Composing a DISCO or Pop song with NOTION 3 . . .

[Surfwhammy]

Now that the basic rhythm section is coming along nicely, the aliens from outer space beamed me the music and lyrics for the bridge, as well as the lyrics for the verses, which is fabulous . . .

[BRIDGE]
A-N-A-R-C-H-Y
A-N-A-R-C-H-Y
A-N-A-R-C-H-Y
Everybody tastes like Anarchy!

©2012 RAE Multimedia

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- MP3 (8.4MB, 300-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 52 seconds)

Fabulous!

P. S. I just realized that the sounds of the Latin percussion instruments (shaker and cowbell) are very similar to the sounds made by spraying an aerosol bodyspray, which is an excellent example of one of the reasons that I tend to follow the instructions beamed to me by the aliens from outer space very precisely, since they have computers and stuff, hence already know the best ways to do songs, which saves me a lot of time and makes it possible for me to continue to have no immediately conscious idea what I am doing, other than having a lot of FUN, really . . .

Really!

[Surfwhammy]

This is the new version, which has the Hofner Beatle Bass line doubled by a Baritone Electric Guitar with a few revisions to the notes to reveal more of the counterpoint, and there are some new but subtle Latin percussion bits in a few places, including a slow Guiro in the measure just before the start of the singing in the verse, which is fabulous . . .

[NOTE: With the addition of the Baritone Electric Guitar, there now are 24 "heavy" VSTi virtual instruments, which tends to be a clue that the mixing and mastering work needs to move the Digital Performer 7.24 (MOTU), because keeping everything constrained becomes a bit more difficult as the number of instruments increases, which maps to needing to use more VST effects plug-ins, which in NOTION 3 moves everything nearer to the 32-bit application workspace limit, since VST effects plug-ins also use resources, hence the need to switch to Digital Performer 7.24, because once the NOTION 3 generated audio is recorded as soundbites in Digital Performer 7.24 via ReWire, Digital Performer 7.24 is not doing so much and has more of its 32-bit application workspace available for use by VST effects plug-ins, which makes a bit of sense if you think about it for a while. And for reference, in this context the term "constrained" refers primarily to limiting the duration and frequency ranges of the various instrumental bits toward the goal of everything being distinct and crisp, which is more a matter of using noise gates and brickwall frequency range filters than using compressors, with this being my current strategy based on Pointilism, the 19th century painting style developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac where distinct dots of color are used. In the 20th century, the concept appeared in music as "Punctualism", but I never heard of it until a few minutes ago, so I have no idea whether it is the same as what I am doing with respect to mixing, since it appears also to have a relationship with the 12 Tone Technique (a personal favorite). In this song, the easiest example to observe is the electric guitar that plays a crunch chord on every fifth beat in most of the sections, since it is there for an instant but then vanishes as quickly as it appeared, which is heard at far-right when you listen with studio quality headphones like the SONY MDR-7506 . . . ]


Portrait of Félix Fénéon ~ Paul Signac (1890-1891)

[NOTE: The full title of the painting is "Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890" . . . ]

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- MP3 (8.4MB, 300-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 51 seconds)

Fabulous!

[Surfwhammy]

After listening to the basic rhythm section for a while, I decided to add a bit of Guiro in a few more measures, as well as to make it the Guiro louder, which in some respects serves as an aural cue that the singing for the verse or bridge starts at the next measure and is helpful when recording the singing, and I added a few more drums to the fourth beat accent that follows "A-N-A-R-C-H-Y" to make it deeper . . .

The notes played by the Baritone Electric Guitar have been modified to create more counterpoint or whatever, and the ending now does a Morse Code "counting" type of thing . . .

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- MP3 (8.5MB, 303-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 53 seconds)

In some respects, there are not so many obvious differences in the most recent three or four versions of the basic rhythm section, but (a) the differences are important and (b) the differences are the direct result of listening to the basic rhythm section over and over, which here in the sound isolation studio is the best way to discover all the intimate details and minutiae of a song, since the more you listen to a song, the more stuff you hear, even when some of the stuff is not actually there, and the general strategy is that when you hear something that sounds intriguing but it is not actually there, this provides a clue to the next step in the process of creating a deep and rich basic rhythm section in layers . . .

Yet another useful bit of information is that most of the stuff in hit records is there specifically to make the songs more interesting and captivating when folks are listening to the songs on the radio or with other types of listening devices, since actually performing the songs in a concert setting typically does not require so much elaborate stuff, which in part is the consequence of the realities of concert sound reinforcement primarily being monaural, as contrasted to radio and other listening devices being stereo . . .

On a related note, I found the definitive modern example of the song that has does the rhythmic "counting" thing, which is the classic song from the early-1960s that everybody knows but nobody actually remembers, really . . .

[NOTE: The rhythmic "counting" phrase from this song has been used by cheer leading and pep squads for decades, but the lyrics nearly always are adapted and modified to be specific to a school, team mascot, or something. And for reference, I knew that the song was "Let's Go", but it took me a while to find it on YouTube, because I zoned-out on the "(Pony)" part of the title, but I tend to have an eidetic memory for stuff like this, and although it took a while, I found it. In particular, the "eidetic memory" aspect is one of the things that one develops as part of the "play by ear" strategy, and is an excellent reason for folks who focus more on the formal music theory and orchestra strategies to devote a bit of attention to discovering some of the principles of the "play by ear" strategy, nearly none of which are documented anywhere, since among other things documenting the "play by ear" strategy is a bit antithetical, but so what . . . ]

"Let's Go (Pony)" (The Routers) -- YouTube music video

Really!

The rhythmic "counting" thing also is featured in one of the classic Motown songs by The Supremes, but the folks at Motown did the "counting" thing in a Morse Code style, for sure . . .

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Surpremes) -- YouTube music video

For sure!

And as with virtually every genre, there is a language comprised of musical and lyrical phrases, which for purposes of composing silly DISCO and Pop songs is a very useful thing to know, especially when one's general goal is to avoid having any truly original ideas, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

P. S. As an example of the "eidetic memory" and "play by ear" aspects of learning a deep and rich festival of musical phrases, one might suppose that the formal music theory folks use a term like "major triad arpeggio" at various times, but in the "play by ear" universe this maps to something along the lines of doing an "In The Mood" (Glenn Miller) or "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" (Beatles) thing, but the Glenn Miller song also is the inspiration for one of my favorite Western Swing songs, "Big Beaver" (Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys), really . . .

"In The Mood" (The Glenn Miller Orchestra) -- YouTube music video

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" (Beatles) -- YouTube music video

"Big Beaver" (Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys) -- YouTube music video

Really!

[Surfwhammy]

The changes in this version are a bit more subtle, and they are focused on revealing more of the counterpoint and interactions among the Hofner Beatle Bass, Baritone Electric Guitar, and Stratocaster, although technically the Baritone Electric Guitar is a Stratocaster, but so what . . .

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- MP3 (8.5MB, 302-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 53 seconds)

So what!

In particular, I am intrigued by the interactions (a) in the latter part of the verse, which as a Gestalt plays a rather complex melodic phrase and (b) during the bridge when "A-N-A-R-C-H-Y" is chanted, as shown in music notation in the following screen captures . . .

[NOTE: I arbitrarily assigned the lyrics to the "Strat Hard Slides" staff, since it currently is the top staff and it makes it easier to imagine the melody, but the notes and two-note chords are what I consider to be a combination of lead guitar and rhythm guitar doing accompaniment rather than playing the actual melody, which is another part of the overall strategy here in the sound isolation studio, where I nearly always do the melody after the basic rhythm section, chord patterns, song structure, and lyrics are arranged and composed, since among other things the fact of the matter is that I have never heard the song, so I need to listen to it for a while to determine how it needs to sound when completed, which curiously makes it a lot more FUN, because everything tends to be a surprise, especially when you listen to the song over and over as it develops, because each new addition introduces more interactions and so forth, which if you actually hear them in an immediately conscious way provide clues to more stuff, which is an abstruse way of explaining the general fact that it is vastly important to become an expert in the song, hence the strategy of listening to it over and over, which in particular is one of the key aspects in the "play by ear" universe because, obvious as it might be, you cannot "play by ear" until you discover how to listen . . . ]



[NOTE: Although it is not so immediately obvious, the reality here in the sound isolation studio that my understanding of music notation is highly focused on the soprano section of the treble clef, since I learned music notation as a child when I was singing in a liturgical boys choir, so rather than learn all the other clefs and all that stuff, I make everything a treble clef and then adjust the octave for each instrument via leaving it as treble clef or lowering the notes by one or two octaves, so that all the notes are the ones with which I am intimately familiar, which additionally avoids all the quite confusing nonsense that comes from needing to remember the offsets for the other clefs, which from my perspective is mathematically and geometrically inelegant in the extreme. Explained another way, why do I need to know that C can appear in multiple locations and offsets, when it is virtually trivial to cause C to appear only in the most logical locations, which for me are the standard treble clef locations for C4, C5, and C6 in scientific pitch notation. If I need to work with C2, C3, and C4, then I lower the staff by two octaves. And this is based strongly on yet another simplification, which is (a) that there are only 12 notes and (b) that there are approximately 8 octaves, which overall maps to significantly less stuff to track constantly in an immediately conscious way, where from my perspective the particular octave for a note is more of an articulation or pitch dynamics type of thing than anything specifically important in a significant way, and it keeps everything as simple and elegant as possible from the perspective of mathematics and geometry . . . ]

Mathematical Beauty (wikipedia)

[NOTE: Another way to understand what I am doing at present--other than having a bit of FUN writing the most elaborately narcissistic and truly frivolous marketing blurb in the history of the known universe--is to study the following painting, where you will notice that the highlights on the trees in the background are the same color as the lady's dress in the foreground, and what I am doing is determining the best way to reveal or to highlight the various instruments of the basic rhythm section, which eventually will be primarily in the background, which makes a bit of sense if you think about it for a while, and for reference this is more a matter of arranging and producing than composing, per se . . . ]


Elegance of the Epoque ~ Frédéric Soulacroix

Elegance (wikipedia)



[NOTE: I am becoming more proficient in using music notation, but from the perspective of the way everything works in the "play by ear" universe, it is very helpful to be able to hear the way changing music notation affects everything, which is one of the features of NOTION 3 that is vastly important here in the sound isolation studio . . . ]

As it is heard in the current version of the basic rhythm section, the more correct term probably is "harmony", since there is no melody, but (a) I hear the melody in my mind and (b) based on what the melody is doing, the two electric guitars are doing counterpoint, although technically counterpoint is a type of harmony, but so what . . .

Counterpoint (wikipedia)

So what!

At this point, the focus of the work is more in the realms of arranging and producing, where the overall goals are (a) to reveal the important aspects of the basic rhythm section and (b) to make the basic rhythm section tight, although occasionally something unexpected appears, at which time the focus shifts to composing for a while, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

[Surfwhammy]

You are insane no?

I am a bit eccentric, but it works for me!

[Surfwhammy]

I have been pondering the idea of augmenting the Kustom KPC15P 15" Powered PA Speakers with a pair of Kustom PA112S Powered Sub Woofers, and since Musician's Friend had a discount sale last weekend, I decided to do it, which I did this week with outstanding results, where the high-level version is that the Kustom PA112S Powered Sub Woofers enhance the deep bass and have a frequency range of 30-Hz to 150-Hz, which is in contrast to the Kustom KPC15P 15" Powered PA Speakers, which have a frequency range of 60-Hz to 20,000-Hz . . .

[NOTE: Both of these Kustom loudspeaker units are vastly overpowered for the sound isolation studio, which is approximately 6 feet wide by 7 feet tall and 12 feet long, so I wore a pair of OSHA approved ear protectors when I was adjusting the volume levels. So long as the volume levels for the loudspeaker units are set correctly, everything is fantastic, but otherwise it can dangerous, so a bit of caution is advised, since in the grand scheme of everything with the subwoofers enhancing the two-way loudspeakers, running everything at 5 is like running a pair of Marshall full-stacks at 11 in a broom closet. The key principle form acoustic physics is that by running the Kustom powered loudspeakers at low volume, there is plenty of headroom for the amplifiers and loudspeakers, which maps to improved dynamic range and low distortion or whatever. The strategy works, but it is very important to understand the rules, which primarily is something one learns after doing sound reinforcement for concerts for a while, typically after not paying attention to levels and either (a) causing loudspeakers to burst into flames or (b) to explode . . . ]



The subwoofer units have a low-pass filter which limits them to 30-Hz to 150-Hz, but they also do a parallel pass-through of the full-range audio line output from the MOTU 828mk3 Hybrid, which makes it easy to connect them to the more full-range loudspeaker units . . .

I need to do the calibration stuff, but to get started I set the volume levels of the subwoofer units "by ear", with the result that deep bass actually vibrates the workbench where the computer display, mouse, and keyboard sit when the Nady DSM-1 Digital Sound Level Meter indicates the sound pressure level is in the range of 75 db SPL to 85 db SPL, which is a comfortably loud mixing and mastering level for fundamental tone hearers . . .

In retrospect I should have done this years ago, but one of the curious consequences of using essentially every bad strategy for a studio monitoring system is that I learned a lot about setting the various parameters of VST signal processing plug-ins, which included a few years of attempting to mix and master while listening with headphones (which does not work, a fact which is easy to understand once you start focusing on phase alignment, since when you listen with headphones or ear buds, each ear hears something completely and totally independent, and this does not work with respect to the subtleties of phase alignment) . . .

The most surprising aspect of mixing with the newly enhanced Kustom studio monitor system is that it does not require using a lot of VST signal processing plug-ins, and in fact the majority of the VST signal processing was limited to a tiny bit of optical compression or brickwall limiting, which also was the case for the Master stereo output track, where instead of needing to use a full-featured mastering suite, I only had to use a linear phase equalizer and a leveling amplifier (both from IK Multimedia), and this makes intuitive sense, because all the instruments are IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments, so the sample sounds were professionally recorded, hence should not need a lot of enhancing other than having a bit of FUN with reverberation and echoes on a few of the instruments . . .

This is the new version of the song, which is fabulous . . .



[NOTE: This is the basic rhythm section, so there is no singing and no real lead guitar soloing, but so what . . . ]

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- Kustom Studio Monitor System Mix -- MP3 (8.7MB, 300-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 55 seconds)

Fabulous!

Now that I can hear the deep bass--which is vastly important, since I am a fundamental tone hearer, hence am not fooled by the "missing fundamental" auditory illusion, which maps to mixing based on what actually is heard in the room without any trickery or deception--it will take a bit of experimenting to fine-tune the new way of mixing and mastering, but I am very happy with the initial results, for sure . . .

For sure!

[Surfwhammy]

I was doing something a few hours ago, and I found some images of examples of the Shepard Tone Ladder auditory illusion but did not recall where they originated, so I did a bit of investigating and eventually realized that they are from the Surrelería song I composed last year or sometime . . .

Shepard Tone (wikipedia)

I used the images in a post to this FORUM, and I also did an MP3 version of one of the Shepard Tone Ladder phrases, so I listened to it a few times, which is when I realized that I composed it . . .

"The age is in; the wit is out . . . " (William Shakespeare, "Much Ado About Nothing")

And after listening to it for a while, I had the idea that one measure of it fits nicely with "Tastes Like Anarchy", so I cloned the NOTION 3 score; zapped three SampleTank (IK Multimedia) staves; added three Miroslav Philharmonik (IK Multimedia) staves; saved the cloned NOTION 3 score; opened the NOTION 3 score for the Surrelería song; copied the respective staves for the Shepard Ladder measure; closed the Surrelería NOTION 3 score; opened the newly cloned NOTION 3 score for "Tastes Like Anarchy"; and then pasted the Shepard Tone Ladder measure in the places where it fits nicely; set the output channels for ReWire; saved the NOTION 3 score; closed NOTION 3; started Digital Performer 7.24 (MOTU); set the respective ReWire channels; opened the newly cloned NOTION 3 score; and then recorded the three staves of Miroslav Philharmonik Celeste in Digital Performer 7.24 via ReWire . . .

This probably appears to be a bit complex, but once you do it a few times and understand the reasons for doing it this way, it just takes a few minutes, and it works like a champ, for sure . . .

For sure!

Once that was done, I pumped the Celeste tracks a tiny bit with the T-RackS 3.5 Deluxe (IK Multimedia) Opto-Compressor and then increased the gain on the input a tiny bit for the Master stereo output track using the White 2A Leveling Amplifier (IK Multimedia), since the previous version I mixed with the new full-range Kustom studio monitor system was a bit too mellow, which is fabulous . . .



[NOTE: I learned how to sight sing music notation as a child when I was in a liturgical boys choir and at the time was a soprano, and this was the only staff and range I learned with respect to music notation, so treble clef for me is very easy, and most of the time I do everything using a treble clef, where I use the stellar transposing feature of NOTION 3 to define which octave actually is used to play the notes, so while the "Hofner Bass" in the following music notation is written on the treble clef, it is played two octaves lower, which (a) works and (b) makes sense to me, because in the universe as I define it there are 12 notes and 8 octaves, which (c) makes working with music notation considerably easier, as it also does with arranging, composing, and orchestrating and (d) allows me to use advanced mathematics, geometry, and acoustic physics to have a bit of FUN with patterns or whatever one desires to call it, which in some respects is like painting a song with dots, where once the dots for the framework exist, everything else mostly is a matter of connecting the dots, albeit with more dots . . . ]

"Tastes Like Anarchy" (The Surf Whammys) -- Basic Rhythm Section (May 2, 2012) -- MP3 (8.8MB, 301-kbps [VBR], approximately 3 minutes and 55 seconds)

Fabulous!