Learning Journal (WEEK 3 - AUM162)

DATA

1. Get song 1 sorted (Under Pressure by Queen)

2. 1. EDM Exploration

Reflection

1 - Ok it’s not quite week 3, but it's close enough. I’ve been working out the bass guitar work on Queen’s song Under Pressure, and have replicated the bass guitar work into the DAW via a midi mini keyboard control. The keyboard controller is an AKAI professional MPK mini and it sits to the left of me on my desk. Have I told you how much I’m starting to get into this midi stuff; it’s the bee’s knees, awesome. Anyway, let us get back to Queeny.

I have worked out virtually all of the bass guitar work into Pro Tools, even though I only need a small section or riff of the song. This project is a cool learning curve for me to jump into the midi pond, which I’m really happy about. I’ve never thought about creating backing tracks, and this could be the start of a new musical journey.

To work out the song I wanted to replicate into midi. I firstly broke the song into sections like verses and bridges etc, then l worked on a section at a time as I laid down the midi tracks. I then quantized all the sections and created one track with the different sections. Next, I rendered the sections into one track, from the start all the way to the end, making sure I’m matching the same length from start to finish of the song’s stereo wav. By consolidating and rendering the tracks, it will help me save time and created some good working habits for the future. Throughout the SAE experience, I have come across DAW data problems time and time again, and I’m hoping through good DAW habits, it will help elevate the problem of miss-communication when it comes to DAW data and file transfer.

The pic below is of my DAW midi bass guitar work on the keyboard. That’s right, I have quantized it all and rendered it together. I can still make modifications in the midi, but at least I have it laid out in 1 track as a starting point.

I’m working on creating good habits that will help with the workflow on Pro Tools. I’ve started using all the tools in the timeline section to make sure that if I have to send a session to anyone, they have all the information laid out in front of them. When I was writing the B&W Funk Bros songs for the main final project for CIU330, I would take the time to set up all the information on the song structure in the DAW, then send it to Phil for final approval. I found it an easier way to work, and by laying out each song structure for Phil to follow, also created a quicker workflow for the B&W Funk Bros final trimester project.

Part of the songs format structure.

I also did a basic excel spreadsheet so I can learn to train my mind into a manner that is world-class.

2 - Since I’m slowly getting better at using midi and understanding how to set up midi in the Pro Tools DAW, I have decided it might be a good idea to start learning the history of EDM and the different sub-genres which have developed over the decades. I’ve always been a roots influence type of guy, but it’s time to learn how l can take advantage of the rich history of EDM and the aesthetics which have been created by the masters of the genre.

I’m aiming to mix EDM aesthetics into Country Rock. Using classic EDM sounds to drive the rhythm section.