Converting ideas and feelings into music

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A.M.Smith
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by A.M.Smith »

Lost to the Void wrote:Oh I agree the tools do influence the music.
It`s one of the reasons I`m trying to use non typical tools to make techno.
This is headed OT...but what are you using that is a-typical?

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Lost to the Void
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Lost to the Void »

I`ve been making my own instruments.

I have my can of pain (paint can filled with different metallic materials and a stereo contact mic, can be bowed (weird metallic pads), (scratched odd metallic rythmic sounds), shaken (hi-hats), hit (good for kick drums), tapped (more metallic mid range percussion)
My Rust Rack (large wooden board with long trampoline springs attached and contacts mics embedded in the base, can be bowed for pads, hit for weird clonks, drones can be made by vibrating with a drill)
My clonk machine (various lengths of different types of wood attached to a thick wooden base with contact mics embedded) mainly used for my clonky percussion sounds.
run through various home made effects

Then basically everything in my house, current fave thing is generating sounds in whatever way, then recording these sounds and playing them back on a high quality usb speaker I have placed in strange places and re recorded with my field recorder (putting it in the washing machine is really nice, and in the oven as the shelves vibrate).

Whatever I find on sound gathering missions.

I use contact mics, coil pickups (great for recording electrical sounds out of anything electrical) and a hydrophone as well as my tube condenser mic. Kinda like Foley work really.

I`m on holiday from making techno at the moment, I need a break from it, working on my metal album, moving house, building new studio...........
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
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Techno is dead. Long live Techno.

A.M.Smith
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by A.M.Smith »

Lost to the Void wrote:I`ve been making my own instruments.

I have my can of pain (paint can filled with different metallic materials and a stereo contact mic, can be bowed (weird metallic pads), (scratched odd metallic rythmic sounds), shaken (hi-hats), hit (good for kick drums), tapped (more metallic mid range percussion)
My Rust Rack (large wooden board with long trampoline springs attached and contacts mics embedded in the base, can be bowed for pads, hit for weird clonks, drones can be made by vibrating with a drill)
My clonk machine (various lengths of different types of wood attached to a thick wooden base with contact mics embedded) mainly used for my clonky percussion sounds.
run through various home made effects

Then basically everything in my house, current fave thing is generating sounds in whatever way, then recording these sounds and playing them back on a high quality usb speaker I have placed in strange places and re recorded with my field recorder (putting it in the washing machine is really nice, and in the oven as the shelves vibrate).

Whatever I find on sound gathering missions.

I use contact mics, coil pickups (great for recording electrical sounds out of anything electrical) and a hydrophone as well as my tube condenser mic. Kinda like Foley work really.

I`m on holiday from making techno at the moment, I need a break from it, working on my metal album, moving house, building new studio...........
That's great though...a lot of those sound really I interesting...I really need to bust out my field recorder at least. need to check out working with contact mics ...the to do list for music and gear is just never ending...at least I've got more project ideas than I am likely to ever have time for :)

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Lost to the Void
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Lost to the Void »

A.M.Smith wrote:
Lost to the Void wrote:I`ve been making my own instruments.

I have my can of pain (paint can filled with different metallic materials and a stereo contact mic, can be bowed (weird metallic pads), (scratched odd metallic rythmic sounds), shaken (hi-hats), hit (good for kick drums), tapped (more metallic mid range percussion)
My Rust Rack (large wooden board with long trampoline springs attached and contacts mics embedded in the base, can be bowed for pads, hit for weird clonks, drones can be made by vibrating with a drill)
My clonk machine (various lengths of different types of wood attached to a thick wooden base with contact mics embedded) mainly used for my clonky percussion sounds.
run through various home made effects

Then basically everything in my house, current fave thing is generating sounds in whatever way, then recording these sounds and playing them back on a high quality usb speaker I have placed in strange places and re recorded with my field recorder (putting it in the washing machine is really nice, and in the oven as the shelves vibrate).

Whatever I find on sound gathering missions.

I use contact mics, coil pickups (great for recording electrical sounds out of anything electrical) and a hydrophone as well as my tube condenser mic. Kinda like Foley work really.

I`m on holiday from making techno at the moment, I need a break from it, working on my metal album, moving house, building new studio...........
That's great though...a lot of those sound really I interesting...I really need to bust out my field recorder at least. need to check out working with contact mics ...the to do list for music and gear is just never ending...at least I've got more project ideas than I am likely to ever have time for :)
Well, it might be pure folly, I'm not sure all the effort I go to is worth it really, for tracks that just get thrown in to some mix for a minute or two, I'm probably going to far too much effort.
In some ways I do really understand these guys who just knock together a beat on a drum machine then throw a synth over it and just press the result to vinyl. The music has become so disposable it probably makes more sense to work that way.
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
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Techno is dead. Long live Techno.

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Dust Layer
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Dust Layer »

For the guitar tuning question here is a good tutorial, hope it will help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Eu01- ... e=youtu.be

A.M.Smith
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by A.M.Smith »

Lost to the Void wrote:
A.M.Smith wrote:
Lost to the Void wrote:I`ve been making my own instruments.

I have my can of pain (paint can filled with different metallic materials and a stereo contact mic, can be bowed (weird metallic pads), (scratched odd metallic rythmic sounds), shaken (hi-hats), hit (good for kick drums), tapped (more metallic mid range percussion)
My Rust Rack (large wooden board with long trampoline springs attached and contacts mics embedded in the base, can be bowed for pads, hit for weird clonks, drones can be made by vibrating with a drill)
My clonk machine (various lengths of different types of wood attached to a thick wooden base with contact mics embedded) mainly used for my clonky percussion sounds.
run through various home made effects

Then basically everything in my house, current fave thing is generating sounds in whatever way, then recording these sounds and playing them back on a high quality usb speaker I have placed in strange places and re recorded with my field recorder (putting it in the washing machine is really nice, and in the oven as the shelves vibrate).

Whatever I find on sound gathering missions.

I use contact mics, coil pickups (great for recording electrical sounds out of anything electrical) and a hydrophone as well as my tube condenser mic. Kinda like Foley work really.

I`m on holiday from making techno at the moment, I need a break from it, working on my metal album, moving house, building new studio...........
That's great though...a lot of those sound really I interesting...I really need to bust out my field recorder at least. need to check out working with contact mics ...the to do list for music and gear is just never ending...at least I've got more project ideas than I am likely to ever have time for :)
Well, it might be pure folly, I'm not sure all the effort I go to is worth it really, for tracks that just get thrown in to some mix for a minute or two, I'm probably going to far too much effort.
In some ways I do really understand these guys who just knock together a beat on a drum machine then throw a synth over it and just press the result to vinyl. The music has become so disposable it probably makes more sense to work that way.
I think there is plenty of room for LPs of Techno ish headphone music in which these intricate details could be appreciated. But if that isn't your goal...maybe it isn't worth the effort...honestly unless I am actually at a night or party I don't care much for simple banging Techno. Though that is still fun for the drunken flailing I call "dancing". But there is lots of room in my life for a good trance enducing beat and some wild textures and timbres.

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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Barfunkel »

A.M.Smith wrote:
Lost to the Void wrote:Oh I agree the tools do influence the music.
It`s one of the reasons I`m trying to use non typical tools to make techno.
This is headed OT...but what are you using that is a-typical?
I once made a series of tracks in which I sampled household objects and made everything out of those samples, drums included.

I sampled at least:

The washing machine
The shower
Me pissing in the urinal
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Koichi
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Koichi »

Don't think any of this is irrelevant or off topic- I dropped off a few pages of posts back but I was saying computers frame the way we create - so making field recordings and sampling found objects, DIY stuff isn't just about the sounds being different, and maybe little intricate noises won't be picked up by people getting blasted by a massive stack in an awfully reverberant warehouse - but the different, original rhythms/grooves that you get from generating materials outside of the blocky, snapped, quantised sequencer will be noticeable, I think. Maybe I over think these things but simply anything to get me out of the sequencer mode of thinking and musicking is good! cos I convert my ideas and feelings into music through working with the tools - it emerges through producing - rather than having a structure and composition in my head first and then penning it down on a score....

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Dust Layer
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Re: Converting ideas and feelings into music

Post by Dust Layer »

Yes, generating sounds or using field recordings help to get out of the grid.

I try to add some life to samples etc by using effects off tempo or stuff like that. Sometimes with just a reverb + delay combination (and automations) you get something less flat or with a little groove that make a difference and keep the track interesting.

It's funny because generating imperfections is what gives personnality to the tracks.


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