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twdmusicboxmystery · 5 years ago

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TWD 10x02: We Are The End of the World - Details

Okay, let's talk details. I’ll go through them chronologically.

***As always, spoilers abound below for 10x02. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!***

We start with the woman in the car, which I talked about yesterday. I thought the blaring horn was a call back to the Wolves in S6. That’s interesting because this was about Alpha and Beta, and we think the Wolves were a foreshadow of the Whisperers. I can't help but wonder if some sort of loud noise or horn will figure and whatever happened to Beth after Coda.

When Alpha meets Beta in the hospital, Lydia wants to wash the off the walker blood. Alpha asks, "Is there water?" He points to where she can find some, and she does. Because they’re in a hospital, this is yet another example of water being available at Grady or, if they’re a part of the helicopter people, then with the helicopter people. The point is, they'll be the ones with access to water.

When the two sisters are walking, gathering walkers with Beta, one of them closes her eyes and talks about how the sun feels different today, like it's burning into their skin.

I kind of wondered if that might be a radiation reference, especially as they see the satellite fall in this episode. Her looking up the sky also reminded me vaguely of Daryl and Beth looking at the sky in the Inmates. This is where the sister says that she should have left her behind.

We then see Alpha giving Lydia a bath. There are a lot of background things in the hospital that caught my eye. Mostly graffiti and posters. But a lot of them point to Beth dialogue. Some of them are simply about hope, others of them suggest “you are still alive,” “why am I still alive?” Etc. One of the posters has both the words “Still” and “Alone” on it. Ring any bells? 😉 Here are some if you want to study them:

It took me a few times watching it to realize it was Beta who wrote all the words on the walls. We know that because “I am the end of the world” is written in several places. It’s also important to note that he contemplated suicide. Things like “End it all?” followed by “No, not now,” are seen in various places.

Alpha picks up a can of tomatoes (perhaps tomato soup?) in the hallway. I've said before that tomatoes represent the state of the community. I think we see them here because Alpha and Beta are about to form a community together. This is the origin story of the Whisperers.

Something interesting happens. Beta is humming in the background. Alpha hears him and begins to hum as well. Beta doesn't like that. He stocks toward her and says, "Were you singing?" She answers, "I wouldn't call it that." He says, "Don't do it again."

So, while they didn’t say what his back story is (on TTD, Ryan Hurst seemed to suggest the country singer theory could be true) there is definitely a musical theme around him.

In terms of a parallel to Daryl, you could see it as him being uncomfortable with people singing because it reminds him of Beth. I started thinking about Daryl's, "I never," from the moonshine shock. One of the things he said is that he never sang out in public. We haven't really seen a fulfillment of that yet. But just as Alpha and Beta were sort of humming together right here, maybe we'll see Beth and Daryl sing together in some capacity in the future.

She also asks how he ended up at the hospital. He said he got into a tussle with the dead and they ran him out of his camp a few months ago. Again, I think that could be a Daryl parallel. In terms of ending up at the hospital in S5, it happened after walkers overran the prison. This is also when Beta says he likes the sound of the dead and it’s the only song he never wants to end.

Then we’re back to the two sisters rounding up walkers. The one who gave up her baby sees the walker with the baby carrier on it on its front and starts to cry. Something about the way she cried, the way she looked, reminded me of when Beth cried in Inmates.

The more I thought about that, something occurred to me. I’m just gonna throw this possibility out there. I feel like Beth is going to go through an arc where she loses a baby. It may not be hers biologically. After all, with plenty of foreshadowing after taking care of other people's kids. (Such as Judith at the prison.)

This woman who sacrificed her baby at Alpha’s behest has parallels to Beth. In that scene in Inmates, which this reminded me of, Beth actually was crying over the perceived death of a child. She thought the little shoes she saw belong to the kids they’d been tracking. She was actually wrong about that. They were tracking Lizzie and Mika, who were with Carol and Ty. But Beth and Daryl assumed the kids they been tracking were dead and the shoes belonged to them. She was literally crying of the loss of a child.

There was that weird, creepy baby death thing around Denise in 6x14, and we know how big a proxy she was to Beth. We also know Connie lost a child at one point, and she’s being used as a Beth stand-in as well. I'm just saying we have a lot of evidence of this.

Back at the camp, Beta almost kills this woman for endangering them. Alpha shows her mercy, probably because she understands what it's like to abandon a child, because she abandoned Lydia.

Then we see Alpha making a room for Lydia in the hospital. She takes her in a room that's used for psych patients and is therefore padded. Lydia asks about the pillows all over the walls. The sequence was actually very interesting. It got my thoughts spinning.

First of all, Alpha offers Lydia her bunny and Lydia rejects it. Remember the bunny represents those who are weak. Specifically, those too weak to survive and who end up dead. (Lizzie killed the bunnies in the log in 4b, and then later killed Mika.) Lydia rejects the bunny says that she wants to be more like Alpha. That’s a mirror to Beth saying that she wants to change and become stronger. Alpha says she's glad to hear that, because if Lydia doesn't change, Alpha will eventually have to leave her behind.

In other words, a person must be strong enough to defend themselves, or else they get left behind. Definitely feels like a call back to Beth. Now, obviously it didn't go down that way with Beth and Daryl. He didn’t leave her behind because he thought she was weak. But we often like to say that Beth’s weakness died when she was shot and she’ll arise a much stronger person who can take care of herself. If nothing else, this is a reference to someone changing from being weak to being strong as well as being left behind, in the same sentence.

What struck me most about this sequence (along with something strange in the final scene) is the actual sleeping arrangement. It's about finding a bed for Lydia to sleep and feel safe. I know that sounds a little goofy, but it reminded me of something we saw back in S8 that has never been explained. When Daryl tries to escape the Sanctuary, he ran into Dwight's room. He ate peanut butter, changed his shirt, and opened the door into a secret room at the back of Dwight's quarters. No one was in there, but it looked like there was a bed with the pillow. Such a random detail, and it's never been explained. I was reminded of that part because there's an emphasis on pillows covering the walls.

Near the end of the episode, where we see Alpha keeping a shrine to Lydia, along with her bunny, there’s what looks like a gigantic bird’s nest. It’s actually more square than round in shape, but it’s made with twigs and vines like a bird’s nest might be. I think it’s supposed to be a place Alpha created for Lydia to sleep in and be secure. So, I think this is a theme about finding a place for loved ones to sleep where they will feel safe. It's possible the hidden room in Dwight’s place was there for Sherry. I don't know if she ever actually used it, but he might've created in case she ever wanted to hide there.

We can also relate this back directly to Beth and Daryl in the funeral home. Daryl laid down in the coffin saying, "this is the comfiest bed I've had in years." And while he laid in that “bed,” Beth sang to him, about laying in the lawn and being good. So it's about finding a place to lie down and sleep, feeling secure and safe with the people you're with. Because, by nature, everyone is vulnerable when they sleep.

Alpha tells Beta to send the baby’s mother to her in the “deep” place. I had to think about this one for a bit before I understood it’s significance. It's underground (sort of like a cave) and in darkness, so I knew it had to have symbolic significance. It was obvious that everyone thought Alpha would kill the baby’s mother, but, she didn't. She showed her mercy.

I think we could perhaps relate it to Beth going into the darkness and emerging into the light. We saw this theme around her with light and darkness at Grady. She goes into the dark hallway just before being shot.

Emerging into light at the end of the hallway represents her living. So, similarly, the baby’s mother goes into the darkness and faces death by Alpha’s hand. Mercifully, she comes back out again into the light and is given a second chance. Her sister even says, "Alpha showed you her grace?"

At this point, we learn other whispers are also thinking about Hilltop and that it looked like a safe place and maybe they want to return. Alpha is already losing her pack.

We see Alpha and Beta killing walkers together in the hospital. They bond and she gives him the name of first Big Man, then Mr. B, and then just B. He asks what that make her. She says, “A.”

She then proceeds to tell him about becoming the walkers. She says there are two kinds of people left in the world: those brave enough to walk with the dead, and everyone else. She tries to take off his mask, and he freaks out. He tells her leave at sunrise not to come back. Obviously, that doesn't happen.

So, a couple things about this. We’ve seen the A/B theme since S4. It's very obvious that Alpha and Beta are being defined this way in the plot. This isn’t just symbolism anymore. They’re calling themselves and each other A and B. Yes, we also saw that theme with the helicopter people who also used the terms A and B. For me, that suggests that perhaps the Whisperers are tied up with the helicopter people in some way. It also shows that the Whisperers are much more endgame than Negan ever was. Everyone made such a big deal about All Out War, but we’re seeing the fulfillment of Beth-related symbolism that’s been around since S4 much more with this group than we ever did with Negan.

It's also interesting that we don't see Beta’s face. Alpha takes off her skin mask all the time, but we've never seen Beta without his. I wonder why he wants to hide his face. Back when she asked how he got there, and he said that he tussled with the dead. She asked if that's what he wore the mask now. There's an implication there that maybe, just maybe, he has scars on his face.

That would have some really interesting implications of true. Not only would it parallel him to Beth in a big way, but if Beth ever came into contact with Alpha and Beta, I almost think that they would be predisposed to like her, both because she's a survivor and also because of the scars. That might draw them both to her. At this point, Alpha and Lydia have seen Beta's face, but no one else has.

When the Whisperers see the satellite fall, the sister who lost her baby goes nuts and tries to kill Alpha. She dies because her sister betrays her to save Alpha.

Alpha asks her if she regrets what she did. The sister essentially says no. (I don’t know if this will mean anything to you guys, but that was very Charles Manson.) Then Alpha said something super disturbing. "Like a lioness who smothers her own cub, we are strongest when we kill our own blood."

Now, obviously that's the opposite of what TF and most of us (hopefully) believe. It serves yet another antiparallel to Beth and TF in general. They try to save their own people and keep them alive at all costs. They believe that banding together through love and community is what makes them stronger. Alpha obviously believes the opposite.

Then we reach the final sequence of the episode. There’s a lot going on here and I watched it multiple times, trying to catch everything. Lydia covers herself in walker guts. She seemed to want to find a walker and prove to her mom that she could be strong. So her mother wouldn’t leave her behind.

Of course everything goes down where Alpha kills Beta’s friend, and Lydia comes out, saying she was strong. Alpha hugs her and says she did a good job and was very strong.

Then she turns to Beta and says some really interesting things. She says, "You are not broken. You were made for this." Beth said that exact same thing to Daryl in Still. "It's like you were made for how things are now.”

Alpha also says, "Stay with me and you'll never be alone." I don’t think Daryl said exactly that Beth, but I remember that he did say it to Bob. "You're not alone anymore. You never will be again." And Bob was a Beth proxy.

After watching it several times, what strikes me is the parallel to Beth and Daryl. While the actual events are different, Alpha and Beta basically see one another at their most vulnerable. In true states of anger and grief. Alpha over Lydia in the current timeline and Beta over the loss of his friend in the flashback. And that’s exactly what Still was for Beth and Daryl.

Beta then started chanting, "I am the end of the world. I am the end of the world." This is part of the Alpha and Omega theme. Alpha is, um, named Alpha, which means the first or the beginning. Then we have Beta saying he's the end of the world. Omega is another term for the end.

This is super-intriguing to me and I’ll have to think about it more. Maybe revisit the Alpha/Omega theme. Because a the two instances that always jump to mind for me of the Alpha/Omega theme are 1) when Abraham said it to Sasha in the flashback in 7x16. And he said, “Alpha to Omega, Battlefield to Beach.” (paraphrasing there, btw.) Well, they’re about to enter a war with the Whisperers, and they were training on the beach in 10x01, so it all feels very relevant. 2) Via Paula’s group in 6x13. And that episode a gazillion, ridiculously obvious references to Beth and Grady. Just saying.

Alpha says, “We’re the end of the world.” Beta says he can't leave his friend. Alpha says he won’t have to and gives him her knife. It’s then that we learn that the skin mask Beta wears around once belonged to his best friend. Just when you think these people can’t get any more twisted, right?

This is why I loved this episode so much. Creepy? Oh yeah. Twisted? Absolutely. But also fascinating and fantastic. On TTD, YNB said she wasn’t a fan of villains. Yeah, I am. I’m totally obsessed with their psychology. So I totally geeked out about the fabulousness of this episode.

But I digress. We then return to the current timeline, where Beta finds Alpha in her special little grove. As they talk, he comes to realize she didn't actually kill Lydia and Lydia is still alive. This is where we see the giant bird’s nest/bed. So, we have a connection to the bird theme here, with Alpha playing mother bird and wanting to protect her young. She’s created a bed for Lydia to feel safe in.

At one point, Beta says, “she’s GONE, Alpha.” That’s before Alpha admits she lied about killing Lydia. So we have yet another example of something thinking someone is dead, & saying she’s “gone,” when really, she’s alive and well in some other place.

Alpha gets upset about Lydia and starts to cry. (Note that Beta is the only one allowed to see her cry and live.) He reaches his hand out to her and she takes it. He basically calms her down and brings her back to herself.

He tells her that there was smoke on the horizon. Alpha says it might be “the enemy” which means TF, and that they have to teach them a lesson and let the pack watch. That’s how she’ll ensure her pack’s loyalty to her. Not unlike Negan’s old tactics.

It's important to note that she was planning on attacking TF even before she realized they’d crossed the border. It's really not about her looking up and seeing Carol standing there at the end.

Then we see Alpha and Beta intertwine fingers. (Fascinating but creepy romance vibe.)

I said this was their Still/Alone episode. Think about all the things I’ve laid out here. It happened in a hospital. There was a bunch of Beth and Daryl dialogue. The words “still” and “alone” were literally written on the wall! And they forced a deep (albeit twisted) connection. When they were killing the walkers that got into the hospital, Alpha says, "I like kill with you." When she starts gutting the walkers, he says, "you're different," which really ought to be an insult, but you can tell he's drowned her because of that.

So at the end, they intertwine fingers, which always represents romantic love in TTD and say their little mantra.

"We walk in darkness, we are free.

We bathe in blood, we are free.

We love nothing, we are free.

We fear nothing, we are free.

We need no words, we are free.

We embrace all death, we are free.

This is the end of the world. Now is the world. We are the end of the world."

This is twisted and heavy stuff, guys. This satanic little chant also brings me back to the Alpha and Omega theme. Like I said, I feel like Whispers are much more endgame than Negan ever was. Think of it this way. If the helicopter people have been around since the beginning (and they have been), and the Whisperers are tied up with them, then the “beginning” and the “end” makes sense here, right? I’ve even considered that maybe the helicopter people are the ones who caused or released the virus to begin with, whether by accident or on purpose. No idea if that’s true. It’s just something I’ve considered. But TWD is big on story arcs where the end mirrors the beginning, so this is a theme, a motif, and a pattern in the show.

Two more short notes. I’m not sure why Alpha doesn’t realize that making war on TF means coming face to face with Lydia again. She’s lying to her people about killing Lydia, and if they find out she’s lying (and they surely will) that will make them less loyal to her. Might be her undoing.

Also, just a correction. I said yesterday that Beta didn’t cry when his friend died. Upon watching it again, he actually does. I missed it the first time. You can’t see it because of the mask but you can hear him sobbing. Just wanted to correct myself on that.

Again, just a really fabulous and fascinating episode. I’ve watched it like three times and I totally want to watch it again.

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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thearkhound · 5 years ago

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Kazuhiko Uehara interview with MSX Magazine (2005)

This is the second Konami-themed interview featured in a 2005 commemorative issue of MSX Magazine, following the previous translated Hideo Kojima posted here. This time the person being interviewed is Kazuhiko Uehara, who joined Konami as a sound designer in 1986 (the same year Hideo Kojima himself joined), where he worked on games such as Space Manbow and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. He was involved with the creation of the SCC sound chip that Konami employed in many of their later MSX games, starting with 1987′s Gradius 2 (aka Nemesis 2), although it was originally designed for their racing game F1 Spirit.

At the time interview was published Uehara-san was an executive producer at Pawapuro Production, a subsidiary of Konami that were involved in the development of various sports games for the Japanese market, most notably the Power Pro Baseball series, which the studio took its name from.

The interview was conducted at Osaka two days after the Kojima interview at Roppongi Hills and it started with the MSX Magazine editorial staff showing of Gekitotsu Pennant Race, a baseball game by Konami for the MSX running on the MSX Game Reader.

SCC: A Sound Chip Born From The Rivalry With The Famicom

Uehara: Amazing! The SCC sounds like it should. I made this “strike” sound effect. Wow, it brings me back! Gekitotsu was made with the SCC from get-go. This was the beginning of the Power Pro series.

MSX Magazine: The reason we created the MSX Game Reader was because we wanted to play your company’s games (on a current computer). There were many models of the MSX back in the day and the tone of the PSG sounds differed between them. Why was that?

There were a few reasons. Some MSX models have balance differences between the PSG and SCC, so the bass output might had varied between them. Personally I really liked how the Yamaha models sounded. Speaking of which, I have some old documents here that could help me remember things. Wait a moment. (Mr. Uehara takes out a bulky file). Because I worked on the previous program, I gathered documentation of how to control the work, algorithm and such. However, this is all the documentation that remains that hasn’t been thrown out yet.

When you joined Konami, did you became involved with hardware? When I heard about it from interviews and such, I thought the SCC chip was built on a hardware level.

Not at all. I was involved with software, or rather I should say I was a “sound creator”. When I’ve joined Konami there was the MSX Team, the Famicom Team and the Arcade Team. The Arcade Team was the most abundant and flourishing when it came to sound sources. That was followed by the Famicom Team, which had one more sound port (than the MSX). But I was assigned to the MSX division (laughs). Its stock PSG sound source could only produce three types of sounds, so I couldn’t helped it but feel envious.

Mr. Kojima told us the same thing. (laughs)

I really regretted it. I was wondering whether it was possible to increase the number of sound ports on an MSX. At the time there was this application called “Idea Notes”, in which employees of Konami would submit ideas directly to the President. There I suggested exploring the possibility of using an additional sound source that could be employed through the MSX’s cartridge slot. I’m not sure if this suggestion was what caught their attention, but we were given the go ahead to develop the SCC chip and that’s how it came to be.

Was your frustration with competing against the Famicom’s sound source your initial reason for making the SCC chip?

That’s exactly the reason. The MSX is supposed to be from the same generation as the Famicom, yet...

It seems that everyone else felt that way too about the MSX. When you joined the MSX department, you had a feeling that you were missing out. So there was much joy when the SCC appeared. With such sound chip, the MSX could finally compete against the Famicom.

Nemesis 2 was the first game to employ the SCC, but we originally developed it for F-1 Spirit. Due to scheduling changes, Nemesis 2 ended up being released first.

Creating A Waveform By Trial & Error, Sometimes Using A Bug

There’s an “editor” referenced in this document. Did you happen to create a tone editor?

Yes. We made a so-called tone editor, which would later be known as a “synthesizer”.

There was once a time when music was composed with raw hexadecimal data.

That’s how it was when I’ve joined Konami. It took way too much time and effort, so we developed various tools to increase our efficiency.

That was the wave form of the SCC.

I think it might been with Space Manbow or Metal Gear 2, but there was an instance in which the waveform was being overwritten by the software.

You mean the “Waveform Change Program”.

That’s right. That was it.

When Scitron released one of their game music albums the other day [TL’s note: Likely referencing to The Legend of Game Music Premium Box set, which contains a CD consisting exclusively of MSX shoot-’em-up music], I heard a story that Ms. Miki Higashino, who was involved with the music of the original Gradius, tried to remake the first stage music from Space Manbow on an SCC for another shoot-’em-up, but she had problem trying to make it sound different from the original.

That’s because it was a very difficult system to work with. The truth is that there was a bug in the sound loading program. Under certain conditions it would fly into the program data instead of the waveform data. Because of this adding any additional programming would’ve altered the sound. It was a huge bug, but I choose not to fix since it ended up producing interesting sound that wouldn’t had been possible otherwise.

Because of such accidents that an amazing soundtrack like Space Manbow was possible. It’s such an awesome heavy sound.

It’s a coincidence that such a bug exists. The waveform produces sounds like that, no matter where they’re reading the data from.

We heard that during the recording of Space Manbow they would bring in 8 MSX computers into the studio, synchronize them by connecting a custom-build interface into each of their ports, and then collect all the sounds with a mixer.

That was precisely the development board for the SCC, which was around the size of two MSX units. We worked it so that each port would sound off one by one, but it felt so good. Different EQ and effects were applied to each port.

It seems quite difficult to produce the tone of the SCC.

Nowadays you can use a so-called “Pro Tools” to view the waveform, but such things wasn’t possible back then. Strictly speaking, if it had a round shape, it would make a round sound and if it was a sharp shape it would be a sharp sound, so there was already a process of trial and error. As I’ve explained before about the Waveform Editor, the method would involve drawing a waveform and then distributing the spots over it, so that also caused some trial and error. At the first it was just a theory, and then we tried to apply it.

Konami’s mainly used the SCC chip instead of other sound sources such as OPLL or FM.

The MSX Team wasn’t used to FM sound sources, since there was naturally a lot of restrictions involved. If you look at Konami as a whole (and not just the MSX department), we did have the know-how of using FM sounds, since we employed it in many arcade games, but in terms of familiarity the SCC was still preferable.

The Sound & Soul of the SCC Still Lives

The MSX used PSG and FM as sound sources in addition to the SCC, but the SCC was unique to the MSX, so its tone was pretty fascinating. Even nowadays it’s being used on a genre in the music scene known as “Chiptune”.

Is that so? That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that. The hardware was cheap, so it could be a bit noisy. But since the sound wasn’t clear, a loud noise could be interpreted as a harmonic overtone. I think that could be part of its charms.

As a sound source based on waveform memory, the SCC had a clearly different tone compared to other sound sources such as PSG or the PC Engine. Was that a conscious decision?

There was no reverb or delay on the hardware. Because of that, the SCC relied on data tremendously. There’s only 8 sound ports used, including the 3 ports used by the stock PSG sound source, but basically it sounds dull having only one tone come out from one port at a time. With a keytone there, it ends up using two ports as an echo port, but if you have the sub-port do some amount of interruptions and lower the volume, you’ll end up producing some incredible sounds.

There are people still making music on the MSX that are familiar with such techniques. Techniques that were made by Konami.

Even now, I always tell the sound team that “our work is influential and our jobs are very important, so you must absolutely never cut corners no matter what.” It is a sound that enters your ears without knowing it, which is why I think it’s some people are influenced by it.

The spirit of the SCC seems to be refusing to die.

Sometimes, even within Konami, someone will ask me about a certain sound effect. For example, the alert sound in Metal Gear when Snake gets discovered, that was composed specifically for that game. Then there’s the item acquisition sound in Parodius, which sounds similar to a ding dong sound in a TV quiz show. Those kind of simple sounds are archived somewhere.

Sometimes when they play such a sound effect on TV, I would go “ah”.

You recognized that sound! That’s nice! Actually, those sounds are from on a library CD. It seems to be played in various places since it’s free to use.

Speaking of sound effects, I love the sound effects of King’s Valley 2. They’re very fun to listen to, especially the sound effect of the flying knife.

I still don’t know how that particular sound effect came to be. I was once asked how I did that, but it was actually the result of a hardware bug. I have no way of reproducing that sound. It actually happened that way.

You probably come up with many sounds ideas while on a ride.

There was a point where I was trying to make all sorts of sound effects I could think of. To give an extreme example, there was one time I tried to make the sound effect for the first step, second step, and third step different for each step. The closest I ever got to do something like that was for SD Snatcher.

Certainly, the “boh” sound effect when you reach the harbor in that game is an example of that. Or the background noise when you enter the game center.

But in the end I came to the conclusion that a good sound effect can be used multiple times. You can use the same sound effect in various places and nobody would noticed it. In the end, I would be fixated on a particular sound that I put all my heart into. So I became more focused on trying to make good sound effects instead.

Memories of Working With The MSX Team

Is there a particular game that you have fondest memories working on, Mr Uehara?

Well, it was before the SCC was made, but the first game I worked on when I’ve joined Konami was The Maze of Galious. But the first music I’ve ever composed was the ending theme to Vampire Killer [an MSX2 version of the original Castlevania that was made in parallel with the Famicom Disk System version]. I did something unusual when composing this track and that was using a “1 Port Echo”. There was no one else doing that back in those days and since it was being used for a whole music track, it ended up consuming a large amount of data. But when it comes to actually playing the games, my favorite is Nemesis 2.

There many people who proclaim that Nemesis 2 is the best shoot-’em-up they ever played in their lives. Recently Konami released Gradius V for the PlayStation 2, which continues the story of the MSX Gradius series. After 20 years of losing hope, we can finally destroy the final boss [Dr. Venom].

Back then I would often be asked if “you could only bring one game with you to a deserted island, which one it would be?” Without hesitation I would often reply Nemesis 2. Besides that, I also loved Gekitosu Pennant Race. It was the precursor to our current Power Pro series. In terms of sound, I was satisfied with how SD Snatcher and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake turned out. I hope that you agree.

According to Mr. Kojima earlier, because the MSX team weren’t selling as much as the Famicom team, they were given much greater leeway and because of that there was less compromise with the quality.

That’s right. That’s something we tried to uphold. I think the MSX team were the most conscious of what the Konami brand meant.

That’s because they were assigned to do MSX games.

At first I wondered “Why MSX?”, but in retrospect it was an absolutely necessary first step.

We didn’t love the MSX at first either, but we eventually learned to appreciate the platform. It wasn’t something we wanted at first, but we were assigned to.

After the MSX department was disbanded, Kojima moved on to work on the PC [TL’s note: Uehara is likely referring to the NEC platforms rather than the PC as we know it in the traditional sense, since Kojima worked on Snatcher for the PC Engine in 1992 and Policenauts for the PC-9821 in 1994 after his MSX days were over], while I shifted my focus to the Super Famicom. I still wanted to work together with Kojima, but at the same time everyone wanted to work on the Super Famicom. My boss at the time nominated me to be in charge of the sound effects for the Super Famicom department since I’ve proven myself with the MSX. I was pretty flattered that they thought highly of my work, but then Kojima accused me of betrayal. (laughs)

It seems like it was a wonderful period for both of you.

We created the Konami Sound with that kind of feeling, which is why it’s amazing that even Power Pro series still has that Konami sound. Nowadays I barely do any sound work since I’ve been promoted to producer, but the younger staff members have almost no tangible memories of what’s been taught to them.

Perhaps it’s the DNA.

Maybe that’s it. It sounds like the Konami Sound no matter who is listening it. It’s something that’s been passed on.

One last question. What does SCC stands for? I heard it could mean “Sound Creative Chip” or “Sound Customize Chip”, but a official meaning was never given to MSX Magazine back in the day.

Wasn’t it written here somewhere? Let me check for a moment! (starts opening a document). I’m sure it was written somewhere. I’ll have to ask some of the other people involved and ask them about it. That will be my homework.

Oh. We’ll ask you again if we do another interview (laughs). Thanks for your time.

#Konami #MSX #SCC #Nemesis #Gradius #Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake #Snatcher #Metal Gear #F1 Spirit

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moma-jo · 3 years ago

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Handmade

Ships from a small business in

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Height: 8.5 inches

Width: 11 inches

Canada

Materials: laser ink, 3mil thermal laminating paper, card stock, white legal paper, 8 and half by 11, 8 and half by 14, 11x17, prints or placemats

Description

8.5” x 11” on card stock 8.5” x 14” on white legal paper. Option: laminating, you can now have : 8.5” x 11” (3 mil. laminated 9” x 11.5”) or 8.5” x 14” (3 mil. laminated 9” x 14.5”) ***I also have a few 13” x 17” sheets as well, if you want two pictures side by side or 4 pictures of 8.5”x11” . please be sure you are picking the right choice. Pick the colors then decide how you want them laid out. there is a personalize section. Please use it to tell me the colors you chose for your arrangement. I will send you an email before I laminate to verify with the pictures in place. Please make sure you choose your colors and tell me in the personalized section, and we can email back and forth to make sure you are getting what you want. Description: I used to work for Welcome Wagon Ltd. as the Business Professional Representative and Community Ambassador for the Lower Mainland, here in BC Canada. I welcomed those who were new to the community and needed a welcome into the community. One day on a welcome visit to a Home-Based Business, I met with an incredible woman at a Timmy's in Aldergrove. The lady had a massage therapy company and she commented to me that she was blessed with “healing hands”; and she should help me with my back problems someday…… She worked out of her van, so she would come to you with her tools and experience. She was also a naturalist and loved to bring light into people's lives, ergo the sun and flower. I know she brought a lot of light into my life. I was interested in her way of looking at life and circumstance. She was a spiritualist and saw people's auras; and that is why you see the shimmering on this picture with the different colors of auras. It inspired me to make this print. She was so full of life; the reason for the fire. I needed to grasp her energy and find presence in its meaning. That night, I spent until the wee hours of the morning drawing the different aspects of this lady’s life into this scene. I got the inspiration-bee. I felt like I met an angel that day; and that is why this piece has wings. If you want your print to be laminated, that can be done at a minimal extra cost. I was thinking this picture could become an awesome placemat, so if you choose to laminate them, every 4th picture and its lamination for that picture is FREE. And if you choose to put the picture into my picture frames that I sell in my “jusTAknacCraftsnSupplies” category, you will now have even more options of plain or laminated on the frame as well…., with the bonus of trimmed through crochet in the color of the aura you choose. LAMINATION can even be double sided as well; with the same or different colors of prints…the mix and matching is limitless. 10 AURA COLORS AND THEIR MEANINGS: Each of the seven chakras is associated with a color, so understanding chakra colors helps when deciphering auras. When you see a specific color, it means your chakra for that color is stable and unblocked. Red relates to the root chakra. This means you are likely an energetic and fiery person, which indicates someone who is "quick at putting thoughts into actions" or "doesn't read instruction manuals." Orange can relate to the sacral chakra of creativity and sexual energy, which indicates flowing creative energy. This might mean you "tend to learn lessons from experience rather than theory" and "often have to learn things the hard way." Yellow relates to the solar plexus chakra as a good sign that you are feeling confident and empowered as it represents your identity and confidence. It signifies someone who is sunny and charismatic; with a magnetic personality that attracts lots of different people. Green is associated with the heart chakra, relating to matters of the heart. You will love for yourself and others through compassion and forgiveness. You probably love music, nature, and not being tied down. With an open heart, you may also tend to be easily influenced by one's environment or other people. Making boundaries are important to you. Pink is also associated with the heart chakra. You wear your heart on your sleeve visible for all to see. You are kind, caring, and loving People will say you are open and receptive. Just a note here though you can celebrate your kind and compassionate nature but remember that you also need to keep boundaries. Blue is the color of the throat chakra. It is a sign of having a powerful mind—but one that might be a bit in the clouds, you might over think things a little bit. You are operating in the mental realms and need to keep focused on being grounded more than others to stay on top of your game. This allows you to be see beyond what is there and be insightful. in the olden days you would be called a Prophet that governed expression and truth. Purple is the color of the third-eye chakra, which deals with intuition and sensitivity, and great mental depths. You might even have some psychic, empathic, or intuitive abilities. White is connected to the crown chakra, which connects us to universal energy and oneness. It is rare to see concentrations of white in one's aura. But if you do, it is the sign of a very quick mind—and a tendency for perfectionism and nervous energy. (OCD). If you see it in your aura; it would mean you have a strong sense of connection to something larger than yourself. if there are black or particularly dark areas of your aura, this is not actually the "color" of your aura, but somewhat a sign that part of you is exhausted or fatigued and needing a break from being used by others. You need to take some time to ground, heal, and balance your energy levels to brighten up that aura a bit, and bring your energetic field (and chakras) back into balance. Rainbow On the slight chance that you have a rainbow aura that displays more than two colors, it is a sign that you are going through a super busy period or are in the midst of a change. You might feel particularly energized and confident when your aura is giving off rainbow vibes. You want to get out and meet new people and do new things. Be careful though, it can lead to burnout and be overwhelmed, so be sure to make time for relaxation too. I hope this helps when choosing the colors, you want. always moma jo

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blogstreet94 · 3 years ago

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Make A Beat Drop On Garageband

Learn how to make a Crazy DROP in Garageband in Minutes in Garageband on your iPad or iPhone!Follow me on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1gwjjVWrSPh.

To mix a beat in Garageband: 1) Drop all VU meters to -15dB. 2) Adjust each VU meter so it sounds good without clipping or passing +0dB. 3) Use Compressor, EQ, and effects presets. 4) Add Automation and Panning. 5) Export the Track as a.aif file. 6) Drag it into a new project for mastering.

In this tutorial today, I’m going to show you how to make a quick hip-hop beat in Garageband. Will it be the most sophisticated beat in the world? No, it will not, because, I’m not the greatest producer, and all I can do is show you how I do things. Hopefully, you can learn something from me.

In which I make a progressive house drop in Garageband, and accidentally make a tutorial on EDM production basics in the process.Subscribe for more electroni.

Assuming you’re an absolute beginner, this tutorial should save you a fair amount of time in terms of avoiding common mistakes, like not turning off the Auto-Normalize function in Garageband’s preferences (my tutorial on that). I’ll give you a brief summary of how to make a beat, and then we’ll explore a more in-depth way, so how would you go about making a beat in Garageband?

To make a beat in Garageband, choose a melodic Apple Loop by clicking on the Loops icon that looks like a hose on the right-hand side of Garageband. Then, use the command, ⌥ + ⌘ + U, to bring up a Drummer Track and use one of the Hip-Hop drummers, Dez, Anton, or Maurice.

This is undoubtedly the simplest way of quickly creating a beat in Garageband, however, I’m going to show you the real way of going about it – the way that it’s actually unique. This is my way of making a hip-hop beat using my own individual style. It may not be your style of music, but maybe it’ll help you understand how people go about making songs. Before we begin, I’ll give a brief explanation of what I consider to be hip-hop as well as some of its parameters.

by the way, I have a list of all the best products for music production on my recommended products page, including the best deals, coupon codes, and bundles, that way you don’t miss out (you’d be surprised what kind of deals are always going on).

Features Of Hip-Hop

Hip-hop, like metal, rock, and many other genres, has a ton of sub-genres and dynamic differences between each other.

Therefore, in my opinion, there’s no point in saying that it has to sound a certain way – because it doesn’t.

In the past, there were many beats that had kind of a major/happy sound and there are many minor sounding beats of varying stylistic characters such as jazz, soul, funk, country, and even rock.

Moreover, hip-hop utilizes a ton of soul and funk samples from the 1960s and 1970s like James Brown, Funkadelic, Parlament, and so on and so forth.

Perhaps my favorite example is Kanye West’s song, “Touch The Sky,” created by Lupe Fiasco, which uses Curtis Mayfield’s legendary soul tune, “Move On Up.” You can do the same thing with Garageband’s sampler too as I’ve shown before in my article and in the short video down below:

The great part of hip-hop, like rock music, is that it’s versatile, so as long as you have a melody and a rhythm section, a rapper can probably spit bars over it. To get good at it, follow some of the tips in my songwriting article.

Before continuing, make sure you’ve downloaded all of the available sounds. To do that, just go into Garageband’s Preferences, and go to “Sound Library,” and then choose the option, “Download All Available Sounds.”

Without further ado…

How To Make A Hip-Hop Song In Garageband

The first thing that you want to do is open up Garageband.

1) Open up Garageband.

2) Select the hip-hop template.

The first thing that shows up is the Trap Door template, and the drummer’s name apparently is Dez. Personally, I hate the sound of the Trap Door pre-sets, so I avoid it at all costs.

It can be doctored to sound good, in my opinion, by decreasing the complexity of the fills and also choosing the “Simple” setting by dragging the little yellow ball to the left, or changing the actual kit of the pre-set. Another amazing tool to have for making beats is Initial Audio’s 808 Studio II (from Plugin Boutique), which is obviously a bass synth/808 tool.

Around half of the instruments that Garageband gives you sound good, with the “Steinway Grand Piano,” Deep Sub Bass,” “808 Bass,” “Vox Box Lead,” and the “String Ensemble” being the most important and useful, although, there are many others for hip-hop as I’ve pointed out before.

If you’re using iOS Garageband on the iPhone I recommend the most from Amazon, there are even more sounds to choose from, but either way, the “Arctic Noise Lead” is definitely a popular choice.

3) Go ahead and choose the “Flute” option under “Vintage Mellotron,” the “Jazz Organ,” the “Scream Lead” from the synthesizer section, as well as the “String Movements” from the Soundscapes option.

Also, choose the “Beat Machine” drum-kit under the Electronic Drum Kit section.

4) First Melody (Chord Progression) – (Jazz Organ)

For this particular track, “Spaceship Underwater,” the very first thing is that I made the chord progression with the “Jazz Organ,” which is just a C Minor with an added 9th and an Eb Major with an added 9th.

You can give the final track a listen here:

Cmin9 = C, Eb, G, D

Ebadd9 = Eb, G, Bb, F

Both of these chords belong to the Key of G Minor.

Here are all of the chords of G Minor (relative minor of Bb Major):

i – G Minor – G-B-D iiº – A Diminished – A-C-Eb III+ – Bb Major – Bb-D-F iv – C Minor – C-Eb-G v – D Minor – D-F-A VI – Eb Major – Eb-G-Bb VII – F Major – F-A-C

In case you haven’t seen the scale degrees before and how they look, know that the lower-case roman numerals., “i,” mean Minor, and the upper-case numerals, “V,” mean Major.

***To learn more about theory, go over to Music Theory’s website, or pick up Mark Sarnecki’s book on theoryfrom Amazon as well as the answer book which is equally as important.

The “+” means augmented and the “º” means diminished.

If these words are scary don’t worry about it. Just pay attention to the letters of the chord, “GBD.”

Check out the diagram I created of the “Musical Typing” below if you’re totally unfamiliar of where the notes of the Piano lie, but if I were you, I would eventually get a copy of PianoForAll from their site because it’ll help a lot as well.

When I build beats, I pretty much always start with the melody and then I build the drums, bass, and everything else afterward.

5) Second Melody – (Screamlead Synth)

Because I know that I’m in the Key of G Minor, there are certain notes available to me that will sound “correct.” They are the following:

G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F.

The relative Major of G Minor is actually Bb Major, which means they are the same notes, just played in a different order and having a different root note or tonal center.

Here is the Bb Major scale:

Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A

asically, after I built the chord progression, I loaded up an instrument that sounded cool and started playing around with it on my MIDI Keyboard.

I usually start with an Ehru, Piano, or another instrument with a sound I love. The reasoning for this, as an artist, is for the inspiration.

In this case, I chose the Screamlead instrument, which you’ll find in the Lead subcategory within the Synthesizer section.

Here’s an image of how the second most important melody of the song looks in the MIDI work-space:

Tip: Always use instruments, plug-ins, arpeggiators, and other tools that inspire you to play.

That’s what being a musician is all about, frankly. It’s the same thing with playing the guitar or another instrument. You have to buy a piece of equipment that actually inspires you to play.

After I built the second melody using the “Screamlead” instrument, I went into the Software Instrument’s settings and messed around with it until it actually sounded cool.

At first, as I said before, it was the Pipu, but I couldn’t use that because I already made a track using it recently and I didn’t want to get too repetitive.

I turned it into a Screamlead, and then adjusted the settings of it.

In the image below, you can see all of the different settings for it, including, Glide, Sub, Shape, Depth, Harmonic, Overdrive, Delay, as well as a bit of Reverb.

The part I changed the most was the “Glide” option as well as the “Shape.” That’s what gave it the sound that is completely different from the stock version of it.

Another big change I made was with the “Harmonic” option. I turned that bad boy all the way down.

5) Third Filler Melody – (Delicate Bells)

For the third melody, I simply used it as a filler, a way of filling out the rest of the track and adding a little bit of “Body” or character to the sound.

I used Delicate Bells, and I copy and pasted the track from the Screamlead and dropped it into the Delicate Bells track.

It was a one-two process, and I turned it down fairly significant so as not to take too much attention away from the rest of the more important instruments.

I also EQ’d it a little bit as well. For this section, I implemented a Low-Pass (a concept I’ve explained before), so in other words, I eliminated all of the highest frequencies. This EQ setting looks like this:

6) Fourth Melody (Flute)

Perhaps the most important melody of this song was the flute, rather than the initial chord progression and melody.

The flute is the part that repeats through the entirety of the song, and I loved the way it sounds. I think it was a nice touch, however, the flute you get through Native Instruments’ Komplete 13 from their website is way better than what comes with Garageband.

The funny part about the flute melody here is the fact it’s simply three notes but played at two different octaves. It’s easily the LEAST sophisticated part of the entire track.

It goes to show that sophistication is not necessary at all, in fact, this plays into improvisation as a musician as well. It’s easy to get caught up in all of these incredibly convoluted details, but frankly, there’s simply no need.

A good question to ask yourself is: does this make the music sound good? Does this contribute to the entirety of the song?

Moving on to arguably the most important part of a hip-hop song: the drums and the Boutique 808 pattern.

I think, perhaps, a crucial detail to add here is the fact that the drums and boutiques are actually the most important part for music producers but not for the listener.

Listeners don’t care about EQing the snare as you do, they just want to hear a great melody and beat.

7) Drums (Kick, Snare and Hi-Hats)

Obviously, music producers have different ways of going about this. Many actually “draw” their music, by adding individual notes and so on and so forth in the “Piano Roll.”

To begin drawing in the Piano Roll, double-click (right-click) in the workspace and select the option, “Create Empty MIDI Region.” This will make a file in which you can start dropping notes (more on the piano roll in my guide).

Truth be told, I don’t do this.

I find this kind of thing to be, actually, annoying and not that fun.

I played guitar for my entire life before I started using a DAW, so I’m all about playing from the heart and improvising on the spot.

What I do, is I open up the Musical Typing (Garageband’s keyboard – Command + K), and I just start jamming on the Kick and Snare, trying to come up with a pattern that I’ve never used before but also sounds very good.

Usually, the Kick and Snare is loaded at the C3 level on Garageband’s Musical Typing, so I just hammer on the “C” and “D” note, or as it says on the actual laptop Keyboard, the letters “A” and “S.”

If you’re using a MIDI-Keyboard, it’ll likely be the very first C and D on the left-side of the Keyboard.

After I’ve built a cool sounding Kick and Snare pattern, I usually begin adding the other details.

8) Shaker

I’ve been actually using the Shaker function quite a bit lately. I feel like it’s a nice touch to the sound.

And for the most part, I either add the hi-hats on every single beat, or I add it about half-a-beat after the Snare Drum. I think it sounds cool.

I use the shaker – and this is a great thing to keep in mind for producing all kinds of drum-centric music – to keep the beat at a more consistent pace.

Many producers use the Kick, Snare, or the Hi-Hat as a way to keep time.

For me, using the Shaker is good for that, because it’s not too intrusive or obstructing. In other words, it doesn’t take too much attention away from other sounds, instruments, and melodies.

A snare or kick can be quite aggressive.

9) Bass

This is arguably the most important part of hip-hop production, and frankly, I’m not the greatest at it, so you may want to check out another person’s tutorial to figure out how to make great Boutique 808s and bass-lines.

As I explained in this article about Boutique 808s, there are many different ways of drawing/playing bass-lines, as well as EQ-tactics and methods for making it sound good.

Make sure to check out the article at the above link to see what I’m talking about.

For the sake of this tutorial, however, I’ll outline what I did for “Spaceship Under Water.”

The first thing that I do when I build a bass-line is I usually think about the chord progression and melody, that way I can draw a bassline that is actually on-key.

Many producers struggle with building a bass-line that’s on-key due to the limitations of the human ear. It’s pretty hard to hear the lowest frequencies, so a good way of getting around it is the following:

Tip: Try making a bass-line with the Bass turned up 1 or 2 octaves, that way you can find out if the bass is truly in the proper key signature.

Another thing that you can do is treat the bass as if it’s a melody of its own, and create maybe a piano melody, but then change the software instrument track into the Deep Sub Bass synth or the Boutique 808s.

Moving on…

I typically outline the notes of the chord in order to create the bassline. For example, I know that in this track there are two primary chords that lie as the song’s foundation: Cmin9 and Ebadd9.

These two chords, as I mentioned above, belong to the key of G Minor, where these are the following notes of the scale, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, and F.

Cmin9 = C, Eb, G, D

Ebadd9 = Eb, G, Bb, F

If I’m going to make a bassline, I would focus on the C note and the Eb note, just as a starter to see how that sounds. C and Eb are the root notes of the aforementioned chords.

After that, I’d play around with the G Minor scale, whose notes I listed above, and I’d see if I could make something out of that. However, usually I crave a little more out of the bassline, and most other people do as well.

Most people would argue that the main purpose of the bassline, whether it’s Boutique 808 or a bass guitar, is to hold the rhythm down of the song, so to speak.

It’s a way of solidifying the groove and flow of the track. It’s like strengthening its backbone.

Without bass, the song wouldn’t have the same “fullness” about it. It would sound likely more empty and hollow. Those lower frequencies really complete and warm-up the song.

In this case, I was struggling to come up with a bass-line that fulfilled that role, so I ended up just outlining the notes of the chords and keeping it very simple.

Sometimes, simplicity is where it’s at.

The final thing to note is the fact I copy and pasted the notes of the Kick Drum into the Deep Sub Bass track, that way I had a reference point for when the Kick and Snare hits.

As I wrote about in my 808s article, if you want your bassline to hit hard, which is arguably the most coveted aspect of hip-hop production, then it’s essential that you line your kick drum with the Boutique 808s or Deep Sub Bass Synthesizer.

You can check out the image below of the Deep Sub Bass to see how I did that:

11) Volume Control

One last final thing to note before we get into the next section: I did a volume fade at the beginning of the song for the flute section.

How To Make A Beat Drop On Garageband

In my automation tutorial, I explained that In order to do that, you hit the ‘A’ button on the track for “Automation.”

You’ll notice right away that the yellow automation lines will pop up.

By clicking on the line, you’ll drop automation points and then you can drag the line around according to how you want to adjust the volume.

Check out the picture below to see what I did for that particular track.

Moving on to the Exporting, Mixing, and then Mastering stage…

12) Export As AIFF

Now that the song is pretty much completed, we can move on to the easiest stage: the “exporting stage.”

For this part, make sure that absolutely none of your tracks are clipping (going into the red), otherwise, it’ll sound terrible later on.

Make A Beat Drop On Garageband Roblox

As a general rule, you want your volume tracks to be going into the yellow only during the loudest parts of the song. It’s cool if the tracks ride in the green the entire time.

Also, turn down the Master Volume to +0.0. I haven’t heard anyone say this matters at all, but for me, it absolutely does.

Make sure the Master Volume is at zero, otherwise, your track won’t mix and master properly.

Make sure there are no plug-ins running on your master track as well.

To do that, go down into the Smart Controls and click on the button that says. “Master,” among the other two options, “Track,” and “Compare.”

You’ll see the list of the plug-ins, and make sure they’re all turned off.

It’s ok if you have plug-ins running on the individual tracks, but you don’t want any on the master channel, from what I’ve been told anyway.

At this stage, your track is nearly ready for export. Listen to the whole thing and make sure all of the instruments sound good, and exactly as you want them to.

Keep in mind, when you go to master the track, some of the other sounds may sound accentuated. For that reason, I typically turn down the sound of the hi-hats, shakers, and other high-frequency instruments.

Explained in another way, If you plan on using compression and an EQ boost, some of the higher frequency instruments, such as the hi-hat or cymbals, tend to make that hissing sound.

For that reason, consider turning the volume down on the individual tracks.

a) Click on the option, “Share,” in Garageband’s Toolbar at the top

b) and then click the option, “Export to Disk,” from there,

c) hit the AIFF check-box,

d) name your track

e) and then export it on to your desktop that way you can simply drag and drop it into the DAW.

From this stage, we can actually drag and drop the AIFF file right back into the DAW among all of the other software instrument tracks.

f) Hit the “Solo” button on the track that looks like a pair of headphones to isolate the song.

The reason for this is that we’ll check and see that our track isn’t clipping it all, and we give it a general test to see what it’s going to sound like after we add a compressor, channel EQ, and so on and so forth.

Now that we can see there’s nothing wrong with the track and it isn’t too loud, we’ll move on to the mixing stage.

g) Start a new project.

11) Mixing.

I’m by no means an expert mixing engineer, so just keep that in mind, but for this stage, I actually don’t do a lot to it. I showed more of the process in my guide on mixing beats. In his book on Amazon, Bobby Owsinski and some of the engineers explain that there doesn’t always need to be a lot done to a mix.

I usually add a Channel EQ, a compressor or Multipressor, and then maybe a Limiter as well just in case.

a) Channel EQ

As you can see by the image below, I cut the lowest and highest frequencies, dropped the 205hz frequency by -3.5 dB, and then gave the song a bit of a boost by 3dB or so starting from the range of 500hz to 10,000 kHz.

I also gave it a small boost to around 35hz.

b) Multipressor

For the multipressor, I just used the “Final Hip Hop Compressor” pre-set which dropped the gain by around -3.6dB.

I really like the way the multipressor sounds. I find it gives the track quite a bit of punchiness.

*In the YouTube version of this song, I used a compressor instead of a multipressor, but on my SoundCloud, I used the multipressor version.

c) Limiter

As I wrote in my article about limiting, the limiter acts as a compressor with an extremely high ratio, or in other words, it’s a “brick wall” in which no frequencies can pass through.

Using the limiter, we’ll boost the overall volume of the track by +3.0dB, and then we’ll set the output level at -0.2dB.

How To Make A Beat Drop On Garageband Mac

The gain is best increased by just 1, 2, or 3 dB because then we’re not pushing it too hard.

Regarding the Output Level knob, technically, the point past 0dB is the point of distortion according to what I’ve read.

If we have it set at -0.2dB, then we don’t have to worry about the song exceeding that point and thus, creating distortion.

Because of the way the limiter works, a lot of people like to use it as a volume-increaser at the end of the mixing process.

Make A Beat Drop On Garageband Free

However, it’s much better thought of as a tool that we can use to ensure no undesirable sounds are heard in the mix.

12) Final Step

Ensure the volume of the track is consistent with other music you’ve created.

If you have an album on your phone and you hook it into a Bluetooth speaker at someone’s house, you want the tracks to be the same volume as each other.

That way, you won’t have to continuously come back and turn the volume up.

For this point, I would try and match the volume of, not other artists on YouTube or SoundCloud, but your favorite artists and their professionally mixed and mastered hit singles.

If you’re going to try and make a song, you might as well get used to trying to match the amplitude (volume) of their music.

I usually choose the volume to be around +1.6dB on the Master Volume channel. In between +1.6 and +2.0 dB, depending on whether I’ve used a compressor a multipressor.

13) Export

Now, if you want to export your music, thankfully, Garageband comes with a convenient “Share” function on the top toolbar that allows you to easily export music to either SoundCloud, iTunes, or YouTube.

Before doing this, however, make sure you do this one last thing if you haven’t already.

a) Go into the Garageband Preferences.

b) Click on Advanced.

c) See where it says, “Auto Normalize – Export Projects At Full Volume?”

Make sure this box is unchecked, otherwise, Garageband will export your music at a level that is far too quiet, and the competition will just outshine you like crazy.

Moving on…

With that said, try to avoid making your tracks too loud.

I’m not an expert on this topic, so take notice of this warning, but some people say that making your tracks super loud is a part of what’s called the “Loudness War.”

It’s up to you whether or not you want to engage in this. If you’re curious to read more about it, I recommend this article here.

Some people might argue that an artist/audio engineer has to do whatever they can to get noticed, and that includes exporting music at too high of a volume.

Others will hate you for making your music so loud.

It’s up to you as to whether you want to annoy other producers and audio engineers. I guess you have to ask yourself though, “am I making music for myself, other people, or other producers?”

Anyway, I hope this tutorial was helpful to you. As I said before, I’m not a Billboard-topping artist, so I can’t tell you how to make the illest beat you’ve ever heard. I can only show you how I make them.

Enjoy.

Do me a solid and share this on social media.

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musicsecretsexposed · 3 years ago

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MSE 100: MSE News, Views & Updates

https://youtu.be/ZYn1c84HHjE Welcome to our special #MusicSecretsExposed . Today's MSE news and updates episode, we learn about all the goings-on here behind the scenes of MusicSecretsExposed. I'm your host, Sylvia m, and you're listening to the music #MSE podcast.#MusicSecretsExposed We have reached August of 2021!. I received a lovely message this week from Neil. And here's his message, take a listen. MSE PODCAST REVIEW NEIL SHAH Hi, I've just discovered your podcast for the first time today. My son is 10 years old, but he has a guitar a grade eight exam in two weeks time. And the weakest part is aural in sight reading. And your podcast has been instrumental in helping us improve this aspects, and also the reasons behind it. So thank you very much. Just want to say that we appreciate all your efforts and your insights into how the British musical journey happens. Thank you. My name is Neil and my son is Rahul Shah. So if you if you type into Google Rahul Shah , you'll be able to see a recording of his piece. Thank you. Firstly, Neil, thank you for your message. And just as a quick note, I wasn't able to find your son's video. So if you can email me at Sylvia at music secrets exposed.com. I'd be delighted to see that video that your son put together. Neil's message really has illustrated why this podcast was started, why I decided to put out all this information out there into the virtual world. #MUSICSECRETSEXPOSED I have seen over the years that a lot of parents have had so many questions and lots of you know, musicians who are in the process of learning how to play an instrument and navigating everything that there is concerned with all of that, that there are so many questions to be answered. And on top of that, there are so many opportunities that musicians don't know about. So this podcast is really just a general overview of all the knowledge you need to get you going on a really good musical path where you're well-founded with your theory, your instrumental skill. But in many respects, what's more, important is what do you do with your musical skill when you've achieved the ability to play music and really get to hone in on that dream sound that you really want to achieve? Now that leads me into our interview series, which has been quite an exciting discovery to meet so many musicians with so many skills few weeks. Most recently, I interviewed renowned cellist Caitlin Fahey Crowe. She's currently in New Mexico. Caitlin Fahey Crowe #MSE podcast And that interview was published last Friday. So if you haven't heard that interview, I suggest you listen to it, even if you're not a cellist. Caitlin and myself discussed all the various aspects of tutoring, and some of the ideas concerning learning music and how that when you are a parent of a child learning music, that it's very interesting and very supportive when the parent gets involved in the whole idea of learning music and supporting their child through the learning of music. And there's various ways parents can really enhance the environment in which that child is studying. And there is much more information besides just that one point. So in my opinion, the channel is the most wonderful instrument. Now the interview is 44 minutes long. So it's quite a long interview. However, we covered lots of interesting topics well worth your time. This Friday's interview is with Paul McGarrett, from a college in Dublin here in my home country in Ireland. And he is the lead, of course focused on giving artists very interesting skills. And one of the skills that really I'm interested in to learn more about is this whole idea of making instruments. Paul McGrattan Irish Uilleann pipe Half set Seasoned Rosewood Chanter main stocks with drone, Rosewood bellows leather strapped and Bag black velvet sliver fringe Now in my home country of Ireland, we have instruments such as the Irish harp, the Celtic harp, our Uilleann pipes and more besides that, and there's actually a shortage of skills regarding instrument making when we look at traditional instruments in this job onra and the whole world of musical instrument making is a fascinating world to discover. Traditional Irish Lyre Harp 10 Metal String Free String Set Various Designs (Celtic Piping) And it's really interesting for those of you who are very hands-on and you know, you love the feel and touch of things, you love making things, but you also really enjoy the sound of music as part of that whole process. There are huge opportunities in this field of work. So that interview is coming out on Friday. So I strongly suggest if you're researching opportunities, where you can potentially go and do study, and enhance your ability to work in the field of music, and some creatively Well, maybe this is an option that should be pursued in terms of research. Now, that leads me neatly into another topic, which is our competition, just reminding you that we are sponsoring a competition over at musical change-makers calm. Now, this competition is not us taking music from students, or others coming into the competition. The reason why we're sponsoring this competition is that we really want to support musicians who are trying to get a message out there, we don't want to make any money out of the music that these musicians create, we want to support them, and give them as much guidance as possible link them in with people that can help them to make their artistry, a more public format. If you want more details about the competition, it's an exciting one, go over to musicalchangemakers.com, have a YouTube link about two or three minutes maximum and length. We accept groups are soloists into the competition. And all the prizes and everything is there. Now there are some prizes not listed yet because they're being finalized. And that's why we have in the description of the prize list that there are some surprises coming along. There are some prizes in development. So the closing date for entries is planned for the 31st of August. Now we are getting requests to extend that time. So if we get an off request, we might extend the closing date. But for now, the closing date for entries is the 31st of August. So if you're a soloist or a group, and you really want to get a message out about some form of change, you would love to see in your community, your local environment, or something way bigger than that, stick in an entry through your YouTube link, have it ready before you sign into the site. The rules are really easy and simple. And you're good to go. Can't wait to see your entry. Now the next piece of news that I want to bring to your attention is that if you want remote lessons concerning piano, one on one over zoom, you can go over to #TheWorldofPiano now there's only a small number of spaces there available. And each week I'm mentioning this, because I am very keenly aware that as we head into the month of September when people are really getting ready to return into academia, go back to schools and music and so on. There might be a small number of you out there that really want to just stick with this idea of staying at home in your own home for safety reasons concerning COVID. But also, it's more convenient, and just do your piano classes remotely. Now I myself will be doing the tutoring initially. And what you're going to get there is lessons each week organized and everything. But the main thing is that I have discovered, for those of you who might doubt such a process is I am amazed how much that I , as a real-world shooter who would prefer that method in the real world to happen. I'm amazed at how much I've been able to achieve through this process of online learning. It's been amazing how I can help the students there to refine their sound to achieve what they need to achieve. Now if you want more information, go over there to the WorldofPiano. And you can drop me an email there at [email protected]. If you want to set up a free zoom call just to discuss the options and the costs and so on. It's not very expensive. I've kept the cost down as low as I can to help you guys out because the world we're living in I can understand is that is a tough world at the moment financially speaking for many. Now, this leads me on to another piece of information and this is about music theory ,not the most attractive topic I know for musicians. However, it is widely agreed and widely spoken about amongst the tutoring industry amongst professionals in music from university masters agree, personal way down to grassroots level music, that music theory is an essential part of music learning. Now, if you have never studied music theory before, and you want to kind of get your head around all of this, whether it's to allow you to get into a choir and sing as part of acquiring in the future in your community, are just to have this ability to read music and understanding what music is the finer points of reading and understanding music. If you have never, never studied music theory before, go over to #Gradedmusictheory .And what you do there is you just put in your name and your email. And when the doors are open, you will be the first to hear about this music theory. Step by step course now, this course enables students to just study a very carefully, well-tested method of studying music theory that has been tried and tested for many years now. It is one of the cornerstones of music theory study that has been around for a very long time. I have used it over the years myself with great success. And to be honest with you, I think it's probably one of the better systems of music theory learning that I will be hosting and presenting. So the big thing is if you share this podcast out to those whom you think it would be of interest to, for the purposes of doing piano learning theory, understanding new opportunities, please spread the word. If you have any questions at all, drop a message or voice message either through my website at music secrets exposed.com, or hear the podcast you can drop the voice message like Neil did earlier in the podcast, or just drop us an email all the links you will find in the podcast description. The whole purpose of #MusicSecretsExposed is to be a support to you as a music student, trying to achieve that dream sound that you just visualize and hear in your mind. Now, that completes today's podcast, and make sure you visit all those websites to get informed about our offerings. And there will be more developments happening in the next couple of months that are in the plans at the moment. Which if you're researching opportunities across the board concerning music, or you want to dig deep into, you know what's involved in making instruments or what's involved in higher-level performance, or maybe there are opportunities that you've never heard of before. In during the autumn, we're going to be presenting some really interesting information concerning a whole host of musical opportunities for you, if you are thinking about what to do with your musical skill. Now, that concludes today's podcast, and tune in for Friday's interview with Paul from the valley farmer College in Dublin. He'll be a very interesting guy to listen to about instrument making about artists and what they should be thinking about. And that opportunity that is up there. It's an exciting, unique opportunity that's happening in Dublin. And just as a side note, they're taking students from all over the world into that course but there are only so many spaces available. So that's a very unique opportunity. So tune in for Friday's episode for sure. And until then, have a great day....... Read the full article

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dontlookdown · 7 years ago

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Nick’s Favourite Music of 2017

I’ve always been someone that tries to accentuate the positive, so let me get this bold take out of the way:

2017 was bad, and best summed up by the phrase “Further complications”.

...But the music, films, TV and games of the past twelve months have been (on the whole) great, so we just about made it through.

If anything, there might have been too much good stuff. This is the first year in a while where I’ve not only struggled to pick out my favourites from earlier months, but have also had to navigate a massive backlog of acclaimed music that I’d missed. The scheduling of certain releases didn’t help. I have four bands in my life that hold a drop-everything status when they release a new record (LCD, War on Drugs, The National, QOTSA), and they all unleashed new albums within a week of each other. It gets exhausting!

As always, I’ve waited until the year is truly over before finalising my top 20 tracks of the year, because you never know when something extraordinary might suddenly pop out in the middle of December (and it frequently does). I’ll be posting about one song each day. Previous entries can be found easily using the tag “best-of-20xx”, going all the way back to 2010 (I always surprise myself every year by being reminded that this blog is that old).

First, though, some honorable mentions for tracks and albums that didn’t quite make the cut, but still mean a lot to me:

Cloud Nothings – “Modern Act”

ME: Oop! There’s a new Cloud Nothings album. Time to check in and see if Dylan Baldi has come up with a third entry in the ‘Choruses That Nick Relates to Way Too Much’ series, following “I need time to stop moving” and “I’m not you, you’re a part of me”.

DYLAN: “I want a life, that's all I need lately. I am alive but all alone”

ME: *sobbing uncontrollably* …Nice.

Coldplay – “All I Can Think About Is You”

This is a strange one that I rediscovered towards the end of the year, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about. It’s the sound of Coldplay making a conscious effort to return to the quieter, less-poppy style of their early work, but remembering that those records still had a sense of fun that was lacking in Ghost Stories.

Craig Finn – “God in Chicago”

Craig Finn (also of The Hold Steady) has always presented himself as more of a storyteller than a songwriter (although, as the incredible Boys and Girls in America proves, he’s brilliant at both), and his most recent solo album really pushed further into that territory. “God in Chicago” in particular is a stark contrast to the boisterous bar anthems that Craig’s other band is famous for, but still shows him operating at the peak of his powers.

Frank Ocean – “Chanel”

It took some time to adjust to the idea that, since returning after four years of silence, Frank Ocean doesn’t seem to be retreating out of the spotlight again. That’s fine by me. I’d listen to this guy sing the phonebook. Frank seems happy to be publicly experimenting with his sound right now, releasing new songs every few months via his radio show. “Chanel” was the first of these, and was a refreshing, almost stream-of-consciousness change of pace when compared to the precise songwriting that we heard on blonde. It also just happens to be the best song Drake’s never made.

Vince Staples – “BagBak”

Googles: "big fish theory" yeezus “About 18,200 results”

I’ve got nothing to add, really. “BagBak” bangs. I’m happy to hear Vince trying out new shit.

King Krule – The OOZ

I really struggled to formulate any solid thoughts about The OOZ, other than it is very good. What do you even call this type of music? Doom jazz? Extreme chillout? The album is like the sonic equivalent of a heavy night spent consuming every depressant imaginable, or a Morphine record that melted. …And, in writing that, I might have cracked it. It sounds like how we’ve all been writing about 2017 for the last few months! Time will be very kind to it, I suspect.

Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me

Absolutely brilliant and almost impossible to recommend, A Crow Looked at Me is an earnest document of the passing of Phil Elverum’s wife, Geneviève, and an unflinching portrait of how death really affects the people someone’s absence leaves behind. Musically, it’s a stripped-down as a record can possibly be, and requires an empathetic frame of mind from the listener. But it’s incredibly rewarding for those that take the time to engage with it.

Slowdive – Slowdive

Very few things in this world make me happier than bands reuniting after long breaks and releasing an album that stands up with their very best work. I’ll be talking about this in more detail later on in the month, but it’s worth bringing up in relation to the already-legendary shoegaze band Slowdive. Twenty. Two. Years. And it didn’t dull their senses one iota.

Alec Holowka – “Home Again”

Night in the Woods is the game I wish I’d had when I was 18. At its core, it’s a game that stresses the importance of talking to and learning about the people in your life, and considering how we all bump into each other throughout our long-ass lives. In between hanging out with old friends, it perfectly captures that intangible sense of malaise you get when you’re forced to take stock of your life so far and end up wondering just what the fuck you even want to achieve now. This dissonance is present in the game’s soundtrack too, composed by developer Alec Holowka. “Home Again”, as the title suggests, plays while your character is back in her childhood home, returning abruptly from college. It’s got a very warm sound, hazy and swirly in a way that provokes a mental image of familiar dusty furniture being bathed in a sunbeam through your window. And then, after two bars at around :30, a minor chord is introduced, giving the progression a sad, almost disappointed feel. You’re back…but why? Is everything okay? It’s equal parts comforting and concerned, the lone piano shifting into a more confident melody at 1:30 while the moody synths hold back briefly. It’s the sound of a worried parent calmly asking you some tough questions.

Dan Salvato – “I Still Love You”

I’ve previously gone on-the-record about how Doki Doki Literature Club completely wrecked my shit, as have many people who’ve played it, but I think the game deserves some recognition for being as much a loving tribute to dating sim games as it is savage deconstruction. This is something that’s highlighted by the game’s soundtrack (composed by writer/designer/way-too-talented person Dan Salvato), full of bright, breezy pieces that would sound right at home in any number of these games, on-the-nose emotionally and completely earnest in presentation (bum notes and all). And then, as you might be aware, things get weird. But, crucially, the music does not. Rather than composing new pieces to supplement the new tone, we simply hear the old ones again (albeit ever-so-slightly warped in places). This adds to that false sense of security. “Everything’s fine”, the game tells us, lying through its teeth. By the time the façade drops completely, the music is gone, replaced by an atmospheric soundscape. “I Still Love You”, which plays over the climactic scene, is a blend of the two extremes we’ve heard so far: the emptiness of the soundscape morphing itself into an actual melody, accompanied by a lone piano still hitting the perky beats from the earlier tracks. It’s a perfect representation of everything the game does so well when it comes to managing tone and player expectation, and a great and relaxing piece in its own right.

John Williams – “Canto Bight”

In which John Williams finally composes a proper follow-up to “Cantina Band”. I joked last week that you could make a playlist consisting of nothing but this track repeated hundreds of times, and end up with the perfect soundtrack for any party. It’s funny because it’s true. In less than three minutes, Williams segues from traditional film score bombast to an exciting cocktail of Dixieland jazz, Cuban salsa and 12-bar blues. Separated from the scene it soundtracks, it’s a piece that constantly keeps you on your toes, and a perfect example of why the general weirdness of The Last Jedi was one of the most exciting things about it.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow we’ll start with the list proper. Until then!

#music #best of 2017 #Cloud Nothings #coldplay #craig finn #Frank Ocean #vince staples #king krule #mount eerie #slowdive #night in the woods #alec holowka #doki doki literature club #dan salvato #john williams #the last jedi #star wars

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brucearnold · 5 years ago

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25 Ear Training Tips: Video Course

Add digital copy to cart - $24.99

25 Ear Training Tips for Developing a Master Musician’s Ear

Have you achieved everything you expected with ear training – or have you hit some roadblocks along the way? Can you hear songs and play them in short order – without any sheet music? Do you find it easy to jam with others, and immediately HEAR and KNOW what to do? Are your on-the-spot improvisations satisfying for you and awesome for others to listen to? Can you play what you hear in your head with ease?

Answers to those questions that pop up in your mind.

If you have NOT YET reached these goals, and if you find yourself STUCK while trying to develop that master musician’s ear … then the "25 Tips for Developing a Master Musician’s Ear" has answers for you. So how do you go about developing a Master Musician’s Ear, especially if you have limited time to practice? Maybe you think you just can't do it because you're not talented enough. But maybe you just need the right instructions, encouragement and perspective.

Common problems that hold students back when doing Ear Training.

Bruce Arnold has been teaching others how to develop a master musician’s ear for thirty years. In this program, he covers the most common issues that students tend to struggle with. In 25 Tips for Developing a Master Musician’s Ear you’ll get answers from friendly, conversational videos that cover not just the usual problems you may encounter, but also ways to break through barriers that you've never been able to get beyond. You’ll receive clear and concise information on how to organize your practicing so that you get the most out of your ear training sessions. This leads to a deeper understanding of practice time in general and the value of structuring it.

Three Main Areas

Simply put, improving your ear is about building up your memory of sound. The 3 main areas of ear training covered are: Listening exercise(s) to become familiar with the sounds you hear from other instruments Singing exercise(s) to become familiar with the sounds you hear inside your head Applying both listening and singing exercises to real music

Help is on it's way.

These videos will help you: Maximize the time you spend practicing ear training. Understand the mental process of learning ear training. Break free of common misunderstandings about ear training. Realistically chart your own progress with the method presented. Whether you are just starting out, or have been working on ear training for years, "25 Tips for Developing a Master Musician’s Ear" will move you toward true ear mastery, and enjoying all the creativity and communication that this ability unlocks.

Here is an example of one of the 25 Ear Training Tips

Videos discuss all aspects of practicing Ear Training

This course contains video only the subjects included are: 1. Two Different Types of Ear Training Exercises 2. Types of Memory 3. Review All Notes Regularly 4. The Value of One Note Ear Training 5. Vocal Tension 6. Guess Fast 7. Key Retention Problems 8. Don't Think Too Much 9. Don't Resolve Notes 10. Memory, Memory, Memory 11. What's Wrong with Interval Ear Training? 12. Storing Musical Information 13. Using Multiple Instruments 14. Contextual vs. Fanatic's Guide 15. Balancing Ear Training Types 16. Music Theory Knowledge 17. Thinking the Same Way that You Hear 18. Different Types of Tonal Centers 19. Ear Training and Young People 20. Play the Way You Hear 21. It's All About Context 22. Two Note Ear Training 23. Modulation 24. It's All About Memory 25. Blame it on the Context

Get the most out of your study of Ear Training.

These videos will help you understand the ear training process and explain how to use and get the most out of Mr. Arnold's many ear training products. Additional Information: Digital: 978-1-59489-671-2 All Video Course 44 Minutes What people are saying: I really enjoyed these videos, and there was a lot of good information that has really helped me to organize my practicing and to realize that the way I was thinking about ear training and time was completely wrong. But this is a big download so it takes awhile. Worth the wait, though. D. Kim These videos really helped me understand the overall Ear Training process. Some standouts were: Don't Resolve Notes, Key Retention Problems, Play the way you hear, It's all about Memory. I've been working out of Ear Training One Note Complete and Contextual Ear Training and I had a completely different approach mentally to the exercises. These videos really cleared up a lot of things that I thought I knew but didn't have it quite right. P. Henry This course really changed my perception of music and practicing. I immediately got Ear Training One Note Complete and the MetroDrone based on these videos. I hope Bruce comes out with a second series and covers more practice and musicianship topics. You can tell Bruce has taught a lot because he really covered lots of questions that I would probably have asked if I was having a private lesson with him. T. Sarnof In my opinion these videos are a must own to completely understand Bruce's ear training method. The books are good at explaining each topic BUT I realized after watching these videos that I had misunderstood many key concepts. As Bruce says "If you just misunderstand one aspect of Ear Training you can be off in the wrong direction." I think that also points to why so many musicians don't develop good ears. It's all about understanding exactly what to do. Excellent product! J. Franklin. I think "Play the way you hear" video is the most important thing someone has every taught me. I'm a guitar player and after watching that video I realized that I'm a visual player. I just look at the neck and let my fingers do the walking. I'm not even thinking about the sound in my head nor how I'm hearing hear the chords I'm soloing over! Damn... I'm back to square one but this time I'm doing it right. Thanks Bruce!! D. Elise.

Get 25 Tips for Developing a Master Musician’s Ear TODAY!

Add digital copy to cart - $24.99 Status: In stock, Digital book is available for immediate access. Recommended books to use with 25 Ear Training Tips: Video Course Ear Training One Note Complete Contextual Ear Training Direct Application CD Volume One Dorian Key Note Recognition Two Note Ear Training MetroDrone Direct Application Ear Training Volume One Secondary Dominants Ear Training Study Complete Book. Direct Application CD Volume One Major. Direct Application CD Volume One Dorian What should I work on after 25 Ear Training Tips: Video Course? 25 Ear Training Tips in combination with the FAQs available on this site should answer most questions about Ear Training. If you have a question that isn't answered or you are not sure you understand some aspect of ear training please send Bruce an email. In all situations make sure you understand the Ear Training process so that you don't practice the wrong way.

Have a story or a review you want to submit. We would love to hear from you please send us an email.

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#eartraining #beginning #method #intermediateadvanced #tips #videos #understanding #help

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adamharkus · 5 years ago

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How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Spider V 120 + Relay G10. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

I’ve been a professional musician and full-time music teacher for about 24 years. I got a very early start working exclusively at music schools. The number one thing I learned as a teacher is that music is always changing, times are always changing, and kids today are not like kids yesterday. To keep a student’s interests you have to keep up with the times. Another important aspect to teaching is being able to introduce students to (quite literally) everything there is to know about the world they’ve just entered.

The traditional method of teaching for years was, “Learn to read music. Here’s a book.” The contemporary method after the birth of the internet was years of, “tabs are the way to go. You’ll learn faster!” Good teachers new and old will tell you that theory is important.

It’s all important!

Some students are learning classical guitar. Some are learning acoustic, some electric. You have to fine tune the curriculum to match each student. Some aren’t at all interested in electric guitar, or acoustic guitar, or certain genres. I had a student recently ask about some tech in my studio only to reply, “Okay, okay, I don’t care…” We had a chat about rudeness, but what I learned was, “Not everyone is techy.” The most important thing is to really lock into what interests each student. You have to balance their needs with their wants.

Technology has played a huge role.

We used to only involve technology in lessons via a tape/CD player, and some form of a metronome (wind-up, quartz, digital…) Today, those things have been elevated and replaced by technical advancements like YouTube, metronome apps, music players, and even apps designed to isolate sound, slow down the music, loop sections, change keys, and more. I found a valuable tool in the Capo app for iOS for many years. Unfortunately, that app dropped quickly in popularity and usefulness amongst the student population when they shifted over to the subscription sales model. They went from high sales to zero percent sales amongst 700+ students at the school I work for all week. Guitar Pro is a fantastic app for creating high quality sheet music in any form – rhythm, notation, and tablature. There’s a mobile version of the app that opens sheets to read and play along with. No editing in the mobile version, but with a one-time purchase the software allows students to hear any song I give them sheet music for if they wish to download a digital copy. Great!

Enter Line 6.

Another avenue for technology in the guitar world is in our amps and digital effects. Companies like Line 6 paved the way a long time ago for amplifiers to have built-in effects and other features such as tuners. Popular companies like Fender and Boss/Roland caught up and now it’s very easy to find many great amps with on-board effects. I have a Marshall with built-in chorus and delay. Still, with everything out there, Line 6 has made their market bloom with one very important concept: USER FRIENDLINESS.

While they do target both hobbyist and professionals alike, I think they might be overlooking the potential in the world of students. But THIS veteran music teacher has embraced that potential. Years ago when I started at the school where I work now, the owner asked what amps we should supply the studios with. We didn’t need big amps, just practice size ones. However, many of the smaller amps on the market didn’t have a big tone in a small body. They’d sound thin, the overdrive would sound weak or too tinny. Effects weren’t even an option. The decision to stock the school with great sounding practice amps that had a good amount of features at an affordable price lead us to purchasing the Line 6 Spider III 15 amps. They were plenty loud for a small studio, but with great tone at low and higher volume levels. The onboard effects made for a little fun for students to tinker with new sounds that they didn’t know were possible with guitar. The amps were about $100 each, which was within budget when stocking up and furnishing an entire school. The end result: An entire school full of Line 6 Spider III amps.

Now, years later, we see the Spider V on the market, and the new MKII which has some really great upgrades like Impulse Responses.

So how is Line 6 influencing my teaching now?

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Spider V 120 + Relay G10. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Line 6 Firehawk FX + Spider V 120. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Line 6 Variax. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Line 6 Firehawk FX. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Line 6 Variax. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher. Line 6 Spider III. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

While the school has Spider III amps around around 2 buildings, I have upgraded my studio. Mine features a Spider III for the students, a Spider V 120 for me, an old Variax (to be upgraded one day), the wireless Relay G10 which charges right off the Spider V amp, and the ol’ but still powerful Firehawk FX floorboard. I also have the FBV III foot controller for the Spider V just for show, but I don’t necessarily use it.

Here’s how those effects come into play when teaching…

The Variax allows me to demonstrate the sounds of different guitars. Students can hear the differences between different types of pickups, acoustic and electric, and even guitar cousins like our old favorite 12-string guitars and others like the resonators, banjo, sitar guitar, and more. I’ve setup my Variax to simulate ranges as well, such as capo shifts, baritone guitar, and even a setting to simulate bass guitar. Another teaching advantage with the Variax involves a term I’ve longed to change:

Tone-deafness!

We’ve always associated tone-deafness with that relative who howls off key and calls it singing. The sour notes of death that come out of the person who was never meant to sing. Ever. That’s not the case! Sure, “a tone” is a sound, or a note. But think about this in the music world. We call notes pitches, and tone is more of the quality of voice. “I love your guitar tone, man!” The term I’ve used is pitch-deafness. That’s the inability to hear different pitches and identify them well. To me, tone-deafness is the ear’s confusion between voices mistaking the same note for a different one simply because it doesn’t sound exactly the same. For instance, a good student can identify 3 identical high E notes on the guitar (open E, E on the B string 5 fret, and E on the G string 9th fret) and still tell that there’s a slight tonal difference due to string thickness.

I was a True Tone-deaf student. I learned on an acoustic, and my teacher taught on an electric. Even though we played the same notes, they didn’t sound the same. This confused my ear sometimes. The Variax has solved his challenge with beginners. I’ve noticed more and more over the years that students say less and less often, “Wait… are you sure that’s right? Yours sounds different than mine.” I use the Variax to match their guitar model. A student with a Fender Strat (popular amongst beginners on a budget) will hear very little difference with the custom Variax Strat tone I’ve setup. The only challenge I’m still working on are the classical acoustic guitars. Variax technology hasn’t really marketed heavily in that realm, but perhaps one day!

The Spider amps and Firehawk effects bring a world of sounds to the student great visual appeal. The students love the colorful lights, of course, but there’s more than just shiny bright things that really help them learn. The apps illustrate how effects chains work. The students can easily change sounds by just touching the screen, or turning a knob. The preset knob parameters on the Spider V make it easy for students to see how “less and more” can modify an effect on any channel. What I love is how the effects are displayed in the app’s library. When you select another amp or pedal there’s an image of the original model that it’s based on. The students don’t really know all of those models, but they have the opportunity to see how they look different. What would be even better is if the icons would get larger when selected. For now, if a student asks, I’ll Google up an image of the original and compare it with the app side-by-side while turning knobs and moving faders around. What’s more, having the old classic Spider III in the room lets them see just how broad the spectrum of digital amps are out there – simple to complex, and soft to REALLY LOUD!

By introducing students to the world of different apps, effects, guitars, etc. we as teachers can keep them inspired and interested. We can let them see what’s out there for them besides just “practice more!” They start to see what direction they want to head as beginner musicians. We, the teachers, look at their reactions to the sounds they hear and it helps us tweak their curriculum even further. This keeps the student excited and willing to play. The next step, of course, is to choose songs that really work great with whatever sounds the student likes best (while still teaching them things that are practical for learning.)

With more than 200 amps, cabinets, and effects there’s more than enough to show the students what our world of guitar is really all about. The Relay G10 shows them a neat way to go wireless without the complexity and mess of a receiver and connective cables. Our new generation are talking about Bluetooth, WiFi, and other technologies that are making for fantastic wireless advantages in other markets. When they see the G10 they really engage the simplicity and coolness of such a compact device. It takes nothing to hand it off and let the student try it, too!

Between the Variax, the Spider Amps/Firehawk FX, and the wireless G10 I’ve had a blast teaching. Students are excited about lessons. They wish to learn more not just musically but about their guitars. They are asking questions and inquiring where they wouldn’t have a clue to start years ago. With their own technologically experienced little minds, they’re even offering up imaginative thoughts that could shape tomorrow’s technology, too.

The only challenge for me has been… price.

How do you get a student to invest in a $1000 Variax, $120-$300 amp, $100 wireless device, etc.? Well, the truth is, there’s only so much we as teachers can do there. In the past we’ve made comparisons to $1000 “student level” woodwinds and brass instruments. We’ve also made suggestions like, “check Craigslist…” What would be ideal is if there was a market for starter kits, or student-level models. The inexpensive Variax 300 (made in Indonesia) was a great concept in “a Variax for everyone” by offering a low-price, lower quality guitar with all of the perks of the more expensive models. Keeping smaller Spider V amps out on the market is also a great idea. Perhaps Line 6 will one day see a market in music education and offer up a package like a cheaper Variax paired with a nice Spider V (or VI?) practice amp, and some other low-range but cool wireless technology. AmpliFi is a great series, too, for beginners, but I still recommend the Spider series to students.

There’s a “basic recording” package available out there which features an inexpensive screen, Mac Mini, speakers, mics, and recording software packages all for one price of $1000 (or less.) I’d love to see something like that from our guitar makers. Offer up the dream rig for beginners to open doors for students who really want to rock out and make music without breaking their parents’ bank account. For the record… I live in a rich community full of mansion-sized monster homes with parents showing up at the school driving Teslas. Even the wealthy aren’t willing to spoil their children unless it’s truly worth it. There’s potential – I’ll continue to use Line 6 to inspire and teach future guitar pros. Maybe they’ll find a great way to tap into that market, too!

Cheers. Thanks for reading.

More from Niko @ The Blogging Musician.

More Line 6 Article @ The Blogging Musician.

How Line 6 and other tech helps me as a teacher

#amps #effects #Firehawk FX #Guitar #line 6 #Spider V #teaching #wireless

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riichardwilson · 4 years ago

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Can You Design A Website For The Five Senses?

About The Author

Suzanne Scacca is a former WordPress implementer, trainer and agency manager who now works as a freelance copywriter. She specializes in crafting marketing agency, web … More about Suzanne Scacca …

While you don’t want to design a website for all five senses — because that would most certainly lead to sensory overload — you can use individual senses to strengthen the experience visitors have. Let’s take a look at five ways you can use the senses to put your visitors in a better headspace when they enter your site and interact with your brand.

Maybe it’s the whiff of someone’s perfume. Or a bite of pizza from a new restaurant. Or a song playing over the loudspeakers at the store. But the second it hits, you’re immediately transported to another place, time, or mood.

Imagine if your website could evoke this kind of response. Visitors who respond to the sensory stimulation would instantly be in a more positive headspace, which they’d then associate with the site and your brand.

Just be careful if you’re going to attempt this. Not every sense-triggered memory or emotion is going to be a positive one, so you want to focus on more generalized and shared experiences that come with little risk of backfiring.

Here are some ideas to help you do this:

Designing For The Sense Of Sight

A website is a medium to be seen, so you’d assume that the sense of sight is the most powerful one to play with. But there’s a difference between a visitor taking in the photos and words on a web page and feeling something because of what they’ve seen.

The truth is, sight is the most pragmatic of the senses. Typically, what you see is what you get.

Nevertheless, it is possible to design a website so that it alters the mood of anyone who visits it.

Color theory is one tool you can use to inspire visitors to feel a certain way based on what they see. However, that can be problematic as colors often have multiple meanings not just across cultures but within them as well. So, while you might think you’re making visitors feel happier with bright yellow hues, it could instead be making them feel overwhelmed and anxious.

What I’d suggest you focus on is how to use visuals to create an immersive experience that transports your visitors to another place or time. They shouldn’t need to look past the homepage for it either (though it’s a good idea if you can make it extend across the site).

Travel and hospitality sites have a tendency to do this well. Let’s look at an example.

Visit Philly is a tourism site I like to use to find things to do around the city. And that’s because this is how most of the pages on the site are designed:

The homepage of the Visit Philly website welcomes people to the City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love. (Source: Visit Philly) (Large preview)

Each page feels like a physically immersive experience without forcing visitors to watch a background video or scroll through a carousel of photos. Instead, each full-sized image perfectly encapsulates the setting that awaits each visitor.

Unlike staged, overly manipulated or stock photos that portray an unrealistic reality, visitors aren’t likely to ignore this kind of content. Because it’s real and it’s also easy to put themselves in the shoes of the people they’re looking at. The man and his dog. The family going for a walk. Or the people enjoying the spectacle that is Spruce Street Harbor Park:

A page dedicated to Spruce Street Harbor Park in Philadelphia. (Source: Visit Philly) (Large preview)

For people who’ve been to Philadelphia, the visuals on this site are likely to lure them back to the good times they had. And for people who are new to the city, the oversized visuals that show off the city’s hotspots enable them to picture what it’s like to go, which is a very effective way to sell someone on an experience.

Designing For The Sense Of Smell

Back in elementary school, our teachers would reward us with good scores on homework and tests with a handwritten note like “Great work!” and a scratch-n-sniff sticker. Like these ones available on Etsy:

A pack of 1970s Scratch ‘N’ Sniff stickers are available through Etsy. (Source: Etsy) (Large preview)

If you don’t know what these are, the name says it all. You scratch your nail against the sticker and it smells just like the picture on it.

Looking at this photo, I can still smell the “Berry Good” strawberry. This is going to sound crazy, but it reminds me of success. I don’t know if my teachers had an entire pack of the strawberry stickers, but it’s the one I got most frequently. And so I guess that’s why I associate it with good grades just by looking at it.

This is what you want to aim for with your website. You want to depict some recognizable scent in a way that the majority (if not all) of your visitors instantly feel good.

For example:

A used bookstore or library website with imagery that depicts rows upon rows of old books like the Providence Athenaeum:

The Providence Athenaeum homepage ‘smells’ like old books. (Source: Providence Athenaeum) (Large preview)

Voracious readers will definitely be able to smell the athenaeum and its old collection of books through this photo.

Or how about a company that’s known for making cleaning products like Tide?

The Tide homepage includes a couple images of freshly cleaned and folded laundry. (Source: Tide) (Large preview)

Even if you don’t use Tide to do your laundry, you know exactly what the first image in this carousel is going to smell like.

Fresh laundry is the scent of cleanliness and comfort. I’d also argue that it’s the scent of satisfaction because nothing feels better than getting laundry done and over with.

I also really like what Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery has done with its homepage video:

Coffee Culture Cafe puts its coffee beans on full display. (Source: Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery) (Large preview)

It’s not abnormal for a restaurant or cafe to show photos of its food or drinks. However, this is the raw product: the coffee beans. And as any coffee drinker can attest, this photo smells delicious and is something that’s sure to awaken their anticipation in ordering their first cup.

Designing For The Sense Of Sound

I was driving to the beach over the weekend when a song came on that made me smile. It was “What I Got” by Sublime, a song I listened to many times when making the long drive to the beach with friends in college.

Although I was alone on this particular trip and headed to a different beach, there was something about that song that instantly transformed my mood. The stress I was feeling about work melted away and all I could focus on was how good it was going to feel to spend the day in the sunshine by the water.

That’s something that the right sound can do. It can pull us out of the present and take us back to a memory of the past. Or it can overwhelm us with emotion that has no real grounding in the moment and, yet, there it is.

It doesn’t have to be music. And, honestly, on a website, it shouldn’t be. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still appeal to visitors’ ears through design.

There are two ways to approach this.

The first is to include imagery that depicts a predictable sound and one that brings joy (or whatever positive emotion you’re shooting for). Take the website for Kindermusik:

Kindermusik website shows how kids learn through music. (Source: Kindermusik) (Large preview)

For many of us, the xylophone was one of the first instruments we were introduced to as kids. So, it’s hard to imagine anyone seeing the top photo and not immediately hear the sounds of a kid banging away on the bars.

And while this school is all about providing kids with music-based education, not every image sounds like music. For instance, the Benefits page has this photo at the top:

A baby laughs at the top of the Kindermusik Benefits page. (Source: Kindermusik) (Large preview)

There might not be any sound coming through this site, but we all know the distinctive sound of a baby’s laugh. For parents trying to decide where to have their kids educated, they’ll be pleased to hear the sound of a child laughing as they visit this web page.

The other way to approach sound in design is to remove it entirely from the experience.

This works well for places like Scandinave Spa where customers come to enjoy the solitude and silence as they retreat from pressures of society, work, life and so on:

The Scandinave Spa uses images that sound quiet. (Source: Scandinave Spa) (Large preview)

If a lack of noise is what makes the real life experience so valuable, then choosing images that represent this is really important. So, obviously, sites like these won’t have images of people standing around talking nor will it incorporate bright or flashy lights.

A calm experience is best depicted by an absence of noise, movement and distraction.

Designing For The Sense Of Taste

Dr. Bence Nanay wrote about the cooking show paradox on Psychology Today, debating why it is that so many people enjoy watching someone else cook. It can’t possibly be to learn how to cook as recipes are everywhere online. And while they might enjoy the competitive aspect of some of these shows, he suggests the main reason is this:

Watching cooking shows is eating vicariously in the most literal sense possible — we get mental imagery of tasting and smelling the food without actually tasting or smelling it.

I think we can expand a bit further on Nanay’s argument.

I also believe that people become more invested in an outcome when they get to see the process of it being made. This isn’t something we’re usually allowed to see as consumers. We go out to eat and the food is sitting there on a plate for us. So, there’s something about the build-up of watching food or drinks being made that adds something extra to the experience.

That’s why I don’t think it’s enough to just use static photos of a restaurant’s dishes or food company’s products on a website. Not if you want to deeply connect to the visitors’ sense of taste, that is.

For instance, this is the video that’s embedded into the top of Sweet Charlie’s website:

[embedded content]

A 30-second video that depicts the process of creating rolled ice cream before putting it into the hands of a very satisfied customer.

If you’ve ever been to a shop that makes rolled ice cream, you know just how enjoyable it is to watch this process in person. So, for a website to recreate that process — especially for first-time customers wondering what the heck rolled ice cream is — it’s a brilliant move.

Designing For The Sense Of Touch

The sense of touch is a relatively easy one to depict on the web. We see it all the time on ecommerce sites that allow shoppers to zoom in on fabrics and get a sense for what they feel like to touch or wear.

Like the zoom-in capabilities Anthropologie gives its shoppers:

Anthropologie allows shoppers to zoom in on each item in its online store. (Source: Anthropologie) (Large preview)

But this is nothing more than window-shopping done virtually. Anyone could walk through a store and brush their hands through racks of clothes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a necessary functionality. However, this isn’t how we use the sense of touch to create a deeper connection with visitors.

We need to play around with more drastic tactile sensations.

One element you might want to fixate on is temperature. If there’s a heating or cooling element, work with that.

Another element you can play with is the feeling or pressure of human touch. There are many applications for this, though it’s particularly useful for websites that advertise therapeutic services.

For instance, this is how Massage Envy invites people to its spa services:

The Massage Envy website uses images of people getting massages instead of just empty massage rooms and tables. (Source: Massage Envy) (Large preview)

This is a good start. Some spa and massage websites just show images of empty massage rooms and tables. At least here prospective customers can kind of see the massage process.

I don’t think there’s much to feel here though as the positioning of the masseuse and pressure being applied seem unrealistic. I’m guessing it’s a stock photo chosen for its symmetry, color and attractiveness.

But there are ways to capture the tangible experience while still making it look good for a website. For instance, the Bodhi Spa uses a video to take visitors through various services they can experience — alone or with others — at the space.

At one point, they’re shown someone getting a massage:

The video on the home page of the Bodhi Spa website shows a woman receiving a hands-on massage. (Source: Bodhi Spa) (Large preview)

Notice the symmetry of this screengrab and how it doesn’t have to come at the expense of authenticity. Plus, the video shows customers how the massage feels as the masseuse applies pressure and moves her hands around the woman’s neck and head.

Visitors then get to see a couple enjoying the benefits of hydrotherapy, with the woman picking up a handful of salt and placing it in the pool they’re in:

The Bodhi Spa intro video shows a couple enjoying the benefits of salt therapy. (Source: Bodhi Spa) (Large preview)

There’s a lot to touch in this video. The fine salt crystals. The warm water in the hydrotherapy tub. And, shortly after this screengrab, the couple holds hands as they enter the cool-down room.

A copywriter can certainly convey a lot of the feel-good benefits of something like this, but it’s also effective to let visitors see it with their own two eyes and experience it vicariously through others.

Wrapping Up

While I think that trying to design for all five senses at once would lead to sensory overload, choosing one particularly potent sense to design for is a great idea.

If you can find a way to recreate that sense through your site, your visitors may experience:

Heightened awareness,

Positive and happier thoughts than before they entered the site,

A greater connection to the bigger picture and a willingness to take next steps on the site.

We often focus on how to connect to our audience through their pain, but why don’t we focus on connecting through happiness for a change? I think we could all use a little more of that these days.

(ra, yk, il)

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/can-you-design-a-website-for-the-five-senses/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/625626823359971328

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laurelkrugerr · 4 years ago