How I Make Music

#049 Coffee Time Rock

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The soundtrack in this week's episode is called Coffee Time Rock. It’s an energetic and uplifting rock guitar piece inspired by the type of promotional soundtrack music typically used in marketing youth lifestyle products. I employed a very standard approach, but included a few weird twists of my own. The instrumentation includes a grungy guitar, electric bass, drums and vocals shouting ‘hey!’ and singing ‘doo doo doo’. My recommended usage is for moments where a sense of exuberance, glamor and craziness is required. Let’s break it down!

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 01:24 Rock guitar was recorded in 4 takes through my Roland cube 30W amp. You don’t need a giant stack or the best software to achieve a slamming rock sound. Just use what you have.
  • 02:19 The ‘chorus’ section includes an odd chord progression. It’s very easy to use chord progressions which are normal, average and therefore pleasing to the untrained ear. But they’ve all been done so many times and I find them quite boring. I wanted do use a progression which stood out and was musically experimental. Hence the weird and ‘spiky’ F-Bb-Ab-Eb-B-C melody. It’s the sharp 4 (B natural) which makes this passage sound so weird. As long as it all ends with a big III-IV ‘normal’ rock cadence, we’ll be good!
  • 04:18 The ‘verse’ section is a 10-bar cycle. This length of repetition can sound a little odd in music. We tend to think in 8- and 16-bar sequences. Or 12 bars for the blues. By appending a normal 8-bar sequence with 2 extra bars, I’ve included a ‘turnaround’ which simply reboots the music while providing a little variation. I appreciate odd time signatures and alternatives to normal ways of doing things.
  • 05:48 Absolutely nothing special about the drums. Standard rock beat.
  • 06:15 This track was a spinoff of my most popular track, 90s Sitcom Joy. I wanted to see what type of reaction I would get by imitating it by using a rock sound and sampled ‘doo doo doo’ vocals. I recorded a single part for each of the verse and chorus sections. Then I tuned that part to harmonize with itself in parallel 5ths, which always sounds a little odd. Finally, I used the part as a note in a sampler, allowing me to add an extra layer of unconventionality and erraticness to the sound. Three layers of vocals, only one of which sounds like a normal voice!
  • 09:41 The bass is pretty standard, but I did use a downward leading note (from #4 to ?4) just reinforce the harmony decisions being made in other parts of the track. For me, getting a rock track to ‘gel’ is treating it as if all the players in a band have pre-agreed on matching their idiosyncrasies.
  • 10:27 Where does the energetic, exciting feel come from? Track tempo should always be compared to the speed of a heartbeat or a walking/running pace. At 154bpm, this track implies that we’re jumping around or running. The track title ‘Coffee Time Rock’ also implies a state of caffeinated hyperactivity. Rock music is an invitation to jump and thrash around without really needing to know how to dance. In this sense, it’s pretty open and inviting music in comparison to established styles like swing music. Just jump!

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      • SHOW NOTES

      SOUNDS & DEVICES USED

      • Ableton Live, electric guitar, Roland 30W Cube amp, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, voice,
      • Native Instruments Session Drummer

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              • ABOUT THIS SHOW

              You’re listening to How I Make Music, a weekly podcast for the musically curious to go behind the scenes of composition for audio storytelling. Hey, I'm John Bartmann. I’m a composer from South Africa. My soundtracks, moods and themes have been used in podcasts, audio dramas, and also in commercial film, TV and radio. Every Wednesday, we break apart one of my own compositions and investigate the stories and insights into how it was made and its effect on listening ears. How I Make Music helps you better understand how to make, select and use music to create gripping storytelling.

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              How I Make MusicBy John Bartmann
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