[ambient-ish rock] The Steel Gray.... (mp3 ogg)

[uncloned]

The Steel Gray of a Morning Without You


This is an improvisation on the Roland GR-20 + Fender Mustang with audio and midi recording - and then the addition of Albino, Kontakt asian flute and bassoon driven by the recorded midi track. The midi track lengths and durations were adjusted to control the entrance and exit of the voices. Written for a friend who lost his love.


Mp3

http://clones.soonlabel.com/mp3/daily20100117-gr-20-steel-gray-of.mp3

Ogg

http://clones.soonlabel.com/mp3/daily20100117-gr-20-steel-gray-of.ogg

[uncloned]

And even better - Alister added to the piece

now renamed Steel Gray Mourning

http://www.jeantoerica.com/GMO/SteelGray_ClonSter.mp3


I personally like it better.

[apple-joe]

I immediately reacted to the sound of the harpischord instrument in your other song. Similarly, I reacted to the sound of the instrument in this song's intro, but this time it was positive. There was a slight string backing for the intro (creating a more interesting mood already), which was not the case in the other song, but I'm still convinced that the sound of the instrument in this song is much more pleasant to the ear.

I have listened to the track four-five times in a row now, but I'm puzzled by some chords. Maybe there is an inversion or two that I can't identify, or I might simply be out of shape concerning recognizing chords. I hear the VI chord is used to some extent, but I'm trying to identify the second chord. The overall tonality is certainly minor. I think my gamble will be that the first movement is some form of i - v. It may sound a bit like i - VI or an inversion of the VI, but I still stick with i - v.

Very enjoyable song in general. Suitable, low-key strings, a characteristic main instrument that plays on as well as a melody instrument that kicks in after a while. I must be listening for the tenth time or so now, and I'm not tired. The song has a very calm, relaxed atmosphere that I find appealing. 00:41: Another instance of using a wide scope of tones. Quite low pitch for the main instrument, while a high pitch for the lead. Gives the impression of more room, making it easier to breathe.

[uncloned]

it would do me world of good to know which of the two versions you are talking about. Since you don't mention sound effects I assume the first... but I'm not sure.

[apple-joe]

daily20100117-gr-20-steel-gray-of.mp3

[uncloned]

ok, that one is entirely me - though Alister's version is an improvement in my mind.

Intro

E 5th B 5th / F# C 5th / G and then up to A 5th

up to this point the only hint at mode are the roots of the 5ths. No thirds are in the harmony. Also note the inversion of the "triad" EBE to EAE (bottom to top) - this is a particularly easy chord change on the bottom 3 strings of the guitar and adds some contrast and occasional avoidance of parallel 5ths.

Then you get to the A section

[E 5th to Cmaj 7th] (the g of the E minor is introduced in this section) then C  5th/G then A minor

The outro is just playing with a E pedal point.

I hesitate to assign i v IV to a progression like the opening progression because it implies a mode (minor) that... really isn't there at that point. I mean if you played Em Bm C it would have a similar but different meaning.

Part of the process that is going on here is the approach to the guitar. Instead of strumming chords, or hammering out riffs or leads, I'm playing my electric in a much more classical / finger picked folk way. The attempt is to bring interest less on the chord progression and more on the voice leading and melody of the individual lines / strings.

As to the sound.

There are several things going on.

1. Absynth pad almost all the way through.
2. Asian flute is the high melodic instrument at the intro of the C major 7th
3. Bassoon takes the pedal point to the conclusion.

I midi recorded my guitar and 1,2, and 3 were driven by that recording.

Most important though is 4
My mustang is there straight w/o effects and layered on top is my GR-20 acoustic string sound plus swelling strings. The "weirdness" there are unintentional tracking errors. I made the mistake of playing the GR-20 in "poly" mode and should have done it in "mono" mode which has less tendency to "slide" in pitch. In poly mode the GR-20 tries to do individual pitch bends for each string on 6 different midi channels. Useful but it can be touchy.

Is this the type of information you'd like to know apple-joe?

[uncloned]

and I can't stress enough

just because I can go back and decipher and explain what I did does not indicate I did this by some theoretical guideline - to be honest - the chord progression E5th B5th/F# C5th/G just sounded interesting and the rest just happened in the improvisation. The Em CMAJ7th chord couple that sounds like Welcome to the Machine was a total accident. But a happy one.

Sometimes the improvisation doesn't turn out so well....
and no one else ever hears it......

[apple-joe]

Yes, I like this kind of information, it provides for a better understanding.

I didn't even consider the alternative that the special sound was somewhat unintentional.

I see what you mean about the theory/guideline issue. Sometimes it may help, other times it may restrain imagination in a sense. It is nonetheless fun to know some theory and try to look at why songs sound like they do, why they give the impression they do.

A refreshing excercise on the guitar is to play a selection of notes as random as possible, but with an attemptedly steady rhythm. This is particularly suitable after playing for a while with a strong focus on e.g. the regular minor scale (a focus which might be increased, even subconsciously, due to knowing the theory, but the habitual emphasis would probably develop if the ear is the guide also, naturally).

Either way, a combination of theory and improvisation is preferrable in my opinion.

[uncloned]

Re: your random exercise

you might be interested in this collaboration then

http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=3416.0