The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hi All,

I wanted to add some backwards arpeggios to my song this week, in fact it was the basis of my song idea. So I wrote out the chord progression, wrote it again in reverse, programmed it into a sequencer, recorded it, flipped it over, and... well, it just doesn't sound right. I tried a couple of different sounnds and because the notes decay(build) over the measure it is dissonant with the next chord. I'm not sure what to do, I'm just not getting the effect I was looking for, which was a pulse in key with the song.

Any ideas?

Be well,
Ken

If the arpeggios sound good played forwards with the rest of the song reversed, they will sound good when you reverse them and mix them into the un-reversed song. To get this, mixdown and reverse the whole song, then play/sequence the arpeggios in reference to the reversed track. Once you get them sounding good that way, mix them down and flip 'em around; 98 bottles of beer on the wall.

Yeah, record the song front-wards (use sharp attacks that translate well in the reversed world and avoid transients and sustained sounds), then flip it and record your parts against that. When you then flip your new parts and play them against the front-wards song, all should be well.

The backwards version of your song sounds weird to record against, but I always feel this brings out coolness when recording against it.

Hrm, that is a good point. I sequenced the arpeggios forward even though the progression was backwards. Maybe that has something to do with it. I will also try some sharper sounds. It sounds good most of the time, but there is just that carry over from chord to chord.

Ken

You could also try using a pad-type instrument which has a slow attack but a fast release.

Maybe instead of reversing the whole chord progression at once you could reverse each chord seperately and that way you have the optin of moving them around.