New Music – But Not For Sza
Added 2022-04-25 14:00:06 +0000 UTCI’ve been trying an experiment where I listen to a song once, write down everything I hear, and then try to capture the vibe in an original composition.
This is based on the song Good Days by Sza. There’s only so much I could extract on one listen, so naturally, the song starts to detour after the first minute. The song ends with a piano improvisation that’s accompanied by audio effects and other electronic manipulation.
Using piano improvisation is something I’ve been using more and more to start compositions and generate ideas quickly. When I first started using Ableton, my goal was to NOT think like a piano player. Though this went against my most natural intuitions, it helped me focus on sound design workflows and the mechanics of Ableton. I’ve been integrating the two approaches lately and discovering ways Ableton can complement my piano playing.
In this case, I improvised a bunch of musical phrases, edited them together, and used acoustic bass samples to accentuate and complement the piano. This works nicely, especially in freer tempos where phrases follow a conversational rhythm. I’d like to see how I can expand on this workflow, especially by adding tempo and drums!
