Giggity. The file you want to double click is called ~Metal Piano~.pat. I finally made a Mac compatible version, and it still doesn't run as well as it does on PC. I think the Mac edition is more like a 'Metal Piano Lite'. If you own a Mac, you should be use to getting inferior version of software.
~Patch (MAC) 3.4MB~
~Patch (PC) 3.9MB~
As most of you already know, I've had a wonderful time trying to get musicians to participate in a recording. I would have preferred for them to say "No" so I could find someone else, however that wasn't to be. Yet, I managed to record a rock band a couple of days ago (uhh, yesterday and the day before) and the results were quite satisfactory. The band, "Mytosis", consisted of a drummer, 2 guitarists, bassist and singer. Their style is similar to 90's rock/grunge, and most of their influences come from this period.
For their first song, "Psycho Bitch"
On the drumkit I used all the cliched mics, namely the Shure drumkit mics, a pair of Yamaha MZ-204s on the snare plus a couple of Neumann KM84i's for overheads. For the guitars I tried to give each one a distinctive sound, so I opted for SM57 and SM58 on one, and Beta57 and Beta58 on the other. Initially the SM57 recording sounded incredibly dull, however after applying time offset to one of the mics it really brought it to life.
Okay, I've tried, but I can't make it. I've been awake for 32 hours and I can't focus on the screen anymore, so I'll have to write these later.
Here are the mastered tracks.
Ripples 6.04MB
Psycho Bitch 3.94MB
UPDATE
Those links won't work, as I have deleted the files and replaced them with a more recent master (made after 13 hours sleep). File sizes are as above.
Psycho Bitch
Ripples
In a nutshell, I'll be making a tonally pleasant music generator. As a part of my preproduction I created a prototype for my idea (or the prototype created the idea) which uses my AutoPlay patch from Term 1, and incorporates a probability chord generator (or "KORD GenR8R", where KORD stands for "Killmatic Oblivion Radiation Deathmaker). This works, for example, by playing a I chord, which then uses a probability table to decide what chord to go to, and depending on probability strength plays either a V,vii,IV,ii or vi (being strongest to weakest). Thus the chosen chord then goes through the same process, eg. a vii chord will either go to a iii or back to I. I selected these probabilities using a theory hand-out from last year of a 'chord gravity' chart. It had a tonic in the centre, with all the other chords orbiting around it at different distances. The closer each chord was, the stronger the pull was to one another. To spice things up I also added an arpeggiator for the chords, which sounds almost deliriously happy. Here is an example of the prototype KORD GenR8R+AutoPlayer in motion. ~MP3 371KB~
Here is a hypothetical monologue to illustrate my plans.
"Have I eaten today? Oh yeah, I went to Knoodle Junction. I should probably go home before it gets too cold outside, plus I have that stupid Primary School performance tomorrow. Okay, Max time. As the GenR8R plays each cadence, the chance of that cadence happening again falls. As other cadences are played, the chance of the cadence occurring increases. As time passes, the chance of a key change slowly increases, and each chord will have its own pivot direction(s) to a new key. The chance of a V chord pivoting to a new key is higher than that of a iii key, just because that's how Western harmony works. Who makes these rules? In any case, there is still a chance that iii could be the pivot chord, just slightly less. Perhaps there could be a user defined pivot... nah, too much work. Bang, change of key. The new key could be in Major or Minor, luckily my AutoPlay already caters for both. As keys change the strength of the tonic key gets stronger, and the music will end up back there at some point. There is a Sonata-style progression, with melodic ideas being introduced in the Exposition, then played around with in the development (with key changes) then gets pulled back to the tonic for the recapitulation. Rhythmic variation is fairly random. Accelerando and ritardandos are loosely linked to velocity, where a quicker melody produces somewhat louder notes. Loud notes may also play very slow parts, heightening the emotion. There is an end rather than an eternal generation, so the use of form, eg. Sonata, is wise. Melodically there is repetition of motifs, even user entered motifs (!) and some very emotional changes from slow notes to fast, or quick trills and sudden pauses. No Vinny, I'm busy! Okay, give me a listen. Oh that sounds awesome! I hope SuperCollider is as good as they are all saying. I wonder if I have any Jasmine..."
At which point I lose my train of thought.
The last weekly assignment for AA, and a nice way to round off the semester. I mastered the song excerpt "Getting Home" or whatever it's really called. I used a 4-band EQ to bring up the bass and some of the mid range, and a multi-band compressor to even out the mid range and make the high end more present. I also used 'Aural Exciter' for the first time, with seemed to bring out the snare quite a bit. My mix does sound different to the Edensound mix, but I wasn't actually trying to emulate it exactly anyway. The following files are a sample of the original unmastered mix, my master and a sample of the master from Edensound.
~Unmastered~
~My Master~
~Edensound Master~
This week of forum was student-presentation-free, with Stephen Whittington and David Harris presenting their first justification of next semesters forum (they've got it down to a fine art now). While I did enjoy last year's forum improvisations, I am grateful that there seems to be more structure to this year's incarnation. A topic was raised regarding the difference between improvisation and composition, and whether the two are synonymous or disparate, or something in between. As this relentless semester draws to a close, I've started to notice the sporadic academic waffling that occurs in University, which often dissolves into a waving of intellectual penises between those who have the most profound catchphrase at that particular moment. I have previously enjoyed such conversations, however with the horrific conglomeration of assignments and projects I have to do for every subject, the first-year veneer has peeled. I can now see the pointlessness of classes that encourage waxing lyrical for no positive educational outcome, or listening to others talking like intellectual prodigies about immaterial topics. Maybe I'm missing the point? Feel free to place me where I should be put.
On a lighter note, I did enjoy the Mr. Bungle that was played at the end of the class, in fact even one of the first year students made a highly cerebral and well argued comment, “It's dumb”. Welcome to University, give me your tired, your sick, your huddled masses of barely functioning brain cells.
Okay, that wasn't technically a lighter note.
Prototype KORD GenR8R