Song Sifting: An Introduction

Some songs are damn near flawless. Stand outs among stand outs. They command your complete attention from beginning to end.
 
Can you think of a song like that? It shouldn’t be too difficult. In fact, it’s probably a favorite of yours. One you’ve heard countless times. Well, listen to it again now. This time, like a scientist. Take it apart. 
 
    -What’s unique about this song? 
 
    -What does it remind you of? 
 
    -What part gets stuck in your head? 
 
    -How do the other instruments support that part? 
 
    -What’s the most subtle element of the song? What role does it serve?
 
This is what I mean by song sifting. At least in part. You might find a sound you’ve never heard before in a song you’ve loved your whole life. That’s an exciting feeling. Music is like that. There’s always another layer to peel back.
 
The trick is to do this not just once, but for many songs. And across genres. Only then will the big picture come into focus. What patterns emerge? What common traits? Can you find links between songs now that you’d never have thought to compare before? Learn to recognize the essence of great music, no matter what form it takes.
 
Now, this isn’t to say that all the best songs follow some magic formula. They don’t. And even if they did, knowing that equation would only be a fraction of the process. There are other factors. Intangible factors. What about creativity? Inspiration? Emotion? How do you account for those? Much of the process is elusive. Even mystical, depending on whom you ask.
 
But let’s focus on what we can control, the tangible elements. Begin a list of skillful techniques you hear in songs you enjoy. This will be your toolbox when it’s time to create. A reference when you inevitably get stuck. Recognize the fundamentals that define great music. Know them anywhere. Your appreciation for music will expand from this process. And the more music you can appreciate, the more material you have to learn from.
 
Still, the creative muse will continue to elude. It cannot be summoned, or even invited. Show up every day to maximize the probability of an encounter. Keep your tool box freshly stocked and close at hand. Some day, you may be graced with an unannounced visit from the muse. Best to make the most of an opportunity to channel “the giver of much delight.”
 
Future posts in this category will feature breakdowns of songs that inspire me. You’ll see what I see when I take a part a song. Not because it’s the correct way. Rather, the alternative perspective may inspire you to reassemble the pieces in a way that’s not yet been done.
 
In short,
Observe🕵 Ponder💭 Create🎧

Mix Journal: Labeled

  • Post category:Mix Journal

This song presents my first opportunity to give a shout out to Sevish. I have a whole stack of new songs that would not exist without him. I’ll go into more detail in a future post. For now, check out his latest album, Horixens. 

Here’s a list of changes between the original demo and the version 1 mix of Labeled. Below that, you can compare the two tracks side by side. 

  • Removed kick drum from intro
  • Had the plucked synth drop out at 1:11. Creates anticipation and room for the voices to come in.
  • Chopped each voice onto its own track for individual processing. Each one has its own compression, panning, EQ, panning, effects. Mostly light reverb and delay.
    • Goal was to blend them into the texture of the song a little more instead of having them feel as though sitting on top, separate from it
    • Used automation to further balance dynamic range of the phrases. A couple of them really trailed off in volume at the end.
  • The bass part in the first section is a 3-layer synth stack. Used EQ to give each a more defined space in the frequency spectrum. Hi passed 2/3, kept the deepest for dedicated sub bass duty.
    • Put some light compression and distortion on the group to meld them together.
    • Raised volume on the mid range layer
  • Added some slight drum glitches around the word “schizoid” for effect
  • Automated drum volume down for sparser sections
    • Added filter ~0:55 to open space, allow more clarity for the voice to enter
    • Dropped the drums out after “he reads.” Had to highlight that alarming symptom of mental illness.
  • Some thinning to voice layers in final section
Before: Labeled [demo]
After: Labeled [m1]

Mix Update: Irruption [m2]

  • Post category:Mix Journal

If you missed the notes from version 1, click here

Updates for version 2: 

  • Saturation added to lo mids of the sub bass tracks. They didn’t have enough above 200hz to achieve proper presence on smaller speakers.
  • Electric keys come in a little more gradually now
  • Brought in a reference track to tune lows. Really should have done this sooner. Indicated that my highs were much lower than expected.
    • Raised synth lead at 1:43 by a few dbs since there was still plenty of room in that area of the spectrum
    • Used multiband imager on master bus to narrow the stereo image of the low end a bit
  • Allowed more treble to come through on main piano sample track
Irruption [m2]

Irruption [Mix]

  • Post category:Mix Journal
90% of mixing is levels, EQ, and compression. Here’s some specifics used to hone the final 10% of this track. 
Weak spots identified with corresponding enhancements listed below:
 
Important sub bass elements not cutting through mix
  • duplicated each sub bass track into an original version and hi copy
    • used high pass filter on hi copy to cut out all bass frequencies
    • added distortion and stereo widening to hi copy track and blended it back in with original sub
    • This move helped make the center of the mix feel less claustrophobic throughout
 
The initial writing stage left some areas of this song thin
  • Additional instrument layering
    • Added new keyboard melody ~0:50
    • Replaced drum break ~1:32 new one, kept a few slices of the old one to pop through at times
      • I didnt change the tempo from from 76 bpm to 52 for the double time parts. This became a problem when trying to audition drum breaks in real time. The align beats to project function stretched everything out slower when they really needed to be sped up. Not sure if there’s a double time preview button but I can’t find one.
Phase issues with main piano sample, also sounds panned left by default
  • used a multiband imager to pull low frequencies back toward the center
  • Using a stereo distortion plug in with the mix knob kept around 15%. Just enough to add some harmonics that balanced the sound without changing its character
Before – Irruption [Demo]
After – Irruption [Mix 1]

Bitziblox [Demo]

  • Post category:Demos

We’re all just bits and blocks

doing the dance that we’ve been taught

 

Inspiration:

This track caught me between a Melodies from Mars mood and listening to this playlist for hours on end.

I’ve been getting amusement lately sneaking guitar parts into songs where you’d never expect to find one. 

Experimental technique: 

      Using full drum breaks. My drum tracks usually consist of single hit samples. Or, if I use a drum break I’ll slice it to trigger one hit per pad. 

This track started by looping a tasty break. I saved the chopping for places that needed variation, like at the end of a section. Effects were also relied upon more than usual, adding further nuance to the drums. 

Takeaway lesson: 

Using a looped drum break? The earlier you lock in the rhythm and flow the better. An edit you make once in the beginning copies into future iterations as you expand the project. The same decision made later results in dozens of edits as you chase copied iterations across the project. 

Bitziblox [Demo]

Autuman [Demo]

  • Post category:Demos

Autuman. Contraction. Autumn of Man. Aka Fall. Foreboding…

New techniques:

Started with a drum loop and pulsing helicopter field recording (thanks Derek). Sent those to a group and added a thick delay with heavy feedback. Printed the playback in real time while fiddling with the knobs on the effect unit. Shout out to the Song Exploder podcast with Jon Hopkins for giving me this idea.

Guitar is DI through VST Amp and delay. If you can’t set up an amp then it’s better to play around with the options available than to not incorporate guitar at all. I’m pleasantly surprised with the result here.

Autuman [Demo]

Demos

  • Post category:Demos

Demo posts will usually contain a new song sketch and the techniques I explored to make it.

At this stage, the song is not mixed and still a work in progress. It’s title is probably just a placeholder.

Every song is an opportunity to try something new. I hope by sharing my experimental techniques others will find creative inspiration. Sometimes one small idea, or even a slight change in perspective is all it takes to find yourself lost on another sonic adventure.

Let’s explore uncharted territories and share what we find, shall we?

Final Dungeon [Demo]

This song is the direct result of my recent field recording adventures with my brother Derek.

The sounds we recorded at the historic quarry and sculpture park have now been reorganized into music. It may well be my favorite song to date.

Take a listen to the full track below. Then, we’ll walk through a few examples of everyday sounds that were transformed to create the unique texture of this song. 

Final Dungeon [Demo]

Main sound: Airplane Flyover

Derek recorded this sound sample while we were eating lunch. Check out the unedited sample in clip A, below.

Clip B is the airplane track from my demo in solo. The original sample is loaded into Cubase’s stock granular synthesizer*, Padshop.

I spread the sample across my keyboard and used a tuner to approach true pitch. However, plane flyby is characterized by ever changing pitch. So, the longer the note is held the more the pitch varies, and the more it sounds like a plane. Short notes can be tuned more accurately, and therefore sound more like an instrument. Let’s hear a few examples:

0:00: a quick arpeggio run to set the mood, a la this classic boss theme 

0:04 – 0:15: The one place the note is held long enough to recognize the original airplane sample. Compare to…

0:16 – 1:06:  These arpeggiated chords are unrecognizable from the original sample. They sound more like a haunting old keyboard.

1:06 – 1:28: Here the sound morphs into a menacing melody. It’s possible to recognize the original sample in this part now that you have heard it.

Art OMI lunch spot

*Granular synthesis can use any provided sound and turn it into something completely new. It does so by breaking down a sound into many microscopic segments. Then, these segments can be played back in varying order, speed, pitch, etc. Click here to learn more about the basics of granular synthesis.

A. Plane Flyover – Original Recording
B. Final Dungeon – Airplane track only

Sound first heard at 0:06
A scraping texture, as seen recorded at Art OMI in video 3 of this post. Triggered with Padshop.

Sound first heard at 0:20
A metallic hit on an old rusty truck at the quarry (pictured, right). Triggered with Padshop. Alternate pitches can be heard starting at 1:07. A deeper pitched section starts at 1:27.

Sound first heard at 0:27
This is a sample of metal spoke hits, triggered with Padshop. Hear the original sound in videos 1 and 4 of the quarry post. Now is a good time to mention that all of these sounds have additional reverb added, but no further effects processing. Nonetheless, the result is otherworldly

C. Final Dungeon – quarry/sculpture park percusions

Experimental techniques: 

My high excitement level for this song seems to correlate directly to the amount of brand new techniques it contains. 

  • Padshop
    • My first time using this synth. Awed by the endless possibilities it presents. Will have to dig deeper, but having several instances of it in this project proved a successful start.
  • Unusually high percentage of “non-musical” sounds
    • I almost always use some oddball sample somewhere in a song. And yes, there are a couple traditional synth and tracks that come in later in the track. But, I can’t think of another song that got so much mileage out of everyday sound samples. 
  • Breakbeats in 15/8
    • A challenge if there ever was one. Drum break sliced, one hit per pad. Then drummed out on the pads, recorded in real time to the track. 
    • The decision on 15/8 timing was made at the outset of the writing process. This song just came out. It sounded cool and I was inspired to take on the challenge of an unusual time signature. 
    • The decision to add a breakbeat section came at the end. The odd timed drum breaks in this song continue to mesmerize me. Final Dungeon had already become a catch-all for my many inspirations of the moment, so why not go all in. 

Takeaway lessons: 

The challenge of using unusual sounds can be inspirational in itself. Multiply the effect by recording some new sounds yourself. Your music can’t help but be unique if you create it’s base components from scratch. 

Your satisfaction with the end result will be proportional to the amount of risks you take while writing. Of course, every additional risk you take increases the chance you won’t finish the song, or it won’t be any good by the time you do. Striking the right balance is the result of luck as much as anything. 

Writing in 15/8 is a risk. The result may sound too academic to be enjoyable. Or, you might get bogged down by the unusual rhythm and not be able to complete the song. 

Using oddball sounds is a risk. The more sounds you add, the more a song can grow apart instead of come together. Cohesion will be tested. Use of harmony will be tested. It’s often difficult bordering on impossible to tune random sounds musically. These limitations can dictate the path of your song so that it practically writes itself. They can also be so restrictive that you never get off the starting blocks. 

Again, fortune is mostly to thank. Most of the time, these things don’t fall so neatly into place. On the off chance they do, enjoy the satisfaction that follows. 

Read more about the article Listening to a sculpture park
Beverly Pepper, Paraclete, 1973 Cor-Ten steel, 192" x 108" x 342" Photograph by Aislinn Wilde.

Listening to a sculpture park

Beverly Pepper, Paraclete, 1973 Cor-Ten steel, 192" x 108" x 342" Photograph by Aislinn Wilde.

My inspiration to buy a field recorder can be traced back to the moment I saw Beverly Pepper’s, Paraclete sculpture at Art Omi five years ago. 

The steel structure bellows deep, rich tones from the slightest tap. Once inside the pyramid, it’s irregular shape warps any sound you make. The tight, resonant reverberations evolve as often as you move your ears. 

A rush of ideas and sonic possibilities came upon me. I pictured myself with a portable recorder, exploring unusual spaces, and experimenting with the unique sound characteristics within. I learned from this missed opportunity by purchasing a handheld Zoom recorder when I got home. 

Fast forward five years. My brother Derek just got a new Zoom recorder in an unrelated purchase of his own. It came on our hike last week.

This week, we learned Art Omi is open despite the pandemic (thanks for this info to Chelsea, who also planned my first trip to the park). A walk through the sculpture park sounded like a nice break from the trails. 

It wasn’t until this moment that I made the full circle realization that Omi was the last place I went without a Zoom recorder and one of the first Derek went with his. 

Atelier Van Lieshout, Blast Furnace, 2013 708,7” x 393,7” x 413,4”, Steel and Wood Photo by Derek Romejko
Play Video

Derek and I collecting a few sound samples to future use. 

Revealing the sounds of a historic quarry

“When the quarry was abandoned, much of the equipment and structures were left just as it was (as if the quarrymen had gone for lunch and never returned). The site has stayed the same, plus some rust, until now.”

Derek brought his trusty Zoom recorder on our hike through the defunct Chester-Hudson Quarry. We stocked up on rusty metallic samples that I can’t wait to try out. 

In the clips below, you will see us tapping away at the rusty old machine parts. Even better, you’ll hear the sounds they emit as if echoing back through time. 

Play Video

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