Part 1 - Love You Right
The purpose of this project was to replicate the toplining process utilized by producers like Max Martin, Dr. Luke, and Stargate:
1. Start by producing the track
2. Create the melody by way of vocal improvisation and copy/paste
3. Fit lyrics to the pre-existing melody
This term, I created two songs in this fashion, collaborating with a handful of writers and producers. This post will detail the creation of "Love You Right" while the following post will deal with "Gravity."
"LOVE YOU RIGHT"
THE TRACK
I collaborated with fellow student Mike Howe to create the instrumental bed. I created a chord progression and an instrumental hook and he did the drum programming.
This is what I sent to him:
And this is what he sent back to me:
Before moving on, I wanted to make sure the track could inspire a great vocal without getting in the way of one. I sought feedback from Jez Willis and Richard Formby. After hearing their feedback as well as a guest lecture from Phil Harding, I decided I needed to revisit the structure and make room for a chorus that would build to and continue into the instrumental hook. Here is the revised track:
THE MELODY
I had two separate sessions with two different vocalists: Marcus Thompson and Nick Dixon. In each session, I had the vocalist improvise over the track, then constructed a melody using snippets of what they came up with and a healthy amount of copy/paste. After the two sessions, I combined ideas from each of them with ideas of my own to create the final melody. Below is a visual representation of the contributions of each writer. The top lane represents Marcus' ideas that were used in the final product; Nick's is the second lane, mine is the third.
She sent me a draft which I tweaked, trying to get the syllables to fit the melody better and adding more imagery. See below for the first and second drafts. Changes are in blue.
At this point, the deadline was quickly approaching and I was having a hard time pinning down a vocalist to record the final lead vocal. I ended up booking a remote session in Utah with a friend named Chad Truman just as Marcus and I booked a session at Leeds Beckett. I ran with it. I ended up with two versions of the song with different vocalists and slightly different vocal arrangements. I hurriedly mixed them, and here they are:
Click here for the second post about "Gravity."
1. Start by producing the track
2. Create the melody by way of vocal improvisation and copy/paste
3. Fit lyrics to the pre-existing melody
This term, I created two songs in this fashion, collaborating with a handful of writers and producers. This post will detail the creation of "Love You Right" while the following post will deal with "Gravity."
"LOVE YOU RIGHT"
THE TRACK
I collaborated with fellow student Mike Howe to create the instrumental bed. I created a chord progression and an instrumental hook and he did the drum programming.
This is what I sent to him:
And this is what he sent back to me:
Before moving on, I wanted to make sure the track could inspire a great vocal without getting in the way of one. I sought feedback from Jez Willis and Richard Formby. After hearing their feedback as well as a guest lecture from Phil Harding, I decided I needed to revisit the structure and make room for a chorus that would build to and continue into the instrumental hook. Here is the revised track:
THE MELODY
I had two separate sessions with two different vocalists: Marcus Thompson and Nick Dixon. In each session, I had the vocalist improvise over the track, then constructed a melody using snippets of what they came up with and a healthy amount of copy/paste. After the two sessions, I combined ideas from each of them with ideas of my own to create the final melody. Below is a visual representation of the contributions of each writer. The top lane represents Marcus' ideas that were used in the final product; Nick's is the second lane, mine is the third.
LYRICS
I reached out to my friend in the States Amy Whitcomb to help me pen the lyrics. I sent her the following guide vocal based on what I'd done with Marcus and Nick:
She sent me a draft which I tweaked, trying to get the syllables to fit the melody better and adding more imagery. See below for the first and second drafts. Changes are in blue.
VOCALS
At this point, the deadline was quickly approaching and I was having a hard time pinning down a vocalist to record the final lead vocal. I ended up booking a remote session in Utah with a friend named Chad Truman just as Marcus and I booked a session at Leeds Beckett. I ran with it. I ended up with two versions of the song with different vocalists and slightly different vocal arrangements. I hurriedly mixed them, and here they are:Click here for the second post about "Gravity."
Comments
Post a Comment