369 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

shanebro wrote:

I work at Office Depot, and at community college getting my associate's in graphic design, but I think I'm going to go more computer science and do web design when I transfer to a 4 year college. I've found a real interest in coding, plus it's where the money is at.. or so I've been told.

Yeah I've been told computer science/IT/basically super future computer stuff is the field to go into right now. Seems to be the only sector truly expanding right now. I'm really interested in coding and think my brain would "get it" after learning such a systematic approach to musical analysis but my experience is near negligible at the moment so that could be totally not a real thing.

Go to forum: General Discussion

370 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

vargero wrote:

Pursuing an Information Systems degree, but already working as a system developer.

How do you like it? I've been thinking about pursuing something along those lines, maybe just computer science, but I'd be relatively new to it. And at 23 I'm wary of competing in the market against people who may have more of a background in it, if that makes sense.

Go to forum: General Discussion

371 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(48 replies, posted in General Discussion)

wandering genie wrote:

And I agree with n00bstar, these kind of topics are desirable as are a learning experience for all of us.

Anytime I see one of these topics, I get excited. My four years of university level theory and composition courses should at least do something for someone.

Go to forum: General Discussion

372 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

BeatScribe wrote:

troll kickstarter for something that looks promising, and tell them you'll do the whole thing just for credit. You'll learn a ton and have something real to add to your portfolio.

That's... actually a really good idea. haha I'm composing for two full-scale RPG's at the moment but the problem with that is the lengthy development times are leaving me without much new to talk about. I'll start looking for maybe some casual games to score. Thanks a lot for the tip.

Go to forum: General Discussion

373 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(48 replies, posted in General Discussion)

n00bstar wrote:
sleepytimejesse wrote:

To bring it back to G, use a D7 chord.

I'm a huge fan of the dominant 7th too, but in this particular song it doesn't fit at all. I mean sure it'll create the tension for a resolve on G but the flavour of the 7th itself is too dense for the simplicity of the rest.

Ah. Well you can leave out the 7, of course. The things that make a V work are the third (in D, F#) going to the tonic note (G) by half step. The seventh adds contrast (In D7, C) by resolving by half step the opposite way (the B in G).

This is all rudimentary but I figured I'd mention it to recap for anyone reading and also to iterate that chords are a succession of notes moving together, nothing more. We describe them as these chord name chunks for ease of use, but you can always work linearly. If your melody goes to where you want, say to the note G, find what else you can do to bring a line to another note in the G chord, like B or D. Pretty soon you might have an amalgam of lines that fall into your desired tonal region through something more inventive than a D7.

This might be hard in LSDJ or something though, if you're relying on an arp instrument in one of the squares.

Also, this is why going to E minor works, both G and B are in that too. Like you said, sometimes it's easy to get stuck in one or the other because of this.

One more edit: D or D7 also leads to G minor just fine, thanks to the aformentioned voice leading. But the 7 resolving downwards by whole step makes that much more a powerful arrival.

Go to forum: General Discussion

374 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

This thread got so real and I'm glad.

kitsch wrote:

the job you think you'll have with a culinary arts degree most likely won't be available.  (and i graduated magna cum laude with that degree and had a great internship to boot).  culinary schools are a good example of the new business of education, they just want to make a buck off you[...]

[...] but then again, i have a MA in PoliSci too, and NONE of the people I graduated with are using their degree in a paying job (one person got a (volunteer) non-profit job in the field).  the student and job markets are so flooded with people right now even doctoral school just to take out more loans and waste time for a job to show up isn't happening for my fellow grads...

This is something I'm seeing more and more of. It seems just about everyone I know is working on a second, unrelated degree because their passion really only got them into debt. I'm one of the lucky(?) ones, I went to a renowned music school at a state university for four years and came out with only $20,000 in debt. But, no degree too. This sucks, but is nothing compared to my girlfriend's debt. She went to OSU to become a sonographer but her major filled up so they didn't accept her. Now she's graduating with a family science degree (think daycares) and all the debt of a medical degree. Needless to say our numbers have me looking for a more financially stable industry.

Downstate wrote:

commercial work - its cool i guess, but they're either living the good life or stressed as fuck about where the next job is coming from.
Ultimately id rather a secure job with regualr income so that my music making is a chilled out affair.

Absolutely. I work in the commercial sector as well, but I'd hardly call it work when you've got national clients but don't see much income generated at all. Maybe $100 per spot. I suppose that's what you get for working casually with friends who run an advertising studio though. You get paid in some pizza here and there because you're buddies and you wanted to build a portfolio for hypothetical later work anyway.

BeatScribe wrote:

It's not always easy to do music and sound design for a job. It is work; It gets exhausting and you run out of creative energy sometimes. Also its very up and down, one month, I might have 4 clients with games coming out who need a ton of stuff, then nothing for a month or two. If ALL I did was music, I think I'd be barely scraping by.

I agree with what BitJacker said though: Write off your stuff! Even if you aren't making tons of moneys, you'll be chipping away at what the government can take from you every year (which is a LOT when you have your own business, it's obscene).

I should really look into forming an LLC. Thanks guys. I'm hoping once the two games I'm composing/sound designing for launch this will pick up. Game composition and sound design has been my dream since I was 12, it's the reason I went on to study music academically. It's started to pan out recently and my name is definitely getting out there, but between lengthy development times, flaky developers, small indie budgets and lack of marketing for projects, it's just hard to make ends meet. But, I'm still working at it. I'm pushing to get the one on Steam Greenlight, maybe that'll do something.

Maybe hopping trains to an engineering field in the meantime would be beneficial. But not sound engineering. I think I want out of the biz side of things.

Go to forum: General Discussion

375 Topic by sleepytimejesse

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Just curious what some fellow chip musicians do to survive. I've recently come to a fork in my life where I choose between pursuing music full-time further or abandon it as a day job to pursue something more practical, like IT or something. I've been going to a state university for theory and composition of music the last four years, composed string quartets and generally excelled in my courses buuuut the university system doesn't work like that I suppose. So far I've been eeking out a starving artist's wage through teaching guitar, composing for video games, doing session work and selling music online. Definitely not enough to live on yet, though. Anyone doing this smarter than me?

Go to forum: General Discussion

376 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(48 replies, posted in General Discussion)

n00bstar wrote:

Also.... and this is where I started to mentally masturbate too much with this... I was assuming I was in G Major with a borrowed chord. So for my middle eight I went to the relative minor, Em, and now I can't make it resolve back to a G, it wants to resolve on the Em every damn time no matter what twisted fucked up path I take through the chords.

ARGH.

To bring it back to G, use a D7 chord.

Go to forum: General Discussion

377 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(48 replies, posted in General Discussion)

If G is home (tonic), you're going G (I), to what is actually Bb (bIII), and C (IV). This doesn't fall into a specific key other than to say it's G Major but with a flat major 3.

Short answer: Mostly G Major.

Edit: G Mixolydian works too since there is an F in Bb. It's all about when/how you use the chromatic notes you're borrowing.

Go to forum: General Discussion

378 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(9 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Youngstown, about maybe 40 minutes east of Akron. Was just at the Musica last week when my buddies in Street Corner Symphony came through.

Go to forum: General Discussion

379 Topic by sleepytimejesse

(6 replies, posted in Audio Production)

I'm amassing a collection of tunes, getting to around album length. Started exporting all channels separately and experimenting with different stereo arrangements, mixing, etc.

Just curious if anyone has any tips/tricks they like.

Go to forum: Audio Production

380 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

I toured with a band once that swore by topspin for everything they did. That being said, about 6 months after we all headed home they were using bandcamp almost exclusively.

Go to forum: General Discussion

381 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(31 replies, posted in Graphics, Artwork & Design)

Go to forum: Graphics, Artwork & Design

382 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(3 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

Hm. I would probably first try experimenting with some arp instruments in a softer pulse width, then pairing those with the noise channel and doing some volume swells between the two. But that also takes up a whole two channels. The DPCM route might work, I've found samples of explosions and jet noises out there that might achieve something close to an ambient effect with some experimentation.

Go to forum: Nintendo Consoles

383 Topic by sleepytimejesse

(1 replies, posted in Releases)

Just released Book of Samuel, a 28-track concept album made entirely with soundfonts from games like Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, etc. You can download it here: http://sleepytimejesse.bandcamp.com/alb … -of-samuel

Also check out this promo vid my buddy made for it if you'd like:

› Show Spoiler

Go to forum: Releases

384 Reply by sleepytimejesse

(30 replies, posted in General Discussion)

walter b. gentle wrote:

okay i was able to check it out. seems cool for like kids and stuff. i dont think i could watch it as an adult but i wouldnt cringe if my son turned it on.

I don't know man, I'm 23 years old and I didn't look away. This is definitely a step above anything else Disney is doing at the moment, what with it being even a little bit bearable.

Go to forum: General Discussion