ok, all you keyboarders.... resources please

[Cold Truth]

ok, i'm in a place where i'm really not satisfied with the way i'm making my beats. i think i'm progressing nicely and all, but i am still "faking the funk" i dont know what the hell i'm doing to be honest. i know what works and thats that.

screw scott storch, Jay Dee, The Roots, primo, hi tek, forget all them cats- i'm on a Quincy Jones kick. i'm all about the arrangements...
so before i go and drop some cash on a real education in this, im wondering what resources you guys may use, sites that talk about theory and chord structures.

heck, i know all my basic a-b-c chords and a few minors but all these fofths and diminshed sevenths i hear people talk about has me curious.... cause i dont want that primo crown, i want to make the music that heads are sampling in 20 years, i want my whole catelog raped man... i just want to compose some off the wall music and do me since thats what i do best.

 

[afriquedeluxe]

id go to college man, or buy books and learn the theory the proper way, not simply off da net

 

[Cold Truth]

yeah, i know, and i am, but in the meantime.........

there is this stubborn side of me that just wants to learn on my own. foolish pride, certainly.

 

[afriquedeluxe]

lol. ey man dats wat ma dream is 2, 2 learn all dis music theory, all da chord structure stuff and in da future b da one cats sample,lol . ill proly jus buy a book, n if dis dude can let me work at his music shop for free piano lessons den id b really happy.
but mos of da time i wana learn on ma own 2, but trus me, at times bein taught is much mo effective.

 

[MarkN]

im learning all this stuff at the moment its hard at first but once you get your head round it its ok as everything relates to everything else ! Ive just learnt thru a guide a the internet www.musictheory.net i found the guides there really usefull to start but ive also got books and practice questions etc on it they were only a few quid from the local music store !

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Look the best thing for you to do is to start hanging out with musicians and go to some live music, you know smoke filled clubs with a hot live band and start listen to some funked out shidd or neo soul laced with ol school RNB......and to even help you out a lil more.....take your skills to a part time band if you even play a lil...that will help your real musicians ear out....it sounds to me like you are doing things in a reverse form...I was live musician and played in a lot of bands...but that got too old and tiresome....but you can learn a lot from other musicians...just like you learn a lot off this site to help you......my advice mane...is get funktified...go back to some ol George clinton, Issaac Hayes and Stevie wonder, listen to some bob james and old jazz fusion progressions..you can learn a lot with your ear....

 

[Formant024]

I have a different look upon it, basicly as an electronic producer you still depend upon instruments, the right instrument that is. Make n Model of legendary gear is mostly what you need and what also makes the difference. Like a real Rhodes is inpressive and the lounge lizard is semi impressive, it just doesnt cut it opposed to the 70s sound you want to achieve.

Other terms are pretty much your approach as to produce the piece you have in mind. What do you use at the moment and how do you use it, it would be interresting to give an alternative cq. fresh approach towards your " producers " block .

 

[Cold Truth]

thanks for the input.... all of you. actually, i began doing this as a sampling type, but i just couldnt get what i really wanted with samples, so i went into composing... so yeah, its a lil backwards. anyhow, i'm not in a block, i just know i can only go so far with the limited knowledge i have being self taught, and i want to go to a new level with that aspect of this.

you know, its hard getting that seventies rhodes sound, i have yet to find anything that does it, even with processing and the like.... any ideas guys? thats been a hard one for me. i got solid sounds on sampletank 2...


while we're at it, anyone have good b3's for soul? thats really the direction i'm going here. i'm talkin al green, janice joplin, organs in that vein. i havent found one. i have dope horns, strings, and pianos. i have decent rhodes and no solid wurly (not to my liking anyways) sooo.... any one with pointers for these sounds while were at it?

 

[Formant024]

Well, in your case, look into Native instruments B4, B3 emu and Aas Lounge Lizard for a fender rhodes. Both sound realistic.

Other great plugs would be Amplitube, a vacuum tubed stomp box with spring verbs, eq and shitloads more. Sounds awfully good on any feed it gets.

Vintage Warmer, tubed taper, multiband knee comp whatever. It warms n makes dirty vintage steelo.

Another thing is just to record in layers, think of a theme and hook up a beat in cool edit and start recording. Just start with simple bass theme and once done a good session start with the chords, whatever you do just improvise and don't overdo improvisations, keep it simple and just look at your timing while playing the pieces. Then go to the next instrument and record it. In the whole session you look for loops of 4 bar and 8 bar and hit up the metronome. Select a zone to loop and slice any recorded note apart which might seem out of sync or drive. After slicing it move it left or right until it fits the ear's criticism. Build up a track in this matter.