Monday, 23 September 2013
Instrumental Beats: A New Production Style
When you listen to commercial radio today, instrumental beats are likely to be the sound coming out of the speakers. For a while, urban music has been at a stand-still as far as production goes. Just recently, trap music has emerged as a mainstream genre. While it's roots date back to the early 2000s, the genre is just now making it's mark in the music industry.
Trap beats symbolize the struggle, the pain, and the victory in life in general. Producers all over are tapping into this new way of producing. These instrumentals have an authoritative presence and beg for attention. Dope trap beats are now being used in conjunction with traditional sounds in major R&B productions. With the new sound being so sought-after, the market has completely opened up for aspiring producers. There is now a demand that was almost non-existent before. So while economists claim that we are in a bad economy, these producers are cashing out with no problems.
Artists to the likes of 2Chainz, Young Scooter, and Trinidad James are only part of the clientele listing for these producers. Moreover, the artists who aspire to be like these major artists are a huge addition to that list. Old-head producers are now playing catch-up with the new wave of sounds coming in. You have new producers coming out faster than others who have been trying to make it for over 5 years, simply because they are making dope trap beats.
The competition in production is much stiffer than it has ever been since the emergence of this new sound. Everyone figures that he can make a lot of money by producing it. It is possible; they just have to do it the right way. Creating sounds that captures souls more fiercely is where trap music is heading. You have to be able to make heads bounce; make people mad, the whole nine. I do not see these types of beats going anywhere any time soon.
Taking in consideration that this genre is so closely related to Hip-Hop, some of thrown the style off as just another version of Hip-Hop. In reality, if you ask a Hip-Hop mogul what it is, he would get mad that you even made a comparison. Authentic Hip-Hop is a far-cry from trap music. It is not only a spin off of it, but a spin with a twist. Trap music is made more for the clubs and partying. Anytime a genre of music comes out that can make people dance and have fun, it is here to stay. Producers are in for a good treat with trap music being so fairly new to the general public. Dope trap instrumentals will run the radio for the next several years.
For more information on instrumental beats, go to that website to get a feel for the movement. This style of music will be around for another decade at least.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Guitar Maintenance Basics
Guitar maintenance shouldn't be something that you should have to pay for. Sure, fixing a broken neck or building a nut should be left to the professionals but there are some things that you can do to on your own. Today I am going to tell you some simple tricks to keep your guitar sounding and playing great!
1. Buy a guitar humidifier! This simple tool can be purchased at practically any guitar shop. If you keep this in your guitar while it is in its case it will keep the wood from drying out which can cause some big problems down the road!
2. Loosen the strings while going to and from gigs! Before you put your guitar in its case when traveling loosen the strings a bit. This will give some life to your strings and give the neck some much-needed rest. The change in temperature from your house to being on the road to the bar you are playing at will change; sometimes drastically in the winter! Loosening the strings will allow the neck to naturally fluctuate without any resistance from the strings. Once you arrive, give your guitar about 45 minutes to adjust to the temperature in the room before opening your case. Then tune up and rock out!
3. Bore oil your fingerboard! No, this isn't the stuff that you get when you squeeze a boar! Bore oil is an oil that will slightly moisten and clean your fingerboard. Think of it as lotion for your guitar. Whenever you change your strings dab some of this on a cloth and give that fingerboard a good rubdown!
4. Always place it in your case! This is the easiest tip and for some reason the one that is the hardest to do! Simply put, if it's in its case then it won't get hurt!
5. Intonation! **For electric guitars** All this tip requires is an allen wrench and a good tuner. When your guitar is correctly intonated the open string and the same string played on the 12th fret are precisely in tune together. If your intonation is a little off then the notes that you play above the 12th fret will be slightly out of tune. To fix this simply take your tuner (preferably a chromatic tuner) and play which ever string is out of intonation open. Then play the same string on the 12th fret. If the note on the 12th fret is too high/low then adjust the saddle with a screwdriver (it will move forward or backwards). You will then have to re-tune the open string and do the process over again until both the string played open and 12th fret is perfectly in tune with each other. This can take some time but it is well worth it! (Adjusting the intonation on an acoustic guitar is a little more indepth and will not be covered here)
Hopefully these tips should be taken to heart. Keep in mind that you don't have to have the most expensive equipment to keep your tone or at least keep your guitar in great shape!
The Crucial And Overlooked Element Needed For Creative Musical Expression
Do you feel unsatisfied with your ability to accurately express ideas in your songs? Wish you could effortlessly write songs that clearly convey your thoughts, feelings and emotions? The truth is, many musicians struggle with musical expression and experience a lot of frustration when they can't write songs the way they want them to sound.
That said, you can seriously cut down the time it takes you to master musical expression and write great songs by avoiding a common mistake made by most songwriters: Overlooking or under-utilizing important songwriting elements. In this article, I am going to discuss one of the songwriting elements that is most frequently overlooked (often causing songs to sound dull and uninspiring). This important songwriting element is "Dynamics."
WARNING: If you read the last sentence and thought to yourself: "Dynamics? I already know what that is... writing music loud and soft. Tell me something I don't know!"... You have already made the same mistake that most songwriters make! So many musicians approach songwriting by trying to come up with new chords, melodies or rhythms and totally 'ignore' dynamics. This is very unfortunate because by ignoring dynamics, you are ignoring one of the most useful elements for expressing yourself in music. Before I begin discussing this element in depth, I'd like you to understand how learning more about it will be beneficial to your songwriting. Here are 3 things that will happen when you learn to creatively use dynamics in your music:
- Make your music much more creative and expressive without even altering a single pitch.
- Gain the power to drastically change the feeling of intensity in a song.
- Create a totally new dimension in your music to emphasize each individual song section or musical part.
A Quick Definition Of Dynamics In Music
When it comes to dynamics most people understand this to describe the general volume level of a song. However, dynamics refers to both overall volume of the music as well as the individual parts that make up the music as a whole. Whenever you read a piece of music, you will see various letters that are used to display the dynamics. These have been developed and changed over a span of centuries until arriving at the letters we have today. Here are a few examples:
p (piano) means "soft."
f (forte) means "loud" or "strong."
mp(mezzo-piano) "moderately soft."
mf (mezzo-forte) "moderately loud."
ff (fortissimo) means "very loud."
pp (pianissimo) means "very soft."
fff (fortississimo) means "very very loud"
ppp (pianississimo) means "very very soft"
How To Use Dynamics To Accent A Single Melody
To make any melody stick out, emphasize it by using varying dynamics. For instance, begin the melody "loud" and gradually reduce the volume until the notes are "soft". This technique is known as a "decrescendo". Additionally, alter the volume level of different notes within a melody to make them contrast with each other and stick out. This is especially useful for adding interest to repeating musical parts in your songs. This will give you the power to express yourself in different ways without altering any of the actual pitches in your melody.
How To Use Dynamics To Surprise Your Listener With Silence
One of the most creative ways to enhance the effect of dynamics in your songs is to use 'silence' as a tool for creating musical tension and getting the listener's attention. To illustrate this, think about a time when you were listening to loud music in your car when all of a sudden your friend in the passenger seat presses pause on the stereo. Most likely, you would immediately think to yourself something like "Hey, what's going on?!" This exact reaction came be recreated when you use silence in your music to catch the listener off guard and 'force' them to concentrate on the music. To do this, take a part for a song that you have already written and replace various notes with silence. You will find that by doing this you alter the feel of the rhythm and (for longer periods of silence) build up a sense of anticipation. However, also note that silence can easily be overused, so do not overwhelm your listeners or the feeling of surprise that they feel will quickly wear off.
How To Utilize Contrasting Dynamics For Musical Expression
By using contrasting dynamics you can quickly grab the attention of anyone listening to your music. For example, think about the common songwriting formula used in rock ballads. For the most part, the song will consist of softly played acoustic guitar and vocal parts. Many times, the introduction (and beginning verse and chorus) will contain no percussion whatsoever. Then, to provide contrast, the drums will begin playing during the second verse. As an even bigger contrast, the songwriter may even include a solo/break section with electric guitar (only to return to the soft, acoustic guitar parts once the section has ended). This approach of contrasting louder and softer dynamic levels is great for emphasizing entire song sections to make the stand out from one another. To hear a perfect example of this type of song, listen to Nothing Else Matters by Metallica.
Examples Of How Dynamics Are Commonly Used In Musical Expression
A very underestimated approach that can help you learn how to better express yourself in music is to study the scores of your favorite movies. I don't mean you need to purchase the actual score itself and read the music... but instead simply observe the way the music is arranged with different scenes throughout the film. This will help you equate the emotions expressed by the actors along with the music and build your ability to express yourself better in your songwriting. Here are some common examples:
Example One: Using dynamics to create a feeling of surprise
Visualize a scene in a movie like this: It's 11:30AM and there is a businessman standing at a packed street corner waiting for the "walk" sign to turn on so he can cross. All around him you can hear the sounds of the big city such as cars honking, the roar of continuous chatter and street vendors yelling out to attract new customers (you can also hear upbeat music playing in the background to set the scene). Suddenly, the sign turns on and the businessman looks up from his watch as everyone starts crossing the street in a big moving mass - bumping into him along the way. He adjusts his coat and quickly makes his way across the street. As he quickly jogs across he suddenly trips and drops his briefcase... papers go flying everywhere. He falls to the ground, scrambles to pick them up and stuff them into his briefcase as quickly as possible while losing focus of his surroundings. Finally he grabs the last one... "Gotcha!" he says as he crams it inside. Then, as he stands up to dust himself off you hear the loud screech of a car slamming on the breaks as it comes to an instant stop in front of him.
At the end of this scene, what is a good way that the music in the score could emphasize the stress of the situation? In many cases for a scene like this, you will hear the music quickly build up to end on a very loud group of notes. This feels very surprising when compared with the previous musical ideas played in the background and is very expressive of the sudden shock the character might feel.
Example Two: Using rests/silence to enhance dynamics and add a sense of mystery.
In this last example, imagine a scene in a horror movie that takes place inside of a large, haunted mansion with a man walking around by himself. At this point in the scene, he believes he saw a ghost and begins slowly walking from one room to the next. Each time he takes a step, you can hear the old wooden floors of the mansion creaking beneath him. "Who's there?" he says out loud (suddenly, you hear the sound of a single cello beginning to build in volume). Out of nowhere, something seems to scurry along the ground behind him. He snaps around to see what is going on (the music stops and there is silence)... nothing there but an old antique rug. The man bends down to inspect the rug, already layered in what seems like a century of dust. "How long has this thing been here?" he wonders out loud. Then his ears perk up as he hears the floor creak behind him. A drop of sweat runs down his forehead and his face turns cold (the cello begins playing again to build up suspense... getting louder and louder). He slowly turns his head around and suddenly everything goes dark. You hear a terrible scream, then... total silence.
Example Three: Expressing a sense of increasing or decreasing emotional intensity with dynamics
Think of a romantic scene where a couple is brought together at the airport. First, there is a lot of doubt on both sides about whether the relationship will work out or not (with very soft music playing in the background). After the couple talks for a little bit, they finally come to the decision that they must go their separate ways. Both the man and woman walk off and the scene cuts to the man walking out of the airport thinking of past memories of his lover. Inside the airport, the woman sits with her face in her hands, wondering what will become of her life without the presence of the man she cared for so much. Suddenly, they both have the realization that they were wrong... they will find a way to make things work. They both get up and start running to find one another (the music begins building in volume). They run frantically through the airport, trying to regain the last spec of hope that the other person hasn't left yet, and is looking for them too (music continues becoming louder and louder). Then across a crowd, they lock eyes, run toward each other and embrace! In response, the music climaxes here and is playing at its loudest...
After reading the many examples in this article, you should now have a good understanding of the role that dynamics play for musical expression. By making dynamics a main focus in your songwriting, you will be able to write music that better expresses specific ideas and emotions while adding more depth to the individual parts of your songs.
by Ryan Buckner
About the author:
Ryan Buckner is a professional musician, guitarist and songwriter. His online songwriting lesson site contains a free musical elements songwriting eBook as well as many other instructional songwriting resources.
Friday, 20 September 2013
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