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Re: Rick's percussion post



Really great thoughts, ideas and concepts Matt. Thank you!!

Andy Owens
1-800-AndyOwens
Sent from my iPhone
So the typing might not be my best!


On Jan 31, 2011, at 8:50 PM, Matt Davignon <mattdavignon@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I'm totally on board with what most of what Rick says. I have a member
> in one of my bands who attempted to use pre-recorded drum machine
> tracks. It was banned by me, since when he kicked on his drum machine:
> 1) The rhythm would be too dense - it jumped in sounding like a
> completely recorded song rather than like a collaborator.
> 2) The drum machine would be the only member of the band that was not
> playing live - it was like having a drummer who was completely
> ignoring the other musicians.
> 
> I'd take it a step even further and say that many songs don't need to
> have all the "rock band" elements (rhythm, bass, chord progression). I
> agree with Mark that waiting for someone to build all the elements can
> be just as tedious as listening.
> 
> I often feel like my solo sets combine elements of magic shows and dj
> sets. When I say magic shows, I'm not saying "the music is magic" -
> rather, I'm trying to create illusions that I'm not using loops. I do
> that by:
> --Using non-rhythmic loops.
> --If I use rhythmic loops, I don't loop in phrase repetitions of 4 for
> a 4/4 song. Instead, I'll loop on repetitions of 5 or 7, so that that
> the elements of the drum loop only fall in the same place every 4th
> loop repetition.
> --Playing occasional variations of the loop live. Say you have a drum
> loop. You could occasionally play an occasional bass drum or snare on
> top of the loop (not into the loop). Or even better, record 2 or 3
> spare non-sequitur snares and/or kicks on a separate looping device
> that's cycling at a different interval. Voila - you have fills! Of
> course, whether that actually sounds good depends on the musical
> context.
> 
> The DJ elements involve trying to keep an ear as to when a particular
> element gets too repetitive. That's a clue that it's time to take it
> out. One way I like is to shut off the loop and start playing that
> part live again, then transition it to something else. Or play
> something that complements it on a separate loop and take the first
> loop away, making a transition into a different song.
> 
> Another thing I often do to mask the task of me building up a pattern
> is to quickly build a loop of something non-melodic/non-rhythmic for
> the audience to listen to while you gradually build up the elements on
> another channel. I usually try to imitate field recordings, loop it in
> a non-predictable point, then start building rhythmic/melodic elements
> on a different device.
> 
> My ears got tired of many contexts of rhythmic looped music at about
> the same time that rave music started getting old for me. I need my
> variation. Strangely, I can listen to irregular loops (such as in the
> much of the music of Rapoon) for much longer periods of time before I
> get bored. It accesses a more passive portion of my attention span.
> 
> -- 
> Matt Davignon
> mattdavignon@gmail.com
> www.ribosomemusic.com
> Rigs! www.youtube.com/user/ribosomematt
>