My submission for the NGADM 2023 quarterfinals.

Thank you, judges and the NG community. Thank you @Benjie-G and belated happy birthday! I actually regret leaving a review on your piece just as I was struggling with mine. I needed critique on mine too, so I turned to Ketyri for help. I know I am not worthy to be in this position and @FJOB will surely advance. All I can do is try to make something beautiful for myself and hope to find other kindred spirits. May the music gods provide me with inspiration to make meaningful music and also music that is worthy of this contest. Much respect and love to all. <3

NGADM 2023 quarterfinals is my time to bow out. I am lucky and grateful I got this far... In my opinion, @ZaneLittle deserves this spot more than me.

This is the second half of my NGADM round of 16 songwriting diary.

You can check out the first half of the diary here.

Do you want to hear the original crappy recording?

I was able to clear my stage of the drums and microphones to make way for electric guitar tracking. I tried to use sample libraries of orchestral instruments the other night but I wasn’t confident and inspired by it. The guitars were recorded direct into my audio interface and then reamped into a Boss Katana guitar amp, mic'd with an Audix. It’s not the best guitar amp to use for recording but it is what I have and I did not want to spend time finding and tweaking software amps and cabs. I found my brother's guitar slide which was very useful for the transitions, though I did not know how to use it...

That is basically it, really. One day for tracking and reamping electric guitar, and the next day for final mixing. I will admit, I blitzed those last 2 days because I got worried. Listening back to what I submitted, I know what I’d like to do to improve it. For now, this will do. I know there’s still a day left for me to fix things. But I’d like to step back from it now and appreciate it again on another day. Ackee told Benjie-G that, and it’s true. We need to step away from our creations to reset our minds and start again with fresh ears after a break. Oh, that reminds me, I think it was Arponax’s YouTube video shared on the discord that inspired me to just let my hair down at the end of the song… It was supposed to fade out a lot quicker but I thought you might want to enjoy my imperfections… because perfection is boring.

Be That As It May

Sail away, I say

Give her a drink

Where to, four eyes, today

And you’re too late

Hey I’ve said too much

‘Fraid I’m giving

Hey I’ve given

Too much away

Once you’ve fallen into prayer

It’s you they’re afraid

As you left your set of rules

Be that as it may

Soon I’d see your face again

It aint gonna be the same

Whoooo… Sky ...Whoooo

I do beg you to stay

I do beg you to stay away

Be that as it may

----------

I don't know the genre of my music so I've always chosen 'Indie'. If anyone thinks it is incorrect, feel free to let me know.

Final thoughts:

I'm still wondering if my work is worthy of this contest. This experience is new to me and I am so grateful to be part of it. There are other contestants who deserve to be in this round like CloakedSoup, Trunotfals, and especially AlbeGian... I thought my luck in this life had run out. Thank you, I needed this.

----------

So, I just updated the mix.

The story was, I tracked a lot of electric guitars! And, imagine this -- I reamped each track twice, one with just the amp, another with distortion, and then I used the dry D.I. track to fill in the sounds that I wasn't able to get with the reamping. I basically multiplied each track by 3! And I had to deal with the comps. I was overwhelmed! I didn't want to deal with it anymore... I was happy with good enough and submitted it 'cause I had enough.

But a while ago, I played it back and it bothered me so much, I had to do the changes, even with my ringing ears! Tinnitus. I've had it for a long time now. Kids, protect your ears... I know you like loud but, just trust me, ok? :) Hopefully I've made my mix better... I really don't know anymore, but at least the panning was sorted out... There's lots of room for improvement still. It must've been a few minutes after the track has been frontpaged that I changed the track (I changed it twice!) 3 people downloaded it. They all got a different version of the mix. Hopefully I stop obsessing over this and walk away... walk away man... stop listening... (talking to myself)

----------

Reamp

...converts balanced line level signals to in unbalanced instrument level.

August 29

Transcribed my freestyle singing nonsense. Could this be the song I'll develop? We'll see...

Sail away I say

Give her your drink

Where to four eyes today?

And you're too late

Hey I gave you

I gave you away

Hey I gave you

Gave you away

Once you've gone afraid

It's you there I'll stay

And we set the timer to

End on this very day

It aint gonna be the same

It aint gonna be the same

Wooooooo

I beg you to stay

Wooooooo

I beg you to stay away

----------

 August 31

I was expecting to have band rehearsals today but it's cancelled; now my fingers hurt and need some time-out. I've been playing the guitar the whole day yesterday in preparation for today's practice. I did sneak an 'exploration jam' of the idea I'm developing for NGADM. I'm loving my imagination of how the drums could be but I can't possibly perform it. I have to work with my limitations, as usual. No breaks though, I'm spending time listening to music for inspiration. Maybe figure out the lyrics too, but I am abandoning it; it has done it's job. I'm focusing on the music. It needs to be simplified. My ears will do most of the work for now. Speaking of ears, yeah those need a break too, and in my case, a break from the earphones.

Last time I shared an image of this corner, it had mic'd up snare and cymbals. This is how it looks like at the moment. I don't have much space to work with so this is what I do. Setting up gear has become my thing. Maybe someday I could own a better computer and work purely in-the-box like most of you. It's easy to get lazy when you know you have to constantly move things around, set-up, etc. But hey, it's free exercise and it allows you to keep track of the things you own. I pray that the missing AT2035 shock mount shows up, though, because I need it! :-(

----------

September 1

I listened to the original spontaneous jam that I recorded and thought "Alright, I'm going to stop thinking and surrender to this piece". I re-wrote the lyrics to find the best possible 'sounds like' words because what I sang didn't quite match what I'd written the first time (I wasn't actually singing words, just gibberish, like what babies do, you know?). This isn't the first time I've composed like this, I've recorded songs before by copying exactly what I did on the first spontaneous rough take, which includes the "mistakes" that I had to learn and memorize (An example is this song I made called Tonight. Another is Like There's No Tomorrow -- this one had evolved to the point of giving birth to 2 entirely new songs). Session musicians will have a hard time studying this song if or when I need sessionists for recording or a live performance. I have decided on a title -- As It May (Do people say that? Like, short for Be That As It May?).

I pegged my favorite female singer's singing style. I think I can pull it off with practice. We'll see. Hope I don't lose my voice. Now on to the next step, recording...

...singing along to the song over and over again, memorizing the phrasing and melodies of the initial vocal comp. I couldn't stop feeling emotional. I am literally crying. It's not good for singing clean melodies, tears are going down my nose and throat. I'll record bass for now.

----------

September 2

Vocals, check!

Acoustic Guitar, check!

Bass, check!

I must've performed the song 50 to 100 times per instrument / voice. Sometimes I know I got the take, but since it's in a loop, I just keep playing anyway. I went back and forth recording, editing, re-recording, editing again... There are things you'll miss when you are performing and the only way you'd know is by listening back. I love singing this song! I love playing the guitar and the bass too.

Now what? I feel like I am done! It sounds really good bare. I tried adding a tiny amount of reverb to the vocals, I did not like it. I need feedback!

----------

September 4

Cymbals, check!

Snare, check!

Kick sample from NI Battery, check!

I somehow found a mic clip that fits the AT2035 (yay!). The last time, I closed mic'd each cymbal, it was actually a bad idea. The proximity effect gave so much rumbling low end from the cymbals that I ended up high-passing it. Around a foot away sounded a lot better (maybe a foot and a half would be perfect)... Of course, the ribbon mic is still up there by the ceiling, serving as a room mic.

I also decided to do a little reamping of the bass into the chorus pedal and also the sansamp which I didn't use. I sent my voice into the chorus too because... why not? (sorry 'bout the mess)

Obviously, I didn't know what else to do at this point so I decided to 'dial a friend' -- Ketyri. He gave me feedback which I badly needed! (Thank you!!) I want to make this song the best I can possibly make it, not because I want to win against Benji-G (it would be a relief if he moves on to be honest) but because I want to prove to myself that I am even worthy to be in the top 16...

Fun fact: Did you know that the Sansamp pedal is out of phase with other preamps? That's also true for software versions.

Click here for part 2 of the songwriting diary...

What just happened??! I felt like CloakedSoup was going to advance. I was a fan of the music he made, and mine sounded less polished... I am in shock, I am humbled, and I am grateful. Thank you, dear judges! <3 ...and thank you to my bracket mates. It's an honor going to battle WITH you. <3

Let's make good music, @Benji-G

What's up, Newgrounds!

This is a screenshot of my Logic Pro X project for the song 'Not Like This Again'. This is its final stage before its submission to the NGADM contest.

NLTA4 (short for Not Like This Again, project 4)

Every song I produce has multiple projects that are numbered to help me keep track.

Logic users might say, why don't you just use the 'Alternatives' feature? Yes, I do use it, but clutter stops me from making progress, so, I make stems whenever it gets overwhelming to keep it manageable and give me a new perspective. My effects are all rendered as wav, that way I can see the actual waveform and my CPU gets relief from its load.

I learned a lot about myself over the years when it comes to music production. One is, to actually make music, I need to stay away from the technical stuff. That means good old acoustic guitar, a pen, and a notebook. When a good idea sticks out, I press record. No setting up of microphones and audio interfaces. Just the built-in mic of the device I have on hand because I surely will forget.

Lyrics

When composing, I almost always sing whatever comes to mind while I'm playing my guitar. Sometimes it doesn't make sense and I'd hang out with the initial words and look for what sounds better, feels better, if it means anything at all to me, what it's about, and how can I make it interesting. What I do know about my music-making process is, the lyrics will dictate the musical arrangement.

I struggle with lyrics a lot. I found that out when I made a solo album. I want to be a better lyricist so that I can make better songs. The only way to be better is to keep at it. Having a community like Newgrounds is the place where I can improve and I am so happy I got in the NGADM. The feedback I got from the judges is at the back of my mind and I always take it into consideration. At the end of the day, though, I am my own judge.

Simple-brilliant.

"Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face" is the first line of the song 'Do You Realize??' by The Flaming Lips. It's a simple song, with a simple melody and interesting soundscapes, and most of all, it gives a feeling. Simple-brilliant -- to make something simple yet interesting or powerful. That's when making something simple becomes a challenge. Many times, though, for me at least, the things that work are the ones that come out naturally. What's great about keeping things simple is, it's easier to make it complex when you have a simple 'base'. Speaking of base..

Bass

In the bands I'm in, I am usually the bass player and backup vocalist. Being a bassist means knowing how to play in the pocket, live, or during recording. This is an important skill to learn, for those starting out. You can align your performance to the grid, but it will sound better if the performance was great to begin with. If I have to record my performance 10, 20, 50, or even 100 times (yes, I've done it with the drums 'cause I suck! lol), I will. So, yeah, being a bass player taught me that. Being in a band taught me that every member needs to feel that pocket and be in that pocket if you want to sound good, that also means hearing what the other players are doing and complimenting it, reacting to it. Again, that's for live, or recording/songwriting. That's why I struggle to find an answer to questions like "Who is the best guitar player". I listen to the whole band and their music, not just 1 player.

Spoonman420

Spoonman is a song from a band called "Soundgarden". I cried when Chris Cornell, the singer, died. He was one of my music heroes. 420, you kids know what that is. I know there's a slim chance that I'd get past the first round of the NGADM. If I get lucky and actually win, I'd change my Newgrounds name to Spoonman or Spoonmix and ditch the 420. Spoonman420 is an old username I have for an audio forum. I did not know I'd be this active on Newgrounds. But, wow, what an incredible community. I especially like that people are doing collaborations. My first NG experience was somewhat of a collab with Ketyri who is also in the NGADM contest. I love this place now, can you tell?

Anyway, that's all folks. Thanks for reading!

----

Sharing this screenshot of my drums because it might be useful to somebody. Notice I have 2 sets of dum takes called DRMS1 and DRMS2.

When I need to punch-in, I alternate between the two sets to allow the ringing of the cymbals to overlap on the next drum take. I have watched many videos and tutorials about recording drums and I've never seen anyone do this. Comping drums is close to impossible (at least for me) because the cymbals never ring out the same, so is the performance. For drummers who already know precisely how to perform their part, sure, they can just stick to one lane. I remember suggesting this to an audio engineer while we were tracking our drummer, he didn't take my suggestion (huhu), thinking it's a lot of work. It really isn't. Just make 2 sets, set the inputs the same for each mic, example input 1 for both kicks, input 2 for both snares, etc. and you're basically done! Just group the tracks in the same group, just like what I did here in Logic and phase-lock the audio. You don't even have to do these two things right away, it's just for when you're editing drums. I love Logic Pro X for this but I sure wish Ableton can have phase-locked audio so that I can leave the Mac and be a PC user! Don't get me wrong, I super love the mac especially Logic Pro X and even Final Cut Pro (Da Vinci beats it in certain aspects), but it's just too expensive! And I hate the forced obsolescence and the soldered components.

I don't know for certain if Ableton can't phase-lock audio. If it can, please let me know how it's done!!

----

Never recorded drums this way before -- no kick drum and toms; I'll just use the samples from my previous recording. I also found out I'm missing a shock mount for the AT2035, so no stereo pair of condensers for me, boo.

There's a cheap ribbon mic somewhere up there... It'll glue those sounds together, hopefully. There's nothing like recording real drums, especially the snare, hi-hats, and cymbals...Let's Go!

Surely it was accidental but omg I am starstruck! #TomFulpFollowedMe!! #NotGonnaPing!!

So, I'm just discovering a few super-incredibly talented musicians on NG. But they are hard to find. Can anyone suggest other people to follow so I can enjoy their work? I prefer band-type music but I appreciate electronic music too.

-----

Hearing the music from recommendations reminded me of other genres of music that I once enjoyed. It's been a long time since I last hunted down artists, and I'm glad to find many on NG. The best part is being able to actually interact with them. So, feel free to drop a message here, any genre of music is welcome. You can send your favorite tracks. Thanks!

What music do you like to listen to, instrumental music or songs -- like with vocals and lyrics? Like what type of music do you play on Spotify or Youtube or anywhere? What is your music preference...