81 replies to this topic

[SonicMayhem]

Hey I am coming up on winter break of school an am wondering if anyone would like to try to make a song. I don't have anything in mind I think it would be a good exercise since everyone's style is different and it could end up with possible greatness (or epic failure.). But it should be fun if anyone is up for it.

[brandonwinmill]

Hey I am coming up on winter break of school an am wondering if anyone would like to try to make a song. I don't have anything in mind I think it would be a good exercise since everyone's style is different and it could end up with possible greatness (or epic failure.). But it should be fun if anyone is up for it.

I am always up for a challenge. Let's talk about it, it may be fun. Decide how you want to start, you know, if you have a lick or rhythm let's do it. I'm a decent lyric writer but not a singer. I have a few projects that i have started that are usable. The hardest part is the starting point. it will come right together from there. I am not afraid of epic failure. I am afraid of epic greatness! (and snakes)
If you would like me, i'm in.

[SonicMayhem]

I don't necessarily have any riffs or anything. I have a bunch recorded I can sort through or if you have something we could use it. The hardest part is going to be maintaining a solid time. I am not a drummer but i have some drum plug ins for Pro Tools and a trusty SR-16. I am not a singer but I can do guitar, bass, keyboards and some programming of drums and various sounds. I figure we can email files back and forth as MP3s. Do you have any recording equipment and what kind?

[brandonwinmill]

I don't necessarily have any riffs or anything. I have a bunch recorded I can sort through or if you have something we could use it. The hardest part is going to be maintaining a solid time. I am not a drummer but i have some drum plug ins for Pro Tools and a trusty SR-16. I am not a singer but I can do guitar, bass, keyboards and some programming of drums and various sounds. I figure we can email files back and forth as MP3s. Do you have any recording equipment and what kind?

I have some software, i have a zoom usb c5.1 that i hate, i'll take a picture of it when i get a second. I have cubase and audacity but i'm not too good with either. My iphone is what i have been using to record lately. i have 4 track and beatmaker. I have some 3 gigs of drum samples, it's bass that i'm struggling with. I was using a whammy to play bass parts and then i bought a morpheus droptune and tried to play bass parts with it but i guess playing through guitar amps it sounds terrible. I'm going to have to maybe get a cab with bigger speakers. As far as gear goes, i have a jag hh, telecaster standard, squier strat hss with red lace sensors, stock fat strat, gibson les paul bfg, and i have a static x signature prototype given to me by wayne static and used on 4 static x albums. It's a bassy nu metal monster with one duncan sh 6 which is a bit more agressive than the duncan custom sh-5. It's a heavy sounding guitar and with the hipshot on the low e i can get some very recordable sounds drop d down 1 or 2 steps. My acoustic is a takimine. Amp wise i have a old mesa boogie subway rocket and a vox ac-4 as well as a few little solid states. I guess we should decide on a genre, and maybe bpm or a basic structure and then let it rip. I have several riffs already recorded, i just want a general direction and see if i have something that will work. I listen to most everything, and lately i have been digging dax riggs and the simplicity of his writings. I am not attached to a genre though. I'm down for whatever and i think this could be fun. I'm going to run and grab a video for my favorite dax song right now and post it under here in a minute. This was the direction i was heading lately, kind of a spooky new orleans haunted blues indie sound. I really like the lick at the beginning, but i'm good with anything. I want to test my flexibility.

[brandonwinmill]

They are unreal live btw. My favorite vocalist ever period. Listen to the little lick in the beginning, i love it, bluesy and simple but dax's simplicity works well over julians skill. And the vocals, well, as henry rollins said, it ain't better anywhere. The lick is very clear at the end also. I think this can be done in a rather short amount of time. You can't find a guy like this to sing it but the music is not complicated.

[LeftyInNeedTypical]

I'm up for it! I have like 2 million licks and rhythms I just wrote, including some jazzy stuff, I can do anything from grunge to jazz as far as flexibility, even though I dont like jazz

[brandonwinmill]

Kris, did you watch that video i put there? I'm just wondering. I've been watching him since we were both in high school and he has become a bit famous. He has an enormous cult following because he has been in so many bands in several genres. What i wanted you to see was what he brings to vocals. His passion is amazing. He plays all over the country, nearly every night and somehow he always brings it the same. I was watching videos from all over the country and every one of them the crowd was singing with him. I'm proud of him. I'm going to get some better videos later where you can feel it more. At 14 years old, bring that passion every time you pick up the instrument and everything else will come. Dax practices like that, intense, he puts his name on every note and tries his ass off. Thats what the beatles and nirvana and most of them have, passion. If you don't have it, that look in dax's eyes, move on and find another hobby. Every time you touch a guitar, it should feel like you can do what dax does with his voice. Practice like that and see how much better you get and much faster it comes. If you fake it, people can see it a mile away.

So ... let's write a song. You have a way to record kris? Pick a rhythm and a chord grouping that is not extremely complicated. Something i can hum (if that makes sense). Most beatles stuff you can hum or whistle the melody. Play it with a metronome set to a speed that you feel you can play as well as accents the "feel" of the song. We can speed it up a little or slow it down as needed. If it's not overly complicated, the chords can be moved to a different key to match the singer. If someone sings. Is this making sense? I have nothing against complicated, just not in the beginning. Get with sonicmayhem and see if you can agree on a genre or a song you both like. Anything to get started, i can help after you get started but ya'll shouldn't need me too much. I'm not that good anyways. If it's good more people will probably help. You have an advantage being young. Musicians like helping younger ones. Go through your riffs and rhythms and get some good ones. Don't worry too much about solo's and accents, we can pull that out of the chords. You can pull some notes out of a pentatonic scale (or any scale) to fit with the overall melody or mimic the vocals, or just hit random notes, it's experimenting. Nail down a sound ya'll agree with and this will be a great learning experience. I'll be around to help or whatever is needed, but, there are some amazingly talented guitarist and songwriters on this board, so give it your best effort.

[SonicMayhem]

Sounds Good to me. I am not concerned about genre I am looking to expand my horizon with this experiment. I think the one thing is who ever is involved needs to be open to other people taking the song in a different direction. Maybe it leaves one person as a grunge guitar riff then someone puts a rap beat to or a funk bass line. Kinda like making a quilt out of different pieces of fabric and just making them work.

[SonicMayhem]

Kris, what format can you record to?

[LeftyInNeedTypical]

Kris, what format can you record to?

MP3's with Audacity and I have quite a lot of passion Brandon, and I understood what you said, I have a metronome and I perfer to keep things simple cause I think that its not how many notes you can hit in a minute, but the good notes you can put together in a minute.

[brandonwinmill]

That's hilarious, let's do it. I got nothing to lose.

[LeftyInNeedTypical]

I really don't like a lot of music, but that Fricken rocked! Man, his vocals are killer!!!!!! And I like the guitarist too! A lefty like me!

[brandonwinmill]

MP3's with Audacity and I have quite a lot of passion Brandon, and I understood what you said, I have a metronome and I perfer to keep things simple cause I think that its not how many notes you can hit in a minute, but the good notes you can put together in a minute.

I wasn't challenging you, that is what it takes. I'm going to get some videos to show you what i mean. I have one that you can hear dax's voice well but the first minute is an introduction of the band. I saw him the following weekend. He covers heartbreak hotel. It is his interpretation. Not that elvis didn't play and sing with passion, but the interpretation is that the song may mean more to him than elvis. I love elvis though. So does dax. What confuses us is that the song was written about a suicide. I guess elvis was able to spin it happy and this version he is trying to catch more of the spirit of the way the songwritter originally wrote it. Passion can't be taught. How Julian (guitarist) gets the same feedback night after night is crazy. Ok check this one, you got to give it past the first minute.
Do we have a starting point? I need a few samples kris if you want me to help you choose where we should begin. Or sonic, do you have a beat in mind? I can write something easy over it and we can work out a melody. I like the idea of brainstorming and bouncing ideas without changing the original. It's like gumbo. I'm thinking all we need to agree on is the core. Think of it like we are all gonna paint a picture without seeing each others. We need a backdrop, but nothing too colorful. Then we do our thing and throw it in a blender, do some tweaking and birth a frankenstein. I can't wait until my daughter is a little older, this is right up her ally.

here's the video. the tone at 1:14 - 1:22 is killer. His voice gives me chills.


no one is probably reading this anyways so while i'm posting that one i have to post this one. The song starts at :17 seconds. I think this was 2002, i can't remember. He loves the beatles and meant no disrespect. They had a version of dax singing this closer to 90 thousand hits but it's gone. Give him a chance.

[brandonwinmill]

You liked it? thanks. He appreciates the little things. I will get you tickets to see him the next time he is near you if your parents allow you. I won't be there but i will make it happen.
I will stay focused now on this project. Think about it tonight and listen to a variety of songs. don't stay in one genre. Pull maybe a beat out of a certain song and think of a guitar or bass part that may work but isn't obvious. The metronome will help and i have some stuff i programmed when i was trying the pitch shift function on beatmaker. We need a driving heavy beat to make it work since the music will be a little all over the place. If the timing is good you'd be surprised. I have some friends who play accordion in cajun bands and i'm trying to get one to write something to start with. No luck yet. That would be trippy though. I love spoons and accordion, mixed with the right beat and some heavy guitars, killer.

[LeftyInNeedTypical]

You liked it? thanks. He appreciates the little things. I will get you tickets to see him the next time he is near you if your parents allow you. I won't be there but i will make it happen.
I will stay focused now on this project. Think about it tonight and listen to a variety of songs. don't stay in one genre. Pull maybe a beat out of a certain song and think of a guitar or bass part that may work but isn't obvious. The metronome will help and i have some stuff i programmed when i was trying the pitch shift function on beatmaker. We need a driving heavy beat to make it work since the music will be a little all over the place. If the timing is good you'd be surprised. I have some friends who play accordion in cajun bands and i'm trying to get one to write something to start with. No luck yet. That would be trippy though. I love spoons and accordion, mixed with the right beat and some heavy guitars, killer.

Well I got some good stuff, could be better, but I'm missing my high e string, so I'm making do. I'll post it later. I'm just going to put down a little beat.

[SonicMayhem]

when you get a riff ready please let everyone know the BPM and time signature. It will help when I start building it in pro tools. or if you want to you can give me a BPM and Time Sig and I can email you a very basic drum track that is like 5 min long to keep time to when you record (this works better for me than a metronome when I record.)

[feedbackismyfriend]

good form look forward to hearing it guys

[brandonwinmill]

Didn't plan on being this busy. I'm taking customers hunting as well as trying to take care of family stuff. Where are we at with this? We can't just each play a part and throw it together. We do need some common denominators. If one of you has a rhythm, if you could post the chords and the approximate bpm, we can go from there. Or i could put a basic piece up and you guys could improvise over it. I'm not too worried about smashing it all together, we could use breakdowns and grooves to blend, or we can interlude to the next part if the timing is close. I can make it work somehow. I'll be in and out. You can email me a basic drum track if you want. I'm saying roughly between 70 and 90 bpm shouldn't be too tough. If you can send it in full beats, not triplets and not a weird time sig. 4/4 between 70 and 90 and we can add drum changes or cut the beats into pieces once we get past the rhythm part. What do you mean you are missing your e string? In a keith richards way or in a i broke the e string way? That string is important to me because i like the way octaves sound so i need it but throw a new e on there.

[LeftyInNeedTypical]

Well I got a new guitar today, an Epiphone SG ( ) but I'm having trouble with Audacity, someone else should put down our basic tracks while I try to fix this.

[brandonwinmill]

Well I got a new guitar today, an Epiphone SG ( ) but I'm having trouble with Audacity, someone else should put down our basic tracks while I try to fix this.

Congrats on the new guitar. I'll put together a basic drum track. That will take me about 20 minutes. I can then put a fancier track with fills and other percussive type stuff. That will take about 45 minutes. You can use the first one as a click or metronome and the second will be better to try and work out a melody. I'll probably send both at same time. I got some work to catch up on first and then i'll have it by close of business today. We can pick it apart after ya'll listen a few times.

Can you record your guitar kris? It won't be fun if i do it alone. I do this by myself all the time and i'm gonna hate it after it's done if i'm doing it alone. I can play some rhythm stuff first if you need time. I already know i can do this, the tempting part for me is collaborating. I enjoy hearing other artists ideas and music. Let me know if you want to wait so i don't get way into this and realize i'm alone. Maybe someone can help you with audacity.

The drum part in my head is simple and similar to hardest button to button. That to me is all we need esp. at beginning. I'll grab the video for the song if you don't know it. Don't fade on me guys. I'm looking forward to this. If we have to i'll do majority of it, i want to hear what you would do at certain points. Listen to the drums in the video and this is a good example at tension. When the cymbals come in it is a perfect time. I need your head to be bobbing with the drums and then we can move on to next part. I can't listen to this song without almost dancing. I like the pounding bass drum, it drives the song. Perfect in a minimalist way.
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