(Part 3 can be found here.)

Next, I started doing something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

In the sequencer that I use, Digital Performer, I have installed a plugin sampler called MachFive. And in MachFive you have the ability to load any sound into it and then trigger that sound on your keyboard.

In my case, what I’ve always wanted to do, and have done here, is load a bunch of sax licks into the sampler, then bend, fold, and mutilate them – that is, edit them – to see what I could come up with.

Here’s an image of the MachFive sampler with a bunch of the sax licks I’ve already recorded in this song loaded and ready to be triggered by each keyboard key:

So, after much experimentation, frustration, persperation, conflagration, and consideration of my situation, I’ve come up with a working version of the song with a bunch of triggered sax licks, some of which play backwards.

My goal is to not only experiment with the sax-in-the-sampler idea, but also to make it pleasing, musical, and transcendental. With this in mind, I’ve decided to change the name of the song to “Transcendance”.

Here it is. Enjoy!

Transcendance

(I’m going to leave it here for a while and move on to another song; I’ve got several lined up in my head.)

(Part 2 can be found here.)

A big part of what I do with any song I’m composing is edit sound files. This is where I take recorded parts, cut them up into smaller pieces, then move them around so they are exactly the way I want them. (I can spend hours doing this kind of stuff and I never get bored.)

In this case, I’ve gone through all the bass parts that Chris recorded, and also some of my sax parts, and edited the sound bites to my liking. Here’s what it looks like on my screen:

You can see that I’ve sliced up the Tenor 2 part and moved some of the notes around so the more exactly match the Tenor 1 part.

I’ve also sliced and diced and mixed and matched and copied and pasted Chris’ bass part. Believe it or not, this is all very normal and an accepted part of creating music.

So now that I’ve got the whole first section of the song done – the sax and bass parts are solid, and the other parts are edited and arranged just the way I want them – I’ll turn my attention again to the second section after the transition.

I’ve created a really nice little background chord sequence for this section that uses a looped section of Chris’ bass part and some cool ambient chords and sounds. Here’s what it sounds like without any bass, drums, or guitar.

Ambient Background

Also, I’ve decided to throw out the more aggressive second drum groove I created earlier and simply extend the original drum groove. Here, then, is that same ambient chordal section with the original drum groove, plus bass and guitar:

Ambient Background With Instruments

So. Now what I have is a fully formed first section, and a nice start on a second section, and the whole thing sounds like this:

Basic Song With Ambient Section

Here’s what that transition section looks like:

You can also see in this image all the parts I’ve created for this song, including parts that use synthesizer sounds called Belly Flop, Earfarker, and Must.Hit.Snooze.

Continue to Part 4 —>

(Part 1 can be found here.)

Now that I’ve got a good working groove going, I can start to actually design the song with chord changes and melody that way I originally heard it and described it on that envelope.

It’s time now to compose bass and keyboard parts that incorporate the chord changes that I’m hearing. Also, I’ll add a little guitar chop part that adds some spice to the groove. What I end up with is the basic backbone of the song:

Basic Backbone

To add even more spice to this tune what I’ll do is, after repeating the basic backbone of the song twice, I’ll insert a transitional section that incorporates more aggressive drum sounds that increase the tension and excitement of the song:

Transition

At this point I have the basic song composed to my liking. It’s time to add some saxophone.

I never know quite what I’m going to do when I start adding saxophone. That’s part of the fun of it, of course. Hearing things as you go along and getting them recorded is the part of the creative process that is so addictive.

Anyway, the basic melody goes like this:

Basic Melody

Now this song is really starting to sound like something! And, amazingly, it sounds just like I was originally hearing it.

Yesterday, I got really lucky. My buddy and long-time musical collaborator, bassist Chris Sidwell, was in town from Florida where he lives, and agreed to come over and lay down some real bass on this tune. I say lucky because, while my synth bass part was certainly adequate, Chris’ bass part adds a vibrant element of real life that is very exciting.

So here we have the song, Gotta Wannit, with a fairly full sax treatment, live bass, and a form that is pretty solid. This is sounding more and more like a real tune:

Basic Song

I’m lovin’ it!

Continue to Part 3 —>

Composing smooth jazz music is, for me, a never-ending process. The music comes to me in a variety of ways, and sometimes when I least expect it.

Recently, while driving back and forth to a show over several days, a new song came to me, and I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the evolution of this song. So I’m going to make notes as I go along and share them with you here.

The idea for this song came to me as I was listening to a tune from the CD Tourist from St. Germain, the music of french musician Ludovic Navarre. called “What You Think About”.  Here’s an excerpt from that tune:

“What You Think About” exerpt

As I was listening to that tune, I was hearing another tune in my head. I wrote down what I was hearing on an envelope while I was driving:

(I realize this looks a little sloppy, but hey – I was writing while I was driving!)

This was very exciting for me. I love it when music comes to me that because I know something cool and interesting is going to come of it, and this one was very powerful.  I must have listened to “What You Think About” at least 50 times – but of course what I was really hearing in my mind’s ear was this new song.

Back in the studio, as a starting point, the first thing I do is attempt to replicate the basic drum groove on “What You Think About”.  This is an interesting exercise because there is a little “hitch” in the groove on beats 3 and 4 (did you hear it?). Here’s what I come up with:

Basic Drum Groove

Then, I start working with that groove and adjusting it to my own style and sensibilities with slightly different beats, quantization, and instruments:

Basic Groove Advanced

Finally, after some more groove massaging, I add bass and some keyboards.  Here’s the final basic groove for this new song whose working title is “Gotta Wannit” (don’t ask me why – it just is).

Basic Groove Final

Continue to Part 2 —>