orchestral

Apert

Note: This post was written in 2025 and backdated to appear on the day I wrote and published the track. The only concrete thing I remember about this track is that I wrote the entire piano part first and in one take. I’d been noodling for a bit with the lovely Piano in Blue sample library and had come up with the general pattern you hear. While it was still fresh and enjoyable, I improvised the entire track, not really paying attention to bar numbers, but with the metronome going and an occasional glance at the elapsed time. As with … Continue reading

Hymnos

The last four days have been electronic or beat-based, so I was in the mood to go back to some orchestral instruments. My sample library acquisitions over the last couple of years have been as much of an expansion for me as when I got my first sampler in the late 80s, my first really good workstation synth in the late 90s, not to mention what digital audio workstations (DAWs) have done to make professional-level production achievable in the smallest of spaces. I’ve made use of the Eric Whitacre choir library before, but wanted to do something that really featured … Continue reading

Across the Plains

We arrive at the month’s first dodged bullet. My time management over the weekend, complicated by impromptu hang outs with our neighbors in the evenings, led to me getting a late start. It’s hard to go to bed at a decent hour when you don’t go into the studio before midnight, but I was generally happy with both Continental Transit and Mare Vaporum, so I had no reason to think this one would be any different. How wrong I was. There are now three project files on my computer dated 20230206, and that doesn’t reflect the multiple times I’d do … Continue reading

Henotic Cryptography

I’m actually live blogging this track as I write it, and I could not have asked for a better starting scenario. Opened up Digital Performer, decided I was starting with soft synths, and opted for Serum, a fairly popular wavetable synth, especially with the dub step and EDM crowd. I typically go straight for either arpeggiated sounds or pads. For those who don’t speak synthnerd, arpeggiators automatically play patterns of notes or do some other type of rhythmic effect, and pads are the big washes of sounds that are normally held for a long time. As I scrolled through them, … Continue reading

Dreams of a Distant Shore

While yesterday’s full-on song was a bit of a surprise for me, with lyrics and theme coming together rather quickly, today was closer to what I was expecting to run up against. I went into the studio around 8 or 9pm, but didn’t actually start writing anything until closer to 11. This was less about not having and idea, and more about just exploring lots of different sounds and noodling with no intent before deciding I needed to get my butt in gear and start. The trigger sound that got me going is the choir. This particular patch uses multiple … Continue reading