rebekahkushermusic

[rebekahkushermusic]

A tour of the Hotel California

Guitars, guitars, and more guitars. In the Eagles’ iconic “Hotel California,” the band uses multiple layers of guitars and melodies to create a dense musical texture. The song opens with two 12-string guitars playing similar, but not quite identical melodies. Underneath them, an electric bass plays one note per chord. It sounds like there is a little bit of maraca or shaker in the early measures. When the intro melody repeats, there is another guitar line playing, which is not as similar as the other two. There is also an acoustic guitar which is strumming single block chords. 

The vocals come in with “On a dark desert highway...” and the drums join them on this entry. There is reverb and compression on the vocals, and reverb on all of the instruments, except for the drums. The bass line changes here, and there’s an electric guitar playing chords. “There she stood in the doorway...” the second verse is mostly the same, except for the addition of another electric guitar harmony. 

“Welcome to the Hotel California...” is sung by 3 members of the band in harmony, with the background vocals also echoing the main melody. When they are not singing, an electric guitar is playing little melodies. This pattern remains the same throughout the entire chorus.

“Her mind was Tiffany-Twisted...” The electric guitars are still present and playing melodies in close harmony, while a 12-string guitar is added to the mix. The 12-string is playing single notes, and is very subtle. “So I called up the captain...” all of the guitars continue, and another electric guitar is added. We also hear high harmonies on the guitars and vocals. The second chorus follows the same pattern and instrumentation as the first. 

There is a moment of total silence before the fifth verse begins with “Mirrors on the ceiling...” The instrumentation of this verse differs from the rest in that it is the introduction being reprised, rather than the usual verse melodies. The instrumentation returns to normal, with more intensity, at “Last thing I remember...”

In the long guitar solo section, Joe Walsh and Don Felder play electric guitar solos, while the verse instrumentation continues underneath them. There are times when the other electric guitars support the solo melody. The song ends with the solos and instrumentation repeating and slowly fading out. 

The song was recorded first with everyone playing their parts together, and then dubbed over with individually recorded tracks. Bill Szymczyk was the Producer and Engineer. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

This track will haunt my nightmares

I swear I didn’t intend to make this freaky of a track... I just kind of followed the creative flow of the track, and ended up with this ElectroHorror (don’t know if that’s an actual genre or not) wonderland. I used the midi file of the Beetlejuice theme from David Crosby’s “Beetlejuice Midi,” and set it to a synth, rather than a piano like the original. My plan was to create some kind of dance track, and figured synth would fare better in the club than piano. 

The intro was just me playing around on the synth in a different timbre, hitting random notes until I found dissonances I liked. I figured that since I was using the Beetlejuice theme, an ominous laugh would make a good transition. In order for the drums to sync up with the synth melody, the drum track had to start a little before the synth track. I was having trouble trimming the excess off the beginning after looping it, so I decided to leave it on, and have a little fade in at the beginning to make the entry less harsh. 

In the first “verse,” I have the 808 drum track underneath the synth, as well as a synth bass melody. As the verse progresses, the synth becomes incrementally, but progressively more out of sync with the synth melody. This was a result of not looping the track correctly, but I decided to leave it when I realized it could act as foreshadowing for the middle section- a sign that things are getting slightly off kilter...

This middle section was the creative product of all of the horror movies I watched around Halloween. I believe all of the sounds in this section came from FreeSound. I wanted the change in sections to be abrupt this time, so I didn’t add any kind of transitional sound, or stop the synth on a cadence in the melody. I did add some fade out to the melody, drums, and bass so that while abrupt, it would still sound organic. The background noise was a “Dark Horn,” and all of the laughs were found under “evil laugh,” “cackle,” or “rpg-wicked witch battle sounds” (The particularly weird female laugh track.) I spaced out these tracks so that they would overlap and alternate, creating a textured soundscape of hellish laughter. This section is mixed louder than normal in order to add to the uncomfortable, jarring effect created by this section.

For the second “verse,” I had the drums (now with an extra 808 kick) come in as the last laugh and Horn track were fading out. I felt like this was vaguely reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” This time, the bass was looped correctly, implying that things have returned to “normal.” I played out the final tonic chord on the synth, in order to give the melody a more definitive ending. Going along with the “Thriller” theme, I closed the track out with more ominous laughter. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Sampling- I like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTlNMmZKwpA

Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin’s “I Like It” is, as the kids say, “a bop.” This song has been part of my friends and I’s “getting ready to go out” playlist for a while now. As we were listening to it one night, I realized that the “I like it like that” part, which appears throughout the song, is most likely a sample of another song. When I checked it out on WhoSampled, I discovered that it is from Pete Rodriguez’s 1966 song, “I Like It Like That.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiM9GqZG9kE (Sample begins at 0:35.) This sample is used as the introduction of the song, and then is used as a type of musical theme throughout, often alternating with and overlapping Cardi’s vocals. (0:58-1:25, 2:22-2:49, 3:47-4:00)

Going in a completely different direction for the second half of this post, let’s talk Shrek: The Musical. For a musical about Shrek, it’s actually incredibly funny and well done. Throughout the musical, there are clever references to other famous broadway musicals. One of these musical quotations can be found at the end of Farquaad’s song “What’s Up, Duloc.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFDsYJifLk8 At 3:34, Farquad sings “And no one’s gonna bring me down ahhhhh.” This is almost a direct quote from the ending of “Defying Gravity” from the musical, Wicked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9KwppMfs (Starting at 3:33)

[rebekahkushermusic]

That zamn zebra...

Through the process of creating the song “Zealous Zebra,” I discovered some pretty cool apps along the way. The first one was called “Band Pass.” This app is basically like GarageBand, but less user-friendly, in my opinion. Some of the perks of this app include being able to create your own drum loops, a variety of instruments to play, and a looper which you can install for only $0.99 more. All in all, very well equipped for a mobile app. If I had unlimited time, or if I were more experienced with music production software, I would’ve gotten much more out of this app. As a beginner however, I found it rather difficult to figure out how to create multiple loops and put them together as a song.

The next app I played around with was EtherSurface. This was my favorite app out of this whole experience. EtherSurface falls somewhere between a synth pad and a theremin, and is similar to NodeBeat’s interface (although I actually found NodeBeat a little too abstract for my liking.) The app has multiple columns, each representing a note. Sliding your finger up and down the column controls the volume. You can use multiple fingers to play multiple notes, and slide between pitches and volumes. The app gives you the option to choose the octave, key, scale (including 12-tone, octatonic, and the Bohlen-Pierce microtonal scale), how many notes are displayed on the screen, and the actual sound effects. I had so much fun using this app and creating atmospheric, haunting music. The only downside to this app is that it does not allow you to record and save your creations. For this reason, I moved on to Music Maker JAM for android. 

I found Music Maker JAM to be about middle of the road as far as music making apps go. It is for sure user-friendly/ idiot proof, and includes a tutorial which walks you through the steps to using the app to combine its preset loops into songs. It includes a mixer where you can adjust the volume on each individual track, as well as mute certain tracks in each section. Each section gives you the option to make it a 1, 2, 4, or 8 bar phrase. Unfortunately there is no way to add or remove sounds for specific measures- only for the whole phrase. While the selection of (free) loops is pretty limited, I was still able to put together a decent track. I ran into trouble when I tried to export it, however. No matter which folder on my phone I tried to export the tract to, it would never actually end up in said folder. In a moment of brilliance (desperation?), I downloaded a screen recording app, recorded while I played the song on the app, and then sent the video to my computer, where I converted it to an mp3 file. The random noise in the beginning is the app being opened and set up. I was originally going to crop it out, but decided to keep it as an unconventional intro. Had I known I wouldn’t be able to easily export the song, or had I thought of the screen recording idea sooner, I would’ve created my song with EtherSurface. 

A note on the title- as an Android user, I was unable to download Auxy, which most people seemed to enjoy. I really liked their “adjective+animal” idea for their titles, and decided to go with that trend. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Platypus- The Remix

I began this remix simply by playing around on Soundtrap’s synthesizer, and creating a synth loop that I liked. I then went about choosing a drum track which would mesh well with the melody, and adding an 808 kick underneath to reinforce the beat. The whooshing sound at the beginning is apparently someone singing waaaay slowed down (found on freesound). The piano chords that come in are the same ones (in the same key, even) that I used in my song, “The Electric Platypus.” The synth melody that comes in after the percussion is the one I used for the main melody of “The Electric Platypus.” However, when I added the synth track, I realized that it had some echo-y overtones which clashed with the other synth and the chords underneath. Since I really wanted to have this melody present as a tie-in to the original song, I decided to play it by hand (with some slight alterations) on one of Soundtrap’s synths. Trying to sync up my self-made synth tracks with the preset tracks proved to be challenging at times, along with syncing the whoosh noise with the piano chords. The sound that bridges the gap between the whooshy piano break and the reentry of all of the tracks was an ambient noise track from freesound. While the project turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated due to the homemade synth tracks, I’m happy with how it turned out. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

50 Shades of Morally Grey- The Ethics of Sampling

This is a tough one. In a perfect world, everyone would be willing to share their music, with anyone who wanted it, for any purposes. However, being a society of free-thinking, diverse, and often selfish humans, this is rarely how those types of situations play out. Looking at music through the scope of traditional Western tonality, there is a finite number of ways to play with music and make it “unique,” without it sounding “unbearable,” as I’ve heard many 20th century atonal works described. With a dwindling list of ideas and motifs that haven’t been done (or overdone) yet, many musicians today are turning to sampling the work of other artists to give their music the oomf they desire. They then however run into the issue of whether or not they can or should. 

There is a school of thought that sampling is “stealing” and “unoriginal.” To a degree, I understand the frustration. Johnny Cornkernal in Podunk, Missouri tries to pay the bills with his guitar, and posts some of his (arguably terrible) songs on Soundcloud. One of these songs actually features a pretty cool guitar solo by his buddy Jake, who went to music school. A big name producer stumbles upon the track, loves the solo, and features it in 2018′s Next Big Dance Song, and rakes in millions. Johnny Cornkernal is understandably upset that “his song” is making millions and he’s not seeing any of the money. He feels like his idea has been ripped off and he’s been robbed. As someone who is currently (and maybe stupidly?) trying to make a living as a musician, I imagine I’d be a little upset if someone took a part of my song, made it better, and then profited off of it. 

On the other side of the argument are the artists and producers who regularly sample other songs, and create tracks that are widely listened to and distributed. As a musician in today’s society, 100% completely original ideas are very hard to come by. Even if you come up with a certain musical motif or passage completely on your own, there’s a very good chance that someone has already done a similar, if not the exact same thing. (The first piano song I ever “composed” turned out to be, almost note-for-note, the opening to Journey’s “Open Arms.”) Sampling allows the artist to take an idea which has already been created, and turn it into something of their own. Often times, the song created with a sample is nothing like the original, and in a lot of cases, it is better. Sampling allows the artist to take what may be a great idea, albeit underdeveloped, and turn it into something extraordinary, and in the cases of big name artists and producers, helps the idea to receive the attention  and exposure it deserves. 

Some may say that the “obvious” solution is to make sure that permission and monetary compensation is granted from and given to the original creator to use the sample, and that said creator receives a portion of the profit from the new song. However, this leads to a whole battery of questions and technicalities which must be addressed. If artists have to pay for every sample they use, we risk creating a classist system where only those who have the money to pay for samples can create tracks with them. This devolves into a cycle where only those who can afford the samples create songs with them, which become popular and generate more money for that same person to buy more samples, rinse and repeat. In this way, those who do not have the extra money to spend (a lot of musicians) are barred from creating the type of content that is widely popular in today’s society. 

 What if the original creator is dead? The next step would be to turn to the living relatives of that person for permission; but what if they say no? Are they really qualified to speak on behalf of the deceased, who may not have had a problem with sampling? If the person has no known surviving relatives, is that music then completely unusable until the end of time? 

If royalties must be paid to the original creator, what percentage of the profit should go to them? Should it be on some kind of sliding scale based on the length of the sample? Should a 3 second sample in a 3 minute song really even be receiving royalties? What if there are multiple creators or collaborators on that sample? In the case of Johnny Cornkernel’s soundcloud song, would Johnny receive all of the royalties? What about Jake, who actually played the guitar solo? What if a sample had a separate, writer, producer, and multiple musicians involved? Who would get the money?

Most of the above questions do not have a clear cut answer. I believe that the current music copyright laws need to be reassessed by a diverse board of musicians, writers, producers, and lawmakers, to find some kind of common ground between the two sides of the argument, and definitive answers to the many questions which arise from them. In the mean time, my personal philosophy is that sampling is generally okay, so long as the original creator is at least credited in writing. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Blurring the lines of reality

In the endless world of musical creativity and expression, artists regularly play with the concept of reality in their performances, to create variety, as well as certain interpretive effects. From realism to hyperrealism to surrealism, each respectable in their own regard, musicians use these techniques to enhance their songs and create varied soundscapes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awz0Qf7uPSw

This recording of the band Halestorm’s song “Love Bites (So Do I)” was done as part of a series of live recordings at Sear Sound Studios. It was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge for the sake of balance for the recording, but as someone who has seen this band play live before, I can say that it is very close to their actual live sound. There are not many effects such as autotune on the singer, Lzzy’s voice. In this recording, you can definitely hear the almost gritty quality her voice can have (which I personally enjoy and think is appropriate for this style of music). She often will choose to “growl” or “scream” certain notes for dramatic effect, instead of simply singing the pitches. This is a welcome contrast from some of their studio albums where her voice is definitely smoothed out a bit. You can also hear a couple of times when a wrong note or two was played in her guitar solo. In a typical studio recording, this would be corrected or redone. In a live performance however, there is no “redo” button, and the musician simply has to accept their mistake and continue on. This is a lesson that all live performers will learn at some point in their career (some more painfully than others). For the sake of staying true to live performance practice, the wrong notes were left unaltered in this recording. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKP9UdIcXFk

In this recording of “Words Fail” from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, the sound is enhanced and polished for the sake of marketing it to a larger commercial audience than just the “broadway nerds” or people who have seen the show live. While the instruments are mixed to create an ideal balance between instrumentation and vocals, I feel that the changes made to Ben Platt’s voice in the studio are what place this song in the category of “hyperrealistic.” This song is considered by many to be the emotional apex of this musical. In a short summary, this is the song where the main character, Evan, grapples with the awful consequences of the lies he’s told and the people he’s hurt with them, as well as his own self-hatred and perceived shortcomings. It is a very emotional moment, and everyone I know who has seen the show has reported that they were reduced to tears by the performance. After watching a recording from the musical (which I won’t link for fear of legal repercussions, but they’re out there), I completely understood why it was so moving, but also why it had to be altered in the studio. In the musical, Ben Platt is literally sobbing while singing this song- you can hear his gaspy breaths, and see the tears running down his face, as he puts his everything into this performance. This does however, compromise some of his vocal technique and sound. To someone who is listening outside the context of the show, and did not experience the emotional buildup which lead to the song, sobbing and gasping in a song may strike them as odd or off-putting. For the sake of appealing to a larger audience than jut those who have seen the show, or who are familiar with how emotional theatre can be, Ben Platt’s voice was autotuned and polished in the studio. While the recording still maintains the emotional integrity of the song, it is toned down and more melodic for the sake of commercialization. (Which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing, if it is helping the music reach a larger audience.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jYjCPe09co

In terms of reality, the band Ween is pretty far-out. Their 1997 album, The Mollusk, is full of synth-y sounds and underwater effects that could not be recreated live. On song which I find to fit well into the category of surrealism is “Pink Eye (On My Leg).” The song features a drum beat, accompanied by alternating guitars, and a melody played on a Moog Synthesizer. There are tons of synth fades (a kind of transitional whoooosh, perhaps to imitate ocean waves), noodly, ethereal (can’t tell if guitar or synth (or both)) passages, which could obviously not be replicated on a live instrument. Even the parts played on the guitars are distorted, and sound like they have synth layered on top of them for added effect. And the there’s the “vocals.” In this particular song, the only source of vocals are the dog barks, and the “uhhhhhhh”s which are interspersed throughout the song. From the sound of it, the dog barks are probably a sound that came with a synthesizer or keyboard, and the “uhhhhh” was probably someone groaning into a mic. While the “uhhhh” could probably be recreated live (though not with the same exact inflection, pitch and duration every time,) I highly doubt anyone is going to bring a dog on stage to bark precisely at the right time and frequency. While today’s technology could probably allow a performance like this to happen live through the use of computers (a la Daft Punk), this type of soundscape could not be recreated with all live instruments. This is not to say that it hasn’t been attempted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8s_zVWWxs This video shows the band rehearsing the song live. While the structure and basic sound remains the same, it is nowhere near as complex, layered, and in my opinion, enjoyable to listen to, as the original track. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Don’t Blink

After hearing the blinker sound in class, I knew it would be really cool to use in the found sound project. My original plan was to have the blinker as the main drum beat, but I came to realize that the sound was not nearly strong enough to carry the whole song. From there, I decided to find a drum track that would mesh nicely with the blinker, and added in a synth track. For the synth playing the chords, I cut up the track to place it on the beats I wanted, and to give it a little more variety. 

For the break in the middle of the song, I cut up and pasted bits of the blinker track together, to create a little more interest. I was so happy to find the cool synth fade to bring us back into the second part of the song. I added in the claps to make the beat even stronger. I wish I had made the blinker track a little louder, and mixed the rest of the tracks quieter, so that it would be more prominent, and create some interesting syncopation. I chose to end with just the synth’s last chord ringing out, to give it a more organic ending, rather than a simple fade. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Going bach to “Bach to the Future”

https://soundcloud.com/user-411827346/bach-to-the-future

All in all, I can say I really enjoyed putting this song together and working with MIDI. This project began with a beat which I created in the Groove Pizza app. Its lack of a strong downbeat creates an interesting, but not unpleasant sense of instability. Upon Prof. Hein’s suggestion, I decided to use it as the basis of my MIDI project. From there, I thought it would be interesting to set a Bach piece to this beat, especially since the MIDI is readily available. 

After browsing through the Bach MIDI page, I selected the Prelude to the Bach Cello Suite #2 in D minor. I made some minor adjustments in timing for the sake of aligning the two tracks. I let the cello have a solo at the very beginning, and then had the drums come in at the middle of the fourth measure, in order to better line up the beats. I also had the drums cut out in the middle, during a particularly intricate cello section. 

My original plan was to have the cello line be played by some kind of synth. However, Soundtrap would not let me change the instrument on this track (didn’t have an issue doing it with the drum track). I also wish I could have had more options in terms of drum kits, because I was very limited with Soundtrap. 

If I had unlimited time and resources, I would definitely find a better drum kit for my beat, and find a way to play the cello line on a synth instead. I feel like this would give it more of a “club” vibe than it has right now. I would also spend more time on the volume of the tracks because I feel like they’re both still a little too loud, especially the drums. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Pizza Beats

https://apps.musedlab.org/groovepizza/?source=pub&museid=Skhrqv_c7

I actually had a lot of fun playing around with the app and creating beats. This particular beat I’ve created reminds me of 90′s hip hop/rap, or maybe the backbeat to a Hamilton song. I enjoy how the syncopation keeps the beat interesting and “fresh,” because your brain is trying to figure out the pattern. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

A reflection on my first loop song

I wish I could say I labored for hours, listening to and selecting loops, in a quest to produce the most incredible loop song ever. But to be frank, that’s simply unrealistic, and in my opinion, a hindrance to the creative process. I went into this with no real methodology, no real plan; I simply selected some loops that I thought sounded cool together, and the rest fell into place. Now obviously there was some thought behind the arrangement of the loops; they’re not just arbitrarily placed into the song. For example, I chose to cut and paste the claps into select parts of the song to create interest and variety, rather than just leave the track looping for the entire song. I also doubled the drums after the synth solo to create a more dramatic re-entry. I also chose to include one last bit of the synth track right before the fade out as a sort of “surprise, I bet you thought you saw the last of me.” type of reprise. 

Through this project, I have gained a better understanding and appreciation for electronic music and its production process. Previously, I was on the fence about whether or not the production of this music constituted “musical creativity.” After dipping my toes into the world of this music however, I can wholeheartedly support this type of music as a valid form of musical creativity. Yes, the loops are premade, and yes, it’s not that difficult to find loops that sound nice together. However, turning these raw loops in to a song that is interesting and enjoyable to listen to is another beast in itself. It really does take a creative mind to mix, combine, and splice these loops into something meaningful, and I have a lot more respect for this genre of music now. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

Bringing sexy back... for this post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1dJ9R1M6Dg

SexyBack- Justin Timberlake/Timbaland

I’m going to be honest, I haven’t organically thought about this song in years. It just so happens that it came on a Spotify throwback playlist I was listening to today, and I figured it’d be fun to analyze in this blog post. 

The intro to the song lasts approximately 8 measures, and is basically vamping between Am and Bb chords. 

At about 0:15 or pickups to measure 9, the first verse begins. This verse lasts for 8 measures, and continues to vamp on Am and Bb. In measure 16, at about 0:31, Timbaland says “Take ‘em to the bridge!” which does indeed take us to the bridge. 

The bridge is also 8 measures long (we’re still going with the Am and Bb), from measures 17-24. In measure 24 (0:48), Timbaland says “Take ‘em to the chorus!” which takes us to... you guessed it, the chorus!

In the chorus, we double the length of the previous phrases, and have a 16-bar phrase. We also have the introduction of another chord- G#m! At 1:20 the chorus ends, and we then go to the second verse, after which we have various iterations of the bridge and chorus, brilliantly introduced by Timbaland. 

[rebekahkushermusic]

The best and the worst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUHlx119Cv4

Light- next to normal

Light is the finale of the 2009 broadway musical next to normal. This musical addresses a lot of difficult issues with grace and accuracy, and provides a hopeful, but realistic conclusion to this tale of a family in turmoil. Light acknowledges that life can be disappointing and unpredictable, and dispels the idea of a stereotypical “happy ending.” However, the song also conveys an overarching message of hope: no, things did not turn out how you expected, but you’re resilient and you’ll find a way to keep on living; there will be light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJZJcOsHghw

Gethsemane- John Legend (Jesus Christ Superstar)

Poor John Legend... he did his best. I respect him as an artist, and don’t view him as a “bad” singer. However, this was a poor casting decision. While the musical errs more to the “rock” side of musical theatre, John Legend was clearly uncomfortable with both the style and the range of the song. At several points in the video, he has very visible neck tension while singing the higher parts of the song, resulting in a “pushed” or “squeezed” sound. I understand NBC’s desire to cast “big names,” but I believe the quality of these live musicals would increase, were NBC to cast “big name” musical theatre singers, who are comfortable and experienced in singing this style of music.