Creative Assignment
The Piece
Piece Chosen- The piece I have chosen is Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, this is a very well known song released in 2003 from the album, Elephant. This was produced by Jack White and recorded at Toe Rag Studios in London.
Song Genre- The original song genre is alternative rock, and rock instruments like the electric guitar, bass, drums and vocals to achieve this genre.
Created Genre- The genre I have decided to recreate this piece in is house/dance/electronic music. This style of music is very modern currently and played in clubs and festivals. It is a good genre of music to dance to due to its constant beat. As a genre this type of music has developed over time due to advances in technology and musical software (for example VST's like Sylenth). This allows more people to access the software and create their own music. Obviously this has had a big impact of the genre as more alternatives of the style are being created. This is similar to artists like David Guetta and Calvin Harris. Sometimes these musicians remix songs or make creative arrangements of songs which have already been released by another artist/band. This is a very good way of creating new music, as it almost recycles music and gives successful songs a new life, gives some songs another chance to make it into the charts and raises awareness of artists and bands, therefore they may be able to increase their fan base.
Created Genre- The genre I have decided to recreate this piece in is house/dance/electronic music. This style of music is very modern currently and played in clubs and festivals. It is a good genre of music to dance to due to its constant beat. As a genre this type of music has developed over time due to advances in technology and musical software (for example VST's like Sylenth). This allows more people to access the software and create their own music. Obviously this has had a big impact of the genre as more alternatives of the style are being created. This is similar to artists like David Guetta and Calvin Harris. Sometimes these musicians remix songs or make creative arrangements of songs which have already been released by another artist/band. This is a very good way of creating new music, as it almost recycles music and gives successful songs a new life, gives some songs another chance to make it into the charts and raises awareness of artists and bands, therefore they may be able to increase their fan base.
BPM- The original song has the tempo of 124bpm (beats per minute).
Musical Features- The song has a signature bass line throughout the song, which is probably the most recognisable component of the song. It follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro, structure. I have decided to increase the tempo of my track in the creative arrangement and also use the verse and only the start/parts of the chorus. But I have not changed the bass line and I have kept that constantly throughout my piece/creative arrangement.
Musical Features- The song has a signature bass line throughout the song, which is probably the most recognisable component of the song. It follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro, structure. I have decided to increase the tempo of my track in the creative arrangement and also use the verse and only the start/parts of the chorus. But I have not changed the bass line and I have kept that constantly throughout my piece/creative arrangement.
Track List
Track 1- Kick Drum
For the kick drum I have used a syncopated rhythm which works well with the hi hat which plays on the alternative beat. This creates a drop to the floor beat which is evident in most songs in the house music genre. I have used EQ on this track to modify the frequencies being heard throughout the track and the instrument has been imported from Media Bay using Groove Agent ONE. For the EQ on the kick drum I have boosted low frequencies and dropped higher frequencies.
Track 2- Hi Hat
Similarly with the kick drum, the hi hat has also been EQ'd to ensure all frequencies are right for the instrument selected. The hi hat is on every offbeat which gives the piece the typical on going beat running fast throughout the song. For the EQ of the hi hat I have boosted the middle section of frequencies.
Track 3- Synth, ARP Knightwatch
I have also used EQ on this track, but alternatively this time I have boosted a higher frequency range. As this is an arpeggio synthesiser there are a range of notes being played at once so the frequency range is wide. The melody being played in this section of the song is a variation of the bass line.
Track 4- Electro Funk Kit, Claps
I feel like it was necessary to use claps in the piece as it gave the song a different style to the original. Also, during my research in preparation to creating this piece I noticed that several house songs use claps to
Above I have comprehensively explained what I have done to selected tracks from my sequencing project, outlining how I achieved the sound evident in my work. Below, listed are tracks which are also included in my piece. With all of these tracks I have added similar effects and pre/post production techniques to mix and master the track.
Track 5- Synth, ARP Neuron
Track 6- Synth- ARP ClassicVA
Track 7- Synth, KEY SkyDrops
Track 8- Synth, KEY SkyDrops (Harmony)
Track 9- Synth, KEY SkyDrops
Track 10- Synth, ARP 303 Saw
Track 11- SEQ Rolling Bass
Track 12- BS Cut Bass
Track 13- Reversed Cymbal Crash (Imported from MP3)
Track 14- ARP Doves (Melody)
Track 15- Bass Drop (Imported from MP3)
Track 1- Kick Drum
For the kick drum I have used a syncopated rhythm which works well with the hi hat which plays on the alternative beat. This creates a drop to the floor beat which is evident in most songs in the house music genre. I have used EQ on this track to modify the frequencies being heard throughout the track and the instrument has been imported from Media Bay using Groove Agent ONE. For the EQ on the kick drum I have boosted low frequencies and dropped higher frequencies.
Track 2- Hi Hat
Similarly with the kick drum, the hi hat has also been EQ'd to ensure all frequencies are right for the instrument selected. The hi hat is on every offbeat which gives the piece the typical on going beat running fast throughout the song. For the EQ of the hi hat I have boosted the middle section of frequencies.
Track 3- Synth, ARP Knightwatch
I have also used EQ on this track, but alternatively this time I have boosted a higher frequency range. As this is an arpeggio synthesiser there are a range of notes being played at once so the frequency range is wide. The melody being played in this section of the song is a variation of the bass line.
Track 4- Electro Funk Kit, Claps
I feel like it was necessary to use claps in the piece as it gave the song a different style to the original. Also, during my research in preparation to creating this piece I noticed that several house songs use claps to
Above I have comprehensively explained what I have done to selected tracks from my sequencing project, outlining how I achieved the sound evident in my work. Below, listed are tracks which are also included in my piece. With all of these tracks I have added similar effects and pre/post production techniques to mix and master the track.
Track 5- Synth, ARP Neuron
Track 6- Synth- ARP ClassicVA
Track 7- Synth, KEY SkyDrops
Track 8- Synth, KEY SkyDrops (Harmony)
Track 9- Synth, KEY SkyDrops
Track 10- Synth, ARP 303 Saw
Track 11- SEQ Rolling Bass
Track 12- BS Cut Bass
Track 13- Reversed Cymbal Crash (Imported from MP3)
Track 14- ARP Doves (Melody)
Track 15- Bass Drop (Imported from MP3)
What I Did
For this project i wanted to create an alternative version of the popular rock song, seven nation army. To begin with I sequenced the main melody into cubase. This gave me something to work around and create my piece on. From this melody I was able to compose harmonies and find riffs to use during the introduction and build up to the main part of the song.My favourite thing about the original song is the bass melody which is present throughout the song and is probably the most recognisable feature of the song. I also used this throughout my piece, but variated the instrument. I used and arpegiated VST instrument which gave the song a more electro feel and genre.
Evaluation
I believe that my overall track was quite successful as I created a remix of the song which suited the genre I wanted to create to. I think that I used layers quite well in the song and I was very happy with the texture which I created. The texture was very thin and simplistic at the beginning of the song, but then gradually built up and up till the end of the song. At the end of the song I gradually removed instruments from the piece until I was left with one single synth.
I think that there was a distinct beat to the song and that it could be played for people to dance in in a club or at a party, which it the main use and purpose for this genre of music.
To improve the track I think that I could have added vocals from the original song into the piece, but edit them so they sound almost robotic and programmed. I could do this by using pitch shift, reverb and EQ.
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