Final Project Proposal

For my final project I will be making a beat with Anne Marie and Maria. We will be using the software sound trap to construct this beat. We will be presenting this beat to the class by playing it on the speakers. The beat will be done by combining multiple projects that we have done in the past like loops, samples, and midi tracks. That means that we will be using loops, samples, and midi tracks to make the beat and then present to the class what we did to create this beat.

Self Remix

A long time ago I started to work on a Trap beat by putting down chords and making a melody. I never got to finish this track and really liked the chords that I have put down. I decided to make it a sad trap beat by adding a slow and sad drum pattern with sad chords. To remix the song I decided to mix up the chords by moving them down an octave and adding a synth sound to give the song some variety so it did not sound the same. Remixing is tough sometimes but an awesome experience and I would love to remix one of my songs again

Real vs Hyperreal vs Surreal

For a real song I have chosen “I Love You” by East of Underground. This song was recorded in a studio with live instruments. This song sounds realistic because the lead singer say’s take one at the begging. It also sounds realistic because the instruments don’t sound perfect like they would today. “I Love You” was also sampled by 21 Savage and is a great overall song.

For a hyperreal song I have chosen the song “Particle Mace” by Aye Nako. This song sounds realistic because the electric guitar has a solo in the beginning. It sounds artificial because the singer sounds perfect due to software making it sound nice and not raspy. This song is a rock song that was released in 2017.

The song that I have chosen thats surreal is “Drip or Drown” by Gunna. The elements that make this song not sound real is the fact that the high hats are so close together it would be impossible to play in real life. If this song was played live some of the instruments might have to be played by the computer. The melody like the piano and synth are able to be played by real instruments.

Production Analysis

I am picking the song California love by Tupac made in the 1990’s. When the intro starts in this song we here a talk box vocal that says “California Love” which then brings in the beat. The talk box adds a hook to the song and is very catchy as it is said many times in the song. The beat starts with drums, bass, piano, and horns to give the beat a backbone. The song that Tupac sampled in California love was Woman to Woman by Joe Cocker. As the beat builds up one of Dr. Dre’s shimmering synths is heard and used throughout the rest of the song. Dr. Dre is known for this synth as it is in many of his songs. The engineers of California love were Keston Wright and Rick Clifford. The producer was Dr. Dre himself he also mixed the entire song too. California made the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks and is recognized as one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time.

Sampling Ethics

I feel that sampling without any permission from the original artist or producer is unacceptable. I feel this way because when you sample a song or a movie it is like taking pieces from something and copying it. If you ask before you use the piece, I feel that it is okay because the artist or producer is giving you consent to use there piece of art. Just this past weekend, a artist named Lil Uzi Vert got his song taking down for copyright. So, with that said always ask for permission before you use someone else’s art.

Sample Song

In my song I used 3 samples. The samples I used were the crashing waves, microwave sound, and Windows start up sound. I felt the waves would create a calm and relaxed emotion towards the song so I used the crashing waves as my intro. The next sound I used was the microwave, I felt the microwave would go well with the drums so I decides to use the microwave as my bridge. Lastly, I used the Windows start up sound, I felt this sound could be used as a crash because it can create build up to the next verse of the song and make it sound intense or exciting

Sample Genealogy

The song that I choose was “A lot” by 21 Savage. In 21 Savage’s song he sampled a song called “I Love You” by East of Underground. 21 Savage used this song as a background for almost the entire song. The only part where the sample stopped was when J Cole started his verse but the it started right back up as he was rapping.

An example of an interpolation song is when Baby Rexha interpolated Whitney Houston’s song “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. In Baby Rexha’s version she is using the melody of Whitney Houston’s version of her song. All Baby Rexha did was just re-recored the Melody that Whitney Houston used with different lyrics.


MIDI Song Process

I am very proud of the beat that I have made with MIDI. My keyboard was the main tool used to create my MIDI song. One of the instruments used in the track is the drums. Using MIDI, I created a simple drum pattern, it sounded like something that would be in a rock song. I also used the piano to create a melody over the drums to make the beat sound a little more on the pop/ rock side. Then, I used bass to layer the drums and the melody so it would stand out and make it also sound like hip hop. I made a hip hop beat using rock drums, pop piano, and a hard attacking bass. I feel like the end result was satisfying because it was my music that I made and it wasn’t loops that other people created. If I had more time, I probably would’ve added a synthesizer track and a strings track.

Loop Process Document

In my loop, I wanted to make a trap type of beat. I like this type of beat because I love the way it sounds. It generally makes me happy when I listen to trap music. To make the trap beat, I decided to use a loop called trapped which featured high hats, drums, and bass. I then used a piano loop, strings loop, and bass loop to add a melody to the beat. This added a sci-fi feel to my song. I also added a xylophone loop to my song so I can create a beat drop by playing the xylophone and the piano. In my beat, there are two sound effects, vinyl in the beginning to give off a 90’s vibe and then a crash to create a beat drop. I feel like creating music this way is not legitimate because you are using other peoples loops to create a song. If you were to create your own loops it would be more legitimate because you are creating your own music.