https://drive.google.com/file/d/1enFR7NsVgl3kExPssMRYqbfn-G0wTZm4/view?usp=drivesdk
I’ve been writing music since I can remember, I love the process of writing and creating music and then being able to share it with others. I released a single called Scars about 3 years ago and I am currently working on the album. The song used for this project is actually already on the album but for the sake of the project I decided to have fun and mess around with the soundtrack. I choose this song because the album version is very sad almost too sad and I had been undecided on whether I liked the sound or if I wanted to change it, so therefore I ended up changing the entire soundtrack and structure of the song due to this project and to my surprise loved the ending results and will probably change the original to the modified version of this project.
This song is called Aftertaste the tempo is 85 BPM with the time signature of 4/4 in the key of F minor. The song starts off with a warm but rich loop (Pressure Drop Kick Piano Chords 01.) I chose this piano because it gave me the dark/sad tone needed to portray the feeling of distress. And since the song is about a heartbreak I chose to include a syncopated drop kick (Pressure Drop Kick) to emphasize the vulnerability of the heartbroken. The intro consists of 8 measures but I start singing on the 5th measure with the pre-chorus. I start of singing with my chest voice but on a higher register to help separate the tone of the chorus from the verses.
For the first verse I eliminated the piano but kept the drum kick and added (Blowing Speakers 04) along with 2 synths (Deep Sleep Synth Plucks 02) and (Sparkle and Shine Synth Arp 01.) These sounds together give off a higher range of sound which is why I shift to a lower register on my chest voice which helps create a harmonic tone. I then add a snare drum (Sparkle and Shine Snare 01) on measure 13 to help lead into the chorus. I use this structure all through the song: taking away and adding instruments to create harmonies and melodies. It’s all about finding the right instruments to create the right combination of sounds.
The piano is brought back and the drum kick, deep sleep synth, and blowing speakers are taken away. Then a second snare drum is added (Sparkle and Shine Snare 02) and (Sparkle and Shine Vox Melody 02.) This gives off a break from all that is going on in the song, there are a lot of emotions being expressed in the first verse so the chorus is meant to be mellow and signify space which is why the instrumentation is so simple. Again like in the beginning of the song my voice shifts to a higher register to keep that feeling of distress and loneliness but this time around I re-recorded double vocal harmonies and added them to the backing to emphasize the hurt and make it sound a bit more aggressive.
The second verse is identical to the first verse, the instrumentation remains the same and after the second verse the chorus is then said one last time and then the song ends with the bridge. For the purpose of this song I did shorten the lyrics and soundtrack so that the song length cut shorter than 2 minutes but the original is 4 minutes long. Overall I enjoyed messing around with the loops on GarageBand and loved the ending result of the song.
Music Production 