The Wagtunes Corner (Featuring My Best Yet)

[ghettosynth]

@ghetto

Translation of all the above. It is a crap ton of work to really make this stuff sound human and good at the same time.

And that's why I quantize and call it a day.

Unless you have an easy way to do this and somehow I doubt that.

YEP! Not going to disagree with that. You have to work on it. But some things work better than others and you can use some of the cubase tools to help with this. I'm just trying to be clear that it isn't just randomness nor fixed rules that create that feel. Applying groove templates will probably help quite a bit, but, IIRC, the ones that come with Cubase are all about drum machine grooves and that's not what you want. I might be wrong on that, I haven't used cubase for that in a while. Reason comes with a bunch that are based off of actual drummers and that's what you want to use. You can buy templates for different styles, e.g.,: http://www.numericalsound.com/dna-groov ... -note.html

Given your approach, this might be something for you to consider. Applying groove templates is fairly easy.

[wagtunes]

@ghetto

Translation of all the above. It is a crap ton of work to really make this stuff sound human and good at the same time.

And that's why I quantize and call it a day.

Unless you have an easy way to do this and somehow I doubt that.

YEP! Not going to disagree with that. You have to work on it. But some things work better than others and you can use some of the cubase tools to help with this. I'm just trying to be clear that it isn't just randomness nor fixed rules that create that feel. Applying groove templates will probably help quite a bit, but, IIRC, the ones that come with Cubase are all about drum machine grooves and that's not what you want. I might be wrong on that, I haven't used cubase for that in a while. Reason comes with a bunch that are based off of actual drummers and that's what you want to use. You can buy templates for different styles, e.g.,: http://www.numericalsound.com/dna-groov ... -note.html

Given your approach, this might be something for you to consider. Applying groove templates is fairly easy.

The ideal solution is to be a really good musician with excellent timing so that your songs sound human and good naturally.

And I am sure there are people like that.

I am not one of them, though I am getting better.

[andrelafosse]

Whenever the subject of randomness vs. precision in rhythmic feel comes up, I always think about this album by D'Angelo, from 2000.

This is incredibly funky, AND incredibly loose with regards to timing/precision/"quantization".



I'm certainly not saying that Steve or anyone else needs to make their music sound like this - but in the context of the discussion, I think this is a great example to check out.

[wagtunes]

Another one from my experimental CD "The Reflecting Pool"

Visions Of Demons

Visions of demons
Visions of demons
Die with the seasons
Don't need a reason
Visions of demons

Burning in hell now
Burning in hell now
Soon you will know how
If you can't tell now
Burning in hell now

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... cting-pool

[thecontrolcentre]

Another one from my experimental CD

Which record label are your CDs released by?

[wagtunes]

Another one from my experimental CD

Which record label are your CDs released by?

They're privately made. What label would want anything to do with a hack like myself?

[wagtunes]

Another one from my first full Vocaloid CD.

This might be the WORST Vocaloid track I've ever done. I don't even know what compelled me to write this nonsense. So why am I posting it? Not everything we do is wonderful. We need to not be so hard on ourselves and others when we make music that, in all honesty, sucks. It happens. You accept it and you move on. None of us are 7 figure a year music makers. We're hobbiests.

Let's not forget that.

Plug Me In

Plug me in
I'll do whatever you want me to
Plug Me in
There's not a thing that I will not do

Deeper Deeper
I'm a keeper

Plug me in

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... ittle-at-a

[fastlanephil]

Not exactly Kraftwerk’s misunderstood Sex Object but they touch a little on the same thing. The key to the meaning of that song is the line “ you turn me on and then you forget”.

[ghettosynth]

Another one from my first full Vocaloid CD.

This might be the WORST Vocaloid track I've ever done. I don't even know what compelled me to write this nonsense. So why am I posting it? Not everything we do is wonderful. We need to not be so hard on ourselves and others when we make music that, in all honesty, sucks. It happens. You accept it and you move on. None of us are 7 figure a year music makers. We're hobbiests.

Let's not forget that.

Plug Me In

Plug me in
I'll do whatever you want me to
Plug Me in
There's not a thing that I will not do

Deeper Deeper
I'm a keeper

Plug me in

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... ittle-at-a

Au contraire, that is BY FAR the best track that I have ever heard out of you and probably the only one that I think the vocaloid vocals really work. I think that you need to, ahem, probe the depths of your soul, so to speak, to find the inner source of motivation for this track, there's gold in them thar hills!

[wagtunes]

Another one from my first full Vocaloid CD.

This might be the WORST Vocaloid track I've ever done. I don't even know what compelled me to write this nonsense. So why am I posting it? Not everything we do is wonderful. We need to not be so hard on ourselves and others when we make music that, in all honesty, sucks. It happens. You accept it and you move on. None of us are 7 figure a year music makers. We're hobbiests.

Let's not forget that.

Plug Me In

Plug me in
I'll do whatever you want me to
Plug Me in
There's not a thing that I will not do

Deeper Deeper
I'm a keeper

Plug me in

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... ittle-at-a

Au contraire, that is BY FAR the best track that I have ever heard out of you and probably the only one that I think the vocaloid vocals really work. I think that you need to, ahem, probe the depths of your soul, so to speak, to find the inner source of motivation for this track, there's gold in them thar hills!

The motivation for this track was I was bored, but wanted to do something, so I opened up my DAW, started loading synths, starting playing some random notes and shit and this is what came out. There was literally no thought put into this. This all just naturally came out. One take. No corrections of any mistakes (not that you can make mistakes when you're hitting notes). The 4 note motif that you hear throughout starting at whatever point in the song? That was totally by chance. I hit the 4 notes and said to myself, "Hey, I like that" and just kept doing it because I couldn't be arsed to come up with any other melody line. The drone in the background? Same thing. Found a progression I liked and just kept doing it. The vocals? I couldn't really be arsed to wrestle with Vocaloid that day so I made up a few stupid lines and filled the rest of the song with noises and sound FX just to get the thing done. And the cherry on the banana split was putting a vocoder on a vocaloid to try to make it sound "not human." It brings the word farce to a new level.

When it was finished I said to myself, "Well, nobody's ever hearing this one." And that was the end of it.

That you hear ANYTHING of value in this truly boggles my mind. But then this just proves my point that all of this stuff is purely subjective. I am sure I can find 10 people at least who will think this is pure trash.

Anyway, all that being said, thank you for the kind words. You absolutely made my day. I mean that sincerely because I thought this thing was going to, deservedly so, be torn to shreds.

[wagtunes]

Here's another one from my Broadway like CD "Once Upon A Time"

The Eyes Of A Stranger

When he looks at me
Everything he sees
He sees through the eyes of a stranger
When I look at him
When the lights go dim
I see through the eyes of a stranger
When they open wide
There's no place to hide
But we hide from the eyes of a stranger
Yet we both pretend
That the dream won't end
But we both know the truth
Say goodbye to our youth
As we live through the danger
Through the eyes of a stranger

Interlude

Yet we both pretend
That the dream won't end
But we both know the truth
Say goodbye to our youth
As we live through the danger
Through the eyes of a stranger

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... pon-a-time

[wagtunes]

From "Bananas Crackers And Nuts", here's my laughable attempt at doing kind of a hip hop rap thing with Vocaloid. This was not easy. LOL.

Anyway, hope you get as good a chuckle out of this as I did.

Would You Hip Hop With Me

What would you say if I took you to a party
Pumped you full of wine and a little bit of me
Would you run and hide like a little girl in grade school
Would you stick around just to climb my cherry tree

Would you hip hop with me
Would you hip hop with me
Would you hip hop with me
Would you hip hop with me

What would you say if I asked you for a big kiss
Held you close to me and began to squeeze you tight
Would you run like hell like a track star taking steroids
Would you kiss my lips cause you know it feels so right

Repeat Chorus 2x

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... s-and-nuts

[wagtunes]

Another odd tune from my CD "Botany Bay"

Chimera

Head of a lion
Body of a goat
Tail like a serpent
Creature of note

Chimera
Chimera
Chimera
Chimera

Bits and pieces
Imaginary glue
Fantasy realm
All there for you

Chimera
Chimera
Chimera
Chimera

Chimera

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... botany-bay

[wagtunes]

Here's another one from my CD "Back Together Again III" with lyrics by my friend Leonard Herman.

Hide & Seek

Danny loved her madly but he knew that his love was in vane
He even tried to propose to her but she thought he was playing
She said that he could have her but there was one thing that he must do
She would hide her love from him and he must find the clue

Oh they were playing hide and seek
And the winner would get a surprise
Oh I love playing hide and seek
When love is always the prize
So I will go and search and find
Your true love you tried to hide
Oh yeah we're playing hide and seek
Where love is always the prize

Danny then began to laugh, how could she hide her love
It had been years since he last played and the rules were not so tough
But he couldn’t give up her little game when he thought of the reward
Cause he had tried for years to get the love she always hoard

Repeat Chorus

The rules were made and the day was set when he’d play hide and seek
And she said if he found her love she’d give him a little treat
So he set out to find her love under the brightness of the moon
And he quickly found her love with her inside her bedroom

Repeat Chorus

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... -again-iii

[wagtunes]

Another instrumental from "Glitch"

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... ets/glitch