Final Project Description

           When I first started with the drums and rhythm, I wanted something a little slow, something you can get lost in. With the harmony on the first 16 I used a lot of different combinations of chords within the key of Em. Every 2 or 3 bars had 3-5 chords in it. It may seem like a lot, but it fits the beat. For the second 16 bars I slowed down the chords, playing only 1 or 2 chords each bar to get a different vibe from the first 16. Overall, the type of vibe I was going for was a chill, calm, relaxing vibe, and I think all elements used came together well to get the job done.

            The meter I used in this beat was 4/4 and the tempo was 53 bpm. I tried to keep the drums simple having the snare play at the 2 and/or 4 every bar switching it slightly every 4 bars adding an extra snare to the and or uh of the 4. The kick drum switches slightly every bar but stays consistent throughout the beat. I used the same Kick, Snare, and HiHat’s from my first 16 on my second 16. Even though I used the same drums in both 16s the bass was different. This is because the bass not only has to fit with the rhythm but also the harmony and melody. In the first 16 my bass follows the harmony, but it fits in with the rhythm as well. The second 16 fits better with my rhythm, while also complimenting the harmony and melody.

            The key I used to create this track was Em. I stood in the key of Em for both 16 bar parts. In the first 16 bars I had many chords playing throughout the harmony. I used 5 chords in 1 bar for bars 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16. These 5 chords are D F#dim G C Em. For bar 10 I used 7 chords, D C G F#dim G C E. The rest of the bars within the first 16 I played 3-4 chords in each. In the second 16 I wanted to make the chords simpler to switch the vibe, so I only played 1-2 chords every bar except for bars 26, 27, and 28 where I played 3 chords. This is the chords I used in the second 16  G   F#dim   D   Em   G   F#dim  Am  D   E   Em  Am   Em  C  G   Em  C  G   Em  C  G   G   F#dim  Am   D   Em. With the melody I tried to use the same keys in the chords of the harmony occasionally switching up some keys, that are not in the chord used but still in the key of Em, every now and then. This made the melody fit beautifully with the harmony. The sound I chose for the melody was a lead synthesizer analog funk sound. As for my harmony I used a classic pad sound from a synthesizer as well.

               Furthermore, I made my own pad with the ES P plugin to make the track fuller fitting in well with both the harmony and melody. For the second 16 bars I stacked an original pluck sample I made with the ES P plugin as well. For the Pad I didn’t have to put any dynamic processors or time-based effects because it sounded well with the sounds I had already. As for the Plucked sounds I had to put an EQ, Compressor, Chorus, and Delay to get the sound I was looking for. For my recorded audio I took a pack of dry mac and cheese and shook it to make a shaker kind of sound. The tone was too deep from the raw recording but when I put an EQ cutting the lows followed by a noise gate compressor reverb and chorus, I shaped it into the sound I was looking for.

               Channel EQ was used on Kick, Snare, HiHat’s, Harmony, Melody, Original Pluck Melody Stack, Original Sample Pad Stack, and Recorded Audio. I used the channel EQ to make these tracks sound tighter as well as boosting frequencies to shape the sound I wanted especially with the Original Sample Pad Stack and Recorded Audio tracks. Compressor was used on Kick, Snare, HiHat’s, Melody, Original Sample Pad Stack, and Recorded Audio. I used the compressor to balance the sound on the tracks just in case some notes were higher than others and, on some tracks, it was used to raise the volume. For my time-based effects I used Reverb on my Kick, HiHat’s, Original Pluck Melody Stack, Original Sample Pad Stack, and Recorded Audio tracks. The reverb made everything sound more wet and gives the sound more atmosphere. I used Delay on my Snare and Original Sample Pad Stack making them echo giving the beat a bounce. And I used Chorus on my Bass, Original Sample Pad Stack and Recorded Audio tracks Making each of those track’s sound fuller. Lastly, I lowered the volume to all of my tracks making them balance around -6 db - -4 db leaving a little room for mastering.