Island thing

[grandsoul]

Nice little story, Time to invest in a 16 track recorder If I spent that much time an effort on a piece I'd at least shoot it into a couple of listings and see what happens. What's 5-10 bucks at this stage of the game. Mazz is pretty up to speed on this stuff so his advise is probably closer to reality. I like your attitude and your style of music though.

gl

PS - I knew I heard a triangle in there!

SOmetimes recording in an upper mid-fi can be a benefit. You can still do great magic on an eight track (Believe it ) .

I bought a Korg D3200 in 2007 (it has 32 tracks) At a GC post Thanksgiving Day sale. I upgraded . I recorded "Emotional Highway" on the D3200. Have to watch the headroom, it clips easy. Overall, its easy to use, and I can record up to twelve tracks at once. I track a lot of music with this so far.

The PT8 was working well at first. Gotta get it fixed. Garage Band is easy, but limited in sounds (not stopping me){will show you this later }.

When I submitted it (To Taxi) under the World Music category, they sad it was too rigid .
I submitted it under the R/B category when they said they were looking for music for a exercise camp type of thing. THey said they liked it, but it didn't fit the R&B genre it was listed under (considering the song is based over a blues pattern . {you could burn fifty calories just listening to this }.

[For the Real Book/Standard jazz addicts, this song would compare to "St. Thomas"]

Steel drums are not something commonly used or heard in everyday music, but they have a place.

Till later,

Samba, samba, samba

www.reverbnation.com/luciusaustin
www.youbloom.com/web/luciusaustin

[mazz]

Actually St. Thomas is more of a I VI II V thing, almost I Got Rhythm changes. It's not a blues at all. It's an old Caribbean folk tune that Sonny Rollins recorded and called St. Thomas.

Just a clarification from a long time Real Book/Standard Jazz addict/player.

Cheers!

Mazz

PS: For some amazing steel drum work, check out Andy Narrell

[grandsoul]

Actually St. Thomas is more of a I VI II V thing, almost I Got Rhythm changes. It's not a blues at all. It's an old Caribbean folk tune that Sonny Rollins recorded and called St. Thomas.

Just a clarification from a long time Real Book/Standard Jazz addict/player.

Cheers!

Mazz

PS: For some amazing steel drum work, check out Andy Narrell

I know "St Thomas" is not a blues pattern song.. I used it as a reference for the use of steel drums in a song.

http://www.youbloom.com/web/luciusaustin

[mazz]

Actually St. Thomas is more of a I VI II V thing, almost I Got Rhythm changes. It's not a blues at all. It's an old Caribbean folk tune that Sonny Rollins recorded and called St. Thomas.

Just a clarification from a long time Real Book/Standard Jazz addict/player.

Cheers!

Mazz

PS: For some amazing steel drum work, check out Andy Narrell

I know "St Thomas" is not a blues pattern song.. I used it as a reference for the use of steel drums in a song.

http://www.youbloom.com/web/luciusaustin

OK, makes sense.

[t4mh]

I love lots of percussion! I guess I should have been a percussionist... Yeah, I'd have to agree with Mazz that it is too loose in lots of ways. Sorry but that is the truth.

Good Luck!
Keith

[grandsoul]

I love lots of percussion! I guess I should have been a percussionist... Yeah, I'd have to agree with Mazz that it is too loose in lots of ways. Sorry but that is the truth.

Good Luck!
Keith

Considering one Taxi submission stated it was too rigid-mechanical .

I guess if I would have put in that brake drum (where can I get a sample of that )


www.reverbnation.com/luciusaustin

[mazz]

I'm going to venture a guess that it's the overly mechanical percussion loops that make the "looser" parts feel out of the groove, like the steel drums. It doesn't feel organic, like a real island band all grooving together. It sounds like what it is: A MIDI concoction. It takes a lot of time to make a MIDI band that can fool the ear. I used to put on loops and jam to them but I eventually found it more satisfying to dig in and make the pieces more cohesive and "musical". I also found it much more lucrative as well.

Cheers!

Mazz

[grandsoul]

I'm going to venture a guess that it's the overly mechanical percussion loops that make the "looser" parts feel out of the groove, like the steel drums. It doesn't feel organic, like a real island band all grooving together. It sounds like what it is: A MIDI concoction. It takes a lot of time to make a MIDI band that can fool the ear. I used to put on loops and jam to them but I eventually found it more satisfying to dig in and make the pieces more cohesive and "musical". I also found it much more lucrative as well.

Cheers!

Mazz

I know. If I would have had that brake drum choir, it would have sounded totally real
You have to excuse me for not having easy access to a steel drum section as well.
I really need the $$$$$ for an orchestral string section for one of my Christmas songs. Any backers?

[wings]

Well, I listened to the entire tune- it's a nice idea. I love steel drums, and the Caribbean, for that matter. It does sound a bit muddy, however. I'm not sure where you are going, and yet you chose a big finale - which is fine, but a line from one of my conductors comes to mind. "Never louder than lovely." Now the term "lovely" can mean different things, but take it for what it's worth. I found myself reaching for the volume knob.

For starters, I'd strip out the MIDI beats that don't make music sense, and highlight the steel drums by complimenting them instead of contradicting them. Then, I'd figure out where I want to go with the piece as a whole.

For what it's worth, I've been to the Caribbean many times. I've listened to many steel drums. Sometimes being simple makes a better statement.

That being said, don't forget the Margaritas!

~wings~

[mazz]

I'm going to venture a guess that it's the overly mechanical percussion loops that make the "looser" parts feel out of the groove, like the steel drums. It doesn't feel organic, like a real island band all grooving together. It sounds like what it is: A MIDI concoction. It takes a lot of time to make a MIDI band that can fool the ear. I used to put on loops and jam to them but I eventually found it more satisfying to dig in and make the pieces more cohesive and "musical". I also found it much more lucrative as well.

Cheers!

Mazz

"You have to excuse me for not having easy access to a steel drum section as well."


The thing is, with the availability these days of excellent sample libraries of just about any instrument known to man, there's no excuse for using acoustic samples from a workstation that were designed with memory constraints. If one has acoustic samples that aren't great, then it would be better to not use them and write for what strong sounds one does have. Unless the composer doesn't really care if their music gets forwarded or not, then it's really just an experiment or a hobby, IMO.

I've made a significant investment in sample libraries and spend a ton of time attempting to make them sound "live" and "real" so that I don't have to make excuses for my music. If a sound I want to use isn't cutting it, I either use a different sound or move on to a different idea or scrap the piece and write one for the strong samples I have. Like you, I'd love to write for a real string section, and I work intensely on my music and sounds so that I can land a gig where the producers are paying for the string section!!

IMO your Korg has outlived it's era when it comes to sampled acoustic sounds. It may still be a viable synth, but if you really want to be competitive in the marketplace and not have to make excuses for your sounds, then an upgrade to more modern sounds is in order, unfortunately.

Mazz