PIECE ONE
Firstly, I added some piano. The piano used within this piece creates the rhythm. I decided to keep it quite simple, as I didn’t want to make it too complex so that I could build the instrumentation and texture of the piece. After adding the piano, I chose to put in some harp to add some texture to the piece and speed up the tempo, which I slowed back down after 4 bars.
When adding the instruments, I made sure to play to a metronome click, this way everything stayed in time and followed the rhythm I wanted it to follow.
Because of the context of the clip, and the images displayed within the clip, I added some strings. I kept it quite simple by only using a few notes. The strings help add emotion to the piece. I added extra harps and played the same notes up an octave to create a harmony.
Throughout making the piece, I made sure to keep the notes for each instrument at the same velocity, as this makes the piece sound smoother and tighter.
After adding in all of the instrumentation I wanted to include in my piece, I moved over to mixing. On the harp, bass and strings, I chose to add some reverb, as it will help make the piece sound a little bit more full and interesting. In addition to this, I wanted some instruments to be quieter, and others louder, so I moved the faders up and down to change the dynamics of the piece.
PIECE TWO
For my second Logic composition, I wanted to create more of an electronic sounding piece. This was because the moving image I was creating my composition to included a VR set, so I based my instrumentation around that element.
One of the sounds/instruments I used was a ‘Peaceful Meadow’ synth. The sound was appealing to me because of how it progressed itself, so I could play something simple, but the progression of the synth made it sound interesting.
I copied the synth section over onto a bass, as this will help the piece sound more full and will add texture. I did a second section for the piece where I played two chords, as I wanted to keep it simple again since the instrument I chose didn’t need any complex notes or chord progressions.
I kept the bass for the second section very simple, since I wanted the synth to stand out but I also wanted to make sure the piece sounded full.
After adding in all of the instrumentation, I moved over to the automation of the piece. There are parts where I wanted the bass to stand out more, so I made sure it was louder, but there was also points where I wanted the sound of the synth to stand out more (such as the end of the piece), so I ensured the bass was quieter and the synth was louder. By doing this, my piece has lots of different dynamics which change very often throughout and therefore make it sound more interesting that if everything was at the same volume the entire way through.
Finally, I added some reverb to the main synth to make the piece sound fuller and flow together better.