Gameshow

  • Thread starter Thread starter jeffmaher
  • Start date Start date
Jeff, this sounds nice.
Maybe the bass could use a little more low end, and maybe come up a tad in the mix.

The panned percussive instruments sound way cool!

The drums sound great as well, though I'm not hearing a kick anywhere, but I'm guessing that it's not supposed to be there.

The guitars sound swell, as usual. I like it alot.

Some Pat Metheny type vocal accents would be very cool on top of this.
 
I got you on the Metheny vox.....where, exactly do you hear a place for them...I'm guessing in the swing-part , where the bass walks? Maybe answer the guit-melody? Or flow in the background?

Still have to add kick/accents and crashes...piano melody doubling and harmonies...some horns blasting in the bridge, all gameshow 'doowah'...and editing percussion to build...instead of everything, all the time. And I want to go from latin 4/4 to a swing in the walk...edit out the dotted-eighth ride early-on. And I'd like to add another solo instrument , like flute or synth...or ohh-ahh vocals [good idea, K!], maybe...to the melody, in cycle 2...to keep it interesting: it's a couple long cycles of the same , right now.

Everything is as-recorded..no EQ ...the bass needs to be trimmed in the mids...maybe run through analog tape routine to round it out. That's the last thing. The acoustic track is the original scratch model...to be redone...or discarded....

It's all very structured..and I hope to keep it campy enough to actually be used as a gameshow theme. It's the only one I ever imagined! So, no ripping solo parts. [as if]

If I had it to do over, I'd make the last measure of the bridge a full 4 beats...but maybe the un-natural jolt is good to keep vertigo going????
 
This is kind of cool just the way it is. Don't go fucking it all up with a bunch of added stuff just cuz you can. Less is usually more.

A little more bass would be good. Just a little.
 
Roger that! Thanks for the reminder. [I'm a thick student]

I do need to remove stuff early, add little things late, and make sure it's interesting, right? As it is, it's about a minute and a half too long....

I promise to restrain myself. I'll post the 'finished' thing in a few days...and If I fuck it up, you can do some surgery.
Gerg rules.

ps...what I'd really like your particular opinion on is the bridge. Especially if I should add a beat to the last measure....
 
Not my bag to be sure...the only jazz I can really stomach thus far in my 40 years is old time dixieland, early '70's fusion and maybe django...not sure why??? All else strikes me as too cerebral without enough emotive content...

But enough about me...you've got tremendous clarity and separation in this recording and the musicianship is certainly not lacking. I seemed like you were returning back to main riff, lick, whatever a bit too frequently given the relatively short length of the piece and it would have been cool to hear you wander off a little further and a little longer...but that may be out of place in this kind of thing?

Guitar playing was very good...I have a hard time getting past the chorus sound, but that is probably just my own prejudice against it. I'm thinking someone into smooth or modern jazz might well be thoroughly satisfied here. Nice job man :).
 
I have the horns 99% complete...need a little editing and a couple changed notes. The horns diverge in the sections that follow this sample...take holidays...pan outside center, a split of bones and trumpets....do different things. Mostly follow lines...or do counterpoint lines...break out in !!'s

The piece is meant to actually work as a gameshow theme...entirely, or in a loop of some part of it.... or a commercial floor ; so I'm trying to stick with the basic themes and not wander too far off the rez with improvish stuff. Simple is good, I think. And, to be sure, the tune that's in the movie is one of the simplest I ever recorded. A lesson to me, there.

I'll have the complete trackage in a day or two...a more complete pic for you to digest....

Thanks for the listen and suggestions.

ps..Greg...can you be more specific about how the horns might follow the bass?? And, by noodling, d'ya mean what guitar is there? Or add solo improv??

I have a hard time getting past the chorus sound,

I think it's kinda flukey...which is good for the intended purpose, maybe. It pokes out. I tried dry, but it sounded too serious.
 
Last edited:
jeffmaher said:
ps..Greg...can you be more specific about how the horns might follow the bass?? And, by noodling, d'ya mean what guitar is there? Or add solo improv??

.
Click to expand...

I don't know theory, so it's hard to explain. I guess I'm thinking of the horns like back-up singers. At times they support the basic melody with the bass. Think of backup singers going through a long run of oooohs and ahhhhs while the main vocalist does their thing. And then other times they pop out with the main vocal line.
 
good stuff Jeff...more bass as mentioned...other than that another sterling performance :)
 
Jeff,

Sounds like you rounded the bass out since last time I listened? Not sure. If you didn't it sounds a little fatter than I remember. Still diggin' the panned percussion instruments.

I don't think the chorus is too much on the guitar. I like it. Lookin' forward to the horn mix.
 
I just leveled it up in the mix.....[bass] No processing post track so far. All the sounds are dry into the board...like the bass....or ambiance and EQ supplied by the sample routine...all tracked flat at input. The guitar is a Strat....out-of- phase mix of neck and middle pickups...into 'blues page' preset on an Alesis Quadraverb guit processor....ancient history.

In the 2-cycle, the piano doubles the head...then the horns double the head, then the section splits, and plays that McHale's Navy chromatic thing counterpoint to itself, and the head...letting off in an octave orgasm for the root.... And I'm actually thinking of doing some of that later with oohs and ahh's, vox. Try to keep the concept in mind as I add and edit. As far as I can grasp it, it seems like I'm kinda already doing it. And in the c part of the cycle, the bass walks....is that where you hear the vox in unison and harmony with the bass?? Don't think I ever heard that...might be interesting to try!
 
My nits are minor, and center around these things...
1) ride swing quantization is a little stiff; your natural groove (the swing groove of your guitar playing ) is very fluid and smooth, so the sort of upright, staid swing in the ride kinds jumps out at we drummers. :)
2) EQ on drums and guitar is edgy a smidge.
3) Bass could be fatter, since there are no kicks to push the groove along, especially.

The extended changes are a little cerebral for the game show crowd, but fuck 'em, I like it. :)

heatmiser,
To find emotion in more complex jazz, you have to look in different spots. I liken it this way; more basic music appleals to more basic emotions; love, hate, anger. The enriched harmonies and movement in jazz speaks more to the emotional difference between a Hershey kiss and a Godiva bar; both excellent, but you're enjoying it on different emotional levels. There are nuances of emotion that are more subtlely addressed by the intricacies of jazz. That said, I'm glad a lot of my music tends toward 70s fusion, so as not to upset you too much. :D
 
There are some kicks and crashes...I just went back to see if I forgot to assign the track to master!! Maybe push 'em a little more?

The ride is un-quantized...played with my index on a key....a very deep swing cut on the 8'ths...review that track....I can't hear it really well in the mix...time to pair and solo..

I'll work on the bass...I thought I had it up in the mix...but maybe not cutting through the hornage....

When you say drums...d'ya mean the purcussion stuff? There's only a rimtap, BD and brass on the kit.

If this get's used, It'll prolly be just one section....they usually loop a 10-20second groove...but the submission is required to be a full 3:00m + composition. And there's those other whacked out afro-parts that might be used in something. I hope. So I'm not too comcerned with the crazeechords...I did that to have fun! And I finally got to use a few more of my bazillion samples.:)

Thanks for the listen....Back at it tomorrow!
 
Left in your head? Why? This would make any jazz enthusiast have an orgasm! :D
Love it, totaly groovy, the guitar playing is pristine, the recording so clear. Just leave it as it is, Jeff, it's good enough this way. Great listen!

Joey :):):):)
 
Sounds like you added a little piano in there. Nice.

At 2:55 it breaks all breaks down. I guess this is part of the crazy afro parts you are referring to. Not sure it's working, it's a pretty sudden shift in style, almost like you get sucked into a worm hole. I like the way it comes out of it though.

Yeah, I still think the bass guitar could be a little fatter.

The horns are way cool. You really went way out there with them, and it adds a very cool dynamic to the song that wasn't there before. Nice job.

Still thinks this all sounds really good. This piece may be to sophisticated for a game show theme, and I mean that in a good way, but I could see the loop of the main guitar line having a real shot at it. It's catchy that way:) I'll keep checking back for updates.
 
Yeah...2:55 is strange...the rythm that used to play in the Funhouse at the local amusement park when I was a kid...has the heartbeats and wholetone vertigo....searching for the part of the show where Mildred tries to answer the $64,000 question....sweat time. If it was something for a listening record, I'd cut it; but it won't do any harm, cuz it can be edited out...and I still have my minimum 3 minutes. Maybe I can figure a way to pre-introduce the rythm change earlier to smooth the transition?? Or I'll ditch it??

Thanks for the ears! Luv yoos guys!

"the recording so clear"

Only took three years to learn to leave tracks alone.
 
jeffmaher said:
There are some kicks and crashes...I just went back to see if I forgot to assign the track to master!! Maybe push 'em a little more?

The ride is un-quantized...played with my index on a key....a very deep swing cut on the 8'ths...review that track....I can't hear it really well in the mix...time to pair and solo..

I'll work on the bass...I thought I had it up in the mix...but maybe not cutting through the hornage....

When you say drums...d'ya mean the purcussion stuff? There's only a rimtap, BD and brass on the kit.

If this get's used, It'll prolly be just one section....they usually loop a 10-20second groove...but the submission is required to be a full 3:00m + composition. And there's those other whacked out afro-parts that might be used in something. I hope. So I'm not too comcerned with the crazeechords...I did that to have fun! And I finally got to use a few more of my bazillion samples.:)

Thanks for the listen....Back at it tomorrow!
Click to expand...

Ahh, the dreaded "riding on the keys" trick. That explains it, riding is all in the wrist, not in the fingers and needs the weight to be right. key-riding is invariably stiff no matter who you are, drummer or not... You should contract out that drum part. I think I recall you giving me similar advice once, to my great benefit. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top