| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Composition | |
| smg -- 01/26/2004, 09:42:49 -- #1075138967 | |
| re-Jim Lindstroms' thread last week | |
| Hey Jim,Albetan,et al..let's keep on dealing with this over here....I'd be interested in checking out how the songs' developing.As far as what you were asking about,what I'm doing is completing stuff intended to serve as the musical part for songs with lyrics. I'm putting together 6-track versions of these songs, using the built-in recording/mixing mechanism in my keyboard, which are"complete"(except for lyrics)in that they are demo-type arrangements with chords,melody,drum and percussion,bass,strings,guitar,etc.I am working out a few versions of each with a different vocal melody and in some cases a different rhythmic concept.Some are"cast" for R+B singers,some for pop; in addition I have tracks which are instrumentals I'd like to market,and in of themselves any of the "song demos"could work as instrumental versions. My plan is to make a demo tape(or two,I have alot of stuff)and then "shop them" to A+R people,producers,etc,based on the fact that the music in of itself is in a completed form and could easily serve as the basis for tracks for a singer who already has their own lyrics.Although,based on the research I've done online about the industry,I am full aware that many of the people I'll be sending the demos to usually only want to hear sonmgs with lyrics already added,I am very wary about any "collaboration" with a lyricist before getting my stuff heard by people since I don't want its' musical value and marketability to be in any way negatively impacted. Right now I'm dealing with finalizing the forms and structures,grooves and melodies.My focus has been on coming up with melodies that work for lyrics in terms of verse/ chorus/bridge considerations,dealing with technical aspects of melody writing like repeated motives and when to change to a "form" of the original motive in an 8-bar section,differences between melodies used in the verse and in the chorus over a harmonic structure that stays constant while the rhythm changes,form/structure considerations I've gone into above regarding the extent to which non-standard song and section length(in terms of bars)can work in the categories I'm interested in shopping my demos in,the difference between what type of progressions and melodies work for verse,bridge,and chorus sections,etc. A lot of my stuff originally was concieved of as jazz-type improv structures,with a lot of different connected sections(rondo form) and only one or two repeating,this is what's behind the type of thing I've experienced at times inthe process of getting these into marketable form- it seems like what's going on is similar to what happens when cells divide(!!!);I start to work on the tune sectionally,take the ideas for melodies I have and work with them and find things getting more and more involved,such as what I thought was one song actually turning into the makings of two, or coming up with melodies which lead to using sections differently,etc, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do in terms of completing the song.Based on the process I used to compose all this stuff,which was to make basic tracks,"solo" over them,then transcribe melodies I thought would work vocally/lyrically and work with them,I have come up with different melodies for each section as options to choose from and I put them all on tape,then take sections from one song and put them together with another. Coming from jazz,a lot of the concepts I composed with originally(especially in terms of modulation)have had to be modified to make them more viable in the categories I'm directing my efforts toward.However,many of the songs by contemporary singers in R+B use structures very similar to those in jazz,especially harmonically(modal,quartal concepts,altered 7ths etc.)and vamps are also used a lot which much of my original stuff was based on. Anyways that probaly gave you a pretty good idea of why I leave my crib at some point everyday and come over here to the college across the street's computer lab and get into things on LJP as a way of taking a break from this!! | |
| jbl81 -- 01/26/2004, 19:37:19 -- #1075174638 | |
| RE: Life of SMG | |
| Hey SMG, Thanks for the snapshot of what you're pouring your life efforts into of late. You're clearly a LOT more into composition than I am (or may ever be!), but it's very interesting to read about. Maybe you could offer up some snippets of one of the songs, or talk about the process you undergo in conceiving one, both for the sake of conversation and because I'm interested in the idiosyncracies of how each musician/composer goes about his craft. Do you tend to start with one track and write then fill in vertically? Or come up with a progression and then take another couple passes, filling out the skeleton each time? Or write horizontally (time being horizonal) hearing the whole orchestra as you go? Or another method? While I'm focused in a jazz in my performing/improv practices, I am not really (yet) very interested in jazz composiiton. I am more interested toward classical styles of composition (particularly Romantic styles), but also all things twentieth century (by which I mean, the mostly academic styles of whatever was at one time during that century called "new" or "experimental"). I already posted this last piece I wrote to the old LJP, but that was before we had a forum for discussion of composition. I'll offer it up again if anyone else is interested in Romantic styles: http://divigate.com/jim/track4.mp3 http://divigate.com/jim/prelude.pdf Sections of this piece are typical of how I go about music: I usually start by finding (often by accident) a bar or two that I like, and that seems to "lead me somewhere" for a few bars. I usually can expand that with no effort to a short section (like the A part of this AABA piece) with not much work. That's the Easy Part(tm). Usually though, I reach a point where I am both satisfied/excited with what I've come up with so far, but also disappointed/frustrated by not being able to turn it into a work of a length/significance that makes me happy. This piece was typical in that respect, I finished the A part, and then got stuck. Repeating an A section and adding variations, though, is the oldest trick in the book, but very infrequently my feeble compositional skills allow me to do it passably. This piece was also atypical for me, insofar as the B section was composed almost by improvization, sort of like solving a maze. I had no method, no higher-level plan, but made moment-to-moment decisions. Sometimes I had to back backtrack, but I think that's normal. In the end, I think this makes the B section very contrasting to the A section, for better or for worse. Practicing jazz improv, I think, has changed me, and improved my ear, and it was exciting to be able to apply those skills to a new setting, like classical composition. I'm even more interested in the "new" or "experimental" compositional styles of the 20th century, but I'll leave that discussion for later (and maybe elsewhere, depending on interest here...) | |
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| smg -- 01/28/2004, 09:16:46 -- #1075310206 | |
| JB101 | |
| I saw your reply below,I'm wondering if you are the person who asked about composition links a few months back?I haven't had time to get into things yet,I want to listen to those comp you posted.Maybe in the early part of next week we can get more into this. Here's the link I posted before-http://members.fortunecity.com/odradek5/resources/composition.html#harvoi | |
| smg -- 01/29/2004, 11:24:36 -- #1075404276 | |
| just figured out who you are | |
| Hey Jim,I didn't even realize it was you!(jb101 threw me re-last post asking if you were a person from 3-4 months back)I just listened to the first of the two comp and when I saw your name figured I'd post this-thought we'd lost you in the transition to the new forum,all week I've been checking the user log to see if you'd registered!!So what's up with the blues?Did you finish it,if so let's see what it turned out like....I'll most definitely get into the comp-specific stuff in your post in the beginning of next week..... BTW-Liked what I heard,quite impressive both compositionally and pianistically,heading back to check out #2,more later..... | |
| jbl81 -- 01/29/2004, 14:51:15 -- #1075416675 | |
| re: just figured out who you are | |
| SMG.. Hey, no worries. Sorry for the confusion. I'm still interested to hear your replys to my original post though! Thanks for the compliment on my piece. Most of the people who have heard it are friends or family who have no harmony/theory/composition background, and thus their responses are less meaningful to me. As for the blues stuff, I have made zero progress. I started out along the lines you mentioned, but I really couldn't wrap my head around the sound IV7 expanding to IV7 - bVII7. It seemed to lack the forward momentum present in the I7 - IV7 expansion of I7. This week has been a busy one for me, and so I haven't put any more thought into it. [A side note: I intentionally made no effort to copyright or claim ownership of that little diddie. If anyone (such as yourself, SMG) is so inclined as to make something of it, I'm all for it.] My original conception was of it being just a I-IV repeated vamp, ending in a gospel or blues turnaround, then using that as an intro to something. I think I'll leave it in my notebook of musical puzzle pieces and maybe it'll fit with another piece some day. jbl | |
| smg -- 02/03/2004, 13:42:36 -- #1075844555 | |
| I'm hoping this section will be used by more people,I didn't mean to turn it into an extension of "360"..please involve yourself in the dicussion going on here between myself and Jim Lindstrom that we started back when the old forum ended if you want,or post anything else re-composing-the thread we're dealing with is on the last page of the old forum if you want to check it out,called something like "THE I-IV CADENCE,PLAGAL HARMONY" Hey Jim-Here's a copy and paste of my suggested completion of that from the old forum- Here's what I would do-the three bars you've got there are pretty much right out of a standard blues groove in terms of the underlying progression-i.e.I7-I7-I7-I7/IV7-IV7-I7-I7/V7-IV7-I7-V7=12.What you're doing is expanding on the harmonies in the first two bars-1.I7-IV7 2.I7-IV7 (3+4) using again standard blues harmonic concepts. What I'd do to complete the tune is this-Use something like a Bb7#9 in bar 4,in bar 5 go to Eb7,in bars 6 + 7 use the same device of moving to a 7th a fourth away as you did in bars 1 + 2 structurally,i.e.Eb7-Ab7/Eb7-Ab7 then go to Bb7 for bar 8,the VIIb7-I7 progression is hip in this context.(end) I just went back over there to see what I had been thinking re-using the bVII...this was one of some "learning-related" ways I gave you for movements from the IV in general;once I saw the sheet you posted I was thinking more along the lines of the above.I just figured I'd mention this in the context of something I'm dealing with right now re-having done what you're talking about(file it away for later) to the point where I have a lot of stuff that now I'm working on completing and setting up a very organized way of doing this. The questions you asked me I kind of answered in my first post in the third from the last paragraph.Actually what I posted is part of a larger message I'd been posting on a bunch of songwriting sites at the end of the summer,trying to get some feedback and help with my stuff(which I did get)....over the last few months I've developed my process somewhat and I'll get into that a little. Originally the stuff I composed in 2001-02 was an outgrowth of spending a lot of time figuring out things I knew about as a saxplayer/improviser in their harmonic context.The more I saw how to connect the types of melodic stuff I'd been working on with the contexts they worked in harmonically,the more I started getting ideas for vamps/progressions and I decided to develop this,using the keyboard like I described above.So the tapes I have of last years' stuff are of these "extended vamps" connected sectionally and "parts of songs",all with a lot of "jazz lines" being played over them. I decided to see about making this approach into something I could market since a lot of the stuff was right on the dividing line between R+B and modal-type stuff,along with another aspect of music I was into composing in,influenced by tunes like "Naima"-extended chords over a pedal,and chords progressing based on the movement of the upper extensions.( A vague description of stuff I can get more into if you and others want to,in the context of this section). So I went back to a lot of the non-jazz listening I'd done and immersed myself in different influences,trying at the same time to keep an awareness of what is contemporary(i.e.while I dig 70's R+B and think it's some of the hippest stuff compositionally,many of the stylistic elements are dated in terms of my producing a marketable demo)by studying progressions/form/melody/rhythms used in the musical categories of the last 10 yrs.I thought my stuff would work in. As a result,I have a mix of stuff I've composed since getting all this type of studying done based on what I'd been into last year along with new stuff I've composed off of either theory/harmony studies or influences from contemporary music(i.e.I needed to really immerse myself in standard diatonic/triadic progressions and all the things you can do with this,while I was into this I was also studying stuff currently being played on the radio/album cuts,etc.so I was able to concieve of things using this framework,and gradually understand the type of stuff I'd been hearing/composing last year in light of these studies,along with things from last year that I've reworked. I'm going to stop here and I'll get into this some more later this week or something.But before I do I just want to mention one thing,it relates to what you were talking about re-developing your comp.It's called "welding"in this interview I read with George Harrison,talking about how the Beatles composed.Basically I'm in the process of organizing all the sections I have into specific categories, identified by whether they sound to me like they'd work as verse 1,verse 2,pre-chorus,chorus,bridge,vamp in standard song form. (more to come) | |
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| jbl81 -- 02/06/2004, 10:30:48 -- #1076092248 | |
| TGIF | |
| SMG: Thanks for the response. I have been getting hammered (no, not drunk, just long late hours) at work this week and haven't had time to respond yet. In a semi-related note... I bought a DVD burner this week and am in the process of creating a single disc with all the jazz I own (and some new additions -- thanks, to whoever posted the msg about emusic!). In the process of ripping my CDs, I came across a jem I forgot about. Cameleon! It's got to be the most famous I-IV vamp song of them all! I had entirely forgotten about it, but had some fun playing around with it today. I have so many sounds on this keyboard (Yamaha S90) that I haven't gotten around to using yet, and funk songs bring out some of the best of them! I'll respond to your post more thoughtfully this weekend.. jbl | |
| Scot -- 02/06/2004, 12:31:40 -- #1076099500 | |
| Cool, you have an S90, eh? That's what I've been using for a year and a half. Just bought a 50 key Edirol to go along with it. I love the "early fusion" wah-ep sound! | |
| Maybeck Recital Hall Series: Andy Laverne | |
| jbl81 -- 02/06/2004, 15:25:01 -- #1076109900 | |
| S90 | |
| Yeah, I just got it a couple months ago and am very happy. My landlord informed me yesterday that he was receiving complaints about neighbors above me and next door about "an organ." Part of my me wanted to plead ignorance -- no organ here =).. Serriously though, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I think the piano sounds are passable, though not the best. But I am crazy about the action and about the abundance of really fun sounds. A lot of the sounds are so dead-on that I feel like they suggest a song in one note. One makes me think Stevie Wonder Superstition, another makes me think Rev. Horton Heat Rockabilly, and my favorite one of all is Jimmmy Hendrix Star Spangled Banner all the way. My only real complaint is that w/o a set of stereo speakers, I find the default piano patch unpleasant. For some reason, a pair of speakers renders it passably, but take it down to mono and I don't care for it. Ah, well.. It'll do until I can get a yamaha with a little more depth (6 or 7 feet would be wonderful) to it ;) | |
| Scot -- 02/06/2004, 16:19:13 -- #1076113153 | |
| Why not just get a nice headphone setup?The piano sounds on the S90 sound great when properly amplified. I know what you mean by a sound suggesting a composition- I've had that happen a lot of times. Some of the compositions are pretty cool, some of them have been filed forever :) | |
| Billy Miller -- 02/09/2004, 20:27:22 -- #1076387242 | |
| Jazz composition | |
| what do you guys think of it? Its my first composition, that ive finished anyways that is jazz. My chord progression is rather repetative, how would i make it less repetative without clashing with the melodies? | |
| jbl81 -- 02/09/2004, 20:42:48 -- #1076388168 | |
| file list | |
| Am I the only one too stupid to get to this file? I only see an Upload link in this room... jbl | |
| 20% off the entire Jamey Aebersold collection! | |
| Scot -- 02/10/2004, 09:07:41 -- #1076432861 | |
| Sorry! My fault, the file list should show up now. | |
| Billy Miller -- 02/11/2004, 14:57:49 -- #1076540269 | |
| 20 people have downoaded my composition, and none have commented? :( | |
| Maybeck Recital Hall Series: Andy Laverne | |
| Ryan -- 02/11/2004, 17:04:17 -- #1076547856 | |
| Just my thoughts on your tune | |
| Hey Billy, I am just checking out your tune now, and I think it's a great first attempt. Here are some things I would do differently... 1.) Since you're playing with a rhythm section, there's no reason to keep the piano so restricted playing the same root position chords the whole time...try and get it in the upper register with some nice occassional stabs. 2.) Your "horn hits" shouldn't be right on the beats each time...this takes away the swing. Try putting them on the "&'s" and you'll hear a big difference. Also included in this category would be anticipation. Jazz is a very "forward motion" oriented music which means that it is common for hits (on the next chord) to occur before they are "written" in the progression. For example in your tune, try playing the Ebm7 chord on the & of beat 4 while technically still on the Bb7alt. This is a common piano comping technique as well. If you transcibe guys alot of times, you'll see that they'll be playing on the next chord change while still technically on the previous one just to create that anticipated movement. Other than that, it sounds pretty good to me! Maybe you could add a bridge or something to vary it up in the middle. Hope that helps | |
| Mike -- 02/11/2004, 17:12:54 -- #1076548374 | |
| well that just means that 20 people listened to it or some of it. They may have just had a second of time to listen for a minute and had to run. I would not read too much into it. If you feel you absolutely have to read into it, then I think that for whatever reason 20 people had "no comment". The night I listened to it I was more curious how the composition room was working mechanically. I was curious whether there would be a lead sheet there or a sound file when I clicked on the file. I never had any intention on critiqueing anyones work, as, if you have ever read my posts in the previous forum... you would know that is something I consider to be in bad taste, unless specifically asked to do so. But this forum is explicitly set up and explains that is its purpose I do understand... still that is not what I am about. Maybe one or two of those other 20 are the same. Nor am I a light cheery sort of guy who walks around easily saying "sounds great!, cool!, dig that shit man!" I have kind of been addicted to the truth for quite a while and if I do not have something well thought out and sincere to say I prefer to have "no coment", maybe one or two of the 20 are like that as well. I have so very many compositions that no one has ever even heard. Take some pleasure in that 20 people apparently heard what you had to say. | |
| Mike -- 02/11/2004, 17:31:09 -- #1076549469 | |
| oh so by the way... where is your lead sheet to the tune? | |
| Billy Miller -- 02/11/2004, 19:18:50 -- #1076555930 | |
| Hehe, thanks for that indepth explanation of why 20 have downloaded and no reviews... And, thank you much Ryan for your help. well, i havent exactly made a real lead sheet to it yet. I use finale, and have now clue how i would export it to gif or jpg format. | |
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| Mike -- 02/11/2004, 21:08:23 -- #1076562503 | |
| for time immortal composers have found lead and paper handy little devices as well. Then if you have a scanner you are in business. | |
| Ryan -- 02/12/2004, 05:05:57 -- #1076591157 | |
| Finale Graphics | |
| Billy, To save your chart as an uploadable file, go to the graphics tool under the advanced tool palette. Then just go to the Graphics menu and choose export pages. There aren't many choices...I think you can only export as a .TIFF. That's one of the many reasons to switch to Sibelius :). | |
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| jbl81 -- 02/12/2004, 06:16:36 -- #1076595396 | |
| Finale -> PDF | |
| Or, do what I do (from Finale). You basically just print it to a file, then use ghostscript (free) and gsview (free) to do the conversion fron a .PRN file to a .PDF file: http://www.sibelius.com/helpcenter/resources/creating_pdf.html (As a side note: there's nothing Finale-specific about it. You could do it from Word or Explorer as well, once you set up the printer driver as described) | |
| Peteboypete -- 10/13/2004, 15:58:27 -- #8003 | |
| New Tune | |
| I have just uploaded a lead sheet and MIDI of a composition I wrote. The MIDI was made by Band-In-A-Box, hence the cheesy ending. I wrote the words so I could remember the tune, so I didn't put in a lot of thought. I would like some criticism. Thanks | |
| Scot -- 10/14/2004, 15:43:35 -- #8045 | |
| Hi Pete- Do you use sibelius? I just spent some time editing your song the same way I do one of mine or one of my composition students, but it would be easier to edit a file that already exists. I can use Sibelius or Finale files, so if you have one, please upload it. I don't want to talk about the piece until I upload "my" version, so I'll wait on the comments. Over all, though, I think it's a neat idea for a piece of music. | |
| Peteboypete -- 10/14/2004, 22:13:22 -- #8058 | |
| OK, I'm posting the Finale file. | |
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| Scot -- 10/15/2004, 00:36:48 -- #8059 | |
| Ok, I uploaded a highly modified version of your tune. I'll explain why I did the things I did. One of the things I really liked was that the tune has a lot of possibilities so it was easy to get into it and make certain things happen. Disclaimer: I come right to the point when I'm doing this sort of thing. I tell it like I feel it- things that I write about your tune are only my opinion- not right or wrong. So let's start :) The first line I left untouched. 5: I changed the chord to Fm and put in a progression to Bbm to go with the new melody notes I put in. One of the things I noticed was that your melody note was also the root of the chord quite a bit. Since there are 11 other notes to use, I chose some other melody notes to add interest and tension- the tension is good because then when the melody is way "inside", it feels better. Tension release sort of thing. 7: Changed melody notes there too because there seemed to be a lot of Bb's hanging around, and this phrase also began on a Bb. I felt that it would be nice to spread out the sound and start a bit lower, and work our way up past the root melodic note and play the flat 9th instead. It's also a kind of fore-shadowing because in line 9 you use the b9 as a key melodic note. Remember: melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material should have themes and ideas that become solid because of how you wrote the tune. Ok, in line 9 I didn't change too much except that I took out some 2-5 chord progressions and just left the 5 in. At the tempo you're playing it, there's no reason to clutter things up with extra chords that aren't really necessary. 13: You'll notice I left an entire line out of your song. I looked at the words, and I looked at the melody, and I just couldn't figure any really compelling reason why that line was even in there. The vocal aspect of it is sort of a cliche' (so why use it again?) plus, the way the song is written, you kind of get a feeling that the idea of being happier alone is sort of where the mindset of the lyricist is. Now, at the current measure 13 I've made a few changes, both melodically and harmonically. I left your general idea in there, but for rhythm, I thought it would be nice to think about reminding people of the line before by paraphrasing the earlier rhythm a little bit, same with the triplet for "love would be". Putting that triplet in there ties it in, makes it more legit, with the line before it. Using that triplet idea ties things together. At 21 I dramatically altered your harmony and to a certain extent, your melody. I kept your intervalic idea, but changed the notes to go with the new harmony better. Then at measure 23, I stretched out the words and melody. I figured it would be nice to add some humor to it, so I stretched out the last line and put the punch-line of the lyric at the end. I left out the original last line, there seemed to be absolutely no point in the melody or the lyrics. The changes I made in your tune were for specific reasons. First, I wanted the melody to be able to stand up on it's own a bit better. When you write a tune, try to make the melody be strong enough so that you don't need chords or a bass note. Just the melody alone should be good enough, and didn't feel like your original melody was as strong as it could have been in all areas of the tune. Another reason I made changes was that I wanted the tune to be more fun for me to play over. It's going at a nice medium up swing tempo and the chords were a bit bland for me, so I spiced things up while trying to stay within the original idea of the tune. At this point, I can sit here and play though the form as many times as I want and playing lines over it and such is quite a bit of fun. I think you should write as many songs as you can, as fast as you can pump them out. The more you write, the more experience you'll have. Not to say you don't have any now, just saying to keep up the tune writing. Writing tunes is also one of the best ways to stretch your own playing- as long as you try new things in yoru tunes. Ok, that was a lot :) | |
| Akram Maximos -- 10/19/2004, 05:16:58 -- #8167 | |
| Maybe this should be in the bugs report, but anyway that's it. I couldn't be able to upload my transcription, on a Finale file, in the Composition room. I followed the steps: clicked on upload a file, browse then upload it, but it did't. I cannot see it on the uploaded files and the system did not ask me for more info as it said it will do. I don't know the problem. Thanks, Akram | |
| Maybeck Recital Hall Series: Andy Laverne | |
| Scot -- 10/19/2004, 06:22:00 -- #8168 | |
| Your file is in there as a Finale file... unfortunately that means most people can't view it. Can you make a PDF file or an image out of it instead? | |
| Akram Maximos -- 10/19/2004, 06:23:29 -- #8169 | |
| I will. Thanks. | |
| albetan -- 10/19/2004, 11:53:02 -- #8185 | |
| Mn´ thal¨ lathy | |
| Hi Akram: Good job. This is a composition with a deep religious feeling, music for relax. For those who have not Finale 2005 I recommend to download for free Finale note pad from: http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/ So people may hear the score. I converted this .MUS file in two PDF. | |
| Akram Maximos -- 10/20/2004, 01:23:38 -- #8199 | |
| Mn' thal' lathy | |
| Hi Alebtan, Thanks much for your prompt response and kind concern. By the way, I cannot open both the pdf files that you uploaded for "Mn' thal' lathy". So, I've uploaded two other pdf files (each is < 157,000 bytes) but I have the same problem with opening them: Blank Screen! Did you try opening the files? Again, thanks for help, | |
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| albetan -- 10/20/2004, 07:45:02 -- #8202 | |
| Mn´ thal¨ lathy | |
| Hi Akram: My files in pdf spend some seconds to open... while Acrobat opens. If you could not open them, please download for free Adobe reader from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html In order to convert your files in pdf, you may download for free: http://www.pdf995.com/ Save it in a folder and afterwards install it. The best for your .mus files is to download for free Finale Note Pad from: http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/ As an example please see "Piel Canela" in Jazz en Español. I uploaded it in .mus and .pdf formats. Good luck | |
| albetan -- 10/20/2004, 09:28:15 -- #8205 | |
| Akram: I downloaded your pdf version, but i see a blank screen. Do you have Acrobat program?. Go to your Finale, open your composition, go to "print" , go to "setup", select "adobe pdf" or "pdf995", and O.K. Try it again, and delete your pdf actual version. | |
| Maybeck Recital Hall Series: Kenny Barron: one of the best. | |
| albetan -- 10/20/2004, 15:39:15 -- #8213 | |
| Akram: Only a few people with finale 2005 may open yor .mus file. I suggest to delete it and upload again but noticing that is a Finale 2005 version. I have Finale 2004 and i could not open it. So i downloaded finale Note Pad to see and to hear your composition. | |
| Akram Maximos -- 10/21/2004, 01:40:40 -- #8225 | |
| Hi Albetan, Thanks for your advice. I followed the steps you have mentioned. I went to Finale, opened my file, then to "print", "setup", selected "adobe pdf" & O.K. That I didn't know before..thanks. So, I saved my file as .pdf on my system and uploaded a new .pdf file (78,000 bytes) into the LPJ after I deleted the 2 files that I have previously uploaded, but still gave me a blank screen. By the way, I have Acrobat reader v6.0 on my system and works fine and Finale 2005 as well. As you have said, people who does not have the Finale 2005 could download it for free from the link you gave. Presumably, they would be able to open all the .mus files. | |
| albetan -- 10/21/2004, 06:38:45 -- #8227 | |
| Akram: If screen is blank, please right-click on file's name and click on "save as"... As i have explained, i upload all my files. Good luck. | |
| skatta -- 10/23/2004, 16:07:02 -- #8287 | |
| just a quick couple questions | |
| hi again, i am still currently practicing the things you proposed i should practice. but i just have a question to ask you. i realize that drilling scales helps to put the sound between intervals into the subcontious at the same time as putting how those intervals fit over a given chord or i guess key that a song is in or whatever. but really i'm just wondering why it is preferrable to learn scales which are named scale rather than just a bunch of licks which seem to me are also scales but just not named as basic scales, so long as you know all the chords of a song and the scale of the key it's in. also i was just wondering something about the site. i noticed that on the qwelcome page there are a bunch of stats about the site and one of them was private messages. are these my particular stats? or the sites stats, and if they're mine how do i go about checking those messages? thx for your time man talk to ya later. | |
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| 7 -- 10/23/2004, 20:40:56 -- #8296 | |
| skatta, Learning a bunch of licks is a totally cool thing to do. Licks are generally defined as "tried and true musical statements". BUT! Make sure to analyze your "stolen" licks in order to deeply understand the PRINCIPLES underlying the licks - so that you can you use those principles to create an *infinite* number of YOUR OWN licks based on said principles. Otherwise you're just copying and not using them as a source of personal inspiration - IOW "tired and true" ... Learning scales is a necessity just as learning vocabulary items in a new language. But scales in themselves are not music anymore than stringing together words picked at random out of the dictionary are language. RE: "private messages" Those msgs addressed to you can be read by you. If you can't read it, it wasn't addressed to you. | |
| tejo -- 04/06/2005, 23:53:54 -- #12543 | |
| modifying a pop arangement into jazz | |
| hi , im trying to re-arrange apop song in to jazz, and i confuse abaout how to,. well i didn't play jazz before, and i curious to know much about jazz, then i start to learn about that, but then even how ever i try to play jazz, i guess that i play a pop still, actually i have the midi file of my project, the simple one, but i dunno how to up load that, | |
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| Scot -- 04/08/2005, 00:22:43 -- #12581 | |
| Often times you can simply take some V I chords and turn them into 2-5-1 chords to start out with. Here's a hint on how to upload: click on the "upload a file" link above. | |
| Billy Miller -- 05/13/2005, 15:10:34 -- #13799 | |
| new composition | |
| Hello. Im working on a song, its sort of a Jazz funk fusion type thing, and im stuck and have no idea where to go with it. I was wondering if anyone could help me, i think i need work with the structure on it. I think that there should be a solo section in it somewhere, but i dont know how i should transition to it, and what i should do when i get there. Any advice or critiques of the song would be greatly appreciated. You can find it here: http://www.cmilldesign.com/billy/jazz2.mp3 thanks! Billy | |
| Whacky -- 05/13/2005, 16:27:39 -- #13801 | |
| Very cool! What are you using for the Hammond sound - it sounds real (maybe it is?) These tracks sound great. What I'm longing to hear on it is a great vocal or lead line - maybe alto sax? | |
| Billy Miller -- 05/13/2005, 16:49:17 -- #13803 | |
| thanks whacky. The hammond sound is from nativeinstruments B4. Its one of the best b3 clones i've heard as far as software goes. Its not quite screecy enough in the high end though in my opinion. www.native-instruments.com Yeah, vocals would probly be cool, but i dont have the capabilities to make a vocal track, or even a singer to sing it for me. I do have an online acquantance who i think might be able to record a sax line for me though, ill have to ask him. Would you suggest that i make the lead line go over the current proggression, or make a new section to start the lead line? Im really bad at structuring a song, so i need help with this. | |
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| Whacky -- 05/14/2005, 01:37:36 -- #13808 | |
| I've heard about B4 - it really sounds great on your recording! Yeah, I think a lead line over your current progression would be very cool:) | |
| Scot -- 05/15/2005, 01:06:48 -- #13840 | |
| I hear a lead trumpet (Maynard style) or a pumped up B3 sound doing a solo. As the soloist plays over the built up background a couple choruses, I can hear a transition to some breaks of some kind, some kind of pedal maybe, or just something that gives it more tension. You have created a very nice effect that begs for something more, maybe a big sound pyramid (up and down) that goes into a modern big band sound to play a melody over the backing, which would be reduced to maybe some saxes and bones. Keep it up, let us know whe you have more! | |
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| Billy Miller -- 05/16/2005, 13:23:27 -- #13868 | |
| thanks scot, ill try that. | |
| learnpiano -- 10/31/2010, 22:32:15 -- #47908 | |
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