The other day, I was surfing my favorite tech site, www.arstechnica.com, when I stumbled upon an article of particular interest. It was a feature story on how a group of music hobbyists with a penchant for video game music formed a website to house fan-made arrangements. The website was so successful that Capcom, a video game company, took notice. Impressed with the arrangements, they enlisted the fan community to create new mixes for their new Streetfighter 2 remake coming soon to Xbox Live.
This might not seem like much for those of you unfamiliar with the workings of the video game industry. But to put this into perspective, it would be like Spielberg asking a bunch of amateur filmmakers to assist on a major motion picture (hmm, maybe that’s what happened with Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull).
Incidentally, I visited the website cited in the article a few years ago. At the time, I thought OCRemix was just a bunch of cheesy MIDI arrangements, but I really didn’t do a good listen to all the stuff on the site. Based on the mp3s available now, I actually wish I’d joined the community from the very beginning. Oh well, live and learn I guess.
The piece I’m uploading today is something inspired from my OCRemix visit. It’s an arrangement of a theme from Final Fantasy VI (or Final Fantasy III as we know it here in the States). When playing the game way back when, I remember enjoying the “in town” theme that played. I knew it would make a pretty piano piece. So, here is Kids Run Through the City Corner (originally composed by Nobuo Uematsu) arranged as a piano lullaby.
The first thing that I changed when I got back from San Diego was the outtro. When recording the original piano scratch track, I ended up playing the 4th chorus and improvising the ending. In the process of rewriting the song, I’d actually never mapped out how to end the thing. My follow-up listens showed that the ending was too abrupt. Outtros should be an extension of the verse or chorus and let the listener ease out of the mood created by song.
Another thing that I ended up fixing was the “C” sections of the song (i.e. the bridge). The improvisation of the early demo was just too distracting. I opted instead for some simple ooh’s and a restatement of the chorus. This worked much better with the general groove of the bridge.
The lyrics also were tweaked a bit.
I’ll find some days I’m lost
Out on my own
was changed to
I’ll find some days I’m lost
On lonely roads.
This seemed much more appropriate for the metaphor. Other similar lyric changes were made.
After I felt comfortable with both the lyrics and structure of the song, I decided to try and add a couple of instruments. I originally heard strings. But after playing them in, my creative side got really excited and I started adding more instruments that I’d anticipated. First it was the nylon guitar. But that seemed a bit boring without the bass. Then I heard congo’s and shaker. But when that was added, they seemed lonely without the rest of the drum kit. So I added the kick, snare, hi-hat, crash, and cymbal swells to build the song properly. Adding the rest of instruments consisted of about 2 or 3 marathon 8 hour sessions of recording and MIDI editing (e.g. I’m not yet efficient in using ProTools to do my arranging) plus mixing and tweaking over a period of a few weeks.
As my internal deadline started approaching, I had to stop with the MIDI and work on rerecording the vocals. This ended up being one of the more frustrating aspects of tracking. I’m not a singer, and trying to recreate the vocals in my head just makes me hear all the flaws in my voice. However, since I didn’t really have time to go and find a good vocalist, I ended up recording myself and editing out the bad sounding bits. There was also that blasted dog that decided to bark for 20 minutes straight right when I was ready to record the main vocal track. Anyway, the vocals sound a bit rough, but what can I say, it’s a demo.
The last thing I added were a couple of vocal comps. At one point, I had this Imogen Heap Hide N Seek sound going on but decided that might be a little much for an EFY track. The harmonies ended up mostly hidden underneath the main track.
Here are the final lyrics:
One thing I forgot to mention is that when recording, I transposed the song from the key it was originally written in (F major) to Ab major. I hear the song being sung by a tenor, although I’d like to see what female vocalist could do.
I definitely still get annoyed by the limitations and flaws in the mp3, even with all the edits and rewrites of the songwriting process. Fortunately, I know that demo submissions don’t need to be perfect and am comfortable with the current result. Of course, I still would like to find a good vocalist to rerecord the vocals, but I’ll get to that in due time.
Going through this demo submission process really helped re-emphasize past lessons learned from when I was studying Media Music at BYU. Each songwriter/composer works differently, however here are a few common things: The first is to leave nothing sacred. Don’t avoid rewriting just because you’re tired or afraid something better won’t come along. Time crunches are a different matter, but even then at least make the attempt.
It’s important to follow your instinct on what works. This is of course assuming that your instinct is properly aligned. I’ve heard some really, uh, interesting music at some LDS open mic nights when I was in Utah. If you’re unsure of your instinct, get feedback from trusted peers. Have them tell you the bad stuff, as well as the good stuff.
It’s also important to knowyour audience. I don’t write strictly in one style, but for this demo submission I had to do a rewrite to make sure the song fit the target audience (there’s that instinct thing again).
Lastly, identify the parts of your music/lyric that you feel standout. My professor at BYU, Ron Simpson, always reminded us to build our music with golden bricks. If you can’t hear the golden bricks in the song, do the rewrite.
Who knows what will come out of this demo, now that I’ve sent it into the Internet void. However, I do hope you’ve enjoyed being a part of my creative process as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about it.
Comments (0) Posted by Jared on Sunday, July 13th, 2008
Sometimes as a writer you hang on to an idea, afraid to let go because you fear there’s a chance you won’t find a better alternative. This was the case with I Close My Eyes. I felt reluctant to do a rewrite. It’s hard to make a lot of headway and then have to start over. I hate feeling like I just wasted time on something that will never see the light of day. I know, of course, that this is all part of the creative process. Still the perfectionist side of me sighs every time I have to make major changes.
When I approached the project on the second day, I was pretty focused. My goal was to rework the chorus to make it less generic and a little bit more interesting. By changing up the bass line in the left hand, I was able to use a lot of the original chorus’ chord progression to create a greater emotional lift. What was once F, Gm, F/A, Bb became F/A, Bb, Gm7, C. I found that ending each phrase on the V (C) instead of the IV (Bb) just seemed a lot more pleasant.
Happy with the chorus, I resumed work on the verse. I was slightly horrified to find that my existing lyric didn’t work. The modified chorus created more energy, which necessitated an increase of tempo. With the song a little faster, the verse of I Close My Eyes was just too wordy. I remember singing through it a couple of times and feeling like I was writing something from The Music Man. Ugh.
So out went the existing verse. I struggled with keeping the existing theme with the new lyric. In the end, the verses became a little bit more generalized. I felt this was necessary in order to help listeners better relate to the song’s subject matter. I hated scaling back the details. At one point, I had a verse about being lost in San Francisco, and trying to catch my plane in time. It would have made a really good story song. It would also have made a really awkward musical number for a fireside.
What was funny about the whole rewrite was that it came pretty quickly. I had a self imposed deadline of Saturday at 7pm in order to head down to San Diego for Father’s Day. I’d also promised a friend that I’d send her the current version of the song. Everything was a rush in order to finish the thing before leaving for the weekend. I laid the piano tracks in one shot, and sang once or twice to comp the vocals. Then it was a quick bounce to disk and upload.
I listened to this version all the way down to San Diego. Part 3 will detail the issues I heard during those listens and the changes made to the song upon my return.
Comments (0) Posted by Jared on Friday, June 27th, 2008
I know it seems like I’ve been neglecting my blog, since my last post was at the beginning of month. In reality, I’ve been been working on writing something to submit to EFY 2009. Throughout all of this, I’ve been careful to keep notes of my song and lyric versions; I thought some of you would be interested in seeing a glimpse into my creative process.
My first crack at writing was around June 8th. The original lyric idea came pretty quickly. I decided to describe how life’s experiences help us understand that He cares about the details. Elder Bednar’s classic tender mercies talk served as the concept. However as I started writing, the lyrics kind of took an interesting turn. There were a lot of rewrites to try and tighten up the concept before I ended up recording a demo. Here’s what came about:
After I finished the demo, I was quite pleased with how everything turned out. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but I figured I’d come back to it a few days later and figure it out.
Well that Tuesday or Wednesday when I sat down to revisit the demo, it just didn’t sound right at all. I liked the groove and the general chord progression, but the arrangement itself was too repetitive (lots of block chords). I kept imagining what the sheet music would look like; if I had to play it myself I would have been incredibly bored. One other thing that bothered me about the arrangement was that the vocal range was just too low. When I first wrote it, I liked having the verses melody in the lower registers because I thought it sounded indie-ish. Well, on my revisit, it didn’t hold up so well.
Another issue I found was the the chorus’ chord progression. Even though I found the chorus catchy, it just seemed a little generic. As a songwriter, one of my greatest fears is that I will subconsciously regurgitate a song that I’ve heard in some previous setting.
The third thing that bored me was that the tempo was a little slow. The emotion of the song was prevalent in the first verse and chorus, but since the tempo and arrangement didn’t vary much it started feeling monotonous. I also had a hard time envisioning the tempo of the song working with my intended audience.
The last thing that I struggled with was that the lyrics weren’t focused enough even after all the rewrites. Verse 1 is more metaphoric while verse 2 talks about the spiritual experience from a general perspective. Finally, verse 3 can be intepreted both metaphorically and literally (I originally envisioned a stalled car at night, with the driver trying to find help). This was one of the major problems.
I tried rewriting the lyrics a couple times, but the rewrites didn’t match with the imagery of the chorus. After a while I got frustrated and just went to bed. In part two, I’ll detail my second revision attempts.
A final note: In preparation for this post, I listened to the mp3, and still found it catchy. I think I’ll keep it in my catalogue, although I probably won’t work on adding any additional instrumentation.
Comments (1) Posted by Jared on Monday, June 23rd, 2008
So, during the last few days, I’ve been sketching out a couple of different melodies/chord progressions. And it was during one of these sessions that I went back to the prechorus chord progression from “Just Saying”, and just totally ripped it off. Not that there’s anything wrong with reusing your own chord progression…I just thought it was funny.
What’s cool is that this chord progression goes from fitting in perfectly within a new age piano piece, to a fifties pop-rock tune. I’ll have to get some guitarists to help me flesh the thing out. I also need to think up some lyrics (I’m not a lyricist, so coming up with words are like pulling teeth for me).
By the way, I’ll be traveling on business for the next couple days, so I won’t have a chance to upload anything until I get back.
Comments (0) Posted by Jared on Sunday, June 1st, 2008
I have this problem, I call it the “itch” (those of you who know me will think that’s funny). I’ll be about 80% to 90% done with a song, and then right as I’m ready to lay down the final vocals or backup dubs, I’ll get antsy. It’s this urge to try something new. Usually, after I get the itch, I’ll try to fight it for a few days. Inevitably, I’ll end up being terribly unproductive, and the song-in-progress will be put on the backburner while I work on something else.
I’ve tried to figure out if this is some sort personality disorder. I had a classmate at BYU who mentioned having the same problem, so maybe it just goes with the territory of being a musician. Music people are all a little crazy - Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Britney Spears. Yes I know, I don’t place Britney on the same level as the revered classical geniuses either, she just happens to be a perfect contemporary example of complete wackiness.
Anyway, getting back to being itchy. I tend to believe that musicians are perfectionists at heart. We have a problem with feeling like a song or work is a finished, completed work. This drives us crazy. Sure, a songwriter is “done” when his song has been mastered or broadcasted, but there’s always something that he would change if he had a chance to record it again. Whenver I listen to my mastered projects, my thought process goes something like this: “Oh, that’s nice. Nice pretty vocals. Clean guitar sound. Good kick and sna - why the HECK is the hi-hat so loud? Wait, I added distortion after the bridge? What was I thinking? What is this !$@*% riff doing here! I can’t believe I was happy with this, it all sounds like total crap!”
See how hard it is to be a musician?
I’m starting to come to the conclusion that I switch to new projects in order to avoid confrontations with my perfectionist nature.
In any case, I’ve started work on a new indie-piano peice. I still need to record “Memorial Day” vocals, but I’ve been itching to work on something new. So here’s the instrumental, just saying. The song might morph into something with words, and lyrics, and maybe even a lot more instruments, but I recorded this in a quick session so I wouldn’t forget the general idea.
Coming out of school as a music graduate, I had a few career paths. Behind door one was the freelance musician option, where I could write for various media projects (commercials, TV, etc) while establishing a client base. This was an interesting proposition, but I was not interested in staying in Utah and networking with the music scene there. What can I say, I missed California.
Option two was to move to LA and do the the whole music scene as a singer/songwriter. This idea was nixed almost immediately based on my writing style and personal preferences - I prefer to stay more behind the scenes as a composer. And in reality, I do a lot more writing/arranging instead of performing.
Option three was to get a real job and funnel the money into music on the side. This was the option I chose, and though not for everyone, has made me the happiest. Mostly , this boiled down to the fact that I didn’t want to eat ramen for three straight years. Somehow, I lucked into a job that that provides enough work/life balance that I can work towards a career in business and write music on the side. And although the job itself isn’t music related, I’ve been involved in a few random side projects at work that have allowed me to stretch my mixing and engineering skills.
When I’m not working on mixing rap songs about finance, I writing songs to submit to TAXI. TAXI is an online A&R company that will allow you to submit music towards various listings created by music professionals. For a small fee, TAXI will screen and review your music. If the music is deemed appropriate, they’ll send the music on to the execs or music publishers behind the listing.
Granted, I actually haven’t placed any music yet. But the benefit of TAXI is this: it allows me to receive critique and grow as a musician. Plus, I still feel like I’m in touch with what is going on in the industry, even though I’m working an 8-5 job.
Oh, and I finally have something to upload today. This is a piece Elise Burrell and I cowrote. Elise, if you ever come back down here to California, I need to record your comps and backup vox for this song!
Just wanted to give an update. I’m scoring a short film for a friend, he’s currently getting his masters in film. This project ended up being much intriguing than I thought. I don’t usually write music for a drama. Action, ballad, love scenes were what I did in college. Drama, probably not so much.
Anyway, because I’ve been working on composing, my Memorial day song is still stuck in limbo. I’ve done two or three rewrites of the rhyming schemes, so I should be pretty close to recording some scratch vocals. I’m debating whether I’m willing to put my voice online again…we’ll see.
Comments (0) Posted by Jared on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Well, after three or four days of trying to write something for “memorial day”, I think I finally have a chorus. I went through a whole bunch of different ideas: birds, diving, shouting echoes, love, clouds, etc. I kept getting stuck.
At one point, I thought about making the chorus a typical Josh Groban love ballad of love found!111!!1. The chorus certainly could have soared in that Josh Groban way…but I couldn’t do it. I probably would have gagged writing it. Plus, I haven’t had any recent experiences that deserve that type of melodrama. I think it’s probably going to be a week or so before I can actually record the vocals of my lyric ideas. I’ll post it to the blog once I do get a good recording of the vox.
Comments (0) Posted by Jared on Thursday, April 17th, 2008
I was in Boston all of last week, attending a conference for work. It was an interesting opportunity to experience a city for the first time. Boston is ideal for walking, and most of my coworkers would talk a night walk for exercise. Up until I arrived, I’d planned on walking with them, but I caught a pretty nasty code a week and was unable to really get out. Although I enjoyed my trip immensely, I missed my weekly composing sessions. Now that I’ve been back a few days, and have had a chance catch up on sleep and rest, I’m back at the grindstone.
This latest piece is something I started last year. It originated as a piano idea, but it’s been gradually involving something a bit bigger. This is version one of the minus track. I’m still working on the lyrics, but vocal melody, but this serves as a good enough vocal bed for me to write to. Putting the whole thing together really has been great practice in arranging. It’s tricky trying to get the most of my gear…especially since I don’t touch it nearly enough.
Anyway, this is version one of the song. I’ve given it the codename “Memorial Day” until I come up with some proper lyrics.