25/12/2024
It's Christmas! And this year, I asked for a MIDI controller to enrich my music composition journey...
While Garageband is great, the on-screen piano keyboard is not the nicest to play, so when I discovered the existance of MIDI controllers, I instantly desired one. With christmas coming up, I asked my beloved parent's for a MIDI Controller that I found on Amazon.
22/12/2024
22/12/2024
After learning about musical scales, I think I'm ready to try experimenting with making music...
After googling the easiest style of music to compose, I decided that for my first composition, I would make a House Funk beat.
I began by opening Garageband and sifting through their endless library of keyboard sounds. I navigated to the synth section and opted for the "Dance Anthem" keyboard. With my keyboard selected, I used my head to choose a scale at random: F Major key. I had no particular reason for choosing to compose in F Major, other than the fact that it's fairly easy to remember the notes for as it only has one flat. With my key selected, I decided that it would probably be best to start with a bassline progression. Again, choosing at random, I selected a D - F - Bb - G progression. Each note would be held for 4 beats (AKA one bar). I then added some rhythm by adding varying beat lengths and combinations to each bar. For the D, I split it into an augmented half beat, followed by a quarter beat rest, then another augmented half beat, followed by a quarter beat rest and ending in a 2 beat sustain. For the F, I split it into half beat, quarter beat rest, half beat, quarter beat rest, half beat, quarter beat rest, and ending in a 1.75 beat sustain. The Bb section used the same rhythm as the D section, and the G section used the same rhythm as the F section. I then copied the entire piece and pasted it one octave above to layer it and add a more fuller sound.
Listen to my bassline:
With my bassline sounding good, I built some chords off of it. The chords used the same root note as the bassline: A D Major chord, followed by a F Major Chord, followed by a Bb(add9) chord (Bb, C, D), and ending in a G Major Chord. I then inverted the chords by taking the root note, and moving it an octave above. However, upon listening back to this, the Bb(add9) chord sounded too high and out of place, so I left this chord uninverted. I then added a bit of rhythm to the chords by splitting them all up into one beats that repeated non stop for the duration of the bar.
Listen to my Bassline + Chords:
I then wanted to spice the piece up a bit more. It's not quite a melody, but I added some F major scale risers (I don't know what they would actually be called!). They're basically a chronological progression of the notes in the F Major scale with each note played for a quarter beat. I played these on a different synth called "Light Cycle" which possessed a sound that reminded me of arcade video games - very appropriate for a House Funk track. I added these risers to the beginning of the first 2 bars of music.
Listen to my risers:
Listen to my risers + (rest of track previously curated):
I then added some bass guitar, just playing the same bassline as the "Dance Anthem" (D, F, Bb, G) but with no rhythm (just a 4 beat sustain for each).
Listen to my guitar bassline:
Listen to my guitar bassline + (rest of track previously curated):
To help create more of a distinctive beat, I added some drums. I don't really know anything about drums, so this was pure experimentation. I first started by adding a kick beat every other quarter beat. Upon playback, this rhythm fit nicely with the rest of the track, so I proceeded to add a repeating quarter beat snare followed by a 3/4 beat rest. On the third beat of each bar, I added a triple clap, and at the very end of each bar, I added a symbol crash. When all was said and done, I listened to it with the rest of the track, and had no complaints. I know it's a fairly weak drum line, but like I said, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with drums!
Listen to my drum line:
Listen to my drum line + (rest of track previously curated):
Thinking back to my "risers", I wanted to try and experiment with adding something after them to "resolve them" (bring them back down). So, using the staccato strings, and keeping with the same common, reacurring notes I've been using throughout, I added a Bb, G, F, D (each held for 1 beat) descent to the third bar of the track. I was quite happy with how this sounded, so I kept it.
Listen to my riser resolution:
Listen to my riser resolution + (rest of track previously curated:
As the cherry on top, I added some glockenspiel. It was a very simple progression of the same notes used throughout the track (D, F, Bb, G). I added these notes in augmented half beats, followed by a quarter rest, with each note being repeated for the duration of the bar.
Listen to my glockenspiel:
And finally I had a finished track that I was quite happy with. It can be looped endlessly, and I'm quite proud of it for a first attempt at music composition!
Listen to the final track:
21/12/2024
20/12/2024
I am embarking on a journey to learn music theory and be able to compose my own music...
I love music. I probably listen to music for 23 hours out of the 24 in a day: whilst studying, showering, eating, exercising, relaxing... I literally listen to music all of the time. I listen to music of all genres: pop, rock, classical, orchestral, musical theatre, rap. Recently, I've become very interested in the science of music, and I really want to be able to compose my own music. So, here I am, starting this blog to document my journey.
I plan to learn music theory through online courses, articles, and youtube videos. I'm not a total noob with music however as I used to have piano lessons for 2 and a half years until the first covid lockdown in 2020, after which I never restarted lessons - one of my biggest regrets!!! More recently, I've been taking vocal lessons, as I really love to sing, and I'm taking my grade 8 exam in Singing for Musical Theatre in just a few months!
In terms of composing my own music, I recently bought an iPad for the primary reason of using garageband. I could've used my iPhone or Mac, but I think that the larger screen is very neccessary for this project.
So, here I am, with my niavely ambitions plans layed out with nothing nut unwavering passion and determination to take me forward into the wonderful world of music.