableton and how to use different parts of it. I also liked learning about reverb and delay and how to make songs sound more professional. I always like learning new things to do in Ableton.
Dead Poet's Society |
I first did Pre-production by listening to the samples and setting up Ableton. Then, I chose the samples I liked and tracked with those. I mixed them by taking out certain bits and making the song have a place to go. I then mastered it by checking that everything sounded alright and tweaking things. This is post-production. I chose different sounds I liked and I found ones that sounded either tribal or like something out of a cave. I then selected the rest of the tracks to the theme of Dead Poets Society. I mixed my piece by making sure everything could be heard, but emphasizing on the rhythm instruments. I put all tracks in 2/3 of the way through and right before it I added a beat of rest. Before that beat of rest, I added a riser and crescendoed all of the parts so it would grow to the climax and then drop. I learned how to truly put a song together instead of just putting things in places to prove that I know how to do the certain thing taught in class. I also learned different techniques with EQ and transposition and how to add a drop.
Db Phrygian |
I used world percussion loops to make a bigger emphasis on the rhythm of the piece and add more texture to the sound. I also made my own loops to add a melody and expand the sound that way. When being taught about different modes, I decided to use Phrygian because it is complex, but not impossible. I chose Db Phrygian because I wanted to be fancy. Phrygian sounds sort of creepy, but is mostly happy. That unsettling texture makes the music interesting. I made/chose many loops for each instrument and played them when I thought they would go well next in the piece, and chose certain combinations I liked together. I started out with few instruments and a sort of quieter volume. Then, as the piece went on, I added more instruments and made it louder, until I added a drop. After the drop, I basically reversed my piece, making it go quieter with less instruments.
Teen Movie |
This is the first full project I made using SoundTrap. I found a piano part that felt like a very cheesy part of a teen movie where the shy girl plays the piano and is surprisingly good at it so all her friends join in. I added a bass line, two drum loops, and I tried to find a choral part to put in the back, but I couldn't find it so I resorted to a organ flute. In order to make my idea for the song come across, I started with the piano part and then slowly added other parts to make it seem as if all of the other movie characters are returning to the stage to perform. I finally mixed the song and downloaded it.
