Making the impossible possible

It's getting to that time of year again when people are asking, "when are the audio contests going to be held?". With the mention of audio contests comes the mention of the Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch, the Newgrounds Audio Underdogs contest, the Art-Inspired Music contest, the Newgrounds Music Triathlon... the list could go on, but I don't know what else is in store for us musicians this year.

The whole point of me writing this post, however, is not to state any chance of me taking part in any of these contests. (In fact, it's likely that I won't.) Rather, I want to encourage you folks to NEVER bring yourselves down. I suppose it's easy to help others with this, and not myself -- but a lot of us feel the same way. So let's encourage each other, instead of saying "no, there's no way in hell you or I could make this" for example.

Back in 2012 I took part in my first Audio Deathmatch, and my run there was one that surprised everyone present.

SERIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU WIN THIRD PLACE WITH THIS LOAD OF JUNK?

It's badly mixed, the mic quality is horrible, and at the best of times we'd probably get listener's fatigue. So what gives?

But that's my point -- you may not shine in one area, but you'll shine in another when it comes to music production. Never take yourself for granted, and don't let others do the same to you. Those closest to me keep reminding me of this, so it's only right that I should do the same. I didn't shine in mixing, but it seems the musicality of these pieces made up for it all.

As musicians, part of our work is to make the impossible possible. We manipulate sound waves in ways that perhaps others have not done before, or not attempted before. We live to prove critics and naysayers wrong. All those people who said that we wouldn't make it as musicians, we're engaging in this craft to prove them wrong. And perhaps, we might engage in experiments that result in pioneering works of art. Who knows what each musician can bring? People can hear talent and/or improvement and immediately sense it.

So if you are thinking of taking part in a contest, rule of thumb: do not be intimidated. If I had it in me to make the impossible possible with my run in the 2012 NGADM, why can't anyone else? You each stand as much of a chance as I did, even if scores and crowds of clamoring fans would like to think otherwise.

As I speak, two of my NGADM 2012 pieces are being remade -- Propter Te and Mio/Homura. The first is about 60% done, the other is about 40% done. A handful of people have asked for me to remake the other two submissions, Supplication and Asperges Me. I'll get to them in due course, I'm not sure when.

I'm still figuring out how to handle drums properly for Propter Te. There are times where I'm so disheartened and think that I'm one of the worst drummers there ever was. Now that probably isn't true, but it's what I've been made to think for many years. While I know that the drums for Propter Te can be reproduced by human hands, I'm struggling with it. Come Monday, I'd like to attempt to get it done......

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S3C 2016-05-05 08:13:47

there's no way you can be worse drummer than that guy from AC/DC. I mean, he is pretty bad.

Troisnyx 2016-05-05 08:13:47

Is Chris Slade really that bad?

S3C 2016-05-05 08:19:27

yep he only knows 1 basic groove

Troisnyx 2016-05-05 08:19:27

I see...

I'd like to know more than just some basic grooves, myself. I'd been trying to build hand speed and all that good stuff, but it seems like I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to do this.

EctiBot 2016-05-05 08:48:27

Well said :D

demon1000 2016-05-05 19:03:43

Ok i think i might wanna join this... Is there a certain Genre do i have to make? or just try doing your best with one track?

Troisnyx 2016-05-05 19:03:43

A different track for each round, but it has to be original and created according to each contest's rules. Genre is up to you, unless it is a restriction created by the NG Music Triathlon or something.

Whirlguy 2016-05-05 20:23:39

Whoah, it's strange to see @RealFaction say that. I've considered the audio forums to be a place of deep-rooted respect for the man. This just comes to show what happens behind the scenes.

"you may not shine in one area, but you'll shine in another when it comes to music production. Never take yourself for granted, and don't let others do the same to you." That's very inspirational! Thanks for that. I haven't entered an audio contest in forever. The vibes on this page really make me want to join, but I don't know... I was thinking of entering NATA this year as well. I've been wanting to spend more time on music this year though, so I might just go for it. When does the deathmatch start anyway? You never said haha.

Troisnyx 2016-05-05 20:23:39

Normally the auditions for the NGADM start in June. Not sure when in June, but definitely June.

If you are concentrating on the NATA, don't push yourself too hard. There's still the NGMT and the Art-Inspired Music thing if you feel doing both the NATA and the Deathmatch would be overkill.

S3C 2016-05-06 00:47:36

all components are necessary, but speed is 10% technique, 10% intellectual/mathematical understanding of time, 80% an intimate connection with the subdivisions of time and overall feel of the rhythm. The intellectual part is probably the easiest, as it's just computing fractions within fractions. Unlike the melodic side of music, where we can associate a pitch with a certain key on the keyboard or location on a stringed instrument directly with the sound, there isn't a direct concrete bridge between the intellectual and intimate side of rhythm.

the technique part is largely specific to the instrument. The intellectual and intimate aspects of rhythm are universal and have nothing to do with the instrument. Technique is by far the slowest learner, the most rigid to manipulate, but once you have practiced the technique for a while, it stays with you. It's all in muscle memory and the athletic process. It takes a considerable amount of time, like building muscle. The intimate feel part of rhythm is a more elusive process, some moments you can feel a groove and sometimes you can't, but something you can teach on the spot and absorb fairly instantaneously.

a practice is to start playing exactly with the metronome. In simple 4/4, play 4 quarter notes over and over. Try clapping with it until you cannot hear the metronome anymore. If you're naturally a drummer this practice may be/seem mindlessly stupid, but for others keeping a consistent pulse is harder than it sounds. Try it with slower and faster tempos. Recognize that slower tempos are harder to maintain than faster tempos due to less momentum. Conversely, in slower tempos it's easier to first feel where the subdivisions are.

Then recognize where the accents are placed. For any drummer (or musician in general, whether you are a percussionist, guitarist, or just an electronic artist) the ability to play diverse rhythms is equally important to attention in dynamics. Try playing the first beat as loud as possible, and the last three as quiet as possible (complete silence to start is also okay). Then play the third beat with half the amount of volume as the first, and give around a quarter of volume to beats 2 and 4.

Next, start leaving off beats. For example, play only on beat one, then just beat two, beat three, beat four...then beat one and two, beat one and three, and so forth. In 4/4 time, you can either play or not play one of the four beats. This is a simple binary equation where n is the number of beats in a measure so there will be 2^n = 16 combinations. Try it with both hands, then with your right hand acting as the metronome and your other hand playing the rhythms, and vice versa.

then do the same for 3/4 time, 2/4, 1/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 8/4, 9/4, that's a good start. All the same, you have been practicing quarter notes (1/4), eighth notes (2/4), triplets (3/4), sixteenths (4/4), pentuplets, sextuplets, etc. A beat in 4/4, can be divided by a number, which can be divided into another subdivision, and interpolated to infinity. You could also do the same exercise outlined in the previous paragraph, for say eighth notes (would be 256 total rhythms), or triplets (would be 4096 total), or perhaps two groups of eighth notes and two groups of triplets (2^4 + 2^6 = 80). Obviously, there is a hella lot of exercises total, and there is a wealth of books that instruct how to efficiently go about playing through all these- but as a musician shouldn't it be a goal to work to learning thesse infinite amount of exercises? The same way it is important to learn all the chords and scales, in all twelve keys??

Troisnyx 2016-05-06 00:47:36

It is a goal, yes. As a percussionist I'd easily get stumped on where to begin. Time to take to the mouse mat and see how I do...