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kerpow!
that's what'll happen to your ears if you turn this up too loud at the beginning.
Here's the final mix of a song I started years ago. Thank goodness I just finished it, or it wouldn't be the sexy beast that it is :3
I wrote this for <a href="http://crimson-instability.deviantart.com/"; target="_blank">Miss Tiffany</a> on dA. A couple of years ago, I read her <a href="http://crimson-instability.devianta.....-16495164"; target="_blank">poem</a> and wanted to make it into a song. I recorded a shit, heavy riff, and it has since evolved into something of which I can be proud.
Full quality version:
http://www.buckandping.com/music/mp.....stallnacht.mp3
I focused on three things with this piece...
1. DYNAMICS
I wanted a huge dynamic range, the kind you can't get from most rock music. I was listening to classical music, actually, when the idea came to me. Usually, people try to get the most sound that they can out of the whole mix. Take a look at the waveforms of many modern rock songs, and you'll find even the quiet sections are mixed to the peak. Live classical music, on the other paw, is not really mixed at all, simply recorded, so when the instruments get quiet, it's actually quiet. It can be pretty powerful. The other problem is that it can be hard to get a large dynamic range when using certain types of distortion, so I have the benefit of being able to exaggerate the dynamics.
I essentially mixed the loud LOUD and the quiet very soft. Let me know what you think :3
2. SIMPLICITY
As
doritojunkie always has to remind me, the key to electronic music is compounding simple layers to form something complex. I have a tendency to be overly complex with my writing, a habit formed from a nagging need to prove myself worthy as a musician. It's not very smart, actually, so I've been trying simple things lately.
In this piece, there's not a single drum fill, the bass is as simplistic as it can be... there's really nothing complicated until the very end. I'm particularly pleased with the middle section after the first uproar. I love it. :3
3. VOCALS
Mixing vocals is hard. I still don't do it right. My first mix focused on clarity, so you could hear what I was saying. I hated it. It's the one thing I hear from everyone, though. "Make sure your vocals can be understood." Well, I've decided that this is rock music, and rock vocals ain't always clear :3 Music is more than the vocals, after all, and the vocals were ruining the music. I like this mix a hell of a lot better.
When I first wrote the vocal line (years ago), I challenged myself to use three octaves of my vocal range. It's interesting, actually, how the feeling of the words change with the octaves :3
I layered in whispers and screams, as well. I like the effect, myself.
In addition, I wanted to use my G1-X's guitar effects instead of GarageBand's on-board effects. I never use my G1-X to it's full potential, so this time, I used a bunch of different sounds :3
CREDITS:
Music:
buck
Lyrics: <a href="http://crimson-instability.deviantart.com/"; target="_blank">Tiffany</a>
LYRICS:
The night
Coldest night this year
Windows of homes have all been boarded up
The lions are coming, the lions are coming.
A shatter through the darkness,
The darkest night this year.
Glistening as they fall,
The stars cry out to the hills
As they shatter against the roads.
The lions have come, the lions have come.
And, oh, what a mess they have made.
Like the lyrics? Give <a href="http://crimson-instability.devianta.....-16495164"; target="_blank">Tiff</a> a favorite!
that's what'll happen to your ears if you turn this up too loud at the beginning.
Here's the final mix of a song I started years ago. Thank goodness I just finished it, or it wouldn't be the sexy beast that it is :3
I wrote this for <a href="http://crimson-instability.deviantart.com/"; target="_blank">Miss Tiffany</a> on dA. A couple of years ago, I read her <a href="http://crimson-instability.devianta.....-16495164"; target="_blank">poem</a> and wanted to make it into a song. I recorded a shit, heavy riff, and it has since evolved into something of which I can be proud.
Full quality version:
http://www.buckandping.com/music/mp.....stallnacht.mp3
I focused on three things with this piece...
1. DYNAMICS
I wanted a huge dynamic range, the kind you can't get from most rock music. I was listening to classical music, actually, when the idea came to me. Usually, people try to get the most sound that they can out of the whole mix. Take a look at the waveforms of many modern rock songs, and you'll find even the quiet sections are mixed to the peak. Live classical music, on the other paw, is not really mixed at all, simply recorded, so when the instruments get quiet, it's actually quiet. It can be pretty powerful. The other problem is that it can be hard to get a large dynamic range when using certain types of distortion, so I have the benefit of being able to exaggerate the dynamics.
I essentially mixed the loud LOUD and the quiet very soft. Let me know what you think :3
2. SIMPLICITY
As
doritojunkie always has to remind me, the key to electronic music is compounding simple layers to form something complex. I have a tendency to be overly complex with my writing, a habit formed from a nagging need to prove myself worthy as a musician. It's not very smart, actually, so I've been trying simple things lately.In this piece, there's not a single drum fill, the bass is as simplistic as it can be... there's really nothing complicated until the very end. I'm particularly pleased with the middle section after the first uproar. I love it. :3
3. VOCALS
Mixing vocals is hard. I still don't do it right. My first mix focused on clarity, so you could hear what I was saying. I hated it. It's the one thing I hear from everyone, though. "Make sure your vocals can be understood." Well, I've decided that this is rock music, and rock vocals ain't always clear :3 Music is more than the vocals, after all, and the vocals were ruining the music. I like this mix a hell of a lot better.
When I first wrote the vocal line (years ago), I challenged myself to use three octaves of my vocal range. It's interesting, actually, how the feeling of the words change with the octaves :3
I layered in whispers and screams, as well. I like the effect, myself.
In addition, I wanted to use my G1-X's guitar effects instead of GarageBand's on-board effects. I never use my G1-X to it's full potential, so this time, I used a bunch of different sounds :3
CREDITS:
Music:
buckLyrics: <a href="http://crimson-instability.deviantart.com/"; target="_blank">Tiffany</a>
LYRICS:
The night
Coldest night this year
Windows of homes have all been boarded up
The lions are coming, the lions are coming.
A shatter through the darkness,
The darkest night this year.
Glistening as they fall,
The stars cry out to the hills
As they shatter against the roads.
The lions have come, the lions have come.
And, oh, what a mess they have made.
Like the lyrics? Give <a href="http://crimson-instability.devianta.....-16495164"; target="_blank">Tiff</a> a favorite!
Category Music / Rock
Species Mammal (Other)
Size 120 x 90px
File Size 7.9 MB
This is really captivating, and you certainly nailed the dynamic fluctuations you were looking for. I like how some of the distortion tones are so foreboding and jarring that they lean heavily towards bitcrushing. Also the vocals near the end half of the song are superlative.
Question: How do you accomplish your intricate drums?
Question: How do you accomplish your intricate drums?
-glomps- Yay, favorites :D Finally, something I strive for comes out right x3
The original recording, that is, the one I did years ago, used a really heavy distortion to create the atmospheric static in the beginning and end. I really liked the idea, and played around with it :3 It does sound a bit bitcrushed, but it's actually heavy distortion and some auto wah :o
Incidentally, the electronic drums in the very beginning were bitcrushed :3
I'm really glad the vocals were to your liking. I'm always really nervous about my vocals.
Answer: Well, interestingly enough, I tend to beatbox when I listen to my recordings. I often end up transferring what I pop out of my mouth into the little garage band drum thing. I hope that answers your question :3
The original recording, that is, the one I did years ago, used a really heavy distortion to create the atmospheric static in the beginning and end. I really liked the idea, and played around with it :3 It does sound a bit bitcrushed, but it's actually heavy distortion and some auto wah :o
Incidentally, the electronic drums in the very beginning were bitcrushed :3
I'm really glad the vocals were to your liking. I'm always really nervous about my vocals.
Answer: Well, interestingly enough, I tend to beatbox when I listen to my recordings. I often end up transferring what I pop out of my mouth into the little garage band drum thing. I hope that answers your question :3
Sadly, I don't own a keyboard D: What I DO do, though, is go through and change the volume of the drum hits in a loop so it sounds more natural. For example, in the drum rolls at the beginning of the song, each one is one hit of the snare. If I left them all the same volume, it would sound stilted, so I change the volume of each one. Same with the hit hats and ride cymbals. I accent certain hits so it sounds a bit less MIDI. A little lo-fi, but it seems to work ok :3
The beatbox trick is all yours... © Buck, some rights reserved x3
The beatbox trick is all yours... © Buck, some rights reserved x3
I should mention that the change is very subtle; you may not notice it outright just from this recording, but the difference from a drum beat where all the beats have the same volume level is a bit more obvious.
Also, I want to point out the kick drum in this scheme... when ever I have two kicks right next to one another, the first one is lower volume than the second.
Also, I want to point out the kick drum in this scheme... when ever I have two kicks right next to one another, the first one is lower volume than the second.
dude. that's beautiful. I have to say that the staggering feeling toward the end was unexpected, but I absolutely loved the effect that it had. the point is really very clear, and what you can't get in the vocals (personally i understood them word-for-word, But i also had them in front of me XD) is displayed very clearly through the rest of the mucis.
awesomely done.
awesomely done.
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