Working on MUSC1203 Final:
Chord Progression: Eb | Bb | C | / |
Underlying notes: Eb / / G | Bb F . D / . | Ab Eb . C / .
Just try and play Eb -> D / C -> Bb power chords back and forth on guitar
- See Endless Possibilities Rhythm
Lyrics:
Verse: (G Eb F C) - G minor
No one seems to care at all, of a world without them,
Unwritten rules we can’t shake off, (can’t shake off)
If the world was burning down, would you take the fall,
Cause one pair of hands can’t touch those on the throne
Swallow up your pain, you don’t stand out in the crowd,
Let them rip into your heart and sell it, (heart and sell it)
And all we do is complain nothing’s ever working out,
We want change but it aignt coming, (it aignt coming)
Chorus: (C G Bb Eb) - C minor
Cry out,
Cry out and break free now,
I will let my voice battle for the future,
Cry out,
Cry out we won’t fall down,
Nothing will change without screams of us all,
Verse:
Even if my body’s shaking, know I won’t back down,
If you want something, learn to demand it
They-‘ll feed your worry, aren’t you going to spit it out,
You think your powerless, but that’s not what controls about
Chorus:
Cry out,
Cry out, with me now,
Let our voices battle on for the future,
Cry out,
Cry out, don’t look down,
We will bring the change with screams of us all,
Things Left to do for Song:
- Finalise structure
- How is the song going to end?
- Will there be a short bridge
- Will the 2nd verse shift in energy?
- Pick chords and arrangement for Chorus
- Decide on whether there is going to be a guitar lead
- Record verses and chorus vocals
- Write 500 word artist reflection
Artistic statement (500 words)
- The statement is within the specified word limit.
- Well written and presented.
- Consideration for genre and arrangement in the written part.
- Tell us what the song is about, and what your artistic intentions were
- Provides a description of important approaches.
- Reflect on how you think you went, and any improvements you would make next time
- Detailed description of writing process (lyrics, melody, chord progression)
- Detailed description of the production and recording process (software and equipment used etc)
My song ‘Cry Out’ is written to be an alternative rock, rebellious call to action, with punk influence, conveying the idea that individuals have a responsibility to act on the broad issues in the world for real change to happen. I was influenced by the alt rock band, One Ok Rock, as well as a few other punk rock bands, by their nature to weave societal messages in their music. To achieve my message, I aimed for my song to have high energy and a driving and anthemic nature.
The basic arrangement, done in BandLab, includes looping drumbeats, power chords on electric guitar and my own vocals. I composed the drum beat in BandLab using its drum machine tool aiming to create a very high tempo, driving beat. My main drum loop contributes high energy in the chorus and intro with repeated snares at the end of every two bars pushing the song forward. I used a simpler drum loop during my verses to give contrast and let the vocals stand out more. I also used a BL driver and Graphics EQ to add more distortion to the drums to fit the heavy rock style better.
The guitar chords were played by me on an Ibanez electric guitar with a Katana Boss mini amp. My limited experience on guitar greatly limited what I could play, I chose to stick with simple chords, recording a basic strumming pattern on my phone and then looping the recording. I set my amp to the brown noise setting and increased the gain in order to create a heavier rock guitar sound. The chords were originally recorded in G minor but were transposed to C minor to suit my voice better.
For composing my chord progression, I originally started by playing singular notes on the piano. To then translate that into a proper progression, I used power chords for each note. My chord progression in my song is not the final progression I wanted, and I had to change my chorus from my vision to fit with the chords I had.
I chose to do the melody and lyrics last as I find making melodies to be easier. I would record myself vocalising a loose melody while listening to my chords and drum beat, place it into BandLab and then attempt to try and think of lyrics to go along. As mentioned earlier, my final chorus was not what I planned, and if I had more time, I would have liked to adjust my chords to fit my original chorus.
I consider the song to be unfinished, I would have liked adding more layers, including a guitar lead and a bass line and to add more dynamic chord changes as the chord progression lacks any rhythmic variation. I am happy with how my drum loops turned out, being my first time using BandLab’s drum machine. I feel that the intense drums were essential for creating a classic rock sound.