7 Weekly Beats 2024 True Statement

By thgirwnhoj on February 18, 2024 6:26 pm

I have a template set I use to start my tracks that I have been using for awhile and I have been meaning to update it with more settings and sounds. Specifically, one of the things I wanted to do was load multiple sounds of a certain type that I like so I have a limited number to choose from. I started doing that for this track by picking four different kick drum sounds, but I liked them all so much that I abandoned the template idea and just used them together in different parts of the track.

I built out a beat that I liked on my Push 2 and then migrated over to my MIDI keyboard to write a bass line. I found a plucky bass sound and started jamming on a pattern I liked. I played it on different parts of the keyboard, but it sounded best when I only used the black keys. I have very limited music theory training, so I do not know what key that left me in, but I built out the stabs, pads and arpeggiated textures using the same method.

I could not for the life of me get the arpeggiator built into the lead synth device preset to do what I wanted it to do. What you’re hearing is the best approximation of what I heard in my head. It is a nice sound, but I was hoping to have it bounce around more.

Being honest, this was a hard one to come back to. I wasn’t feeling it on my second or even third visit to the project. But by the fourth time I sat down with it, I was nodding my head again. That showed me how easy it is to lose interest in a track and give up prematurely. I would easily have given up on this one if not for the arbitrary Sunday deadline and a 7-week streak on the line.

Thank you for listening and for your comments. I really appreciate it!

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Tags: week 7 2024, View by:thgirwnhoj

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February 19, 2024 2:37 pm

horatiuromantic

Super nice chill dance groove!

I L O V E the cowbell type percussion starting at 1:50ish and its clave variations later.

it's a super nice production I think, and I'm not really listening much to this style. I think you can probably get where you wanna go by keeping making new stuff like this even if it's very similar to old ones you made. cause as you said, it's hard to go back to it once you leave it for a while, altho kudos for managing to come back and rescue it. but for fresh ears this sounds very groovy.

the arps and some chord stabs happening here and there, and the sections coming in and out, I think give it a lot of nice momentum. Better than 99% club dance music I ever heard in a club. Still not quite at the level
of nts.live/infinite-mixtapes poolside station IMHO, but close

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February 19, 2024 8:33 pm

Cursory

I really like the template idea, and even if you abandoned it, it sounds like it got you where you needed to be anyway haha. The way things build from around 2:00 to 3:48 is almost hypnotic and so fun. Every little variation/addition is welcome and grabs my attention without overpowering what's already there, so impressive!

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February 21, 2024 10:56 pm

fetalface

Sounds good! I enjoy reading about your process, and I'm always impressed when artists like yourself hear instrumental parts or arrangements in your head, and then attempt to realize them by designing sounds. How insistent is the arp you hear? Will you leave it as-is or continue to chase the arp in your head?

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February 26, 2024 5:54 pm

thgirwnhoj

horatiuromantic wrote:

Super nice chill dance groove!
I L O V E the cowbell type percussion starting at 1:50ish and its clave variations later.
it's a super nice production I think, and I'm not really listening much to this style. I think you can probably get where you wanna go by keeping making new stuff like this even if it's very similar to old ones you made. cause as you said, it's hard to go back to it once you leave it for a while, altho kudos for managing to come back and rescue it. but for fresh ears this sounds very groovy.
the arps and some chord stabs happening here and there, and the sections coming in and out, I think give it a lot of nice momentum. Better than 99% club dance music I ever heard in a club. Still not quite at the level
of nts.live/infinite-mixtapes poolside station IMHO, but close

Thank you! I appreciate the comment about the percussion that comes in at 1:50. The samples I used for the first part were from a djembe, then I recall the clave sample was just called "metal." I was on the fence about whether to keep the djembe part, so I'm glad it resonated. It is very encouraging to hear that someone would compare this track to something playing in a club. And I totally forgot about NTS! Thanks for the reminder and I will check out that station.

Cursory wrote:

I really like the template idea, and even if you abandoned it, it sounds like it got you where you needed to be anyway haha. The way things build from around 2:00 to 3:48 is almost hypnotic and so fun. Every little variation/addition is welcome and grabs my attention without overpowering what's already there, so impressive!

Thank you so much! Yes, the incremental build up by adding parts and variations keeps my attention too and I find it hypnotic in the sense I can get lost in the production process. Setting up the template can be tedious, but in the end it helps me get to that creative place quicker. Thanks again!

fetalface wrote:

Sounds good! I enjoy reading about your process, and I'm always impressed when artists like yourself hear instrumental parts or arrangements in your head, and then attempt to realize them by designing sounds. How insistent is the arp you hear? Will you leave it as-is or continue to chase the arp in your head?

Thank you! Good question about how insistent the arp that I hear is. I suppose my answer is not very insistent because I did abandon it in favor of what I was able to accomplish quickly in the software. The device I was using had a "built-in" arp that I couldn't see, so I ended up adding an Arpeggiator device and just used the first pluck from the original device as the source. For purposes of Weekly Beats, I have no plans to keep chasing what I heard in my head. I just want to post these tracks and move on. My hope is that I keep running into challenges like that and get a little better at solving them each time, so one day I can translate what I hear in my head to the DAW more efficiently. Thanks again for listening!

[quote=horatiuromantic]Super nice chill dance groove! I L O V E the cowbell type percussion starting at 1:50ish and its clave variations later. it's a super nice production I think, and I'm not really listening much to this style. I think you can probably get where you wanna go by keeping making new stuff like this even if it's very similar to old ones you made. cause as you said, it's hard to go back to it once you leave it for a while, altho kudos for managing to come back and rescue it. but for fresh ears this sounds very groovy. the arps and some chord stabs happening here and there, and the sections coming in and out, I think give it a lot of nice momentum. Better than 99% club dance music I ever heard in a club. Still not quite at the level of nts.live/infinite-mixtapes poolside station IMHO, but close :D[/quote] Thank you! I appreciate the comment about the percussion that comes in at 1:50. The samples I used for the first part were from a djembe, then I recall the clave sample was just called "metal." I was on the fence about whether to keep the djembe part, so I'm glad it resonated. It is very encouraging to hear that someone would compare this track to something playing in a club. And I totally forgot about NTS! Thanks for the reminder and I will check out that station. [quote=Cursory]I really like the template idea, and even if you abandoned it, it sounds like it got you where you needed to be anyway haha. The way things build from around 2:00 to 3:48 is almost hypnotic and so fun. Every little variation/addition is welcome and grabs my attention without overpowering what's already there, so impressive![/quote] Thank you so much! Yes, the incremental build up by adding parts and variations keeps my attention too and I find it hypnotic in the sense I can get lost in the production process. Setting up the template can be tedious, but in the end it helps me get to that creative place quicker. Thanks again! [quote=fetalface]Sounds good! I enjoy reading about your process, and I'm always impressed when artists like yourself hear instrumental parts or arrangements in your head, and then attempt to realize them by designing sounds. How insistent is the arp you hear? Will you leave it as-is or continue to chase the arp in your head?[/quote] Thank you! Good question about how [i]insistent[/i] the arp that I hear is. I suppose my answer is not very insistent because I did abandon it in favor of what I was able to accomplish quickly in the software. The device I was using had a "built-in" arp that I couldn't see, so I ended up adding an Arpeggiator device and just used the first pluck from the original device as the source. For purposes of Weekly Beats, I have no plans to keep chasing what I heard in my head. I just want to post these tracks and move on. My hope is that I keep running into challenges like that and get a little better at solving them each time, so one day I can translate what I hear in my head to the DAW more efficiently. Thanks again for listening!

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