____twoism

This is nothing too profound, and I also decided it not to post it in "things you've noticed after years of listening" because it's not hard to hear and it didn't take years.

The little synth flourish thing that goes down at 0:35, and back up soon after, is just a smear of the black keys. The one it 0:35 starts at F# and goes down.

Since they don't seem to like putting things in with a software sequencer I'm guessing they literally smeared there hands down the black keys a few times until they got one. Not very delicate, but it works well in the key Oscar is in.

And that makes me wonder... did they come upon that after starting to write Oscar in the key it's in? Or did they really like the smear effect and decide to write a song in that key to make it work?

It's pretty much impossible to do an equivalent glissando in a different key. Then again, they probably wouldn't be morally opposed to pitch-shifting it. Who knows.

pip

You don't need a software sequencer to cleanly sequence something. On the other hand, I don't think they would be reticent to use software if that was the most efficient way to execute an idea had. In my opinion it sounds quantized. I don't think even Art Tatum could do that run with such exact timing, especially dragging the thumb or index finger it would be hard to get inside the beats in such a precise way as it is. Definitely sequenced imo. Good ear though!

fdamb wrote:You don't need a software sequencer to cleanly sequence something. On the other hand, I don't think they would be reticent to use software if that was the most efficient way to execute an idea had. In my opinion it sounds quantized. I don't think even Art Tatum could do that run with such exact timing, especially dragging the thumb or index finger it would be hard to get inside the beats in such a precise way as it is. Definitely sequenced imo. Good ear though!

How do you quantize something that isn't software? one note at a time?

egbdf wrote:

fdamb wrote:You don't need a software sequencer to cleanly sequence something. On the other hand, I don't think they would be reticent to use software if that was the most efficient way to execute an idea had. In my opinion it sounds quantized. I don't think even Art Tatum could do that run with such exact timing, especially dragging the thumb or index finger it would be hard to get inside the beats in such a precise way as it is. Definitely sequenced imo. Good ear though!

How do you quantize something that isn't software? one note at a time?

On midi sequencers theres record quantization. So you play the notes into the device and if you fuck up a little bit it will move that note over to the closest 8th, 16th. or 32nd, or 64th or whatever you told it to do. Theres ways of say, you play a slow little quarter note line, then you can multiply that and turn it into a 64th note line if you wanted. Once the midi is in there you can augment or diminish its time value with a mouse click.

Well they could just tune their synth if they wanted it in a different key, but essentially they are forced to stick to that pattern of notes using the black keys.

you can record samples of the synth....each note and build it in a DAW. or load the samples into an AKAI, triggering it with cubase 1 on an old atari box.

That run is also reversed at one point on Oscar, isn't it? (plays it again) Yes, at 0:49, and 1:56, but slightly differently - so it sounds to me like they were recorded live.

fdamb wrote:
On midi sequencers theres record quantization. So you play the notes into the device and if you fuck up a little bit it will move that note over to the closest 8th, 16th. or 32nd, or 64th or whatever you told it to do. Theres ways of say, you play a slow little quarter note line, then you can multiply that and turn it into a 64th note line if you wanted. Once the midi is in there you can augment or diminish its time value with a mouse click.

My impression is that they don't use MIDI to trigger software patches or whatever, so I guess you're thinking they sampled one of their own synths and pitched it over the full range, and then used MIDI to trigger their own sample and quantize it?

And I do know about quantizing, but I've only done it in a software context. Though I figured there wasn't much mouse-clicking in BoC's music making process?