When composing this, my intent was to create a happy and carefree environment. The first sixteen bars showcase a simpler, more contemporary composition with an upbeat and joyous feel. The second sixteen bars of the composition are a bit bouncier and bigger sounding. I wanted to take the listener to another place within the same realm of happiness, so to speak. I feel that the upbeat nature of this song would make it perfect for commercials or maybe as a theme song for an animated show.

 

I used common meter for no other reason other than it was the meter I felt served the best purpose for this song. I wanted to keep the two sections connected but still differentiated in rhythm, so I played my drums with my MIDI keyboard for the first sixteen measures and used sections of that rhythm for the second sixteen measures. My drums and percussion are mainly acoustic kit sounds, which wasn’t my initial choice. The only electronic percussion I used are the clap and an Apple Loop I added for snare emphasis and extra percussive fills. 

 

I chose the key of D major because it is a key I rarely use, and I like to give myself variety when I create. For the harmony in the first half of the song I used the chord progression: D Em G F#m. I complimented this with a melody played with an electric piano and glockenspiel to achieve my happy and upbeat feel. For the second half of the song, I wanted to expand and evolve the piece without losing its core feeling. I played a different melody with more bounce and float to it, and also changed the chord progression to: D Em Bm A. This kept the joyous emotion consistent while giving this half of the composition more airiness, brightness and life. Here is a little trivia for you - can you guess what famous AC/DC song this second melody was inspired by?

 

I added synthesized sounds, a sample, and an audio recording to the last sixteen bars of the composition. One synth (track # 42) is a mid-frequency saw sound made with RetroSynth to add a little more body to the second half of the mix. The other synth (track # 40) is an ambient synth pluck I made with the ES-P synth and some heavy reverb. This pluck can only be heard in the last eight bars because I wanted it to add a heavenly feel to the conclusion of the piece. The sample I used was an 808 bass to beef up the low end and emphasize the bouncy feel of this section. The recording is of myself using a single string on an acoustic guitar to strum out a melody that would play behind the main electric piano melody. This created a special fullness to the second half of the composition I like very much.

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The bulk of my processing was time based. Two examples of this appear on the melody (track #27). I added reverb using ChromaVerb and delay using Stereo Delay. These effects added some space to the melody, giving it a floaty feel. My dynamic processing was mostly to help certain tracks fit in the mix better. For example, I used compression and EQ on my guitar recording (track #36) to tighten up its dynamics and remove the low-end frequencies. This helped the recording sit well behind the main melody. Another important dynamic processing decision I made was adding a Console EQ and Limiter to the Master track. This was for some light mastering work; I boosted some of the highs and mid-highs of the composition and gave it a little bit of drive to add air and body to the mix. The limiter was used to boost the mix volume without causing clipping.