Chris S.'s Music Theory Journey, for Gab's Army |
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...the thing is, I need you to start progressing faster then ever, but to achieve that I need your help:
* Don't know where to start? Just pm me and we will sort it out directly, I am online every day.
* Join My Army. Sounds aggressive? It is! We can study anything from the most fearsome picking techniques to bombastic songwriting. A medal of honor awaits the brave. Seriously, this is an opportunity for you to get a personalised learning experience...what are you waiting for?!
* Join my next video chat! GMC startpage holds a video chat schedule. We always cover a lot of ground and have fun. Remember that you don't need any previous knowledge, and you can be passive in the chat.
* Jam with me - you will find active collabs here.
* Post a topic on this board, guitar related or not - doesn't matter! You will find that chatting with instructors boosts your motivation to practice.
* You haven't missed my latest video lessons, have you?
* Finally I want to tell you a secret. Nah I changed my mind - pm me instead ;)
Chris S.'s Music Theory Journey, for Gab's Army |
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Mar 18 2016, 07:31 PM |
When analyzing music I like to organize the analysis in 3 columns: Structure, What's happening? and Theory (Scales and chord progressions). The first column is basically writing down the parts (intro, verse, chorus, etc). On the second on the second one -I write how the song is arranged, what the instruments are doing, and everything that it's relevant regarding interpretation. Finally on the last column I write down the chord progression, and the scale use for vocals or other lead melodies.
When composing a lesson in the style of I analyze many songs and try to detect which are the elements and concepts that they tend to repeat or that make their music unique. Does it make sense? -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Mar 20 2016, 07:23 PM |
Hi Chris! Great to see you joining the collab! The take is cool and I'm sure that it works for the collab. If you are interested in polishing this one, you can dedicate some time to adjust timing on the first half of the solo, mostly the first licks. Also, cleaning a bit that double string arpeggio, and making it sound more natural would improve the solo.
The solo has cool licks and I'm sure that Darius will find useful stuff for the final mix here. -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Mar 25 2016, 11:49 PM |
New idea in the works, my friend!
It's a love song https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-rough-draft-no-vocals I haven't really spent anytime on the mix - and the drums are just the same sample looped - but as far as the overall construction I'm pretty happy, it's a bit more complicated structurally than what I have been doing so far. Here is the lyrics for the first two verses to give you an idea Every star I see Spread across the galaxy Humbles me So peacefully Even when they're gone Their light still shines on Present in the past Together they will last Forever |
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Mar 28 2016, 02:22 AM |
Hi mate, this is a promising idea. I like the feel of the progression and main arrangement, and I think that the message behind the lyrics is deep. I'd like to hear how this one continues evolving, keep working!
who is going to sing this one? -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Mar 31 2016, 06:14 PM |
Hi mate, this is a promising idea. I like the feel of the progression and main arrangement, and I think that the message behind the lyrics is deep. I'd like to hear how this one continues evolving, keep working! who is going to sing this one? His name is Maxwell from StudioPros - he actually did vocals for the covers for some of the songs on Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II Here is my first attempt at using Addictive Drums https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-rought-draft I also picked up Addictive Keys - such a good sale I couldn't resist This post has been edited by Chris S.: Apr 1 2016, 01:14 AM |
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Apr 1 2016, 02:03 PM |
Awesome! Congrats on your new purchases! I don't know addictive keys, what's does it include? pianos?
Great to know that you'll also have a professional singer on this track. The track sounds really good by now. I'll check it again at the studio to hear the mix and how the new drums vsti affected your track. -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 2 2016, 06:25 PM |
There are many ways of recording kick. The most used way is to have one mic for the "kick" sound (high attack) and another one for the low end. Maybe that Kick Front is more the low end while the other mic has the attack of it. You don't have different mics for the drums on addictive but you can set the distance and position of each mic which allows you to vary the eq balance that's being captured. Another possibility is that the kick front is some kind of close room mic. In this case, you'll find that there are room mics on addictive vsti, which I recommend to use to get the right ambience and low end of the whole drum kit.
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 4 2016, 02:19 AM |
Thanks Gab - I will look into this.
So I rewrote the rough draft for Forever: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction I kinda like this one better but the problem is I have to completely re-write the lyrics for the Chorus I'll keep you posted |
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Apr 4 2016, 03:39 AM |
It sounds like a stadium hit now. The chord progression combined with the groove suggest a very catchy vocal melody. I don't know what's the musical direction that you want to give to this one, but I would take it more to Imagine Dragon's than pop punk. I would work more on synths and other stuff that makes it sound more modern. But this is just a subjective comment.
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 4 2016, 02:28 PM |
Great!
I'm fine thanks. I had a relaxing weekend without gigs but now we are again working. We have rehearsals this week to prepared everything for this weekend short tour. We are also working on the arrangement of new songs for the next album. We have lots of shows this year, but the idea is to also dedicate time to get a new album ready at the end of this year or maybe first months of the next one. This is a picture that I took yesterday when getting back home from a very inspiring day at the island (Delta Tigre). -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 5 2016, 02:46 AM |
Wow! That view looks amazing! I'm hoping I can take a trip down to the beach this summer
I made some changes to Forever: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction-2 I got rid of the "Pop Punk" vibe the best I could by cutting out the 16th note rhythm guitar parts - I added some synths and came up with a new chorus and lyrics to match it: Verse: Every star I see Spread across the galaxy Humbles me So peacefully Even when they're gone Their light still shines on Gently reminding me That we can be Chorus: Together Forever I know we can be Together Forever Just you and me I can't live without you Can you live without me? 'Cause baby I need you I need us to be Forever The intro with the claps will have the singer humming the chorus melody to add more atmosphere - I am debating taking out the guitars from the intro and replacing it with a synth. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the synth sounds minus the synth at 2:21 - I think I might use a different one for that section. What do you think, my friend? |
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Apr 5 2016, 02:56 PM |
Good! I think that it's taking the right direction now. There is some room to make it sound less pop punk and it's related to guitar arrangement but this is a big step to the other side. Maybe listening some indie synth songs can bring ideas. The guitar tone is important here, check out some first albums Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs and notice how guitar tone sound and how guitars are played.
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 5 2016, 04:57 PM |
Thanks Gab - I gave them a listen and made some more changes.
I spent a lot of time reworking the song and I am super happy with it now - I can feel a Simple Plan vibe when I listen to this. There are still some minor changes I will be making and I sent you a copy of the lyrics I have written via PM so you can read them Didn't want to post them here so someone could steal my work https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction This post has been edited by Chris S.: Apr 6 2016, 04:08 AM |
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Apr 7 2016, 03:00 PM |
This is very nice mate! I think that now the direction is clearer and more enjoyable. In order to adjust details regarding sound and arrangements I think that it's good to give a try to the vocals. When are you going to record it?
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Apr 11 2016, 01:30 PM |
That so nice mate! I feel honoured by citing me on that essay! and I would really like to read it then. Is it possible?
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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