My 'complete every song I've started' project is making slow but steady progress. I've actually completed one of the songs I've been working on. It didn't turn out very good - partially because what I had to start out with wasn't very good either, seeing as how it's from a long time ago and I wasn't so great with the composing thing back then. Plus, I tossed a random bit of fugueishness in there towards the end because I've been working on learning basic fugue composition skills and wanted to try applying it in something that wasn't too important.
Here it is regardless: http://media.putfile.com/1-33-9
You can tell where I started working on my project and picked the song back up - after the initial generic rock thing, when the organ comes in. It's not bad from that point on, but eh, not too amazing. Still, it's a completed song, and that's what the point of all this is. Some will be good, some won't, but at least I'll be tying up all the loose ends. Besides, the occasional gems that pop out will make it all worthwhile.
On another note, I've been practicing my 13/16 timekeeping/general playing on the drum set lately. It's a bit tricky, although I'm starting to get a feel for it. I can do one-measure fills pretty well without having to worry about falling apart now, but whenever I try to syncopate over two or more bars I quickly lose track of where the beat is. Oh well, that's what more practice is for, I suppose. I'll probably try to get a post up at some point on how to tackle tricky time signatures, since that seems to be a commonly problematic area for a lot of drummers - especially when it comes to making that first step away from the 3/4 and 4/4 time that they've been doing all their lives.
Anyway, that's about all I've got for right now. Adios.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
How to Be a Better Drummer
Note that this post is aimed at people who play the drum set.
With every instrument, there comes a point where you start to wonder what's next in terms of your practicing and overall performance. At first, it's easy - you're learning the basic skills, the ability to read sheet music, play different styles, hold a steady beat, and everything else. Eventually, though, you get to a point where the path to improvement isn't so clear. You've got a solid tempo, you can read music easily, and you're wondering what to do.
Well, when it comes to drums, the best way to bring your playing up to that next level is to do something that sounds very counterproductive. If you want to be a better drummer, you should actually learn another instrument.
That's actually very misleading. The reason that I suggest you learn another instrument is mainly to fill in the big picture. A good drummer MUST understand his/her role in the band. What's more, he/she has to really understand the roles of all of the members of a band. This applies to any musician, but it's even more important for a drummer.
If you don't understand your role in the band, you just won't sound good. We've all heard drummers who do massive fills every four bars, or who play louder than the bass and guitar combined. We've all heard drummers who try to play such complex parts that it distracts from what's important - the singer, the melody, the solo, or whatever else. All of those problems, along with many more, stem from people who don't understand their role in a band. A drummer who plays way too loud or overplays the melody doesn't realize what they're doing. If they did, they probably wouldn't have the problem.
And, to an extent, you can learn these things from listening and paying attention to the music that's playing around you. It's not impossible. However, this only gets you so far. A way to take it one step further is to listen to a lot of other drummers, both good and bad, and listen to hear what makes the difference. That really helps, because you can hear what's going on from the listener's perspective, which is often very different from the drummer's perspective.
However, the truly best way to understand what separates the good drummers from the bad ones is to play on a different instrument, with other drummers. Pick up the guitar or piano or anything other than the drums, and play with other people. You'll learn very quickly what good and bad things can be done from behind the kit. You'll truly understand how annoying it is to have the drummer decide to take a huge fill during your solo, or how annoying it is when he starts rushing and refuses to lock in with the rest of the musicians. You'll understand all about what a good drummer does, and about what a bad drummer does. Your drumming will be forever improved just because you'll know why you do what you do, and you'll understand how it sounds to everybody else.
With every instrument, there comes a point where you start to wonder what's next in terms of your practicing and overall performance. At first, it's easy - you're learning the basic skills, the ability to read sheet music, play different styles, hold a steady beat, and everything else. Eventually, though, you get to a point where the path to improvement isn't so clear. You've got a solid tempo, you can read music easily, and you're wondering what to do.
Well, when it comes to drums, the best way to bring your playing up to that next level is to do something that sounds very counterproductive. If you want to be a better drummer, you should actually learn another instrument.
That's actually very misleading. The reason that I suggest you learn another instrument is mainly to fill in the big picture. A good drummer MUST understand his/her role in the band. What's more, he/she has to really understand the roles of all of the members of a band. This applies to any musician, but it's even more important for a drummer.
If you don't understand your role in the band, you just won't sound good. We've all heard drummers who do massive fills every four bars, or who play louder than the bass and guitar combined. We've all heard drummers who try to play such complex parts that it distracts from what's important - the singer, the melody, the solo, or whatever else. All of those problems, along with many more, stem from people who don't understand their role in a band. A drummer who plays way too loud or overplays the melody doesn't realize what they're doing. If they did, they probably wouldn't have the problem.
And, to an extent, you can learn these things from listening and paying attention to the music that's playing around you. It's not impossible. However, this only gets you so far. A way to take it one step further is to listen to a lot of other drummers, both good and bad, and listen to hear what makes the difference. That really helps, because you can hear what's going on from the listener's perspective, which is often very different from the drummer's perspective.
However, the truly best way to understand what separates the good drummers from the bad ones is to play on a different instrument, with other drummers. Pick up the guitar or piano or anything other than the drums, and play with other people. You'll learn very quickly what good and bad things can be done from behind the kit. You'll truly understand how annoying it is to have the drummer decide to take a huge fill during your solo, or how annoying it is when he starts rushing and refuses to lock in with the rest of the musicians. You'll understand all about what a good drummer does, and about what a bad drummer does. Your drumming will be forever improved just because you'll know why you do what you do, and you'll understand how it sounds to everybody else.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Old Moon
I have around 100 unfinished songs at various levels of completion and quality on my computer.
Thus, I have started a project. Every single one of those songs is either being completed or deleted. There's no reason for me to leave them all in a state of limbo forever, never getting anywhere and just cluttering up my songs folder. Hopefully I'll actually finish a bunch more songs this way too.
It's pretty challenging, though. I find myself working on an old song for a while and I'll realize that whatever I've added doesn't flow whatsoever with the old parts, because I'm not in the same mindset. I think I've really got to listen to each one and get back into thinking about where I wanted it to go back when I wrote it, so that I can bring it in the proper direction. Otherwise, it just tends to U-turn.
The good thing about FL studio is that it's real easy for me to apply all sorts of random tricks that I've learned since writing these songs onto them to improve quality, without having to mess with the melody or other effects or anything like that. Swapping out soundfonts and synths and such is very quick and painless, which is always a plus when trying to improve from the one-note samples and cheesy drum sounds that I find in older files of mine.
That's about all the musical progress I've made today. That's what happens when you leave home at 7:30am and get back at 8:30pm or so, though. You just don't end up with the time you need to get to all the stuff you'd hoped to get to. Oh well.
Thus, I have started a project. Every single one of those songs is either being completed or deleted. There's no reason for me to leave them all in a state of limbo forever, never getting anywhere and just cluttering up my songs folder. Hopefully I'll actually finish a bunch more songs this way too.
It's pretty challenging, though. I find myself working on an old song for a while and I'll realize that whatever I've added doesn't flow whatsoever with the old parts, because I'm not in the same mindset. I think I've really got to listen to each one and get back into thinking about where I wanted it to go back when I wrote it, so that I can bring it in the proper direction. Otherwise, it just tends to U-turn.
The good thing about FL studio is that it's real easy for me to apply all sorts of random tricks that I've learned since writing these songs onto them to improve quality, without having to mess with the melody or other effects or anything like that. Swapping out soundfonts and synths and such is very quick and painless, which is always a plus when trying to improve from the one-note samples and cheesy drum sounds that I find in older files of mine.
That's about all the musical progress I've made today. That's what happens when you leave home at 7:30am and get back at 8:30pm or so, though. You just don't end up with the time you need to get to all the stuff you'd hoped to get to. Oh well.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
New Moon
Welcome, random google search script (as if anybody else will be loading up this page), to my new music blog.
I got into blogging a little while ago when I discovered the thriving and very entertaining poker blogging community a few months ago, and eventually started one of my own. My search for a similar musical blog community seemed a little less fruitful, not necessarily due to a lack of people, but rather because all of the relevant blogs were buried under a bunch of blogs dedicated only to reviewing albums. Don't get me wrong, those are great too, but I was looking for people discussing music and their own experiences with it, rather than just reviewing albums.
I figured the best way to find them was to start my own and just see where it went. So, here I am. This blog is, in a nutshell, me on a journey to improve myself as a musician (a never ending journey), to discuss music on all levels with any new people, and maybe review/bring to people's attention a few random albums every now and then. Unlike most blogs I've seen, though, it won't be the primary focus.
Well, that's about it for the introduction. Hopefully this'll go well and I can start finding some other bloggers soon.
I got into blogging a little while ago when I discovered the thriving and very entertaining poker blogging community a few months ago, and eventually started one of my own. My search for a similar musical blog community seemed a little less fruitful, not necessarily due to a lack of people, but rather because all of the relevant blogs were buried under a bunch of blogs dedicated only to reviewing albums. Don't get me wrong, those are great too, but I was looking for people discussing music and their own experiences with it, rather than just reviewing albums.
I figured the best way to find them was to start my own and just see where it went. So, here I am. This blog is, in a nutshell, me on a journey to improve myself as a musician (a never ending journey), to discuss music on all levels with any new people, and maybe review/bring to people's attention a few random albums every now and then. Unlike most blogs I've seen, though, it won't be the primary focus.
Well, that's about it for the introduction. Hopefully this'll go well and I can start finding some other bloggers soon.
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