Module 2 Project Share: Perceived Space Graphs

[Jack_Ludd]

The song I've chosen to analyze is "The Funeral" by Band of Horses. The spatial relationship of the vocals and instruments throughout the song is static so I haven't used a specific time stamp. Very straightforward mix with the customary Grand Canyon/large hall reverb. There may be some organ in there that I'm missing but it's fusing with the background vocals which are all reverb drenched and way back in the mix. Sounds fantastic on headphones with the bass really throbbing up front in the mix. I think if I were to do the mix I would use a ping pong delay on the lead guitar but the mix is basically perfect so why bother?

[vgmrmojo]

I chose " Tomorrow Never Knows' by The Beatles because of it's recording techniques ( tape loop sound effects ) effects on the voice and the use of a tamboura and sitar.
Drums seem to be centered but the cymbal seems further back and wide.

http://labs.echonest.com/Uploader/index.html?trid=TROLORP145D826FA84&thresh=2

[Angela_Greco]

Love that song! Good choice.

[Angela_Greco]

This was a really interesting module! I am SUPER new to music production (unless you count my electro band I had in high school)... so bear with me with my chart! I'm not sure if it is accurate or not, so let me know if you have any suggestions.

The song I chose was Dawn Golden's "I Won't Bend". Ever since I heard this song, I fell in love with Dawn Golden, and purchased the album immediately. I am a sucker for lyrics, so that drew me in, but I think the best bit is the haunting quality of the vocals and the organ combined along with the high-picked backup vocal making everything seem sad, serious, dream-like. I love this song so much, and it was fun to break it down.

[imonclus]

[calvinfan]

I chose Sky full of stars by Coldplay (Produced by Avicii).

I have analysed the first section from 0:00 to 1:43 i.
The verse and chorus have very similar instrumentals. the only difference is the addition of the Moog Synth.

Any feedback would be much appreciated
Thanks,
Josh

[Line7]

Ok, here's the song i choose and the link

I'm not sure if i heard it as accurate as i could, i felt a lot of the sound was right at center, sometimes they first appear on the right and feel like it's start to place itself to the center. I reviewed between 0.00-2.00 of the song. The song starts with an organ, very grounded to the center, you will notice a kind of bass like organ melody just underneath the main organ melody. You will hear a slow rake of notes on a guitar with delayed reverb towards the right or center. The song utilizes a lot of reverb on the guitar to create a distant mood. You will also hear a sampled monk chanting with a kind slow but heavy beat. Later on, the drum parts are doubled up with a moving kick, that makes the song move forward.

I choose this track because i'm quite the VAST fan. Frontman Jon Crosby composes some really
good songs and just a solid album writing and production. Somehow i felt this band never
got it's deserved share of success and recognition. I really do admire and look up to
this band and Jon since i actually liked most of the albums they released.

This track created such an impression on me when i first heard it way back.

I really liked how the music really had this impressionist quality that conjured up surreal landscapes and i think Jon really wanted to create that experience in his music, particularly from this album cause i felt at times it had a cinematic vibe. Well i really do like feels like that and aim to do that in my music as well.

[daxrab]

Okay, so here's my Module 2 homework. The song is the radio edit of "More" by the Sisters of Mercy. You can listen to it here, or watch the YouTube below (timings will be slightly different on the YouTube version).

Here's my sound stage diagram. I've just done one to cover most of the song (which means I've fudged the synth parts) but here it is: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1lryB1iDo5urfTLoPQPGXjEM-zaPaka9Yps-GYNG96Kg/edit?usp=sharing

The instruments/samples I was able to hear

-Andrew Eldreich lead vocals

-Powerful "gospel"-style female vocals in the chorus. These sound more intimate/closer in the outro--less reverb?

-Distorted rock guitar playing riff in chorus. Sounds like doubled and panned left and right to me.

-Some kind of woodwind instrument sample... perhaps a digeridoo? (2:29)

-"Breathy" eight-note percussive synth figure that starts in the intro and goes through much of song.

-Synth organ (intro)

-Electric piano plays stabbing chords and single note melody

-Gated/reverbed snare

-Constant hi-hat pattern panned left

-Feedbacking guitar shows up in a few places

-Percussive sample with heavy reverb around 3.19. Sounds like a steel pipe hitting concrete to me, but I don't really know what it is.

-Distant splash & crash sounds panned right

I chose this tune because it's one of my favourite songs and I was familiar with it, but what I really enjoyed about doing this 'close listening' was hearing quite a few things in it that I'd never noticed in it before, despite having listened to it hundreds of times--particularly its use of samples.

As with most people I usually relate to music based on the emotional content I perceive within it, so I guess the reason I'm happy to listen to this song multiple times and the reason it's important to me is the feeling/mood I think it captures, which I'd describe as situated within an atmosphere of psychological darkness, yearning, and menace, but imbued with a rather uplifting kind of power.

[edn]

I found that a lot of the music I like I couldn't even work out what instruments were playing let alone where they were (I like quite punky music which largely seems to be a melange of instruments) so I thought I would go with something comparatively easy - 7 Nation Army by White Stripes. It can be listened to here and my graph is here

[alexruthmann]

@edn Great point about it being more challenging to label the sound sources in many genres of music. We're working on a video to help out with that.

[stratopaul]

I chose a piece by Brian Eno from the album Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy. The link to my graph is https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1aFX8lUbnHfNKmDZN7_D7PBOSbDXzZSKOQ4xyCkRMQ04/edit?usp=sharing

Here is the screen image:

I have always found this piece particularly haunting and beautiful even though the lyrics (often with Eno) are rather nonsensical, they evoke a powerful mood. In analyzing it I was actually surprised to notice that the prominent synth bass is played twice, at extreme left and right positions. It give the illusion of centered, but they are not simply duplicated they are actually played twice. The vocal uses the same technique, sang twice you get that additional texture of slight differences (which is used in many recordings--Beatles, Nirvana, etc.).

This is a plot of the whole piece, the numbers on the synths relate to when they come into the song. I love the "lead synth" break which plays off of the two existing synths, on top of and in relation to one another. Also, the song builds beautifully from a distant trace of a synth, then the bass synths, drum machine, vocal and slowly introduces the other instrumentation throughout the song. I marked one instrument as a guitar, but your guess is as good as mine, it's an arpeggio-like instrument that could just as easily be a synth. I based this on the original CD recording, though I noticed the Google play music is marked as "remastered". I think my copy sounds better.

I would like to note that I was floored by the interview with the producer/engineer who said that for pop and rock that there is only center, far left, far right. I've always been obsessed with micro-placement across the spectrum, so I've spent several days listening carefully to my favorite mixes (Tom Waits, Tom Petty, Brian Eno, Dylan, etc.) and damned if he isn't correct! Totally stunned. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this interesting experience.

[Viceroy]

Here is the track i chose Sia - Chandelier the Official Video version. I chose the track for its simplicity of orchestration as well as its various use of sympathetic sounds to create a new timbre to the overall mix.

Here is a list of my insights:

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1zFmRNg6zPbgDgQOQMYTWrjPtEOwTeRPMXQaEkOnAPDQ/edit

Of Note:

Hum:
Track begins with the sound of a bass amplifier being recorded by a condenser microphone about 1-2 inches from the diaphragm. There is a distinct hum created by the warm tubes in the amplifier. Probably marshal bass stack with the bass, treble, and presence turned up to around 9 or 10. This relationship mimics the sound of high powered lights you might see in major motion picture releases brought into the foreground of the PSE to create tension. The hum can be heard mainly during the chorus as a foreground sound siting to the extreme pan positions adjacent to the vocals.

Track Specifics:

Intro:
The sound of a low and dry snare drum, processed through a high pass filter used to remove the low end frequency of the drum, interrupts the electrical hum noise comes in off center and to the left.

Verse 1:
The snare drum then opens up with a synthesized steel pan sound that mimics large chimes with reverb and chorus layers.

Pre-Chorus:
Begins with a background reverse vocal drenched Panned left and right The kick drum with the snare in full reverb with a wobble bass line sitting on top of the drums just before the vocals.

Chorus:
The chorus is a bass drum melody where thee bass changes notes on every 4th beat. The Bass amplifier sound can be heard creating a cackling noise that sits on top of the chores creating a electrified timbre panned to the left and right. A piano can be heard in the background emphasizing the bass guitar changes playing the same chord arrangement. The Vocals seem to spread during the chorus then shrink back to a more intimate sound.

Bridge
Continuation of the chorus ending with the introductions of a doubled violin playing along with the steel drum.

Verse 2
Same Synthesized Steel pan sound dancing with the snare drum.

Pre-Chorus
Instrument treatment repeated from the first pre-chorus.

Chorus
Instrument treatment repeated from the first pre-chorus.

Bridge/Outro:
As the song ends the drums stop playing with the bass guitar, then the steel drum leaving the piano and the violins ending with a lower hum of the bass amp with the volume and presence turned down.

[mikecurtis]

I feel like a dope. I graphed "Sledgehammer" and then notice it was already the first post! Anyway, mine is not as detailed, covers the chorus, only matches some of the graph from the first post.

(reposted because the video didn't embed.)

[mikecurtis]

@mikecurtis comment on my own post:

I tried to imagine that the various instruments were in my living room and then placed them relative to each other and
as if I was listen to a live performance. I didn't indicate closeness
to match volume as if I was looking at a volume meter for the
instrument. So, the main voice seems front and center, clear and close
as if the person is sitting across from me at the table. By comparison,
the snare drum - which I think is louder than a human voice - is behind
the voice. I think the use of reverb also effects my spacial perception.
I hear more reverb on the snare drum than the main voice. To me, a
greater mix of reverb to direct (dry) sound implies the sound is farther
away from the listener in a large room. The greater distance allows
more reverberating sound to mix with the direct sound. I think I'm
trying to say the reverb really effects my sense of space, maybe more
than just the volume of an instrument.

[zimran]

this was great, thanks!

[ke7in]

Pets 1 & 2 - Deadmau5

I'm not a huge Deadmau5 fan but I love this track. I had some trouble with the soundstage as the synths seem to really grow and come forward over time but I had a crack at it.

Note: Synths are numbered in order of appearance.

[vitormiranda]

Hey! Done some review over Jamiroquai's Rock dust light star from 0:41 until the chorus. There it goes:

Jamiroquai - Rock dust light star

[sineadharold729]

The song I've chosen is To Chicago by The Spill Canvas. Link.

Here is my perceived space graph for the song- I did notice that my graph was slightly different depending on whether I used desktop speakers, headphones, or my laptop on its own, so went for the desktop speaker version as that appeared to have the most space and width smile

On the first listen through, pretty much everything seemed to be in the centre... however, the more I listened to it I seemed to find more differences between ears, and areas that moved around during the song. For example, the guitar moves from a far away rhythm and close left lead in the verses to centred in the choruses and bridge.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Cfo9ZslOoK7C24COh8czv4o8XasoUVKOlykey3fBfwA/edit?usp=sharing

[ccayari]

Sorry about the typo

[alexruthmann]

No worries @mikecurtis! In fact, we think it's great. We can compare yours to ours and have an interesting conversation. I really like how you gave a greater spatial area to the brass in Sledgehammer. Those tracks were recorded here in New York City at Power Station (now Avatar Studios) and laden with tons of artificial reverb. It's also interesting that you afforded a similar sense of space to the synth track (Prophet 5, I assume). Within the stereo mix, it does sound like it's in a large space, but when you solo it up in our multitrack tool - http://sh.pwym.org/ - it sounds pretty dry to me. I think that's a great illustration of some of the audio trickery/creativity that goes into mixing and effects choices by the engineer and producer. In some cases the addition of reverb and enhanced space in some tracks can trick our minds into perceiving other dry recorded sounds to also be in that "perceived space."

Nice job!