Author Topic: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread  (Read 300587 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1155 on: January 09, 2016, 01:39:45 PM »
I finally wrote something with piano and guitar, here is a link to the first minute: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-wFOZ_1jZ7eWkFES1NEY3JZcG8/view?usp=sharing
I would love to hear some opinions :)

Nice!  I like the changes, how it's always not doing what might be safe and expected.  Keeps you on your toes.

Offline BlackInk

  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6907
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1156 on: January 09, 2016, 01:51:00 PM »
The file doesn't play for me.

Offline home

  • Posts: 2085
  • Gender: Male
  • Sound is the factor which holds it together
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1157 on: January 09, 2016, 01:57:59 PM »
Nice!  I like the changes, how it's always not doing what might be safe and expected.  Keeps you on your toes.

Thanks! There will be an even more unexpected (I think) section after this  :biggrin:

The file doesn't play for me.
Do you get an error message or something?
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline BlackInk

  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6907
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1158 on: January 09, 2016, 02:03:27 PM »
No, when I press play nothing happens. It's like it doesn't load the entire page or something, so the media player has nothing to play.

Offline home

  • Posts: 2085
  • Gender: Male
  • Sound is the factor which holds it together
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1159 on: January 09, 2016, 02:10:00 PM »
No, when I press play nothing happens. It's like it doesn't load the entire page or something, so the media player has nothing to play.

I really don't know what causes this :/ I'll upload it to soundcloud when I've recorded the rest, that'll definitely work :) I listened to some of your songs (from the link in your sig) Blue has a nice groove!
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline BlackInk

  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6907
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1160 on: January 09, 2016, 02:51:40 PM »
I really don't know what causes this :/

I think it's something with my computer. It's been doing that with a few sites lately.

I listened to some of your songs (from the link in your sig) Blue has a nice groove!

Thanks a lot mate!

Offline home

  • Posts: 2085
  • Gender: Male
  • Sound is the factor which holds it together
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1161 on: January 12, 2016, 07:41:25 AM »
Here is the (sort of) finished song: https://soundcloud.com/ikmatthijs/dawn-leaves-roughly-done Some transtions aren't perfectly timed.. I would love some critisism!  :azn:
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline BlackInk

  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6907
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1162 on: January 12, 2016, 09:31:56 AM »
Fun track. I agree with Orbert about the changes. Makes it interesting. And the main melody, the "chorus" I guess, was really cool.

Critisism.. I don't know. Maybe the mix of triplets and regular 4/4 rhythm at 0:57 is a bit jarring when done at the same time. But that may just be me.

Offline home

  • Posts: 2085
  • Gender: Male
  • Sound is the factor which holds it together
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1163 on: January 13, 2016, 04:15:10 AM »
Fun track. I agree with Orbert about the changes. Makes it interesting. And the main melody, the "chorus" I guess, was really cool.

Critisism.. I don't know. Maybe the mix of triplets and regular 4/4 rhythm at 0:57 is a bit jarring when done at the same time. But that may just be me.

Thanks! I am not completely sure about that part too, I think the strings sound more epic in triplets instead of 8th notes but I agree, it sounds a bit jarring. I might see if I can change it a bit, perhaps adding some triplets in the drum pattter will make it sound more natural.
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline splent

  • Moderator Emeritus
  • *****
  • Posts: 9348
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident music educator/conductor
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1164 on: January 15, 2016, 09:16:41 AM »
I need to start composing again. No time.

Orbert, I just liked your band's facebook page. Hope to hear you guys soon.
I don’t know what to put here anymore

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1165 on: January 15, 2016, 11:54:30 AM »
Thanks!

At our next practice, we'll be putting together six more tunes, which will bring us back up to 20.  That's how many we had before Steve had his hissy fit and quit the band.  With 20 tunes, we'll at least be able to do split shows and some places which don't require a full four hours of tunes (such as the two gigs we had booked but had to cancel).  Agent Dude says to let him know when we're ready, and he has some places in mind.  He said up front that the #1 thing he wants from bands is honesty and integrity.  Don't take a gig if you're just gonna back out later for some bullshit reason, but if you do have to cancel, give him plenty of notice.  Don't wait until the week before and then say you'd tried to work it out but ultimately couldn't.  It was like two days after he'd set us up with those gigs that John had to call him and back out because Steve quit, but he was cool with it because it was beyond our control, and he had plenty of time to find someone else.

Then the goal of course is to keep adding tunes until we do have a full evening's worth of material, and that gets us better gigs.  Then after that, go back through and add some more interesting/challenging songs and drop the filler.  We've managed to amass a fair amount of actual musical talent in the group, and ultimately our goal is to play songs that are recognizable, but which you rarely hear bar bands playing because they're so hard to play.

Offline splent

  • Moderator Emeritus
  • *****
  • Posts: 9348
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident music educator/conductor
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1166 on: January 28, 2016, 09:45:25 PM »
If you are in need of an additional vocalist or keyboard player, you know who to contact ;)
I don’t know what to put here anymore

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1167 on: January 28, 2016, 10:52:00 PM »
I'll keep that in mind.

Offline Sir GuitarCozmo

  • Official Forum Sous Chef and broler5
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 13979
  • Gender: Male
  • Kelly Clarkson BEEFS
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1168 on: January 30, 2016, 05:50:55 PM »

Offline sneakyblueberry

  • put me in coach
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4363
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1169 on: January 31, 2016, 01:00:06 AM »
:lol

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1170 on: February 02, 2016, 10:39:06 PM »


FlashDrive Update

We have a gig!

February 27, at some dive an hour west of here (and thus a half an hour west of civilization) called Sammy's Bar & Grill.  They know we only have two hours of music, but they think that's just fine.  Okay.  They're also going to pay us $400, and that's definitely okay.

No lights or sound equipment, no stage.  It's one of those "you can set up in the corner there, just move those tables" kinda places, but what the hell.  We need to gig, and it's not big money, but it's better money than the last gig.  We're movin' on up!

Offline pcs90

  • Posts: 979
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1171 on: February 02, 2016, 10:43:19 PM »
Awesome! Looking forward to know how it turns out!

Offline TheLordOfTheStrings

  • I make music. I also do other stuff sometimes.
  • Posts: 1607
  • Gender: Male
  • EB
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1172 on: February 02, 2016, 11:22:06 PM »
After being singerless for over a year, we've finally committed to a dude for a trial, probationary period to see how he does. I'm gonna personally work with him over the next few months to condition him to be the singer we need, meanwhile the other guys and I are gonna start recording the first album instrumentally. Then come summer time, assuming our singer is ready and kicking ass, we'll "welcome him to the family", lay down the vocals, get it mixed, stream it online, and then start gigging hard.
Check out my various music projects - I’ve got concept albums, singer/songwriter, rock, metal, prog, and more coming soon:

https://linktr.ee/STARCOMMANDStudios

Offline splent

  • Moderator Emeritus
  • *****
  • Posts: 9348
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident music educator/conductor
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1173 on: February 03, 2016, 08:47:49 AM »


FlashDrive Update

We have a gig!

February 27, at some dive an hour west of here (and thus a half an hour west of civilization) called Sammy's Bar & Grill.  They know we only have two hours of music, but they think that's just fine.  Okay.  They're also going to pay us $400, and that's definitely okay.

No lights or sound equipment, no stage.  It's one of those "you can set up in the corner there, just move those tables" kinda places, but what the hell.  We need to gig, and it's not big money, but it's better money than the last gig.  We're movin' on up!

Saw the details, that's not super far from me. How family friendly is the venue? Is it just like dive bar or can I bring my kid? She likes gigs and she's a night owl, she'll be dancing up a storm. Otherwise I can see about a babysitter.
I don’t know what to put here anymore

Offline BlackInk

  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6907
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1174 on: February 03, 2016, 09:31:33 AM »
After being singerless for over a year, we've finally committed to a dude for a trial, probationary period to see how he does. I'm gonna personally work with him over the next few months to condition him to be the singer we need, meanwhile the other guys and I are gonna start recording the first album instrumentally. Then come summer time, assuming our singer is ready and kicking ass, we'll "welcome him to the family", lay down the vocals, get it mixed, stream it online, and then start gigging hard.

I'm currently in a singerless band as well. How did you find one? because we're unsure of where to start at the moment.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1175 on: February 03, 2016, 11:58:14 AM »


FlashDrive Update

We have a gig!

February 27, at some dive an hour west of here (and thus a half an hour west of civilization) called Sammy's Bar & Grill.  They know we only have two hours of music, but they think that's just fine.  Okay.  They're also going to pay us $400, and that's definitely okay.

No lights or sound equipment, no stage.  It's one of those "you can set up in the corner there, just move those tables" kinda places, but what the hell.  We need to gig, and it's not big money, but it's better money than the last gig.  We're movin' on up!

Saw the details, that's not super far from me. How family friendly is the venue? Is it just like dive bar or can I bring my kid? She likes gigs and she's a night owl, she'll be dancing up a storm. Otherwise I can see about a babysitter.

I don't know the place, but "Bar & Grill" often means more like a restaurant that happens to serve alcohol than a bar that happens to serve food, although I suppose it could go either way.

Their website makes them look pretty family friendly.

Offline TheLordOfTheStrings

  • I make music. I also do other stuff sometimes.
  • Posts: 1607
  • Gender: Male
  • EB
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1176 on: February 03, 2016, 01:16:50 PM »
After being singerless for over a year, we've finally committed to a dude for a trial, probationary period to see how he does. I'm gonna personally work with him over the next few months to condition him to be the singer we need, meanwhile the other guys and I are gonna start recording the first album instrumentally. Then come summer time, assuming our singer is ready and kicking ass, we'll "welcome him to the family", lay down the vocals, get it mixed, stream it online, and then start gigging hard.

I'm currently in a singerless band as well. How did you find one? because we're unsure of where to start at the moment.
This guy we actually met through a friend. But previously we had just been keeping up on craigslist ads, printing fliers and posting them on bulletin boards at rehearsal studios and at music departments at colleges in our area.
Check out my various music projects - I’ve got concept albums, singer/songwriter, rock, metal, prog, and more coming soon:

https://linktr.ee/STARCOMMANDStudios

Offline hefdaddy42

  • Et in Arcadia Ego
  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 52771
  • Gender: Male
  • Postwhore Emeritus
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1177 on: February 05, 2016, 12:37:30 PM »
At church we are implementing in-ear monitors.

Thus far, I like it a lot, but it's definitely different.
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1178 on: February 05, 2016, 12:58:43 PM »
At The Chapel (Christian Rock thing I did for a few years, a few years ago) we all had in-ear monitors and each had our own one of these:



Everybody has their own personal monitor mix, and it's in stereo.  I never needed drums or bass, since I could hear them perfectly well on stage even with my in-ears, but I could pan and mix the vocals, guitars, and myself however I wanted.  It was very cool, very nice.  Regardless of how crappy it sounded out in the house, I could make it sound really great at least in my own ears.

Offline hefdaddy42

  • Et in Arcadia Ego
  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 52771
  • Gender: Male
  • Postwhore Emeritus
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1179 on: February 05, 2016, 01:35:00 PM »
We are using a newer model of those, from Aviom.

The thing I like best is having total control.  I don't have to pester the sound guy for anything.

The only weird thing is that I normally play acoustic guitar.  I don't use an effects processor; I line straight into the sound system.  The sound guy then adds whatever reverb or other things are on it.

The in-ears get the dry mix, as it comes into the system, so my guitar is flat, no effects.  It takes a little getting used to.  Even sitting down to play unplugged, you hear natural reverb from the room, so hearing it with NOTHING is strange.
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1180 on: February 05, 2016, 02:18:51 PM »
Yeah, I can see how that would be weird.  But other than that, hearing exactly what you want/need to hear is the best.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1181 on: February 05, 2016, 02:24:59 PM »
I've always hated playing with a click track, so I always kept Channel 16 (click) turned all the way down and just followed the drummer and/or the singers.  That worked just fine.  Eventually I forgot that it was even there.

One time, we were working on a song which starts with keys, so when the WL turned around and gave me the nod, I'd start playing the song.  People were completely messed up, and I couldn't figure out why.  It was because they were listening to the click track, but I was totally ignoring it (because I couldn't hear it and didn't even remember that it was there).  So for that one song, I had to turn up the click, so I could "play it right".  Bleah.  Then once the rest of the band came in, I turned it back down.

But it must've been really weird to hear a click, then the idiot back there on the keyboards starts playing and completely ignoring it.

Offline hefdaddy42

  • Et in Arcadia Ego
  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 52771
  • Gender: Male
  • Postwhore Emeritus
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1182 on: February 05, 2016, 02:31:44 PM »
lol

We don't use click tracks.
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1183 on: February 05, 2016, 03:22:30 PM »
That was the only time I've ever played with a click, and I ignored it and just followed the drummer anyway (except the times when keys started the song).

Those who are used to it say that it might take some getting used to, but eventually you do, and you work with it, and it's oh so nice when everyone's all together.  I say you can do that if people actually listen to each other, but I guess it's still true that the tempo can waver, especially if your drummer doesn't have a good internal metronome.  I've also heard of bands where only the drummer has a click, and everyone just follows him.

But mostly, I'm not going to buy a machine that goes "click", and I'm not going to let a machine that goes "click" tell me I'm wrong for putting some expression into my music in the form of tempo.  And as much as I love making music and my mantra is basically "make music every chance I can get" I'd probably turn down a gig that slaved itself to a click track.  I just can't deal with it.

Nowadays, "everyone" uses them.  Good for them.  To me, it's kinda like younger folk who grew up listening to mp3-quality music complaining that CDs or vinyl sound weird to them.  They're actually used to artificial compression and shitty sound to the point where lossless sounds wrong.  Whatever you grew up with is "the right way" for you.  I didn't grow up with click tracks, so... well, fuck click tracks.

Offline pcs90

  • Posts: 979
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1184 on: February 05, 2016, 05:25:49 PM »
If the musicians are good and have good tempo (or will listen to the drummer), a click track is not a requirement at all. A lot of people are using them now because they're adding loops and backing tracks, so the band absolutely has to be in time or it fails.
When I was in high school, we always played with a metronome while learning music, so I'm used to playing with or without. If everyone's on the same page I definitely prefer not to have one though.
One of the drummers at the church where I used to play didn't listen to the click, but everyone else did. You can imagine the trainwrecks that caused.

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1185 on: February 05, 2016, 09:07:10 PM »
Now that's different.  Everyone except the drummer followed the click?  Yeah, I can see that not working very well.

Offline pcs90

  • Posts: 979
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1186 on: February 05, 2016, 10:33:26 PM »
Now that's different.  Everyone except the drummer followed the click?  Yeah, I can see that not working very well.
Yeah, he would turn it really low so he could only hear it to count off a song. Logically they should have just shut it off after that so it didn't create timing problems but that never happened. So everyone else was trying to listen to both at the same time, and since they weren't in sync, it was definitely a headache...glad I am out of that particular situation, haha.

But I'm confused on one thing, since you said you normally don't listen to the click. Was the drummer constantly keeping time, even in the softer sections? In my experience there's always sections that are just keys, or sometimes keys and guitar, when things quiet down. Did you just shut off the click for everyone at that point?

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1187 on: February 05, 2016, 11:46:07 PM »
To be honest, I don't know.  I know that I never listened to the click, unless the keys started off the song, which was rare and only with the one WL.  Once things got going, I have no idea.  I know that at least some of the others listened to the click, because they're the ones who got confused when I wasn't following it.  But in the middle of a song, if it gets quiet and the rhythm drops out, I don't know, and I've never really thought about it before.  I just kept playing what I thought I should be playing, and following the singer(s).  They were probably listening to the click, so if I followed them, we were fine.  Ultimately, the band is there to support the singers, and I have a long, long history as an accompanist, so I guess it just worked out.

Offline sneakyblueberry

  • put me in coach
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4363
  • Gender: Male
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1188 on: February 06, 2016, 05:56:57 AM »
The couple times I've played drums at church I've used a click because I have a horrible meter behind the drums.  It was good for making sure I was at a comfortable tempo for the singer to be able to sing properly.  I'm not a drummer tho, so I feel like I'm allowed to cheat a little :P

I have so much respect for a good, solid drummer.  Not flashy, but real solid.  It's not as easy as it seems, on an instrument you haven't grown up playing anyway.  Keeping it solid on guitar is a cakewalk for me, same as bass.  It's when I have to coordinate all four limbs that things turn to shit in terms of tempo.  Also, playing drums with a band is so much different to just playing along to records, you have to be able to drive it along - lead and not follow. 

Offline Orbert

  • Recovering Musician
  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 19225
  • Gender: Male
  • In and around the lake
Re: All musicians unite! - The Musicians Chat Thread
« Reply #1189 on: February 06, 2016, 10:53:10 AM »
What I'd like to see (and I'm sure it exists but I'm too lazy to Google it) is a device that's basically a metronome, or click machine if you will, but instead of clicking, it flashes a light or L.E.D. at the prescribed tempo.  At the start of each song, quickly type in the meter you want, it flashes at that tempo, and there's your tempo.

I've played with too many drummers who get excited during live performance and want to "rock out" more.  Well, on drums there's basically only two ways to "rock out" more, overplay everything with fills and shit, or speed up the tempo.  Extra fills and shit can be okay, though too much of course is bad, but speeding things up is just bad.