As Simple as it Gets

I actuall dig into ambient at the moment, and i when i actually did chord progressions, its not ambient any longer. Here is a good explanation.

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observations of the music:

you create a main element that fits very well into your selected beat. (for this you should have a solid basic understanding of rhythmics, e.g. the one here is very important.)

the main element is not changed in its input of (steps), at most another one is added in the course of the track to make it complete. What is important, however, is the amotion and/or velocity with which you can shape the main element.

now the sounds come around, which accompany, emphasize and give energy to the main element.
here it is also important to have some theory of music.
because you should be able to accompany, counterpoint, etc., in order to be able to build a solid arrangement. the key should also be familiar.

if you have really built the main element in such a way that it fits in perfectly with the beat (is danceable), then you can use effects, hats, etc. to create an incredible energy to drive the main element. unfortunately you can do it and emphasize it further with the elements around it and then drive in loudly again etc. there are many things that can be done, it will definitely work.

things like dominant, subdominant, and tunic, as well as glide tones are also important. however, the emphasis can also be adjusted with a cutoff, e.g. are generated in order to always come back to the one and to subliminally emphasize it through the generated timbres.

why shouldnā€™t the main element change its input of steps?
thatā€™s because electronic music is supposed to hypnotize (or the ones i listen to) and itā€™s a given in a lot of other music too. this has nothing to do with triviality. e.g. under psylos, indians always played the same rhythm with their percussions while they hobbled around the fire in order to reach a point of spirituality. thatā€™s why the sound works best in the underground at six in the morning.

I would set the main element in such a way that it remains interesting, it can also be set over several bars until it starts again at one. there are also tricks with delay etc. and the accompanying elements keep the track all the more interesting (e.g. pads that you design in such a way that they emphasize the one of the main element to generate energy, this also works with drums etc. )

pay close attention to the main element in really good electronic music, there will always be a main element here and it will never change in its input. it is formed only with automations or velocity. sometimes there is a break, but it really has to fit and fit, otherwise it just breaks the feeling that is there at the moment.

that was just a small explanation of it, there are many more interesting things.

it bothered me for years because i had problems with the arrangement and it was a haniycap.

hereā€™s an example from the stones, pay attention to the first beat of the drummer, everything follows him
and it is always the same in its input and everyone starts with one thing again and again or emphasizes it beforehandā€¦

Programming a device is a skill. Also, no matter the skills, you need taste. Not everybody has it.

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Better than most of the rap I hear these days. :rofl:

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I try not to make any chords work with each other. Its not ambient if it makes you think about what your listening. Its meant to go in one ear and out the other.

Wouldnā€™t chords that donā€™t work together indeed make you wonder wtf am I listening to and spoil the mood that is essentially what ambient is for? :slight_smile:

Thats why its hard. The chords cant be so far apart they are disharmonic but they retain maybe one note from the previous chord.

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Dub might be the simplest music style that I know.
The simpler you get, the closer you have to be from perfection.

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I mentioned JDilla. Now his music changed things because the his timing was unquantized and far from perfect. So i guess its harder because your not using quantization in dub boom bap hip hop stuff.

Having one note stay the same when the chord changes is often times v nice.
Not only with ambient but with music in general.
edit: As Iā€™ve understood it, ambient used to be pretty vanilla in the beginning, lacking any kind of tension.

Iā€™ve been listening to Nurse With a Wound/Blind Cave Salamander a lot lately. Kinda dissonant but not in a harsh way. Very moody stuff.

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Yes. And to add the tails of a note drift apart at irregular intervals so the incongruent chords dont hit so hard.

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This, totally.
If someone is listening to your track and saying it seems easy, itā€™s either a real good work youā€™ve been capable of extracting the essence of, orā€¦ well, itā€™s true.

Mark Rothko was simple as it gets. I guess in art its beyond words and were yet to comprehend the magnitude of it.

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Rothkoā€™s paintings are quite simple. The man himself was troubled af and ended himself.

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I know. Sad ending.

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Indeed.

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Even his titles were simple. No1,2,3 etc

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Names would have been distracting.

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that was fresh, love her cadence and mic skill she has a dope voice for rapping but unfortunately no substance to speak of, but fortunately not every rap has to have substance to be entertainingā€¦ thanks for posting

Itā€™s really an art form to make a minimal song thats actually good. This song is a perfect example for me. It always reminds me that one doesnā€™t need much to make great music. One kick, one guitar riff, a little bass, vocals and some atmospheric sounds.