Solfege

[daft cunt]

Just wondering how many of you learnt solfege and/or use(d) to play (an) instrument(s) that's not electronic and how does it serve you now for dubz'n stuff.
I played guitar for 3 years and bass 2 years. Had a terrible sense of tempo so computer was just the way to go.
Never learnt solfege. Must be useful though, isn't it?

[decklyn]

Just wondering how many of you learnt solfege and/or use(d) to play (an) instrument(s) that's not electronic and how does it serve you now for dubz'n stuff.
I played guitar for 3 years and bass 2 years. Had a terrible sense of tempo so computer was just the way to go.
Never learnt solfege. Must be useful though, isn't it?

I used to play flute, guitar, bass, and started taking some piano lessons. The theory really helps alot. It's also cool being able to record your instrument and fit it into tracks (my recording environment isn't suitable tho).

[mudfoot)))]

I play guitar, bass, drums and a little piano, and I've played in all kinds of bands... I think it really helps to have a good understanding of music, although it's not necessary. I'm really just starting to think more in terms of melody when composing dubstep - when I was producing drum and bass, I used to build songs around certain sounds and samples, trial and error, etc. Lately I've been plinking out melodies and basslines on the keyboard, and then experimenting with using different sounds on those melodies. If you're making minimalist percussive tracks, it's fine to just layer sounds, but it opens up a lot of new possibilities when you can actually craft some melodic lines - it makes the music more accessible. Also, it's good to understand how different instruments work together, so you can create good combinations. It's hard being a guitarist when everything is so keyboard-oriented, but sometimes I keep a guitar nearby to work out melodies and then record them using the keyboard. Taking it a step further, I'm playing around with adding live instrument tracks on top of sequenced dubstep and dubbing them out using an analog 8track tape machine. Anyone else messing around with old analog gear here or am I just a crazy old geezer?

[chef]

I play the drums.... this is in Israel having a lil jamming session




and I mess about on the old bass guitar.

Playing an instrument defiantly helped my djing/production.

[decklyn]

I play guitar, bass, drums and a little piano, and I've played in all kinds of bands... I think it really helps to have a good understanding of music, although it's not necessary. I'm really just starting to think more in terms of melody when composing dubstep - when I was producing drum and bass, I used to build songs around certain sounds and samples, trial and error, etc. Lately I've been plinking out melodies and basslines on the keyboard, and then experimenting with using different sounds on those melodies. If you're making minimalist percussive tracks, it's fine to just layer sounds, but it opens up a lot of new possibilities when you can actually craft some melodic lines - it makes the music more accessible. Also, it's good to understand how different instruments work together, so you can create good combinations. It's hard being a guitarist when everything is so keyboard-oriented, but sometimes I keep a guitar nearby to work out melodies and then record them using the keyboard. Taking it a step further, I'm playing around with adding live instrument tracks on top of sequenced dubstep and dubbing them out using an analog 8track tape machine. Anyone else messing around with old analog gear here or am I just a crazy old geezer?

Yeah I agree with what you said about melody - I look to having accessible music in my bag. At the same time, I find if you drop melodic parts (especially pads), then your music gets edgier very fast, and tends to feel like it has a harder step.

I was starting to dabble in analogue gear, but I sold most of it and bought things like reference monitors and a good keyboard controller, proper sound card, and a CDJ.

[daft cunt]

Just wondering how many of you learnt solfege and/or use(d) to play (an) instrument(s) that's not electronic and how does it serve you now for dubz'n stuff.
I played guitar for 3 years and bass 2 years. Had a terrible sense of tempo so computer was just the way to go.
Never learnt solfege. Must be useful though, isn't it?

I used to play flute, guitar, bass, and started taking some piano lessons. The theory really helps alot. It's also cool being able to record your instrument and fit it into tracks (my recording environment isn't suitable tho).

Where should I start if I will to learn solfege since a good part of it must be useless for what we're doing here?
Have any online resources or so?

[__________]

I've been playing guitar for sine I was 5 or 6, really helps me not so much in actually writing the tunes, but transferring the notes from my head onto the piano roll. Bass and drums as well, although I'm pretty bad on the drums. Wanna learn to play the accordion, me old dear's got an old shitty one, it sounds well funny

[daft cunt]

Wanna learn to play the accordion, me old dear's got an old shitty one, it sounds well funny

Learning it feels like a pain in the ass I'd say. Plus, you can't really drop the volume down on these things which might irritate the surrounding
Better sample some old french accordionists. I can recommend you some

[brklss]

I play the piano now for over 12 years and it helps for melodies, chrods, harmony, etc...

It's also nice to have a jam session!

[nospin]

solfege is a waste of time. i've played a lot of instruments, guitar, bass, piano, drums, trumpet, sax, and even the french horn (in attempts to get close to this girl) haha. learning music and theory is always good, but i've always thought solfege was a lame way of teaching.

[daft cunt]

solfege is a waste of time. i've played a lot of instruments, guitar, bass, piano, drums, trumpet, sax, and even the french horn (in attempts to get close to this girl) haha. learning music and theory is always good, but i've always thought solfege was a lame way of teaching.

When talking about solfege I was thinking more precisely about what in french is called "gamme", don't know the translation. This is the multiple note-combinations (is that clear?) that can exist, which you usually start off when you plan on creating complex melodies. Maybe the rest is pointless but seems still sounds very useful to me.

[nospin]

hmm i'm not sure what you're getting at, but the do re mi fa so la ti do thing is what i learned as solfege... waste. pick up a guitar or a keyboard for melodies chords, no? i can play what i hum or have in my head, is that what your goal is?

[daft cunt]

hmm i'm not sure what you're getting at, but the do re mi fa so la ti do thing is what i learned as solfege... waste. pick up a guitar or a keyboard for melodies chords, no? i can play what i hum or have in my head, is that what your goal is?

What I'm refering to is "an ordered succession of the various degrees of a tonality", degrees associated with a given mode, and generally presented in an ascending way - unless otherwise specified - since the tonic, until its first repetition, i.e., until the octave of this tonic (online dictionary translation...).
Basicly, music has always been written that way. At least until electronic instruments show up. Of course, some people wrote great music just by feeling as you claim but I wouldn't call that a waste of time.

[mudfoot)))]

I play guitar, bass, drums and a little piano, and I've played in all kinds of bands... I think it really helps to have a good understanding of music, although it's not necessary. I'm really just starting to think more in terms of melody when composing dubstep - when I was producing drum and bass, I used to build songs around certain sounds and samples, trial and error, etc. Lately I've been plinking out melodies and basslines on the keyboard, and then experimenting with using different sounds on those melodies. If you're making minimalist percussive tracks, it's fine to just layer sounds, but it opens up a lot of new possibilities when you can actually craft some melodic lines - it makes the music more accessible. Also, it's good to understand how different instruments work together, so you can create good combinations. It's hard being a guitarist when everything is so keyboard-oriented, but sometimes I keep a guitar nearby to work out melodies and then record them using the keyboard. Taking it a step further, I'm playing around with adding live instrument tracks on top of sequenced dubstep and dubbing them out using an analog 8track tape machine. Anyone else messing around with old analog gear here or am I just a crazy old geezer?

Yeah I agree with what you said about melody - I look to having accessible music in my bag. At the same time, I find if you drop melodic parts (especially pads), then your music gets edgier very fast, and tends to feel like it has a harder step.

I was starting to dabble in analogue gear, but I sold most of it and bought things like reference monitors and a good keyboard controller, proper sound card, and a CDJ.

I'm getting a laptop in the near future, so there's a good chance I'll be doing the same thing - selling some old gear and buying a USB controller, etc. But I'll probably hang on to most of my outboard stuff because it's so much more fun than doing everything on the computer - I find it easier to be musically creative when I'm composing by ear rather than visually on-screen.

I hear what you're saying about melody too, I've seen debate on this forum about dubstep going the way of DnB, with more and more layered percussion and melody on the treble end, it starts to sound really hectic and busy. But when you say "drop melodic parts," do you mean take them out or put them in?

When I think of great melodic dubstep tunes, I think of stuff like Skream's "Request Line" and "2D", and I also think of really minimal stuff like DMZ "Left Leg Out" and other Mala/Coki stuff. A melody can be just a couple of piano notes, or if you think of classic dub, a small piece of a larger melody that cuts off with a long delay. It's just different from some dubstep where the bass IS the melody, and there's really nothing else but percussion. As with anything, it's about balance - as a DJ, I like to go back and forth between melodic tunes and deeper cuts. As a producer, I make both kinds. Country AND Western.