In this page, I will explain and document how I created my song using synthesis, sampling, music theory and studio recordings.

• Drum and bass tune

• Emotional, preferbaly female, vocal hook - this will be found by putting a call out into the depatemet and finding someone talented.

• Maybe use a some form of rapper, in the same style as the song below.

• Some recorded live instrumentation - such as a violin/viola would make the song feel emotional.

• I want to record a female voclaist.

• A guitar struming the chors of my song may also be a nice addition as it would thickedn out the sound and give the song am prganic feel

• I will utilise serum to synthesis my own bass lines, and may create some pads to fill out the sound and some synth bells/leads to carry the main melody of the track.

• I am aiming my tune for two audiences. I want it to be able to be played in one of club sets with enough energy and excitement, but also be soft enough to be listened to when lounging around.

• My main goal is to be able to make the song sound poignannt and emotional.

• Below are some reference tracks that I will base the vibe of my tune on.

I have now recorded some live violin to add to the emotion of my track, I have explained how I recorded it below. The melody of my song is mostly driven by the chord progression and I feel the violin sounds rather folk-like and is a nice addition to it. I have added some reverb too it, to make it sound like it was recorded in a live abbey, plus it also adds to the haunted nature of the tune. Once I had the part I liked in my session, I used flex to put it properly in time, and manipulate some of the notes to make it how I liked it. I experimented with two different types of flex inside of Logic, monophonic and polyphonic. This website, https://www.logicprohelp.com/forums/topic/134034-a-question-regarding-monophonic-and-polyphonic-in-flex-editing/, explains how monophonic should be used for instruments that make one note, such as a vocal or flute, whereas polyphonic should be used on instruments that play chords, like pianos and guitars. Regardless, I wanted to try them both to see which one I preferred, as in the recording some of the notes overlap one another and I feel this could alter the sound. Below I have included bounces of a part of the violin track, using the two different flex modes.

In the monophonic bounce, an artefact has been added which makes part of it sound like a trill, I do not like this. Luckily, in the polyphonic version, this is not heard. I have used the polyphonic version. As such, I am glad I experimented myself, conducting primary research, with the different modes and not just trusted an internet source, because with out it I would not have achieved the sound I wanted. Regarding the vocals, my friend has got a job and can no longer help, so I have put a call out into the department looking for talented female vocalists.

Regarding dynamics and texture, there is a lot of contrast within the song. The first 8 bars has a small build up, that crescendo into the first verse. As well as this, before the drop all the instruments build in volume and tension. When the drop hits, this tension is released. In verse two, the volume and number of instruments is stripped back to make space for the violin to come in. These changes in dynamics and texture throughout the track keep it interesting and makes sure the listener does not get bored. I have also used some synthesised drones and nature ambience to thicken out the track and risers to transitions from each section smoothly. Here is a screen shot of the structure of the track, where I have annotated dynamic and textural changes.

Other melodic devices included in the song include a tonic pedal in the higher octave that acts as a rhythmic ostinato and keeps a steady beat throughout the tune. A tonic pedal is a repeated note that plays the root note of the scale, in my case F#. In my piece, there is lots of different rhythms and syncopation. For example, the chord progression is very on beat, the chords change on a strong beat. However, my drums are much more syncopated. I have two different patterns, yet both are syncopated. Here are some diagram explaining the second drum pattern, in particular the kick. If the kick pattern was basic it would look like diagram A, my kick pattern is diagram B. I have done this because it keeps my piece interesting and fits in with the style of the genre, drum and bass, which focuses heavily on syncopated drums and fat, dirty basslines.

After the production was done, I started to mix it. I had the core idea down then asked a fellow classmate Jack for some advice with it. He helped by using compression to sidechain some instruments to the kick, so their volume ducks out when the kick plays. This makes the bass louder, yet still clean and makes everything sound much tighter. He also added some multiprocessor (a compressor that compresses the signal in certain frequency bands) to the harmony tracks to glue them together and make them sound cohesive. Here are some screen shots of the plug ins.

Once the final touches were done, we bounced it and I sent it too my friend Dan (Bare Up). He gave me some feedback and told me to turn the drums up by a dB or two. I did this and agreed it sounded much better. He then told me to once the final mix is done, automate the final bounce to be 2 dB quiter in the verse than the chorus. I tried this and it sounded amazing. It just gives the drop so much more energy, it is such a good tip!! I bounced it again, and finally it is finished.

Here is a video explingain how to use a sampler inside of Logic Pro.

Here are two videos that show how I recorded Rosie and her vocals inside of the studio.

We decided to use the Rode NT2A because it is Rosie's favourite mic to use, it is the one she has at home so she knows how it effects the tone of her voice. I trusted her with the decision , as she knew how she wanted too sound. We also used a pop filter to eliminate any plosives that could distort the signal. I positioned the mic so the diaphragm was facing her and made sure that the switch on the mic itself was correct to record just in front of it. Before we recorded the takes, I did some test recordings to make sure that the gain levels were set at the correct level so that the recordings did not clip and distort. We did two run throughs of the full song, we both agreed the second take sounded much better, the tone of her voice was much softer in the beginning and she hits a really nice high note before the second chorus. Here is some footage of Rosie actually performing the song. When we were in the studio, we had to communicate with what parts I liked and what I wanted to change from the original idea that she had sent me a week before. I am glad we did this as it allowed us to get straight into recording as the core idea had already been agreed on. While in the flow of things, I thought we maybe try and record a harmony over a part of the chorus. Rosie also liked the idea and so we kept building on those harmonies, which gave the final thing a really nice gospel choir feel too it. This shows that experimenting with random ideas is so crucial, became of it we created such a memorable part of the track. Once all the harmonies were recorded, we listened to the track as a whole and identified a few words that were either distorting as the gain was slightly too high, or the note she sung was a bit too flat. We over came this issue by re-recording some of the vocals. This can be seen in the screenshot below, some of the poor tracks have been cut and muted.

microphones

There are two different types of microphone, these are dynamic and condensor. Each type is used for different things. Dynamics are used on instruments that create high sound pressure levels, such as drum kits or guitar/bass amps. They are heavy duty, not very sensitive which is great for live performances as this avoids feedback. Condensors on the other hand are much more sensitive. They are very fragile and can be easily broken if dropped or the instrument that is being recorded is too loud. They are great for recording detailed intimate instruments, such as vocals, pianos, strings and woodwinds. With regards to set up, they are both the same, except condensers need powering with 48v (phantom power) in order to work. This can be done on a mixing desk, or at college inside of Logic or the Apogee software, which is synced with Logic. All microphones have a frequency response curve. According to this website, www.teachmeaudio.com/recording/microphones/responses-measurements, This is a graphical representation of how a micriphone will respond in the audio spectrum, so subsequently how it will affect the signal's timbre. This is important to look at when deciding which micriphone to use. For example:

Here is how I made the bass synth patch inside of Serum for this song. For more definitions on key words and the differtn parts of Serum please see my Project 4 blog.