Decades Project Reviewing 5 Tracks

Decades Project Reviewing 5 Tracks

Anton’s – Baduizm

I like how the songs first few seconds start very mellow with only one or two instruments then, other instruments are added at the same time and they all fall into place. The bass shadowing the synth is also very interesting. Then at the end almost how the song started the song ends with just a few chords.

Sonny’s Sunzism

At the beginning of the song it’s interesting how he incorporated a DJ scratch and after the scratch a few more instruments are added which begins to make you nod your head with the beat, it almost has a 90’s kind of hip hop feel with the back ground synth throughout the song.

Joshua’s Funk Track

Throughout the song the bass guitar keeps the rhythm of the song and all the other instruments are built around that which is what makes it a “funk track”.

Keanu’s Hounds and Chill

At the beginning of the song and throughout we’re introduced to the dogs barking and you could almost say that’s being used as a metronome. Once the bass comes in you start to understand the song better, its also interesting how he changed the vocals to sound like they’re saying something different.

Felipe’s Yesterday

At the start you’re tricked Into thinking its not much different from the original but then the synth and bass hits comes in and its completely different yet it still works.

Critical Writing on Articles/Reviews

Critical Writing on Articles/Reviews

Stevie Wonder – Rolling Stone

The article about Stevie Wonders album I completely agree with, due to it touching on how romantic the love songs in the album are and how mellow the album its self is “yet there’s never a lack of energy”. Most people’s views on the album when the article first came out compared to today have barely changed, most people to date, still enjoy the mellowness of Stevie Wonders album. In addition most of the points made on this article were positive, so it was most likely made from fans.

Stevie Wonder – Popmatters

This article is more like two people having a conversation about the album, although this can be quite confusing I agree with what is said at the beginning of the album “Talking Book marks the beginning of Wonders incredible run from 1972 to 1976’s”. Although this article was made during Stevie Wonders ‘prime’ I still think today Stevie Wonder is recognized for his magnificent musical talent. This article also writes the review as if we are on a trip through Stevie Wonders timeline of songs.

               

Stevie Wonder – New States Man

 This article focuses more on the instrument that made Stevie Wonder who he is, and they even call it the instrument of the century which is the clavinet. In addition in one of his tracks in his album, Stevie Wonder says, “You know your baby loves you more than I love my clavinet” and to anyone who knows anything about Stevie Wonder this means a lot.

Stevie Wonder - Austin Article
This article focuses a lot about what was happening around the time of the release of Stevie Wonders Music of My Mind, the writer also compliments the producing of the song and the song writer, the writer definitely likes the album as its nothing but positivity in the article.

Gig Review 12/11/15

Gig Review 12/11/15

1st song Explanation

The first song performed was called Explanation, this group was very synchronised in vocals and instruments, the backup dancers harmonised well and the lead singer engaged with the audience by bringing the audience to a clap and looking amongst the crowd. There were not many exaggerated movements which was most suitable to the song as the song was very mellow and calming thanks to the bass line.

2nd Song Take Me Home  

The second song was called Take Me Home, performed by the same band as the first, the lead singer wasn't as confident as confident in her vocals as she should have been because she sang well, she didn't really engage with the crowd. The back up dancers were swaying back and forth with the rhythm.

3rd Song Fallen Slow

The lead singers vocals were a bit overpowered by the instruments but sang very well, one of the back up singers looked disinterested and as if she didn't want to be there. The drum beat was very strong and you could feel it within.

4th Song Attention

Both vocals and the instruments started off very powerful, the back up singers harmonised well with each other. Not too much to criticise about this performance as overall it was performed very well.

Band: Neglected - Sometimes  

All three vocalists harmonised well, rather than back up dancers they all took turns singing which was different to the other groups and interesting, all three vocalists looked confident and gave the odd smile to the crowd. 

Neglected - Fantasy

Artists on the instruments looked like they were enjoying the song and they were playing well, vocals were very strong, and were just the right volume in contrast to the instruments. Overall i enjoyed the performance.

Neglected - My First Love

The vocals to this song started off quiet but adjusted to the instruments after a few seconds, all performers looked professional, drummer involved audience by clapping and seemed a lot more lively than the one before.

Neglected I Know

This song started off fairly slow but the tempo of the song gradually rose making it an exhilarating performance. The drum beat alone had the audience at the very least nodding their heads. The lead singers were obviously enjoying the song and weren't afraid to show it.

Band : Untitled

This song which unfortunately I was unable to get the songs name, started off with very calming mellow vocals, the lead singers vocals were generally very good due to these points the audience either stood in awe or made no attempt to hide their joy.

Untitled - Guilty

The vocals throughout with powerful and loud, all the vocals harmonised well, so well the audience was almost captivated by the vocals.

Untitled - Crazy
Instruments started off very powerful but the vocals due to a technical issue weren't constant or as loud but this was sorted swiftly, the performers energy rubbed on the audience proving the audience enjoyed the song, two vocalist sung very well and powerful, the guitar playing throughout was good.

Untitled - Butterflies

All three vocals sung well and powerful harmonising well, momentarily vocals weren't coming through the mics but this was sorted quickly, the audience enjoyed the final song from this band.

Vodun

This band in particular was very loud due to their genre of music, there music was not to my taste however i gather some of the crowd were enjoying this band playing due to the various head nods i witnessed, in addition this band attempted to engage with the audience by handing out percussion to the audience and asking them to play to the beat, some of the audience backed away whilst others came forward to the challenge.

Decades Project Evaluation

Decades Project Evaluation

Time Management
I did not complete the work on time, this is due to me not being as focused as I should have been from the beginning and my mac at home not being able to upload it to sound cloud, I did spend the majority of my time on one of the songs and all these mistakes will be a learning curve and in the future I will make use of all the time given to us to work on assignments given to us.

Technical Skills

Logic Skills

My Logic skills are fairly good, in the project I make use of the fading tools throughout the song where I thought was appropriate. Although I think if I could get my ideas down quicker it would help me throughout the project and allow me to have more time to work on the project. This has affected my project negatively as my project isn't on time.

Compositional Skills

My Compositional skills have a big room for improvement I have set targets to help my compositional skills and ultimately I believe if I improved my compositional skills I would have less issues getting my ideas down and lead to more sounds on my tracks. However keeping I have no issues with keeping in rhythm and sorting the arrangement.

Research

My main key artist would be Bob Marley and I tried to incorporate the bass he uses in his song One Love also I have Erykah Badu’s vocals on my first track. I spent a fair amount of time researching Bob Marley and I tried to integrate his scratchy style into my first track but I don’t believe it sounds that way, given another chance I would research more of his albums which use the scratchy style in different years rather than just the year we researched.  In the future I would spend more of the time we are given in college to work on assignments as something may go wrong when trying to bring work home.

How I Will Improve
I will improve by making use of the access time we are given, uploading my work earlier in case of technical issues at home, researching more about the albums we were given for inspiration, researching more chords so I can have more sounds on my track and writing how I created the track as I create the track so I'm not trying to remember at the end. I will also make sure I book more rooms so I'm not just limited to access time on Fridays and lesson times on Mondays and Fridays. 

Smart Target

By January I plan to be able to read music fluently and play keyboard better. I will do this by learning to play the minor and major chords. hopefully that would increase my skills on the keyboard, as that target seems almost easy, if I finish early I plan to go gym a lot more as I signed up for the gym.  

Gig Review

Performances on the 14^th of October 2015

The dance and acting performance we witnessed at 2 pm started off very confusingly with dancers, dancing all around the stage, but was brought to order by simple clicking, which led to groups in turn, ‘strutting their stuff’ which was quite interesting and ultimately left the crowd speechless. What followed next was acting, the theme was ancient Greece and whilst it was repetitive (which I think was part of the act), I think others will agree it was an exhilarating performance. Another exciting piece from the gig would have to be the act at the end with the acting and rapping which almost all the audience thoroughly enjoyed, mostly as it came as a surprise, but it also made the performance that much more interesting.

Performances on the 15 October 2015

The dance, acting and musical performances we saw starting once again at 2pm started with acting and the audience seemed to be on a emotional ‘roller coaster’ with the skill of the actors, due to the touching act of soldiers leaving their wife’s and fiancées for war and only one returning out of the two. I have to say the performances on this day were very much more engaged with the audience, as when many of songs were being performed the lead vocalist would often invite the audience to clap along to the song. In addition I’m sure the audience would agree that the almost all the songs performed were invigorating and all the performances in general on this day were amazing.

Microphones Test

1) As a general guideline, it can be said that dynamic microphones are best suited for live sound work, and that condenser microphones are more suited for use in a recording studio.

Give technical and practical reasons for why this may, or may not, be a valid statement (include diagrams if necessary). 

Depending on what will be recorded in the studio, for example whether it is multiple vocals at once or a certain instrument that requires a microphone which can pick up sound from all directions will a dynamic microphone or condenser microphone be more suited but as it it more practical for one vocal to be recorded in a studio a dynamic microphone would be more suited as it picks up sound from one angle (Uni-directional). As for live sound work a condenser microphone would be more suited as there will be more than one instrument and vocals at once and as the condenser microphones can be omni-directional or bi-directional it would be better suited for this than a dynamic microphone. However if two people are singing into one microphone for a duet then a condenser microphone could be more useful in a recording studio due to it being bi-directional. In addition for some instruments like the guitar a dynamic microphone could be heard better if amplified using a dynamic microphone so it only picks up that sound.

2) What are the three main polar patterns found on microphones? Describe the differences and give examples of how each could be used. 

Uni-directional also known as Cardioid or Hyper Cardioid which is best for picking up sound from one angle and more focused sound, is most commonly found on Dynamic microphones. 

Bi-directional also known as the figure of 8 picks up sound from both sides of the diaphragm and is most commonly found on condenser microphones. 

Omni-Directional which is also known as Omni picks up sound from all directions of the diaphragm.

3) Dynamic and condenser microphones are the two most commonly used type of microphone found in the studio. Can you name any other types? Explain their basic technical features and how, or why, they might be used.

Fibre optic Microphones- Fibre optic microphones using thin strands of glass to relax information instead of the usual metal wires, they tend to be quite small and can be used where normal electric equipment can't. In addition since there is no metal used to make these microphones they can be used without magnetic interference.

Carbon Microphones - Carbon microphones use carbon dust and was used in the first telephone made, they tend to have a plastic or thin metal diaphragm on the inside that change when sound hits it has a constantly changing resistance that changes the amount of current flow.

4) Give suggestions as to what you might use the following microphones for and explain your answers (using the microphone’s technical specifications to support your answers):

1. Audix D6 - Is known mainly used for kick drums, but is a dynamic instrument microphone so it can probably be used for instruments which create noise that can be picked up by uni-directional microphones but it mainly used for instruments with low frequency sounds. It can be used in either live stage or recording.
2. SE Electronics Titan - A multipattern FET condenser microphone with a titanium diaphragm. I can imagine this microphone would be most suited to live performances on instruments due to it being a condenser microphone but after reading reviews it't proven to be just as good with vocals.
3. Microtech Gefell M300

Dj-Performance Scratch Task

I chose Mix Master Mike as the DJ I will be researching as he seemed to enjoy the sound of scratching from young and he interests me.

Background Information

Mix Master Mikes real name is Michael Schwartz. He first got an urge to scratch whilst listening to his uncles’ extensive record collection in San Francisco where he grew up. A few years later he came across Grandmixer D.ST. alongside Herbie Hancock this probably played the most influential part to making Mike want to become a DJ and ultimately become a DJ who uses scratching in his performances. Michael was born on the 4^th of April 1970. He won the 1992 New Music Seminar/Supermen Inc. DJ Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, becoming the first West Coast DJ to win the award. In the same year he won the DMC World DJ Championships using his steady rock turntable style.

Favoured Music Style

Michael mostly played Hip-Hop, Rap and Rock followed by Turntablism. Turntablism refers to DJs who perform by utilizing the records, stylus and mixer to create music. Turntablism describes how he scratches the record to create his unique style.

Favoured Music Equipment

·      The software Michael preferred to use was Protools HD 10, Mashcine on a 15” loaded MacBook Pro

·      The audio interface Michael preferred was Alesis iO Dock and Propeller Head Balance

·      The controller Michael preferred was Akai MPK mini keyboard which is a multi purpose device used to control reason

That was all that was stated on his website and other reliable sources.

How Michael Uses Equipment To Make An Exciting Performance

Mix Master Mike uses the Tweak Scratch, which involves moving the record back and forth while the platter motor is stopped performs the scratch. The inactivity of the platter causes the sounds to slow and drop in pitch in an unusual manner. He is also recognised for the unorthodox technique of using a wah-wah pedal, a skill most guitarists are common with and use, with his turntables.

Although Michael tends to focus on the above genres I have embedded a video of dubstep fused with hip-hop being mixed by Mike.