[Death Funk] Agitated Person (mp3) experimental bass & s

[nads20489]

This began as an experiment of odd drum rhythms and of dynamic usage of the damping parameter of my Slayer 2 guitar VSTi to make it sound like some guy really shredding it up.

I think it is in something like 33/16 time, at least part of it. The rest is in 4/4.

Like many of my previous "songs," it is not finished. I quickly ran out of ideas for where to go with this medley, so...WARNING: this ends rather abruptly.


http://download.modplug.com/index.php?action=downloads&id=1992

[Sam_Zen]

Indeed not finished. This is just a setup for something.

[Nahkranoth]

It's always interesting to hear something from you, even though it's unfinished. I'd try to continue with some kind of "wall of sound" drumming and see where it could lead.

[nads20489]

Nahkranoth:
It's funny you mention the "wall of sound," because I determined that was what most of my tunes evolved into. They started with one instrument, predictably added a drum beat on top, then continued to add one instrument or layer after another until it became what I considered an impressive wall of sound, but as Sam_Zen has pointed out, it was built far too much on structure.
My tunes are rarely expressive or dynamic, but I'm really trying to break that barrier so I can improve as a musician.  Right now I am also working on some trance, some acoustic guitar, and some classical-sounding music, which I used to compose mostly, all as an attempt to break my rut in the more "metal" genres. I am not going to release them until they are done but it's sooo difficult for me to continue a piece of music after I have built that sound I heard in my head and even run with it for a little bit.

Sam_Zen:
I understand an unfinished piece of music does not deserve an elaborate response, but I would appreciate if you could help me in the area we have discussed before. I have this terrible problem with not being able to follow through with my songs. Do you have some sort of advice? I really would like to be able to finish songs I start without running out of creativity or motivation.


Does anyone have any comments on the bass guitar in this tune? I was working with the VSTi to try to make the most realistic bass guitar shredding I could.
Also, do the drums sound more funky or more awkward?

[CrazyAznGamer]

hi. I'm not Sam Zen, but I've some experience in these things.
Starting out, it's fairly easy to just add layers of sound. And I'm not debunking that approach, as it is a perfectly valid way to make music. But you don't always have to leave it at that: a wall. Tearing things down is a part of composition too. Subtractive composition can be very effective, sort of like making a sculpture. Cut out the excess in a song to produce art, or something.
Just one way of looking at things.

Drums = funky-syncopated, methinks. I'm more-or-less accustomed to more syncopated drum patterns, so take that with a grain of salt. The bass is fine too.

The 33/16 sounds too much like sets of 2 beats with an unnatural pause at the end: I would perhaps split it off into more unorthodox sections like a compound 13/16-15/16-5/16 if you were going for something to throw listeners off with.

[Sam_Zen]

2 nads20489
Hmm, sorry, I was a bit short in my response, was busy with other things at that moment.
I agree with CrazyAznGamer. One can build up a wall, and then tear it down to a level where it's still useful.
With electronics one can explore a huge lot of possibilities, so the process often demands not so much adding things, but more to disable options, that doesn't matter much for the same basic expression.

Starting songs is not much of a problem. Then if it's there, it's often a question how to finish it.
Especially if the piece consists of an electronic structure rather than the classical theme/chorus/theme format.

The most obvious choice is of course to repeat something with using a fade-out.
Quite predictable, but this is a matter of applying a technique as a choice to make the song having a form.
Other techniques can be chosen as well.
In classical pop-music it's boring common to transpose and repeat the last refrain some note higher.
Electronically, more is possible of course. Making a twist in sound, frequency, closing with a huge reverb, etc.

[Nahkranoth]

Nads, when I was talking about "wall of sound" i meant drums only. Like those crazy blast beats in black and death metal. Never used them myself though.
Guitars: Not sure if the sound of your guitar has changed, but I like it a lot.
And about basses: I tried hard to make them sound convincing in Slayer and I failed. I will try again some time, sure it's possible, I'm just missed the right knob In your case it sounds kinda 'watery', maybe you will be the first to find THAT sound  :wink:

[bvanoudtshoorn]

Nice work here, Nads. My only criticisms (apart from its length) would be that the panning could be more interesting, and the bass could have a bit more presence (but that might just be these dodgy earphones...) I'd like to see where you would take this...