Dad3353

It's not theory that creates music; it's music that creates theory. There is not one theory, but one theory for every style of music. Theory (tries to...) explain (or justify...) that which is played, but firstly it has to be played. Gregorian chant has its theory. Dixieland jazz has its theory. Romantic orchestral has its theory. Satie has its theory. Elvis has its theory. They can be mixed and matched (or not...), but contain different 'codes' and explanations as to why things sound the way they do, and how to create such-and-such an effect. One cannot compose Beethovenien symphonies using Bebop. One cannot create Bebop using Beethoven. All is good, and one may, if one chooses, ignore them all and create a new 'code'.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1475787225' post='3148842'] Thanks everybody... [/quote] What..? Are you still here..? Get yourself over to the Recording section immediately..! ([i]Non, mais..! Quelle toupée..! Harrumph..![/i])

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1475774606' post='3148704'] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][color=#282828]EDM (it took me a while to know what that even stands for...),..[/color][/font] [/quote] Your Mac is well up in the high end of the range; no problems there. Don't forget to back stuff up from time to time, of course (weekly..?). And yes, sorry; Electronic Dance Music (OK, a bit late...). One advantage with duff ears is that there's no point going overboard with uber-expensive headphones and monitors. Not rubbish either, of course, but those last tinkling decibels in the ultrasonic are entirely wasted on an old fogey such as I, at any rate. Robust, well-rated, semi-pro gear rather than next week's fashion is slightly less expensive, and leaves a bit more cash for decent Vst instruments or mixing tools. Not that one needs that much, I find. A decent EQ, a modest compressor, an airy delay and reverb and most bases are covered. There's an excellent site, I might add, which makes available a whole host of raw 'stems' (the individual tracks that compose a song...) to download and mix for oneself, and even compare with other mixes. A good 'parallel' exercise to one's own efforts, to try things out, hear how others do things and generally get used to manipulating one's equipment and software. It's free, and much fun. The bloke that runs it is a splendid fellow, who answers queries, too, even my 'noobie' ones... [url="http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm"]Mike Senior 'Mixing Secrets'...[/url] One last word of advice... Don't do as I did, and download/install a whole slurry of Vst stuff, just because they're free (and very good, mostly...). It's a disease not recognised by the medical profession, and difficult to cure once it's taken hold. I'm slowly recovering, but still have well over 100 plugins that I've not even had any time to listen to, let alone master, and have since learned that 'less is more', at least for the first 40 years or so. You have been amply warned (but I fully expect you'll be treading the same rocky road as all of us once the bug's bite takes hold...). In any case, have fun.

Is it not normal practice to incorporate some sort of penalty clause into such orders/contracts..? A 1% discount for every week overdue, or similar..? If not, why not..?

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1475754957' post='3148468']...this could be my new hobby in my "old git" years. [/quote] [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1475757745' post='3148501'] Do it! Do it! Do it! ... [/quote] Don't listen to those siren calls..! That way, madness lies. How do I know this..? Don't ask..! On a more positive note (maybe..?), be aware, if not already, that one's hearing in later years is seldom as pristine as early youth, and much worse than one would hope for. This makes music production and mixing especially difficult. Is there hope..? Yes, but some self-criticism becomes rather important. My trick (for what it's worth...) is to compare my stuff with other, commercial, renderings, to judge (badly...) whether I've got too much bass or treble in there. After a long career in drumming, and rock generally, plus advancing years, my ears are, to use a technical term, 'shot'. I therefore am basically mixing 'blind' most of the time. I'll make an adjustment of, say, 6db, so that I hear the difference, then apply half of that. My general 'rule of thumb' is that, if I can hear it, it's too much. It can be frustrating at times, so I very seldom go in for 'micro-management', and trust my first instincts rather better than long hours of listening to inaudible (to me...) details. Broad stroke of the brush, in other words. I'm also spoilt, in that my tastes are rather 'old-school', even classical, and I'm not at all at ease with modern EDM (it took me a while to know what that even stands for...). Trombones; now there's an instrument I can hear and deal with. None of this oscilloscope whistling or arp synth sweeps for me (well, all right; just a little, then...). No 'big beat' thump thump thump either. Timpani, that's the stuff, or, at least, a rock beat.Pshaw..! The joys of becoming 'senior' is that I can be grumpy and folks find it normal. No, best, after all, to see about crossword puzzles, or whittling, putting ships into bottles or growing dahlias. S'not for the old, this malarkey. How do I know this..? Don't ask... ([i]Now then, where's my Digestives..? I had a packet, there were some left. Darn it..! On the table, so I'll have to leave my armchair..! Nurse..! Nurse..?[/i] ...)

+1 for the above, put more succinctly than I would have done. The stuff about chord tones is the one, especially in the more 'jazz' styles. What to do..? Get some tracks that you like, in the style you're working on, and listen to them, then transcribe them. The way the bass is adding to the overall music should become evident, over time. Practise scales etc if you want, but I wouldn't advise trying to apply scales to music in such a mathematical way; that's not what it's about. Listening, feeling the root and the melody, helping it all along both rhythmically and harmonically... Leave shapes alone, too. Your ears, in time, will guide your fingers, not the shapes. Just my tuppence-worth; hope it helps.

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Duly noted and passed on to Higher Authority. Cheers.

To this, perhaps..? [b]You will be charged, for items over £50, £7 per item, or £20 for unlimited items for a year.[/b] I'll pass the message on ...

No, it's because I've just posted a bagful of magic influence. No need to thank me; I should have done it sooner. T'Interweb needs a healthy dose of magic to run smoothly. I tried prayer, but find it much less effective than magic. 25 lb sledges help, too, especially with Macs. Glas it's fixed, anyhow; well done.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1475492758' post='3146295']...what am I doing wrong? [/quote] I don't know what's wrong, but here's a couple of screen shots showing how I just did this. What are you doing that's different..? [spoiler] [/spoiler] Are you using a PC, a Mac or (Horror... Shock...) a 'phone..? Maybe the cause is there..?

It's maybe appropriate that I should be using Reaper for this. Here's the result... [url="https://soundcloud.com/dad3353/dance-to-the-devils-cord"]Dance To The Devil's Cord ...[/url] Enjoy.

I'm struggling to get my teeth into this. Never mind; chin up and crack on, eh..?

Just do a rough skeleton; you can flesh it out later.

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Whatever; as long as the bass drum marks the 'One...', all sorts of permutations/interpretations/versions will work. I count in "1-2-3.." and play the snare on '4&', then kick off with the bass drum. Just so you all know, next time we play together. That's what I do. Bass drum on the 'One...'. I do that from the start, and don't change. Now you know. Of course, if no-one is listening to the drums, it's irrelevant, I suppose.

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1475329248' post='3145094'] Aaaah, good...this is what I deduced. Not that that helps the drummer tho ! [/quote] The only thing the drummer has to ensure is that there's a hefty 'One...' from the bass drum (there's a stylistic exception in Bar 4, but that could be ignored...) right from the start. The snare fore-beat is good for accuracy, but could, equally, be skipped if it causes problems. It's the bass drum that needs to be on the beat, however.

There's a way of justifying just about any note played, by explaining patiently that it's a contrapuntal inversion using the Lydian mode derived from the Minor of the flattened 13th. Those that [i]don't [/i]know will be impressed; those that [i]do [/i]know will nod wisely, as they've been doing the same for years, and don't want the bubble to burst. Get stuck in, enjoy the pain and grow. Grow fast. We all know what the best fertiliser for growth is, don't we..?

For the count-in, it's 'One, Two Three Four and...', all come in on the 'Four and...'. The 'problem' is in the drums, of course, as there's a switch of emphasis early on. During the opening guitar solo riff, the drums are playing the snare on the fore-beat, except for the very first 'One...', which is bass drum. Once the vocals come in, they revert to the 'normal' back-beat. There are no hidden bars, nor 'slippage', it's only the drums that need to worry about the timing, as the bass, guitars and vocals are all keeping the same emphasis throughout, starting on the 'Four and...'. Here's a drum score, if it helps (Download and save as 'All_Alon_The_Watc_Hend_Drum.pdf'...) ... [attachment=229057:All_Alon_The_Watc_Hend_Drum.pdf]

In 2016, mono mixing is still [i]de rigueur[/i] in the best studios, as a test of balance between the instruments, and across the frequency spectrum. The releases are in stereo (mostly...), but they've been checked out to sound 'top notch' in mono, first.

Actually, it's quite the opposite; I've not been able to sleep for quite too long now..! Tired..? You betcha..! Excellent stuff from all again, of course, with wide interpretations on the twin subjects. Thanks to all who voted for my contribution, and thanks to all who voted for the others. Onward and upwards. ... ... Where's October(s picture then, eh..? Eh..? Where is it..?

[size=4][color="#222222"][font="Arial, sans-serif"]And the winner is... Mornats..! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167486] Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ...[/font][/color] [attachment=229018:BC_Comp_Cert_2016_09.pdf] [color="#222222"][font="Arial, sans-serif"]... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)... [/font][/color][/size]

I started (trying...) to learn the guitar , with the Mickey Baker book (look it up..?), then switched to playing the bass lines (still on the guitar...), listening to Jack Casady and Phil Lesh.until I bought a Vox bass. I then switched to drums. Cause & effect, maybe..? Maybe. I'd already 'taught' myself some music theory on the school piano, working out the intervals and keys, re-inventing the wheel. It served me well, though.