Instrumental Solo Contest III: Kyoga-style Takeover

[LoreRD]

DOING THIS. PIANO IMPROVISATION HERE I GO.

[Gnarrkhaz]

I'm in. Guitar again i guess. Not taking any risks because it's all about winning...right...?

I have a question, theory related:

Under The Night Sky - Key: Db Dorian minor (also known as Ab Aeolian minor)

Does the note "Ab" have a special significance in the key of Db Dorian minor (5th note in the key if i'm not mistaken)? Why did you write that it's also known as Ab Aeolian minor? You could just as well write that Db Dorian minor is also known as E Lydian minor (?). Just asking because that whole mode thing is still confusing me.

Also some of those backing tracks are quite long. May we shorten them if needed?

[randomblockfilms]

wait so we got to record us playing?!? no use of MIDI!?!?!? :O

either way this sounds liek fun

10/10 will enter

[Gnarrkhaz]

@Kyoga: Understood.

wait so we got to record us playing?!? no use of MIDI!?!?!? :O

Pretty oldschool, eh?

[LFP]

If you're playing piano and say you don't have a grand, may you do your solo using a midi keyboard and say a piano preset? :3

[randomblockfilms]

nope, no midi!

WHATHAATTAHAHA!?!?!? O_O!!!

this just got like 10 times as more difficult. i understand music theory but playing it in real time!?!? oh well guess i just gotta suck it up and actually learn how to play piano again. like in the olden days. or maybe i could play on harmonica? hmmmm.... naww ill play piano. ill play on my cheap-o casio keyboard

OH WAIT! my casio has a harmonica preset thing! AWWW YEAHHH!!!

EDIT: 300th post! yay

[LFP]

Hmm, true very true :\

Perhaps I'll break into school during weekend with my mic.

[randomblockfilms]

So... it's allowed, but i'll be listening carefully.

is that a threat? HMMMM????? HHHHMMMM???!?!?!?

[randomblockfilms]

I eat babies

please dont tell anyone ._.

[Stu Beef]

If this is a contest, what kind of magical prizes can I win?

[ThatRobChap]

I'm getting mixed messages about whether or not I should improvise here. I think I'm going to, because I usually do and I'm pretty good at it.

[Gnarrkhaz]

If this is a contest, what kind of magical prizes can I win?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqR_p_KFNsw

[MRPPony]

I've only been playing the guitar for...meh now 4 months? Although I'm still going to give this a try. One thing's for sure, I don't know wtf these scales are you mentioned but thankfully I bought a theory book last week so that'll help me out a bit and Google.

[Anorax]

Under The Night Sky - Key: Db Dorian minor (also known as Ab Aeolian minor)
Instrumental: http://www.mediafire.com/?to3e0p0bc69zr0b

It's times like these when you wish you had a random cello lying around

that, and this is in the key of C#, which is great for emotional strings

[Magnitude Zero]

I kinda want to give this a try just to see if I can. Gonna have to test how well I can record trombone on my shitty mic...

[Gnarrkhaz]

that, and this is in the key of C#, which is great for emotional strings

I wish someone would finally explain to me how different keys sound different (not considering different kinds of keys of course). I've never experienced that. I feel like i'm missing something fundamental here. How does C# Dorian sound more emotional than D Dorian or C Dorian? The difference in pitch isn't that big.

[Goggles]

Sounds like I'm gonna fire up the ol' saxophone for this one.

[Stu Beef]

that, and this is in the key of C#, which is great for emotional strings

I wish someone would finally explain to me how different keys sound different (not considering different kinds of keys of course). I've never experienced that. I feel like i'm missing something fundamental here. How does C# Dorian sound more emotional than D Dorian or C Dorian? The difference in pitch isn't that big.

I can definitely tell when a piece has been transposed, and having something be higher or lower usually effects not just how something is perceived but how it might be played (though I guess that gets thrown out if you are using virtual instruments). I don't really perceive how individual keys have certain characteristics on their own though; can't be the tuning because we all use equal temperament...right?

[Gnarrkhaz]

I can definitely tell when a piece has been transposed, and having something be higher or lower usually effects not just how something is perceived but how it might be played (though I guess that gets thrown out if you are using virtual instruments).

Sure, because you know how the original sounds. It's transposed after all.

I understand that lower tunings allow you to play lower. In case of a string instrument the strings behave differently which may change the sound as well. Different voicings for chords might also be possible, changing the sound.

But as far as i can see Dorian is still Dorian.

[Goggles]

that, and this is in the key of C#, which is great for emotional strings

I wish someone would finally explain to me how different keys sound different (not considering different kinds of keys of course). I've never experienced that. I feel like i'm missing something fundamental here. How does C# Dorian sound more emotional than D Dorian or C Dorian? The difference in pitch isn't that big.

Admittedly, every person feels different keys in different ways, but many times they come with some sort of emotional connection. There's a selection from the book Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst that provides an examination of each major and minor key and the emotions associated with it.
Link to aforementioned section: http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html

I can't say I've ever made my own list, but I know off the top of my head that I find C Major to feel kinda basic, D Major to feel somewhat hopeful, and E Major to sound kinda joyous. The only thing different about them really is the pitch center, but they carry different emotions for me with them. Again, it's different for every person, so yours could be vastly different than mine.
Just my two cents.

[Gnarrkhaz]

Admittedly, every person feels different keys in different ways, but many times they come with some sort of emotional connection. There's a selection from the book Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst that provides an examination of each major and minor key and the emotions associated with it.
Link to aforementioned section: http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html

I can't say I've ever made my own list, but I know off the top of my head that I find C Major to feel kinda basic, D Major to feel somewhat hopeful, and E Major to sound kinda joyous. The only thing different about them really is the pitch center, but they carry different emotions for me with them. Again, it's different for every person, so yours could be vastly different than mine.
Just my two cents.

I guess i'm too scientific for that. Sounds like a placebo to me. Very interesting though. I'll try and compare some keys too.

[Stu Beef]

I feel like everything I say gets misinterpreted.


Anyway, this discussion reminds me of one I had about perfect pitch. It's not really some amazing olympean feat; just a certain kind of memorization. Similar to how one can distinguish between red and green, a person can recall the characteristics of a pitch and determine the note they are hearing. I would assume key associations could also be compared to color associations: red is hot, blue is sad or whatever depending on the context. I'm not used to thinking in keys though, so I wouldn't really be able to tell whether the key used can work in tandem with the harmonic relationships in a piece (so long as you are ignoring performance variables...but maybe that's the big decider?).

[Raddons]

Dorian isn't a key.

[TheDashDub]

I am so doing this. Oh and i'll do under the night sky. Well maybe. The problem is i don't own a microphone or program to record me. (which is why up till this point i've just used midi) is it possible that i still use this backtrack and make a remix, but just not enter the contest, because to be honest i've always wanted to remix this song.

[Gnarrkhaz]

Update: I'm not going to do this after all. I'm not feeling all that creative or motivated at the moment.

As for judging. See PM.