Project Process

I started my project by looking through the songs that I had already started. Many of them used sounds from software instruments because they were completed prior to my purchase of Roland's Fantom X keyboard. The sounds from the Fantom are superior so there was a process of changing sounds from VSTi's to patches on the Fantom. Most songs were incomplete. Just 8 bar ideas that had never been completed into songs. They lacked structure such as bridges and changes. Variation needed to be added. I picked the three best old songs that I had done and restructured them until I found them satisfactory. Having so many patches available added much time to figuring out what sounded best because there were many that sounded good. Eventually I had to end my perfectionism and just select the best one I could find in 20 minutes. After making the initial changes and listened for what sounded like it was lacking in an area and determined where the "boring" parts of the songs were. At the parts where songs sounded like they had too much high end I would add a stronger bass line. It gave my songs a better balance. The parts that were boring needed a stronger lead. I listened to several albums for ideas on what to do with my songs. Some of those albums include American Gangster by Jay-Z, Discovery by Daft Punk, and Men Women and Children's self titled album.
After getting a working draft on the songs I had already started I played the songs for friends and relatives. I asked them to express their opinion about the songs as objectively as possible, naming the parts that don't work as well as telling me what they liked. They provided further insight into what parts needed another look as well as what parts they felt were catchy or stood out. This let me know what worked and what sound I would need to go towards on the remaining songs that needed to be written.
One of the songs that was finished used a sample (Cassidy V. Jackson 5) and it was a favorite of many of my listeners. It added a familiar quality to the song. I wanted to create another song that used a sample but chop it up more as to make it less distinguishable from the original track. While watching the movie Less Than Zero I was struck with inspiration. The opening song was a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel song "Hazy Shade of Winter" performed by the Bangles. It was a song that suited remixing well and had the energy to be a hit. I started the song sampling 4 bars of the intro riff. After adding some parts I saw that the song needed a breakdown. I chopped up the sample in 2 beat sections and found the parts that sounded interesting. I mixed them up until I found a pattern that worked. I placed that at the end of my composition and the song was completed.
Overall the process of working on the songs was very rewarding. Many of my friends hearing the final product of the CD versus the initial versions noticed the difference and many even asked for a copy of the CD that they could play their friends. This project increased my songwriting abilities significantly.