Part 1: Drums
The foundation of most songs is the drums. You don't always have to start with your drums, but sometimes it's the easiest way to begin the creative process. Side B of Soundcraftsman has plenty of skipless drum sounds for you to use. In this demo, the kick and snare patterns were recorded first. It is important to record for a minute or so in order to get a good section of drums to work with.
Part 2: Multi-track Recorder
In this video, Cubase SX is used to record each portion of the song onto different audio tracks (layers). You could use any multi-track software (Acid, Logic, Pro Tools, etc.) or even hardware (Boss RC20 Loopstation, Boomerang, etc..). The recording method isn't what the focus of this demo is though, so we won't talk too much about it, but rather with song construction using the Soundcraftsman scratch tool.
Part 3: Hihats
These are recorded on a seperate track from the kick and snare in order to get more complex with the drum pattern. However, you could record all the drums together live if you so desired.
Part 4: Organ Melody
This organ sample was taken from the Assorted Melodies on Side B of Soundcraftsman. It serves as the melodic foundation or melodic rhythm of the track. All other melodies will be matched/built around this key signature.
Part 5: Bassline
Since the bassline must match the key of the organ, we must figure out what key the organ is in and pick a bassline in the same key. Through some trial and error the key of G# on Side A of the record seems to work with the organ well. The bassline is created from using the synth instrument (last instrument in the series of pentatonic scales, before the chords). All you have to do is EQ the highs out of the synth and boost the lows to get a solid bass sound. Simply rearranging the order of the notes in this pentatonic scale produced the bassline you hear and see.
Part 6: Flute Melody
It is important to play the lead melody in the same key of G#. Random notes from the Mellotron Flute instrument were chosen and chopped up to achieve the flute melody.
Part 7: Scratches
Now it's time for some scratches. These were recorded from the Skipless Scratches and Vocal Phrases found on Side B of Soundcraftsman.
Part 8: Putting It All Together
We head back to the multi-track recorder to show you the final track. You can do lots of extra things like apply effects, adjust volume levels, mute, solo, etc.. to make your track sound much more musical. It's very important to think about overall song composition at this stage in the game. |
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