PA6303 - Summative Reflection

Using electronics in my music has been a completely new experience for me and one I previously thought that I’d never experiment with; I would even go as far to say that I was hesitant to introduce it into my music. However, my experience through my solo performance and group work has completely changed my viewpoint on live electronics and has enlightened me to the benefits in can bring.

Introducing live electronics into my solo work was by far the biggest challenge that I faced as it was a completely new aspect of music that I hadn’t previously come across. This meant that I not only had to learn how to use the software and equipment, but also how to incorporate it into my work. In doing this, I took inspiration from the artist, Newton Faulkner. For his first four albums, Newton was similar to me in that he mainly used an acoustic guitar, along with vocals. However, he began to introduce electronics into his music with his 2015 album, Human Love. For example, in his most recent tour, Newton used a drum pad, bass drum pad and a MIDI bass pedal, along with reverb and delay effects on his guitar and vocals. This technology is used to produce sounds such as synths, bass drums, hand claps and hi-hats. I found him inspiring because he demonstrated how you can keep the core of an acoustic guitar and vocals while adding electronics to further your music. Having originally worried about how acoustic and electronic would blend, Newton shows how it can be done.

"Against the Grain" by Newton Faulkner - 2013

"Shadow Boxing" by Newton Faulkner - 2015

The ways I decided to use electronics in my work was relatively similar in both my solo and group work: instead of using electronics as a primary music source, I kept my vocals and guitar as my foundation and built electronic elements on top of this. Nevertheless, my solo work required me to produce more electronic elements as I wasn’t supported by my band. For my solo performance, I produced/recorded drum, guitar and synth loops, as well as adding effects to the guitar; in my group work, these roles were assigned to other members. There were overlaps, however, between my two performances. Firstly, I controlled and manipulated vocals effects and secondly, I cued and manipulated samples in both pieces. Using samples within the performance was something I found enjoyable after my solo work, so I was keen to use my newly acquired skills in the group piece.

I found the technique of recording and cueing synths during the performance quite interesting and helpful for my music. Similar to how Newton uses synths in the performance I spoke about in my first blog, I was able to cue synth sounds while I played guitar and sang. This increased the dynamics and pitch range of performance, changing the overall timbre of the piece. Furthermore, I was able to add an oscillating function to the synths, with the sounds panning from left to right. By doing this, I was able to increase, and then fill, a larger space.

I definitely intend to continue using live electronics in my work. Though I prominently write music that revolves around acoustic guitar and vocals, I often write music that requires a full band (vocals, guitar, bass and drums). As I am not in a band, I have been unable to perform this music, live. Using software such as Ableton Live, this would now be possible. But I also want to further develop my use of live electronics; not simply using it as a support for my guitar and vocals. Going forward, I want to begin to learn methods and techniques that will allow me to use live electronics as the foundations and focal point of my live performance.