Songs by Tramic

  On 4/23/2021 at 11:30 PM, brian trageskin said:

ideally you'd build upon the existing material and come up with a bunch of contrasting sections with corresponding chord progressions. 

btw i just thought of a simpler approach than that: just come up with one contrasting section and alternate between the 2. i guess you could call that ABAB form or something. gerald donald did that all the time and it worked wonders: 

although his trick is actually a little more sophisticated than simply alternating between A and B. it also involves making pauses before each change of section and even filling these gaps with stuff, which adds an element of surprise and breaks the monotony of the beat. if you simply alternate between A and B, the listener will be bored the 2nd time he hears the cycle (in the vast majority of cases). hence gerald's trick. 

anyway that's one kind of structure that's quite easy to make and works really well, if the 2 sections compliment each other and if you spice things up like gerald does. 

otherwise, i recommend reading this (not that i've done it btw hehehe): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_form

@brian trageskin Is there a reason u dont just pick up a daw and start making music? If seen u talk about music theory in other threads. U seem quite knowledgeable about and and seem to enjoy it. Or do you just enjoy learning the theory ?

  On 4/24/2021 at 1:13 AM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Couldn't agree more.  With some very rare exceptions, the "painting myself into a corner" feeling multiplies exponentially the further I get into a track.  Thx for the notes.

 

I can tell when a note is going up or down, but identifying scales or chords is still beyond me for now.

Have you been making music for a long time ?

  On 4/26/2021 at 12:34 AM, Wunderbar said:

@brian trageskin Is there a reason u dont just pick up a daw and start making music? 

the reason is i need to learn how to use a daw and i also need to just start making tunes but i have a really hard time focusing on anything, which prevents me from doing so.

i don't know much theory btw, i'm just trying to help others out of frustration for not making music myself. since i'm not making music myself, i want them to improve theirs lol. and yeah i love talking about theory even though i don't know much about it.

btw i've just fully listened to these donald tunes again, i'd forgotten how sophisticated the structure of that remix actually is: things get way less predictable when the A section comes back, as the rhythm gets displaced a few times. this is a great example of adding variation just by displacing, pausing, muting. 

  On 4/23/2021 at 9:30 PM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Another draft.  I like parts of it, but I think I might just move on to something else.

 

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I feel like it's a little backing track-ish. Adding a melody could be a way to move forward. Something smooth, sine-wavey that soars on top of the rest. It shouldn't come in right away, maybe at the one-minute mark. That also adds a lot of development possibilities because you could repeat it, silence it, chop it up, vary it, etc. At least I think there is space in the "top layer" for doing something that grabs attention, especially in the later parts of the track.

  On 4/26/2021 at 1:40 AM, brian trageskin said:

i want them to improve theirs lol.

would u be willing to give some feedback on some random noises of mine ?

  On 4/26/2021 at 3:22 AM, Wunderbar said:

would u be willing to give some feedback on some random noises of mine ?

yeah sure. start your own topic or just pm me, whatever you prefer.

  On 4/26/2021 at 12:34 AM, Wunderbar said:

Have you been making music for a long time ?

Years and years, haha.  That being said, only in the last 2 years or so have I made a concerted effort to get better at it, if that makes sense.  I'm sure I've been learning some stuff by osmosis, but only lately have I been setting out to learn techniques to make tracks sound better, or at least more quickly make them sound like the ideas in my head.

  On 4/26/2021 at 12:18 AM, brian trageskin said:

i guess you could call that ABAB form or something. gerald donald did that all the time and it worked wonders: 

Good thought.  I was kind of resigned to let this one go, but I'll see if I can't parse it out a bit and add a second section. 

  On 4/26/2021 at 7:02 PM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Good thought.  I was kind of resigned to let this one go, but I'll see if I can't parse it out a bit and add a second section. 

yeah i didn't mean to imply that this was necessarily the right approach to take for this specific tune, i was talking in general. ABAB is simpler to achieve than ABACDBE or whatever lol. 

Haha, yea I get you.  Adding another section in general just sounds like a good idea.  

Went ahead and finished it up.  It was also an opportunity to really get to know the 202 sequencer. 

  On 4/30/2021 at 11:07 PM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Went ahead and finished it up.  It was also an opportunity to really get to know the 202 sequencer. 

 

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Frikken' love it. Really groovy!!! That acid squelchy bit is awesome and we'll danceable!!! Great job!!!

I feel like the melodic stuff could be a bit louder in the mix. What kind of levels are u hitting ?

  On 4/30/2021 at 11:27 PM, Wunderbar said:

I feel like the melodic stuff could be a bit louder in the mix. What kind of levels are u hitting ?

You know, compared to the other elements, I wonder if the higher notes from the original maybe didn't get a little buried.  I'm gonna check it out in a bit. Thx.

  On 4/30/2021 at 11:26 PM, TheBro said:

Frikken' love it. Really groovy!!! That acid squelchy bit is awesome and we'll danceable!!! Great job!!!

Hell yeah.  I'm glad you liked it.  These have kind of been taking forever lately, but I'm glad some people are checking it out.  

  On 4/30/2021 at 11:21 PM, eassae said:

Really like the 0:51 where the pad cuts out. Goes from mellow atmospheric, then gets serious, then gets more serious at 1:26 and my head really starts bangin'. Then…I go on the journey all over again.

Nice Freddy!

Thanks! I took the suggestion from @brian trageskin and created a "B" to the "A" from the older version.  It's sort of a loud/quiet/loud thing, but it works much better than the old version imo.  I'd love to get better at adding even more ideas, but even getting something that felt like it fit took some time.  

nice! the ending section with all the material combined is pretty lush. 

  On 5/1/2021 at 3:06 AM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

I'd love to get better at adding even more ideas, but even getting something that felt like it fit took some time.  

great attitude! music theory is your friend:) 

In a bit of a dry spell, but I'm happy with this little live jam(even if it's a bit long).  

Another WIP.  I feel like I may add a break or something to try and give it a little more forward momentum, if that makes sense:

  On 5/29/2021 at 9:58 PM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Another WIP.  I feel like I may add a break or something to try and give it a little more forward momentum, if that makes sense:

 

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This is pretty great. I think adding a break would be a tremendous idea, but you could also experiment with turning those hi-hats into rides.

Great hi hat pattern by the way. Those subtle accents really make the beat come alive.

Got a cool slide guitar sound out of the Alpha Juno:

  On 8/27/2021 at 12:20 AM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Got a cool slide guitar sound out of the Alpha Juno:

 

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I absolutely love that slide sound. I would keep that around and do some more exploration with it. Nice chill track to showcase it, too.

  On 8/27/2021 at 12:20 AM, BaggerMcGuirk said:

Got a cool slide guitar sound out of the Alpha Juno:

 

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Really enjoyed this dude. Very smooth!!!

Nicicle (draft) - I really liked the bits where you had a break beat going on under the drum machine beat, it's easier said than done to make such a thing work.