Choir Experiment #2

[chillowack]

My thanks again to those who commented on my first "choir" experiment.

I'm attaching my second one, which is more dramatic than the first. Again, all the voices are me, overdubbed scores of times to get that huge "choir" sound.

One friend described this song as "a cross between Queen and John Williams," which I thought was very high praise. It's just an experiment though, I know I have a lot more learning and development to go before I'm at that kind of genius level.

One thing I wonder is: when you listen to the second half of this song, can you hear it as music in a film, or perhaps see a movie scene in your mind? That's one of the things I'm trying to move toward: composing scores for films.

[gs1800]

I really liked the results, can you describe a little better the process?

How many voice tracks have you recorded there?

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by chillowack

My thanks again to those who commented on my first "choir" experiment.

I'm attaching my second one, which is more dramatic than the first. Again, all the voices are me, overdubbed scores of times to get that huge "choir" sound.

One friend described this song as "a cross between Queen and John Williams," which I thought was very high praise. It's just an experiment though, I know I have a lot more learning and development to go before I'm at that kind of genius level.

One thing I wonder is: when you listen to the second half of this song, can you hear it as music in a film, or perhaps see a movie scene in your mind? That's one of the things I'm trying to move toward: composing scores for films.

I can see it as part of a movie soundtrack; especially a climactic part of a movie. It sort of reminds me of the orginal Planet of the Apes scores.

Also, speaking of Freddy Mercury you can get some raw tracks from Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody. I recommend getting your hands on the Bohemian Rhapsody tracks and listen to what Freddy did with his vocals on those. There was a lot more to it then I heard/hear in the final version.

[chillowack]

Originally Posted by gs1800

I really liked the results, can you describe a little better the process?

How many voice tracks have you recorded there?

Hey gs1800, thanks for your comments and questions.

I forgot to count the number of voices this time, but I estimate somewhere around 60 or 70 maybe, in the thickest parts. When you think about it, choirs sometimes have as many as 300 people in them--one day I may try to replicate that kind of massive sound.

The overall process consists of 1) composing a multi-voice theme (that is, a tune consisting of bass, tenor, alto, etc.); 2) singing each individual part as clearly and accurately as possible; 3) overdubbing each part at least four times (then when you combine all the parts together you've got dozens of voices, and it sounds like a choir); 4) putting reverb on each track to give it that "cathedral" sound; 5) bouncing the tracks down when they start getting too full.

I also added some percussion sounds, generated by my cheap Casio keyboard and then manipulated in Audacity to make them sound more real.

[chillowack]

Originally Posted by TonyB

I can see it as part of a movie soundtrack; especially a climactic part of a movie. It sort of reminds me of the orginal Planet of the Apes scores.

Also, speaking of Freddy Mercury you can get some raw tracks from Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody. I recommend getting your hands on the Bohemian Rhapsody tracks and listen to what Freddy did with his vocals on those. There was a lot more to it then I heard/hear in the final version.

Thanks for this input TonyB, I appreciate it. I, too, can "hear" this theme playing in the climax of some film.

That's interesting, I didn't know you could get those raw Queen tracks, I'll look into that. I recently tried to replicate the intro to "Bohemian Rhapsody," but found it too difficult to maintain the perfection of the notes. However, I'm thinking they may have used some electronic device to stabilize those notes.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by chillowack

Thanks for this input TonyB, I appreciate it. I, too, can "hear" this theme playing in the climax of some film.

That's interesting, I didn't know you could get those raw Queen tracks, I'll look into that. I recently tried to replicate the intro to "Bohemian Rhapsody," but found it too difficult to maintain the perfection of the notes. However, I'm thinking they may have used some electronic device to stabilize those notes.

PM me you email address and I can YouSendIt to you.

[chillowack]

Originally Posted by TonyB

PM me you email address and I can YouSendIt to you.

Thanks!
.........