Thread: You+Musical instrument=??

Originally Posted by dodobird

I play guitar, flute, sing, and write songs.
Here is a direct link to download a song called Silence: http://www.sadglad.com/flashsite/mp3...dglad.com).mp3
And here is my website address where you can listen to all my songs: http://www.sadglad.com
Happy listening!

Fun little song, Dodo. You should develop it further, perhaps building it up with a few more instruments. I thought it was a little strange how the guitar kept switching between a mono and stereo sounds. Was that intentional?

Originally Posted by skysaw

Fun little song, Dodo. You should develop it further, perhaps building it up with a few more instruments. I thought it was a little strange how the guitar kept switching between a mono and stereo sounds. Was that intentional?

Yes it was intentional... the mono sound was recorded on external condenser mic, the stereo sound is a combo of the external condenser and my guitar's internal amplification system.

Everyone plays so beautifully. I'm so jealous.

LMAO I recorded Fairytale (From Shrek, you know) on piano and it sounds like high-pitched wailing. It's not so bad on the low notes, but once you get up there...

Geez, this is making me want to crack out my oboe. I haven't played that baby in months, I can't wait to hear how horrific I sound.

Originally Posted by QwinsepiaSquared

Everyone plays so beautifully. I'm so jealous.

LMAO I recorded Fairytale (From Shrek, you know) on piano and it sounds like high-pitched wailing. It's not so bad on the low notes, but once you get up there...

Geez, this is making me want to crack out my oboe. I haven't played that baby in months, I can't wait to hear how horrific I sound.

I wish I had an oboe. And I REALLY wish I had a harp

I'd get so confused if I tried to play a harp, there's just too many strings. Oboes are fun though. It's probably the only wind instrument where you feel like you'll pass out from too much air, instead of not enough!

Originally Posted by QwinsepiaSquared

I'd get so confused if I tried to play a harp, there's just too many strings.

But, do you know that significant strings in each octave are color-coded? I think it's the C, G and A (or something like that). The nice part about a harp is that all notes are in key, like with a harmonica. So they are all tuned to the scale (usually C), as opposed to being chromatic.

Oboes are fun though. It's probably the only wind instrument where you feel like you'll pass out from too much air, instead of not enough!

That's the way I feel whenever I try to get sound out of a flute. I get dizzy and never quite produce a tone. I can tone a bottle or similar cavity but never a flute for some reason.

That's true, I guess the color coding would help. You'd have to retune the whole instrument if you want a different key, though?

I heard that flutes make excellent tuba players because of the amount of air it takes to play them. I never would have guessed that, flutes and tubas seem so different to me.

Originally Posted by Aquanina

I'm trying to learn Vincent's Theme from Corpse Bride. I might also take a video of me playing I Cannot See His Color, from The Village. Though, it was hard to interpret because it's all violins.

I'm learning Vincents solo, and the piano duet (vincents part) ill post videos of them soon.

Hehe, I feel left out of the improv club... Does anyone else just enjoy playing some damn sheet music ?

Me on the violin... I'm in an orchestra which had it's first practice of the [school] new year today. We're playing Brukner's 4th Symphony I think.
By myself at the moment I'm playing a Concerto by Vivaldi and a Piano and Violin Sonata by Dvorak.

Nice playing everyone btw - Carousoul, that's pretty good for something you learned just from hearin it ...
Nina your piano is awesome! That is actually so cool!
LS, nice improvisation on the guitar, my ears are completely intact
Skysaw, nice song, how many instruments were involved with that, and did you write it yourself?
Spartiate, just finished downloading your moonlight sonata, I like it

Is there anyone who plays an orchestral instrument here... I haven't noticed any so far except flute...

Originally Posted by Carôusoul

I'm learning Vincents solo, and the piano duet (vincents part) ill post videos of them soon.

That's awesome. I have the sheet music for Victor's solo, my sis bought it for me for christmas but I haven't really checked it out until recently. I really really really wish I had someone to play Emily and Victor's duet with...I think it's so beautiful.

Originally Posted by Aquanina

That's awesome. I have the sheet music for Victor's solo, my sis bought it for me for christmas but I haven't really checked it out until recently. I really really really wish I had someone to play Emily and Victor's duet with...I think it's so beautiful.

Hm. heres a far flung idea.

Do you have the music for that.. if so, then if you can maybe find a way to record emily's part, i can record victors and we can put them together or something.

Its the next best thing to playing it.

Originally Posted by Skysaw

Here's a little song I wrote. I'm playing all of the instruments and singing:
Further Out There

Originally Posted by Lord Toaster

Skysaw, nice song, how many instruments were involved with that, and did you write it yourself?

Thanks, Toaster. Glad you liked it!

The instruments are piano, string quintet, vibraphone, drums, several synthesizer patches, voice, and lots of processing. I wrote and performed all of it myself using my home studio.

Originally Posted by QwinsepiaSquared

That's true, I guess the color coding would help. You'd have to retune the whole instrument if you want a different key, though?

Or have another one already set up for another key. I'd imagine most harp music would be written in C or A-minor, since they contain all of the same notes. I know some harps have levers that allow you to quick-change the key (by altering the tension of the appropriate strings). Other harps have specialised tunings.

And with that, I've told you everything I know about harps.

Originally Posted by Carôusoul

Hm. heres a far flung idea.

Do you have the music for that.. if so, then if you can maybe find a way to record emily's part, i can record victors and we can put them together or something.

Its the next best thing to playing it.

Hehe...that would be awesome! I don't have the sheet music but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find. I don't know how to read sheet music for a duet, but I'm sure I can figure it out. =)

Actually, the pedal harp harp can do fairly quick key changes. It's set up with seven notes per octave, and each note can be flat, natural, or sharp. The default tuning (pedals up) is Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb.

With all pedals in the middle position: C, D, E, F, G, A, B

With all pedals down: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#

It only takes a second to change a pedal.

You can tune the harp to play some chords by using enharmonic tunings. For example, F# is enharmonically the same as Gb. This is useful for glissandos (sweeping upward or downward across the strings.)

You can tune to a B7 chord like this: Cb, D#, Eb, F#, Gb, A, B

If you're playing impressionistic music, you might end up tuned to a whole tone scale: C, D, E, F#, Gb, Ab, Bb, for example.

Originally Posted by skysaw

Actually, the pedal harp harp can do fairly quick key changes. It's set up with seven notes per octave, and each note can be flat, natural, or sharp. The default tuning (pedals up) is Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb.

With all pedals in the middle position: C, D, E, F, G, A, B

With all pedals down: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#

It only takes a second to change a pedal.

You can tune the harp to play some chords by using enharmonic tunings. For example, F# is enharmonically the same as Gb. This is useful for glissandos (sweeping upward or downward across the strings.)

You can tune to a B7 chord like this: Cb, D#, Eb, F#, Gb, A, B

If you're playing impressionistic music, you might end up tuned to a whole tone scale: C, D, E, F#, Gb, Ab, Bb, for example.

It's not fair! I want it! I want it! :,,,(
now where is clairity's hug thread...

Writing for the harp can be tricky. I had an orchestral piece played by the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, and one of the movements prominently featured the harp. At the first rehearsal, the harpist came to me, and pointed out several places where the part was nearly impossible at the tempo I wanted, due to tangling of fingers! I had to rewrite the part before the performance.

For the curious, here is the work: Suddenly Moths

It's part of a suite I wrote called Five Unlikely Visions which depicts hypnagogic imagery I had during late-night writing sessions.

Goddamn, for some reason this computer doesn't like microphones and picks up little amounts of sound even when I yell into the thing! It worked fine on my other computer...

LOL! Hey this sound like fun. Actually I remember someone doing something like this last year. They started a thread to get all the musicians on here come together to produce a "DV Song".

Anyone remember Tom_Peace? He sort of got it started with this raw cut of a riff and melody. Then people started adding, cutting and messing with it. It was fun cuz everyone had a different approach on the same theme.

Tom's original rough cut

My sampled and modified treatment
(sorry bout the quality, had to really compress it to be able to upload it)

While composing music is a passion of mine as well, I find colaborations just as fun. I wish OpheliaBlue was able to come on here more often, my first colaboration on DV was with one of her songs. The girl can sing!

Originally Posted by ColdBlooded

Goddamn, for some reason this computer doesn't like microphones and picks up little amounts of sound even when I yell into the thing! It worked fine on my other computer...

If you're on a PC, check to make sure your input level on the mic is turned up (should open the entire sound panel and sift through it looking for the microphone tab, then input level). If not, cold be the mic you're using -- get a Mac!

Thanks Tornado, yeah the input is all the way up. I fooled around with the panel a bit though and it's a tad louder.

Alright, instead of posting my normal songs, I'll let you hear two that don't fit the standard molds of music.

I did this first one around 1994-95. It's not a "song", per sé. A friend of a friend was a computer graphics designer and was putting together a demo disc for some visual effects firmware he was designing. He asked if I'd do a soundtrack for one of the CGI demo videos on it.

Since you don't get to see the visuals, here's a quick description to give you some context: The video began with a space shuttle launch. In space, various worlds and wonders are witnessed. In the end, the crew spots life on a remote planet. As they get closer, it becomes clear that it's a technological civilation having lots of complicated machinery making use of horse and steam power. They finally land on this new planet.

You are About to Embark Upon a Journey


And this one is part of a project I had started about the same year. I was around 21 years old. It was inspired by some if the concept albums I was loving at the time so it's not a melody/chorus song but, more of an audio play or mini-musical.

The story is about some one who has always been viewed and treated as different insane because he didn't fit society's pattern of normal. He's being held prisoner in a dungeon, tortured and used for horrific scientific experiments.

Be warned that my voice isn't/wasn't exactly suited for the task. Listen at own risk:

I am so Crazy

They're rather different but maybe some one will like one.

Fun tracks, gh. Since we're sharing our "not-so-normal" stuff now, here's a track off of my album Red Wire. It's an upbeat funeral dirge possibly about recovery and fresh flowers:

Pretty Poppies

Wow, I didn't know we had so many musicians here...Honestly, you're all very very good!

Lucid Seeker, Ears bleeding? That was incredible man! God damn...you've got it, really it sounded excellent!

Hmm, I used to play the guitar...meh, Shall I put up one of me playing "Piano Man" on the harmonica? Gahhh...