Hopefully the lecturers will like the song :S
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Final mix
Was worried about my mix because I felt that I should have re recorded main vocals! But no time to go back there. Anyway, I hope my 4 recorded instruments/vocals are alright :\ Picking REMT as a skillset is quite a huge scare for me haha cos to be honest I'm not good at that module. But I did try my best!
Monday, 26 November 2012
Arrangement & Mixing
Hi! Sorry but this will be quite a long post 'cos it's to keep track of what I've been doing (in case I forget some stuff).
So the past few weeks I've been concentrating on recording, mixing and putting the song together.
I first wanted to follow Mumford & Sons kind of arrangement where I'd keep it really simple. I added in a banjo (using midi but failed to copy the timbre), added in an organ, piano, bass and electric guitars. My folk rock idea was slowly turning into pop rock so I decided to just stick to the pop rock genre! I also arranged for the usual bam bam and ooh harmonies in the song.
Apart from that, I recorded the acoustic guitar, drums, bass and vocals. Mixing is quite a tough one for me because to be honest, I had little knowledge and experience from it. But however, thanks to the internet I researched on my own on mixing and how to use certain plug ins to achieve the sound. I was quite upset with how my snare top sounded because of the wrong mike used. I should have used a SM57 for it but it was recorded with a Senn 441. The body sound was gone and the snare just sounded so thin. I tried boosting the low mids of like around 200Hz but it still sounded bad and the attack sound of the snare hit mixed with the thin sound of the snare was really bad. Thus, I had to trigger midi samples to make up for this. I also triggered a kick drum sample to mix together with my recorded kick drum to give it more "punch" and click sound as the recorded one had a lot of boom sound.
For bass, I used 4 mikes- DI, AKG D112, subkick and senn 421. I really liked the DI 'cos both the attack and plucking sound of the strings/string noise was really prominent. The D112 had a really nice tone to the bass also but it had a lot of low end that gave mud to the mix. The senn 421 was alright but comparing this to D112 I preferred the D112. I only used the DI and D112 tracks to mix cos the others just added alot of mud to the mix.
For acoustic guitar, it was my first time recording it in the stereo XY coincident technique with the Earthworks mike pointing at the 12th fret. I also had another recording to get a different tone using the AT2035 that was slanted towards the guitar hole. This one had a lot of boom sound when I played the low notes but when I EQ-ed the frequencies away it sounded really bright and thin which blended well with the Earthworks. The earthworks represents the highs/clarity of the guitar really well too and because I wanted a bright tone for the song.
As for vocals, I used the u87 because it gives the warmness to the voice and I think it suited the tone of my voice.
So the past few weeks I've been concentrating on recording, mixing and putting the song together.
I first wanted to follow Mumford & Sons kind of arrangement where I'd keep it really simple. I added in a banjo (using midi but failed to copy the timbre), added in an organ, piano, bass and electric guitars. My folk rock idea was slowly turning into pop rock so I decided to just stick to the pop rock genre! I also arranged for the usual bam bam and ooh harmonies in the song.
Apart from that, I recorded the acoustic guitar, drums, bass and vocals. Mixing is quite a tough one for me because to be honest, I had little knowledge and experience from it. But however, thanks to the internet I researched on my own on mixing and how to use certain plug ins to achieve the sound. I was quite upset with how my snare top sounded because of the wrong mike used. I should have used a SM57 for it but it was recorded with a Senn 441. The body sound was gone and the snare just sounded so thin. I tried boosting the low mids of like around 200Hz but it still sounded bad and the attack sound of the snare hit mixed with the thin sound of the snare was really bad. Thus, I had to trigger midi samples to make up for this. I also triggered a kick drum sample to mix together with my recorded kick drum to give it more "punch" and click sound as the recorded one had a lot of boom sound.
For bass, I used 4 mikes- DI, AKG D112, subkick and senn 421. I really liked the DI 'cos both the attack and plucking sound of the strings/string noise was really prominent. The D112 had a really nice tone to the bass also but it had a lot of low end that gave mud to the mix. The senn 421 was alright but comparing this to D112 I preferred the D112. I only used the DI and D112 tracks to mix cos the others just added alot of mud to the mix.
For acoustic guitar, it was my first time recording it in the stereo XY coincident technique with the Earthworks mike pointing at the 12th fret. I also had another recording to get a different tone using the AT2035 that was slanted towards the guitar hole. This one had a lot of boom sound when I played the low notes but when I EQ-ed the frequencies away it sounded really bright and thin which blended well with the Earthworks. The earthworks represents the highs/clarity of the guitar really well too and because I wanted a bright tone for the song.
As for vocals, I used the u87 because it gives the warmness to the voice and I think it suited the tone of my voice.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
POD 2 introduction
Hello POD2!
Just a brief description of my ideas on pod 2. There isn't really a straight forward concept to it 'cos I still have no clue on what genre/arrangement/etc. I did include in my proposal that I wanted this pod 2 to be sort of like a response to my pod 1. My pod 1 had kind of a sad/soft/floaty/dreamy/emo feel to it so why not pod 2 be the opposite of that!
I was inspired by Rob Thomas's Little Wonders with all the electric guitar delay fx going on and also Kris Allen's upbeat drum rhythm and really nice guitar tone. I had a guitar melody at the front that I came up with and I did not know how to continue arranging from there. Then I heard Clara C's Heartstrings and my arranging ideas for drums/guitar/vocals changed also. I decided to add in strumming and organs and pads. Also, my strumming and organs were influenced by Mumford and Sons.
The idea I have for pod 2 is so not concrete yet. And the genre I came up was Pop Folk Rock :\ Plus the chorus melody sounded a little like Goo Goo Dolls's I'm Still Here. Really no clue what to do next. But I've recorded my drums and acoustic guitar already. So I guess I'd better start mixing.
Just a brief description of my ideas on pod 2. There isn't really a straight forward concept to it 'cos I still have no clue on what genre/arrangement/etc. I did include in my proposal that I wanted this pod 2 to be sort of like a response to my pod 1. My pod 1 had kind of a sad/soft/floaty/dreamy/emo feel to it so why not pod 2 be the opposite of that!
I was inspired by Rob Thomas's Little Wonders with all the electric guitar delay fx going on and also Kris Allen's upbeat drum rhythm and really nice guitar tone. I had a guitar melody at the front that I came up with and I did not know how to continue arranging from there. Then I heard Clara C's Heartstrings and my arranging ideas for drums/guitar/vocals changed also. I decided to add in strumming and organs and pads. Also, my strumming and organs were influenced by Mumford and Sons.
The idea I have for pod 2 is so not concrete yet. And the genre I came up was Pop Folk Rock :\ Plus the chorus melody sounded a little like Goo Goo Dolls's I'm Still Here. Really no clue what to do next. But I've recorded my drums and acoustic guitar already. So I guess I'd better start mixing.
Friday, 10 August 2012
3 more days to POD1 submission
Yes yes it's nearing...
Well I guess my song is finalized in a way. I don't really want to edit the mix or add in any last minute changes either because I realised that the more I edit the more it gets worse.
Oh! If the lecturers don't know yet, I've changed my skill sets to Arranging and Songwriting. So I'm still currently scoring my song, figuring out chords, doing analysis, phrasing, adding cresendo etc.
I've not done my report but I did put some pointers on what to write about so that's a good start! ;)
Recap on my work progress:
I consulted Erica on vocal arrangement and added in some extra "hum" lines and like a short counter melody in the last chorus.
I consulted Gerald on my mix and he helped with my acoustic guitar and some vocal syllabus clashes where the backing vox and main vox were not sung together/in sync.
I consulted Geoffrey on my mix and he commented on my pronunciation on the word "feel" that sounded like "fill". I think it's the way I sang it too :\
So here I am! Now with about 3 days left to submission. I'm a little jittery and worried because this work of mine is really personal. But I guess it is good in a way 'cos it does help "speak up" for me and showcase my style/arrangement in songwriting. I never known how hummings could help me this much and how it plays such an important role in aiding my voice (I always think I sound like a fragile mouse or those songs played on a vinyl record in the 60s and earlier :S) It was through writing this song where I figured my style in my own songs and created this "bam" and "hum" and "ooh" in songs.
I'm thankful for my friends who've helped me record my sessions and be a pillar of support for me. So to sum this post up, I cross my fingers and just hope for no more no less.
Oh! And my song title for POD1 is called "Falling Apart" :)
Well I guess my song is finalized in a way. I don't really want to edit the mix or add in any last minute changes either because I realised that the more I edit the more it gets worse.
Oh! If the lecturers don't know yet, I've changed my skill sets to Arranging and Songwriting. So I'm still currently scoring my song, figuring out chords, doing analysis, phrasing, adding cresendo etc.
I've not done my report but I did put some pointers on what to write about so that's a good start! ;)
Recap on my work progress:
I consulted Erica on vocal arrangement and added in some extra "hum" lines and like a short counter melody in the last chorus.
I consulted Gerald on my mix and he helped with my acoustic guitar and some vocal syllabus clashes where the backing vox and main vox were not sung together/in sync.
I consulted Geoffrey on my mix and he commented on my pronunciation on the word "feel" that sounded like "fill". I think it's the way I sang it too :\
So here I am! Now with about 3 days left to submission. I'm a little jittery and worried because this work of mine is really personal. But I guess it is good in a way 'cos it does help "speak up" for me and showcase my style/arrangement in songwriting. I never known how hummings could help me this much and how it plays such an important role in aiding my voice (I always think I sound like a fragile mouse or those songs played on a vinyl record in the 60s and earlier :S) It was through writing this song where I figured my style in my own songs and created this "bam" and "hum" and "ooh" in songs.
I'm thankful for my friends who've helped me record my sessions and be a pillar of support for me. So to sum this post up, I cross my fingers and just hope for no more no less.
Oh! And my song title for POD1 is called "Falling Apart" :)
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Recording of acoustic guitar + main vocals + Nigel's help with extra guitar lines
With much much much thinking & more thinking, I've decided (or maybe still considering? where are my inspirations!!!!) to use Nigel's "strings" sound from his guitar pedals to lead into the intro of my pod2 song. But then...Falling Apart ends with A chord and the beginning of my pod2 song starts on a C chord. Oh well more thinking then.
Here it is...
WAIT HOW TO UPLOAD MY MP3 FILE HERE?
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Ending my POD1 song
I wanted the end of my pod1 song to link to the beginning of my pod2 song. However, this was quite hard because I could not come up with any way to link it to the next song. Moreover, I had trouble on how to end my pod 1 song. I'm worried it's too simple because it's only a vocals+guitar composition. I decided not to add in any more harmonies for the song as I wanted to keep it really simple, but is simple good? I'm not sure :\So tomorrow's my first recording and I'm a little worried. I did plan out what guitar parts to record but I'm not sure if it'd sound good because I don't feel right about it.
So this is what I came up with-
For the last chorus, it'd repeat twice. The 2nd time it repeats I'll only pluck the guitar chord once while the vocals carry on. And maybe I'll take away the humming harmonies as well so it'll be like just the main melody + guitar accompaniment.
I've not thought of a good way to link it yet but I'll just stick to this ending first. I'll come up with the link to pod2 song after pod1 submission. For now, I'll focus on how to end my pod1 song.
So this is what I came up with-
For the last chorus, it'd repeat twice. The 2nd time it repeats I'll only pluck the guitar chord once while the vocals carry on. And maybe I'll take away the humming harmonies as well so it'll be like just the main melody + guitar accompaniment.
I've not thought of a good way to link it yet but I'll just stick to this ending first. I'll come up with the link to pod2 song after pod1 submission. For now, I'll focus on how to end my pod1 song.
Monday, 11 June 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Proposal 2- Pop Rock song
So I was watching Meet The Robinsons just now and then this song played- Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.
Here's the song: http://youtu.be/ZoTDH3nqhW4
I'll definitely be using this as a guide for my pop rock song! Such a lovely song:)
Here's the song: http://youtu.be/ZoTDH3nqhW4
I'll definitely be using this as a guide for my pop rock song! Such a lovely song:)
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Talking about Proposals again
So this will be my four proposals:
Proposal 1 - Contemporary-Indie folk song
Proposal 2 - Alternative pop/rock song
Proposal 3 - Indie rock instrumental (post-rock)
> I don't really know what to call the piece's style. But I'm influenced by Foals, how they use instrumentation and arrangement in their songs. Especially the post-rock/math-rock kind of groove they have. It's really hard to compose such a piece but it would be really really interesting as it will be something new and a challenge for me.
> I will have to focus on groove, arrangement, composition and the mix! I can also include a bit of vocals here and there. But the focus wouldn't be on the lyrics but the arrangement.
> I'm not good at drums stuff so it would be tough because groove is important in indie rock pieces. Also each instruments are very significant so composition would require lots of thinking and imagination~ Electric guitars, bass, drums, keyboards
References:
Phoenix- Love Like a Sunset
Explosions In The Sky- First Breath After Coma http://youtu.be/RFX6YAKOOm8
Foals- Olympic Airways (intro- guitar tone)
Foals- Heavy Water (groove at 3:12) http://youtu.be/o9DVn1GHBtA
Foals- Two Steps, Twice (how the groove builds up)
Proposal 4 - Instrumental rock
> Guitar would be the main melody and with drums, bass as the fallback.
> I would focus on composition, mixing! However the challenge would be because I'm not that good at composing instrumentals it would be tough composing something good.
References:
Neil Zaza- I'm Alright & Baroque Sky
Proposal 1 - Contemporary-Indie folk song
Proposal 2 - Alternative pop/rock song
Proposal 3 - Indie rock instrumental (post-rock)
> I don't really know what to call the piece's style. But I'm influenced by Foals, how they use instrumentation and arrangement in their songs. Especially the post-rock/math-rock kind of groove they have. It's really hard to compose such a piece but it would be really really interesting as it will be something new and a challenge for me.
> I will have to focus on groove, arrangement, composition and the mix! I can also include a bit of vocals here and there. But the focus wouldn't be on the lyrics but the arrangement.
> I'm not good at drums stuff so it would be tough because groove is important in indie rock pieces. Also each instruments are very significant so composition would require lots of thinking and imagination~ Electric guitars, bass, drums, keyboards
References:
Phoenix- Love Like a Sunset
Explosions In The Sky- First Breath After Coma http://youtu.be/RFX6YAKOOm8
Foals- Olympic Airways (intro- guitar tone)
Foals- Heavy Water (groove at 3:12) http://youtu.be/o9DVn1GHBtA
Foals- Two Steps, Twice (how the groove builds up)
Proposal 4 - Instrumental rock
> Guitar would be the main melody and with drums, bass as the fallback.
> I would focus on composition, mixing! However the challenge would be because I'm not that good at composing instrumentals it would be tough composing something good.
References:
Neil Zaza- I'm Alright & Baroque Sky
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Planning out two ideas first..
I was going through the songs I wrote, one of which I sent to the DMAT record label last time and I remember Gerald mentioned this singer songwriter Janis Ian. I then realized I don't really know what genre my piece was and I was a bit troubled with how to arrange it. So I researched further and I think for my pod1 work I would make it pretty simple as I wanted to focus on composition, and arrange one of my songs, Falling Apart (the one I sent to the label) into a indie folk piece.
The instruments I plan to include would be acoustic guitar(layers), kick and tambourine, maybe piano, strings and there would be vocal harmonies. It would focus more on vocals, songwriting, composition and the vocal voicings.
The instruments I plan to include would be acoustic guitar(layers), kick and tambourine, maybe piano, strings and there would be vocal harmonies. It would focus more on vocals, songwriting, composition and the vocal voicings.
I find it hard to find something that I can follow for this song I wrote but here are some:
Daughter- Landfill
Lucy Rose- Night Bus
James Vincent McMorrow- We Don't Eat
Bon Iver- Michicant (the vocal harmonies)
Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal (arrangement)
Bon Iver- Michicant (the vocal harmonies)
Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal (arrangement)
I realized how most of my songs sound alike (boring acoustic folk style? I don't really know what kind of genre too) and it was hard for me to rearrange it into something different. Then I decided to use one of my songs, Grow Old With Me, as I felt that this song could be turned into a pop song.
I would use instruments like strings, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, synthesizers, drums. I want to arrange it from a slow starting to a more upbeat rhythm. This work would focus on recording, composition and arrangement.
I would use instruments like strings, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, synthesizers, drums. I want to arrange it from a slow starting to a more upbeat rhythm. This work would focus on recording, composition and arrangement.
Here are some songs:
AJ Rafael- Without You (transition from slow until drums come with interlude)
Kate McGill- The Key & Replaced
Kina Grannis- It's Love
Kina Grannis- It's Love
Indie folk & Pop confusion
So from the last post, I was talking about how I'm afraid that my two ideas must sound similar. I've got a couple of songs in mind that I wrote before but I'm not sure how do I arrange them so that they would portray that certain genre.
Like for indie folk arrangement, is just having guitar and vocal harmonies portray that genre? Or what instruments should I use? And 'cos of the melody for one of my song I wrote for pod, I'm not sure if it sounds like indie folk too.
Is this pop or indie folk or what genre is this? Mree- Atmosphere http://youtu.be/cwvB1IKoDBs
Hmm and just another idea for my pod, I was thinking of linking both songs together. Like the ending of pod1 work would link to the next work!
Shall research more...
Like for indie folk arrangement, is just having guitar and vocal harmonies portray that genre? Or what instruments should I use? And 'cos of the melody for one of my song I wrote for pod, I'm not sure if it sounds like indie folk too.
Is this pop or indie folk or what genre is this? Mree- Atmosphere http://youtu.be/cwvB1IKoDBs
Hmm and just another idea for my pod, I was thinking of linking both songs together. Like the ending of pod1 work would link to the next work!
Shall research more...
Monday, 23 April 2012
Contemplating...
I was just re-thinking about my 4 proposal ideas. I don't feel that they are strong ideas and the indie/acoustic folk and pop song that I have in mind are rather similar...
Under Pop: Kina Grannis- Heart and Mind (http://youtu.be/qtPqhOMu0jA)
Under Indie/Acoustic Folk: Kina Grannis- Stay Just A Little (http://youtu.be/lTc83qVy4O4)
I really love Kina Grannis and I decided to follow her songwriting/composing steps for POD :) But I'm having trouble differentiating the two genres that I had in mind (above).
I'm afraid that I would end up doing two songs sounding similar, which I don't really want 'cos I want the two works to be unique in their ways.
Hopefully, I'll come up with better ideas. In the meantime, listen to more songs! ;)
(update)
I could do something like Michelle Branch- Breathe too... Or Kina Grannis- Without Me... Hahahaha Kina Grannis again :P
Under Pop: Kina Grannis- Heart and Mind (http://youtu.be/qtPqhOMu0jA)
Under Indie/Acoustic Folk: Kina Grannis- Stay Just A Little (http://youtu.be/lTc83qVy4O4)
I really love Kina Grannis and I decided to follow her songwriting/composing steps for POD :) But I'm having trouble differentiating the two genres that I had in mind (above).
I'm afraid that I would end up doing two songs sounding similar, which I don't really want 'cos I want the two works to be unique in their ways.
Hopefully, I'll come up with better ideas. In the meantime, listen to more songs! ;)
(update)
I could do something like Michelle Branch- Breathe too... Or Kina Grannis- Without Me... Hahahaha Kina Grannis again :P
Friday, 20 April 2012
Proposal Ideas
This are the first 4 ideas that I came up with for POD:
1. Indie/acoustic folk music (acoustic guitar, harmonies)
Influenced by:
2. Pop
Influenced by:
3. Instrumentals (MIDI synthesizers ES1, ES2, Sculpture and recorded drums/guitar/bass etc)
Influenced by:
4. Music Therapy research
1. Indie/acoustic folk music (acoustic guitar, harmonies)
Influenced by:
- Kina Grannis- Stay Just A Little (http://youtu.be/yocWxAA_OZs)
- Kate McGill- Replaced (http://youtu.be/AHHdSDfSgP8)
- Mree- Atmosphere (http://youtu.be/cwvB1IKoDBs)
- Bon Iver- Blood Bank (http://youtu.be/774mOmdKtZM)
- Birdy's cover of Skinny Love by Bon Iver
2. Pop
Influenced by:
- Michelle Branch- Breathe (http://youtu.be/EQQZSL_tVsE)
- Kina Grannis- Heart And Mind (http://youtu.be/qtPqhOMu0jA)
- Brooke Fraser- Betty (http://youtu.be/I1-LxbxgnFg)
- Colbie Caillat- Fallin' For you (http://youtu.be/IAGbVoG6VqQ)
3. Instrumentals (MIDI synthesizers ES1, ES2, Sculpture and recorded drums/guitar/bass etc)
Influenced by:
- Phoenix- Love Like Sunset (http://youtu.be/B5Lh9uyx1Zw)
- Tycho- Daydream & A Walk (http://youtu.be/UFr9StkVwTk) & (http://youtu.be/mehLx_Fjv_c)
4. Music Therapy research
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