Creative Arrangement
Brief:
You are tasked with creating a cover of an existing piece of music in an alternate style. I am doing a cover of White Stripes - 7 Nation Army in the style of house.
Research:
Style - House
Typical instruments - synthesisers, drum machines, sylenth
Sounds - VST(Virtual Studio Technology), kick drums, hi hats, cymbals, live instruments, synths
Timbres - quality of sound, what makes instruments sound different, frequency and overtones. Electro house uses fuzzy, electronic sounds and dirty bassline. Techno house use techno sounds, house derived beat, melodic progression.
Bpm - 120-130bpm
Texture - unison is when all instruments play the same melody at the same time,
homophonic is when a melody is supported by chord progressions and is most common,
polyphonic is when harmonies, melody and chords combine together to form the shape of the overall music,
layered textures = use arpeggiators + kick bass + melody lines
homophonic is when a melody is supported by chord progressions and is most common,
polyphonic is when harmonies, melody and chords combine together to form the shape of the overall music,
layered textures = use arpeggiators + kick bass + melody lines
Structure - generic structure for house music consists of an intro, verse, chorus, breakdown, verse 2, chorus 2, bridge, chorus 3 and an optional outro. The breakdown can be used to add percussion
Effects - saturators, sidechains, EQ, reverb, compression, filters, faders, panning, phasing are all common effects used in house tracks like David Guetta and Duke Durmont
Rhythm/Tempo - usually follow a 4/4 beat with a kick bass
How the parts fit together - melody using a higher timbre VST, arpeggiator to build up before bass drop, use drum machines to initialise the kick bass, change timbre of arpeggiator and melody for new sections(change in breakdown)
Roles of each part - bass drop used in the breakdown to fill space between chorus and verse 2, kick bass used to keep the beat during the song, arpeggiator creates an extra layer in chorus, melody used as a hook to grab audience attention.
Different rhythms - 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + = kick bass, melody follows 7 nation army bass, 4/4 arpeggiators
Track List:
- Sidechain 4 to floor
- Hi hat beat
- Verse beat
- Breakdown arpeggiator
- verse arpeggiator
- Intro/outro arpeggiator
- lead intro
- Lead breakdown
- Lead breakdown 2
- Chords
- Lyrics
- Reverse Cymbals
- Scream effect
The arpeggiators are used to add layers to each section of the song, each arpeggiator is different so it separates the track easier. The drum tracks are used to add the 4 to the floor effect which is a common for a house track. Lead tracks are used to play the bass riff that everyone knows, chords are lyrics are tracks which use the skeleton score. Finally the reverse cymbal and the scream are tracks used to add effects and emphasise bass drops.
Effects:
Compression: A compressor reduces the level of an audio signal if its amplitude exceeds a certain threshold.
EQ: Allows the track to get a balance sound throughout, you can edit the track so lower frequencies can be boosted and higher frequencies can be dropped if need be.
Reverb: This effect is most commonly used on vocal recording to make the track able to sound
similar to an echo in a large room. It creates emphasis on the track and reverberates the sounds.
similar to an echo in a large room. It creates emphasis on the track and reverberates the sounds.
Side Chain Compression: Side chain compression is a common effect used in house music used as a ducking effect. The ducking effect give a pumping sound to the track. This can be done by connecting the compression on a chosen track to another bass track.
Log:
8/3/16: Started new project in cubase adding the four to the floor beat and writing in all the score from the skeleton score given to us.
15/3/16: Rearranged the tracks so that there was an intro followed by a verse and finally a chorus, added a new arpeggiator for the verse and a breakdown between the verse and intro.
16/3/16: Added reverse cymbals to try add a build up before the bass drop after the chorus as well as a scream affect that i have heard been used in other house tracks, i also changed the volume of the lead breakdown track at the very end to stop distortion from being heard
Log:
8/3/16: Started new project in cubase adding the four to the floor beat and writing in all the score from the skeleton score given to us.
15/3/16: Rearranged the tracks so that there was an intro followed by a verse and finally a chorus, added a new arpeggiator for the verse and a breakdown between the verse and intro.
16/3/16: Added reverse cymbals to try add a build up before the bass drop after the chorus as well as a scream affect that i have heard been used in other house tracks, i also changed the volume of the lead breakdown track at the very end to stop distortion from being heard
