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How I Did It

sevenhundredbeats
by duncan_beattie
Recommends (34)
Fri, Sep 15, 2006 @ 6:36 AM
 

Tools I Used

Created using GarageBand

Samples I Used

ccMixter samples :

Mbira Melody by: narva9
Jazz Guitar Octave Lick 1 by: Klaus_Neumaier
slumlord horns by: lo tag blanco
databeat1 by: Brilliant Orange Object

Also used a couple of piano smaple files that came with GarageBand, these were almost entirely rewritten around central motifs

Original Samples

The piano parts other than the mutated gb samples were played directly through my qwerty keyboard into gb and then sliced up.

The drum sections are composite creations using the databeat sample as a base. I crafted several fills and sections directly into GarageBand.

Process

I started with the piano motif and worked out until I had the basic structure of

intro - chorus - wander - chorus - outro

I then began experimenting with putting the piano parts through a synth mod which turned out rather nice, I then built the dynamics of the piece through the interplay of the two voices saying the same part.

I then built some simple drum patterns to pin the piece together before starting to play with the databeat sample and creatin the more complex drum fills.

I spent a good couple of hours just getting the slumlord horns going through the right filters and chopping them to play off of the piano parts in the mid section.

The Mbira Melody sample was a real find, I love a good thumb piano, but try as I might the bugger just didn't want to play along with the rest of the piece so I used the last few notes of the sample and passed them through some resonant filters to achieve a rythm track which at times sounds like my poor attempts at breathing.

The final sample was the guitar piece, which I liked initially for its warmth, I had to up the pitch to make it fit and cut it to pieces, but it still has that warmth.

After all that I just tweaked adn touched up.

Other Notes

Alltogether I am happy with the piece but the levels are still a bit off resulting in some parts feeling a bit weak, especially at the bridge sections. However listening to this and 'An Experiment With Time' they both work together and seem to share themes, [erhaps I will do more like these.