Assignment #4

First off, take a listen. Then I'll tell you how it went:






This project was much more rewarding than the previous project (#3, using Reason), but also much more difficult. As we transitioned into Logic Pro for the first time, the number of things we could do for our piece exploded - literally anything I could imagine musically was possible. I thought, in the first five minutes, that this would make the project much easier. Wrong. The more things I was able to do, and the more features, instruments, and variables I discovered, the more overwhelmed I felt.

So, in the end, I took it back. I thought of the approach I used with my last project. Develop a beat. Lay that down. Map out the song in your mind. Literally, draw it out (as in, on paper. Weird, I know - that thin white stuff is worth something). And then go from there.

I started then with a very simple bass-drum line, for the four-on-the four feel, that I developed as I moved through the piece, gradually adding instruments (hats, and club bass, etc), to help the "build."

Then I got stuck. My paper-outline had a big BUILD, layering in various sounds. This is harder than it would seem.

I eventually added some layers of bass (this is the first :30 of the piece, approx.), to "fill out" the sound. Then, I introduced some harmonies until (after a brief roll), I introduce the piece's melody - it's harsh, it's loud, and (I hope) it's catchy.

Then it cuts. This was the most fun part of the piece. Dropping everything out except for a simple bass line, and then building up again. With 2 minutes to work with this time (and 3 would have been easier, honestly), I felt like I could try something new.

I hope it worked.