Final Composition

2018

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Initially, I wrote this piece with an R&B idea in mind. However, as I was reworking it and adding more sections for the final project, I found it taking a different turn. After I changed the melody instrument from an organ to a piano, I started to get a different feel out of it, almost motivational. So I ran with it. I added a good amount of reverb and some delay to the piano to further ingrain the inspirational vibe. The remainder of the week, I found myself listening to Yanni on the way too and from work, pulling inspiration for the project and I think you can really hear it throughout the second half. 

The rhythm and bass are still very much R&B, in the future I might go back through and rework those tracks to further compliment my inspiration idea. I did decide to use rimshots for the second portion instead of snare. I think that the rimshots give it a softer feel to it. The snare still works for the original 8 bars due to its heavier tones. 

This piece is all in the key of Cm. The chords used within the project are:

A Section 

| Cm  | Fm7    | Ab7    | Dº  Gm   |

| Cm7  | Ab   Fm |  Fm7  | Bb Gm |

B Section 

| Gm7   | Cm7     | Fm7   | D º7 |

| Cm7   | Bb Gm | Ab  | Dº Gm    |

C Section

| Cm | Absus4 | Absus2| Ab |

| Cm | Eb | Fm7 | Bb | Gm |

D Section 

| Cm | Absus4 | Absus2| Ab |

| Cm7 | Ab7 | Fm7 | Eb | Gm |

I chose to stay diatonic, however for the second half of the project I used several suspended chords. These are what gives the project such an uplifting feel.  I also used a lot of 7th chords throughout the whole project in order to have some variety and a fuller feel. I played around with borrowing chords from the parallel and relative keys but they just were not retaining the motivational sound that I wanted. 

Since I decided to build off of my week 2 project, there was originally recorded guitar within the project. This track no longer worked within the project, so I scrapped it and worked on an original sound to use throughout the piece. 

I landed on a original synth sound that fades up or builds on each hit. It definitely makes the piece a little more dynamic. 

The final mix of the project does heavily rely on compression to keep everything in balance. I squashed my bass and kick to make them fatter, however I also put compression on my lead piano track. The piano was really dominating the piece when it hits the higher registers. I also slightly compressed the main output of the project, helping to keep everything in balance. I’ve also used a lot of hall reverb and delay on the piano to give it the dreamier, inspirational sound. I used a plate reverb on both my snare and rimshots. It really blends them into the mix well. 

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