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 Breaking of Nations 
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Post Breaking of Nations
In continuing with my long-running tradition of making a new tune every Federal Holiday, for MLK Jr. Day, here is "Breaking of Nations," for piano, guitar, bass, and drums (none of which are "real" instruments, and all are Kontakt plugins). Not Sticky in the least, so I'm rocking it out here in Teflon World.

I'm attempting to use Logic Pro X, particularly its "Drummer" feature, which follows a track with the kick and snare. I'm importing drum lines from it back into Pro Tools and into NI's Studio Drummer. I find Logic Pro X maddening to use after years of PT, but it has many features for automation that I like. I will be syncing LPX to PT in the future, as I explore this new production method.

At 160 BPM, we're cooking along, and I'm not sure if this is finished, or merely begun. It's not even remotely MLK-themed, as it sounds more polka-rock than soul or R&B. And I don't think I'll be using "Polka Rock" as a descriptor anymore, as I'm not near cool enough to bring Polka back. It's got a slight OOMPAh feel to it is all. But now I've put polka into your head. ;)

Cheers! "Breaking of Nations."

https://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1/nationbreaking


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Steve Sink, Laser Fractals
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Sapphire Railboard, #6763, MR
Wenge-on-Wenge NS/Stick, #170130, Bass 4ths
http://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-RDlN ... Ez0hN49_Qg


Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:33 am
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
Adds: Here's the original 6-minute version of "in Time with the Breaking of Nations," with piano and strings. After listening to it again, there's a lot I'd steal from that one to add back to the new version. But that's the way of these things. If I had started with the original instead of just sitting down and noodling with the chords, I wouldn't have come up with new sections.

Here's the original (listen to the new one first--it's all produced and stuff, and guitary).

https://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1/i ... rings-only

And the new version done this morning:

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Steve Sink, Laser Fractals
Rosewood 10-string, #5989, M4s
Sapphire Railboard, #6763, MR
Wenge-on-Wenge NS/Stick, #170130, Bass 4ths
http://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-RDlN ... Ez0hN49_Qg


Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:58 am
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
Pretty cool Steve,

Actually sounds like it could be a great opening track to TV show, very easy on the ears with a lot of orchestration. Good job.


Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:05 am
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
Brother! you are really developing a wonderful style and sound that is all YOU!!! great to listen to and very inspiring!!


Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:21 pm
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
8-) What I really like about Stickist is that as Stick players we are willing to embrace our
inner urge to be composers. The Stick is after all a composers instrument in that if you are a soloist you become by default and out of necessity a composer. But there is a rub off effect
that playing the Stick informs all the other instruments you might work with, so that even if your composition has little or no Stick the guitars, piano, drums, strings, etc are more clear and
precise because of the Sticks influence.

jRj
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Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:56 pm
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
JRJ wrote:
8-) What I really like about Stickist is that as Stick players we are willing to embrace our
inner urge to be composers. The Stick is after all a composers instrument in that if you are a soloist you become by default and out of necessity a composer. But there is a rub off effect
that playing the Stick informs all the other instruments you might work with, so that even if your composition has little or no Stick the guitars, piano, drums, strings, etc are more clear and
precise because of the Sticks influence.

jRj
*j*
.~

Before I picked up my Stick back around 2000, I had written about 2 tunes. In 2007 I made a cd with 11 of 13 pieces all composed on Stick! Yes this style of instruments/play really opens up composing for sure! Kudos to Emmett.


Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:33 pm
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
Really cool as always, Steve! Nice work!

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Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:35 pm
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Post Re: Breaking of Nations
pcgonzales wrote:
Pretty cool Steve,

Actually sounds like it could be a great opening track to TV show, very easy on the ears with a lot of orchestration. Good job.

rclere wrote:
Brother! you are really developing a wonderful style and sound that is all YOU!!! great to listen to and very inspiring!!

Jayesskerr wrote:
Really cool as always, Steve! Nice work!


Wow! Such awesome praise, guys! I really appreciate the wonderful comments, and thanks for stopping by, listening, and giving some feedback and impressions! You guys rock!

JRJ wrote:
8-) What I really like about Stickist is that as Stick players we are willing to embrace our inner urge to be composers. The Stick is after all a composers instrument in that if you are a soloist you become by default and out of necessity a composer. But there is a rub off effect that playing the Stick informs all the other instruments you might work with, so that even if your composition has little or no Stick the guitars, piano, drums, strings, etc are more clear and precise because of the Sticks influence.

jRj
*j*
.~

pcgonzales wrote:
Before I picked up my Stick back around 2000, I had written about 2 tunes. In 2007 I made a cd with 11 of 13 pieces all composed on Stick! Yes this style of instruments/play really opens up composing for sure! Kudos to Emmett.


Excellent point there, guys, and I can definitely vouch for how Stick and Stick playing and writing and noodling for Stick have opened up things to me compositionally. In spite of--no, rather BECAUSE of, playing piano for a very long time, I've found that having Stick as essentially keyless has opened up chromaticism and other tonalities and key signatures that I normally would never touch. I like a few keys and key signatures on piano, and gravitate towards the sharps and avoid the flats. But that's entirely an artifact of piano and has nothing to do with the larger tonalities of music.

In Stick, chord shapes are chord shapes, and there's nothing special and magic about a D minor chord, which is all white keys on a piano, and happens to be my favorite chord. A minor is another and so is C and G major.

And basslines! I cringe at how thoughtless my left-hand piano was before I discovered Stick! I can't look at a left-hand bassline the same way after rocking out on the Sticks two-handedly, and doing more than just hammering on the root, fifth, and octave (although that's still about 85% of the bread and butter of basslines in Steveworld when playing on a "real" instrument).

And definite kudos for Emmett! The Reason for the Season and The Maker! (Although not the evil Marvel comics version of Reed Richards called The Maker, from the Ultimate Universe, although I heavily digress). Thanks for this wonderful invention!

Now to get back to it! 8-)

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Steve Sink, Laser Fractals
Rosewood 10-string, #5989, M4s
Sapphire Railboard, #6763, MR
Wenge-on-Wenge NS/Stick, #170130, Bass 4ths
http://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-RDlN ... Ez0hN49_Qg


Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:57 am
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