Unit 35 Task 4

Unit 35, Task 4

To demonstrate a combination of patching and sampling skills, I have created a short project featuring both.

Synthesis

The first patch I created implements frequency modulation. The waveform is asymmetrical which is what lends it its stilted character. Having a high release lets you properly hear everything going on for a sustained period of time after keys are let go of. The combination of the settings come together to produce a sound that 'charges up' when keys are held, followed by a sound of silence that remains until the keys are let go at which point there is a slow burst of energy. I feel that 8 voices was a nice compromise between detailed texture and a light, airy feel.

The second patch is monophonic. It has a thick and heavy feeling, partially because it is comprised of 32 voices. There is a moderate amount of glide which allows the legato bass to sound more naturalistic. Cutoff is geared towards the lower end to emphasise bass frequencies as I use the patch as a bass. Overdrive was a nice touch for it to contrast with the lighter sounds of other instruments but having too much concealed the actual melodic aspect of the patch's part, so setting it midway was a compromise.

The ES1 patch has glide up all the way, so there is no audible definition as to when the synth has left one note, and moved to another. As such this synth is used more for atmospheric purposes than musical, a flowing background noise.

Finally there is the polyphonic ES synth. This kind of synth is interesting in that a variety of waveforms can be incorporated into sculpting the overall timbre of the sound. As you can see I included multiple such square and a slight noise level. Sculpting a sound is a constant balancing act; you want to get an interesting sound, but applying too many effects can get in the way of the actual notes being played. So for example there's a fair amount of resonance, and since I didn't want to obstruct the melodies played on the synth I opted to keep the speed low even though I did like the sound of a higher speed.

Sampling


I recorded a number of sounds in a stairwell, an acoustic environment conductive of good reverb. I then cut them up in Logic with the scissors tool to isolate individual samples. Part of this process was The project is made up half of such samples and half of MIDI patch music. The focus of the piece is a chord progression I created by mixing together some chords played on a guitar. The drums meanwhile are made up of a series of recorded drum sounds (kick, snare...) put into Ultrabeat so that they played on the keyboard, assigned to certain keys. The EXS24 was used to sample the sound of a xylophone; I also applied a reverse reverb to it. The rest of the samples have a very simple rhythmic pattern so I chose to just duplicate regions instead:

These samples have had EQ applied to them. They are fairly close to defaults given by Logic for certain sounds like the kick preset for instance.











Musical ideas

The project opens with an ominous dissonant chord whose timbre is quite jarring, which demands attention. This is followed by an introduction to the main chord progression on guitar; it plays on its own to get the listener familiar with it, before the main part starts. Elements build up until a 'climax' of sorts after which focus shifts to a different chord progression led by a synth. The buildup of elements occurs again followed by an ending that combines all of the piece's percussive layers. As always, it was important to fill a good chunk of the frequency spectrum which in this case meant recording a variety of sounds and creating a variety of different-sounding synths.

In terms of originality and plagiarism, it would be impossible to accuse this piece of such at least on a sonic basis, because its sounds are all either recorded directly or made from scratch altogether. Sampling has a complicated relationship with copyright law however; artists have had to err more and more on the side of caution as decades have gone by and legislation has updated in different ways following court cases. Generally these days sampling is supposed to go through a legal process called clearance in which use of the sample is approved or sometimes paid for. Sometimes PRS (formerly MCPS-PRS) are involved in the process, a company who ensure royalties are paid.