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Consistent with the sound isolation studio rule to avoid ever having completely original musical ideas, I added a fabulous chorus . . . :D

THOUGHTS

The song needed a chorus; and after thinking about it a while, I decided to "borrow" a few ideas from another Beatles song ("She Loves You") and a Billy Idol song ("Rebel Yell"), where the Beatles song provides the concept and the Billy Idol song provides the tag that distinguishes it from the Beatles song . . .

For reference, the idea started with "She loves, you, yeah, yeah, yeah" and for a while was "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah"; but it was too obvious and basically was outside the bounds for "borrowing" . . .

After more thinking, "yeah, yeah, yeah" morphed into "you, you, you"; but the melody for the tail was too obvious and outside of bounds; so the idea to use the tag from the Billy Idol song provided the solution, which in toto is distinctly original according to the way "original" is defined here in the sound isolation studio and verified by YouTube's advanced algorithm that checks automagically for copyright violations . . .

YouTube says it's original, and I agree! :+1

As a bit of background, I learned how to sight-sing soprano treble clef when I was in a liturgical boys choir but never learned any other clefs or percussion notation, which is the reason I do nearly everything on soprano treble staves, something NOTION makes possible via providing the ability to transpose music notation in Score Setup by staff, so that what appears to be soprano treble notation actually is played one or two octaves lower (or higher) than notated, which also can be done with different intervals other than octaves, although I use the octave flavors . . .

I have been playing bass (string bass and electric bass) for over half a century; and one might think I should be able to read bass clef, but it's just as confusing now as it was when I first started junior high school . . .

Rolling back the clock again, toward the end of junior high school I got my first electric bass and started focusing on what at the time was popular music played on AM radio; so that's the way I taught myself how to play electric bass, with the strategy being to play vinyl records at double-speed, which made the bass lines sound like soprano treble phrases, which I knew how to transcribe from my liturgical boys choir days . . .

Specifically, I learned some popular songs from the 1950s but focused mostly on Beatles songs and a few Rhythm and Blues songs in the 1960s, the latter of which is the way I learned how to compose horn parts . . .

[NOTE: I don't hear horns in this one, but it's a great Rhythm and Blues song, so I included it in the list, in part to let the younger folks know that "twerking" is [i]not a new thing in the 21st century. "Shake A Tail Feather" (The Five Du-Tones) was recorded in 1963, the year the Beatles invaded America and the world. Explained another way, your grandmother was shaking a tail feather back in the day . . . [/i] ]

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This continued into the 1970s, when I started to teach myself how to play lead guitar using the same strategy but instead of playing vinyl records at double-speed, I played them at half-speed, which made the lead guitar phrases sound like bass phrases, and by then I knew how to identify bass notes from teaching myself how to play electric bass . . .

Connecting a few dots, and observing that I have a type of eidetic memory for music--provided I listen to songs over and over for hours at a time--it's intuitive and logical for me to compose songs and lyrics from the vast catalog of music and lyrics stored in my mind . . .

One of the best examples of variations of essentially the same song is {'The James Bond Theme (From "Dr. No") [The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra[", "Born to Be Wild" [Steppenwolf], "Billie Jean" [Michael Jackson], and "Like A Virgin" [Madonna]]} . . .

Another favorite set is {"In the Hall of the Mountain King ~ Peer Gynt Suite" [Edvard Grieg] and "Purple Haze" [The Jimi Hendrix Experience]} . . .

Am I suggesting Jim Hendrix "borrowed" the entire song?

No, but I know where the alternating octaves in the Intro originated . . . :P

Did Mars Bonfire "borrow" a few ideas from "The James Bond Theme" when he composed "Born To Be Wild"?

You tell me . . . :shock:

These are the two songs that provided inspiration for the "Tell Me Why (I Love You)" chorus:

[NOTE: This is the monaural version; and it's the one played on AM radio at the time when most cars from the 1950s driven by teenagers had one loudspeaker and a monaural, vacuum-tube radio, which usually was set to maximum volume and had simply amazing, vacuum-tube blur that destroyed everything even remotely resembling high-fidelity and was the target listening device for which songs were mixed, along with transistor radios. If you wanted the best listening experience, it was provided by monaural Wurlitzer jukeboxes with huge, deep bass subwoofers . . . ]

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I composed the chorus in my mind and then transcribed the melody to music notation, which took a while but was not too do, mostly because mapping a melody I hear in my mind and can sing is not so automagical with respect to music notation; and once that was done, I sang it one time, which is what is recorded . . .

Instead of "she loves you", it's "I love you"; and instead of "yeah, yeah, yeah" or "more, more, more", it's "you, you, you" . . .

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Among other things, I plan to sing harmony in a few places, which will include a bit of help from Realivox Blue (RealiTone), my favorite virtual female soprano; and I plan to add chimes and some Latin percussion instruments, of course . . .

I don't usually compose love songs--probably because I'm a bit shy in that regard--but (a) I like this one and (b) so far, FBI Special Music Agents have not knocked on the door and asked to see my Love Song Composer's License, which is fantastic . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:52 am
I expanded the horn section arrangement and did a bit of producing and audio engineering . . . :D

THOUGHTS

As a general rule, I only put rests where they are needed and otherwise leave what one might call a lot of "white space" . . .

This way, the music notation is not cluttered visually, which makes it easier to see where more stuff can be added . . .

I am very happy with the previous version, but after adding more horn phrases and accents, I am all the more happy . . .

I was going to add Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--but after adding more horn section phrases I decided to make this a new version . . .

Along the way, I automated the tom-tom panning at the start of the song to add back-and-forth motion . . .

The tom-toms in the Intro are reminiscent of the theme for Hawaii 5-0, and they are in the "Simple and Stupid" template; hence putting the tom-toms in motion via panning automation is logical and took about 15 minutes . . .

In some measures, I focused on adding trombone, saxophone, and one of the lead guitars to create accents and, during the chorus, some deep bass droning for a few beats . . .

The strategy for deep bass droning is adding two quarter notes in the empty space after a vocal phrase, which is easier to hear than to explain, but so what . . .

One way to explain it is that it's a "da-da-da-da-da BOOM" type of thing, but the "BOOM" is a bit subtle because it's deep bass . . .

It's there, and you can see it in the music notation and hear it in the audio, but it's a bit subtle . . .

By filling a few beats of otherwise empty space, it adds textures which frame the singing and, curiously, make the singing more clear and distinct . . .

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The next activity will be focused on Realivox Blue, and I have a few ideas for her, some of which might be a bit naughty but not too naughty . . .

At the risk of sharing too much, the way I discovered how to do phonetic scripting for Realivox Blue was to make her say naughty things, which was interesting . . .

Realivox Blue can speak, but the license requires her to be musical in one way or another, which is easy to do, since you just need to avoid monotone singing, although she could sing the monotone phrases John Lennon sings in "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and other Beatles songs where it was easier not to have a melody, which works for me and is one of the strategies I use when the Aliens From Outer Space zone-out and forget to beam me a melody, which happens occasionally . . .

Regarding the "naughty girl" aspect, when it's done in a song it's a bit like the T-ARA song, "Bo Peep Bo Peep" which is in the Hooked On Phonetics Musical Hall of Fame for pushing it about as hard as legally allowed . . .

T-ARA is my favorite K-pop singing group, and K-pop is one of the reasons I got Realivox Blue, where the idea is to create my own virtual K-pop singing group . . .

Whether I actually will do this is another matter, but it's a big market (over $5 billion [US] each year), and the arranging, composing, producing, and audio engineering of K-pop songs is stellar . . .

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I think I can do a song like "Cry Cry" (T-ARA), but the Realivox Blue phonetic scripting and Melodyne (Celemony) work would take at least six months--certainly possible, and it's a lot of work, made all the more difficult because I don't speak or understand Korean, which adds to the complexity . . . :reading:

Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surfwhammy on Thu Aug 05, 2021 5:32 am
As explained in another topic, I moved everything to the Mac Pro (Mid 2010), which now is my primary Mac Pro . . . :D

THOUGHTS

Mostly as a proof of concept, I did a new version of "Tell Me Why (I Love You)" with the existing set of effects plug-ins . . .

I did some producing and audio engineering, but nothing major . . .

Later, I will experiment with some of the new effects plug-ins that run in macOS Mojave on the Mac Pro (Mid 2010) . . .

This is done using the current versions of Studio One Professional 5 and NOTION 6, which are nice and run in macOS Mojave on the Mac Pro (Mid 2010) . . .

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Most of the virtual instruments are on Instrument Tracks in the Studio One Professional 5 ".song"; so I need to record the generated audio to a matching set of Audio Tracks, which (a) makes it possible to delete most of the existing Instrument Tracks, (b) makes space available for a new set of Instrument Tracks, and (c) makes it practical to do more elaborate producing and audio engineering, including grouping instruments and then "ducking" them based on the singing to make more sonic space available for the singing . . .

I have not done a lot of "lovey-dovey" sings, but (a) I like this one and (b) it has major ear worm potential . . . :P

Lots of FUN! :)
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by Surfwhammy on Thu Aug 05, 2021 11:04 pm
I recorded the audio generated by most of the Instrument Tracks to matching Audio Tracks and did a bit of arranging, composing, producing, and audio engineering . . . :)

THOUGHTS

The new Mac Pro (Mid 2010) has faster processors, graphic card, and so forth; but 20 or so Instrument Tracks continues to be at the edge of the upper limit; so I recorded the generated audio to a matching set of Audio Tracks in the Studio One Professional 5 ".song" as a new version and then removed the Instrument Tracks . . .

I added a guiro from EW ComposeCloud X "Symphonic Orchestra Gold Complete" in selected measures for some enhanced textures . . .

Based primarily on studying a few favorite songs, I realized there are random sounds that producers and audio engineers add to recordings; and my current hypothesis on this is that it's done to capture the listeners' attention in somewhat subtle ways . . .

It also adds texture, where one of the classic examples is hand-clapping like George Martin added to "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (Beatles) . . .

A few of the early Elvis Presley songs had hand-clapping and uvular trills on the "h" of "hound dog", as well . . .

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"Billie Jean" (Michael Jackson) is one of the songs I study; and one time I devoted about an hour to counting all the random noises but stopped after the total was 100 or thereabout . . .

Elvis mostly did hiccups, which at least initially were attributed to nervousness but based on audience reactions soon became a standard embellishment in the early days . . .

Some of the guiro notes are in logical locations. but there are a few notes in random locations by design . . .

Some of the "regular" guiro notes are not heard consciously in an obvious way, because they are textures and blend smoothly with the trombone when it does deep bass notes in the choruses . . .

I cloned one of the lead guitars but removed all the effects and panned it far-left to add some texture to the original lead guitar with all the effects . . .

There are several lead guitars and a pair of rhythm guitars, along with some keyboards (Hammond B-3 and Fender Mark79) . . .

And I created a bus to group the various drums and cymbals into a drumkit with a single volume control, since after soloing the drums and symbols I decided I like the submix, but it needed to be a bit louder, hence the strategy of using a bus . . .

For reference, the tom-tom staves are playing snare drum rimshots most of the time rather than actual tom-tom notes, which is a nice way to increase the volume level and panning spread of the snare drum rimshots . . .

[NOTE: As with every song I post, this is best enjoyed when listening with studio-quality headphones like SONY MDR-7506 headphones (a personal favorite since they have deep bass and are sonically neutral). I do headphone mixes and focus on various types of motion, including echoes . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)
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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Aug 08, 2021 3:46 pm
In this version of "Tell Me Why (I Love You)", I did some arranging, producing, and audio engineering . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I added a Tremolo Telecaster to double the primary lead guitar in the solos and made a few changes to the phrases played by the EW ComposerCloud X "Hollywood Pop Brass" . . .

The flute is a bit louder, and there are some other changes, mostly subtle but important . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:44 am
I added Realivox Blue and a Tubular Bell . . . :)

THOUGHTS

My favorite virtual female soprano, Realivox Blue (RealiTone), is doubling the chorus, and I added a Tubular Bell from EW ComposerCloud X "Goliath" . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:50 am
I installed the update to Cyclop (Sugar Bytes) and added a few wobble bass notes . . . :)

THOUGHTS

There are four verses that are sequenced one after another; and the first two start on the first beat (or "the one" as James Brown called it, where as a general rule he put emphasis on "the one"); but the last two start on the backbeat (or "the two", as the Beatles called it, where for reference Ringo Starr was very skilled in backbeat rhythms, which in 4/4 time are the 2 and 4 beats) . . .

Whether starting the first two on the 1 beat and starting the last two on the 2 backbeat was a conscious decision is another matter; but it's the way I sang it . . .

This makes the first two verses "regular", and it makes the last two verses "syncopated" . . .

There are several things I did to smooth the syncopated verses, and this includes using a guiro and tremolo guitar; but I also changed the horn section phrases and added a half-note of Cyclop wobble bass to do something similar to what John Lennon did with his picking hand in "Can't Buy Me Love" (Beatles) in one of their live performances . . .

Lennon did this frequently in live performances, and one plausible hypothesis is that some of his gestures were visual cues for Ringo, done because they usually did not have stage monitors or at least could not hear themselves over the screaming fans . . .

John Lennon kept the beat with his rhythm guitar strumming; and I think he provided visual cues for Ringo, as did Paul McCartney . . .

There were no in-ear monitoring systems; and things were a bit primitive regarding the sound reinforcement systems, although there were a few times when they could hear themselves playing and singing . . .

The best sound engineers used Altec-Lansing "Voice of the Theater" systems; and when these were used, the sound quality was good, and the Beatles could hear themselves . . .

[NOTE: You can see the right hand gesture at 1:24 in the YouTube video. It's definitely a pause in the strumming; and other than syncopation, it could be a visual cue that Paul McCartney is getting ready to start singing again. Whatever the reason, it is intentional; and since it's intentional, I think it has a musical purpose. This is a good video to study, and it provides clues to the way the Beatles viewed the music they were playing, as contrasted to the way the fans viewed it. One way to explain this is to suggest the Beatles' perception of being "cool" was based on their experiences, while the fans' perception of "cool" was different in the sense that it was defined by the Beatles. At least initially, the Beatles' sense of "cool" was defined by the musical groups they liked when they were learning how to play and sing . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Aug 13, 2021 4:20 am
The Aliens From Outer Space beamed me the initial lyrics and ideas for a song that looks to be definitively simple and remarkably stupid . . . :)

THOUGHTS

It's possible the ideas for the new song originated with nuances of timpani and watching a history of Rock and Roll, where two songs are central to the concept . . .

[NOTE: This song is on the same album. It's not the one with timpani, but so what . . . ]

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[NOTE: This is the song with timpani . . . ]

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[NOTE: This is the inspiration for the classic sequence of verbs {want, need, love}, which I changed to {want, need, desire (or "got to have")} and more than a few rhythm guitar chords and vocal ideas . . . ]

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[NOTE: I think Elvis was channeling early-1950s crooner Johnny Ray and vocal backup group The Four Lads. . . ]

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"Oodles of Love"

I've got something you want
I've got something you need
I've got something you desire

Oodles of love, yeah
Oodles of love, yeah
Oodles of love, yeah, yeah, yeah"

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.

It certainly can be simple in many ways, but mostly I think it has great potential to be a truly stupid song . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Aug 13, 2021 5:51 am
It's always good to do a bit of fact checking . . . :reading:

THOUGHTS

The Aliens From Outer Space always beam me good ideas, but sometimes I don't get it all at first . . .

As I always do, I did a Google search on "Oodles of Love" and discovered there already is a song by that name which curiously is based strongly on "Words of Love" (Buddy Holly) . . .

That was a bummer, but after a bit of thinking I found the solution . . .

THE SOLUTION

Specifically, I remembered that I composed an instrumental song seven years ago named "The Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle Dance" and assigned it to one of my pretend Latin musical groups, El Petardo & The Maglitos . . .

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So I changed "Oodles of Love" to "Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle", which is even more stupid, as well as being a bit risqué in a mostly subtle way . . .

"Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle"

I've got something you want
I've got something you need
I've got something you desire

Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah
Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah
Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah, yeah, yeah"

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.

I was not planning to use the rhythm guitar chords from "Words of Love"; so that song is completely out of the picture now, which puts "Every Little Thing" (Beatles) and the timpani in the picture, mostly for the timpani now that I have Orchestral Percussion (IK Multimedia) and a nice set of timpani . . .

With the new title and chorus, it exudes stupid . . . :P

Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:56 am
I revised the lyrics and added a bridge . . . :)

THOUGHTS

These are the new lyrics:

[VERSE]
I've got something you want
I've got something you need
I've got something you love

[BRIDGE]
Is it right or is it wrong?
Listen to the song
That's what they tell me
Say it's true so I will know
If it's meant to be

[CHORUS]
Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah
Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah
Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle, yeah, yeah, yeah

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.

I did a prototype of the instruments--including Gran Cassa and Timpani--and did a bit of singing, once I got the vocal effects working nicely. . .

I need to run the singing through Melodyne to do a bit of pitch correcting and polishing . . . :roll:

In this version, (a) there is no chorus and (b) the chords mostly are identical with no chord pattern . . .

Once the melody makes sense, I probably will focus on a chord pattern; but for prototype singing it's easier when there are just droning chords, all the same for the most part . . .

Doing this in a ReWire session where Studio One Professional 5 is the ReWire host controller and NOTION is the ReWire helper device make it easy to adjusts the otherwise droning chords, Höfner electric bass, and electric guitars to a proper chord pattern . . .

[NOTE: After the singing ends, there are measures of just the Höfner electric bass, drum kit, gran cassa, and timpani, along with a LP cowbell. There are snare drums played with brushes and a pair of snare drums played with drumsticks. The drum kit is "Blue Oyster" from Addictive Drums 2, so it has a large ride cymbal. I replaced the kick drum with a DW Woofer kick drum to get more deep bass. Toward the end of the song, there are a pair of Rhodes electric pianos ('73 and '79) that have an interesting airy sound as they fade while the ride cymbal rings . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Aug 25, 2021 1:17 pm
I pitch-corrected the singing and adjusted the instrument notes and chords to the singing . . . :)

THOUGHTS

Most importantly, I ordered a new set of SONY MDR-7506 headphones--a personal favorite--and they arrived yesterday; so I am listening with new headphones . . .

I should know that headphones wear-out sooner than one might imagine; but it was not so obvious, except that I was compelled to order new headphones, which mostly was the result of a subtle realization . . . :roll:

One of the things which became obvious is that the levels, compression, limiting, and so forth were too intense and were clipping. This was all the more obvious when I uploaded a music video to YouTube and on playback it was clicking, which is a sign the levels are too high . . .

So I revisited the compressor-limiter settings for everything--instruments and singing--and did a new mix, which I recorded with ScreenFlow 9 (Telestream) to make a new video . . .

Along the way, I ran the singing through Melodyne Editor 5 (Celemony) to do pitch correction and to add "it's true" to the tail of the bridge using the same phrase from earlier in the bridge and adjusting it to fit smoothly . . .

Image
Melodyne Editor 5 (Celemony) ~ "it's true" clone

"Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle"

[VERSE]
I've got something you want
I've got something you need
I've got something you love

[BRIDGE]
Is it right or is it wrong?
Listen to the song
That's what they tell me
Say it's true so I will know
If it's meant to be, it's true

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.

I added a lead guitar melody to the chords at the end of the prototype; and I am intrigued by the airy sounds during the fade, which remind me of "I'm Not In Love" (10CC) . . .

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The chorus is going to be fast and similar instrumentally to "The Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle Dance"; but the airy 10CC aspect tends to suggest adding an interlude to the verse, bridge, and chorus . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

P S. This song has a Gran Cassa and Timpani, which are new additions to the virtual festival of instruments; and it's a new experience for producing and audio engineering here in the sound isolation studio . . .

These are deep bass instruments and require more sonic space; but with this new version of the prototype, I think it's coming along better . . .

Using new headphones helps a lot; and now the deep bass is definitely excellent . . .

Based on the pristine frequency response with the new headphones, I think I need to replace them every three months or possibly sooner, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :)

P. P S. Creating a song "by ear" in layers is fascinating, because initially there are a few bits and pieces which are well-defined and known in an immediately conscious way, in part due to putting the foundation into focus in my mind, since I experiment with different lyrics and melodies, which I hear in my mind . . .

However, after composing the foundation, it switches from (a) knowing what it's supposed to be by design to (b) knowing what it's not supposed to be . . .

One might imagine that everything about the song exists in my unconscious mind ("id" in Freudian terminology); but most of it is unknown to my conscious mind ("ego" in Freudian terminology) . . .

The "by ear" aspect comes from learning electric bass and electric guitar parts for Beatles songs and other songs by playing vinyl records on a turntable at half-speed or double-speed (lead guitar and electric bass, respectively) . . .

I heard everything at normal speed, but (a) hearing it is different from (b) being able to play it accurately . . .

Part of the FUN is discovering how the completed song sounds, which for this song at this stage mostly is a nearly complete mystery to me, which in some respects is fascinating . . .

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Fascinating! :D

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by Surf.Whammy on Sat Aug 28, 2021 10:21 am
I added a second verse and changed the song title to "Say It's True" . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I think the "Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle" idea is not the one for this song, mostly because it doesn't fit anywhere . . .

I added an IK Multimedia "Syntronik" synthesizer and extended the Interlude at the end of the song . . .

The singing is doubled via copying and pasting; and I added a Leslie rotating loudspeaker unit to the second vocal track . . .

I plan to add more stuff, but first I need to listen to this version a while . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Aug 29, 2021 9:20 am
In this version, I added a Bassoon from Miroslav Philharmonik 2 (IK Multimedia) and a pair of Electric Rhythm Guitars from EW ComposerCloud X ("Fab Four" Collection) . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I also did some arranging, composing, producing, and audio engineering . . .

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Why add a Bassoon?

There were five reasons:

(1) it adds textures of odd-harmonics.

(2) It's a bit like one of the instruments in "Blue Jay Way" (Beatles), which for reference (a) appears to have a timpani and (b) is in Dorian mode at least for part of the song, although Beatles songs nearly never are in just one mode.

(3) I tried an Oboe first, but its pitch was not sufficiently low.

(4) I thought it was "Blue Jay Way", but it actually was the Mellotron in "Flying" (Beatles).

(5) I couldn't find a good preset in Mellotron 2 (IK Multimedia).

Does this suggest I am going to add heavy Leslie rotating loudspeaker effects to what soon will be the new chorus based on the revised title of the song?

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Maybe . . . :reading:

Lots of FUN! :)

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The Surf Whammys

Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Sep 10, 2021 3:22 am
After working on the chorus in my mind, I recorded the chorus and added a Tremolo Stratocaster . . . :)

THOUGHTS

Since I already practiced singing the chorus in my mind, I only had to record it two times . . .

It was two times, because the first time I forgot to press the Record button in Studio One Professional 5 . . . :oops:

After recording the chorus, I copied and pasted the complete song, thereby automagically making it twice as long; and then I added a Tremolo Stratocaster to the choruses and to the melodic sections which are combinations of Syntronik synthesizer, Bassoon, and Lead Guitar solos that might be called an "interlude" . . .

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In retrospect, I think the "Cock-A-Doodle-Oodle" aspect was what might be considered a "productive diversion" that for practical purposes made it possible to avoid overthinking everything (or in Freudian terminology to control my "superego" to have more freedom to explore ideas without having to deal with a virtual festival of Draconian rules, restrictions, and impediments) . . .

For reference, one of my long-standing hypotheses here in the sound isolation studio is that initially nobody is able to make much sense of something musical that is new and completely different in at least af few ways . . .

I think this is an accurate perspective on the Beatles, which I base on remembering when they first appeared . . .

In retrospect, everything they did was highly logical and remarkably musical in every respect; but at the time I think it was so different that most people--including me--were not able to hear everything in an immediately conscious way . . .

I was in a musical group at the time, and mostly what I recall is that in great contrast to the songs we played, the Beatles' songs had elaborate chords and electric bass parts . . .

It was like a huge mystery, and even after listening to the songs on "Meet The Beatles" over-and-over, it was sufficiently alien to be something from another dimension or planet . . .

The most complex songs we played at the time had chord patterns like "Sleepwalk" (Santo & Johnny)--perhaps one chord every measure, more or less, which is the way I visualized it, with the {C, Am, F, G} being the most complex part of the chord pattern . . .

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In contrast, Beatles' songs had different chords practically every measure, and it was mind-boggling . . .

I was proficient on string bass and electric bass at the time, so it was not so difficult to learn Paul McCartney's bass lines; but making sense of the rhythm guitar chords did not occur for several years and then only after I started teaching myself how to play rhythm guitar . . .

Now, perhaps 60 years later, Beatles' songs are not so complex--even songs like "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" . . .

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In this regard, the key aspect of my hypothesis is that being overly judgmental is not productive . . .

Would Albert Einstein have been able to connect the dots if he was afraid or somehow unable to recognize that energy and mass are equivalents?

Would Picasso have been able to paint Cubist images if he could not imagine another way of looking at things?

I am not suggesting that composing and performing songs need to be completely and totally illogical with no sense of order and sequence; but I think creating something new is most likely to occur when the ability to think is not encumbered by too much logic and too many arbitrary rules . . .

This is the advantage of what I call the "Simple and Stupid" strategy, because done this way the worst case is that songs actually will be simple and stupid; hence the freedom to think outside the box comes from embracing simplicity and stupidity rather than doing everything possible to avoid it . . .

To put this into perspective, I recall watching an interview with Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) where he said the now classic rhythm guitar phrase in "(I Can't Get No} Satisfaction" was his attempt to sound like a horn section . . .

"(I Can't Get No} Satisfaction" probably is the biggest and most memorable hit of the Rolling Stones, and all things considered I do not think they had much of a clue at the time that it was going to be such a huge hit . . .

The Rolling Stones certainly had enough money to hire a horn section; but would the song have been such a huge hit if it had a horn section playing Keith Richards' fuzz-guitar phrase?

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In retrospect, it might appear to be a trivial matter; but at the time when there were a lot of garage bands populated by subhuman mutants like myself, Keith Richards' fuzz-guitar phrase was not so difficult to play, hence it became a popular garage band song and sold a lot of fuzz pedals . . .

The song was released in June 1965; and curiously, the Beatles did "Think For Yourself" in November 1965 with a fuzz-bass line . . .

[NOTE: This was a mind-boggling song, but it was not a popular garage band song due to Paul McCartney's fuzz-bass part (a) having entirely too many notes, (b) being vastly complex and (c) being too much for subhuman garage band minds to comprehend. It was a great song for listening, but was a bit much for a garage band to play--plus it had elaborate three-part vocal harmonies . . . ]

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[NOTE: Galeazzo Frudua is the expert on singing Beatles melodies and harmonies . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:53 am
I added a Guiro and some Chimes from Miroslav Philharmonik 2 (IK Multimedia) . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I also did some producing and audio engineering . . .

Unless the Aliens From Outer Space provide different instructions, I plan to add Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--singing something, once I determine what she should sing . . .

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I might "borrow" a few ideas from "Crimson and Clover" (Tommy James & The Shondells) . It's an elaborate production, and it has a lot of things I like (tremolo, reverb, echoes, fuzz guitar, steel guitar, chimes, and so forth) . . .

"Say It's True" already has some of the vocal accents--which I "borrowed" from "Comet Together" (Beatles)--and the new version has Guiro and Chimes . . .

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Perhaps Realivox Blue and I will sing something during the interlude . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:14 pm
I added a pair of Fuzz Guitars playing counterpoint . . . :)

THOUGHTS

The Studio One Professional 5 ".song" was at the upper limit of Instrument Tracks it can handle on the Mac Pro (Mid 2010) running macOS Mojave, with 32GB of system memory; so I recorded the Drumkit, Gran Cassa, Timpani, and Jazz Steel Brushes to Audio Tracks and then removed the corresponding Instrument Tracks and VSTi virtual instruments, which makes more space available . . .

(NOTE: Studio One Professional 5 here in the sound isolation studio can handle approximately 20 Instrument Tracks; so this is the way I do the various layers of a song--20 Instrument Tracks per layer--and I keep a stepwise archive so if necessary I can revisit an earlier layer, although it's a hassle, hence I try to avoid going backward . . . :ugeek: ]

Then I added the Fuzz Guitars (panned far-left and far-right) to play some counterpoint . . .

Overall, this took about three hours--half of the time focused on recording and then removing the Instrument Tracks for the percussion, and the other half of the time focused on the Fuzz Guitars, composing the counterpoint, and doing the arranging, audio engineering, and producing . . .

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At first, I started with a "clean" Les Paul Guitar from SampleTank 4 (IK Multimedia) thinking it would be easy to use AmpliTube 5 (IK Multimedia) to provide a Fuzz pedal; but the GUI interface is a bit different and I have not made sense of it yet, so I used a Fuzz Guitar from SampleTank 4 . . .

In the previous version (AmpliTube 4), I could select a "clean" vacuum tube rig and then add a Fuzz pedal; and I think I can do this with AmpliTube 5 but no luck so far . . .

On the good side of making sense of AmpliTube 5, (a) it's now possible to select the loudspeakers for cabinets and (b) they have Celestion G12 "Greenbacks", which is excellent . . .

I have the "Jimi Hendrix Collection" for AmpliTube 3, and it has Marshall vacuum-tube power amplifiers; but it appears that I need a different version for AmpliTube 5, which is easy to do since it's one of the available selections in the IK Multimedia 25th Anniversary Group Buy . . .

I have a real Marshall stack (50-watts vacuum-tube amplifier and two 4x12 loudspeaker cabinets with Celestion 25-watt G12 "Greenbacks") and various distortion pedals, so I could do it that way; but it's easier to do it with VSTi virtual instruments and VST effects plug-ins . . .

The interesting thing about this type of Marshall stack is that it can be configured to be a "clean" power amplifier and loudspeaker rig, since it's basically an audiophile quality power amplifier and loudspeaker rig until you crank the various texture controls in the preamplifier . . .

In the late-1970s, I got a Marshall half-stack like this and had no idea how to set the controls; so the first time I set everything, I was quite surprised to discover that it is a very "clean" amplification system--until you crank everything . . .

This makes it possible to get a pair of them to use as an audiophile sound system, especially if you add some high-frequency tweeters and crossovers . . .

It might be on the expensive side, but these are vacuum-tube preamplifiers and power amplifiers, which combined with a high-quality turntable maps to a stellar system for listening to vinyl records--presuming your listening room is sonically neutral, which mostly is a matter of having a perhaps large number of fiberglass insulation rolls and compressed cellulose "cubes" to absorb the deep bass and, thereby remove the "muddiness" and "boomy" standing waves . . .

This will not work with the solid-state Marshall rigs, but so what . . . :reading:

The Kustom PA loudspeakers and deep bass subwoofers I use for the sound system here in the sound isolation studio are self-powered and have solid-state power amplifiers, which is good since they are the correct types; so there is nothing particularly bad about solid-state, but it's not the same as vacuum-tube preamplifiers and power amplifiers . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:04 am
I corrected a few notes for the instruments and did a bit of arranging, producing, and audio engineering . . . :)

THOUGHTS

There were a few notes in some of the chords that were flat by a half-step, so I corrected them and did some arranging, producing, and audio engineering . . .

The lead vocals were a bit on the right, so I balanced them by increasing the volume level of the singing on the left, which is run through a Leslie cabinet for a bit of wobble and vibrato . . .

I added Fuzz guitar to the Intro for a bit of pizzazz, and I added Fuzz guitar accents in the second half of the song for the rhythm guitar chords . . . :P

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Mostly, it's a matter of forgetting that when High A is sharp, then all the other A notes need to be sharp--things like that . . .

The guitars are distorted, so to some extent it doesn't matter--except that it does matter . . .

I increased the volume level of the Fuzz guitars, so they are easier to hear, although this might change later once I listen to the song over-and-over . . .

There are ways to make things like this more obvious without actually making them louder; and one way is doing something called "ducking", where other instruments are lowered in volume temporarily to make room for something that needs to be more in front of the mix . . .

It's not difficult to do; but it's easiest when subsets of instruments that need to be "ducked" are on separate buses, which I have not done so far in this mix . . .

Specifically, if you need to "duck" the drumkit, then put all the drums, cymbals, and so forth on a bus and then you just need to "duck" the bus rather than each individual drum, cymbal, and so forth, which is vastly easier, although the more practical strategy is to put different instruments on a bus for this purpose . . .

Sometimes, you just need to "duck" one instrument to make space temporarily for another instrument, where the best example is "ducking" the kick drums temporarily to make sonic space for electric bass, which is the case because kick drums and electric bass have overlapping deep bass frequencies . . .

Done in a mostly subtle way, the "ducking" is not noticed . . .

However, when the electric bass is constantly playing notes, you can do it the other way--"ducking" the electric bass to make temporarily sonic space for the kick drum hits . . .

At a high-level, it's producing; but getting it configured is a matter of audio engineering . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that I only have the FREE version of AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop--not the full version--so this explains why it's not working like AmpliTube 4, which I got as an upgrade to AmpliTube 3, although it also might be the FREE Custom Shop version . . .

Getting a lot of AmpliTube guitar collections makes it less obvious; but the big clue was clicking on the new "mix" icon and seeing a warning message saying I need to get AmpliTube 5; hence I checked and it's true . . .

When I check the Info box, it says AmpliTube 5.1; and I downloaded and installed it using the IK Product Manager; but when I check "My Products" in the User Area at the IK Multimedia website, AmpliTube 5 is listed only as the Custom Shop version . . . :reading:

Next time there is another Tier reached in the IK Multimedia 25th Anniversary Group Buy, I will get AmpliTube 5, which will be fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Sep 26, 2021 5:39 am
I found a new YouTube music video that I like . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I might "borrow" some ideas for the Interlude to "Say It's True" . . .

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It's similar to my favorite A'Studio song . . .

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The mixes for both of these songs are superb . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:08 am
I added a Wurlitzer Model 120 Electric Piano (IK Multimedia) to the Interludes . . . :)

THOUGHTS

The Aliens From Outer Space are beaming more ideas and instructions; and the Wurlitzer Electric Piano is playing a type of Mozart-style ornamented Baroque counterpoint . . .

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I need to add Realivox Blue (Realitone) . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:22 pm
I am creating a new musical genre, tentatively called "Industrial Surf" . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I awoke in the middle of the night and had the idea to create a new musical genre, and I am using the instruments from the previous song, "Say It's True" as the initial foundation.

I like the gran cassa, timpani, and kick drums; so this is a key aspect . . .

In the 1990s, I wrote two technical books on Visual Basic software engineering; and I included a bit of science fiction and particle physics, as well as references to some of my favorite songs . . .

Specifically, I decided it was important to listen to three musical groups (Beatles, Rolling Stones, and ZZ Top) . . .

The reasons are (a) that software engineering is like music and (b) certain musical groups are distinctly orthogonal, where in this context I use "orthogonal" to describe a playing style where most of the time the instruments take turns being in focus . . .

ZZ Top is the most orthogonal three-piece musical group; the Beatles were the most orthogonal four-piece musical group; and the Rolling Stones are the most orthogonal five-piece musical group (although technically there are more than five musicians and singers, but so what) . . .

Explained another way, a string quartet is orthogonal, but a symphonic orchestra is the anthesis of orthogonality, as are big choirs; but a barbershop quartet is orthogonal . . .

In one way or another, I think most people know this, although not so much in an immediately conscious way . . .

Part of my perspective on orthogonality is the consequence of teaching myself how to play electric bass and electric guitar by listening to vinyl records at double-speed (bass) and half-speed (lead guitar) . . .

From being in a liturgical boys choir, soprano treble clef is intuitive; so it was easy to learn electric bass parts by playing the records at double-speed, which makes the bass notes sound like soprano treble clef notes; and once that made sense, learning lead guitar solos was easy when I played the vinyl records at half-speed, since this made the notes should like bass notes, which I already knew how to identify "by ear" . . .

In some respects, realizing that the Beatles each played distinct instruments in specific roles probably is a big "Duh" for most folks; but recognizing this specifically with a focus on composing, arranging, producing, and audio engineering is another aspect that is not so much "Duh" . . .

I knew enough about this nearly 30 years ago, but it moved to a higher level perhaps 10 years ago when I noticed the way Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) played certain types of snare drum rimshots . . .

I noticed it, because it looks awkward and was intriguing as a puzzle . . .

Why did he do it that way?

Eventually, I solved the puzzle; and it's entirely a matter of being orthogonal . . .

Mick Jagger is the "star" of the Rolling Stones, but there are instants in time in songs when nothing is happening--Mick is not singing and nobody is playing a note, other than the bass player . . .

Charlie Watts discovered that if he played only a snare drum rimshot at these instants, then he was the "star", if only for a millisecond here, there, and everywhere . . .

It's brilliant! :+1

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[NOTE: I have been studying this song for over a decade; and I think Mick Jagger's electric guitar is turned-OFF. It looks like he is playing chords, but I think it's mime . . . :P ]

Once this made sense, I noticed that Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Chuck Leavell do the same thing . . .

There are some continuous instruments and singing, of course; but there also is a lot of orthogonality . . .

Colloquially, I think this is what most musicians call playing "tasty" . . .

If everyone played constantly, it would sound like pink noise . . .

For me, it's not so much of a problem as it is a tendency . . .

I always start a song with a basic rhythm section; but the more I listen to the song, the more empty spaces I identify; and once an empty space is identified, I usually cannot resist the temptation to fill it. . .

When playing in a musical group with real instruments, orthogonality occurs more naturally, although with a bit of self-control it can be enhanced; but with music notation and a cornucopia of VSTi virtual instruments, it's too easy to wander away from orthogonality, at least in some respects . . .

The "Industrial Surf" concept mostly is a composing device; but one of the goals is to focus more on orthogonality--at least some of the time . . .

If nothing else, it's a way to introduce constraints in the development of a song; but one of the intriguing aspects, which I have not done so far, is to increase the orthogonality in extreme ways, where the instruments and singing are like caricatures in the sense of Cubist paintings . . .

It's a concept in progress; so I do not know all the rules, yet . . . :roll:

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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!

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