Is that who did the piano "solo" in your "Ten Lies?
I'm sorry to say, I took a midi loop from Garage Band, and tweaked the notes until they fit my chord progression... Please don't be dissapointed. I did play everything else!
It's kind of a catch 22, because she's a "reader" and not an improviser. If I need her to play something I need to write it down. If I could play well enough to write it I wouldn't need her to play it. She can sing a little too.
Project-D wrote: If I could play well enough to write it I wouldn't need her to play it.
This puzzles me a little bit. I tend to favor reading over improvising also but I can figure the parts out on paper (or on the computer) before I play them. You don't think that you could write a part that is too difficult for you to play? I do it to myself all of the time.
Steve
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" -Unknown
"Seems to me this is the point of Songfight" - Max The Cat
This puzzles me a little bit. I tend to favor reading over improvising also but I can figure the parts out on paper (or on the computer) before I play them. You don't think that you could write a part that is too difficult for you to play? I do it to myself all of the time.
I probably didn't say that right, If I want a "comped" kind of piano part, I kind of need to hack through it myself to see if it's what I want. I don't know enough piano idom to write it well. I end up writing parts that don't "lay" well under the fingers even if they sound ok. Does that make sense? I knew a phenomenal piano professor (Robert Helps - he's what I'd call semi-famous) and he wrote a piano/guitar piece. He had to keep consulting with the classical guitar professor to see if the parts were idomatic, or even playable. I'm like that with piano. I write horn or string parts much easier.
Billy's Little Trip wrote:I think that's the hardest thing for loopers to understand.
lest other musical misunderstandings perpetuate: 'looping' can involve a lot more than just playing a loop, and it is really on a totally separate axis of discussion from rapping.
Shitty advice. In rock you can copy someone's riff and you might be able to get away with it, but in hip hop copying is called biting, and biting is the easiest way to earn ridicule.
No, the best way to earn riducule around here is to rap period. But I can't believe you actually typed that out. Did you really just say that rappers don't copy? I barely listen to rap in passing and I can tell you that isn't true. Of course, I can also tell you what a ii7 is and how to resolve a V7 chord, and I can play about 5 instruments competently, but I don't listen to people who talk over plagiarised beats, so you're the expert here.
Never once did I imply that he record any of this stuff and submit it. If you want to learn to rap, then you need to rap. If you want to learn what beats to put on the 1 and 3 and which to put on 2 and 4, then you need to analyze how other people did it. People around here who actually play instruments, will tell you it's true. Ask the guitar players. The guy wants to get better at rapping, but he got a lot of people busting his balls. Fine, It's called song fight, not blow sunshine up each others ass. However, I figured I'd give the guy a concrete plan of sequential steps he could take in the comfort of his own home to practice analyzing and manipulating beats, rhythms, and words. If you break other peoples stuff down to see how they did it, you will enlighten yourself. That's what I suggested he do.
I notice two themes here: People who think hip hop takes no work or effort, and dismiss the entire genre, and people who think hip hop takes no work or effort, so they makes us all suffer by listening to their garbage rhymes.
Learn how to play a two octave C major scale in eighth notes, at 120 beats a minute, and sing a melody over a I IV V progression in the key of A, then come back and school the 30 + people around here who can (and then some). Every week.
So you "barely listen to rap in passing" but you think you can tell someone how to become a better emcee or what's legitimate in hip hop?
You "barely listen to rap in passing" but you're going to argue with me over how to develop as a hip hop artist?
You "barely listen to rap in passing" but you're going to actually claim that sampling is the equivalent of biting rhymes?
I'm embarrassed for you.
It's also worth noting I have a Fender American Standard, a Tex Mex and a nice Marshall 100W here in my apartment, and I've been playing for 9 years or so. I'm no Jimi Hendrix, but don't assume that because my first love is hip hop, I don't know anything about playing an instrument.
Before Picture: Nice Ookla the Mok stylings though a touch repetative, and the ahhh's are not happening, needs a more urgent chorus than just "king me king me" 6/10
Billys Little Trip: Awsome rocker Chris, this goes straight on my player, bass is kicking! 9/10
Booty Chesterfield: Curious start then BANG! there's a serious T-Rexishness in the vocals that works extremely well with the alt. rock style, maybe a touch over long, part from that excellent 8/10
C Hack: Ha ha! nice trad arr. though I'm wracking my brain to remember what this song was in it's original form and who it was done by, but if this has already been revealed in the posts then I apologise as I haven't had a chance to work my way through. 7/10
db Collective: db boulevard maybe(?) nice soulish rnb but not kicking enough, this could do with a heavy bass line, and the instrumentation coming forward during the chorus and breaks, like the vocals though nice! 7/10
Doorite: One word... Brilliant! 9/10
Dublin Duck Dispensary: There's probably a really good song in here somewhere, but the recording equipment is ruining it, which is a shame, cleaned up I'd probably like this more. 5/10
Finding Nemoy: I always get you confused with the frisbee's, that's a georgeous touch at 0:50 I didn't really listen to the lyrics, just let the song flow over me, on the player! 8/10
Henrietta: This is truely wonderful, excellent vocals, excellent lyrics 9/10
Hostess Mostess: Christ this is another stonkingly great track, there's not much I can say about this track either other than... 9/10
Jim Tyrrell: This seems like a much more fuller sound than normal, and it really works, 'specially as you've pushed your vocals more forward (there were some bloody good songs this week weren't there?) 8/10
Luke Henley: Not my thing here, and the second voice is at times a little disconcerting, this left me feeling rather edgy, though obviously from the lyrics its not a song from a happy place, so I guess any emotional response is cool, though I will admit as the song builds it does become more accessable though it's rather long. 7/10 (would have been 6 but by 1:50 I was sold on an 8 then by the end I'd got tired and dropped back to a 7)
MC Eric B: This is a bit 'Great Luke Ski' I prefer your Warren G stylings, gets very tired and samey thoughout quite quickly 6/10 (nice beats though)
MCRT: Superior rap track compaired to previous, with enough variation to keep the ear interested really good beats too, though once again it gets tired by 2:30 7/10
Melvin: Interesting Lyrically, Musically Blissful, Vocally Indie, Love it. 9/10
Next Bedtime: Hmm! I'm fascinated by the Eastern/Western style, stays slow for too long to make enough of an impression, but interesting nonetheless 6/10 (could be a 7 if pushed)
Outta Norway: Sorry but this is standard fayre, falls somewhere between eric and rt, but lyrically its just another rap song where the rapper says how good he is compaired to every other rapper and how his shit is gonna take him to the top, why cant rappers rap about something else (this tirade is not directed just at you its a general gripe of mine) 6 or 7/10
Pepe's Confusion: Nice track, nothing spectacular and nothing to stick in the memory but competent nonetheless 7/10
Project-D: Sounds a touch like a stripped down steve durand, I keep waiting for a brass break, jolly tune, but not going anywhere fast away from forgettable for me, nice break though. 7/10
Ross Durand: This is like a track from one of those feel good movies, where about three quarters of the way through the principal female lead, visits the wise old man who lives just outside of town, and who everyone says is a bit strange, but she visits anyway, and he gives her the wisdom to realise that male character one is no good and male character two is the guy she should run to, then as she turns away to find her true love then this track should start. what I've just written has nothing to do with the lyrical content of the track, you could have been singing the contents off a jar of marmalade for all it mattered, it's just the feeling that was evoked by the track, you know when sometimes you listen to something and it strikes a chord somewhere else, (I've probably made no sense here at all). 8/10
Sativa Indica: Interesting name(!) some really cool ideas in here, but maybe it gets a little cacophonic in places to make it universally accessable, but interestingly odd enough for my tastes. 6/10
Sheail: Nothing happening here, nice lyrical touches here and there, but kinda average apart from that, but not bad! somewhere between 6 and 7/10
Signboy: Vocals are really muffled at the beginning, and set to far away after that, cant really work out whats being sung (though thats not always important) thats a nice guitar sound, percussion is a bit one dimensional 6 to 7/10
Sorry: Don't be, this has a certain charm which is helped by the length. 6/10
Steakhaus: Sounds like early PWEI not a bad thing to sound like either, enjoyable Rocky-Rappy style 8/10
Steve Durand: Just recently I've been listening to a lot of Paco del Stinko, Those Meddling Kids/Carpetburn and Steve Durand, and I have to say that this is pure golden-era-durand, I have got myself hooked on your stuff and thus you can do no wrong, this is sing-a-long-a-cheezy-goodness 9/10
Those Meddling Kids: Fuck me Squeaky Puppet Intro!! I bet you got slated for this didn't'cha? I can hear where you went though, there's a certain amount of pomp and ceremony in this, kinda like watching the opening of parliament to a trippy backbeat, half expect a "Charlie Says King Me". 7/10
Wages: You know dude I reckon you're stuck in a bit of a rut, mainly because I always know what your tracks gonna sound like before it starts, a couple months ago you produced a track (can't remember which one) which blew me away, it had bite, bass, depth, this sounds like a good idea, but it just isn't working. 6/10
Wally Harbringer: Had to listen to that intro again, this whole thing sounds like it was kissed by 70's TV, What a cool track, such roundness (can't think of a better word), excellent lyrics too! 9/10
Wes Davis: Suffers from the plethora of stonkin' songs, this has pretty much everything to score highly, nice vocal inflections 8/10
spOOn wrote:Wages: You know dude I reckon you're stuck in a bit of a rut, mainly because I always know what your tracks gonna sound like before it starts, a couple months ago you produced a track (can't remember which one) which blew me away, it had bite, bass, depth, this sounds like a good idea, but it just isn't working. 6/10
It wasn't Georgia's Hand was it? Or maybe one of the Gawking Urethras tunes? Let me know!
Wages - Hoglen & Wages - The Affirmative Mention - Gawking Urethras - The EAF - and more
I'm sorry to say, I took a midi loop from Garage Band, and tweaked the notes until they fit my chord progression... Please don't be dissapointed. 
I did play everything else!
.