When Elijah first came into our class, I was incredibly excited because I have always wanted to know how to properly use GarageBand. The majority of tools we were taught how to use were relatively easy for me to learn. I soon felt confident in cutting music, adding loops, and panning or fading music. However, when we moved to more complex concepts, like altering bass or programming our own beats, I felt out of my element. I did not feel like I had the attuned ear to tell when a loop needed more bass or treble, and I felt like I lost my sense of rhythm when trying to construct my own beats. In addition, I was a little inept when remembering what buttons did what functions, so this held me back in creating new beats. When creating my own music, I tended to stick to the GarageBand controls I felt confident in rather than wasting my time with the complex controls that did not work for me.
Before working with Elijah, I barely knew how to cut music. Now, in Garageband, I know how to cut music, add multiple layers of songs and loops, and split and join tracks. I also know how to pan music from a left speaker to a right speaker and vice versa, how to fade music in and out via the decibel line, and find a library of accessible and free sounds online. I learned how to solo a track, loop just a portion of a track, copy a section of a track, and change an existing beat to be played by a wide variety of different instruments. With this new knowledge, I can now create my own soundtracks for choreography or videos. I can also cut existing songs to be the length I need them for a dance or video.
When it came to creating my own music, I first found a loop that spoke to me. The loop is called Empire State Horns, and it has a sharp but slow melody to it. It gradually builds, alluding to the mental picture of a presentation of some kind of monumental event. Due to the gradual build of Empire State Horns, I decided that I wanted my next loop to be fast and upbeat so that it could complement the build of the first loop. Thus, I added in the loop of Accelerate Beat Two because it was bright with a constant beat. I enjoyed this loop because it reminded me of a very 90s club where everyone is dancing. However, I could not just add this loop for it would sound too much like other house beats. Instead, I added Brooklyn Noir Flute, a sultry jazz loop that is significantly slower than Accelerate Beat Two. This added dynamics to my track, for I had the bright, classic club beat competing with the smooth, suaveness of the flute solo. Adding in the flute solo over the beat became somewhat difficult, however, for I had to find a place where the high beats, mid beats, and bass beats lined up so that the track did not sound too messy. In order to figure out this conundrum, I zoomed in close on the wavelengths of each loop and noted where each of them reached a high, sharp peak or rather a long, low bass. I then compared the two tracks and placed them in line with each other where the highs and lows lined up most often. Once I found where these loops matched up, I made sure to loop them over and over so that they would continue throughout the length of the song. Lastly, I added a bass drop with the addition of the loop, Rapid Chord Bass One. I enjoyed this loop because it was a constant jabbing bass and I felt like it added the perfect layer for social dancing. When adding this loop, I once again dealt with the dilemma of trying to complement the highs and lows of my already existing two loops. I decided the best way to fold the new track in was by starting it at the beginning of one of Brooklyn Noir Flute’s loops. This worked because it started the bass drop right at the end of a whole flute solo phrase. With all these diverse loops, I felt that my track worked with dynamic atmospheres, reflecting the club scene as well as the sultry Jazz scene. To reflect this, I named my song “Club Suave”. Please enjoy it below!
Kelsey Kempner 