Bilbo

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1353670502' post='1877157'] Oh Rob No entry this month mate? [/quote] Mine was way back on page six of this thread, mate. It's just that it sounds a bit sad to me now Serioulsy, I am a bit annoyed that two of the (many) VSTs I used don't seem to want to transfer from midi to audio. I play it back in Cubase and it is there but when I create an audio file, it is not (there is a drone under the opening speech that carries on through the whole first section and a bass part that comes in under the vibes sound in the middle - their absence is not a death blow but it does impede the forward momentum of the piece). Too late now.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1353670230' post='1877148'] Moondance [/quote] Pervert.

I didn't want a stupid custom bass anyway....

Time To Dream by Greenslade. N.I.B. - Black Sabbath Bloodsucker - Deep Purple And So To F - Brand X

In the basses for sale section of the marketplace . For photos, try uploading your photo to photobucket.com and use their links.

Hoist by my own petard!

Great stuff, Mike. The trumpet player's tone is particularly lovely. Was the sound recorded off a desk?

Me. [size=1]only joking....[/size]

There is nothing scientific about it. When I am playing this (or any of the other tune on my 'banned' list), my self talk is telling me that this is not what I took up the bass for, that its is predictable, repetitive, tedious and cringeworthy and that I hate it and everything it stands for. If my self talk was doing that about a book I was reading, I would stop reading it. If it was telling me that about a film I was watching, some food I was eating or a conversation I was having, I would turn it off, put my knife and fork down and engineer my removal from that situation. Mustang Sally is no different. The only reason I would continue doing it is for money and that is what I have a day job for. It is the musical equivalent of a comedian saying 'when is a door not a door? When it is ajar'. PS I am a frightful snob.

These problems are common in those early efforts to set up a home recording facility. What I found was that my soundcard was not built to deal with the kind of use I had in mind when I bought the computer so, on the advice of a friend (a great ppianist called Carl Hudson, now playing keys with Professor Green), I got a usb audio interface (in my case, Audio Capture UA 20) and that seemed to sort the problem out. My knowledge of this stuff is too rudimentary for me to give a definitive answer but your audio interface/ASIO may need configuring (it is usually under a drop down bar and is called 'devices' or something and needs to be set to the appropriate setting. I am sorry I am being vague but this is all based on my own limited experience of the issue. I don't know Audacity either PS this knobbing about for hours is par for the course in the early days anyway as you are making sense of a load of stuff that has ints own perverse logic. You'll get there in the end but you will get days when the PC looks sure to be going out the window....

I find that I use all sorts of different methods for composing; chords first, drums first, bassline first, melody first.... I often write contrefacts (new heads for exisitng chord sequences - see 'At The End Of The Avenue' on my soundcloud page). The best pieces come out whole and get built aroudn a firm idea but, sometimes, I get into little exercises that bear fruit (see Composing For Dummies). On this month's composition, I had it all thought out before I switched the computer on and, after that, it was a case of colouring in the original sketch. In general terms, I think that, where the creative process is concerned, anything goes and the end justifies the means.

I've got sunshine in my stomach....... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M58wE8GTGp4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M58wE8GTGp4[/url]

A Love Supreme with a back beat! Marvellous lack of reverence!! Enjoyed it, Mike.

Here are four of my own tunes peformed by my trio [b][i]trio[/i] East [/b]featuring Myke Clifford on sax and Russ Morgan on drums. Not perfectly executed (sax player was reading) but a useful indication of the direction of travel of my embryonic composing!! [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/at-the-end-of-the-avenue"]http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/at-the-end-of-the-avenue[/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/cant-you-hear-the-thunder"]http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/cant-you-hear-the-thunder[/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/low-men-dancing"]http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/low-men-dancing[/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/caustic"]http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/caustic[/url]

Amateurs practise until they get it right. Professionals practice unyil they can't get it wrong. Drummers practice until the pubs open.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2AeNjQiRLc[/media]

I think some are ok and many aren't. All it needs is careful consideration. But, yes, some videos do more harm than good,,,,, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0shO4tv6vGs&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0shO4tv6vGs&feature=related[/url]

Here we go. When I saw the photos, my over-riding impression was of clowns; the mask being pulled off by Freddy (a Kiss mask, if I am not mistaken) was a little clown-like, the second 'skull' image was surprisingly clown-like despite its intentions and Saville presented himself as clown-like in his dealings with children/the media. So I was left with this sense that clowns are often not what they seem and whilst we, as adults associate them with fun and laughter, many children are afraid of them.....there's a reason and, to my eyes, that reason is evident in the images we were working to. So I open the piece with the 'la, la laaaa, theme from Jim'll fix it (first 8 bars although it is reharmonised with a minor feel so may sound 'odd') which morphs into the Scooby Doo theme. After those themes are developed, the 'heavy' part of the piece starts (reflecting the second 'skull' image) and the three themes come together in the closing stages. I have to say that this is probably the most sophisticated composition I have ever done using Cubase etc and there are faults (some of the levels are slightly askew due to glitches in my software and, for some reason, the bass sound I used (Midi) didn't come out in the final mix (ironic, eh?). I stress there is NO bass guitar or double bass on this tune, it is midi orchestra, various other midi instruments and guitar (Gibson ES175 through Pro Co Rat and vst amp simulators). It's nowhere near perfect but I am pretty pleased with it. [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/theres-a-reason"]http://soundcloud.co...theres-a-reason[/url]

Dave Holland 'Extensions'

I used to take a pile of books to the reading festival and was always disappointed when it was all about music.

Hondo II Precision copy 4 Aria SB700 4 [b]Wal Custom Fretless 4[/b] Washburn Status headless 4 Status Energy 6 Status Energy 5 [b]Gedo Musik Double Bass 5[/b]

I am pretty much there, just some details to tweak over the weekend. Really enjoyed this one.

Supertramp!! Some great songs over the years (my fave was Sister Moonshine) Steve Kuhn Trio - Mostly Coltrane

That implies I am a good composer Tell you what. Anyone who objects can turn mine off after 5 minutes!!

That's that hair split..... There is certainly a sense that some musicains (Hancock, Monk, Jarrett etc) have earned the right to smack the keyboard with their elbow/head/any part of their anantomy. If that's all someone can do, then the credibility of the technique as an artistic choice is compromised.