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Metropolis, a contemporary piano concerto (LinearLineman & JanKun collab)
Another collaboration with @LinearLineman who kindly let me work on the orchestration for this impressive improvised composition. I am not an expert but the @McD seems to think that this can be considered as a concerto, so let’s call it this way. I did my best to keep the piano at the center of the arrangement. Please, listen carefully to Mike’s playing, his phrasing is astounding on this piece.
Made on iPad using StaffPad and Cubasis3.
Comments
This is really a beautifully done piece. @JanKun, your contribution compliments Mike’s playing so well.
Amazing! It's somehow both majestic and light at the same time. I enjoyed the original piano version but I think @JanKun has actually found ways to … (hmm, searching for the right words) … burnish? the tonality; bring stuff out.
If you ever feel like it, I'd be interested in knowing the process. Where you start; do you just begin layering instruments one at a time? etc..
Yes… please share details of your process to import from a Cubasis project file and create a rendered mixed audio using Staffpad for the orchestra.
Thank you for taking the time to listen @Ben . Mike built a nice house and I took care of the wallpaper and curtains. Glad you enjoyed !
Truly lovely!!!
The "concerto" is magical.
This work is fabulous, and I love the playfulness of the music.
I am enjoying the colors and the architecture!!!
Lovely!!! And I love this.
Rene
That was truly epic! Took me on a journey.
@Stochastically @McD
Regarding my workflow in this track, Basically I received @LinearLineman Cubasis project, did a mixdown of the piano using Ravenscroft since Mike records his improvisations in MIDI. Then imported the audio into staffpad.
What is different in staffpad is that it is in musical notation not MIDI, so before starting, one needs to have a clear idea of the general tonality otherwise the score will end up with plenty of unnecessary accidentals in it.
It is a bit difficult to tell exactly where the arrangement comes from. When a piece is not mine, I obviously need to take a few analytic listens first to understand the structure and distinguish the different parts and get a rough idea of where dynamic peaks should be. Then I start to work part after part in chronological order. To choose the instruments for each sections I usually choose the timbre and type of articulations that seems to serve the part best, then start transcribing the flow of ideas inspired by the music.
This track is very rhythmic so I tried to create intertwined rhythmic ornaments around the piano with flutes, oboes and mallets. For this track, I opted for strings and horns for chords and harmonization ontop of Mike's chords. I am no expert in harmony but I tried to avoid bland triads harmonization so I tried to find matching upper chord extensions ( quartal harmony proved to be a good starting point). When it comes to harmonizations of counterpoints melodies, I rely on counter motions and I also use octaves to reinforce lines (which seems to be anti academic but I like the way it sounds).
Once satisfied with the instrumentation, lastly I added percussive elements like snare, timpani and cymbals to emphasize the dynamic of the track.
I then paned each sections to give a sense of Space as if they were positioned in a room and applied the reverb provided inside staffpad with different amounts of reverb according to each section in an attempt to recreate the depth of the stage.
Once done, I removed the Piano and mixdown the orchestra, keeping an eye on general level (staffpad can apply a very unpleasant compression when the levels are too hot). Then I imported the audio in the original Cubasis 3 project, tweaked the reverb inside Ravenscroft so it could blend with the orchestra, then created the final mix.
It seems that composers creating orchestral mock ups for commercial purposes go even deeper and export each sections audio stems into a DAW and do very precise mix there. I might consider doing this one day, but for now, my amateur ears are satisfied with the way it sounds...
Funny fact on this very specific track, is that it is in 4/4, but all along Mike tends to skip or add beats during his improvisation which kind of messed up the notation. First I thought I should do some time signature change in 3/4 or 5/4 to match the score with his playing, but then I realised that somehow he always ends up going back to the initial 4/4 frame, just like a cat always end up on its feet. So I decided to keep the score in 4/4 even though it might look odd in terms of notation. My intuition is that he does it instinctively and unconsciously but I believe that there is a intrinsic logic to it. Just as if he was dancing around the click during his improvisation. This make this track very lively and unpredictable, which is probably why I like this track so much.
Wow that's a very long comment...
Thanks for describing the process. The results are really stunning.
Thank you very much for the the kind words,Rene. I like your description "playfulness of the music" because it describes very well the fun I had working on it.
Thank you for listening. I hope it was a nice journey!
@JanKun repeated listening only make me like this more. You have a very good feel for this business.
Really glad you like it, Mike !
Another fruitful collaboration. The orchestration is very tastefully done, and complements the piano rather than overpowers it.
Just for grins, I’d like to see how people react to the version where the percussion comes in early in the arrangement. It mirrors the piano’s energy and I think it’s @jankun’s best work.
Having some orchestral percussion experience I’d love to play the “concerto” live on the xylophone part. Getting a tight groove with the piano might require moving the percussion around the piano.
It would take a group like the Metropole Orkest to pull it off.
Can we hear the alternative version and put it to a vote?
I’m up for that.
Thanks. I think you will hear how that entry makes it more like a concerto rather than a piano piece with some backing orchestra gestures. A true collaboration of 2 musical minds.
I can’t wait to hear the reactions of the 5 people that revisit old threads to see what people are chatting about.
@McD @LinearLineman
Here is the very first draft I sent to Mike for the very few people interested.
DISCLAIMER I didn't work on the mix at that time and there are some elements missing which were added later on. So this basically for a quick comparison of both track in the first 1:00. I believe the version on SoundCloud is mix wise largely better.
https://app.box.com/s/o9cdevolspbou50emkw2nlgiuf76qp3b
Thank you for listening, Richard. It is a difficult balance to find so I am glad if the orchestral compliments the Piano instead of overpowering it.
Whoa! I must have missed this first time around. This is amazing! It is a collab on another level.
The parts fit together so well and it is so well executed. Bravo!
Will listen to the alternate version later but that will take some beating, I like way it builds.
@LinearLineman , I know you use Staffpad and both of you seem to have a real grasp of music theory but I was wondering if presented with the notation, as a session musician or member of an orchestra, would you be able to recreate by playing from the score!
By the way I don’t have a real grasp of music theory (well up to a failed music O level. It would probably take me an hour to work out a couple of bars of this from a score!)
Double post
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/52009/monets-lunch-staffpad-orchestration-on-a-linearlineman-composition#latest
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/51833/inherited-damages-a-mcd-and-jankun-cinematic-collaboration#latest
Missed this the first time around as well.
Amazing work by the both of you! (Mike’s playing and improvisation is always amazing!) @LinearLineman
I ran into the same thing, attempting to do a collaboration with him a while back, to which I ultimately gave up. I didn’t go all in as far as the notation and actually writing parts, but rather tried a “jam along”… Yeah, didn’t turn out very good lol.
He actually does that a lot; drifts in and out of time, and like you say; “unpredictable”! Writing accompaniment parts for his very dynamic style of playing takes skill, and that’s exactly what you have on display here. Well done!
Thanks for the additional information @JanKun . I agree that it would likely be very possible for professional or experienced sight-reading musicians would be able to give a performance of this music. I was wondering more whether you and Mike would be able to re-create it as a live performance (although I think I know the answer now) - I know that I would struggle to re-create some of my tracks and those I have done with Doug. I would have to re-learn it and practice a lot as we don't write anything down!
@AlterEgo_UK Ikm in the same musical theory boat as you. Thankfully we have @McD for that. I cannot recreate almost anything I improvise. With prodigious effort I could probably read and learn the piano part, but I wouldn’t perform it very well. More than ever life feels like living in the moment for me,so it all fits together nicely.
@JanKun, do you think almost all of the StaffPad forum crowd are doing classical music? The classical are,indeed a snobby crowd. I wouldn’t take it too seriously. Their stuff doesn’t get listened to either.
Well I really enjoy your work. Just goes to show that you don’t need a music qualification to make music, just a good ear for what you think sounds good and the talent to translate it into a track for other to hear!
@AlterEgo_UK i did get a very specific musical training (by pianist Connie Crothers) that I venture to say most classical musicians don’t get. The focus was getting in touch with musical feeling through melody. This allowed me to get in touch with my own original voice and a clear passage to almost always get there and express it.
Cool!
I am sorry for the misunderstanding. My English is very bad sometimes. As you already understood, it would be difficult to re-create this as a live performance for the two of us, just like it would be for you and Doug.
Mike's approach is really intriguing. He is able to create very complex improvisations in one go but is unable to play these back. I find this fascinating. For some time, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that a musician with such skills wasn't able to replicate something he just played. But after hearing about the kind of teaching he received, together with his Motto to be in the present moment, it started to make sense.
BTW, are you currently cooking something with Doug ?
Nice to hear from you ! Thank you so much for listening and for your comment! You're not too active on the forum lately, aren't you?
Wow, I wouldn't even dare to try to jam along @LinearLineman improvisations I would get lost and probably be so depressed that I would sell all my guitars! This guy is like a free electron in the middle of an electro magnetic storm. Trying to follow him in real time feels like pure madness to me, unless you're a mad genius yourself! My brain is way too slow for that, I need lag, very long lag.😄 I might have smoked too much weed in my youth, the Damage is done!
Anyway, hope to hear some of your creations with Drambo, your guitars and other gears. It's been a long time ! Cheers !
Yes, a new Denks and Klade themed album is in the works