Sweet performance as usual.
- Devieus

Sweet performance as usual. - Devieus

Came for the song title and came for the lyrics and chord changes. Lovely.

Came for the song title and came for the lyrics and chord changes. Lovely.

and stayed*

and stayed*

thanks!

Thanks!

After a night's sleep I think I would kill the very last line about the crying and just have a piano part there and 7 total lines. But I'm pretty happy with it! I only started on sunday dinnertime after some failed attempts during the week so v good considering.

[quote=Devieus]Sweet performance as usual. - Devieus[/quote] <3 thanks! [quote=moloko]Came for the song title and came for the lyrics and chord changes. Lovely.[/quote] Thanks! After a night's sleep I think I would kill the very last line about the crying and just have a piano part there and 7 total lines. But I'm pretty happy with it! I only started on sunday dinnertime after some failed attempts during the week so v good considering.

Beautiful melody! When the composition allows you to keep it simple, usually it means you have something good. The jazzy harmonies are really doing some good work. Great job!

Beautiful melody! When the composition allows you to keep it simple, usually it means you have something good. The jazzy harmonies are really doing some good work. Great job!

Living on the edge with those late submissions!

Very cool. Really like the e-pianos. Love the intimacy of a one take, only you and your piano.

Living on the edge with those late submissions! Very cool. Really like the e-pianos. Love the intimacy of a one take, only you and your piano.

lovely tune! The first take energy is real and I think adds to it

lovely tune! The first take energy is real and I think adds to it

I like the way you deliver your tracks so honest without a big show. I don’t mind if a note in your voice does not land exactly right, it is the salt in the soup. you call it simple, but it is still awesome how you play and sing at the same time. Hats up.

I like the way you deliver your tracks so honest without a big show. I don’t mind if a note in your voice does not land exactly right, it is the salt in the soup. you call it simple, but it is still awesome how you play and sing at the same time. Hats up.

thanks! I think so too! I tried writing it with simple words too.

Thanks! I'm def building a bit of a repertoire of solo pieces, hopefully I can play them all live for a show someday.

Thanks! first full video take btw, there were many audio takes up until this point... don't wanna give ppl the wrong impressions.

Thanks! I guess it's a matter of your frame of reference: since I know a lot of people who play and sing at the same time it doesn't feel like such an accomplishment, but I'll take it!

The point of WB for me is to make nice recordings usually, or make nice compositions that I can reuse later. This one leans more into the second thing but is also pretty nice to listen to. It will be even nicer in some years!

[quote=Suhpos]Beautiful melody! When the composition allows you to keep it simple, usually it means you have something good. The jazzy harmonies are really doing some good work. Great job! [/quote] thanks! I think so too! I tried writing it with simple words too. [quote=djippy]Living on the edge with those late submissions! Very cool. Really like the e-pianos. Love the intimacy of a one take, only you and your piano. [/quote] Thanks! I'm def building a bit of a repertoire of solo pieces, hopefully I can play them all live for a show someday. [quote=SQF]lovely tune! The first take energy is real and I think adds to it[/quote] Thanks! first full video take btw, there were many audio takes up until this point... don't wanna give ppl the wrong impressions. [quote=Q-Rosh]I like the way you deliver your tracks so honest without a big show. I don’t mind if a note in your voice does not land exactly right, it is the salt in the soup. you call it simple, but it is still awesome how you play and sing at the same time. Hats up.[/quote] Thanks! I guess it's a matter of your frame of reference: since I know a lot of people who play and sing at the same time it doesn't feel like such an accomplishment, but I'll take it! The point of WB for me is to make nice recordings usually, or make nice compositions that I can reuse later. This one leans more into the second thing but is also pretty nice to listen to. It will be even nicer in some years! :D

First take is the magic take
I like the jazzy spice at 1:08 and how you tracked those changes with your voice harmonizing. Is there a trick to getting that kind of sound with certain chord types?

First take is the magic take ;) I like the jazzy spice at 1:08 and how you tracked those changes with your voice harmonizing. Is there a trick to getting that kind of sound with certain chord types?

<3

Thanks! That's the highlight of this song for me.

In this case, I think I got lucky. First I found the DbM7-5/Eb voicing (yea I know it looks wild when you write it, but I found it by noodling around), then I tried to incorporate it in the song somehow. I lead into it from the previous thing I knew, which was the G from the last line, so the bass goes F, E, Eb, and I found a melody that works and it's usually best when it hits chord tones (1, 3, 5 or 7 or whichever are already part of the chord) and as it happens the bassline going down goes well with the melody going up. I don't do this enough in my songs, but I think Stevie Wonder is an absolute master of this - modulating chords while keeping an effortless melody on top. You can learn some tricks from a youtube channel called Open Studio talking about this.

So in the end it's a combination of various tricks learned over time with luck. I didn't study it in any particular song but I notice this type of trick a lot nowadays if I listen - if there's a good bassline and a good melody and they go together, I try to internalize the sound of it. I picked up some clever tips about good melodies from the Pat Metheny / Rick Beato interview. I learned some from Jacob Collier various interviews where he's like "go from point A to point B however way you want and that's harmony". I guess the list goes on.

I hope to get better at it tho, and actually learn how to do it, then I can explain Until then, happy trying!

[quote=ViridianLoom]First take is the magic take ;) I like the jazzy spice at 1:08 and how you tracked those changes with your voice harmonizing. Is there a trick to getting that kind of sound with certain chord types?[/quote] Thanks! That's the highlight of this song for me. In this case, I think I got lucky. First I found the DbM7-5/Eb voicing (yea I know it looks wild when you write it, but I found it by noodling around), then I tried to incorporate it in the song somehow. I lead into it from the previous thing I knew, which was the G from the last line, so the bass goes F, E, Eb, and I found a melody that works and it's usually best when it hits chord tones (1, 3, 5 or 7 or whichever are already part of the chord) and as it happens the bassline going down goes well with the melody going up. I don't do this enough in my songs, but I think Stevie Wonder is an absolute master of this - modulating chords while keeping an effortless melody on top. You can learn some tricks from a youtube channel called Open Studio talking about this. So in the end it's a combination of various tricks learned over time with luck. I didn't study it in any particular song but I notice this type of trick a lot nowadays if I listen - if there's a good bassline and a good melody and they go together, I try to internalize the sound of it. I picked up some clever tips about good melodies from the Pat Metheny / Rick Beato interview. I learned some from Jacob Collier various interviews where he's like "go from point A to point B however way you want and that's harmony". I guess the list goes on. I hope to get better at it tho, and actually learn how to do it, then I can explain :P Until then, happy trying! [quote=jwh]<3[/quote] <3

Great chords and vocals. Sounds straight from the heart and that's the best kind of sound I am trying to branch out with my chords and voicing this year. You will inspire!

Great chords and vocals. Sounds straight from the heart and that's the best kind of sound <3 I am trying to branch out with my chords and voicing this year. You will inspire!

I appreciate singing on Weekly Beats tracks as it's a big challenge to me. I will finally release something with vocals myself for Week 11 but it was a battle!

The expression in the singing is there, and singing is doubly hard when you're playing at the same time. And the e-piano performance is indeed delicious. The vocals are out of tune here and there, and that's distracting a little from the otherwise heartfelt song. I think a little Melodyne magic in post wouldn't hurt the authenticity.

I appreciate singing on Weekly Beats tracks as it's a big challenge to me. I will finally release something with vocals myself for Week 11 but it was a battle! The expression in the singing is there, and singing is doubly hard when you're playing at the same time. And the e-piano performance is indeed delicious. The vocals are out of tune here and there, and that's distracting a little from the otherwise heartfelt song. I think a little Melodyne magic in post wouldn't hurt the authenticity.

a testament to your musicianship is the fact that i felt like crying for an inexplicable reason within 30 seconds of this

how can i learn how to do sick chord changes like this? (and don't say "learn chords first" lolololol) (just read your response to Viridian and was like...............................ok fine don't tell me)

love how honest this is.  yeah, keep the first take, this is literally perfect to me.  I don't know if I really heard "out of tune" as much as I heard "emotion taking over the voice" which was a positive experience.

this would be the sickest closing track on your album, where the penultimate track was a huge full band shredder (JUST MY OPINION BUT Y'ALL KNOW I'M RIGHT)

a testament to your musicianship is the fact that i felt like crying for an inexplicable reason within 30 seconds of this how can i learn how to do sick chord changes like this? (and don't say "learn chords first" lolololol) (just read your response to Viridian and was like...............................ok fine don't tell me) love how honest this is. yeah, keep the first take, this is literally perfect to me. I don't know if I really heard "out of tune" as much as I heard "emotion taking over the voice" which was a positive experience. this would be the sickest closing track on your album, where the penultimate track was a huge full band shredder (JUST MY OPINION BUT Y'ALL KNOW I'M RIGHT)

it's literally my favorite line so i'm glad you didn't have a night's sleep.

[quote=horatiuromantic]After a night's sleep I think I would kill the very last line about the crying[/quote] it's literally my favorite line so i'm glad you didn't have a night's sleep.

great vibey tune & love the chords!  I like the chord around 1:28 - was it a sus chord? and the way it resolved. great use of the descending bassline too.

great vibey tune & love the chords! I like the chord around 1:28 - was it a sus chord? and the way it resolved. great use of the descending bassline too.

Thank you very much for the appreciation and the question. The chord that section ends on (before going again to the "idk" line) is a AbM7/Bb that goes to Abm7b5/B and then to C, and the C might be the one that sounds sus, cause it has a D in it. I can't use my brain right now to figure out what it is but the notes are C in bass, and in this order A, B, D, E, G in the right hand.

OD you give life with your comments. thank you so much for your suggestions and support.

the chords thing is to be aware of it and constantly listen for it, and then you can learn from various places this way, including your own playing / your own discoveries.
- For instance at some point I stumbled on the 13 chord and since then I almost constantly use it in my playing: it's when you play a M7 chord over a bass that's two semitones higher than the lowest note, like BbM7/C or FM7/G
- or the 69 chord that has the voicing 1-3-6-9 and it sounds/feels like a M7 but without the 7th - and the special sauce is that you can play it on guitar too, and on the piano it's two 4ths in the right hand so it's easy to play in every key. 
And there are infinite tricks like this but I think you have to discover the ones that work for you on your instrument.

I learn a lot from youtube, big channels like Rick Beato and Open Studio like I mentioned, or more random ones like that microtonal lady Zheanna Rose or MonoNeon or totally random ones I can't even remember. And I guess I go to a lot of concerts of mostly wacky music: free jazz, avantgarde improvised, harsh noise - see my new documentary , more normal jazz, the occasional metal/rock/pop/folk one etc. So I think that is very inspiring without noticing.

Ah so nice to hear! Thank you so much! Feel free to steal voicing and shit, see my comment for OD above.

Oh yea!! Do it, can't wait to hear, I'm curious what you'll come up with.

Thanks for the note on the vocals being out of tune and maybe fixing with some melodyne. I'm gonna lean against it because it's both a way to force myself to be more in tune as I get experience, and to find a way to make the out-of-tune sound good and make it my own style. Sometimes my out of tune singing is random, other times I use it on purpose. Because it sounds dissonant, and that could be what makes a song tell a story. I have been using semitones in the bass for heavy dissonance, all kinds of tricks, and this is another of them. But fair point, sometimes it is just a bit in the way.

I also know some singers who are just magical and use autotune as an instrument to achieve a sound (and not to fix their pitch). That is something for exploring later, but it's on my radar.

[quote=Holzter]great vibey tune & love the chords! I like the chord around 1:28 - was it a sus chord? and the way it resolved. great use of the descending bassline too. [/quote] Thank you very much for the appreciation and the question. The chord that section ends on (before going again to the "idk" line) is a AbM7/Bb that goes to Abm7b5/B and then to C, and the C might be the one that sounds sus, cause it has a D in it. I can't use my brain right now to figure out what it is but the notes are C in bass, and in this order A, B, D, E, G in the right hand. [quote=orangedrink]a testament to your musicianship is the fact that i felt like crying for an inexplicable reason within 30 seconds of this how can i learn how to do sick chord changes like this? (and don't say "learn chords first" lolololol) (just read your response to Viridian and was like...............................ok fine don't tell me) love how honest this is. yeah, keep the first take, this is literally perfect to me. I don't know if I really heard "out of tune" as much as I heard "emotion taking over the voice" which was a positive experience. this would be the sickest closing track on your album, where the penultimate track was a huge full band shredder (JUST MY OPINION BUT Y'ALL KNOW I'M RIGHT)[/quote] [quote=orangedrink][quote=horatiuromantic]After a night's sleep I think I would kill the very last line about the crying[/quote] it's literally my favorite line so i'm glad you didn't have a night's sleep. [/quote] OD you give life with your comments. thank you so much for your suggestions and support. the chords thing is to be aware of it and constantly listen for it, and then you can learn from various places this way, including your own playing / your own discoveries. - For instance at some point I stumbled on the 13 chord and since then I almost constantly use it in my playing: it's when you play a M7 chord over a bass that's two semitones higher than the lowest note, like BbM7/C or FM7/G - or the 69 chord that has the voicing 1-3-6-9 and it sounds/feels like a M7 but without the 7th - and the special sauce is that you can play it on guitar too, and on the piano it's two 4ths in the right hand so it's easy to play in every key. And there are infinite tricks like this but I think you have to discover the ones that work for you on your instrument. I learn a lot from youtube, big channels like Rick Beato and Open Studio like I mentioned, or more random ones like that microtonal lady Zheanna Rose or MonoNeon or totally random ones I can't even remember. And I guess I go to a lot of concerts of mostly wacky music: free jazz, avantgarde improvised, harsh noise - see my new documentary ;) , more normal jazz, the occasional metal/rock/pop/folk one etc. So I think that is very inspiring without noticing. [quote=littlebigmosaic]Great chords and vocals. Sounds straight from the heart and that's the best kind of sound <3 I am trying to branch out with my chords and voicing this year. You will inspire![/quote] Ah so nice to hear! Thank you so much! Feel free to steal voicing and shit, see my comment for OD above. [quote=rplktr]I appreciate singing on Weekly Beats tracks as it's a big challenge to me. I will finally release something with vocals myself for Week 11 but it was a battle! The expression in the singing is there, and singing is doubly hard when you're playing at the same time. And the e-piano performance is indeed delicious. The vocals are out of tune here and there, and that's distracting a little from the otherwise heartfelt song. I think a little Melodyne magic in post wouldn't hurt the authenticity.[/quote] Oh yea!! Do it, can't wait to hear, I'm curious what you'll come up with. Thanks for the note on the vocals being out of tune and maybe fixing with some melodyne. I'm gonna lean against it because it's both a way to force myself to be more in tune as I get experience, and to find a way to make the out-of-tune sound good and make it my own style. Sometimes my out of tune singing is random, other times I use it on purpose. Because it sounds dissonant, and that could be what makes a song tell a story. I have been using semitones in the bass for heavy dissonance, all kinds of tricks, and this is another of them. But fair point, sometimes it is just a bit in the way. I also know some singers who are just magical and use autotune as an instrument to achieve a sound (and not to fix their pitch). That is something for exploring later, but it's on my radar.

[quote=horatiuromantic][quote=Holzter]great vibey tune & love the chords! I like the chord around 1:28 - was it a sus chord? and the way it resolved. great use of the descending bassline too. [/quote] Thank you very much for the appreciation and the question. The chord that section ends on (before going again to the "idk" line) is a AbM7/Bb that goes to Abm7b5/B and then to C, and the C might be the one that sounds sus, cause it has a D in it. I can't use my brain right now to figure out what it is but the notes are C in bass, and in this order A, B, D, E, G in the right hand. actually I think of Abmaj7 /Bb as a sus chord, I think that’s what I was hearing. I like where you went with it. actually if you don’t mind the plug, now that we’re talking about it it’s making me think of my own tune with some Bbsus trickery: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Fb0kreNiWJAkDj48cW8vk?si=Tg2FQVcoRMiWE79i3h-04w [/quote]

Wow, this song still holds many dimensions even though it is simple. I feel like the simplicity serves to do justice to the different emotional layers that I can feel in it, better than if it were to have more stuff going on (though of course I don't know, that could be a cool, different version too

Bittersweet, heartwrenching (is that a word?)...and tender at the same time. Well done!

Wow, this song still holds many dimensions even though it is simple. I feel like the simplicity serves to do justice to the different emotional layers that I can feel in it, better than if it were to have more stuff going on (though of course I don't know, that could be a cool, different version too ;) Bittersweet, heartwrenching (is that a word?)...and tender at the same time. Well done!

Cool track! thanks for sharing! I can hear you went downwards with the progression from the chord in question, I guess I went upwards.

I would say we both used them as kind of in-between turnarounds that don't really make much difference to the melody. The bigger achievement is when you incorporate some unusual chord like that in the melody so you HAVE to play it regardless, you have cool harmonies in there and yet it sounds easy to the ear.

thanks a lot for the nice words! I think of it as minimalist/maximalist since you used that term for one of my pieces it's a nice way to look at it! neither is better, it's just a different approach. thanks for listening!

[quote=Holzter] actually I think of Abmaj7 /Bb as a sus chord, I think that’s what I was hearing. I like where you went with it. actually if you don’t mind the plug, now that we’re talking about it it’s making me think of my own tune with some Bbsus trickery: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Fb0kreNiWJAkDj48cW8vk?si=Tg2FQVcoRMiWE79i3h-04w [/quote] Cool track! thanks for sharing! I can hear you went downwards with the progression from the chord in question, I guess I went upwards. I would say we both used them as kind of in-between turnarounds that don't really make much difference to the melody. The bigger achievement is when you incorporate some unusual chord like that in the melody so you HAVE to play it :D regardless, you have cool harmonies in there and yet it sounds easy to the ear. [quote=Minnamari]Wow, this song still holds many dimensions even though it is simple. I feel like the simplicity serves to do justice to the different emotional layers that I can feel in it, better than if it were to have more stuff going on (though of course I don't know, that could be a cool, different version too ;) Bittersweet, heartwrenching (is that a word?)...and tender at the same time. Well done![/quote] thanks a lot for the nice words! I think of it as minimalist/maximalist since you used that term for one of my pieces :D it's a nice way to look at it! neither is better, it's just a different approach. thanks for listening!

This is really nice.

This is really nice.