Project Zoom in

 Zoom into the Track Project

I'm going to take a close look at what I do to construct a track.
(NOTE: This may change until I have the first track ready to show) But anyway, these are the main buttons I use to construct a track.
Composition:
1 Drum loop
3 backgrounds
3 different sound patterns on the kaossilator

Drums

The first 2 lines of 6 buttons are the styles. The third line of buttons is the drums for each style. If I click the first button in the first line, I will have six different drum loops in the third line of buttons. This happens with all the style buttons.

So, I now have 6 drum loops set in the 3rd line. I click the first button of the 3rd  line and the drum loop starts.

Background

Once I have the drum loop playing, I need a background. I click the first button in the first line of buttons in the wavdj FX board, where I have uploaded the background sounds I want. This is not synchronised. I have to click the button at the same time as the crash in the drum loop, because they play as if they are synchronised. (precession.)
The first 3 buttons are 3 different backgrounds, set to play with the first drum loop button. Now I have the drums and the first background playing simultaneously (tempo - BPM).

Kaossilator

I have chosen 6 or 7 sounds that complement the drum and background. The sounds of the kaossilator really transform all the feeling of the track once I start to apply sound FX. Sure, I can put more drums with the kaossilator.

Mixer

The mixer is where everything comes together. It's all connected on wavdj channels, I can drop the sound of any one of these loops in and out without needing to turn off the sound himself. If I stop 1 of the loops playing, he will desynchronize from the others, but with the mixer, I can switch on and off the loops without needing to turn off the loop totally; he will be synchronised again when I drop him in.)



After playing around for some time, I changed to the next background.
In this case, I stop the first background loop completely and leave the drums and kaossilator running. together.

Now, I start the second background. Sometimes I need to start the background sound and stop a few times because I cannot always get the sound to start precisely at the same tempo as the drums. However, I usually get it right after 2 or 3 attempts, which makes for a nice intro to the sound as well.

Next, I hope I can post a track :)
I am delaying this because there are many things that can be explored and utilised in WavDJ that I want to try before presenting the final result.

Will be here at some point !

Chapter 18 - Resume

 Track Structure Resume

Expanding on this, it is challenging for some people to understand what I am really talking about.
That's why I like resumes!
It's where you read the important things at once and dont need to go into the whole story.

This is the resume of the Track Structure.

1- Drums
2- Background
3- Kaossilator

Drums

1 drum loop (64 or 128 bars)
These drum loops all include percussion and were created using the software program.
* Read more about the drums here
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2009/12/chapter-4-drum-loops.html

Background

This consists of a sound or noise looping at the same tempo as the drums.
This background is totally independent of the drums and can be used with other drums (how far the drums are from the exact bpm)
Because this part of the WAVDJ machine does not loop, I have to import the sounds into Ableton and then place them at the same BPM, include more sounds, add voices, and loop the sound for around 10 minutes to provide enough space for improvisations.
* Read more about the FX part of the WAVDJ here, where the background loops are stored
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2009/12/chapter-8-sound-fx.html

* Read about the backgrounds here
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2010/01/chapter-14-background-sounds.html

Kaossilator

I pre-choose a group of 6-7 sounds that are similar to the background music playing.
Now I just start creating :)

Having the 2 parts of the wavdj (drums & FX - background sounds) and the kaossilator working at the same time, I  can take sounds off and put them on again, through the mixer of the wavdj

Many things have changed, and new ideas have emerged since I started writing this blog.
I created two tracks in Ableton with no drums and imported them to WavDJ. Then, I made two drum loops to accompany the tracks, but this time, I used the WavDJ software to produce the drums.

Questions ??

Next, I will post a detailed Zoom of these three elements and explain exactly how I am working and what I am doing with the WaveDJ and the Kaossilator.

Chapter 17 - Track structure (part 2)

Track structure (part 2)

NO BASS !
After some experiments with bass in the tracks, I decided that bass is not very good to be included in this type of track.
The track's structure is minimal, when I drop the bass in the track, most part of the other small sounds are inaudible. I don't know why, but this could be due to the frequency of the sound.
Another thing that put me off the bass was the minimal feeling of the tracks changing totally, and I was forced to have a melody; I wish to change all the direction I want to take on this project.

Currently, I am selecting the appropriate sounds for the Kaossilator for each background sound and drum loop. More updates soooooooon :)

Hello Friends

 Hi Friends

The reason I am contacting you now is that I have some tracks nearly ready, and I would like to show them to you and listen to your opinions.
Who's best to do that ?? YOU!

I know it can be painful, but I can handle some earplugs just in case :)

Meanwhile, this was intended to draw your attention and keep you involved in the project's progress.
Until then, please keep reading, as I am close to the end of the first round of tracks.

Speak soon and thank you for paying some attention to the weird shit I do :)

Chapter 15 - Add Instruments

New Instruments Experiments.

I had a friend visit me during a weekend, he is a shy musician but has a lot of instruments, including lots of drums (as it is a drummer:)

My friend brought me a Micro Korg.

The Micro Korg
It's perfect, but too limited to work.
It's nice to take some sounds, but just that!
It's a vocoder too, which is beneficial for voices as well as specific sounds. It can make a very original effect in the music.
It's perfect equipment for live performances, but not in the style of the music I try to make here.
It's more of a (techno-minded) music machine.

a Mixer

The Mixer
Here we connected everything.

and a Kaoss Pad

The Kaoss pad
It can be beneficial to add some final effects to the overall music or make slight variations in the final sound played. He can make some extra sounds on top and other special effects.
With Kaoss pad, I think it's good just to make some minimal changes in the total sound, but it's the only one I can see included as 1 more instrument.

For now, my friend has left me the Kaoss Pad for me to have a try, but he will take it back in some months' time.
I end up not using this much.

Chapter 14 - Loops VS Kaossilator

Him and Her !!

Kaossilator and WAVDJ.
Now I have the background sounds in the buttons (by now I have 18 backgrounds)
I have six different drum loops assigned to the six drum buttons. This makes:
18 background sounds
6 drum loops
= 3 background sounds for each drum loop, so that I can change the background sound 3 times in 1 track.
They are all at the same 110BPM.

Putting all together and start to play....

After I have both playing at the same time, I start the kaossilator at the exact BPM and I make some sound effects; by now, the drums and the background are looping at the same time and the kaossilator sounds are giving a colour to the music as I add many other effects.

As I go along with the sounds and loops, I can adjust the mixer on the machine (WavDJ) and toggle the drum loop, background sound, or Kaossilator on and off.
This helps prevent the same sounds from looping for too long.

The kaossilator is a very nice complement for the wavdj.
I have been constructing this track with a vision of an Industrial Ambient style, so I have been looking for Industrial sound loops for the background. I made the Drum Loops sound Industrial, too, but the sounds of the Kaossilator make the track much softer and more Ambient.

My Drum loops are a bit too (breaks) even at 110BPM.
(Later I will write about the Track structure)

This explanation of the track construction is the result of my first experience; I will likely modify aspects such as the structure of the tracks, tempo, or other elements.

Chapter 13 - Project Start

 Project Start - The Intro

After all the story and all the WaveDJ and Kaossilator presentations, I will now be more specific about the project and what I am doing.

First, I need to make:
1 - Background sounds
2- Drum loops
3- Ad 3 background sounds for each drum loop
4- Make short keyboard melodies
5- Make the background sounds at the same tempo as the drum loops in Ableton
(No sounds synchronised here.)
6- Found the best sounds in the kaossilator to use in each track.
(I will specify all this later)

This sounds easy, but it is not!
The wavdj software has too many bugs and dont work as a professional music program.
The wavdj (machine = console) makes a delay in the sounds.
(NOTE)  Delay is the time it takes for the sound to actually be heard on the speakers after I press the buttons of the wavdj (machine)

For a delay example:
If I press the keyboard, the sound takes about 2 seconds to be heard in the speakers. (delay)
If I press the FX buttons, the sound takes about 1 second to be heard in the speakers. (delay)
If  I press the drum loop button, the sound takes about 3 seconds to be heard in the speakers (delay)
This makes it a hard job to get the music all synchronised (drums + background sounds + keyboard)
In this case, I have to know precisely the tricks of this machine, but the most important thing is to have the sounds and drum loops at the same tempo.
IF I press the FX button (background sound) just 1 second before or after the beat of the drum loop, the sound will start out of tempo... I really need to be precise here or all the music will go into a mess!
Luckily, I can stop the sound if I press the button at the wrong time and restart again, which plays a sound intro while the drum loop continues to play.

Experiments to start.
My first experiment was to create Minimal Ambient music, but I soon realised that the drums of the wavetable don't allow me to make much, as the sounds are the same and only the loops can be changed (as I mentioned earlier). However, I did give it a try anyway.

My second experiment (still ongoing) is to make Minimal Industrial. A'm a bit more satisfy with the results but still a long way to go as I have to search a lot in the web to find some good free sound loops and after that, I have to put the loops on Ableton to make some arrangements and get the background sounds at the same tempo (bpm) of the drum loops of the wavdj.

My last experiment will be minimal Ambient, but this time without drum loops, just sounds.

I would never have got into this if I hadn't found the Kaossilator to be a good supplement for the WaveDJ.
One time, I had the WAVDJ looping the sounds and the drums at the same tempo, I would have time to go into the Kaossilator and add more sounds.
After I have enough sounds playing in both machines, I can return to the wavdj and adjust the background sounds, create short melodies, pause the drum loop, and drop in another sound or any other playing sound, because the wavdj features a 6-channel mixer where the sound can be turned on and off.

In fact, I can go mad and connect all this to my CD decks mixer, which has a surround button and will give me the possibility to equalise the sound while I am playing (low, med, high).
But I am not that mad... am I !?
If so, it's just a music issue! :)

Chapter 11 - The software

The Software

The software is separated into 4 parts.
1- Edit Window.
This comes as default with 16-channel Instruments. I never used this, but here is where all the music can be composed.
It's here where I can create the blocks and create the tracks... iffff (urggg)
* I do not use this

2- Mixer window.
Here is the mixer display, any time I move a button on the machine, it will show on the screen.
This has a CD room control and I can record outcome sounds into the (Edit Window), plus the machine just works, when I have this mixer window on. If I switch off the software, the sound in the machine stops.
* This is the only window open while I play. (Machines do not work without the software).

3- Style Window.
Here are the Drums and the Korg settings. I can choose the instrument sounds for each button in the Korg and I can set up the drum loops as long as I want or change the loop patterns, including more sounds in the drums, etc...
* I use this one to make the drum patterns that I will use in the machine and set up the sounds for the Korg.

4- Sound Effect window.
900 sounds can be replaced in this board :) 
* This is where all the background and sound effects are uploaded.

And here is the machine connected...

As you can see, the display and the program are not helpful!

Anyway, if this were a very professional sound Equipment, I would not have made this blog and I would not have been much interested in creating something different with this machine.

This is the only thing I touch while I play. The software is not needed once everything is set up.

Cool, for less than £ 20, I get an original toy and I can mess about!

Chapter 7 - Display

LCD Display

This part of the machine is not very useful.
The only information displayed on the LCD is numbers showing the time the machine is on, and has a (kind of) spiral that shows the tempo just moving over and over, don't stop.
This is what I call a display with useless information !!

This other part of the machine is where the music blocks are supposed to be written. Copy and paste them into the software if I were interested in making music and recording the patterns into the program. I do not want to work that way!

This can be useful if I were doing tracks in the software program, but I saved myself from that nightmare.

My plan is to use the machine to play the music, not the software program to make the music ;)

Basically, I can create a pattern and record it in blocks, and then play it all together.

This is the main point of this music program, which is outdated and no longer helpful.