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diff --git a/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md b/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md deleted file mode 100644 index 97b8212..0000000 --- a/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,152 +0,0 @@ -# Early Sunsets Over Monroeville - -2023-01-16 - -One evening, Mom entered my room when I practiced ukulele. She was like -"you should record smth" so I did. - -I went for Early Sunsets Over Monroeville ("Monroeville" hereafter) by My -Chemical Romance (MCR), for following reasons: - -- I happened to be playing that song -- It's one of the few MCR songs acoustic enough for the ukulele, the only - pitched instrument I can play -- [Billy Cobb made a cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVYs4kvBii8) - and I enjoyed it immensely -- There is one more reason but it's complicated so I put it at the end - -The work began on 2023-01-12 and ended on 2023-01-15. - -## Step 1: Learn song - -Monroeville is structured as follows: - -- intro -- verse 1 -- prechorus 1 -- verse 2 -- prechorus 2 -- verses 3, 4, 5 that have more or less the same lyrics but get - increasingly emotional - -I found [the ukulele -tab](https://ukutabs.com/m/my-chemical-romance/early-sunsets-over-monroeville/) -and learned to play the chords. Then I spent a few showers to practice the -vocals. - -## Step 2: DAW - -I know this can't be a one-take because I only have one mic, and the uke -would completely demolish my untrained voice. Also, this song is like -5 minutes long. - -I did try recording and putting together clips in Audacity before, but -without bars and beats it was a pain to synchronize. - -This time however, I installed [Ardour](https://ardour.org/) and gave it -a whirl. A few hours and ready to go. - -## Step 3: Rig - -My rig: - -- second hand soprano ukulele -- USB lavalier mic for online lectures -- overear headphones, never used for six years -- a laptop - -## Step 3: Record strumming - -This is like rhythm guitar in the original composition. Chords were not -too hard, but it took a while to play on tempo. This is me strumming the -intro: - -<audio controls src="../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg"></audio> - -## Step 4: Improvise - -I improvised a riff to imitate the prechorus melody. This was done by -plucking the G string. I just clipped my nails, so to make it sound -brighter I used a guitar pick. - -<audio controls src="../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg"></audio> - -## Step 5: Record drums - -I recorded some clips of me slapping my thighs but ended up discarding -them because (a) they sounded off-theme and inconsistent, and (b) it was -stupid. Also this is an acoustic cover so drumless would be just fine. - - - -▲ It was this moment that I decided thigh drums didn't go well with -Monroeville. - -## Step 6: Record lead - -I found [lead guitar tabs on -Songsterr](https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/my-chemical-romance-early-sunsets-over-monroeville-tab-s22636) -and transposed some of it for the ukulele. This is the prechorus lead: - -<audio controls src="../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg"></audio> - -My fingers were not good at fretting and picking strings on tempo, but in -a choir of tracks these imperfections were easily concealed. Near the end -I accidentally rang strings I wasn't supposed to touch, but luckily they -were somewhat in key. - -## Step 7: Record vocals - -It took a few tries to place the mic somewhere stable enough, but there's -still this kind of low-frequency oscillations in the waveform: - - - -Good news is it's barely noticeable. - -I could not go as hard and emotional as Gerard or Billy in the second half -because (a) I never trained myself to scream, and (b) I've never had any -experience with a zombiefied romantic partner. As a result, the second -half sounds emotionless, which is a tradeoff between that and being -completely out-of-tune. - -## Step 8: Mix - -It's just playing with faders, panning the tracks, and dragging some -automation curves to conceal the noise in the vocal track when I kicked -over a trash can. - - - -▲ This was the Hackerman moment of the project. - -I also added a reverb filter for the vocals. - -## Step 9: Export! - -Enjoy: Early Sunsets Over Monroeville (ukulele acoustic cover) - -<audio controls src="/static/early_sunsets_over_monroeville.flac"></audio> - -Ardour gave me this window but I don't know if it's bad or good? - - - -## What's the one last reason I did this? - -twenty one pilots did a livestream recently where Tyler shared a few demos -of theirs tracing back to the Regional at Best era, circa 2010-2012. Here -we have a clip (MP4, 17.4 MiB): - -<video controls> - <source src="/static/vessel_stream_trees_demo.mp4" type="video/mp4"> -</video> - -Tyler put the gang vocal track on solo where he was like "__HELLO__ e-yeah -a-yeah a-yeah hello hello hELLO". It was cringe af but the song was -incomplete without it. - -And I, a musically illiterate engineering student, have one more reason to -justify my own piece of carefully mixed cringe. |