Project 3 - Automation Clips

When I first started this track, I wanted to utilize the automation clip to build into the song. I did this not by volume, but by a frequency filter on the Harmless plug-in. I started so that the higher frequencies were no present and slowly swept them in by adding more highs to the synth which also caused a volume boost. One the intro was at it pinnacle, I added the drums and bass to ground the song and allow the rest of the piece to unfold. The background "rhythm" synth also uses automation clips to fade in but also on the cutoff frequency to add a cool sweeping effect and make it more interesting. The lead synth on top is just to add some flavor and melody to the piece. The bridge changes feel for a little while with more of a staggering feel which is greatly aided by my bass pattern that I wrote out. For the end, I drop the bass and and rhythem and fade out the lead synth and the drums using an automation clip of the master volume.


 

Project 2 - Chop Tool

Honestly I had no clue where to start on the project so I opened up a random synth (PoiZone) and started playing with the presets and I found a really cool sound that I liked. I started by just entering a long, four bar C note which was alright but then I used the chop tool and things got more interesting. I went into the preset chop patterns and I tried a few and the one that sounded the coolest was "Trance (slide)". After I was satisfied with the pattern I copied it into a total of 5 patterns and used the transpose tool to change the notes. The pattern  for the 'A' section is C for 4 bars, A for 4 bars, G for 4 bars, E for 2 bars, and F for 2 bars. I then replicated this in the bass track which was created using the SimSynth plug in on the "BassDeepSaw" preset which I liked because it was thick, clean, and airy. I then mapped out a complementing pattern and did the same transposing technique that I did to the synth. The drums are pretty basic because I didn't want the track to be too busy since the synth has a lot going on. For the bridge I just made my own pattern and transposed it from a C to B. This pattern repeats as the drums enter with kind of a "build up" feel although it's not as long or as powerful as an actual build would normally be.Also for the bridge I added spaces in between the synth and filled it with bass for a cool effect. It then repeats the first pattern and ends with just the 'C' note chop pattern and I take out the drums for the very last moments of the piece to signal an end.

Project 1 - Drum Loop

 After just coming from Jazz band the period before, I ventured into music tech with the famous jazz standard "Sunny" in my head. I then began to craft my drum loop and the first beat has the inspiration of "Sunny" with a more funked over feel. At first the closed hi-hat was too overpowering so I turned it down a bit to blend in a little more. Also, the open high hat that you hear on beat 1 was put in to add a little "pop" to the beat and the duration was too long but I was able to edit the sample file to shorten the duration of that hat.

For the fill I wanted something fairly simple with just some tom hits and then two snare hits which I doubled up for a bigger sound to signal in beat 2. This beat was to similar at first so I decided to add a ride cymbal in for some tonal variation and I also added a tom hit right after the first snare add some more of that "pop" I was after. For the end I just filled in two beats of beat 2 and added a light crash so the ending didn't sound too random or cut off. Enjoy!