Post
by rikhyray » Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:15 pm
I am not underestimating your skills or abilities, I am pretty sure you know much more then myslef about lots of matters,specially on the technical side. It relates to my focus, abilities. We are not all knowing, and in this case my focus/experience/education is more on rhythmical side and melody (linear) but not harmony for example
It is unintentional if it comes as arrogant or putting someone else down, it is simply education and training, which in this case meant enormous amount of time(meaning months not even weeks) of playing simple scales at slow tempos only to achieve tonal and rhythmic accuracy. Nothing of a genius, more like training a dog. Except that it was to train not mechanical skill, coordination but also ability to hear, differentiate. The principle being first grasping mentaly, means being able to grasp in the mind then say (rhythm) and sing(melody) followed by doing it on an instrument. No playing music, melody, nothing , no fun, enjoyment only boring exercises. Since you live in the Masters house no chance to play something that reminds of music, or he comes yelling at you, and disobeying might mean no dinner.
So if I know anything a bit is the tone, intonation and sense of time, even that is more achievement of my teachers then my unworthy lazy self.
MPC swing is not used cause it is better then a drummer or percussionist but for exactly precise accurate mechanical flow which is the interesting as a counterpoint to realtime more flexible, live playing.
Building rhythmical compositions, the tensions can only work in reference to something steady, in classical Indian music it would be Talam, basic beat kept by clapping or with cymbal, in Afro Cuban music Clave and Campana.
Drum machine replaces that steady element, beat keeper, giving the precise quantized base. The rest of poly, cross rhythms will build the tensions and their release in reference to that steady in precise beat. Without that base the whole thing goes astray. So building multilayered rhythmic structures there must be fine balance between "off" and "on". Here the modern technology comes handy, adding new element to "iron" too aggresively, standing out elements or introducing new one to make it easier on the listener or whatever the objective of composer might be.
Here comes certain advantage of hardware sequencer- the precison, accuracy ( over computers) tightness and the extra bonus of MPC swing doing a bit of contrary,"relaxing it" The very special thing here has similarity with Jamaican drummers something I call inconsistent consistent or consistent inconsistent. Irregularity that is in predictable art regular, though not obvious on the first sight.
I use MPC to build basic rhythmical base of a song. There will be mixture of live playing by a drummer or percussionist, MPC pads or electronic traps and some programmed parts and then the swing function can be used for experimenting, setting serious rhythm tracks also using the swing functionality, applying the idea mentioned above.
OK the video rendering,reason of my leghty exposition is over, got to go back to work.......
