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It's amazing what one finds when one roots around in piles of stuff. I was sorting through my old tape collection when I found a couple singles (Ratt and Winger) that Shannon gave to me years ago as a gift for (I believe) my birthday, the old anti-Jeff tape Steve and I made and some old demo tapes. I found a couple little gems I thought I'd share.
This first one is a song I started writing in DADGAD tuning. As usual I played the intro far longer than it really sounds like it wanted to be, as well as the first iteration of the "verse" riff. Oh yeah, and I played the "verse" riff too fast. Check it out:
the DADGAD song idea
Then there was this little guitar texture I had taped so I wouldn't forget it (or at least find it years later as the case is). It's just three guitars playing layered arpeggios/melodies on top of each other. Neat little thing, really, though the recording is really crummy. Check it out:
guitar texture clip
I also rooted around some old papers sitting in with my music texts and found some interesting little gems there, too. Since they were both sheet music I've used a MIDI writer program to actually make them into something to which you can listen. The first isn't so bad since it almost sounds as it was intended (minus dynamics), but the second is awful. Just deal with it, please.
The first is the Opening Theme for Arkanoid 2K. I composed this for my friend Tom's senior project, which was an updated version of the arcade classic Arkanoid 2K. He asked me for something upbeat that sounded very much akin to the original game's theme. Of course this meant a walking tuba bassline and some jumpy little string bits and a synth lead that was possibly doubled up an octave higher. Also lots of perfect intervals a la John Williams. This is the result. Unfortunately my little program didn't afford me a good tympani sound for the ending, so just imagine the little bum-bum of the kettle drums, much like the end of the thinking music for Jeopardy. Check it out:
Arkanoid 2K Opening Theme
And lastly this is a little four-voice chorale piece I composed for one of my upper level Musicianship courses in college. It includes a couple key changes (from g minor to E-flat Major back to g minor then to B-flat Major back to g minor then again E-flat Major and ending in g minor), heavy use of both the ii and vii diminished chords, a couple instances of the French and German augmented sixth chords, the picardi third and my personal favorite: the pedal tone! It's a neat little piece, and the lyrics were selected lines chosen from the poems "A Grace For A Child," "Upon Prue, His Maid" and "To His Book's End" in satire of Robert Herrick. For those not in the know, Robert Herrick was a 17th century English poet and contemporary of John Donne. Check it out:
Satire on Robert Herrick
The words for this four-voice chorale were:
Here a child I stand,
heaving up my either hand;
cold as paddocks though they be,
here I lift them up to thee
for a benison to fall
on our meat and on us all.
In this little urn is laid
Prudence Baldwin, once my maid,
from whose happy spark here let
spring the purple violet.
To his book's end this last line he'd have placed.
Jocund his muse was but his life was chaste.
Here a child I stand,
heaving up my either hand;
cold as paddocks though they be,
here I lift them up to thee
for a benison to fall
on our meat and on us all.
This first one is a song I started writing in DADGAD tuning. As usual I played the intro far longer than it really sounds like it wanted to be, as well as the first iteration of the "verse" riff. Oh yeah, and I played the "verse" riff too fast. Check it out:
the DADGAD song idea
Then there was this little guitar texture I had taped so I wouldn't forget it (or at least find it years later as the case is). It's just three guitars playing layered arpeggios/melodies on top of each other. Neat little thing, really, though the recording is really crummy. Check it out:
guitar texture clip
I also rooted around some old papers sitting in with my music texts and found some interesting little gems there, too. Since they were both sheet music I've used a MIDI writer program to actually make them into something to which you can listen. The first isn't so bad since it almost sounds as it was intended (minus dynamics), but the second is awful. Just deal with it, please.
The first is the Opening Theme for Arkanoid 2K. I composed this for my friend Tom's senior project, which was an updated version of the arcade classic Arkanoid 2K. He asked me for something upbeat that sounded very much akin to the original game's theme. Of course this meant a walking tuba bassline and some jumpy little string bits and a synth lead that was possibly doubled up an octave higher. Also lots of perfect intervals a la John Williams. This is the result. Unfortunately my little program didn't afford me a good tympani sound for the ending, so just imagine the little bum-bum of the kettle drums, much like the end of the thinking music for Jeopardy. Check it out:
Arkanoid 2K Opening Theme
And lastly this is a little four-voice chorale piece I composed for one of my upper level Musicianship courses in college. It includes a couple key changes (from g minor to E-flat Major back to g minor then to B-flat Major back to g minor then again E-flat Major and ending in g minor), heavy use of both the ii and vii diminished chords, a couple instances of the French and German augmented sixth chords, the picardi third and my personal favorite: the pedal tone! It's a neat little piece, and the lyrics were selected lines chosen from the poems "A Grace For A Child," "Upon Prue, His Maid" and "To His Book's End" in satire of Robert Herrick. For those not in the know, Robert Herrick was a 17th century English poet and contemporary of John Donne. Check it out:
Satire on Robert Herrick
The words for this four-voice chorale were:
Here a child I stand,
heaving up my either hand;
cold as paddocks though they be,
here I lift them up to thee
for a benison to fall
on our meat and on us all.
In this little urn is laid
Prudence Baldwin, once my maid,
from whose happy spark here let
spring the purple violet.
To his book's end this last line he'd have placed.
Jocund his muse was but his life was chaste.
Here a child I stand,
heaving up my either hand;
cold as paddocks though they be,
here I lift them up to thee
for a benison to fall
on our meat and on us all.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-16 04:20 pm (UTC)From:I used to have a Fostex 4-track handy, but it's in storage now. Do you do any recording on your PC? If so, would you mind giving me some pointers on how you do it?
no subject
Date: 2005-05-16 09:12 pm (UTC)From:I do limited recording with the PC,mostly because I can't afford the gear I'd need to do it right. I can recommend a couple programs. I use Quartz AudioMaster Freeware (http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/SoftwareHouse/Products/Audio_Master/Freeware/freeware.phtml) sometimes which has p[roven to be pretty good. Lately I've also found Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) which is a handy little sound editing program. If you use Audacity, make sure you download the plugins for mp3 export and VST effects plugins.
Other than that I just either use the computer mic or plug my acoustic guitar right into the computer. I suppose with electric you could run a line from your amp's effects loop to the line in on your computer.
One thing to keep in mind is this: when recording analog it's good to push the record level to barely peaking to get a nice hot signal. On digital you should never peak. This will guarantee distortion of the audio. Punch your record level as hot as you can get it without peaking.