Title: Apollo Lee - Corners Date: March 10, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 Genre: Ambient Timing: 6:18 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
The pad instrument is quite evocative.
The harmony is complex and somewhat strange. I used a Korg padKontrol, so I had 16 notes. The corners spell Cm7. The outside columns on the center two rows spell Em7/13. The middle two columns in the top and bottom row spell out Abm7. The center four squares spell FM7. Interesting. So much potential.
There’s plenty of dissonance and consonance in this one, as well as a concerted effort not to double any notes on the controller.
I was able to close my eyes and sink into the music. This style of music lends itself well to slow improvisation that allows a dissonant chord to lock in and achieve its effect.
What I Don’t Like About It
I landed on some of the notes too hard and they stick out too much.
Like the sixteen ambient tracks that proceed this one, I had no plan, structure, or direction in mind. I landed on the keys wherever I decided to go.
It really sounds terrible on iPod headphones. It doesn’t sound too bad on nice headphones, but I could probably have mixed it down better.
I should have used the mod wheel, which has an interesting effect on this instrument.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.
In the second month of my 52 Tracks in 52 Weeks project, I crafted eight tracks. All of them were ambient improvisations and a vast majority of them were created on Caltrain during the commute to and from work in San Francisco.
As of February 29, 2008, the total number of tracks I’ve written so far this year stands at seventeen. I’m averaging nearly two per week. I’m ahead of schedule.
Title: Apollo Lee - Belmont Date: March 3, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 Genre: Ambient Timing: 6:30 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
The pad instrument (Blue Carpet) is beautiful and has lots of interesting potential.
The harmony is simple (Cm7 Fm7 Bbm7 Ebm7) and lends itself to lots of possibilities for different chord types, even with the 16 notes I’m using on the padKontrol.
There’s a decent amount of note diversity with a big profound low C.
What I Don’t Like About It
Midranges are fuzzy and distorted and this piece sounds terrible on iPod headphones.
The harmony is too consonant to get really rich dissonant tensions.
I mixed this down on the train, where I had to strain to hear past the noise of my surroundings.
I should have used the mod wheel with that strange effect more than for a split second at the end.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.
Title: Apollo Lee - Iridesce Date: February 27, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 + Korg Legacy Collection (Digital Edition) Genre: Ambient Timing: 7:48 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
Wine Pad on the Korg M1 (and, in this case, the M1 plugin) is beautiful and floating and very evocative.
I followed a simple chord progression (Ebm/M7 Cm7b5 Fm7b9 Bb7) in Eb Melodic Minor. It’s an unusual key that was surprisingly playable.
I tried to keep my fingers light on the big hammer-action piano controller in my studio.
I used third party plugins for the first time, specifically the M1 and MDE-X effects processor, in conjunction with the usual band of miscreants in Logic.
Using more of the keyboard allowed me some very deep lows to contrast with the higher notes floating around.
What I Don’t Like About It
There are some places where I let off the sustain pedal as we were moving to another chord. In those places, all of the sound dropped away precipitously.
It was fairly easy for me to clip the CPU meter, so I probably went a little overboard trying to compress the music so it wouldn’t clip the audio. It still feels too loud, though.
I’m still using one instrument. Sooner or later, one of these ambient pieces will have to grow beyond the one-patch improvisation.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.
Title: Apollo Lee - Synchrotron Date: February 18, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 Genre: Ambient Timing: 7:00 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
The harmony (F Melodic Minor) is beautiful and that Fm/major 7 chord is particularly haunting.
I’m improvising on the Keystation Pro 88 in my studio and I can just meander around a normal keyboard.
I monitored this composition primarily on Alesis Monitor One speakers, making sure that none of the heavy sections clipped or distorted.
F Melodic Minor is not a key I’m used to improvising in, so I had to remind myself during the whole course of the piece that Ds and Es are both natural, but A is always flat. (F Melodic Minor: F G Ab Bb C D E F)
What I Don’t Like About It
Sometimes, I landed a little harder than I intended on a particular set of chord tones, especially in the loud section that resulted at 3:10.
I am still improvising ambient music with only one instrument, a synth pad.
These compositions are still formless and shapeless.
Many of the transitions are either overly loud or chords that dissipate abruptly.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.
Title: Apollo Lee - Thermatropic Date: February 11, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 Genre: Ambient Timing: 6:36 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
The harmony (G Melodic Minor) is lush and provides gorgeous dissonance, particularly in chords that have the leading tone or that A natural against the Bb.
The instrument plays a harmonic when a note is at max velocity.
I equalized this one better than others recently, pulling the middle frequencies down.
Sometimes, the harmonic tones came unexpectedly and out of nowhere, to great affect.
What I Don’t Like About It
That harmonic at 3:35 is too loud. Some of the other harmonics are also too loud.
Even with the improved mix down, you should probably turn your speakers/headphones down. One of these days, I’ll create music that won’t punch a hole in your brain.
Since I’m playing a two octave keyboard here, I occasionally rambled too much over the same section of notes.
The instrument’s velocity touch is beautiful, but the modulation only provides a little vibrato. I probably could have used that more.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.
Title: Apollo Lee - Smectic Date: February 5, 2008 Software: Logic Pro 8 Genre: Ambient Timing: 7:00 @ 40 bpm
What I Like About It
The instrument I’m using is abstract and beautiful.
The harmonic structure lends itself to improvisation without much worry about clashing.
The low notes contrast nicely with the middles and the highs.
Lots of moments of lush dissonances and soaring consonants.
What I Don’t Like About It
I need to be more adventurous with harmony. This set of notes is stacked minor 7th chords. I should use more color tones (9ths, 11ths, and 13ths) in the fundamental harmony.
The mix down sounds muddy. Maybe I used too many compressors.
The improvisation isn’t very adventurous.
Sometimes, the harmonic rhythm is too fast for what I’m trying to do here.
Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.