michael graye

michaelgraye.bandcamp.com/track/transcend

I thought I’d post the link to the fifth day song so that you could listen to it while you read how I wrote it.

As part of the 7 Days Experiment, initiated on 5.21.12, “Transcend” is the fourth song of the week and ideally I want it to act as a continuation of the project theme/story line of the week. The word “transcend” was supplied to me by Corrine Byrne, through a facebook post at 7:00pm the evening prior, and it provided me with enough inspiration to begin writing the fifth song.

5:15am

At this point in the project, It would be foolish to disregard a word like “transcend,” especially because in order to get past something you often have to rise above it/move beyond it/etc…I was very happy to write the chorus first, and fell in love with it. Last year, I went with a slower song for Day 5, but since the past four days have been about a struggle of sorts, then it was better to have a “dance anthem” instead. I wrote the chorus first (changed tempo 3 times before I found one I liked), and then wrote a very basic verse and bridge structure. I just wanted to keep it simple and feature the chorus as much as possible.

6:25

I have finished recording the background and have started to put the tracks into fruityloops. I start workshopping the chorus, and played with the bass sound a lot, I wanted the chorus to literally jump out at people. Next step was to put the pieces together with the verses and I needed an intro. While messing around with the levels on the verse keyboards, I found a very interesting set of effects that suited the theme of the song – they seemed to give the tones a rich and rolling quality that I couldn’t pass up. You hear this at the beginning of the song. Like yesterday, I wasn’t happy with the bridge I had originally written, so I had to go back to the drawing board later.

7:30

I love this chorus! Everything else is a little blah at this point but the chorus is worth the download price alone.

7:45

A rough version back track is ready, and lyrics are still formulating. I have to go to work.

8:10

I leave for work, write lyrics on the train while I listen to the track over and over, just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that I’m trying to think of a way to relate our “someone” at the start of his new found freedom – basically he has risen above what held him back. I record little samples of melodies with my phone as I head to work.

9:00 – 4:00

I’ve been at work all day, have the lyrics and melodies written (the melodies only exist in my head at this point). I love the chorus, the verses seem to gel ok but will need something unique about them in order for them to not bore people. The original bridge doesn’t work, I have to re-record everything. I don’t like my original ending.

4:45 – 8:30

The vocal line I chose for the chorus is very difficult to record. I won’t end up a good take until 8pm this evening. After I get home, instead of immediately recording vocals, I take to my piano and workshop the melodies. As it turns out, the vocal lines I had written just didn’t work. You will notice I am singing in a lower octave for the verses as a result. As for the chorus, I go through several versions throughout the night and settle on one around 8.

8:30

Now comes the real challenge. The mixing for this song is giving me a lot of trouble – what i’ve recorded isn’t gelling at all. Tinker tinker I will.

9:20

Frustrated because for some reason the vocals are still sticking out. I continue to work details and hope to solve it.

10:25

I have finished the song!! Luckily I was able to work on the artwork during break and set up the upload before hand. I upload the song by 10:45. It is gorgeous work.

11:00

The track is released. Transcendent day 5. The word for Day Six is Transcend. Sleep Time

michaelgraye.bandcamp.com/track/pulse

I thought I’d post the link to the fourth day song so that you could listen to it while you read how I wrote it.

As part of the 7 Days Experiment, initiated on 5.21.12, “Pulse” is the fourth song of the week and ideally I want it to act as a continuation of the project theme/story line of the week. The word “pulse” was supplied to me by Abigayle Stokes, through a facebook post at 7:00pm the evening prior, and it provided me with enough inspiration to begin writing the fourth song.

5:15am

“Pulse” started a little differently than the previous 3 tracks. There are different ingredients to it that make is somewhat unique to the project, which I’ll explain as I go. First, the song verse uses a complex meter – I’m playing duple meter in the keyboards over a 6/8 time signature, giving (I hope) the effect of rolling around, like waves on a beach. Obviously, since the themes of this project have pointed towards someone lost/adrift, this is certainly an interesting way to employ the keyboards. The song starts with a long held synth note which is supposed to represent a flatline. It is preceded by the return of the pulse: three short notes that also start the beat. Since the album is called WAKE, it is very cool to have this symbolism appear at this point in the week. The chorus goes back to a steady meter, but with a swing rhythm. I record a bridge as well that I later axe.

6:25

I have finished recording the background and have started to put the tracks into fruityloops. The rhythm aspect of the song is somewhat difficult to work with, considering fruityloops doesn’t have a “swing” feature or a feature to change meter. I basically have to use the recorded audio for the rhythm master, and meticulously graph out drum loops and synth background. This is very time consuming and I’m worried.

7:30

The arrangement has mostly come together, though something seems to be missing. Moving between the verse and chorus is very exciting, and plays out well early on, however there isn’t enough chordal variation. I have no time at this point to re-record audio or write something new, so I have to figure out a way to make it work.

7:45

A rough version back track is ready, and lyrics are still formulating. I have to go to work.

8:10

I leave for work, write lyrics on the train while I listen to the track over and over, just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before that. I want to tell a story of someone finally releasing himself from whatever has been keeping him down. I want intensity, I want to earn this new found pulse.

9:00 – 4:30

I’ve been at work all day, have the lyrics and melodies written (the melodies only exist in my head at this point). The arrangement issue is solved as well: Instead of using the original bridge, I will have a “marching section” instead that will supply enough momentum to carry the resolution of the song – this bridge will also be a wrap up of the “conflict” storyline. I have the idea to record a “crunching” noise for the marching, and want a crash recorded for the intro.

5:20

I arrive home and immediately begin recording vocals, starting with the choruses – since the vocals are higher I want them out of the way. I record 4 different versions of the chorus. I recorded “vamp” vocals, verses, harmonies, etc…next, and then went on to do sound effects. For the “crunching” noise, I took a handful of crackers, put them into my mouth, and held the mic up to my lips…and started crunching. The effect works so I move on to the “crashing” noise. For this, I use my umbrella and my backpack. I hold the umbrella over the mic, open it towards the mic for full effect and the moment it’s fully open, I drop my pack. The effect works, so I move on. Vocals are mixed out, time to get working. For the marching section, vocal wise, I basically ditch all of my pre-existing vocals for new ones and record a “call & response” instead. I note that, in keeping with the theme, this call & response could be symbolism for the conflict between our “someone” and his demons.

I ask for Day five’s word via facebook by 7pm.

7:15

I start re-arranging the song according to the plan I thought up earlier in the day. I cut down the intro, axe the bridge, and shorten the choruses to 8 bars each, except the last one which is 16. For the marching section, I basically just loop the drums for 16 bars and hope that it will work. It ends up working better than I could’ve hoped for.

8:30

Basically from this point on it’s just a matter of mixing in the vocals that worked and noting which ones didn’t. I eventually have to re-record just a few places and for the most part I’m very happy with my results. This song was by far the easiest to put together.

9:20

Having a problem with the third verse, I re-record yet again and mix it in.

10:05

I have finished the song!! Luckily I was able to work on the artwork during break and set up the upload before hand. I upload the song by 10:25. It’s a stunning track, and I’m very proud of it. The story has been advanced, yet I have songs that work on their own.

10:30

The track is released. What an amazing day 4. The word for Day Five is Transcend. Sleep Time

michaelgraye.bandcamp.com/track/animate

I thought I’d post the link to the third day song so that you could listen to it while you read how I wrote it.

As part of the 7 Days Experiment, initiated on 5.21.12, “Animate” is the third song of the week and ideally I want it to act as a continuation of the project theme/story line of the week. The word “animate” was supplied to me by Anat Hochberg, through a facebook post at 7:00pm the evening prior, and it provided me with enough inspiration to begin writing the third song.

5:15am

I have been thoroughly impressed with the incredible words being supplied to me through my facebook friends. “Animate” really wrote itself because, like “Eclipse,” it applied to the goal of the week. So, anyway, I woke up at 5:10 and dove into writing the chord progression and basic melodies for the song. My end goal for this song: to literally re-animate our “someone” who has already professed his longing for bliss, but who is eclipsed by his own demons. I wrote the first part of the chorus “You have to give em up” first, but originally I had it much later in the song. The next idea was to have a conflict between the chorus, or “animation” and the verse…which would ultimately solve itself. The verse and chorus came relatively easy, I recorded them and was about to bring them into fruityloops…but paused to quickly write a bridge between conflict and resolution.

6:15

During the arrangement of the song in which I originally had set up as: verse, verse bridge, 1/2 chorus, verse, verse bridge, 1/2 chorus bridge, full chorus, full chorus bridge, 2 full chorus…I wrote several synth parts during this process and started pre-mixing the song, and wrote an exciting part for the “chorus bridge” that would later become the “but what, if I fail.” At this point, I knew I wanted a resolution, but was actually thinking that the song would be more “instructive” in tone rather than “inspirational,” or “supportive,” as it ended up being.

7:00

I get a text from vocalist, Rebecca Robles, who was scheduled to record on Thursday for the project, and see that she has to move her time to the current day! I freeze…but then an amazing though occurs to me: what if she plays the role of the “friend” or “savior” for our “someone?” The thoughts/lyrics/melodies pour over me, and I thank the Gods of coincidence for this amazing turn of events.

7:45

A rough version back track is ready, and lyrics are still formulating. I have to go to work.

8:10

I leave for work, write lyrics on the train while I listen to the track over and over, just like yesterday and the day before. The biggest breakthrough for the words won’t come until about 1pm, after workshopping them over and over…in my head of course…

9:00 – 5:00

I’ve been at work all day, have the lyrics and melodies written (the melodies only exist in my head at this point). I also re-think the entire arrangement in order to have Rebecca more prominent right away. I also have the idea of putting together an a cappella section for the intro/outro with the words “spin, go, wave, round, fray, lines” all thematic elements of the project (so far).

5:50

I arrive at home and immediately start to record vocals, starting with the a cappella section and then moving backwards, capturing end chorus, “animate your heart,” and then the verses. I have a little trouble with the verse sections…so I cut down the words…KISS right? I have to get them into the arrangement, and then re-arrange according to my “new plan” all before Becky arrives at 7:15 for her vocals.

I ask for Day four’s word via facebook by 7pm.

7:15

Vocals are recorded and mixed out. I return to fruityloops to re-arrange and master, and get a text from Becky who just got off the train. She arrives to record and I immediately start teaching her the chorus parts, one by one. We record 15 takes all together in 30 minutes (whoa!) – 2 versions of the pre-chorus, the chorus, and a few “vamp” sections.

8:30

I start mixing in the vocals and they sound FANTASTIC. There are a few issues with levels early on that won’t be resolved until about 10:00. Part of the problem is that, when working with such a short amount of time, you can’t fuss too much with mic placement/continuity of recording, so there were a couple leveling/quality issues with vocals. Still, I push through…determined to get it done. Rebecca sounds amazing.

9:20

All vocals are re-recorded and mixed in. There is a constant refinement going on at this stage – Kick drums and bass are overpowering the mix, vocals are clipping, etc…I am not discouraged but I know that I won’t make it by my 10:00 deadline. I haven’t eaten dinner yet…oops…

10:25

I have finished the song!! Luckily I was able to work on the artwork during break and set up the upload before hand. I upload the song by 10:35. It sounds so good, I can barely believe it. Is it perfect? Nope. Do I care about perfection? Nope.

10:45

The track is released. Exhausting but rewarding Day Three. The word for Day Three is Pulse. Sleep time.

michaelgraye.bandcamp.com/track/eclipse

I thought I’d post the link to the second day song so that you could listen to it while you read how I wrote it.

As part of the 7 Days Experiment, initiated on 5.21.12, “Eclipse” is the second song of the week and ideally I want it to act as a continuation of the project theme/story line of the week. The word “eclipse” was supplied to me by Natasha Sanchez, through a facebook post at 7:00pm the evening prior, and it provided me with enough inspiration to begin writing the second song.

5:15am

When I saw the word eclipse, I knew immediately that I wanted to use it because it had a direct link to the themes of “Bliss,” someone feeling overshadowed by

the “everyday” in life…who just wants to find something real. The story for Eclipse wrote itself: rather than use the actual word, I would use it as an

analogy. “You are so good at covering me up, if you had your way no one would ever see me” were the first words I thought of for the chorus. I can tell you

now that the words changed so many times, and in the final hour I even had to re-write the main melody! More on that later. So, after rolling out of bed

bright and early I had to write the basic chord progressions that would serve as the backbone of the song. I had a general idea of how I wanted to go, but I

found it more difficult than with “Bliss” to put together a structure.

5:45

After working with Ableton Live for about 20 minutes I had some ideas that seemed feasible to use…though I wasn’t convinced that I had made a breakthrough

yet. Still, with the clocking ticking away I had to record something so I just dove in.

6:15

I wrote an extended introduction to the song that I later ditched, in which I wanted to thoroughly introduced our “eclipsed” individual. I found a great

synth pad, I call it ethereal #9 because it’s so…spacey! The tone of the song shifted a little in recording, from stiff/angry to dreamy/resolute. Within a

half hour, I had recorded the introduction (axed in editing), and the rest of the song. Ready to arrange.

6:20

Arrangement on this song was harder than I though it would be. I knew that the more I worked at it, it would eventually solve itself, but I was tired and

frustrated early on…I later realized this energy effected the layout/message of the entire song.

7:00

The basic arrangement is finished, but at the last minute I decide to move the verse/chorus around, repeat sections that weren’t long enough and get rid of

things that aren’t working. Starting to sweat, won’t be the last time today.

7:45

A rough version back track is ready, and lyrics are still formulating. I have to go to work.

8:10

I leave for work, write lyrics on the train while I listen to the track over and over, just like yesterday.

9:00 – 5:00

I’ve been at work all day, have the lyrics and melodies written (the melodies only exist in my head at this point).

5:50

I arrive at home and immediately begin recording the vocals. In the process of recording, I find that you are allowed to workshop what doesn’t work more

freely. During the first round of vocal recordings I re-write the verse, cut down the intro, and re-write the chorus. It takes me a long time to record the

bridge. I ask for Day three’s word via facebook by 7pm. During the first round of recording I also decide I want to record a “whirring” noise that will

represent the “circling” entity as mentioned in the song. To do this, I simply grasp the mic chord firmly and record about 10 seconds of me quickly whipping

the mic around in a circular motion.

7:50

Vocals are recorded, and mixed out. I return to fruityloops to finish arranging and mastering. The whirring sound took the longest to work into the mix, and

it is heavily edited.

8:30

I have mixed in all vocals, have decided to cut out the original intro because it was too long and just didn’t work. The verses need a melodic re-write, so

back to the recording stage. At this point I also have to re-record the tail end of the second bridge.

9:20

All vocals are re-recorded and mixed in. The mix is giving me a little trouble – something about the chorus vocal just doesn’t gel. I now have no time to re-do anything, so I just have to keep workshopping the mix and hoping that I can get it to work. Again there is a lot of bass presence, so I have to cut it back.

10:00

I have finished the song!! Luckily I was able to work on the artwork during break and set up the upload before hand. I upload the song by 10:20, but when listening to the final mix in my headphones, I decided to take a quick look at some levels and re-upload the track.

10:25 & 11:00

The track is released (first time slot is with the first mix, which didn’t work.) Emotionally taxing Day Two. The word for Day Three is Animate. Sleep time.

michaelgraye.bandcamp.com/track/bliss

I thought I’d post the link to my brand new song so that you could listen to it while you read how I wrote it.

As part of the 7 Days Experiment, initiated on 5.21.12, “Bliss” is the introductory song that will act as the project theme and provide a possible story line for the entire week. The word “bliss” was supplied to me by Kathleen Galbraith, through a facebook post at 7:00pm the evening prior, and it provided me with enough inspiration to begin writing the first song.

5:15am

I started, as I usually do, with the chorus. “Bliss, I need you now. I have no idea where to find you.” I came up with the melody first, and then the chord progression. Typically, since the chorus of a song is centered around the tonic or key of the song, I took my cue for the verses from the chorus.

5:45

Next, I went to Ableton Live, looped a few ideas over 8 or 16 bar phrases and eventually came up with some catchy verse ideas. To connect catchy verse to hook-y chorus, I needed a thoughtful bridge. What better bridge than a small key change (tonicization..sp?) to deliver an unusual punch.

6:15

Ok, the shell of the song is written & recorded via Ableton : verse, half chorus, bridge, half verse, full chorus, verse, full chorus, second bridge, full chorus times 2, half chorus to end. If this formula doesn’t work I’m screwed. I decide last minute to tack on an intro progression.

6:20

I take to fruityloops to arrange and provide the extra synth and drum work that I can’t get from Ableton. I love fruityloops’ interface for it’s ease of use. I don’t know Ableton well enough to arrange and haven’t expanded my arsenal yet to include more relevant software. Eventually I will.

7:00

The arrangement is coming along nicely, but there are some issues with continuity/cohesiveness. I need a breather, but have to push through.

7:45

A rough version back track is ready, and lyrics are formulating. I have to go to work.

8:10

I leave for work, write lyrics on the train while I listen to the track over and over.

9:00 – 5:00

I’ve been at work all day, have the lyrics and melodies written (the melodies only exist in my head at this point). I have to go to conditioning. I see a storyline starting to form from the words that I’ve written: an individual feels that his “everyday” is not real, that there is something more waiting for him…if he could only over come the uncontrollable parts of his life that keep him weighed down. He wants to revel in something real.

5:30 – 6:15

I work out.

6:50

I arrive at home and immediately begin recording the vocals. I ask for Day two’s word via facebook.

7:50

Vocals are recorded, and mixed out. I return to fruityloops to finish arranging and mastering.

8:30

I have mixed in all vocals, but the first verse doesn’t work and neither does my key change bridge. I have to re-record those spots, and mix. I have a deadline of 10pm every night.

9:20

All vocals are re-recorded and mixed in. The mix is giving me a little trouble – there is a lot of bass and much of the high vocals are clashing with the heavy bass areas. More mixing ensues.

9:50

I have finished the song!! Luckily I was able to work on the artwork during break and set up the upload before hand.

10:05

The track is released. Crazy Day One. The word for Day Two is Eclipse. Sleep time.

All artwork for 7 Days 2: Wake, was created from scratch by moi.