A2 - Creating a Musical Fusion

Analysis of "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)":

It has a 4/4 time signature which is typical of a pop song. There are very thick harmonies that are in 3rd intervals with one another. The instrumentation is synths, clapping, a kick drum and vocals which is surprisingly minimal for the genre. Throughout the song, there is a repeated sound effect that is seemingly very random - it is a loop and a pitch that bends up. There is reverb used to give the music more a sound like it's in a room and feel less robotic. There is a really catchy tune that is repeated a lot within a small range of notes - the small range allows for audience interaction which will make the song more popular as people will want to listen to it and it will also then spread through word of mouth. Interestingly, there is a minor bassline used on the chorus (which is in the relative major key) which gives it a unique sound. The chorus is also a very simple melody as it is mainly on the same note except for the end of each line where it changes. The synth builds up by the second chorus for development and add more depth. The bridge consists of an ascending sequence giving the effect of raising tension. There is also an effect on the voice that brings the pitch down which makes it more interesting and different to listen to. Call and response is used which further encourages audience interaction which therefore spreads the song further. The dynamics stay largely the same all the way through the song which is because it's a song meant to keep the energy up as it's more of a dance song to play at parties where people want to just be moving all of the time. 

Musical Glossary:

Dynamics, Structure, Chord Progression, Bassline, Lyrical Content, Harmonies, Melody, Texture, Pitch Bends, Dissonance, Repetition, Tempo, Rhythm, Minor, Major, Groove, Time Signature, Emphasis, Special Effects, ostinato, layered harmonies, backbeat, polyrhythmic (different rhythms happening at the same time), polymedalic (different modes). 

Can't Stop (Rhythm and Beat):

It begins relatively fast with a fast snare drum and a dotted rhythm on the bass guitar. This is then reflected in the sung melody as it's the same rhythm for the melody except it changes the pitch - it is a sequence. On the chorus, the rhythm changes as it is one note per beat twice and then some sustained notes - the verse then reverts back to the original beat as to show familiarity with the chorus staying the same as before so that it is consistent. On each beat, there is a staccato guitar chord which brings up the energy of the song and makes it more likely for people to enjoy listening to it as they'll be able to tap their foot to the beat of it. Every four beats (so, after each bar), the chord changes which is quite typical of pop music. This also shows how the song is in 4/4. The entire melody is staccato as this helps the feeling of more of a dance song and further pushes the idea of being able to tap your foot to it. However, there are sustained notes on the chorus but I believe that this is due to having variety and contrast as if it was all entirely staccato, it would be rather boring and too repetitive. 

Jazz and 80s Rock Fusion:

I am choosing to fuse Jazz and 80s Rock. The songs I am using as examples of the styles are "Livin' On A Prayer" and "Cheek To Cheek". 

Livin' On A Prayer (80s Rock):

The lyrics tell a love story of two people who have little money and there's a big financial divide between the rich and the poor. It states about how all they have is a prayer that things will improve (hence, "Livin' On A Prayer"). This references the social issues of the time which was common in the 80s. It uses an instrumentation of electric guitar which is typical of 80s Rock and it adds small musical phrases between the lyrics during the second set of verses. The electric guitar is also virtuosic, most notably during its solo - guitar solos were popular in the 80s which is still prevalent in lots of music today. The vocals are rather shouty and of a male singer which was common in the 80s as female singers didn't become the "norm" until around the 90s. The backing vocals are used to create a 'party' feel which, on top of the small range of the melody, allows for and encourages a lot of audience participation. The song starts with a crescendo on a synth (which became very popular in the 70s and 80s) which is followed by a recognisable ostinato on the bass guitar and then the famous guitar played through a talk box which gives the song a completely unique sound which would've hugely contributed to its popularity. Another thing that would've contributed to its popularity would've been its melody which was very catchy and had a lot of repetition - this would've caused it to get stuck into people's heads more and therefore be listened to more. The dynamics are kept quite loud and get even louder during the choruses which further supports the party atmosphere of the song. It has a homophonic texture which is common of most songs of the time as well as modern songs. 

Its structure is as follows: intro, verse, verse, pre chorus, chorus, verse, verse, pre chorus, chorus, solo, chorus, modulated chorus, fades out. 

Cheek to Cheek (Jazz Song):

structure - chorus, chorus, verse, verse, verse, verse, chorus, chorus, chorus, verse, verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus (varied)

The lyrics tell a love story where two people express how the thing they love to do most is to be slow dancing with one another "Cheek To Cheek". This is typical of songs from the 30s as they were mainly simple love stories between a man and a woman. The instruments used are very common in jazz music as they include a piano and a drum kit as well as a saxophone that later joins to play small phrases in between the lyrics, similar to the electric guitar in "Livin' On A Prayer". The song is a duet between a man and a woman which further supports the typical love song of the time. The man sings with a gravelly, deep voice with a lot of vibrato and occasional words that are spoken. The woman sings in a higher pitch with a clearer voice and also a lot of vibrato, similar to the man. There is a natural harmony between the voices due to their different ranges which makes the two voices seem to fit together well which perpetuates the idea of it being a love story. The melody has a small range with a lot of repetition and the main melody slightly varies depending on which person is singing it - this is to show the variation in the two singer's voices and ways of singing. The entire song is relatively quiet with no large variations in dynamics - this is partially similar to "Livin' On A Prayer" with the lack of dynamic variation however, it is the opposite dynamic (quiet and loud). Like "Livin' On A Prayer", it has a homophonic texture. It has a swung rhythm which is very typical for jazz music as it's more casual and commonly improvised which allows for more variation in tempo. Another similarity between this and "Livin' On A Prayer" is the large amount of repetition that both songs have. 

Plan for Fusion:

For my fusion of these two genres, I've mixed the themes of the lyrics from both songs and the result is something seemingly more similar to "Cheek To Cheek" but still has elements of social and financial problems. The main theme is about a couple dancing their worries away and their worries will be focused around financial problems. I've decided to make the instrumentation more similar to the instruments used in 80s Rock (electric guitars, synth, bass guitar, drum kit) as I preferred the idea of having a casual, swung rhythm (like in jazz music) on the rock instrumentation - it's mainly because I wanted to challenge myself more and I don't have much experience with jazz music so this gives me the opportunity to branch out a bit more and be more versatile in the music that I play. For the vocals, I'm going to do a mixture of the two styles with casual on the verses but then turns more shouty during the choruses and for the melody, I'd want multiple voices to be able to have call and response - this would allow me to make it a duet between the two people. This would also mean that I'd use louder dynamics on the choruses and a quieter dynamic on the verses - this shows one thing unique to my song to the other two genres as I will have a bigger range of dynamics.The harmony would be similar to the 80s Rock by having a lot of layered voices giving a party atmosphere which could add to the idea of dancing together as well as encourages audience interaction (common for the 80s). In order to incorporate more of the 80s Rock aspect, I'm going to give the idea of the couple dancing together but not in a slow dance, more of like active and fast dancing which would be more typical of the dancing people would do to 80s Rock music. The melody will be very repetitive with a small range which will further encourage audience interaction in that they'd be able to join in - this relates to raising awareness of social problems like in the 80s. I'm going to use a homophonic texture as that is consistent between the two genres. Also, I'm going to have the electric guitar be more virtuosic like in 80s Rock with an ostinato or sequence on the bass guitar that would be slower on the verses (e.g., one note per chord, one chord per bar) but then more active and energetic on the choruses. I could also add in call and response with repetition towards the end of the song which could encourage the audience to join in with the call and response which would help them remember it. 

Below are some experimental things that I created

After playing around with different chords, I decided on a basic chord progression of C6, D, Am, G. I used these chords to create the above rhythm. I rerecorded it though so it was in time and also to allow me to change the drum beat slightly. I also wanted to change the guitar to make it seem more fitting to a jazz sort of style. In order to do this, I used more swung rhythms that had a bit more syncopation. 

I had the electric guitar join in for the last bar of the first cycle through the chord progression (the fourth bar). It does a small melody line for the next 12 bars with the 808 drums building and making a more interesting rhythm. After the 12 bars, the guitar takes on a more chordal role with small grace notes in between to transition. 

Below are the bars 1-12:

Below are the bars 13-32: 

I spent some time in a practice room and worked with a chord progression and came up with a final chord progression which was C6, Dm, C (with Bb), C7. I chose this chord progression because it was more similar to the types of chords that were used in Jazz music. During this time, I also decided on a structure which was more closely related to the 80s Rock structure - it is: intro, verse, verse, pre chorus, chorus, verse, verse, pre chorus, chorus, solo, chorus, modulated chorus, fades out. 

I used a variation in the ways that I played the chords to give a different effect at different times. For example, on the pre chorus, I have two chords per bar which are held and then pressed as a "grace chord" to transition to the next chord. This is to give more of a feeling of build up to make the audience interested in hearing the chorus. 

I added a drum kit only playing the bass drum and then I added in a snare drum with a typical 4/4 beat that would be found in most 80s Rock songs. I first only had the high hats on the same beats as the bass and the snare but, for the chorus, I had the high hats as double the speed as when on the verse as this would give the chorus more of an 80s Rock feel whereas the verses would feel more jazzy. Another thing I did to make it more like 80s Rock was I changed the chords on the chorus to power chords and they were for C, Dm, G and F. I also had the drum kit playing by itself just before the chorus with the bass and high hats on double the tempo to get anticipation up for the chorus and also to have a contrast between a bare amount of instruments and then the chorus where all the instruments are playing and there's lots of harmonies and singing in order to give it the feel of a party and community like in "Livin' On A Prayer". 

This is what I recorded today:

I was struggling with the instruments for the chorus as in "Livin' On A Prayer", it's got a very full sound which sounds like it has a lot to it. In order to help with this, I listened to a karaoke version of the song only to find that what the instruments play is simpler than I had expected it to be which also showed me how much impact the main and backing vocals have on the depth and intensity of the chorus. This allowed me to make a better chorus which using mainly block chords on the synths and a more rhythmic playing of chords on the guitar. I also added lower pitched synth to add more depth and make more of a wall of sound. On top of that, I felt the drum kit got a bit lost in it so I turned up the gain a bit and gave the notes more velocity. I also added a bass guitar to add more of a movement to the chorus. 

Also, I realised how boring the introduction was and part of the verse as it was a lot of repetition and so I thought of adding a saxophone as it's a typical instrument of jazz music and then I improvised a melody over the top of the end of the introduction as improvisation is also very common in jazz music. This allowed it also to be more recognisable and unique as well as more interesting. I then originally added just one note per chord on the saxophone on the second part of the verse but I added little grace notes as it made it sound more jazzy due to it being done a lot by jazz musicians. This also added more interest and depth to the sound. 

This is what I added today:

Today, I struggled with how to make the sound more jazzy and swung as I have only ever made music with a 4/4 time signature and with a very set beat otherwise I lose time. In order to be able to make my project sound more like it is a fusion between Jazz and 80s Rock rather than just the 80s Rock, I listened to the karaoke version of "Cheek To Cheek". This helped me learn that the swung sound came from the sudden stop of the high hats and the snare drum as it gave it a feel of movement. However, this also allowed me to realise that this kind of sound only comes from a live drummer and so I am still struggling on how to be able to make a swung rhythm on the drum kit using a midi drummer unless I use an AI drummer. 

In order to further help my understanding, I searched up a drum kit cover of "Cheek To Cheek" to be able to see what the drum kit is doing exactly. I used the following video:

This helped me because it was easier when I could see what each part of the drum kit was doing and when in relation to everything else. What it showed me was that the high hats play constantly the whole way through on the beat, the snare drum was played at syncopated points in a swung rhythm. 

In contrast, after listening back to "Livin' On A Prayer", the drum kit is entirely on beat and very consistent with a lot of it synchronising with the singing - for example, on "We'll give it a shot", the drum kit plays the bass and snare on each word to emphasise the lyrics. This also makes it feel more like a party mood. This technique is used throughout on multiple lyric lines. This also makes the song seem faster than it actually is which further enhances the feel of a party and the need to dance around. 

I compared these two different drum beats and found that the Jazz drums used the high hats and the cymbals and the bass drum mostly whereas the 80s Rock drums used the bass drum and the snare mostly. Of course, they both used the other parts of the drum kit as well, but it wasn't as prominent. Also, for the 80s Rock, the bass drum was used to emphasise a backbeat by playing twice on the second and fourth beats and there were many drum fills in between the verses and on the lead ups to the choruses. In the Jazz song, there were little to no drum fills and the fills that they did have just consisted of an extra note or a double up of a note. 

Next week - show Josh another section of the song (fusion) and come up with three ways specifically that I've made it either jazzy or 80s Rock and then write about it in blogger

For the bits in between the intro and first verse and then the verse and the prechorus, I changed the drum beat by making the first one syncopated as this is more of a typical way of having the drum beat in a piece of jazz music. For the second one, I've done the kick drum for two beats, then kick and snare for two and then kick, snare and high hats for four (I played it double the time of the metronome). This is because this is a more typical feature of 80s Rock. It also means that it becomes less like pop music which means that it sticks to the original two genres. 

Also, I changed the electric bass into a double bass to add in more jazz features due to a double bass typically being used for the bass part of the song - however, next time, I will need to look more into the bass parts of jazz songs because I did add bass parts to the intro and the verse and the chorus but I think I could make it more appropriate to the genre and so I will work on that next time. 

Furthermore, I changed the ending of the pre chorus to having double time beats on the guitar and the synth as, in "Livin' On A Prayer" it has everything play on the four beats, including the vocals. This is used to hype up the listener ready for the chorus and raise the energy to encourage audience interaction. On the chorus, I used a typical drum beat from 80s Rock and I played the Rock chords (C Dm, G, F) higher on the synth as this is also done in "Livin' In A Prayer" and makes it feel more energised and exciting on the chorus as well as giving the impression of being louder. Also, I noticed after playing in the parts for the chorus, it had a really weak sound because all of the sound was quite high in frequency and this was because I had put the synth up higher for the chorus. In order to fill out the sound and give it more depth, I added in the double bass but bowed rather than plucked and then I also played parts of triads on the synth lower down. As a result, the sound had more depth and power. 

This is what I did today:

Today, I added a small instrumental bit after the chorus which consisted of what I played at the beginning of the piece (with the original jazzy chords) - during the intro. I did this because I was stuck and listened to the bit after the chorus in "Livin' On A Prayer" in which it refers back to the intro to the song. After that, I brought back the original verse from before except I had the saxophone come in immediately, I did this as it adds development and makes it feel different as though it's a journey through the song but not completely unfamiliar. After this, I changed the time signature to 5/4 time in order to give it more of a jazzy feel as it is typical of jazz music to have the timing change a lot. I really struggled playing with this time signature as I'm not used to it and I tend to struggle with my timing anyway. In order to help with this, I added in a temporary AI drummer. This helped hugely and I managed to get it mostly in time. Using a different time signature also allows the piece of music to have more variation and interest. 

Another way that I added slight variation is that I played the chords in a different order - I instead had them as: C7, C(with Bb), Dm, C6. I also had a short note of the C6 to add familiarity. I also kept the same chords as to make sure I didn't stray too far from the original idea. I also changed the bass line on the double bass to keep it more consistent yet interesting. The first bass line I did was a bit all over the place, what I mean by this is the notes were very random and they weren't in an ostinato or consistently syncopated/on beat. 

The part in 5/4 is still mainly just an idea as I have only manage to do the synth and the drum machine however, I think I need to redo the drum machine to better fit a jazzy song and also to either be in time or be syncopated. Next time, I will add more instruments and therefore depth/interest to the song. 

I didn't like the 5/4 part that I'd done last time as it sounded really weird and so I decided to redo it and adapted it slightly in order to make it easier for me to play in. I did this by adding an extra chord at the beginning of each bar held for one beat before holding the chord for a further four beats - this was to give the illusion of 4/4 whilst still being in 5/4. Also, I was using the 808 drum machine for my drums but it was suggested to me to instead use a drum kit on Logic instead to give it more of a real sound - I didn't take out the 808 completely as it was very typical of the 80s period however, I did switch between the two as the real drum kit did make it sound a lot more like 80s Rock and the 80s synths allowed for an 80s feel throughout. I got stuck on how to transition from the chorus to the next part and so I listened to "Livin' On A Prayer" again and heard that, after the chorus, it lead into a guitar solo and so I put down the drums, synths and bass for it and then added a faster drum fill and higher synths towards the end in order to show it transitioning into another prechorus that I made half the length as it's shorter in "Livin' On A Prayer" and, to make it more exciting, I added one note per chord on one of the synths during this prechorus that were played high up as it gave it more depth and tension. After this, I knew there was a modulated chorus and so I decided to modulate to A Major as I didn't want to go minor as this would drastically change the mood of the song and give it a completely different feel to what I am going for. I am quite proud of what I got done today as I think I've got a lot done. Something I need to do soon is get a real guitarist to play in the guitar parts who I'll ask to improvise a solo as improvisation is a key part of jazz. I have a friend who I'm sure is able to do this. 

I also kept the rock chord progression for the guitar solo due to it being uncommon to have a guitar solo in a jazz piece. 

I still need to add bits and pieces but I think I've got the basic foundations of the song down which is really awesome. After I finish all of this, I'll just need to write a melody and some lyrics and then record that along with some harmonies which I plan to make dissonant and consonant to fit in with the jazz style and then also lots of vocals in unison during the chorus to give it a party atmosphere. 

Today, I played with the effects on the snare drum during the pre choruses and choruses to make it sound more like it's from the 80s. In order to do this, I copied the drum track and then isolated the snare on one track with the high hats and kick drum on the other and then I added a lot of reverb and then used a noise gate to cut it off in time with the rhythm as this was a typical thing to have done in the 80s. I also added compression and EQ to make it sound higher as a "slappy" sound on the snare is also typical of 80s Rock. This is shown in the picture below. 

I also added a "monster fuzz" effect to the guitar on a pedalboard to make it sound more distorted to imitate the sound of 80s Rock. When I first added it, it was too much and so I had to adjust the effect to suit the style but also be calm enough for jazz. Unfortunately, it also meant I had to take out some lower chords during the chorus as it sounded too grainy and distorted and it just didn't fit in. I also didn't change much about the other two effects already preset on the pedalboard as they already fit the sound of making it slightly twangy. 

Next time, I still need to check through with my timing and make sure everything is ok as I'm aware that some bits the beginning and a couple other parts are slightly out of time and I need to either rerecord those bits or edit the midi notes. I'm also no longer happy with the bass I have and I want to rerecord some parts of it to suit the song better as well as adding some effects, possibly distortion, to help it better fit the two styles. Maybe, I'll distort during the choruses and then have it more jazzy during the verses because then it'll fit the style of having mainly jazz in the verses and then 80s Rock elsewhere. 

Today, I wrote the melody and the lyrics and, to do this, I looked at the melodies of the two songs and noticed how the verses in "Cheek to Cheek" didn't have a big vocal range but in the chorus of "Livin' On A Prayer", it went quite high and so I reflected this by having the verses quite low and small variations but having the choruses all go up to a D5. I used my idea of dancing away worries about money and slightly changed it to also reflect some kind of protest against having a lack of money as "Livin' On A Prayer" is a protest about working class wages. I did this by having a mix of lyrics stating that the money worries "don't bother me [them] no more" "when we're [they're] dancing". I had the chorus go higher as this also increases the excitement of the song, another way I did this is I had an ascending melody on the prechoruses to hype up the listener ready for the chorus. It will also be easier to add a range of different voices to the chorus with it having a higher main melody. I really struggled to sing along to the 5/4 time signature and so I had to redo this part many times and I watched the audio tracks to see where the signal changes in order to make it easier counting to five whilst singing the lyrics. Also, it is difficult to work at college to figure out the melodies and the lyrics and so, to fix this, I exported my project off of Logic and then imported it onto Bandlab which I have at home so I can do the melodies and words at home because I have more time at home as well as no risk of disturbing other people trying to work. This also means I have plenty of time to record the vocals as I've only recorded them to remember the melodies but I plan to record them properly tomorrow and then export the tracks and send them to myself so that I can edit them and enhance the sound on Logic at college. 

Today, I recorded all of the vocals for the project. I made my voice more casual during the verses to imitate the relaxed nature of singing in "Cheek to Cheek". This was easy as I'd purposefully written it with a lower melody for this reason and also for the small range in the verses of "Cheek to Cheek". However, when I got to the pre chorus, I made my vocals slightly harsh and less like a hum and more clean cut and sharp. I did this to replicate more similar vocals to Jon Bon Jovi in "Livin' On A Prayer" as the pre chorus and the chorus are leaning more towards 80s Rock whereas the verses are more jazzy. I also doubled up every other lyric on the pre chorus in anticipation for the chorus where I had five different vocals to create a party atmosphere. I had the main vocal which started up on a D5 and this was doubled up and I also had two other vocals that sang the melody an octave below the main melody to create depth and harmony to the sound and also to give the impression of multiple different people being there. I also added a vocal that sang the main melody but only on every other lyric as this makes it feel bouncy as though the melody is going between different people. 

On the second verse, despite it being a more jazzy section, I doubled up some of the lyrics in order to merge the two genres even more and have the song begin more jazzy and become increasingly more like an 80s Rock song as time goes on and show how the two can entwine with one another. 

Also, for the last pre chorus, I added a lower harmony to show development and make it interesting and new whilst still familiar and also to create anticipation for the final choruses which are modulated because this is what "Livin' On A Prayer" does. I haven't yet balanced any of the volumes or done any EQ or compression or anything because I'm going to do that at college on Logic (I've downloaded the files for each track) and then I'll be able to properly fit it all together as well as fix some of the timing mistakes on the instruments. 

Today, I fixed the timing at the beginning by manually changing the length of the midi notes. I put the start of each note on exactly the beginning of the bar but I kept the ending of the note more random as to make it feel a bit less robotic and slightly more human. 

I also downloaded the vocal tracks off of Onedrive as this seemed to be the easiest way of transporting them and then I dragged them over onto the project on Logic and put them in time with the other tracks as well as each other. 

I also used EQ on the main vocal and I wanted it to be less muffled and so I added to the higher frequencies to enhance my voice as well as taking away from the lower frequencies in order to make the vocals sound less "muddy". I then copied this EQ and pasted it onto all the other parts as it wouldn't have to change on account of it being the same person singing. 

I also spent a lot of time trying to fix the timing on the second synth on the last chorus as it was out of time but it was difficult to move the notes in time without removing the rhythm from it. It took a lot of trial and error of moving a note a small amount one way and then listening to make sure it fitted and I'm still not entirely sure that it's perfect but it is a lot better than it was. 

Also, imitating that of in "Livin' On A Prayer", I decided to add a fade out onto the end of the song during the repeat of the modulated chorus. I did this by using automation to slowly fade everything out to silence. 

I continued to use automation on all of the pre choruses and the choruses as the end of the pre choruses and bits throughout the choruses peaked into the red. This happened because, although the tracks weren't too loud by themselves, the sound would naturally be louder once they were all layered on top of one another and then on top of all of the instruments. To fix this, I used automation to take down the volume in key peaking areas and overall on most parts of each of the choruses. 

Today, I worked with Alfie as he recorded in the solo on the guitar for me. He helped me with how to change the amps and I found one that I thought was suitable (after we went through many different ones) as it had distortion but was also clean enough to make the notes discernible and it also allowed me to add reverb and all this meant it sounded a lot like it was from 80s Rock which is perfect.

I had told him and explained to him to make it like Jazz and 80s Rock but mainly jazzy due to the instruments at this point being very of 80s Rock (synths, drum machine etc.). When he first tried, I didn't think it had enough Jazz in it and so I explained to him to use grace notes as it made it sound more jazzy (such as how I played in the midi saxophone at the beginning) and I described to him about how to play them. This helped enormously with the solo sounding jazzy. 

Also, I thought some of the first trials of the solo ( each one was improvised to fit the style of Jazz where this is an awful lot of improvisation, Alfie also suggested it being virtuosic which I thought was perfect as it is also a typical feature of 80s Rock) sounded a bit strange at the end and this was because the other instruments were going higher and building tension to go back into the pre chorus but the Alfie had descended in the notes he was playing. As a result, I suggested that he instead ascended towards the end and went high in order to mimic the same sort of thing as the other instruments and also help to build tension. 

Also, Alfie suggested to me to have the guitar fade in rather than just come straight in as he said it was a bit sudden and it made it sound strange and so I used automation to have the guitar come in more as a fade rather than so suddenly and I also used automation to accentuate the lasting note which then overlaps when the vocals come back in with the pre chorus. I also realised that the guitar was MUCH louder than everything else and so I used the automation to help balance the sound a bit better in order for the song to move as one wave of sound rather than a jagged rock that's got bits sticking out.

Today, I added reverb to all of my tracks. I first did the main vocal in which I wanted enough reverb to make the vocal to feel in the room and not right next to you but not so much to make it feel like it was recorded in a huge cave or church so that it stands out to the listener and to reflect the clear vocals of Jon Bon Jovi. However, for all the other vocals, I wanted them to seem slightly more "dream like" and as though they're in the background like in the party atmosphere I've previously mentioned which is the feel that "Livin' On A Prayer" has as it's meant to be heard as a community, hence it being more of a protest song. For all the other instruments, I kept the reverb to a minimum - it's a typical 80s feature to have reverb on the instruments to make it seem "dream like" and so I tried to keep to that whilst also stripping back the reverb to reflect the typical features of Jazz where they use very minimal reverb in order to keep the original sound as close as possible. 

Also, to make my use of reverb on every track more efficient, I sent the tracks to buses rather than adding each reverb to them individually. This means that not only will everything will sound more coherent and together, but also that it will have less to record onto the project and therefore it will run more smoothly. 

Today, I learnt how to use a multipressor to enhance the sound of my track. I did it by changing the ratios of each section to 2, 2.5, 3 and 2.5. Then, I soloed each section and moved down the gain of the frequency until I saw movement on the gain above on the section. After doing this, this solved the problem of the peaking signals as well as giving it a more cohesive sound overall.

Freya Dalgarno · Fusions Project