So, the thing about writing music on computers is that you are spoilt for choice. To speed up my decision making process, I have been setting myself a different set of rules of audio engagement for each project I am working on. for example, I am working on some new material with the outstanding Hailey Cramer who writes great catchy and soulful tunes. To give the tunes a sense of cohesion, we negotiated a set of parameters for instrumentation and rules of how we played and recorded the instruments.
1. Rhythm tracks are played by hand (shakers, claps, clicks, metal tins, bins, glockenspiel, wood etc) and are multi-layered to build tone and groove
2. Synth parts are minimal and played on analog hardware in real time (no MIDI)
3. Kick drums are cool, providing I have recorded it myself (thank you Ben Vanderwal!)
4. Keep editing to a minimum, go for long phrases rather than editing within the bar
Now as we all know, rules are meant to be broken and it’s important to note that I embrace the joys of sequencing and editing at an intricate level – however, we have found it most effective and as Hailey and myself are both pretty busy playing lots of musics, it does give us a focal point, a common ground and a way to get to bringing out the song.
Also, now that I have joined the masses and got myself an iPhone 4, I have been taking this rule business to the pocket. I have just finished the first beat for my new ‘concept’ project: Fifty9 Dolla Kap. Consisting of the free TweakyBeats app, a Kaos Pad Mini and the half an hour it takes to get from Preston to Flinders Street station.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
