Changin Plans

So, recently there was a situation that changed my financial standings. Totally freaked me out.  It made me realize how focused I was on making sure to pay bills. Going to the job punching in the clock. I even felt school starting to become laborious instead of exciting due to finances. Yet as the day progressed all things ironed themselves out. A need for worry is no longer, yet I still find the Grr of the situation to be very frustrating. In relation to my music I find it difficult to focus and create anything meaningful when situations arise that push the stress too far. Some stress helps the practice. Keeps an edge on my music. How do you deal with the wild cases? What are your coping methods to restart the artistic charge? Do you need a stress relief? This day and age we live in a modern day jungle, survival is by paying bills and not going bankrupt. Survival of the fittest. The music industry would be the amazon with crazy unknown beasts lurking in the waters. Yet I want to camp on its banks with a fire burning all night. Getting a foothold into the music scene will be a struggle. Yet with persistence and talent eventually there will be light at the end of the tunnel. A really bright light hopefully. Having an amazing support group helps the turnaround of a stressful situation. Sharing your worries helps relieve the thoughts of stress. When are you at your most creative moments? 

Alternative

Recently I have started asking some of my coworkers their favorite artist. One mentions a Christian rap artist, another Dj’s some of his own beats. So I gave some of the different music a try and well. Very interesting. I kept an open mind with the idea of different music but I guess that is why everyone has a favorite. So who is your Favorite artist? This possibly could turn into a tool of inspiration for me. Possibly. Like I could possible work for SuperCell. Yes it would be possible and fun. The small team groups working on projects opposed to a larger group where people try to take charge. A fun work environment geared towards creating awesome games that will be play for more than just a month or two. The objective of this company was to create a game or games that had repeat play-ability. The original idea coming from World of Warcraft. The amount of people that still to this day PAY for an online game is mind boggling. So yes I would love to become employed by an online gaming company. That is the direction of the market and if you want to pay bills follow the trends. I’d feel if you come up with a game with dragons and stuffed animals having powers DONE. Video game complete. Ha. If only that where true. The amount of programming and code that goes into video games is intense. Have you played any Indie games? The music is interest to the ones I've played. 

Gameboys Rock

The other evening I was channel surfing the TV and came across this show "Europe in 8 Bits".  I found it quite interesting. They have a web site Europein8bits.com that has a link to the video.  The video was about young musicians using old technology to create small sound. A pair of gentlemen created an actual cartridge that is a looper program for the Gameboy. The idea of using old technology as an instrument is incredible. Using the Pokémon sounds for a dubsteped beat.  In the documentary I enjoy the fact that the shows produced are music created live. Yes, it was a Dj setup and a dance club atmosphere but the audience was feeding off the energy of the live performance. The documentary also brought up how many artists sold their synthesizers and controllers to purchase old Nintendo systems and Gameboys to create new strange sounds. I personally thought it was awesome. Would you use this technology? Nanoloop is the name of one Gameboy cartridge. On eBay the price ranges from sixty dollars to a hundred sixty dollars. Some of the least expensive synthesizers are a couple hundred dollars. The other company brought up in the documentary is LsDj. Little sound Dj gives you a more technical approach with providing you the program that can be copied to a cartridge or system. A small donation of five dollars is requested. I tried to attach some of the video yet the link does not work so I have included a couple Mp3 clips that show what can be done with small sounds. Keep in mind all parts are created on the Gameboy.  

Edm DubSlide                                                     Edm Micro Mix



Both have there own personal twist. Let me know what you think. Would you jump around to this in the club?

Noise Reduction

So if you read my last post I mentioned the possibility of releasing my first piece created for my next post. Well not gonna happen. Sorry. But there will be one posted soon.  As I sat down to record my vocals, my next door neighbor has decided to play his music. Alright, play is putting it mildly, LOUDLY bump, yet not so loud to be heard outside in the hall. Only the bass line vibrates straight through the walls. Yes I even moved everything into the bedroom the furthest away from the wall that connects apartments and my microphone still pics it the low bumps. The problem is it doesn't pick up the sound just the wave. A professor of mine mentioned an air mattress but I would need to cover the entire wall? I'm going to create an isolation box for my microphone so I’m hoping that will help. I should get the schedule of my neighbors work hours so I know when to record and when not to. Lol. Of course Mixing at this time is no problem. I just wanted some voice to work with. How do you circumvent noise issues not noticed until mixing? Rerecord? Create a noise floor with instrumentation? I personally would rerecord the project in a clean environment. That is why a studio's with vault like walls are so nice. The low frequencies are contained within the building and reject all the outside interference. So I’m wondering with the abilities of home studios now why the mediocrity in the music industry?   You think that technology would help create better music because of the ease of the work load. But sadly I feel it hasn’t… 

ProTools

I got ProTools at the house! So much fun, I feel like a kid in the candy store. The ability to mix and record at the house on my own time is awesome. Now there where many different hoops that needed to be jumped through, copies of school documents and multiple programs downloaded. Loading ProTools sitting on my couch was incredible. Hopefully in the next post I will leave a sample of some works that I create. The advancement of technology has made it easier to access audio programs yet many components are still needed. Components needed would be a M-box, cables, microphones, quality speakers, quality headphones and a quite workspace. What is your workspace like? Do you enjoy having a DAW on your couch? Many components now can be purchased at resale shops, of course if you want quality you will have to pay for it. EBay and Amazon are online resources that have the ability to search for exactly what you need or want. I personally purchased an 88 key keyboard and had it shipped to my house.  Also, I researched the brand and the abilities of that brand before I made the purchase. Which is what I would always recommend, ALWAYS do your research before you finalize your purchase.  My next addition to my audio component collection would be a Multi-Port M-Box to be able to record with a quality microphone at the house.  I would then need to create an Isolation box but that shouldn’t be too difficult. What homemade recording devices do you use?