What are you playing or practicing right now?

LSchefman said:
So here's the sort of semi-Eastern track I wrote. The story behind it is that I read a book on ancient Sumerian culture (3500 BC, I was but a lad), and one of the things in the book was a reference to Sumerian instruments (they've dug them up), and clay cuneiform tablets with instructions on tuning, playing, scales, etc (they used what we call now a Western whole tone scale). Evidently, the instrumental parts were basic, and there was singing, percussion, and other playing on top.

So I tried to imagine what this sounded like, and then it kind of grew into an electronic piece using a synthesized Guzheng sound (obviously not a Sumerian instrument), and kind of got out of what its original intention was, using all kinds of elemental ideas from all over Asia.

Nonetheless, I named it "Uruk" after the most important city in Sumer. Incidentally, there is some speculation that the word, 'Uruk' was maintained in the culture and is the source of the word, 'Iraq'.

Here's the link to the music:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/uruk-3-7-19
Click to expand...

Fixed :)
 
markd21 said:
KILLER!!! Dang it, man...what's your secret? These sound amazing.

I'm building my sound libraries, but it's the structures that are baffling me. Are you starting with melodies first? I tend to go for a chord bed/riff first, but then locked into a pop construct...

At any rate, awesome!
Click to expand...

Thanks! There’s no secret, really, I’ve been scoring to picture for 30 years, so it’s just a matter of banging on ideas for that long. Since my work is most often scoring to picture, when I don’t have picture I imagine an image or scene.

I’m used to having a deadline, and critics - clients either love a track or hate it, there’s no in-between. And I have to work fast, so usually I’ll develop a few ideas and send them out for comments. Usually they glom onto one of the ideas, and then I finish it.

I don’t have much of a formula for doing it. Sometimes I start with melody, sometimes a chord structure, sometimes a rhythmic idea, or sound can be inspiration.
 
LSchefman said:
I’ve been fiddling with a bit of Eastern influence m’self, though mine’s been all over the map, using stuff from everywhere, plus synths. And I’ve worked with orchestral stuff from time to time too. Maybe we were separated at birth, though that’s impossible since I’m old enough to be your ancestor!

I’ll post an example of the Eastern-influenced thing later today when I get a chance to. Meantime, orchestral...here’s a sample of an orchestral piece I did for an ad project a few years back; orchestration is a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it. The classic book on orchestration is Rimsly-Korsakov’s Principles of Orchestration, and I highly recommend it.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/western-theme-master-3
Click to expand...

This always makes me think John Wayne. Dig it!
 
markd21 said:
@LSchefman - that was VERY cool!!!! I am totally envious of how much melodic content you can fit into such a short amount of time!! I'll check out that book - I am working through a lot of the concepts on my own or via YT videos I can find. Books work well for me. As far as being separated at birth, lol - I hope to one day do the things you do....the music for commercials, etc.

@Tremontinator - Here's the only thing I have up so far that demonstrates my experimentation in Arabic music. I dig this tune a lot, but it is very heavy - and I am not really "there" anymore. Doing heavy music got too easy, so I decided to move in a direction where I'd need to deepen my chord vocabulary and overall knowledge of music as a whole. The latest bits and bobs and folk oriented, and not very good at this point. It's actually frustrating, lol. It's one of the reasons I am working with alternate tunings/open tunings to try to see if I can find an "easier" way to get where I want to be.

Anyway, here's the progressive doom metal instrumental, aptly titled "Arabic Doom". The title is based on the scale and tempo of the piece - I based everything on an Arabic scale, and the tempo is 98bpm.

Click to expand...

Very cool!
 
LSchefman said:
So here's the sort of semi-Eastern track I wrote. The story behind it is that I read a book on ancient Sumerian culture (3500 BC, I was but a lad), and one of the things in the book was a reference to Sumerian instruments (they've dug them up), and clay cuneiform tablets with instructions on tuning, playing, scales, etc (they used what we call now a Western whole tone scale). Evidently, the instrumental parts were basic, and there was singing, percussion, and other playing on top.

So I tried to imagine what this sounded like, and then it kind of grew into an electronic piece using a synthesized Guzheng sound (obviously not a Sumerian instrument), and kind of got out of what its original intention was, using all kinds of elemental ideas from all over Asia.

Nonetheless, I named it "Uruk" after the most important city in Sumeria. Incidentally, there is some speculation that the word, 'Uruk' was maintained in the culture and is the source of the word, 'Iraq'.

Here's the link to the music:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/uruk-3-7-19
Click to expand...


This one makes me think Marlon Perkins and the Wild Kingdom. Lions on the Serengeti Plane. I know it's not that part of the world, but for some reason this is what it makes me visualize.
 
bodia said:
This one makes me think Marlon Perkins and the Wild Kingdom. Lions on the Serengeti Plane. I know it's not that part of the world, but for some reason this is what it makes me visualize.
Click to expand...

It’s great if it makes you think of anything other than, “This is really sh!tty music!” ;)

“Wait, Les, I didn’t say it wasn’t sh!tty.”

“I know, but I’m trying not to be negative about my work. Work with me here.”
 
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veinbuster said:
I like them both Les.
Really good stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement!

I”m probably too obsessed with music to stop creating it, but I question both my sanity and competence from time to time, and when I say, “from time to time,” I mean every few seconds! o_O
 
Since I found my heavier tone been working on some hard rock,heavy blues. Lately though I've been working on the toilet (food poisoning)!
 
I'm learning 'The Loner' cover by Gary Moore. The 1987 Live in Stockholm version of 'The Loner' by Gary is what moved me to try and learn the song. It's full of emotion and driven by his tasteful technique.
 
I hate to admit it, but I had a request to use a bass, and accepted (swore I’d never admit to even owning a bass, but guitar calls got scarce for me lately).
So that took some refreshing of bass chops I never really had under my fingers much.
As it turned out, they really wanted just low tone mellow guitar bass line fills, so I did it with my L5.
Whew! A bass scare!
Anyway that got me practicing bass concepts so I’ll be ready (-er) for next time, just in case.

Also, a drummer -I play semi-regularly with- and I got bored at a rehearsal and proceeded to go off on a “surf” romp, for about ten minutes while on a break, reprising off the top of my head every surf tune I could remember from Junior High.
When I got home I dug my Jazzmaster out and worked on what I thought I flubbed during our moment of madness.
If that counts as “practice” then yeah, I was “working” on something lately (as IF)!

Well it was nostalgic at least. Hadn’t played any surf stuff since probably 1963 (just before the big FOLK SCARE kidnapped all us kids away from electric guitars, Duane Eddy, The Ventures, et al, to sing whiny finger-picked folk songs on questionably tuned acoustic flat-top steel string guitars with no power steering or synchromesh).
 
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Rusty Chos said:
I hate to admit it, but I had a request to use a bass, and accepted (swore I’d never admit to even owning a bass, but guitar calls got scarce for me lately).
So that took some refreshing of bass chops I never really had under my fingers much.
As it turned out, they really wanted just low tone mellow guitar bass line fills, so I did it with my L5.
Whew! A bass scare!
Anyway that got me practicing bass concepts so I’ll be ready (-er) for next time, just in case.

Also, a drummer -I play semi-regularly with- and I got bored at a rehearsal and proceeded to go off on a “surf” romp, for about ten minutes while on a break, reprising off the top of my head every surf tune I could remember from Junior High.
When I got home I dug my Jazzmaster out and worked on what I thought I flubbed during our moment of madness.
If that counts as “practice” then yeah, I was “working” on something lately (as IF)!

Well it was nostalgic at least. Hadn’t played any surf stuff since probably 1963 (just before the big FOLK SCARE kidnapped all us kids away from electric guitars, Duane Eddy, The Ventures, et al, to sing whiny finger-picked folk songs on questionably tuned acoustic flat-top steel string guitars with no power steering or synchromesh).
Click to expand...

Legit died laughing.

Real men don't need power steering and know how to double clutch. Although, Syncromesh trannys sure are nice
 
Tremontinator said:
Legit died laughing.

Real men don't need power steering and know how to double clutch. Although, Syncromesh trannys sure are nice
Click to expand...


I ground a few pounds in a ‘65 Peterbilt with a 5speed Spicer main box, and a Brownie 4 speed aux tranny.
Twenty speeds and not a synchro in sight!
Took me a year to get any good at jammin’ gears in that big rig.
 
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