The VT Musicians Thread

[VILLAMARV]

seemed an appropriate moment to share this. I recently showed my young nephews a bit of this. One of them was particularly enthralled to see where all the different sounds came from. Felt like I'd opened his eyes a bit when they went home which is surely good uncle duties?

[Xann]

Robert Glasper on working with Lauryn Hill

If you don't know him? RG is known as a fine pianist and producer, not for being a controversial gobshite.

The most surprising thing is that he's actually saying it.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Xann

[TheAuthority]

Sadly  @Xann to me, none of what he says is surprising. I've met too many 'successful' musicians.

They're not all like that, but there are far more musicians who are amazing people and artists who you've never heard of in comparison to charlatans who have found fame.

[A'Villan]

Does anyone on here make hip-hop beats?

If so, what software do you use?

What's a rough guesstimate on how many hours it took you to produce something you liked?

[il_serpente]

1 hour ago, A'Villan said:

Does anyone on here make hip-hop beats?

If so, what software do you use?

What's a rough guesstimate on how many hours it took you to produce something you liked?

These two are incompatible, I'm afraid.

[MrDuck]

1 hour ago, A'Villan said:

Does anyone on here make hip-hop beats?

If so, what software do you use?

What's a rough guesstimate on how many hours it took you to produce something you liked?

I'm doing heaps of drum programming at present, and using a bunch of hip hop influences sounds for the first time. Combination of Fruity Loops, and midi drum kits in Logic.

[A'Villan]

1 hour ago, il_serpente said:

These two are incompatible, I'm afraid.

Ha! Your prejudice is your loss, I'm afraid.

Just being silly, it's not for everyone, and there's A LOT of very poor quality rap going around.

[A'Villan]

48 minutes ago, MrDuck said:

I'm doing heaps of drum programming at present, and using a bunch of hip hop influences sounds for the first time. Combination of Fruity Loops, and midi drum kits in Logic.

Outside of the 'bunch of hip hop influences' part, this is like a different language to me.

At this stage I just write the lyrics.

I'll get on google when I get home tonight and do a bit of research as to what you do.

Cheers.

[mjmooney]

2 hours ago, il_serpente said:

These two are incompatible, I'm afraid.

I'm glad it was somebody other than me for a change. 

[mjmooney]

34 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

Outside of the 'bunch of hip hop influences' part, this is like a different language to me.

At this stage I just write the lyrics.

I'll get on google when I get home tonight and do a bit of research as to what you do.

Cheers.

Google 'DAW' - Digital Audio Workstation. 

Basically, recording software for your computer. 'Logic' is one example, there are dozens of others, prices varying from free (Audacity) to very expensive (Pro Tools). I believe Fruity Loops is quite popular for that ear-torturing stuff that you seem to like. Personally, I swear by Reaper. 

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communications protocol for converting digital code into sound (e.g. programmed drum beats). 

[Xann]

There's instructions for a basic Audiotool set up in this thread for useless.

It's free, works in a browser window and is piss easy to use.

A good initial trainer for patterns and structure.

You patch it as you would in a studio and the virtual devices are based on real instruments. So if you ever got your hands on a real TR808 or TB303? You'd know how to operate them.

It's quite open ended as you can upload your own samples.

 

Get bitten by the bug and you can consider splashing out on something more serious, like MrDuck's Logic.

[mjmooney]

17 minutes ago, Xann said:

There's instructions for a basic Audiotool set up in this thread for useless.

It's free, works in a browser window and is piss easy to use.

A good initial trainer for patterns and structure.

You patch it as you would in a studio and the virtual devices are based on real instruments. So if you ever got your hands on a real TR808 or TB303? You'd know how to operate them.

It's quite open ended as you can upload your own samples.

 

Get bitten by the bug and you can consider splashing out on something more serious, like MrDuck's Logic.

All good advice. 

You may also find this article  helpful - compares DAWs, and covers a number of other things to consider in setting up your home studio. 

EDIT: You'll probably need to buy an audio interface (the box that sits between the computer and any instruments, microphones, etc.) - and some of these come ready-bundled with DAW software. Do some research. 

Right, I'm off to do some mixing. 

Edited August 17, 2018 by mjmooney

[MrDuck]

3 hours ago, il_serpente said:

These two are incompatible, I'm afraid.

I generally can't stand hip hop, but some of the beats and rhythms are brilliant. I'm finding it hugely inspiring to try using them in a different musical context, after years of working with folksy/rocky/indie drummers.

[MrDuck]

2 hours ago, A'Villan said:

Outside of the 'bunch of hip hop influences' part, this is like a different language to me.

At this stage I just write the lyrics.

I'll get on google when I get home tonight and do a bit of research as to what you do.

Cheers.

Fruity Loops is a great bit of software for creating your own drum loops, and affordable too. You can get some great rhythm tracks together in very little time, and it requires very little experience of music software.
With the midi stuff in Logic, I'm basically playing drums live on a keyboard using real kit/drum machine samples, and then tweaking them with a bit of editing.

[Xann]

 

[mjmooney]

3 minutes ago, MrDuck said:

I generally can't stand hip hop, but some of the beats and rhythms are brilliant. I'm finding it hugely inspiring to try using them in a different musical context, after years of working with folksy/rocky/indie drummers.

I've only limited use for programmed drums, as I prefer the slightly sloppy (in my case very sloppy) sound of a human hitting things (see my comments about The War On Drugs in the albums thread). But I do occasionally use them as a slightly more sophisticated metronome to give me some help (a programmed kick + hi hat is easier to play along with than a simple click track). I always discard the midi track for the finished mix. 

I have however, been playing around with sequencers, exploring the sort of synth effects that The Who used on 'Baba O'Riley' and 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. This, again, is merely as a backdrop to actual instruments. Speaking of which, @MrDuck, I've just acquired a banjo! 

[A'Villan]

On 17/08/2018 at 18:01, mjmooney said:

Google 'DAW' - Digital Audio Workstation. 

Basically, recording software for your computer. 'Logic' is one example, there are dozens of others, prices varying from free (Audacity) to very expensive (Pro Tools). I believe Fruity Loops is quite popular for that ear-torturing stuff that you seem to like. Personally, I swear by Reaper. 

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communications protocol for converting digital code into sound (e.g. programmed drum beats). 

Can I ask a favour of you?

Can you listen to either song by Immortal Technique, "Caught In a Hustle", or "Leaving The Past", then come back and tell me if you think it anything less than instrumentally pleasing and lyrically superlative?

I know people have different tastes, but some things are universal.

As hip-hop has been such a strong presence in my life, from break-dance to rap even back to my teenage years as a scallywag graffiti muralist, I would like to promote it's practice and appreciation.

I'm not talking about the dumb s*** by artist like "9 Gold Rings On Each Finger" where song title and lyrical wordplay is as accomplished as "i luv dem strippaz".

I can totally relate to the notion that stuff is unbearable. I'm just curious to know if you've ever actually been exposed to anything good?

Some rap is as powerful as Bob Marley, satirical as Zappa, political and philosophical as Dylan, and if you're at all a fan of wordplay and puns, then hip-hop is where it's at.

[mjmooney]

32 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

Can I ask a favour of you?

Can you listen to either song by Immortal Technique, "Caught In a Hustle", or "Leaving The Past", then come back and tell me if you think it anything less than instrumentally pleasing and lyrically superlative?

OK, I tried the first one. Nice guitar intro, but then... the voice and drums started, and I could only stand another ten seconds or so before I had to switch it off. The lyrics can be as profound as you like, but I can't get past the fact that I hate that sound - the drum loop and the style of delivery just set my teeth on edge. Either make music - y'know, melody and harmony, not just insistent rhythm - or read poetry, in a natural way, without the thumping. It is (as we old folks always say) a horrible noise. 

I'm sure it has its merits for those who do like that sort of sound, but some forms of music will always sound awful to some people - I can listen to stuff like trad English folk, or bluegrass, which I know would have many people running from the room covering their ears. Who can fathom why we like what we like? 

[A'Villan]

8 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

OK, I tried the first one. Nice guitar intro, but then... the voice and drums started, and I could only stand another ten seconds or so before I had to switch it off. The lyrics can be as profound as you like, but I can't get past the fact that I hate that sound - the drum loop and the style of delivery just set my teeth on edge. Either make music - y'know, melody and harmony, not just insistent rhythm - or read poetry, in a natural way, without the thumping. It is (as we old folks always say) a horrible noise. 

I'm sure it has its merits for those who do like that sort of sound, but some forms of music will always sound awful to some people - I can listen to stuff like trad English folk, or bluegrass, which I know would have many people running from the room covering their ears. Who can fathom why we like what we like? 

Yeah, great post.

While I spend more time listening to some genres more than others, I find it hard to say there's any one that I have a distaste for, hence my curiousity.

Maybe Heavy Metal, or commercial radio.

Yet both have the odd track that makes me think, 'yep, that's art right there'

Thanks for giving it a shot!

[MrDuck]

On 17/08/2018 at 19:39, mjmooney said:

I've only limited use for programmed drums, as I prefer the slightly sloppy (in my case very sloppy) sound of a human hitting things (see my comments about The War On Drugs in the albums thread). But I do occasionally use them as a slightly more sophisticated metronome to give me some help (a programmed kick + hi hat is easier to play along with than a simple click track). I always discard the midi track for the finished mix. 

I have however, been playing around with sequencers, exploring the sort of synth effects that The Who used on 'Baba O'Riley' and 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. This, again, is merely as a backdrop to actual instruments. Speaking of which, @MrDuck, I've just acquired a banjo! 

I've got much more use for programmed drums since my drummer moved 800kms west to Adelaide! I'm working on an album now where I'm trying a different approach than normal, trying to get a drum track down first and then build from there. Normally I build from the acoustic guitar. Makes me approach the songs much differently than I normally do, which I find very refreshing.

I do love the banjo. Incredibly versatile instrument as well. My friend in my old band had an electric banjo, which we'd overdrive through a valve amp, which was awesome fun, sounded great in a folk/rock/punk act.