Fretboard Task 2 September 2013

octatonic · September 2013

Basher said:
@Octatonic Wow! Very dark, very Reznor-esqe. Could easily imagine this as the theme to a hollywood action blockbuster!

@Octatonic (2) Another alarmingly pro-standard recording. Liked this but didn't think it had the main theme quality of the first one. I could hear this under a scene where the corn-fed, all American hero has recovered from several near death experiences by the skin of his perfect teeth and is heading along the highway in some kind of supercar for the final showdown with the almost comically evil bad guy, played by some European bloke who is usually to be found in better films.

Thank you for the kind words, @Basher.

The first one was down using the amazingly gritty time stretch feature of Acid Pro.

I don't like it for anything else but the time stretch is so gnarly and lo fi- I've used it a lot.

Here is something else done in the same way

http://www.jamesrichmond.com/misc/Fu3k1nS1Ck.mp3

Phil_aka_Pip · September 2013

Thanks @Basher for your kind words

Nice variety of well-done stuff on this thread

chrisj1602 · September 2013

I recorded this years ago but it sprung to mind when I read this task. My mate said it sounds like something Tarantino would use which was a nice comment...

daveww · September 2013

@chrisj1602 very nice and agree very Tarantino

I'm hoping to get one up over the next few days but been kinda busy with work and a big family wedding and struggling for inspiration..... might try a modal approach. Here's a few I did a few months back which might help with ideas.

https://soundcloud.com/david-woodhouse/dorian-c-to-d-jazz

ftumch · September 2013

Love all this stuff:). This is something I did in GarageBand when I first got my iPad, just messing around with the synths mostly. I imagine it would be an end credit theme to a low budget Eastern European Tron sequel.

Kebabkid · September 2013

Some good, inventive & creative stuff here chaps.

Nice one!

Barney · September 2013

i think this one is more in line what the post is about rather than my other tune...:)

its called the elevator song and its like something you would here in a shop when shopping...the clue is in the title..

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8140862

Kebabkid · September 2013

@Barney -great playing AGAIN and you definitely have a touch of the Methenys!

Basher · September 2013

@octatonic I really like your neo-industrial stuff. Obvious NIN references but I also hear a lot of what I liked about people like Front242.

@chrisj1602 Liked the minimal feel and spaghetti western reverb! Would have loved a bit more in the way of something like sparse percussion or some swirly/scratchy noise effects for a bit of texture but that's just me. Quentin would probably disagree!

@davevw Nice to hear some modal stuff. I'd have loved to hear these developed into full pieces. I think my favourite was the dorian approach which had the makings of a great melody and loads of potential.

@ftumch Absolutely superb effort! Loved the overall theme and the way you kept it so fresh with things like the percussion droput and the legato synth line coming in.

@Barney More staggering stuff. I could see this one as a film soundtrack all day long! Fantastic playing and a really strong composition with pro production values. Lovely guitar tone too.

(On a side note, I saw you play a few times in the mid-80s with Plateau. You were several cuts above anything else around the area at the time! IIRC you had a basket weave / wood finish Boogie that sounded amazing. We once even supported you (it was a disaster). Anyway, great to see you're still playing and sounding better than ever.)

Barney · September 2013

Basher said:

(On a side note, I saw you play a few times in the mid-80s with Plateau. You were several cuts above anything else around the area at the time! IIRC you had a basket weave / wood finish Boogie that sounded amazing. We once even supported you (it was a disaster). Anyway, great to see you're still playing and sounding better than ever.)

really small world ...yeah Plateau only lasted for about 6 months...the amp was the MK2B ...wish i had kept it now but it went part ex for the MK4....where did you see us play and what was your bands name ...?

Basher · September 2013

Barney said:

really small world ...yeah Plateau only lasted for about 6 months...the amp was the MK2B ...wish i had kept it now but it went part ex for the MK4....where did you see us play and what was your bands name ...?

Err... Don't know and don't know.

Didn't realise Plateau were only going for such a short time.

Our band was always changing it's name every week. Typical bunch of 18 year-olds. We weren't too good at rehearsing and our gear wasn't exactly top-notch!

Think we played at Whitehaven - think it was the White House. Like I said, best forgotten. Frank Hall was really nice and offered advice (probably along the lines of "don't quit the day job"

). He was a great drummer - always worth watching.

Obviously saw you play there and at least once more in Workington, where we all lived. We all used to drink quite a bit so it's a bot of a blur really. Dobbo was briefly in the band but I'm not sure if he was at that time. I believe he's still part of the scene up there.

Around that time I remember coming back from a very long van trip to see Deep Purple in Paris. I picked up a bunch of Alan Holdsworth LPs in London as they seemed impossible to get ooop North. Not sure that anyone I played them to was too impressed as I think most people I knew considered Abominog to be the height of musical sophistication at the time!

Anyway. You've clearly kept your chops up and then some!

littlegreenman · September 2013

I cheated a bit and are be posting something did a couple of months ago for basically the same challenge. I did this one for "Detective Night". wonder how TFB likes SoundClick links?

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12336827

*edit* The answer being, as links, no automagicals with SC

*edit2* Don't have much spare time 'til the weekend, I'll check everyone's stuff out shortly.

Basher · September 2013

@littlegreenman That's really cool. And I mean cool in a very specific, early 1970s New York kind of way - that Melvin Van Peebles tear-arseing about the place in a car the size of a bungalow and generally stickin' it to the man kind of cool.

Very good and very true to the genre - loved the bass part.

daveww · September 2013

Really enjoyed listening to these

@littlegreenman - lovely stuff - just one more thing - lol

@barney - great, nice melodic jazz

@ftmunch - beutifull, well developed overall feel to this

@Phil_aka_pip - great stuff very accomplished - respect

@Octatonic - great - can see the doctor who baddy army marching to this one

@Handsome_Chris - I'm too scaredto sleep now - lucky that glockenspiel came along to save me

daveww · September 2013

messed up double post

$:\$ ">

Phil_aka_Pip · September 2013

@daveww Thank you kind Sir!

daveww · September 2013

Quickly done this morning and intended to be a backing to something sad and romantic - lol

Not too happy with it so might well have another go...

littlegreenman · September 2013

daveww said:

Quickly done this morning and intended to be a backing to something sad and romantic - lol

Not too happy with it so might well have another go...

Liking all the ideas going on that you got down there @daveww. Flamenco at heart, jazzy tinged, bloody nice listen

daveww · September 2013

@liitlegreenman thanks for the kind comment. It was one take and I didnt like the backing I'd put down but I tried again and although the playing was a bit better it lost out on spontaneity

Basher · October 2013

Are we going to have an October task, or have I missed it somewhere?

And while we're at it....

I don't want to appear crititcal but we appear to get multiple that seem to have little or no relation to the task set and are just dumps of old ideas/demos. Surely the point is to try and do something a bit different or at least with some kind of recognisable idea/theme/direction? I honestly think that if we set a task like "do a fucking awful dissonant, atonal honk noise" we'll get 17 blues jams from 2003 and 11 tasteful mixolydian solos. It also makes it a lot harder to comment on them if people submit so many.

Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I'm having one of those grumpy days. No change there then.

Fretwired · October 2013

Basher said:

Are we going to have an October task, or have I missed it somewhere?

And while we're at it....
I don't want to appear crititcal but we appear to get multiple that seem to have little or no relation to the task set and are just dumps of old ideas/demos. Surely the point is to try and do something a bit different or at least with some kind of recognisable idea/theme/direction? I honestly think that if we set a task like "do a fucking awful dissonant, atonal honk noise" we'll get 17 blues jams from 2003 and 11 tasteful mixolydian solos. It also makes it a lot harder to comment on them if people submit so many.

Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I'm having one of those grumpy days. No change there then.

@Basher Fair comments. Would you like to set October's task?

daveww · October 2013

>- sounds like a good idea to me

Basher · October 2013

What's wrong with "do a fucking awful dissonant, atonal honk noise" then?

I'm not really very good at this. The only ideas I can come up with are vague things like "rewrite the Belgian national anthem" or "record something that reminds you of a horse".

What about:

I Gots Rhythm: As guitarists, many of us forget or ignore the importance of rhythm in music in favour of melodic noodlings. This task is to compose a piece of music that emphasises rhythm. Use anything and everything to come up with interesting percussive ideas. Obviously drums are good, as are bits of tupperware but the guitar can be a source of some great sounds. Hit, scrape, skronk and bash those git-fiddles into a state that the Fender Custom Shop would consider too reliced to be believable!

or maybe...

Riff-o-matic: Again, stressing the simple side of things, try and come up with something with a strong riff, or riffs. Let's see if we can get the next Black Dog, So What, Seven Nation Army or, god forbid, Sm*k* *n t*e W*t*r.

or even...

Bubble and Squeak: Put something together using leftovers. Maybe a snippet that didn't fit into your latest jazz odyssey or a nifty change you liked but couldn't shoehorn into that rock opera about ladyboys from mars invading Swindon. This is not an excuse to post 17 more jams from 1993 - it's all about reusing something you'd cast aside. If you cheat, you'll only be cheating yourself. And us too, obviously.

Err...

Seven Eleven: Do something involving either 7 or 11. Could be the time signature(s), number of notes or repetitions of a part. Break free of the tyranny of fours!

Urmmm.....

Monkey Tennis: Compose something that reminds you of Andy Murray...

You see. I'm not cut out for this. I'm more of a blind follower than a charismatic taskmaster. Maybe somebody with a bit more Alpha in their genetic makeup could come up with some ideas?

Phil_aka_Pip · October 2013

I still like the 30-sec "promo bed" idea for use on community or commercial radio with Sporky's DBAD theme in it somewhere.

Handsome_Chris · October 2013

I did enjoy this task as it inspired me to try something without the guitar.

@dindude, I enjoyed your cop show sleaze. It reminds me of the 80s.

@Basher, Excuse moi, Monsieur Pantaloon, a nice piece that would be fit for the French version of Hollyoaks - but in a nice way.

@daveww, another great piece that is suited to this task. I could see it being used in the French version of Hollyoaks, where they have to take Monsieur Laurent, the labrador, to the vet - for the last time.

Basher · October 2013

Handsome_Chris said:

I did enjoy this task as it inspired me to try something without the guitar.

@dindude, I enjoyed your cop show sleaze. It reminds me of the 80s.

@Basher, Excuse moi, Monsieur Pantaloon, a nice piece that would be fit for the French version of Hollyoaks - but in a nice way.

@daveww, another great piece that is suited to this task. I could see it being used in the French version of Hollyoaks, where they have to take Monsieur Laurent, the labrador, for the last time.

I actually worked on Hollyoaks for a few weeks! Just freelance graphic design but very enjoyable nevertheless. Not that I've eve actually watched it or anything. Even the thought of seeing one's own handiwork on camera was not enough to make me endure an episode. The French version might be more interesting though.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Fretboard Task 2 September 2013

Comments