Eclipse

Episode Six

Reality Check One: The reference track will almost always be better than the song you create. Much Better. Get over it. Make your song anyway. Don't create something you are not proud of but do not grind yourself to a standstill because you can't get the sound right. It is perfectly ok to be within 10 to 15% of the reference standard. If you seek perfection you will fail as you will bail out early. You will inflict wounds on yourself, you will question your worthiness to create. STOP this bullshitting and get back to creating. You learn by putting stuff out there…more is better than never. You improve by creating lots of content over time, failing, rinsing, repeating. You will not deliver a masterpiece your first 10,000 attempts so stop trying to. Get over yourself. Song Creation is like the stock market curve in the ideal. Slowly, jerkily rising over time (maybe ; )

Now let's get into it.

I often first turn my attention to the drums. These are so important to get right and it is hard if you are not a drummer. The rhythmic feel is so important to a songs vitality and realness. Remember, I am a Do it Yourself song creator. I am often creating without the benefit of a full on band. Reality Check Two: Yes; it is better to play with a real drummer and a real band. HOWEVER, Life has a way of getting in the way of having the time, funds, resources and creative energy to make that possible. My priority is to create and I can not always wait for the perfect moment to coalescence these resources. For this song, I used a midi based drum application called EZ drummer as my main rhythmic partner along with additional loops and my own played rhythmic accoutrements. I'll explain this shortly.

First, listen to the reference track closely but really hone in on the verse one drum pattern. Laser beam in on the pattern, feel and the style of the drums. Listen to the kick and snare texture. Listen for other subtle layers that may be hard to pick-up on a single listen. What are the hi-hats and toms doing? What about other percussive sounds, tambourines, sticks…..whatever…start to catalogue it. That's why we listen on repeat, repeat, repeat. Burn it into your skull mate.  

Now listen to the pattern I created in the podcast loop below. It is not dead on but it does not need to be, In fact, it is better if it is not. You are not going for replication, you are going for close enough. I seek an initial anchor that will begin to birth and carry my individual song's melodic idea out of the depths of my sub-conscious.

Next episode will focus on the innards of my drum formation. See you then. Other question I get is do I always start with drum. Short answer: No. Every song is different. But It does occur fairly often.

Dave

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