D A N | JONES
TASK 2
CONTEXT
Conduct research into your chosen project and develop your ideas including the planning and preparation process. Deliver a detailed presentation including your detailed research.
To complete this task I will research writing an EP. I will structure my research by putting it into 3 sections.
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Writing
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recording/mixing
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release/distribution
I have chosen to write a pop EP using acoustic and electric guitars, pianos, drums, and bass. I will be playing the piano and guitars in the songs and the person I am collaborating with, Matthew(my dad) will be playing and recording the drums. I will be the main vocalist throughout the EP. Artists that I have taken inspiration from are; Vance Joy, Mumford and Sons, and Ed Sheeran.
TARGET AUDIENCE
"In terms of age, the target group of pop music is usually the young generation belonging to the age group of 16-25. This age group usually spends almost 180 minutes listening to this music. Their music listening capability is split between FM/AM radio. The on-demand music platform that they use includes YouTube (37%), Spotify (35%), Amazon Prime Music (5%), and Pandora Premium (5%). The top means of music discovery for people belonging to this age group are YouTube (54%) and recommendations from friends (37%)."
In terms of releasing and distributing my music, it would be very sensible to use the streaming services with the higher percentages. This will allow me to achieve the best possible outcome for releasing my FMP.
1. WRITING - 21/03/2023
Melodies;
In the book 'COMPOSING MUSIC a new approach by William Russo it explains how to write melodies in different scales such as the; Dorian, Phrygian and regular route scales
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The major and Dorian scales are happier sounding the book says. "expressing water; a lake, a stream,a waterfall or rain" This tells us that the Dorian scale is calming and suitable for some pop songs. It would be a good idea to use these scales in some of the songs I am writing.
This section of the book explains how to write catchy melodies through repetition.
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By using these techniques I will be able to write a song with a good hook that doesn't sound too repetitive.
I then went into Cubase and tried these techniques out:
C major melodie.
C dorian melodie.
Melody row.
The websites below show different techniques on how to write melodies for pop music.
This website refers to different ways of writing melodies, it mentions different aspects such as stepwise motion, rhythm, and range. One thing I will definitely apply from this website in my melodies is;
"The simpler your melody is, the easier it is to remember. If your melody is too complicated, it will alienate your listeners.
I often ask songwriters the question – could a preschooler sing this thing? If not, make it simpler."
This advise will help me create a simple, catchy, anthemic chorus for the listeners to remember and enjoy.
Popgrammar refers to writing melodies that fit the chords of the song, controlling leaps and steps, and how the rhythm affects the steps and leaps. For my song, I could use the advice from this source by putting leaps in my melodies and fitting my melodies to the chords. This will stop harsh notes clashing and make the song nicer to listen to in general, hopefully, this will make the listeners enjoy my music even more.
This source refers to three different types of melodies.
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Chord-based melodies
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Scale-based melodies.
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Monotone based melodies
"Chord-based melodies: Some songwriters start their melody-writing process by writing a series of chord changes. They then compose melodies based on chord tones—the notes that make up each chord."
In my past experiences in writing music or songs, this has been the way I have composed.
"Scale-based melodies: Scale-based melodies are comprised of notes within a particular scale or mode."
I think it's worth trying to write songs using this technique to see if I am able to write melodies easier like this. This website also goes on to talk about 9 different tips for writing melodies. I will definitely use all 9 tips in my writing especially these tips in particular;
"6. Repeat phrases, but change them slightly... 4. Give your melodies a focal point... 7. Experiment with counterpoint... 9. Get inspired by your favourite artists."
These tips are very useful, by giving me a base to start writing. By listening to artists I like I can analyse their music and take influence from their style and create my own style or sound from that in my music. The simpler advice of repeating phrases and changing them slightly is very good which will allow me to quickly create write melodies and also make them more catchy.
In the following video Sia creates a top-line melody by listening to the piano and singing what comes to her mind. This is a technique I could use while writing my melodies. In the second video a man explains what Sia does in this situation and explains how to do it yourself.
Notice how Sia ascends the melodie in the pre-chorus into the chorus and creates a simple "hook" which is crucial for a catchy pop song. Sia is using mostly stepwise motion to sing her ascending melodies and moves onto a leaping melodies for the hook.
This video also explains ways to create different melodies for all sorts of compositions.
Harmonies:
"What is Harmony?
In general, when you are singing a single line it is considered a melody. When more than one note is being sung, like a duet, then there is harmony. In songwriting, harmony typically refers to using chords. A chord progression in Western style harmony moves the song towards a satisfying musical conclusion, usually I or the Tonic Chord (e.g. The C Major chord in the key of C Major)."
This video talks a bit more about chord progressions.
This video demonstrates the different chord progressions such as the classic 1, 4, and 5 progression which is used in most pop songs. I learnt that the reason this progression is so nice to hear is that the subdominant/4th chord sets up the fifth perfectly which sounds natural to the ear the dominant chord is then played which resolves the subdominant and then moves on to crate a perfect cadence which is what the listener wants to hear.
In the audio recording below I am trying different progressions and am becoming familiar with improvising different progressions using the 1, 4, 5, and 6th chords. these could be possible chords I may use for the songs in my FMP.
"Harmonies to Fit Your Musical Style
Your choice of chord progression will depend heavily on your chosen musical style. For example, if you are writing a jazz or blues tune, your chord progressions will most likely involve a combination of 7th chords, blues scales, 9th chords, and many other more complex harmonies that are not usually used in a simple pop tune. By contrast, styles of music like dance or pop do not experiment as much harmonically speaking. Other genres, like folk duets, may involve complex harmonies between two voices. In classical music, complex tonalities that explore extended technique, global harmonies, polytonality, atonality, and more are acceptable."
Because I am going to be mixing the genres of pop, folk and indie rock inspired by artists like Mumford and Sons, vance joy and monster and Men I would like to apply many vocal harmonies in my music.
The example below shows the inspiration for vocal harmonies I would like to create. (1:03-1:22, 1:50-2:02)
Drones are something I would like to add into the harmony of the instruments in my tracks. The website below explains exactly what a drone is and its effects.
"In music, a drone is a sustained chord or cluster of notes that linger uninterrupted for many measures."
The drone will add more layers and texture to my music, they can also create tension, but I am not using them for that reason in this case. Here is an example of me using a drone in my music.
In this example the electric guitar is playing a high c note as a drone. this note corresponds with the chords because the chords that are being played are C major, F major, A minor, and G major. C is a chord tone in the C, F, and A chord but not the G chord. Although the drone still works because the note G is a 5th from C which makes the chord and the drone harmonise. Also the guitar plays a C note an octave higher during the ostinato (loop). This adds a bit of variation to the drone while holding the C note.
Lyric writing:
I took from this video that rhyming is an important part of lyric writing. Also that the words that are said don't matter too much but the sounds of the words do. Because the sounds of the words are what create a rhyme. practising poetry is something that is suggested in this video and something I will take into consideration. Specifically practising the structure of poetry will extend my knowledge of how words work and how to create lyrics with more than 1 meaning.
This video shows very good techniques that many pop artists have used called the S.H.Y method. This standing for. Simile, how, and why. I learnt that using simple similes, metaphors or even personification in your lyrics can keep the listener engaged by giving them something to imagine as they listen to the words of the song. The technique of answering the simile with a 'How?' keeps the listener's attention by continuing the story. Then concluding the 'How?' with a 'Why?' resolves the story and will allow me to develop my lyrics even more. Here is an example of me using this method myself.
Simile. how. why
Your like the wind flowing wild and free because your grace flows like a breeze through the trees.
Your like the birds singing a soft melody you bring peace through your sweet symphony
This video explains how you could start by writing a hook around a word and then building a song from that hook. Starting with the chorus and ending with the verses.
The trick is to then keep everything as simple as possible but make every word count. like the song drivers licence by Olivia Rodrigo. the song is based on getting her driver's licence and builds from that, even though the hook of the song says "red lights, stop signs". This still applies to the song being created by one simple idea, but because there are no rules when writing lyrics Olivia Rodrigo started with the verses first.
I learnt from this video that song writing is about story telling. You start the story with a character, then the person who is singing (sometimes the person signing is the character sometimes they're not). You then move on to tell the story by showing what the character wants and how they're going to get it. The song should contain some conflict that will stop the outcome of the story. After the conflict has been mentioned you have a decision to resolve the song or to leave the story with an 'unhappy ending'.
This website gives 24 tips for writing lyrics, here are some that stood out to me:
"4. Move on
If you can't quite figure out how to say what you want within a particular line, jot down the gist of it and move on to another part of the song - you can come back to it later. That way, you won't spend hours wrestling with one small line that might turn out to be insignificant in the wider context of the song."
This tip is very valuable because it helps with time management and with writing lyrics faster. Although you should not rush the lyric writing process I am on a strict time schedule so this is a very useful tip.
"2. Don't be disheartened
Don't be disheartened if your lyrics aren't perfect on the first draft. Many professional writers will rewrite a song's lyrics dozens of times before they make it onto the record."
This is useful because it helps to know that the lyrics don't have to be perfect. They can be modified and adjusted to meet me and my dad's needs as time goes on during the creation of our songs.
"10. Choruses are from Venus, verses are from Mars
Choruses require a different approach to verses, especially if you're writing pop. They often need to be more 'plain' and easy to remember. A common trick is to write the 'setup' during the verse, and the emotional 'payoff' in the chorus."
This is very useful and is something I will be using in the future because this simplifies the lyric writing process and will help me to not overcomplicate the song. This will also help me write a catchy hook by keeping them simple and easy to remember.
Rhythms:
This website explains the definition of rhythm in music. The photograph on the right shows that rhythm is the arrangement of short and long notes in a piece of music.
This video is useful because It shows the different types of time signatures and which ones would be best to use for different types of music. It says that even rhythms are better because the listener would be able to expect the beats to return back to their first beat. It also mentions syncopation and other techniques my dad could use in the drums. This video was very useful because it has given me a better understanding of rhythm. Because I will be writing pop music simpler rhythms will be better to use. Such as rhythms on the beats in the bar or syncopated rhythms(off beat)
2. RECORDING, MIXING AND MASTERING - 4/04/2023
Recording vocals:
"1. Choose a proper space. In some ways, this will be your most important decision apart from choosing the right singer. (And if the singer hires you, then that part isn’t even a choice.) If you have access to a large room with wood floors, that can be great for classical vocals. For rock and pop vocals, you want a “deader” room with minimal reverb. If you’re in a small apartment, turn to your closet. Your clothing provides great sound absorption, and you can add reverb when you mix, thanks to the fantastic array of reverb plugins available in today’s digital audio software. (Although be warned that when it comes to vocals, a little reverb goes a long way.)"
I have a Scarlet studio microphone at home that I will be using. I am able to use the equipment in the studio provided by the college, but I will be faced with the challenge of booking the studio and competing for recording time with the other students, because of this I will be recording the vocals at home to relieve the pressure of having minimal recording time.
"2. Choose the right microphone. There are three types of microphones used to record vocals. Dynamic microphones are the simplest option and models like the Shure SM58 are ubiquitous at live shows. In the studio, many engineers favour the Shure SM7 which is much larger than the 58, with a more bass-focused soundstage. Condenser microphones are even more popular in the studio and options range from the very expensive Neuman U87 to the still pricey AKG C414 to the comparatively affordable Audio Technica 4033 or the Sennheiser MD421. And for a truly classic sound, many turn to ribbon mics like the expensive Royer 121 or the affordable Cascade FAT HEAD."
The microphone I am using is the scarlet studio mic by Focusrite. I already had this microphone before beginning the college course. It is defiantly a mid-range microphone but will record my vocals comfortably.
To achieve the dry or dead sound from the microphone in my bedroom. I placed a mattress upright opposite a blanket hung on my door to dampen the sound in-between them both. I then placed my microphone in the middle of them both, with a pop filter in front of the mic. the mic is plugged into the Focusrite interface which is being transmitted into Logic Pro.
The video below talks about mic position and its importance. (4:17-7:38)
The closer you get to the microphone you can hear a thicker sound with more bass and presence, the further away you are from the microphone the thinner your vocals will get. I have a naturally high-end sounding voice, to make my vocals sound more full I will need to sing closer to the microphone.
In this video, Charlie Puth shows different techniques for recording clean crisp vocals. He starts by recording the hardest parts of the song and splitting the recording process up into words. This helps him hit the notes more clearly by not straining his voice. He demonstrates that by adding layers and singing closer and further away from the microphone you can achieve a fuller sound. He also uses a technique where he sings with a different mouth shape to sound like a different person, this all adds to the layers of vocals and will make them sound cleaner. These are techniques that were also used by Michal Jackson when recording the song ' we are the World'.
These are defiantly techniques I will use for my vocals. Also, the more vocals that I record the less pitch editing I will need to do. This is because all of the wrong notes that will be sung will be masked by all of the voices singing, this is why choirs always sound in tune. This will allow me to have more natural-sounding vocals like Mumford and Sons instead of robotic highly auto-tuned vocals. By doing this I will also be saving time because I won't need to spend as much time editing the vocals.
This is a video I saw on Tik Tok of Charlie Puth explaining how multiple singers singing out of pitch can sound in tune sometimes. After seeing this I then experimented with this idea by recording layers of vocal harmonies without any pitch editing.
In the first audio file, you can hear my isolated vocals for a small section of a song I am writing called take me home, and I clearly sing out of tune. What Charlie Puth said about many out-of-pitch singers singing together and how they can sound in tune together is proven true when you listen to the second audio file. After doing this I then used a small amount of vocal editing to completely remove the small section of extremely out-of-tune vocals and I tightened up all of the vocals slightly. But I have done significantly less work on the vocals by singing more instead of editing more which will save me a large amount of time recording my songs.
I noticed that the vocals also sound a lot cleaner with the backing track masking any other mistakes that were made.
MIDI instruments:
I am going to be using MIDI instruments for the majority of my songs. The reason is that my instrumental playing abilities(specifically my guitar playing)are not to the standard to which I would like my songs to be. I will also be using other instruments that would be completely impractical to record live like strings and brass instruments which would require an orchestra. To specify, I will be recording the piano into MIDI to give it a humanised feel, the piano and the drums will be the only instruments I am recording live. I will then use midi files to create finger-styled guitars or even strummed guitars. I am tasked with then making all of the MIDI instruments sound real this is because I am going for a slight un quantised sound inspired by Mumford and Sons. I have researched different techniques on logic that make MIDI instruments sound real.
This video explains the use of sustain automation and how it can be used on a software piano to make is sound more real. Although this wasn't of any use to me for the piano because I recorded the piano live into midi with a real sustain pedal for the song I have started recording. But I did find it useful for the acoustic fingerpicked guitar. The sustain mimicked the sustained sound of each plucked string as if it was being played live.
Once I added reverb to the guitar as well, it started to sound a lot more realistic.
This video shows a simple but effective trick to 'humanise' software instruments. I used these techniques on the same acoustic guitar audio file above.
This video demonstrates how to create a strummed or arpeggiated acoustic guitar in Logic Pro. I found this video quite a un useful because the guitars sound very fake and don't meet the standards I would like them to. Because of this I will transfer the WAV files from the songs I have done at home and use the plugins on Cubase at collage to create a realistic-sounding acoustic guitar.
I will also use other software instruments on logic such as; trombones, French horns, trumpets, strings and synths. I will use these humanising techniques on all of my MIDI instruments as I am writing the songs to get the most realistic sound.
This is a useful video I have found that shows the importance of panning tracks to create a wider/fuller sound. This will help a lot when making my track because I will be able to create a massive epic-sounding song with a minimal amount of instruments by layering and panning.
Below are two audio recordings. A piano with a mono out put and no layers and a piano with layers and panning added to it. There is only a small difference when you only do this to one instrument but with multiple instruments, the effect is increased.
Recording drums:
I have mic'ed up drums previously in past projects in collage so I will be able to do this without any issues. The website above demonstrated a simple way to mic up a drum kit, by only setting up microphones on the kick snare and over heads. This is a good way to mic up a kit but a better option would be to mic up each individual part of the kit including the toms and high-hat. an example of this is shown on the website below.
This website goes into a lot more detail about how to mic up a drum kit. It mentions different techniques such as XY formations for the overheads to achieve the best overall sound of the full kit. For the drums in my songs, I would like them to be cleaner and to sound full. This would require me to mic up the full kit including the toms, high-hat, overhead and so on.
For each of my songs I will create a MIDI track of all of the drums with my dad who I am collaborating with, he will then learn the drum part and record them live in the collage studio. To do this I will need to bounce all of the stems of my songs and transfers them to Cubase.
This video briefly shows how to bounce and transfer audio files between DAWs.
DAW's
My daw of choice is Logic Pro X. The collage uses Cubase 12 which is also a very good and reliable DAW. The reason why I am using Logic is because I am more familiar with how it works because I have used it in the past many times. I am much more confident in using Logic instead of other DAWs, so to get the best outcome for my EP I think the best decision is for me to use Logic.
Logic Pro X comes with many software instruments and different effects, presets and plugins Its self. With all of these free resources, I am more than able to complete an EP to a professional standard.
The first video shows the basics of Logic Pro and the second shows extended techniques and more advanced details in the DAW. I am already familiar with this DAW but I will watch these videos to refresh what I know to achieve the best possible outcome for my FMP.
Song No. 1 - TAKE ME HOME - 6/04/2023
9th of March 2023
This is a voice note I took when first coming up with ideas for this song as you can see the audio recording is named 'take me back' this is because I liked the sound of take me back for the chorus until I realised that the 'A' sound was very annoying so I then changed the word back to home which gave an 'O' sound which I think is warmer and nicer sounding. I had previously written lyrics which are in the photos below which I wrote with input from my dad.
The lyrics in the audio recording do not match the lyrics in the photo because I was improvising different lyrics based off of the lyrics in the photos. I did this to try and get some inspiration but I decided after listening to the audio recording to stick with the lyrics in the photos. Although I did like how the phrase 'take me back' was sung in the chorus not in the pre-chorus as seen in the written lyrics.
The lyrics:
To write these lyrics I used the techniques in my research by starting with a simple concept, 'take me home' I then evolved the lyrics with the pre-chorus and the verses.
In the pre-chorus, I started with the words "I'm going home tonight" This is giving me an end goal for the song, I then add emphasis to this phrase by saying " I'm gonna leave it all behind" I then advance the song by adding some conflict, this is seen in the phrase " with my blood rushing through my veins that could stop at any time" This phrase is preventing the outcome of the character going home.
When writing their verses I started at the beginning of the story, by saying "We were caught in the middle go a fight" This phrase shows that the character is facing some conflict. I then show some hope for the rest of the song with the phrase "With nothing left, we're just trying to do what's right".
At this point, I had an image in my head of a soldier in battle who wants to go home. This is what the song is based on.
The lyrics "Take a step towards the light, with our hands holding on tight" were changed to " we were held unprotected in the valley of our minds, with our hands holding on tight" This is referring to types of PTSD some soldiers may have from going to war.
The song then says "Take me home ... " which I changed to be the chorus because I feel like the lyrics in the chorus show more progression in the story, by saying "I'm going home tonight, I'm gonna leave it all behind, with my blood rushing through my veins that could stop at any time, I'm going home tonight" Because go this I have placed this section of the song in the pre-chorus. This sets up the chorus perfectly because the character is now pleading to go home.
The story of the song then progresses further, by saying. "once there was a moment of peace" This is the character explaining his life before becoming a soldier. I then add the conflict by saying "a moment that was stripped away from me" This is because the soldier went to war. The character then explains further "A moment where I raised my own family, that's the moment that created me"
these lyrics show the emotion the character is feeling and his yearning to get back to his family who are a part of him and who 'created' him.
The pre-chorus and chorus then repeat twice. This is following my research by listening to the advice go the videos and websites by keeping my song simple. The lyrics are also very vague which I like. This will allow the listeners to relate to the lyrics in their own way.
I then went and jammed this song with my dad with both of us giving insite and for him to come up with the precussion parts.
In this audio me and my dad are jamming to the first song, take me home after we came up with the lyrics and chords.
Here my dad is practising possible drum groves for the song.
we carry on practicing in the following recordings;
The instrumental: 7-8/04/2023
I then went and opened Logic and began making my backing track.
I started with the piano and created a software instrument track so that I could get my ideas down. I will then learn the software piano parts on the piano to record into midi which will make the track sound live.
The red is the verse. Green pre-chorus. Blue chorus.
Verse:
The chord progression is a three-chord trick because I play the same three chords throughout the whole song. I'm playing E minor, C major and G major. These chords are the 5th, 4th, and 1st chords in the G major scale which goes back to my research on harmonies and chord progressions. These chords were some that I was improvising on the audio track when I was referring to harmonies and chords.
Pre-chorus:
In this image, I am playing the same chords, but to make the pre-chorus feel like it's progressing I add some fast arpeggios in the left hand(or bass) this fills all of the empty space in the track which makes the song grow. I got this technique from listening to Sia coming up with top-line melodies, I liked the way she progressed the song in the pre-chorus so I tried to re-create this with the piano. My dad added some input as I was writing this section of the song. He suggested playing at the end of the G chord at the end of the pre-chorus a D chord to give the song an imperfect ending this would lead the song into the chorus well because the listener would want to hear more. You can see this in the picture of the piano roll above. As you can see the velocities of the piano also progress towards the end this is to make the song grow, also because the song uses primarily 3 chords the dynamics will be a big part of the song to make the sections stand out more and to add some more variety.
Chorus:
In the chorus, I created an anthemic second melody (being a different melody to the lead vocals) using the chord tones of the chords. As you can see I play octaves with a third in the right hand which plays a simple 4/4 rhythm. I kept the rhythms simple because I'm writing pop music. I also added a low octave in the bass then continues with the arpeggios. Because the arpeggios are playing on the, 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and beat when I play the second melody in the right hand there is a syncopated rhythm happening between both hands which gives a more folky sound which meets the theme I am going for inspired by Muffed and Sons and of monster and men.
These piano parts then loop one more time for the second verse, pre-chorus and chorus.
I then moved on and duplicated the piano tracks 4 times and panned them equally to the left and the right. This makes the piano sound way more ambient and full. I showed this technique in my research in the MIDI section from the video '7 Logic Pro tips' This video shows how panning and layering is a very good techniques when making music.
I then went on to add more layers by adding other instruments. This creates a more dramatic build for the climax of the song.
I added a second melodie in the acoustic guitar for the second verse, this simply adds more polyphony, layers and harmony to the track.
I then elongated all of the notes to make the guitar sound more real this adds to the sustain and the acoustic sound a regular guitar would have.
For the pre-chorus, the acoustic guitar plays the same arpeggio the bass of the piano plays. This intensifies the piano by again adding layers.
Then I panned and layered the guitars like the piano.
To fill in all of the empty space in the track I added trombones playing blocked chords in the bass. This is a technique I learnt from writing epic Sci-fi music.
(5:16-5:50)
I then panned and layered the trombones. As you can see the trombones come in in the first chorus this is just to make the song grow more evenly. The trombones play this for the rest of the song with the velocities growing slightly.
I added the same chords to the trombones up and octave, this grows the song even more. I also added a crescendo in the trombones as a riser into the bridge(the green). Which are the lyrics of the pre-chorus. and for the rest of the song
I then used the British combo synth lead synth as an electric guitar because it sounded more realistic than the electric guitar software instruments on logic. The guitar is just playing full chords. I found that keeping it all simple was a lot more effective than trying to create complex harmonies and rhythms between the instruments. You can also hear all of the instruments cleaner this way which is better for the overall track.
Here is the piano roll of the electric guitar.
I added a bass guitar and deep sub-bass on the second pre-chorus to make it more full in this section of the song. The sub-base adds a lot to the song when you listen to it on monitors but the difference isn't to noticeable using headphone os built in speakers to aa laptop.
My dad then listened to the track and added drum sections to the different parts. we both agreed that the first verse, pre-chorus and chorus didn't need any percussion. This made a massive dramatic effect with the song starting with just a pian playing slow blocked chords to the end of the song playing intense drums, guitar, brass, piano, bass, and tons of layered vocals.
The first drum machine collum my dad made is just playing a kick 4 on the floor.
He then added claps on the '1 and' of every beat to create syncopated rhythms.
He then messed around with the drum groves, trying to make them dramatic to fit the song, by adding drum rolls and lots of toms. He knew these groves were impossible to play, but was just trying to get an idea. He could then recreate these groves live and record them live.
This is the grove for the last chorus. Because all of the other instruments broke down for the last chorus my dad thought it would be a good idea to create a halftime grove with lots of high end cymbals.
This is a close-up of the grove.
For the second chorus (the second blue section) the piano plays the same thing as the first chorus but with an added tremolo at the end of the section to create a riser.
This is the piano section for the bridge(the first half of the third green section). The rhythms have changed to be simpler which creates some variation to make the bridge stand out. The melody that is played is similar to the original piano melody with slight changes here and there.
This is the second half of the bridge. The rhythms return to the original melodies rhythm but the melody ascends and grows to create a climax.
The chorus section at the end plays the same thing and the second half of the bridge twice then holds the G chord at the end of the song.
This is what the track looks like after the midi instruments. As you can see I then went to record the vocals.
I recorded a full take of the lead vocals then duplicated them twice and panned them slightly. Then I turned the duplicated tracks down quite a bit to stop a robotic sound from appearing. All of this just adds layers to the vocals. I then added long reverb effects to the duplicated vocals and short reverb effects to the lead vocals.
Long reverb
Short reverb
Here are the vocal harmonies. I sang each different harmony twice as you can see for the close, far and other tracks. These are all tips I got from the Charlie Puth video where he showed different techniques on how to record vocals. The other track is simply just an extra track to crate other vocal harmonies that would fit in the song.
This is what the song sounded like without any mixing or harmonies.
My dad then improvised his own composition of some drums over this song at home, we then recorded the drum parts for the final mix.
I then recorded the drums into the mix using the electric kit. I recorded the drum for each of the songs on the same day which was the 11th of April 2023
Here are the audio files for the drums I have edited certain parts to make them on time when they were played slightly out while recording. I have also panned out the parts to resemble a drum kit, the toms have been panned slightly more than usual because they could still be heard in the middle of the mix. while mixing I EQ'ed the toms to solve this too.
Song 2. HOPE - 9-10/04/2023
I started off by coming up with some chords and lyrics for this song on the guitar to get my first ideas down.
As I was coming up with these lyrics I still had the story of my first song (take me home) in my head so I carried the story on.
"Time is up the fights over there's no need to rush" These lyrics are saying that the war the character was in is now over, and he can be at peace. "when all is lost we stuck together in the dust" The character stuck with the people around him whomever they are during the fight, the dust being the war. "when there's more to be found than what was gained" My dad came up with this line because he thought it would show briefly that the character has lost something from himself during the fight. "are broken pieces are what remained" The outcome of the 'war'. After mentioning all of the conflict in the story my dad wanted to add some sort of hope to the character's life, so he said that we should use the word hope as a 'hook' of some sort. I came up with the words "Hope is what's holding my hand, hope is what it means to be a man" The first half of this phrase shows that the war has made this manly character into a child again, and how children always feel safe while holding someone's hand. This then shows the outcome of fighting and conflict in people's lives. The second half of the phrase shows it's okay to be vulnerable as a man and to show emotion, empathy and to have hope. The chorus then describes what hope is for the character, my dad came up with the lines, "Hope is a light it shines it thrives" This shows, that hope will always be there during hard times. "this amazing thing will always survive" Hope will always be there after the war, hard times and any conflict in someone's life as long as we "trust and abide" then things will "be all right cause hope is the centre of all our lives".
The next verse starts by saying "Out of the shadows the stars remained" Stars are a happy dreamy thing. This is a metaphor because even in the dark there are still stars or light, or in other words when we are struggling there is still hope. "look deep into the sky where the answers are contained" This is another metaphor. If you look into the sky at the stars you will find the answers, or if you look for hope you will find the answers, the answers being why the war even happened. "with our loved ones being carried away" This is going back to when the men had to go to war for their country. The pre-chorus and chorus then repeat with the same meanings. The lyrics towards the end of the song saying "hope is the reason why i get up and try, hope is my comfort thought the darkest times" This is saying that through the war hope has been whats kept the charecter going. then for the outro the pre-chorus repets. The story doesnt nessiserilly end, my dad wanted to do this because it opens up the possibility for the listners to end it themselves in whatever way they can.
I then went on to write the backing track on logic. I started with the piano then wrote a simple guitar riff.
This is the verse, pre-chorus and chorus for the piano sections
This is the second verse, pre-chorus, chorus middle 8 and outro for the piano sections.
This is the midi file for the piano in the verse I have put regular chords and inverted chords with low octaves in the piano for every bar. I wanted to keep this song quite simple. I then humanised the piano to make it sound real. I then went through this process for the other sections as well with a different order of chords.
For the second verse, I played the same thing as the guitar to enhance the polyphony.
This is the verse and chorus
This is the verse, chorus, and middle 8
The guitar in this midi file is playing a triplet ostinato throughout the whole song. I humanised the track then added a sustain automation and made the notes longer to give the guitar a more realistic sound. The guitar still doesn't seem completely real but if I cant record a guitar on time then at least I have this version.
I then recorded vocals over the track to create a 'song'.
After recording the vocals I turned on flex pitch which will allow me to edit the vocals and fix any sharp or flat notes.
After I did the vocals I recorded the drums for my track at home on an electric kit. The reason for this is, that I was under pressure to complete my song and finding studio time was difficult. Also, the DAW I am using is Logic Pro which isn't compatible Cubase with the collage studio. To record the drums live I would need to export all of my stems for my track as WAV files and add them to cubase. At the time I was trying to avoid this to not overcomplicate my work. This was definitely a mistake and I should have used the collage studio and drums. Because of this the drum tracks on my projects are not to the best standard and could definitely be better. If I write any music in the future with the college I will definitely learn from this mistake and use the collage equiptment.
Here I have a video of my dad rehearsing the drums for this track. He is playing to the backing track I made with the guitar piano and vocals, improvising different possible grooves and fills.
The drum tracks in this song sound quite tight. I wasn't able to spend the most time editing them though because I had to add other instruments to the track because it was sounding very thin and I was running out of time. Again this was a mistake and something to reflect on. Editing my drums would have been a much better use of my time and made the track sound better.
I then added other orchestral instruments like strings and brass;
verse, chorus, verse
chorus, outro
The cellos are simply playing the route not for the first, second, and third chord an then it plays a fifth on the fourth chord to add harmony.
All of the brass instruments are playing the block chords from the piano in different octaves. the trombones are playing in the bass (c1) to add warmth and fullness the French horns in the mids (c3) and the trumpets in the highs (c5)
These are the midi files for the brass instruments. I have humanised every midi file I have created on every track to create the most human-sounding song as possible.
After adding all of the instruments I began to record and layer vocals for harmonies.
I used Charlie Puthes advice by recording harmonies close to the microphone, far from the microphone and two tracks for a different vocal where I can add a mid-harmony or where I change my mouth shape to create a different tone to add to the texture. I then opened pitch flex to correct any imperfect tones or pitches in my vocals. I then hard-panned the backing vocals to give the lead vocals more space in the mix.
Then I added more vocal harmonies for 'ohh and ahh' sound during the verses.
I used the same close, far and other principles when recording these vocals. Like the other vocal harmonies, I edited the pitch and panned the tracks.
Song 3. Embers 10-11/04/2023
like the other two songs, I started this one by playing chords and coming up with lyrics on the guitar.
Lyrics:
I started writing these lyrics using the S.H.Y method (which is seen in a video in my research section) by using the simile "like the wind" I then mentioned the 'H' (how) by saying "you're blowing wild and free" Then I broke the rules slightly and used another simile instead of using the 'Y' (why) in the S.H.Y method which was "you're like the birds who sing a sweet melody" I then answer the 'Y' to both similes by saying "you'll flow through time with the breeze (the breeze referring to both the wind and the birds who fly in the wind) by you side that lifts you up and takes you across the line" At this point in the writing process I didn't nessiseraly have a story in mind but I had a character so I carried on writing hoping something would come to me, by saying "come home with me you'll make new memories and well spend our time together". I now had an idea in my head. A character who's floating like the wind they're just free and have no purpose, now I am giving them a purpose by giving them new memories and somewhere to go.
for the pre-chorus I came up with the hook " So don't look back keep your eyes away from the past, if only you'd believe in what we could be" In this section of the song I now have two characters the singer and the person I'm singing about. the singer is saying to the character don't look back keep your eyes away from the past, which is telling them to forget about that time when you were like the wind and focus on now. I then give the character some motive by saying "If only you'd believe in what we could be". This gives the song somewhere to go.
The chorus " It was a cold winter but soon came the summer". This has a double meaning, another way of saying this would be; it was bad but then it became good. The other meaning is literal, the story began in the winter and then it was the summer as time went on. The next lyrics carry on the story "Where we danced through the embers and forget about the winters". The phrase dancing through the embers is talking about just doing good things in general through the summer and then forgetting about the winter which were the bad times.
The following video shows me and my dad writing the rest of the lyrics together. part 1
Part 2
During these recordings, my dad mentioned the song skater boy and how it tells a story through the song. We used the structure of the story with our own ideas to write the song.
I then went and began writing the backing track on logic.
I began by writing the simple guitar part that I was trying to play in the rough recording.
Intro
KEY:
Yellow - intro/outro.
Green - verse
Red - pre-chorus
Blue - chorus
Orange - middle 8
Verse
pre-chorus
Chorus
Middle 8
Outro
Then I added a strummed guitar
Intro
verse
Pre-chorus
Chorus
Middle 8
After that I added a piano
To make the texture of the song thinker I added another Piano that was playing a drone on the C note.
After that I added a bass
I then added electric guitars one playing chords and a riff another playing a simple drone on the C note.
After the guitars, I added some staccato strings to add some more texture to the song. The cellos and violins are playing the same staccato strings pattern and the last violin is playing a C drone as well.
Once I had my backing track I recorded the vocals over it.
I then used the snipping tool to remove the sections of the song where my breathing was audible and was overpowering the track. I also used the flex pitch feature to edit any imperfect pitches in my vocals. I then did the same thing with the vocal harmonies.
After that, I recorded the drums - 11/04/2023
In these three videos, my dad is doing his part in the collaboration by creating the drum sections for the song. He has also collaborated by writing the lyrics of each song and giving insight into some of the instrumental sections. The image in the bottom right is showing the levels I set on the electric kit to stop the audio files from clipping as my dad played the drums.
Mixing:
For the acoustic guitars on each track, I used this EQ and reverb to enhance the high end and remove some of the boxy sounds it was giving off. Because the instruments are midi they behaved identically in each track so to get similar sounds for each song in my EP I used the same EQ and reverb effects. I head panned the acoustic guitars on a stereo Chanel to give the vocals some more room and to play the song around the listeners head.
Here are the effects I added to the piano. My plan was to record the piano live but with the lack of time that I had I used the MIDI versions because they sounded close to real, and in my opinion, they were good enough to use. The EQ below is what I used for each song because the pianos are all midi and have been panned the same. I used the same vintage concert hall EQ for all of the instruments with slight differences with the wet and dry mix to give a subtle vintage feel like Mumford and sons. Like the acoustic guitar, I panned the piano, I didn't pan it as much because I wanted the acoustic guitar to stand out. The piano is at a 45-degree angle on each side of the head.
Here is the EQ and reverb I used on every track for the trombones. I have cut out some of the higher end because it was making a sharp buzzing sound and boosted the lower end to fill that space in the mix a bit more. I panned the trombone tracks on the same angle as the piano so they could compliment each other.
For the French horns Eq I boosted the lower end a lot because there wasn't much signal coming from there and i wanted a thick warm sound from it. I cut some frequencies from the mids to give the main vocals some space and boosted the higher end slightly to make the horns sound a bit crisper. I used the same reverb 'vintage concert hall' for this track too. The trombones were panned in between the guitars and the piano to fill in the empty space.
The trumpets were close to sounding the way I wanted them to from the beginning so I only edited them slightly by EQ sweeping to remove any harsh sounds. Because the trumpets have a frequency that is at the higher end I hard-panned them on both sides to create a crips higher sound around the head of the listener.
For the bass guitar, the midi version already came with a compressor, eco, pedal board, and a bass amp. I added this eq to remove any unneeded frequencies to create more headroom. I panned the bass guitar at a 20-degree angle on both sides to give the vocals some room to breathe but to keep the lover warmer frequencies close to the head of the listener.
Like the trumpets, the cellos were close to sounding the way I would like so I removed some harsh sounds in the mids and boosted the highs slightly to give a slightly more crisp sound again. The cellos are a mid-range frequency sounding instrument so I panned them on a 50-degree angle so the cellos and French horns could complement each other.
These are the EQ adjustments I made on the vocal harmonies for each of my tracks. the closer harmonies have a lover low pass filter to keep the warm sound in my voice and the far harmonies have a boost in the higher end to catch my high harmonies. I also used long vocal reverb and panned the vocals hard to give the lead vocals some space. I then panned each track all the way to the left and right to give the main vocals some space and because the backing vocals have lots of reverb I wanted to keep that away from the centre of the head to stop the track from sounding muddy. I used these effects and EQ for the backing vocals for the song Hope only.
I had to do a lot of mixing for my vocals. Firstly I added a compressor to maximize the vocals and make them louder in the mix. I then added a dresser and a multi-pressor to remove and compress the frequencies that were creating the 's' and 't' sounds. I then added a vocal ambience to add some wetness to the reverb but not too much. I didn't pan the lead vocals at all because I wanted there to be something in the middle of every track for the listeners to follow while listening. this also makes the tracks easy to listen to without the people listening having to concentrate to much on whats going on. I used these effects for the vocals on Hope only.
These are the effects I added to the lead vocals for Embers
These are the effects I added to the backing vocals for Embers. Because the harmonies are quieter in this track I added the EQ to all of the audio files through a group track because they weren't as important because they weren't as audible.
These are the effects I added to the lead vocals for Take Me Home
These are the effects I added to the backing vocals for Take Me Home
These are the effects I added to the drums on every track. I boosted the higher end of the high hat to make it sound more crisp. I boosted the low end of the lick to give it more of a punch then removed some of the high end to stop the clicky sounds. For the snare I boosted the low mids to add some warmth I EQ swept it and removed some harsh frequencies in the high mids then I boosted the highs slightly and added a low cut. For the toms, I added a low cut to stop the boomy sounds I removed the harshness in the mids and boosted the highs to make them more clear, and then I added a high cut to give me some more head room.
Landr is a website I used to research into mixing. I learnt from it to keep the mix simple begin by setting your levels then add your EQ and compression once you're happy with your dry mix and everything is edited and in time you can then move on to adding other effects like multi-band compressors, dessers and reverb. It mentions that Reverb is essential for vocals to make them ambient and more realistic and it should be used on instruments as well
I also used this you tube video which takes you step by step on how to mix your track form start to finish. this helped with keeping all of the levels equal and showing an example of mixing in real life other than on a website or in a book.
MASTERING :
To master the tracks I used the software 'isotop ozone 7'. to do this I bounced down all of my stems into one WAV file and uploaded them to Cubase and adjusted the levels as a whole.
These two websites explain firstly what mastering is and secondly, the best ways to go about it. The teach me audio website explains that using small changes in the EQ and panning your tracks can make them sound better already. Making small changes will be a lot more efficient than trying to re-mix your track while mastering. this is why it's essential to get the best mix before mastering. The izotope website explains the importance of the steps before mastering making sure your mix is good and high quality. You should bounce your files as WAV files to give them the best sound quality to be mastered better.
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I used this video to work out firstly how to use the different features on IZOTOPE and to work my way around the software.I then went and used all of the information i gained fromt the websites and this video to adjust the overall EQ. I then used the exciter to gradually exite the frequencies the higher they got to create a 'Y' shape around the head of of the listener. I then panned the frequencies keeping the lower ones more mono sounding the higher ones stereo this enhances the 'Y' shape around the head. I then made some small adjustments to the dynamics and EQ to make the track clearer and less muddy by removing harsh frequencies and improving the clearness of each instrument when a note is played. As I was using ISOTOP I was constantly using the bypass button to make sure while I was mastering I wasn't making anything inaudible.
ARTWORK :
In my presentation, I said I was going to get an art student in the collage to help create an album cover for me but because of him being busy with his FMP as well and with me running out of time I found a photo on my camera roll that met the brief of most pop writers album covers. Below is a comparison of my album cover compared to one Lewis Capaldi has used. As you can see this was a good alternative for my album cover because it meets the pop music 'vibe'. Although in the future I would like to spend more time on my art work by collaborating with a photographer.
The image below is a screenshot of my distribution of my songs on route note showing that I have released by songs and route note is currently reviewing my EP.
EVALUATION :
In this project, I tried to make an EP in the style of some artists like Mumford And Sons, Ed Sheeran, And Vance Joy. In my opinion, I succeeded in doing this. My goal was to produce 3 - 4 songs at a professional level. Due to my over-ambition (considering this was my first time ever live recording, mixing and mastering independently with a collaborator), I was able to complete the task at hand but unfortunately not quite to a professional level. I would say that my EP is definitely at an intermediate standard. I successfully recorded vocals, live drums, wrote midi instruments and mixed and mastered 3 tracks.
Problems I encountered;
I encountered quite a few problems while writing my EP. Firstly my lack of ability in playing. I had imagined complex acoustic guitar, piano, bass and drum parts but wasn't able to play what I wanted. To tackle this problem I had two choices to get people to play the instruments for me like a session guitarist or to create midi versions of the tracks. With my experience in the past with midi I was more confident in my ability to create midi tracks. This was a mistake because it is very difficult to get the live folk sound that Mumford and sons has with robotic instruments. Although I did my best to create the most realistic sounding midi instruments as possible. If I was to do this task again I would defiantly get people to play live instruments for me, this would give me a better more professional outcome.
A down fall in my work has been the over all recording. My mixes are pretty good but could be better if I
1. Recorded live instruments
2. Recorded in the college studio
The live instruments would have added to the over all feel of the songs, by adding a less quantised sound I would have been able to replicate my inicial ideas better. I had access to a full college studio but decided to record at home for most of my time. This has its pros and cons. From the beginning of the project I was able to complete my work faster and more effectively because my 'home studio' was always available. Although the equipment wasn't ideal. If I recorded in the collage studio i would have been able to get better, crisper sounding vocals, and would have been able to live record an acoustic drum kit instead of an electric and an acoustic guitar. This would have helped me achieve my goal to create a professional sounding EP. But recoding at home had its advantages as well. I was able to learn how to use cheaper equipment in ways that was just as effective as using expensive equipment. By using my microphone correctly singing into in it in the right ways I was able to achieve professional sounding vocals. These are skills that will be essencial to learn for when I need to record and I do not have access to a full studio.
What went well;
In my opinion I was successful in collaborating with my dad. By writing song lyrics, to writing drum groves himself and both of us giving insite towards the songs as we progressed. Although due to my Dad having to work full time I had to carry out the mixing and mastering. This was ok though because he equally contributed to the project in other aspects.
I feel like I defiantly hit my target audience to the tee. I created songs with a big build into a climax creating drama and telling a compelling story. These are all aspect you see in the songs of my inspired artists. For example the song "Below my feet" by Mumford and sons had a huge climax while keeping a compelling story. also the song "Photograph" by Ed Shearen is impactful and full of emotion like my tracks, especially 'Hope'. I defiantly hit my target brief with my songs.
In my opinion my mixes were done well. Even though the instruments were midi, I applied the correct amounts of reverb and set the levels to a even mix for each song. I would say I used the EQ on the instruments correctly making sure to compliment each instruments role in the mix. I don't think any of the track I created are muddy, boomy or harsh to listen to which is defiantly a good thing. My mastering in my opinion was done well. I was able to make slight subtle changes to pan, EQ and exite the tracks to give them the polishing off they needed to sound good.
My research was something that went very well. From the beginning of task 2 I carried out effective research. I then went and referred and used all of my research to complete my project. I can say confidently that my research has improved my project drastically
What could I improve on?
In my opinion I think I could improve on setting the levels for the vocals. For the songs, Take Me Home and Embers the vocals were set well and didn't need to much compression or volume adjustments. But for Hope the gain on my audio interface was turned up slightly to much resulting in the vocals sound slightly muffled at times. This also created harsh sibilant sounds which I tried to fix by adding dessers, muti-band compressors and EQ sweeping the vocals. I would say i solved this problem quite well but there is more for me to learn to be able to achieve better results for future problems.