working with measures September 25 2001 at 2:06 PM
Ok, I am a guitar/bass player and I don't think of music in terms of 'one- and - two-and' etc, I think in terms of 'we play the opening riff through twice, then the verse sequence, then the chorus/bridge', etc.
So I have a problem with using the drum patterns on the PS02 because I have all the guitar parts finished but I have to stop and think about which beat of which measure has a rest or needs a fill and I usually get it wrong. I think it's because I seem to count a measure as 'one and two and three and four' but a PS02 measure is 'one and two and'.
Also my songs need pauses and fills to help with the dynamics, but I can't get to grips with this at all. Is the only answer to use a vanilla backing track and force myself to fit a song around it, or can somebody explain to me how to count beats in measures so that I can edit properly.
The main problem is that the beats on the ps02 (or for any computer program) are exact. If you don't lay out the beat before you lay out the guitar track, it will be very very difficult to get it to synchronize with your sound. Why? Because all of us have parts where we speed up and slow down in sections, even if it is .05 seconds here-n-there, it accumulates and makes the drum rhythm sound "off track". Here's what I would do.
*** Synchronizing is 5 steps ***
1- Make a dummy drum track. Find the easiest drum track to play over, and loops it so you can lay your whole song over the dummy track.
2- Practice your riff. If the beat is too slow/fast, adjust the BPM's (tempo) accordingly in song edit.
3- Record your guitar track over the existing drum pattern.
4- when done make sure your guitar piece is 'on time' with the drum track for the most part. When satisfied, delete the drum track (you basically used the track just to keep the tempo)
5- Lay out any rhythm you want. It should automatically sync up as long as you don't change the BPM.
I hope this helps. Just keep in mind that the drum track should come first (before the guitar riff) so you can keep time with your guitar.
-_-Ken-_-
one more thing...
September 25 2001, 3:21 PM
most programs do not use "&" . For example, if you hear 4 clicks on the ps-02, thats 1 measure(1 2 3 4). If you put the "&" in, your measures will get thrown off track because you will be thinking you're going to 3 of the 1st measure when you're actually going to "1" of the 2nd measure. For example...
4 ticks-
1 2 3 4 - 1 measure (correct)
1 & 2 & - 1/2 measure (incorrect)
Hope this helps. See ya
-_-Ken-_-
Shamus
I hear voices
September 25 2001, 6:47 PM
Unfortunately this means your guitar parts are not finished. No matter how good you think they are you will have to re-record them.
When I'm just messin' I often record guitar without any backing. If I think any of it is worth pursuing I'll still play out and experiment with the guitar piece by itself. Once I'm fairly happy with the general structure then I'll program the drum track but be playing the guitar piece in my head, cos by this time I'm fairly familiar with it. This helps me get pretty close in one go without constantly recording over the drums to see if it fits.
Untitled
September 26 2001, 1:19 AM
I agree with Ken. The easiest way I have found to work around this problem is to insert a whole bunch of measures (so that the drums dont finish half way through the song) and set the drums to the 4/4 metronome (other-1-3 I think). I find playing to a simple click-track alot easier to adjust the bpm and concentrate on my own playing (you dont have to worry about the bass pattern throwing you off time). After you've recorded all of your parts in time w/ the click track, it is really easy to go back and spend some time experimenting with the right patterns and fills.
peace. Dale
Shamus
Bass guy can collect coat
September 26 2001, 2:18 AM
If you want to accenuate your playing in time with some fancy fill or drum beat and you're finding the bass lines are putting you off, don't forget you can just turn the volume down for the bass individually. I often do that anyway if the pre-programmed bass doesn't do it for me.
