Hi Folks !
Some time ago, a friend on Synthzone - Glen Coyne - mailed me with some questions about how I created the styles which I used on some of the Sequences on my website. Having replied to him, he suggested that I placed my reply on the Forum, since it may be of interest to others.........
So, here it is :
Hi Glen,
Thanks for your email and I'll try to answer all your questions.........
The construction of a reasonably authentic style for any song or tune, can be quite involved and has a considerable learning curve. It can often take many hours of trial and error and experimentation to achieve the desired result.
Q1.I notice your songs are mainly RT1, RT2, LFT, P4, APC and CTL the same as available in Easy Rec. Is this what you use to record the song after you have sequenced the composer rhythm.
In the early Songs 4U volumes, I just used mainly the built-in styles on the KN6000 and KN7000 or occasionally used other styles obtained from several different sources. I also just used the 'Easy Record' feature and didn't add anything else. As I became more comfortable with the great features provided by the KN7000, I started to add counter melodies on Track 4 after laying down the initial Easy Record sequence. I still use the Easy Record facility as the basis of many of my recordings, after I have created my own styles, and then add as many tracks to the original sequence, as I think the particular song or tune requires. However, some of the recordings I have done recently, were just too complex to include everything in the Style and in this case, I used the Sequencer to actually implement the total Style - more about this later in this text.
Q2. When you compose a rhythm for a song, apart from Drums and Bass, what is your criteria for adding other voices, or do you try and keep the composer style to a minimum.
It depends on what I want to achieve in the recording. I do try to include as much as possible of the original backing within the style. This allows other players to use the Composer style 'Live' and just add the Melody line, without having to use the sequencer.
If I wish to record say a 60s 'Pop' song, and make it sound as authentic as possible - within the limitations of the KN7000 - I listen to the original recording over and over again, to determine what is being played in the Instrumental backing to the vocal melody part and make paper notes of the structure of the song. Having listened to the original recording, I then decide how many of the Accompaniment Parts (AC1 - AC5) I need, in order to build a reasonable imitation of the Backing and also how many of the available Variations I need to use. Most of these 60s songs were based around basic 8, 12 or 16 bar phrases. Some could be built on a repetitive 4 bar loop in the Composer, but others required the full 16 bars, because there are subtle differences within say groups of 4 bars, within a 16 bar phrase, and would not really sound authentic, just using a 4 bar 'loop'. So basically, it's a case of breaking down the song into 'chunks' or groups of a number of bars or measures, and using one of the Variations to implement each particular group of measures - for example 8, 12 or 16 bars. It is often the case that some of the groups of bars, are repeated exactly within the song, so the same Variation can be used when this is evident. The individual Variations within a style, can have a different numbers of bars, so Variation 1 could be 16 bars long, and Variation 2 could be 8 bars long etc. However, all the Variations within a style, must have the same Time Signature i.e. it is not possible to have Variation 1 with a time signature of 4/4 and Variation 2 with a time signature of 3/4...... There are ways around this restriction, should a song be constructed - for example - in such a way that it is basically a 4/4 format but the occasional 2/4 bar is 'thrown' in, like a few of the ABBA songs, which I recently added to my website.
As far as the actual sounds used within the Composer style are concerned, I try to select sounds from those available in the KN7000, but if I cannot find sounds close to those used in the original song, then I will either modify one of the built-in sounds or build new ones, using the very powerful KN7000 Sound Editor, and store them in the 'Memory' section of the Sound Group. (There are 40 available locations in which these new sounds can be stored and subsequently saved to SD Card).
Once I have decided which sounds to use from the selection of original and/or new sounds, I then assign them to the Accompaniment parts in the Composer and set up individual Volume/Pan/Pitch bend/effects and other parameters for each component (AC1 - AC5 DR1, DR2 and Bass) Some styles will only use Drums, Bass and maybe 2 other parts - others will use the full 8 parts - depending on the complexity of the original Backing. If I still require more parts than available in the style, then I will add these parts as individual tracks in the sequencer, later on in the recording process.
The next step is to do the actual recording of the individual parts within each of the Style Variations to be used in the song. I usually start with the Intro and either play the parts into the Composer in Real Time or Step Time or a combination of both. When I'm satisfied with the Intro, I move on to the other Variations within the style - again using either Real Time or Step Time or a combination of both. The same process applies to Fill-Ins if they are to be used.
Generally, I record the Drum part first, followed by the Bass part and then the remaining AC1 - AC5 parts as required. Sometimes, I use both DR1 and DR2, where DR1 would contain the basic rhythm and DR2 would be used to add 'figures' or embellishments to the rhythm.
Q3. Do you use a paper record of the sequenced song i.e. when to add fills and change the Variation etc.
Yes! Usually just fairly brief notes.
Q4. Apart from changing the Panel Memory are there any other settings you put in the CTL track.
Yes! Sometimes I will include other control events such as Technichord On/Off, Triggering of Performance Pads, Tempo changes, etc. These events are usually added once the basic Sequence has been recorded.
Q5. Are there any other tips you can think of when creating songs to your method.
One limitation of the Auto Accompaniment system is the implementation of the Bass line. The Bass line of most of the 'Pop' songs, and indeed many of the 'Standards', is a very important part of the composition. It is often the case that a realistic Bass part is just not achievable, using the normal construction of a style. Normally, when a style is playing, the Bass part is determined by the chord or its inversion, currently being played by the Left Hand, and in some cases, the notes being played are not the desired notes.
For instance, you may wish to play a chord sequence of C major, Dm7, Em7 but keep the Bass playing a simple 'C' for all these chords (sometimes referred to as a 'Pedal Bass') This is just not possible using the Auto Accompaniment when a standard Style is selected. In the case of the above chord sequence, the KN7000 would play Bass notes of 'C', 'D' and 'E' - not the desired effect!
However, there is a very valuable facility within the Composer Editor, which allows you to build a Bass part, which will play back the exact notes, which you enter during the construction of the Bass part, irrespective of the chord being played in the Left hand. This means that you can build more realistic Bass parts, in the Style. If this is of interest, then I can describe the method in more detail. An alternative to this method, is to record a completely separate Bass track in the sequencer.
As I mentioned above, some of the ABBA songs 'throw-in' occasional 2/4 bars within an otherwise 4 Time Signature, and this is very difficult to implement when just using the Composer. It can be done by creating an additional short 2/4 Composer style and momentarily switching between styles as required, but it's a bit 'messy'.......
The way I get around this, is to construct the entire 'Style' as a Sequence instead of using the Composer as the basis for the accompaniment. The process is a bit of a Hybrid since I still use the APC track and the CTL track. This allows me to cope with the Time Signature changes since each individual part is recorded within a separate track in the sequencer. The melody line(s) are still played on RT1 and RT2 and the Left sound can also be used. When playing live, I just start the sequencer and then play the right and left hand parts and the Sequencer provides the style, instead of the Composer. Some of the ABBA songs use all 16 tracks in the sequencer. Yet another reason for using the Sequencer to produce the 'style', is that some of ABBA's songs have phrases longer than 16 bars, which of course, the Composer cannot handle.
_________________________
Willum
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is Music.
Aldous Huxley
( especially when the music is played on a KN7000....)
I will be taking her back home this weekend and staying with my Daughter for a few days and when I retun home, I'll be able to spend some more time with my KN7000.
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