HEY EVERYONE I hope you're enjoying your weekend!
Im gonna come clean- I have a jazz deficiency. The first time I was ever able to sound slightly jazzy was with the help of dorian and the i-IV progression. A little pentatonic minor on top with a sprinkling of natural 6th, and I felt like Santana.
I'm trying to shine the light on other...
2018-09-08 20:14:06 +0000 UTC View Post
I tried for the 50th time to set up a webcam/screecap to explain how this riff came together, but I can never get the audio to properly record through OBS out of my DAWs the way I need it to.
My first studio upgrade will be a laptop, this will allow me to start doing livestreams and more production-based videos by continuing to use my curre...
2018-09-02 14:06:02 +0000 UTC View PostThis clip is HEAVY compared to what I normally do but my next video is on polymeter, and I've been making parts of the video before I undergo final filming. The audio clip I've attached is for a section near the end the end of the video where I demonstrate how easy it is to make complicated music with polymeter, although most of the video wil...
2018-08-28 00:36:31 +0000 UTC View Post
I wanted to try something different with my time off today and made this video about the copyright strike I just received for my last video on odd times.
It's not the sort of video I normally make and I'm not ready to throw it out there to 80,000 people. I was hoping I could get your honest reactions to it first.
Thanks so ...
2018-08-13 03:16:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the rap beat from my last video as a loop. Spit some fire, do ya thing.
Expect a fun new video on a specific diatonic chord soon!
2018-08-01 21:53:28 +0000 UTC View PostThese are the tabs for the Neoclassical section I posted earlier and that will show on today's video.
I'll post the rap beat soon so you can all do your own nerdy music theory rap
Power Tab is old but I really like using the program so if you don't have it already I'd getting it.
2018-07-25 18:02:54 +0000 UTC View PostIn the next video I'll be composing Rap and Neoclassical using Harmonic Minor.
The Neoclassical section is done being written and almost done being recorded, I wanted to share it all here with you before it goes live (probably Monday). Once the video is up I'll post the tabs and music!
If it isn't immediately obvious, this is pure har...
2018-07-20 23:19:53 +0000 UTC View PostHere's a 6 minute loop of just two chords, Em, and F#dim7.
You can imagine how musical and energetic this could sound if played with a real band and dynamic changes, this is just 4 measures on loop.
I'd recommend playing over it a few times in E Harmonic Minor and also in E Pentatonic Minor or E Minor, it's tons of fun. Then may...
2018-07-16 23:04:06 +0000 UTC View PostTonight I should have a video up that continues our exploration in to Harmonic Minor. To demonstrate how easy it is to compose good sounding progressions, I plucked these chords of out thin air in the video then later wrote this melody on top.
You'll see/hear me play it in the video, and I'm posting the tabs just for you all. There will be ...
2018-07-16 16:46:34 +0000 UTC View PostI put forth some simple rules for writing easy chord progressions in major during this video
I made this little "program" will play all of the possibilities for you in G.
About 3 years ago I started to teach myself to write co...
2018-07-10 00:20:55 +0000 UTC View PostAfter my first epsiode, Patron Kevin Powell suggested I interview a student and I had the perfect person in mind. Faustas is 20 and going away to Michigan to finish up a math degree, but is an accomplished musician already and has taught me much in and outside of music.
In this podcast we discuss musical growth and influence, as well as the role ...
2018-07-02 22:06:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I haven't uploaded a video on over two weeks. The entire time I've been writing, recording, and producing my first official single, "Generations".
Well it's done, and this is the first place I'm uploading it! I want you to have it for free, so please enjoy, and be on the lookout for the music video to post either today or tomorrow.
Th...
2018-06-10 14:23:45 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been playing around with konnakol (it's that indian "scat singing" you may have seen) for many years, but it doesn't always translate over to my instrument, the guitar. Recently though I had some success- a common practice in konnakol and indian music is to play polymetric groupings.
For example, play 8th note triplets, but grou...
2018-06-03 16:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostI had the pleasure of jamming with some great musicians tonight, and had time to set up some mics ahead of time. Most of the jams start with a simple 1 or 2 chord progression, and from there the feel develops as the universe demands.
There are a few moments where things go off the rails, like when we try and fail to figure out Toto's...
2018-06-02 02:35:01 +0000 UTC View PostI needed some "pondering" music for my last video, so I whipped this up in about 30 minutes. It's in 7/4, which keeps it from being too noticeable in the background. The Tritone keeps it mysterious, while, the major third keeps it from getting too creepy. It had it randomly modulate, and also removed sections to avoid repetitiveness.
...
2018-05-14 21:05:51 +0000 UTC View PostMy next video will be pretty complicated, and should post on Saturday. I'll be posing you all a challenge - how do you write the demonstrated rhythm?
In the video everything will be visual, but the hard mode challenge is for you to figure it out by ear. Take a listen to the kickdrum and bass in this jam and tell me what you think is going o...
2018-05-10 20:10:43 +0000 UTC View PostHowdy!
One of the projects I finished before I started my Youtube channel was I decided to write a Neil Young song. Luckily I had a guy that could imitate his voice fairly well, Mike Muggli. You've heard him on the first episode of the Signals Podcast.
I wrote a fingerpicking progression that went from D major to Fmaj7, two "god chord...
2018-04-30 16:23:43 +0000 UTC View PostHey you wonderful folks you!
I'll be doing live lessons, jams, song writing sessions, and more. I finally got the audio routing to work out correctly, and it's only a few more hours of tweaking till I get the video to look good.
I want to know what your thoughts are on if I should stay on YouTube or switch over to Twitch for live stu...
2018-04-23 00:36:30 +0000 UTC View PostHere's a track for you to use in any way shape or form. It'd work great as the background music for "How It's Made".
2018-04-22 00:27:59 +0000 UTC View PostYou have 100% permission to do ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH THESE BEATS.
"Bass and Drum" is a good loop to add excitement under a voiceover or narration, I made it specifically for my videos.
The Dark Droning beat I made for Egyptian themed escape map for the game Counterstrike. It'd make great menu-music for a desert-inspired indie g...
2018-04-20 15:14:44 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm very excited to share with you all episode 1 of the Signals Music Podcast. My maiden voyage into podcasting is assisted by Mike Muggli. He's a choir director and music teacher with a background in sound engineering and synthesizer geekdom. You can hear his music here
2018-04-15 01:32:49 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, I have a new video for you all tomorrow that will showcase how to compose chord progressions in minor keys.
I've decided to expand the genres in which I demonstrate things too, so you'll see some EDM, Metal, Floyd-Rock, and more.
Hopefully this video will show you how easy it is to start writing things that actuall...
2018-04-11 00:10:14 +0000 UTC View PostJust wanted to update you all with my "production schedule" for this month.
I'm usually working on 2 or 3 ideas at the same time and try to get one uploaded each week. This month here's what you can expect-
-A lesson on writing in minor keys
-Information on context in music
-A rhythm puzzle
-An audio/video remix of one of ...
2018-04-04 14:08:55 +0000 UTC View PostI recently made a video demonstrating the modes over a jam track. I've extended the loop to 7 minutes for your modal mischief.
This is an EXTREMELY BORING track. It is up to YOU to make it exciting by playing around with different scales. Keep in mind, there are many scales outside of the major modes that will still work over a track like this. A...
2018-04-01 23:29:12 +0000 UTC View Post
My next video on Hemiola will be up soon. At the end of the video, I demonstrate an improv solo over layers of hemiola, all in a simple B Dorian progression.
As a bonus for you all, I've included the audio to the whole piece of music, as well as the piece with no lead so you can improv or write your own lead on top. It's VERY fun to play off of b...
2018-03-30 15:45:31 +0000 UTC View PostIn April I'll be making a video where I make a full section of music start to finish, and walk through the composition choices I make for each instrument. What style should we start with?
2018-03-27 13:44:21 +0000 UTC View PostYou can use A Pentatonic Minor as well to melt faces over this track.
2018-03-27 00:08:33 +0000 UTC View PostUpbeat, Jack Johnson style jams.
2018-03-27 00:07:44 +0000 UTC View PostA smooth and smoky Minor Blues in A. Try Pentatonic, Minor, and Dorian in places.
2018-03-27 00:03:29 +0000 UTC View PostThis track in E Minor is a blast to play over. I made a video on my channel on how to imitate David Gilmour over this same track.
2018-03-27 00:01:38 +0000 UTC View Post