Black Light dance

Black light dance had a few, black lights.

A little more light, easier to see.

Us messing around after everyone left.

It's been a very busy final week of school but I finally made it. Me and Jon played at the blick light dance last thursday and I have to say it was a lot of fun. We only had about an hour and a half to play music but we managed to fit in almost all of the songs we wanted to. I put a camera high up on the wall behind us which is where these pictures came from, but because it was so dark you can barely see much. Thats me in the white by the way. We played a few effects and the whole thing went by almost flawlessly. I messed up only once by pressing the wrong filter button. In the end, everyone I talked to said it was a lot of fun, a few even said it was the most fun they've had at a dance. It goes to show that jumping at a dance can be just as fun, or even more fun than grinding. I definitely hope I get to do this again, it was truly a unique experience. I played one of my songs over the speaker and it sounded OK but I think I could still do some work making songs and over the summer I'll continue to make some music in my spare time.

Only two days to go!

Traktor Pro, Professional DJing software with tons of effects 

and excellent connection to Jon's Midi board.

The dance is only two days from now and I can't wait. I have a playlist set up and software and instruments planned out. I went to a student government meeting this morning and I got the chance to talk to the adult involved in planning and he says it's set at being from 7:30 to 9:00 PM which is a real bummer. But there is a possibility it sounds like, to extend it because the theater is supposed to be quite sound proof and we could possibly start before Senior awards ends at 7:30. We will also ask if it can go later, after 9:00, although because it's a school night (even though the last day of school, which comes the day after, amounts to nothing) there's still a possibility. I think we're aiming to go for two to three hours, we have a LOT of music and we would love to have more time to enjoy it.

Traktor and some feelings

I'm feeling the need to post about something but I'm not sure what, so I'll post on my feelings with the dance only three days away and some sources on the software we'll be using.

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2008/11/07/digital-djing-with-traktor-pro/

This source provides a nice video tutorial for the use of Traktor Pro, the deejaying software we'll end up using in two days. It's about four years old so there have been some major updates but a lot of the basics are still used. It gives some basics on placing starting markers and "wave surfing" which means looking at the waveform of a song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMbsAIBs3uE

This video provides another well made tutorial on Traktor which teaches how to make sweeps and build ups. Hopefully this will make the dance more eventful and more exciting. We could even try to make the drier songs more exciting.

With the dance only three days away, I'm feeling kind of nervous. It will be my chance to prove myself to many of my piers. At the sometime I'm excited to play the part as a DJ. I can't wait to be able to jam out with the songs I play while many of my friends and peers dance along too. One disappointment is that it's actually only supposed to be one and a half hours long due to interference with Senior awards in the auditorium next to the Black Light theater. I'm hoping by the time of the dance we can talk to the planners and make it a little longer. I'm hoping to learn more about this at a student government meeting tomorrow morning.

The Sample Presentation

Katherine did a wonderful job presenting a few days ago, I already posted on it but I thought it deserves more of a post. I really liked the way she was enthusiastic and very clear. She explained everything she thought people might not know a bout and I thought she did a good job at reading the crowd. She spoke up when people slacked off and she tried to make it as interesting as possible. If I could borrow something It would be her presenting skills and her enthusiasm. I'm a very nervous speaker and if I was even near to her confidence level my presentation could be a lot better. This is gonna be one of my biggest problems after all. I would probably spend more time organizing though, and as someone who's nervous when I present, organization is something I always focus on. She may have overlooked that due to it being the end of the year and her over-confidence.

Mashup time

So I made a mashup of a few songs I really liked. I was listening to the song "No Going Back" by Gui Boratto and I really liked the lyrics so I used a remix of that song which has a better build up than the original. The drop is not really much of a drop so I combined it with another song with a lot of bass: "Toulouse" by Nicky Romero. Finally I thought at times it needs more action and I really haven't really dabbled in combining three songs at a time so I put some lyrics to "I'm in Miami Bitch" by LMFAO to add some spice. In the end I really like how it turned out, more so than my other mashups, although the volume should be adjusted at times. I would be excited to play it at the dance but it would have to go under the radar because of some profane language. I could have changed it but some files were accidentally deleted so I can't even edit it now which is frustrating.

About that drop I promised a while ago, I'm still waiting on Dada Life to release that track. As far as my track goes, I'll probably find some time to work on it this weekend if I'm not working on the WISE presentation and essays the whole time. Finally, I'm still waiting to get my flash drive back with the sample of songs I gave to the principal so he can look them over, it's getting close to the dance so I'm pretty nervous.

Tips on Performing

So recently I realized that the dance me and Jon are DJing for is only a week a way and I thought that it would be good to find some basic tips for performing which don't need a lot of practice and we could incorporate them in easily.

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2010/07/waveriding-digital-djing-without-headphone/

This source, conveniently named "Digital DJ Tips", gives insight as to what is happening with DJ's and headphones recently. Previously DJ's have been synonymous for using headphones so the DJ can hear what he's about to play before everyone else hears it. But with the advancement of software, that isn't happening more often than not. Although headphones look good.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-perform-digital-audio-effects-with-dj-james-zabiela-313860/

These videos, of which there are eight, looks like a good way to easily incorporate new professional tricks into what I already know. I have yet to watch all of the videos but I'm looking forward to learning some new stuff. The way I see it, the more I know, the more I can be confident because one thing I've really overlooked until now is my nervousness in front of a crowd. The performance should be invaluable to my improvement in doing something in front of a crowd.

The End is Near

So today I finally finished some stuff for government class and some requirements for college which have been lingering but I'm finally ready to make my final steps to finish this year. This means more time to work on my WISE project as the year comes to a close. I feel very anxious because it really seems to be ending very soon and I feel like I could do so much. Currently I'm working on a song with a nice bass-line, really groovy stuff, and I'll have that up here in a while but for now I think I need to plan for the Black-light dance which is only a week from this thursday. Coincidentally the work that's required for my final presentation is also due that day so that should be interesting. I feel confident that I can pull it together for these final two weeks of school and do some good work for WISE.

Money Makin'

Download A-Trak & Dillon Francis Money Makin' (Original Mix)

So this may not be the drop I promised, that may take a while, but it does have the most catchy lyrics ever and an awesome synth melody.

In other news, me and Jon met yesterday to play with the software and organize a playlist. It works out well because the brighter more club filling songs I chose mix well with the bass-line filled, darker sounds of the songs he chose. I already have about seven songs picked out with one of my own in the mix, but he needs to work on a final mix so that we can have a rough outline to fall back on. Just in case we'll have plenty of other songs and genres to play in case the crowd doesn't like one genre or another. Slow tempo songs like dubstep are also a possibility.


I also went to the sample presentation yesterday and I have to say, it was really good. Despite not being able to read what she said in her journal, I feel like I could have made a good guess based on what she said in her presentation. Unfortunately she was very articulate and I have a feeling that her presentation has set the bar very high.

Song Layout and Drops

 "Drop dat bass girlll" -Kenz

http://www.abletonvideotutorials.com/layout-and-house-song

This tutorial will help me guide myself in future songs. Last night I worked on another song and after I finished a quick run-through I noticed my layout was the same as always and I thought to myself what a wonderful world if that may not be the best way to layout a song. I noticed that there wasn't much of a drop and so I decided to look for tutorials on layout and drops. Many people have different ideas on what a drop sounds like so I'm now on a quest to find the perfect drop. An artist that I follow, Dada Life, will be releasing a song that they suggest will have a very nice drop and so in due time, I will post this song and study it's internal organization studiously.

New Research

I've been looking for more websites with information on making music with Ableton now that I see how it won't be as hard to prepare to DJ as I though although I should start doing that now anyways. Jon has found some new software called Traktor which I'm going to check out sometime soon but for now, Ableton has the spotlight:

http://www.djtechtools.com/2012/01/01/5-free-vsts-that-every-dj-needs/

This is an excellent source for VST's which are plugins which would be beneficial to say the least, to my songs and maybe add some professionalism.

http://www.djtechtools.com/2011/09/26/diy-taking-your-tracks-from-the-studio-to-the-club/

Here are some excellent tips for making an Ableton track sound professional. Some of the tips are a little advanced and it may not be for what we're doing but they're good regardless.

http://www.heatercore.net/livetipslist.html

Finally, here are 365 tips for Ableton. It seems like a lot, because it is, but hopefully if I have problems, I'll be able to stop here for answers.

Mashup Time

For the dance I'm thinking of playing some of my own mashups but there are a few problems. It's hard actually finding acapella's and you have to find songs with near to correct pitches. This one is a problem child due to how hard it is finding acapella's of U2 on the internet and how at times the pitch's don't match at all. But I think over all it works well, also I hope it works well because I lost some files and I can't change anything on Ableton without complication. More mashups and possibly a remix to come!

Also on Tuesday, me and my mentor and possibly Jon are meeting with the principal for logistics and other important stuff relating to the dance a month from now. What I should really think about now as well is finding more sources on music making, DJing, etc...

Back again, again.

So after a few days I'm back posting due to technical issues and my computer being very slow for some reason. Hopefully it won't be slow for the Black Light dance, which will be held on june 7th in the Black Box theater at IHS from 7:30 to 9:00, but me and jon are hoping to extend the amount of time it'll run for. It will most likely actually run for two hours but we absolutely have more than enough energy and songs to play for longer. Fingers crossed.



In other news, I made another song and this time, it's a little basic but thats sort of what I was going for. Still, only the songs I feel are very refined will be played live and I think this one could use some work. I'm currently making another song which is a remix of Katy Perry (oddly enough), but it should be pretty cool and slightly weird. It'll definitely have roots from French electro.

SUPER AWESOMENESS

No caption needed.

SO, me and Jon landed the gig at our senior blacklight dance. We'll be DJing for most likely a lot of our fellow seniors and possibly play some of our own music/mashups, that would be very cool. When I finally meet with my mentor this week I'm planning on asking what to do about using the speakers already in the room of the venue or not, and if we can use the super nice (and expensive) sound board already in there, that would be awesome. Other than that I've chosen a select few songs to play and will definitely collaborate more with Jon on what to play, and develop skills with professional DJing software.  I should really focus on logistics instead of finding more songs but it's so addicting! I also need to find more sources still, I've found a few recently but I just need more.



 ...and some music to top it off.

After Break

It's been a long week with not a lot of time to work on my project but I did have time to make this mashup between Jay Z and Bootblack (explicit language). Played a lot with DJing software and worked out some logistics with Jon. I think now we need to decide the playlist and get on with practicing together and at maybe some mock venue with all the necessary equipment. It should be good to meet with my mentor tomorrow to get myself back on track and moving along. It also might be when we hear if we are officially DJing the schools Blacklight dance at the end of the year.

Nice.

Ableton Live, a DAW

So a lor of things have happened recently and I've been too busy to post much but there's a lot to say.

I met with my mentor and we spoke more about how the chances of DJ-ing one of my schools dances at the end of the year is going and it looks good. I said I was planning on working more on DJ-ing, hooking up my controller to DJ-ing software and using samples and effects.

I shadowed Jon at Cabaret Night last week where he was the one controlling the sound board. I learned about amps and speakers which will be essential to the dance at the end of the year. I really should've taken a picture.

Other than that, I've made a pretty ridiculous song in about half an hour. It's not necessarily good as much as entertaining at times. Something you make with a group of friends and laugh at. This I have a picture of (above) and it's available for DOWNLOAD! AW YEAHH!

Good stuff.

New Material

So yesterday I decided to mess with Ableton and ended up with this tune instead of studying for a Physics test. It doesn't really sound like it's going anywhere, the effects kind of mess up one of the synths, and I don't really know what genre it would be considered but I decided to post it to be an intermediate update because I actually do like it for whatever reason. I'll keep working on it, see what I can do, and like the last one I'll post new editions of it as they come.

Update: Met with my mentor today and he definitely had some good ideas, like to make goals for the end game and such. But I think it's a very good change me and Jon will be DJing for the Senior Black light dance in the Black Box Theater which me and Jon then took a short field trip to and investigated its treasures: four bilt in speakers, many lights, and a sound setup that's seriously professional and very complicated. Things are looking good but to learn more about the technical aspect of putting on a show I'll be shadowing Jon at our school's Cabaret night because he's helping run the sound and he's possibly quite good at it.

Moving Nicely...

So I this is the most recent version of the most recent song I've been working on. Basically, I changed some of the effects, changed the beat, put the beat in at different places so it would be more active, added two extra minutes because it sounded good, raised the tempo, and changed the melody of the main synth at several parts. So not much. And at least listen to the last two minutes, thats where the real change is. For the next I'm definitely looking towards house music though (not to say I'm done with this one):



A serious club banger in my opinion, the vocals definitely help. As far as my playlist goes, and my music researching, I've been looking into more pop-esque dance music from artsist like Basto!, Bingo Players, Swedish House Mafia, Soundprank, Adrian Lux, John Dahlback, Cosmic Gate and Afrojack.

And finally as far as the performance aspect of all this goes, I've been informed that there is a possibility of performing at our senior Black light dance thanks to my mentor being heavily involved in activity planning for our senior class this year. Very exciting.

Genre Focus: New 80's

The 80's.

I've been doing a lot of research on this genre and I have to say its actually awesome. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate some of it's sounds into my music in the future.


Download The Wombats Tokyo Vampires Wolves Grum Remix

Most of the good songs of this genre happen to be remixes of some of my favorite alternative artists which means awesome lyrics from Passion Pit, The Wombats, and many more. Grum works his magic on the one above. He seamlessly adds a groovy bass-line, crazy synths, and steady beat to already excellent English vocals.


Download Cassette Club 4 Me Bestrack Remix

This Cassette Club remix by Bestrack is another awesome example of 80's-esque synths, another groovin' bass-line, and nice vocals. Some artists to note: Bestrack, Cassette Club, Blue Satellite, Grum, Barretso, and the great Allen Walker. If some of these songs happen to land in my final mix I wont be surprised.

Back to Business

So I made a new song, like my teacher may have remembered I said I would. Anyways I really tried to do more background work, as in changing some effects; delays, filters, etc. Instead of just changing the volume (which is lame). Of course I happened to find some sounds I really liked including the synth lead which may be why it's just the same thing over and over again. This one I'm definitely planning to work on some more, maybe not right away, but I feel like making this was a positive thing. I feel closer to better emulating the pros, but I have very far to go. I'll continue to post this song as I work on it, hint: it just might have different beats next time.

Update

Seriously a happy song. I haven't made any real advances in music making recently and in these droughts I shall post music which catches my interest. They will act as sort of inspirations for songs to come. I'll look for good bass-lines, drums, synths, vocals, all that good stuff and hopefully at each point try to emulate whatever I find with Ableton. This is sort of a re-organization of my plans for the coming weeks in that I'll spend more time looking and copying, so that I can make those awesome sounds at some point, instead of making bad sounds forever. But seriously, this song is happy.