On further reflection, I think the older style of 4/8/16 bar chunks had
a lot to do with the way hardware drum machines and sequencers were
designed back then. Everything was in multiples of four and it was so
easy to fall into a pattern (pun only slightly intended) of writing and
arranging songs. Even today, software emulations of classic analog gear
follow this same paradigm. Besides, I'm pretty sure human beings
naturally synchronize to multiples of 4, especially for dance music.
Waltzes, which are also dance music, are in 3/4 time (3 quarter notes
per measure), but many of the most popular ones have a theme that
repeats or changes after some multiple of 4. Modern software sequencers
are less restrictive and don't scream 4x right out of the box. I think
most songs that hearken back to the good ol' days of techno will have
that chunky feel for authenticity, whether it's intentional or not. I
see it as being the same as the 12 bar Blues. If you want that classic
Blues feel, you stick to the 12 bar formula.
Boyer
On Nov 7, 2006, at 10:01 AM, Tristan Watkins wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Boyer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <313@hyperreal.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 1:55 PM
Subject: (313) Re: Strand on MySpace - Hear complete "Intact" sample
Now that's what I'm talking about. Thanks for the comments. I, for
one, have been pretty lazy when it comes to beats in the past, which
I thought was odd because I'm a pretty good drummer. The drums don't
change in "Intact" and I can see how that might be a sticking point
for some people. It is for me in a lot of instances, especially in
the music we're working on now. However, it doesn't bother me in this
case because the rest of the song changes so much melodically.
"Intact", in general, is supposed to be reminiscent of an older style
and feel. Kind of a minimal track with a classic Detroit stringiness
to it.
Well I think it definitely works in that regard, and is reminiscent of
the older style, when techno was so similar to house, and both had
similar arrangements. A great example of this is TP's 'Your Love',
which has the same beat unchanging throughout, and he even pushes out
the repitition to 16 bar loops for most of the track, but it's such a
hook that it carries you with it anyway. With that track I always
wished there had been another version, because I've always thought it
worked despite the arrangement, not because of it. That's pretty much
how I feel about Intact too.
Tristan
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