I am not sure how many golfer-musicians are amongst you but whilst I find these pursuits to be very complimentary – doing both simultaneously especially in between travels is difficult.

That said, I squeezed in a reasonable (piano) practice session today and I just let my fingers wander at the end to see what would come out… it wasn’t that bad! It’s amazing what you can produce when you’re mind is void of expectation and/or playing bias… In fact one of the other reasons I put aside music was nothing “new” was coming into my head – it needed to be cleared and it’s allowed me some time to explore some new things and genres.

Also, I had forgotten that before closing the previous chapter, I managed to complete remixes of some earlier tunes, Mischief and Scaramouche – except I forgot to post them onto the Player widget (above).

Take a listen to these with acoustic instruments courtesy of the fine folks at New York Brass.com!

Lastly, I wanted to express my appreciation to the many readers that have contributed to the long running commentary we have going on the Roland RD700GX and Yamaha CP1. Great experience and insight is being shared from all over the world – so check out the commentary! I’ll be back to the music as soon as I get my (golf) index back to a respectable number – unfortunately good golf is a demanding and elusive gal!

This is Mischief – the very first tune written way back in early 2006… Must admit, it’s interesting to work on the old stuff because so much has changed in my technique and approach since then – I’d like to think for the better.  So our next step is to send the last three tunes off to Mastering and then they’ll be no excuse for not writing NEW MUSIC…

New music has been slow going as of late as the day job has been getting in the way… but as with anything, absence makes the heart grow fonder so I’m sincerely looking forward to crafting some of the many riffs I have going in the background into something cohesive.   In other words, more to follow, and yes – you can hold me to that!

I gave them quite a bit of creative license on this one because I was still learning how to use a MIDI wind-controller back when I wrote and recorded this tune; as usual they didn’t disappoint.  For comparison, you can listen to the original version still loaded in the Player Widget above; I won’t be replacing it until we finish the last tune and send them out for mastering.

Separate note, turns out Danny Flam (from New York Brass) is visiting Southern California on business this week so we get the pleasure of meeting in person!  This is an amazing new world we live in where so much can be done “virtually”…  but when the opportunity presents itself, face-to-face is always preferred.

I was particularly impressed with the sax solo and how it interweaves with the lead guitar, and crescendo on the brass ensemble during “Verse 2″ is delicious!   And what about that ending?

No question about it, I’ll have these guys kick some brass into the remaining tunes from my “immense catalog” (Mischief and Scaramouche :)  and keep you posted.  In the mean time, YES, I do have some new music underway and it’s going to be my first published piece in an odd-time signature.  I suppose one of these days I’ll get around to writing a nice mellow solo piano tune – perhaps even record it on my Steinway since she’s not getting the attention she deserves lately.    Like many of you, I’ve been mildly distracted by the challenged economy as of late, but doing this work tonight has reminded me that every now and then, we need a Time Out!

Having now remixed a few of my other tunes, I’m contemplating getting these re-mastered before beginning a new one.  That said, I have a pretty good riff coming off my fingers at the moment, so who knows maybe it’s time to roll into another project straight away.  No travel plans in November so you never know, I might be able to hammer out another one before year end…

But since I’m waiting on the brass tracks for Tranquilo, I decided to go into the abyss and remix some of my prior tunes… I could go on and on about the various issues that required attention, but it essentially comes down to normalization – especially for the rhythm sections (drum and bass).  Also, I’ve already received the brass tracks for Seduction and Worship, but hadn’t updated either.  So I decided to remix them so that I’d have a better reference for Tranquilo.

The updates have been loaded into the “Now Playing” list (above).  I hope you’ll agree that the levels and rhythm are more consistent?  Seduction and Worship now have “real” professionally played brass going on – and I also fixed a few problems with Time Out.  Mischief and Scaramouche (the oldest tunes) were left alone because they’ve been professionally mastered and until I replace the brass, there’s no point in fiddling.

My game plan is to replace the MIDI “sampled brass” across the board.  The latest three tunes (including Tranquilo) are sorted, and I’ll commission the remaining work between now and the end-of-year so that I’m “caught up” by the New Year.

A fellow enthusiast and friend asked me a while ago about some of the lessons I’ve learned on this “journey”, and that’s a pretty long list!  But, it provides lots of material for future posts :)   Anyway, the one lesson that stands above all is: NO substitute for the real thing.   So instead of buying new technology (i.e. the latest sample libraries, etc), I now direct those funds to real musicians.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my toys, and believe me, I have more than my fair share; but the lesson learned is that better results come with enlisting musicians with far greater talent.  Besides, it’s hard enough staying proficient with my own instrument!  This probably sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but rest assured, there’s lots of amateur musicians that are beating their heads against the wall and spending senseless money and time trying to do it all themselves – because technology makes it possible.

I say “fugg-it!” …  If you want better results, rethink your approach.  Use technology to collaborate, use your money to hire professionals, and use your time to write and play better music!  At the very least, you’ll have more fun!

The guitarist retained most of the prior concept, but added a very cool acoustic solo during the finale (ending) section.  The finale is still a bit open and I’m leaning towards having the horns play backup. Speaking of which, that’s the next step: I’ll be sending this off to the New York Brass musicians now and then we’ll move on to the mixing stage.

Danny from New York has shared the opinion that this tune would be better served with a Spanish-style horns section.   He suggested that we ditch the sax to keep more of a latin vibe; so I decided to try it out by replacing it with a subdued trumpet to get a flavor for where this may be headed. All of the brass you here are merely placeholders, I didn’t fuss with getting the tone dialed in because it’s soon to be replaced with the real thing! I’m anxious to see what the New York boys comes up with…

I’ve just reviewed the acoustic (rhythm) guitar track but I’ll wait for the lead guitar recording before placing those into the mix.  The finale section remains “wide open” for now and I’ll make some decisions as to who will take the lead.   One thought: What about letting the sax player rip along side the guitarist?  The piano, me, could just go into “tranquilo mode” or fill in as necessary?

Should have the guitar tracks in by the weekend and then we’ll move on to recording live sax and horns!  More to follow…

The tune comes to “life” at this stage because there’s simply no substitute for “live recorded” instruments, and I trust you’ll agree by simply comparing this version to the previously posted stem mix.  Next will come the bass guitar track that, for a tune like this, I suspect will conform more or less to the MIDI bass track you presently here – the exception being the finale – At present, it’s very open, but I’m going to encourage the bass and lead guitars to really let it rip as we draw to a close!

And, to reassure you, the piano solo you’re hearing in the bridge is a “place holder” – and first take for that matter; it will be re-recorded and played with greater precision.

My next update will contain both bass and guitar parts and will take things to a whole different level. Finally, my New York brass musicians will lend their talent to killer sax and horn parts. And by the way, we do all of this work completely over the Internet!

This is what’s referred to as a “stem mix”, analog to a rough draft, and indeed the mix fits the description!  Nothing has been processed, panned, or EQ’d so apologies in advance if it sounds a little muddy.  The objective at this stage is to lock down the tune’s structure so that my session musicians can take over and record their parts, respectively.  That’s when it usually comes to life!   With the exception of the drum loops, I’m playing everything you hear thru a combination of MIDI samplers and virtual instruments:

• Drums Loops: DrumCore via Rewire
• Bass Guitar: Spectrasonics Trilogy (VSTi)
• Acoustic Guitar: Korg Triton
• Distorted Guitar: Spectrasonics Omnisphere (VSTi)
• Synth (pads): Access Virus TI
• Piano: Ivory Jazz C7 via Muse Receptor
• Sax: Yamaha VL1-m via MIDI wind-controller
• Brass: Roland XV3080 “Patchman” additions via wind-controller

Next, they will professionally play & re-record all the key instruments: drums, bass, guitars, sax & horns; and once I get those back, I’ll remix and re-work the piano parts to fit accordingly.  The piano solo, in particular, is a rough draft and has lots of “errors” – all of which will be fixed before it’s all said and done.

As many of you know, this is an iterative process!  But hopefully, you get the feel for where it’s going…  And now, it’s time to employ the power of the Internet and commission my team of professional session musicians; they’re literally spread spread across the globe!  It still amazes me that we can work this way, and it’s especially convenient for me since I’m about to travel overseas for business.

I’ll share the progress by posting the previews of what’s provided back.  For me, this is funnest part of the process because everything really comes to life with help of the StudioPros – stay tuned!

By the way, have I mentioned that SoundCloud.com is delivering in spades?  I absolutely love this service!

Danny delivered a total of 9 tracks (dry): 3 sax of which 1 is the lead/solo, 3 trumpets, and 3 trombones – a full blown horn section (no pun intended)!  It took some time to get these dialed-in as I was aiming to apply the least amount of processing.  I originally routed the tracks to my outboard HEDD 192 and Bricasti M7 (reverb), but had better luck using plug-ins.  I ended up dealing with the lead/solo sax on its own employing the Waves API-550B EQ and IR-1 (Hall) reverb.  I created group tracks for the remaining sax, trumpets, and bones, respectively; and applied the same EQ, but with different settings for each instrument.  I tried to minimize the verb on the trumpets and bones, and decided not to use any compression – we’ll see if that holds.

Oh… YES, I am working on a new tune, and do LIKE where it’s going.  I’ve been recently inspired to inject some latin vibe into my work, but as a result, the rhythm is a bit tricky.  I may end up having the drum track pre-recorded and write to the completed track vs. the other way around… because for once, I actually know what I’m looking for!

Fortunately, I recently stumbled upon NewYorkBrass.com and after some discussions decided to give them a go on the tune of their choice; they chose Worship.  If these folks work out, I plan to re-record the prior tunes and, of course, use them on future projects!  Here’s the newly recorded version with REAL horns and sax…

Bear in mind this is an unpolished, low-resolution mix (MP3) so the levels and tone need to be dialed in, but it’s good enough for a preview post.  And most importantly, to get your feedback!

Seduction Mastered Version

My mastering engineer, Brian Lucey, informed me that the mix I sent him was apparently an improvement from my previous tunes. Turns out that’s a good and bad thing because one one hand, he was able to get a better “sound level” out of Seduction; but on the other hand, it shows the need for improving (the mixes) on my prior tunes. This has been a typical outcome of my music journey – and I suspect that many traveling on a similar road experience this as well: Improvements reveal shortcomings in your prior work… So, do you go back and fix it, or just move on? My tendency, unfortunately, is to go back and fix things so I may take a detour and explore that before moving on to a new tune – we’ll see.

I credit a good portion of the so-called improvement to some relatively new gear, namely some NEW mix studio monitors (aka speakers). Again owed to Brian’s recommendation, I invested in a pair of hand-built Barefoot MM27s which are absolutely top of the line nearfield monitors even by professional standards. The difference has been remarkable as I can now produce a mix that is “transportable” across virtually any playing environment. There’s a whole science behind this challenge, but suffice it to say that achieving a transportable mix is an allusive yet foremost objective in music production. Most of it comes from experience, but you also need the right tools and a properly (acoustically) treated room. So I’ll leave that as a segway for an upcoming post to delve into that stuff a bit further.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback during the evolution of Seduction. It was fun to chronicle a project from beginning to end!

Seduction Premaster Mix

I should caveat all of these mixes have all been “processed” so that the volume approximates commercial levels. This is just so you and I can hear without having to make big adjustments to our settings. AND, you’ve been listening to MP3 files, which are significantly compressed in size. The version I sent out for mastering is a high-resolution file that’s more than 10 times the size of the MP3! It’s also stripped of the limiter because bringing up the volume, amongst other things, is part of the mastering process.

So what is Mastering? It is the practice of taking audio that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media or as some method of streaming. Translation: Mastering is the final polish! When you hear that “commercial sound” on a CD, it’s courtesy of the skill and specialized equipment of a professional mastering engineer.

Many will argue that Mastering can be done using today’s software programs all within the digital realm. And while it can be debated, I’ve come to appreciate the subtleties. To me, it’s more about the skill than the technology or the domain, analog v. digital. Sure, I have collected my fair share of technology (remember, I’ve already confessed to having GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome), but I prefer to hire the skills I lack. Besides, it is truly the best way to learn!

I think you’ll hear the difference after Brian applies his craft to the mix this week. Perfect timing because I’m off to London this evening!

Brian not only knows his stuff, but also shares his opinions CANDIDLY… and of course, he does great work! In fact, he’s mastered all of my (finished) tunes so he’ll eventually apply his craft to Seduction, but not until I fix a few things. Also, Brian definitely has serious GAS, and he frequently passes it my way! My best studio additions as of late have come courtesy of his recommendations…

Brian took a few listens and replied back with “It’s fairly congested toward the end … more of a pile up than a mix with space and depth. Do you have limiting on the mp3? What about middle to width balance … have you considered that? It seems too much in the middle by the end, and the low mids are overfull. Once the Sax comes in it begins to get crowded … look at possible cuts in the 280 and 500hz range as a center freq, on the sax, guitar lead, and bass to a lesser extent”.

This feedback is all about dialing in the production. As mentioned, I didn’t spend a great deal of time on my trial mix due to those sinus issues (which are thankfully behind me), but it’s feedback like this that helps chart a more specific course of action! Brian has basically given me a recipe to get the mix in better shape, and that’s important to do before I turn over to him for mastering. So thank you Brian, and now it’s time to “go back to the board”… the mixing board, that is…

Seduction First Mixdown

Each of the MIDI instruments (piano, wurly, sax, horns) has now been recorded onto its own track (into the computer). Having a dedicated track for each instrument allows for “mixing” – that’s basically where the term comes from. I’m by no means an expert in the area of production, but one thing I’ve come to believe is that the less you muck with it, the better. I’ve applied some light compression to the sax and horns from my board (the external mixing board to which my outboard gear connects). Many people prefer to do all of it inside the computer (also known as “mixing in the box”) but I do a bit of both.  I prefer to shape sound outside the box where I can employ real devices in the analog world – before it gets converted into digital when recorded.  Sure, you can now do everything within the digital realm, but software is, by definition, emulating stuff from the analog world.  Plus, my hybrid approach allows me to spread the workload between my outboard gear and the computer for better overall performance… I use the digital medium for more fundamental stuff like track levels (volume) and panning. Ok, that’s enough of the technical details for now…

I must also confess that I’m having some sinus challenges at the moment so my ears are totally stuffed, so I’m in no position to judge the mix. Hence, I’ll be calling in some better ears to help. Once the mix is finalized, the last step is to send it to a mastering engineer where the professional veneer and final touches are applied.

Seduction All Instruments Preview

So here, we have a trial mix with everything… with the caveat that the Mix needs work. For example, the horns are too loud and the lead guitar is too low during the Finale, but I’ve yet to begin the Mixing phase (where all of that type of stuff gets dialed in). At this point, I like to take a few days just to listen and ensure all of my instruments are doing what they should… before I record them and proceed to mixing. I’m noting a few mistakes here and there, a few spots where too much is going on… It almost comes down to what you can remove vs. what you can add at this point. I’ll clean this up, but I’m happy to say that this preview is closer to a Tune than a Sketch…

Preview of Newly Added Rhythm Guitar

That’s simply to ensure the track itself is correct. The studio will next send a completed high-quality audio file and I’ll import this into the mixing software – known in music speak as a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). I’m still trying to size up the audience that is visiting my humble little site, so trying to keep the technical speak down to a minimum. I’ve been asked so often how one of these projects come together so this one is pretty much laid out chronologically from concept thru completion.

We’re about ready to move into the mixing and production phase, but before that, I’ll take some time to add my piano solos and few other spices. I’ll most likely be changing the piano itself, meaning I’ll use a higher quality piano sample. The one you’ve been hearing up to this point is coming straight out of my Kawai MP8 controller; not bad, but certainly not fantastic so stay tuned… this should be coming together within the next few days.

Complete Preview of Live Drums, Bass, and Guitars

There are two guitar tracks: a rhythm/chucking track, and a lead guitar. I really like the “tone” that was selected, not too hard, not too soft; just right for a jazz piece. I need to do more listening and decide whether to add an additional track (strumming) to replace the patch that is presently backing the piano. I’m leaning that direction because it’s so easy to discern “real” vs. “not” once you have live tracks included. I’m also experimenting with some horns which I’m reasonably certain will help round out the rhythm section. That way, I can re-record the piano into something more along the lines of a lead instrument. PLENTY of room for great solo riffs in this tune… those are the thoughts fresh off the press, but I’m sure more will come. Either way, now the ball is back in my court. Thanks again to the fine musicians at drumsforyou.com!

Seduction with Bass Track Preview

Listen to the tune come to life with some REAL DRUMMING (the loops are hasta la vista)!

Seduction with Live Drums

I’m very excited to see what they come up with for the bass and guitars… and then I can get busy with some hopefully burning solos and possibly a horn section on my end! I’ll post the updates as I get them!

Keep in mind that this is not a fully mixed MP3 that you’re hearing; it’s very basic just to get an idea of how the drum track fits… the tidying up and mixing comes after the rest of the tracks have been recorded.

Turns out, this series of posts pretty much outlines my entire process, so since we’re already down the road, we’ll continue through Mixing and Mastering!

So indeed, the creative process is an iterative one, but we’re now moving into the fun zone… getting other musicians involved definitely helps! Hopefully, we’ll get this wrapped up before the next overseas trip – always nice to wrap up a project beforehand!

Seduction (draft MP3)

To be clear, satisfaction does not mean perfection by any stretch. Rather, it is means that the project is in “good enough” form to go from the Composition Phase to the Orchestration Phase (then followed by Mixing and Mastering). This may or may not be the way to go about it according to purists; but it’s what works for me…

So to review, I start with a Concept as described and shared in my prior post. This can be something as simple as a riff coupled with a rhythm. Since then, I’ve been working on Composition and this is always the most difficult phase for me. Going from a Concept to a Tune is the equivalent of creating the “first draft” of a script. While only a draft, a Tune has an identifiable musical structure. In writing, terms such as introduction, body, conclusion are used to describe structure. In music, we use terms like verse, chorus, bridge, etc to describe structure. Regardless, a tune has a beginning and an ending and (hopefully pleasant) structure in between!

Technology, in the form of Sequencers, really helps because it is does for musical composition what a word-processor does for writing. I can freely develop various “parts” which are often nothing more than variations of the original concept and then “piece them together” (or Sequence them) in a desirable play order. I can even maintain different play orders and go back/forth until something resonates. Quite often there are “holes” – which means there’s more music to write! As a Tune begins to shape up, you begin to consider Orchestration: the selection and blending of different musical instruments and/or sounds… and that’s the FUN part because in the modern studio, the sound palette is virtually infinite!Sometimes a compositional issue can be helped by a change in orchestration. This update presents one example of that. If you play the conceptual MP3 I posted in February, you’ll hear the opening “riff” on the piano. I ended up having the “bass guitar” play this instead and now the piano plays a more gentle “jazz comping” to provide a better foundation for the verse melody (played by the sax).

My personal rating of the tune? Well… honestly, I’m not entirely satisfied with this one because I wanted to experiment with more complex musical constructs that ended up not being workable into this tune. I did try, however! For the musicians amongst you, I was trying to work in a time signature change into odd-time (5/4 was the closest fit, but it just wasn’t happening so I scrubbed the mission). So what we have at present is a very basic no frills tune which will hopefully “come to life” with some clever Orchestration. I say that with caution, however, because like a movie, everything hinges on a solid script. Great actors and dazzling special effects cannot save a flawed script; but they can bring a so-so script to life and such will be my hope as I share this “draft” with my other collaborators.

Next, we will record live drums, bass, and guitars; including Solos for those “openings” I’ve left after each verse as well as the “finale” section. This will definitely “fill” things up, and then I’ll add my own piano solos and possibly some additional comping, most likely some horns…

It all starts with finding a groove, or a feel. Some people begin with a “thought or idea” and then put music to that feeling. In my case, I try to find a “groove” that feels good at that moment, and if it does, I then *try* and write a song around it. Piano players are fortunate in that we play an instrument with tremendous range. We can play a rhythm in one hand and a melody in another. Still, I find it easiest to work from “bottom up” so I usually begin by finding a rhythm that connects. Some people do it the other way by starting with a melody or “riff”, but since my music is instrumental, I find it preferable to begin with rhythm. The easiest and most convenient way to begin is to explore a wide range of “drum loops” – prerecorded audio files of professional drummers (sometimes famous ones) punching out a rhythm. With technology, you can “snap and glue” these loops together and create a full blown song if you like. In fact, that’s how it’s done in a good majority of R&B music. I simply use loops as a starting point because they enable me to quickly explore a wide range of options and play along on the piano until something “connects”.   Here is the “Intro” and what I think will evolve into a “Verse”…

Seduction

This MP3 is built on a drum loop (so nothing fancy, no fills, etc.).  It is just a pencil sketch at this stage, but hopefully provides the foundation, the groove, and sense of feel…

Apart from the drum loops, everything else you hear is me. I’m using “technology” triggered by MIDI to generate the sounds: The funk bass comes courtesy of a Korg Triton; the sax is courtesy of a vintage custom-programmed Yamaha VL1m played with MIDI wind controller, the guitar chucking is courtesy of a Roland XV-3080, and the piano is a basic on board jazz grand from my Kawai MP8 (my master MIDI controller). These are just placeholder patches, and they’ll likely be replaced further down the line with stuff that sounds better, OR with live recorded instruments.

The name of the song? Merely a placeholder. For whatever reason, I find it useful to assign ONE WORD that describes what I think I’m hearing… That, in turn, begins to influence the choice of orchestration (instruments, who plays what where and when…)

So this is where I’m at. Embarrassingly, I think I wrote this over New Year’s weekend? Since then, I’ve been trying out different things and attempting to map the “direction” of the tune in my mind. It’s strange, but I know when I’m in “writing mode” and when I’m not, and I’ve learned not to force it. And after all, I’m a hobbyist so I can exercise the luxury of being massively unproductive!