dance notes
Form Object
Produced by: Madmusik
46 Devonshire Road
Bath, BA2 6UD. +44 (0)1225 313082
46 Devonshire Road
Bath, BA2 6UD. +44 (0)1225 313082
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1:59; driving 4/4; rocky, energetic, jagged; piano, guitars, drums, bass, hammond
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Composer's Blog
This was a bit of a tussle, as I fell out with the (virtual) drummer! Being a drummer myself, I’ve really no excuse for not going and doing it myself but you know how it is when you’ve set your sights on doing something a certain way. In the end, I think what he (or she) played grooves nicely but (s)he insisted on playing against the phrase. I was using software called ‘Session Drummer’, which is fun to use and almost very clever. The problem comes when you want to write something in 4 that has odd bars of 2 thrown in: the software ignores that and ploughs on regardless. However, it did provide the foundation on which the piece was built after I had the initial piano phrase.
Apart from that, I’ve used my characteristic major/minor ambiguity, using a bass pedal that’s echoed in the guitars but with some parts stepping chromatically around the pedal tone. I liked the insistent 4-to-a-bar pedal in the original piano phrase and used this as well in the bass and guitars. Then as the piece progresses, I brought in some more sustained sounds with the organ and then one of the guitar parts playing long pedal notes. It was interesting to shift the emphasis between instruments, so that sometimes the bass will move with the melody line and at others the guitars etc.
Download Track
Subscribe
Composer's Blog
This was a bit of a tussle, as I fell out with the (virtual) drummer! Being a drummer myself, I’ve really no excuse for not going and doing it myself but you know how it is when you’ve set your sights on doing something a certain way. In the end, I think what he (or she) played grooves nicely but (s)he insisted on playing against the phrase. I was using software called ‘Session Drummer’, which is fun to use and almost very clever. The problem comes when you want to write something in 4 that has odd bars of 2 thrown in: the software ignores that and ploughs on regardless. However, it did provide the foundation on which the piece was built after I had the initial piano phrase.
Apart from that, I’ve used my characteristic major/minor ambiguity, using a bass pedal that’s echoed in the guitars but with some parts stepping chromatically around the pedal tone. I liked the insistent 4-to-a-bar pedal in the original piano phrase and used this as well in the bass and guitars. Then as the piece progresses, I brought in some more sustained sounds with the organ and then one of the guitar parts playing long pedal notes. It was interesting to shift the emphasis between instruments, so that sometimes the bass will move with the melody line and at others the guitars etc.