A slight change has been made to the formation of the song originally progressing from 4/4 time to no distinguishable time signature and once again back into 4/4. Everything is held to the same standard except the beginning of the piece which has a sort of ambient introduction to prepare the listener and foreshadow what is to come. There is one riff in the song which acts as the skeletion for the duration of the project. It is recorded in 4/4 but altered numerous times throughout the middle of the song to become something completely different. Other tracks are layered over and sometimes repeated to create a full, more engaging sound. One thing that may come as a surprise while listening to the varying sounds is that it was all created with a guitar and no other instruments, though it was altered by stompbox effect pedals and computer recording software.
This project is meant to comment on the framework and regulations of music through the establishment of a time signature, followed by a complete breakdown of coherent measurments and eventually the reformation of the that same time signature.
"Time out of Time"
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Progress
The "song" has been framed in the key of A working mainly between the 5th and 12th frets. The structured segment has been written for the beginning and end of the piece. It is played in a 4/4 time signature, as is the most common in popular music. Transitioning to the next phase of unrestrained sound is a key element in creating this project. It should be something unexpected that loosens into ambient sound which i am currently trying to accomplish through the use of FX pedals.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Current Inspiration/ Keys/ Tools
Current inspiration for this project has come from artists like Godspeed! You Black Emoeror, Sigur Ros, and Ryan's presentation of his film A Family Finds Entertainment. His sporadic use of sound was pretty innovative and certainly unrestrained.
Keys: I think using the keys of A and E as a frame for the song might be a good choice, eventually resulting in a chord structure to use as a reference point for the music.
Tools: My first idea is to try and record through the computer using software programs like Garageband or Ableton Live recording through a preamp with one or two microphones. Delay, reverb, and whammy pedals could be useful in creating a more intersting sonic atmosphere. Time permitting there may be other layers of sound rather than just electric or acoustic guitar noise.
Keys: I think using the keys of A and E as a frame for the song might be a good choice, eventually resulting in a chord structure to use as a reference point for the music.
Tools: My first idea is to try and record through the computer using software programs like Garageband or Ableton Live recording through a preamp with one or two microphones. Delay, reverb, and whammy pedals could be useful in creating a more intersting sonic atmosphere. Time permitting there may be other layers of sound rather than just electric or acoustic guitar noise.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What to be working against
Kanye West- Graduation
How does an album so terrible do so well? To me this is an example of what music shouldn't be, but unfortunately what most of it has become. Late Registration was even a decent album but this follow up, which has sold an extraordinary amount of records is just an overly arrogant record of badly presented lyrical content. I believe it is a direct result of today's music industry that this CD sold so well; not because it was or is a good album but because the radio and music industry tells the public what is good and almost forces them into liking it.
On that note...thank you clear channel for representing everything wrong with music today.
Graduation sold approximately 957,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, becoming the highest sales week for an album in 2007 so far. In addition, it became the 15th highest sales week for an album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991, and the highest sales week for an album since 50 Cent's The Massacre opened with 1.1 million in March 2005. As of October 11, 2007, Graduation has sold approximately 1,409,400 copies in the United States.
Graduation debuted at number one on the United World Chart, selling approximately 1,153,000 copies worldwide. As of October 11, 2007, Graduation has sold approximately 1,867,000 copies worldwide.
- above information taken from wikipedia.org
How does an album so terrible do so well? To me this is an example of what music shouldn't be, but unfortunately what most of it has become. Late Registration was even a decent album but this follow up, which has sold an extraordinary amount of records is just an overly arrogant record of badly presented lyrical content. I believe it is a direct result of today's music industry that this CD sold so well; not because it was or is a good album but because the radio and music industry tells the public what is good and almost forces them into liking it.
On that note...thank you clear channel for representing everything wrong with music today.
Music Commentary
The design of my project choice is based around time structure and the basic rules of musical composition. My hypothesis is that there is a purpose for music (or even just noise produced by musical instruments) that does not adhere to the guidance of a metronome. Maybe it may not even be considered music without a proper the structure or coherent time signature to say it cannot act as a purposeful and interesting form of audio stimulation would seem to be close-minded speculation. Whether or not the end result is appealing or not it should still retain a poignant commentary on the system of musical composition.
Prior frustration in attempting to learn the guitar brought upon the inspiration for this project. At first I couldn't understand the concept of "keeping time," and saw no reason or need to do so. Eventually I understood that rhythms could not be achieved in an aesthetically pleasing way without understanding how to keep time but what brought me back to questioning the importance of it was the modern day pop song. It seems like they are all derived out of a formula, the same formula, which results in songs that are "catchy," or well recieved but don't last because they are not distinguishable from all of the others.
Many rules or expectations of music could potentially be broken but the focus, and only intention, will be the disregard for any sort of time signature.
Prior frustration in attempting to learn the guitar brought upon the inspiration for this project. At first I couldn't understand the concept of "keeping time," and saw no reason or need to do so. Eventually I understood that rhythms could not be achieved in an aesthetically pleasing way without understanding how to keep time but what brought me back to questioning the importance of it was the modern day pop song. It seems like they are all derived out of a formula, the same formula, which results in songs that are "catchy," or well recieved but don't last because they are not distinguishable from all of the others.
Many rules or expectations of music could potentially be broken but the focus, and only intention, will be the disregard for any sort of time signature.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Project Ideas
- Music about music (alteration of time signatures or breaking of conventional rhythms)
- Video about video (possibly showing only segments of an unrecognizable image within the frame where it all concludes with the piecing together of the images)
- Pencil work (a story or piece of writing which leaves certain letters of words erased allowing the reader to change the story depending on which letter they choose to put in its place)
- Video about video (possibly showing only segments of an unrecognizable image within the frame where it all concludes with the piecing together of the images)
- Pencil work (a story or piece of writing which leaves certain letters of words erased allowing the reader to change the story depending on which letter they choose to put in its place)
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