Harmony ♫

Pianist, fantasy fiction lover, writer wannabe. This is a blog/meme outlet/stream of consciousness of my miscellanous ideas.

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Cool Turkish Musicians You Never Knew About

TARKAN - Yolla

An incredible Turkish singer dominating the country’s pop industry. He was born in West Germany & raised in Turkey. 

Redd - Dünya

A Turkish rock band. Members: Doğan Duru (tenor opera singer), Güneş Duru, and Berke Hatipoğlu (guitarist). 

Gülşen - Bangır Bangır Turkish singer-songwriter. She has released 10 studio albums, and Bangır Bangır, her single from the album Bangır Bangır has reached over 200 million Youtube views. 

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Some of My Favorite Food-related Songs

Youn Sun Nah - Pancake from the album Same Girl

Korean jazz vocalist

The Buckwheat Boys - It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

This is throwback to my childhood!

Art Tatum - Tea for Two 

American jazz pianist

Bill Evans - his entire album Days of Wine & Roses

American jazz pianist. Worked with Miles Davis on the famous Kind of Blue album. Died of a heroin addiction. 

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I want one 

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A Timeline of "Tea for Two" in its Many Arrangements and Orchestrations

1925 - from the musical No, No, Nanette, by Vincent Youmans

1929 - also called Tahiti Trot, Op. 16, in Shosty's ballet The Golden Age. In 1929, Dmitri Shostakovich was challenged to re-orchestra "Tea for Two", from memory, by conductor Nikolai Malko. 

(A preview of the Bolshoi Ballet dancing to the Tahiti Trot)

1933 - A recording by jazz pianist Art Tatum

1956 - A recording by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk

1959 - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra ft. Warren Covington 

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A Few Songs from Different Cultures to Enjoy this Summer 2017

I wish I was fluent in multiple languages so that I could understand more of what these cool artists are saying. T____T

Myriam Fares - “Chouf Halak Alayi” ميريام فارس شوف حالك عليي

Lebanese singer & entertainer

청하 Kim Chungha - Why Don’t You Know ft. 넉살 Nucksal

Korean singer debuting on a solo career, ex-I.O.I member, was on Season 1 of the Korean Show “Produce 101″

(迪玛希) Dimash Kudaibergen - S.O.S. d’un terrien en detresse

Kazakh countertenor (probably) singer who came to fame on the Chinese TV show Singer 2017, and was a nominee for “Most Popular Asia Singer” during the Top Chinese Music Awards 2017. 

This young man is a wonderful singer, but I fear for his vocal health in the long run. I hope his quick catapult into fame won’t screw up his voice. 

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Time to write things again. :) 

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This track is pretty weird, but I made it with my Nexus 5. Technology is cool.

I used the apps Walk Band and Saucillator to create the sounds, and Garageband to piece the loops together. On Walk Band, there’s a drum kit which I used to create the groovy off-beat drum sound that perpetuates this track. On Saucillator, I played around with some synth sounds set to the pentatonic scale (centered around the pitch A) and recorded a sound I made up on the spot. Then, I sent everything I made on my phone to my computer, pieced it together via Garageband, and then VOILA!  

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Sampling Ethics

Do you think sampling without permission is morally acceptable? 

I think sampling something, and then making a lot of money off of the end product, is morally unacceptable because you just took someone else’s idea and created profit. I think the act of sampling, not-for-profit, is acceptable because it spurs on creativity, allowing musicians to develop and exchange ideas. 

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Sampling

Sample example:

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Sample: Stronger by Kanye 

In Kanye’s sample, he takes an important melody from Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and uses it as the underlying beat and texture for his track. The melody is easily distinguishable as the bit from “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”, and it runs throughout Kanye’s entire track. Kanye mainly uses the sample as the driving rhythmic and melodic texture in the track. In fact, the Daft Punk sample bit in his song is so awesome that it distracts from Kanye’s rap; Kanye’s rap seems to accompany the sample rather than the sample accompany his rap.

Quotation example:

Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas containing the quotation “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” from Daft Punk at 1:33. 

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Flying Stars Remix

For this assignment, I remixed my original track: Flying Stars. I wanted to keep certain sound effects so I kept the melody, the underlying drone, and the “stars”. The story you hear when listening to this remixing still takes place in a galaxy, somewhere out there beyond our Earth, but the plot has changed with the addition of new sounds, elements, and effects. Imagine, and enjoy! :)

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For this track, I used Vicky Lecount’s “Phone recording” and my “corn being poured in bowl” to create a peer remix. I cut up sections of each recording, selected specific sounds and loops I liked, and then accompanied the sounds with some Garageband loops. Overall, I liked how the orchestral sounds and Vicky’s sounds create a story together. There is a suspense and air of mystery in this track, and what you think is happening is up to your imagination! Happy Halloween! 

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Which sound did you use and why? What steps did you take to make it work in a musical context? Do you feel that you were successful?

For this assignment, I used my own “found sound”: Corn poured into a bowl. I used a bass loop and a cool Garageband beat to accompany “corn poured into a bowl” because I wanted there to be a rhythm. My sound doesn’t have a specific 4/4 time, structured rhythm; “corn poured into a bowl” is a sound that happens with a sense of unpredictability, and I wanted to give this song more organization, so I added clearly rhythmic loops. I think I was quite successful as the song sounds catchy, there’s a clear rhythmic foundation, and the affect of “corn being poured into a bowl” is present. 

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Blog post: Production Analysis

A hw assignment blog post analyzing the sounds in Don’t Let Me Down - The Beatles.

Sounds in order of appearance: bass & electric guitar, electric piano, vocals, and drumset.

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Real vs Hyperreal vs Surreal

This post is for a music tech class assignment. I’ll be comparing the difference between “real, hyperreal, and surreal” recordings based on some of my favorite groups and musicians out there.

A “real” recording: Snarky Puppy - Lingus (We Like It Here)

So, I love Snarky Puppy. If you’re a musician, or the general music aficionado, and haven’t listened to them GO LISTEN FOR YOSELF SOME SNARKY PUPPY. I chose Lingus for a “real” recording because the video helps the listener see how some amazing musicians create an amazing sound without digital manipulation. This is a live recording of trumpets, keyboards/synths, saxophones, guitars, and drums. The musicians are playing some incredible sounds and rhythms, but you can tell it’s being performed live not created by someone wearing glasses behind a bright computer screen. And, you can also see how they’re making the sounds live in this video, which makes me fangirl all the more when Cory Henry enters on his solo at 4:22.

A “hyperreal” recording: E.S. Posthumous - Pompeii

E.S. Posthumous has combines a great blend of orchestral sounds with modern beats and some electronic sounds. I categorized this track as “hyperreal” because of how E.S. Posthumous combines the use of acoustic instruments and electronic sounds or beats. There are a lot of orchestral sounds and choir singing, sounds that can be performed live. I think what makes this track “hyperreal” is in how mixing, editing, and arranging was involved in the process. What the group probably did was record the orchestra & choir live, then add beats, drums, and electronic sounds during the editing and mixing process. 

A “surreal” recording: SKRILLEX - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

EDM and dubstep is as “surreal” as you can get. Obviously, this genre is not created using acoustic sounds. Everything was composed electronically using digital technology. If Scary Monster and Nice Sprites was created using acoustic instruments, for example, by a jazz ensemble, the effect wouldn’t be quite there. The heavy bass, which is characteristic of dub, would be hard to replicate live. Perhaps some bass drum layered with an upright bass could create some cool sounds, but the result would not sound like the original. Also, the way dynamics and volume sound in this track is difficult to create with acoustic instruments vs electronically/digitally. Even if they were to be mic’ed, acoustic instruments have volume limitations and they sound best in their natural state without digital manipulation.