Concept One
Chord Progression:
- Verse: C major, B minor, A minor, G major
- Pre-Chorus: E minor, A minor, E minor, D major
- Chorus: G major, E minor, A minor, D major
Structure:
- Chorus
- Verse
- Pre-Chorus
- Chorus
- Verse
- Pre-Chorus x2
- Chorus x2
This is one of my first ideas for my final project. I think it is alright for a start, but there is also a lot of space for improvement. I think the dynamics could vary a little bit more, as they don’t really change much throughout the piece. My next step would be to record it into Logic and add some instrumentation.
Tutor Feedback (Nic):
- You could add more interesting rhythms – particularly in the right hand.
- The structure could be worked on.
- There could be some more interesting chord changes at points and also use of inversions.
- Look at adding in instrumentation and a melody.
Chord Progression:
- Verse: C major, E minor, D major, E minor
- Pre-Chorus: E minor, A minor, E minor, D major
- Chorus: G major, E minor, A minor, D major
Structure:
- Chorus
- Verse
- Pre-Chorus
- Chorus
- Verse
- Pre-Chorus x2
- Chorus x2
This idea is the same as the one above but on guitar. I’m not a guitarist, and I only know very few chords so it isn’t perfect by any means but it gives a rough idea of what I plan for the guitar to sound like on the track, including the strumming patterns. The slight difference between this and the piano idea is the change in chords, since I can’t yet play a B minor on guitar, I changed the chords in the verse to fit what I can already play.
I do like this piece and I think of I worked with it, it could become an interesting composition. I don’t yet have any ideas on the instrumentation that could be used within the track. My aim is to create something in the genre of pop, which I know is very broad but I intend to take inspiration from artists and music I currently listen to and change it to match my composition.
Considering I don’t really know how to play guitar, I did find it quite difficult to vary the dynamics within the piece. To improve for the future, I could research different techniques guitarists use to broaden their dynamic range when playing within a multi-instrumental composition.
Concept two
This is my initial idea for for a piece. It is very simple at the moment but there is a lot I could do to improve it, such as adding instrumentation, and different sections to make it more interesting.
Chord Progression:
- Intro: D major
- Verse: G major, D major, G major, B minor – 1
- G major, D major, G major, A major – 2
- Chorus: G major, A major, B minor, A major – 1
- G major, A major, D major – 2
I do like this idea, and I feel as though it has some potential. However, my aim for this project was to create something that I would choose to listen to, in the genre of music that I engage with daily. This track isn’t something I would really listen to outside of the final project. It may be something I come back to in the future, or possibly take inspiration from, but since it isn’t a concept I aimed to work with at the moment I have decided to leave it be for now and begin working on something different.
Concept three
Chord Progression:
- Verse and Chorus: G minor, F major, Bb major, Eb major
- Bridge: C minor, F major, Bb major, Eb major
Structure:
- Intro
- Verse
- Chorus
- Verse
- Chorus
- Bridge
- Chorus x2
Tutor Feedback (Lewis):
- The timing sounds a little off in sections.
- The tempo is a little slow.
- Dynamically boring, it needs some movement.
Tutor Feedback (Nic):
- Could possibly find some nicer piano sounds.
- The guitar could be more interesting rhythmically.
- Some of the piano parts could be orchestrated for strings/synth.
- There needs to be more definition between the verse and chorus.
- It could be shortened slightly.
- The drums in the second half of the bridge don’t really fit the style of the song.
I recorded everything into Logic, so that way I can easily add in instrumentation and see what kinds of sound I would like to include in the final recording. Once I added in the main chords, I added in some really simple bass using the root notes from the chords. I then started to play around with a melody and other overdubs on the piano. I added in a simple drum beat and then built it up until I had something I liked the sound of.
I worked with each section to decide what instrumentation I would like within each part of the song, following the structure and instrumentations of songs such as Mercy by Shawn Mendes. I tried working with similar instrumentation to Mercy, but I didn’t feel as though it really fit my piece, especially within the bridge and the first four bars in the final chorus. Therefore, I had a look at some different instrumentation and tried a lot of different ideas until I made a final decision.
Harry helped me by recording the electric guitar into Logic using an audio interface. The timing of the guitar is a little bit off at points but the track is only a rough demo at the moment, so this doesn’t matter too much. I plan on using an acoustic guitar for my final recording, as I like the sound of an acoustic more, and I feel as though it will fit in with this piece better. I didn’t record an acoustic into this demo since I didn’t have much time, and it was quicker to record using the audio interface.
After finalising my instrumentation, I started to automate my piece. I did this because the dynamics of the piece didn’t vary much, if at all. When I first recorded the piece, I looped the chords within the verse and chorus, so the dynamics there didn’t change. In a lot of the songs I listen to, the dynamics tend to be louder within the chorus, and quieter during the verses. I took inspiration from this and changed the dynamics of each instrument to be louder during the chorus. I also chose to remove the bass within the first four bars of the final chorus, as I believe it sounds better when the bass is brought back in after this point.
The texture changes quite often throughout the piece; it is very thin within the first verse, but becomes quite thick during the chorus. I also chose to build on the texture throughout the bridge as I believe this makes the piece sound a lot more interesting.