'Rhythm Changes' (Seaman/Standard)

Synthesizer Composition performed on a Nord Stage 88 Classic, HALion Sonic and Roland XV5050. Created using Cubase Artist 6 software.

Composer - Paul David Seaman (2013).

http://soundcloud.com/monsterjazzlicks/rhythm-changes-seaman-standard
Rhythm Changes (mp3).mp3 (760 KB)

this is great…

Next time i do one i will place a tune at the beginning and the end.

i was posting these more more feedback about the way i have used Cubase rather than for comments about the song structure etc.

Even though its an Improvisation there is still an element of Composition involved. Sound Cloud and similar sites request that you state a Composer, and also i want to show that i am not performing someone elses tune without crediting them. i constructed it, played it, and recorded it so it only seems natural (if only for the sake of listing a name) that i credit myself.

i am placing any further tracks of this type in a different thread so to avoid any confusion. i am not really looking for ‘song writing’ feedback so it is not really ideal that i post my music here. This will allow me to be more specific about what i want and also not clog up space in this thread.

Cheers.

yep i like it , if people stick to the conformities of the standard music practice with out pushing the boundaries i think they become very dull and boring , experimentation and variety are the spice of life and thank you for posting something creative on this forum , that short arrangement is the most enjoyable piece ive heard in the english “made with cubase” as most of the users in here like their middle of the road music … may i suggest postin it in the german side to see how different the response will be , im sure they won’t act like a failed panel from the x factor :wink:

Hey FF,

Thank you very much indeed for your thoughtful and intelligent reply. i am very open minded and have always believed that music holds no boundries. We all have different tastes and are all on our own creative musical pathway.

i don’t really consider myself to be a ‘songwriter’ as such, but i have done this before and understand all the skills and applications which lie behind such a particular craft. Though i 100% admit i have no skills or interest whatsoever in the writing of lyrics. Totally not my thing.

What my obective here is to gain some profession advice (which i have received in a few of my threads) regarding my usage of Cubase. One member has suggested i email my projects via Drop Box so he can have a look thru my settings etc. Thats a very kind offer from him.

i record my Nord Piano and Roland XV5050 module as audio into Cubase, but apart from that i am happy using the likes of HALion and the Synth VSTi such as Prologue etc. Therefore i am not at all interested in learning about how to mic up a drum kit, or recording vocals etc.

since when is improve over a chord structure pushing boundaries…

I agree…post it on the German side…

i am not playing games. i just changed it because you said you did not like it. So i thought i was doing something good in making the ammendment.

Great playing cool ideas. Not sure what ur using for monitors or if you’re using headphone, but may want to bring bass down its really booming…a little roll off some of the low end 12-24 db Bessel or butterworth curve start at 20hz and move forward till you find sweet spot. Also I’m wondering what you are doing for limiters and compressor? Maybe be a little careful with that stuff

Oh BTW post the rest of improvisation I would love to hear :slight_smile:
Kenny

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for the constructive feedback. Much appreciated. Thats exactly why i posted my tunes on here.

Yes, i am using a pair of headphones (Senheisser) but they are not designed for mixing as they are just standard headphones for ‘listening’. So obviously what sounds good on my hy headphones might sound inadequate on someone elses equipment (as is the case here).

i am thinking of buying some Yamaha HD-50 powered monitor speakers later in the year.

The only think i know about ‘mixing’ is balancing the levels of instruments (which i seem to have a good ear for), but everything else is quite new to me.

i have used compressors and limiters in my other songs (posted elsewhere). On THIS song i used Compression (Light Jazz Preset) as an Insert on the Bass and Organ tracks. Are you saying i should or should not use this type of FX ??

Ta,

Paul

Paul unfortunately it’s so hard to say what should and shouldn’t be done, I can only say my ears say try starting over at beginning (work with eq) and don’t worry so much about track volume but use a limiter/inflator at end of mix. Use compressors (I have never tried c6/C7 compressor so I’m not familiar w/presets) but use only to effect peaks not squash natural sounds of your great playing. Use preset as starting point and compare your progress with something you like the sound of like, (names I pulled from hat, pick your own though) Lonnie Smith, Brian Auger, even Jimmy Smith and Lee Morgan etc to see what the greats sounded like for organ/piano stuff.

I am in forever learning mode for this stuff and I steal as much info from everyone I work with here on Cubase site, books and youtube as I can :slight_smile: I think it never ends as I started w/ all hardware and tape many years ago and I believe it makes stuff easier to grasp now. Remember no 2 people do anything same way so there is no right and wrong

Please don’t be offended by this, no critique is a bad one from anyone but take what you can and ignore what you don’t need, because someone doesn’t understand you doesn’t make critique incorrect (I’m off my soap box now). I say this from experience had to talk w/ a great musician/producer that did an arrangement of 20+ real strings for a country project and hung up after the money man dug into his stuff on phone. Could have been a disaster but after we spoke he called back and really listened to dude and found good points to help him from a musical novice.

I am not familiar with what you are using and order of inserts. The track sounds very powerful volume wise that is why I asked about limiters or maybe maximizer. I would first work on sound of bass so ( I hope i can say this correctly so please be patient with my use of language lol) that everything is not fighting for same sonic space. OUr ears hear in certain ranges, low end is hardest to get right I think.

There is a French engineer named Fab who is great and explains this very well. They have a company called Puremix (I think) but maybe you can find Fab stuff on web/youtube to get some ideas of process. He does a lot of Jazz and acoustic mixes and uses very little to make stuff sound good.

Again great playing and you will learn the mixing easily enough I am sure. My belief is there are engineers out there that are as good as MIles is w/the horn so instead of comparing myself to them I just try to learn what little I can and if I do it long enough and practice it for hours every day I will eventually be good. Individuality is king!

Can’t wait to hear more adventurers from you! I like the idea of posting on German site and may try that to for opinions. Send me a PM if you do as I would like to follow post…I’m rambling lol
Thanks again

Thanks Kenny,

Yes, Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Le Morgan, they are all top guys i agree !! We all learn from listening to the best. Its the ONLY way to improve :bulb:

i am definately going to get some more tuition on Cubase in the next week or so. There are a couple of guys who can help me. One lives local and another guy has offered to teach me via Skype. And obviously i have lots of questions :ugeek:

i am quite happy to be working with Presets because they are a very good way to start learning from. When i start on this area i will try and use my ears at first and then try to learn more about the physics behind it later on.

Regarding the EQ, i need some proper monitor speakers because mixing via regular headphones is not at all ideal. i have looked into ‘flat response’ products.

The order of chaining of FX is also something i am also hoping to learn very shortly.

You Tube is very good but there is a lot of rubbish stuff on there so you have to spend a bit of time looking thru many videos until you find something of good quality.

i understand that everyone will mix differently but obviously there are certain guidelines and parameters which clearly do and do not work, and so that is why i am wanting to learn the fundamentals.

i visited your website and saw you enjoy Corea and Herbie, and that you scored for James Cobern !! :smiley:

Thanks you for your very kind comments on my playing.

Best,

Paul

i enjoyed your playing,i thought it was a guitar at first .
check this stuff out for mixing .The Art Of Mixing (A Arte da Mixagem) - David Gibson - YouTube
https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/main/

Ha ha, LMAO !! :mrgreen:

The link you sent looks BRILLIANT !!! Thank you very much indeed. i know this video will be a massive help. No one has ever given me a pointer like that before so i really appreciate that. The video is nearly 3 x hours long :open_mouth:

i checked out your songs ‘City Of Dream’ ‘Always Will Remain’. Good stuff dude and i like the bass groove/sound on the latter.

Paul

hey thanks paul ,that was guitar midi controller for the bass on that tune . the video link i sent you is an excellent film ,i`d buy it before it gets pulled.cheers by the way put some longer recordings up.

i have watched about half of the video thanks. It is very helpful and informative and the presenter is very professional. Its just a shame that the background soundtracks are so loud and persistant that it really detracts from the video. There are so many instances where you can not hear the narration because of this. But apart from that its great.

try listening with ear goggles ,its ironic isnt it, a badly mixed mixing tutorial :mrgreen: , anyway i dont think he would have been the cause of that, i do dig the mullet and tache though .... 80s :laughing: and i love the Thomas Dolby track “She Blinded Me with Science” going off in the background .

Do you think a company hired Dave Gibson to narrate the video and so they did all the filming and soundtrack ?? i just assumed it was entirely his productions and so thats why i was totally baffeled as to why a lecture on Mixing was so badle Mixed !! :exclamation: i mean it really is very bad and the short sketch interjections between Dave talking are so annoying and distracting and annoying.

All that said, if you can wade thru all of this then the content of what Dave is saying is excellent :mrgreen: