tookatooka
2687 posts
Feb 03, 2012
2:07 PM
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Luckily, playing harp has opened new doors for me and one that I've been developing lately is Electronic blues music. From what I've learnt by learning the harp I'm now able to play about with some of the other music toys. I've put a little sample up to show my latest sound which I'm quite happy with. I'm using an old copy of Fruity Loops 3.5 and just hand programming it. I haven't got a music keyboard.
I'd like to hear any comments. It's only a short clip that fades in and out.
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atty1chgo
241 posts
Feb 05, 2012
4:09 PM
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I admire your enthusiasm, and mean no offense by my comments. But that ain't the blues, man.
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tookatooka
2691 posts
Feb 05, 2012
4:27 PM
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It's 12 bar and uses notes restricted to those in the blues scale. But it's not solemn:)
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Last Edited by on Feb 05, 2012 4:29 PM
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MrVerylongusername
2192 posts
Feb 05, 2012
4:51 PM
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It needs bass - serious, make your ribcage rattle bass.
In my opinion I IV V has too many changes for trance style music - it's supposed to be hypnotic - it needs to drone. Drone on the tonic and let the melody bring out the changes.
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Jim Rumbaugh
666 posts
Feb 05, 2012
5:17 PM
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It has a good beat
It's easy on the ears.
It's fine.
I was expecting to hear some wailing harp over top of the groove. Try it sometimes. Try some blue lyrics. You are going in the right direction.
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HarmoniCollege March 24, 2012
theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
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tf10music
129 posts
Feb 05, 2012
10:37 PM
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For it to be bluesy, it needs some acoustic overdubs -- harp, slide guitar, whatever. I like the melodies you have going, but my issue is with the percussion and low end: they both need to be fatter. Avoid using presets, because you won't get that beefy sound I think you're looking for. Double up your percussion tracks, then pan them to either side so that they take up more space on the track. Mess around with your mix a little bit.
Regarding the I-IV-V issue, I'll say that it can be done, but only with acoustic overdubs OVER a droning trance-type soundbed. I've been playing around with this stuff for a while, and that's what I've tentatively concluded.
This is a really good start, though. You might have something here.
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MrVerylongusername
2193 posts
Feb 06, 2012
12:10 AM
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Agreed. That's kinda what I wanted to say, but you phrased it better. Not that I iv v wouldn't work, but that it needed to be played over the droning keys
that's where the harp needs to come in.
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colman
123 posts
Feb 06, 2012
5:06 AM
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Moby,did an album,"PLAY" that has sampled blues mixed with different electronic stuff. i mess with some jungle,drum and bass, trance. any of this could be incorporated to a blues...
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atty1chgo
243 posts
Feb 06, 2012
5:43 AM
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Sorry, I don't buy the "never is heard the discouraging word" attitude. It is dance music, plain and simple. I am all for forward thinking and innovation. But this destroys the blues, and it is just plain Muzak of the type I have heard countless times in Euro-beat dance bars in the 1980's. Dressing up a pig and putting lipstick on it doesn't make it a super model.
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MrVerylongusername
2197 posts
Feb 06, 2012
5:54 AM
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"this destroys the blues..."
Absolutely, all blues music now ceases to exist. My SBWII CD has literally evaporated in front of my eyes. All blues musicians have instantly transmogrified into e popping, glo-stick waving, whistle blowing ravers.
Jeez - when will people stop trying to administer musical apartheid on the blues? It needs no protection. What is so wrong with a little experimentation?
Don't be discouraged Tooka! keep working at it
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atty1chgo
245 posts
Feb 06, 2012
5:59 AM
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@ MrVerylongusername - it sucks. Plain and simple.
But to your point, the blues doesn't "cease to exist". It just disappears into nonsensical drone beat. Let's be honest.
Have a nice day.
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2012 6:14 AM
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tookatooka
2692 posts
Feb 06, 2012
6:30 AM
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Hey guys, it's only a bit of fun. I'm an out and out amateur and like I said the little bit I've learnt comes from learning to play the harp. I had to use the blues progression because it's the only one I currently know, same for the blues scale.
As for destroying the blues, I don't think I'm quite up to that yet but I expect the Stones were similarly accused by the purists back in the sixties.
Anyway, I'm sure that any music genre is there to be played with, modified and experimented with. Surely, that's how new genres come into existence and guess what, it may be a genre that you come to like.
@attychgo. You'll be pleased to know the above sample has been modified and superseded by a later version. It will no longer exist outside this forum. Don't worry, I won't post it here in case you are offended.
Thanks to those who made some constructive comments and suggestions. I'll try to incorporate some of those ideas into my next attempts. Thanks.
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2012 6:35 AM
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atty1chgo
246 posts
Feb 06, 2012
10:37 AM
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I'm a rank amateur as well.
I was never offended by what you posted. In fact, all I commented initially was that it was not the blues. But when it was implied that a simple opinion about it was somehow "musical apartheid", I was compelled to exercise my First Amendment rights. Hey, if you like it, or can get others to, more power to you. I am just generally offended with political correctness whenever employed. Besides the other comments seemed to me to be politeness to the point of extreme, with no comment as to what it sounded like. Rather than dance around the subject, I expressed my opinion, nothing more. I leave it to the reader and listener to make up their own mind.
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shadoe42
122 posts
Feb 06, 2012
10:54 AM
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So listened to this a couple times. Haven't commented since the board kept giving me the error and would then eat my comment :)
as a blues piece i agree with others..its not really blues as I understand them.
However as an electronic piece it is a good start. The sequence is quite catchy, it could use some more movement overall and of course some changes as the track moves forward. The initial build to when the main sequence start is good but could do with a bit more tension :)
I am presuming you are using the synths built in to FL 3.5? I would certainly suggest if you want to pursue this further to upgrade to the latest version of what is now FL Studio. haha but it has changed a LOT since 3.5
I could hear some harp over this, most likely some fairly heavily effected harp.
as a pure electronic trance-ish track I would like to see it developed more to see where you are going with it.
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The Musical Blades
My Electronic Music World
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tookatooka
2694 posts
Feb 06, 2012
11:18 AM
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@atty1chgo. Respect. No problem.
@Shadoe42. Thanks. I have looked at FLStudio and it's way advanced since 3.5. I've not updated because 3.5 is complex enough for me. There's so much to it. I only use the 3xOsc and TS404 and some of the other percussion samples. When I get to know it better, I may upgrade but it is very confusing unless you can use it daily.
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shadoe42
124 posts
Feb 06, 2012
9:06 PM
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I would encourage you to continue with it. Electronic stuff can be a lot of fun. I like it because it exercises the other side of my musical brain. the more avant garde side if you will. You can check my sound cloud if you feel like it for my electronic stuff.. little bit of everything there. In particular here is an older not quite finished track in a similar vein to yours http://soundcloud.com/you/tracks?page=2
Unfortunately the project files for this track got lost in a hard drive crash and after the rebuild it could not all be recreated so this is all I have left of it :)
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The Musical Blades
My Electronic Music World
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tf10music
133 posts
Feb 06, 2012
11:13 PM
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I used to work with flstudio8 a bunch, and I liked the configuration. It's a lot easier to learn than Ableton, Reason, and even Logic. Just download patches that aren't presets and you're good to go.
I wish you the best of luck.
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Rubes
474 posts
Feb 07, 2012
2:14 AM
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Go for it Tooks, add some harp! :~}
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One of Rubes's bands, DadsinSpace-MySpace
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tookatooka
2697 posts
Feb 07, 2012
2:33 AM
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@shadoe42. Thanks I'll check you out on soundcloud.
@tf10music. Thanks but what are Presets?
@Rubes. Thanks. I'm going, I'm going.
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tf10music
134 posts
Feb 07, 2012
2:56 AM
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When you download a music making program, it comes with a set of patches and plugins. Those are presets. You can tweak them, or download more patches/plugins that have the sound you're looking for. You can alos use found sounds and process them into patches.
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Honkin On Bobo
913 posts
Feb 07, 2012
8:36 AM
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I would definitely agree with atty1chgo. Had I stumbled upon this somewhere else, I would have definitely thought "hmmm.....dance/techno/muzak music".
No way I would have thought I was listening to the blues. Which is interesting because it just goes to show, that the 12-bar form and limiting a piece to the notes in the blues scale is not nearly enough to get something sounding bluesy. At least to these ears. And as an aside, I don't think it is the lack of solemness either, there are plenty of up tempo blues tunes.
Personally, not my cup of tea. I always thought dance/techno/disco/muzak was absolutely soulless, and if you were coming of age in the late 70's you had to endure this stuff because discos were where most people (read: the women) were going on friday/ saturday nights, at least in my neck of the woods. But, I recognize, that's just personal taste and mine are fairly narrow.....so keep on keeping on.
edit: captcha and me...in an epic battle of wills to see if I get to post. So far....i'm winning.
Last Edited by on Feb 07, 2012 8:38 AM
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tookatooka
2699 posts
Feb 07, 2012
10:35 AM
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That's OK HOB. We'll be partying, dancing, prancing, whooping it up with the girls and the gang.
You can just sit in the corner and read your book.
No Problem :0)
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Honkin On Bobo
914 posts
Feb 07, 2012
10:55 AM
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Ha! Took,
If the musical entertainment is electrosonic, you won't even find me in the room. Knock yourself out you big ladykiller you...... ;-)
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