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How to make ambient music
 

Jar from Hollywood, CA on 2001-08-06 06:50 [#00019989]



I want to be able to make ambient music similar to that on
SAWVII. What kind of sampler (make/model) would I need?
Please, help me, kind Aphex Folk!


 

=|R3FL3X|= from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2001-08-06 06:53 [#00019991]



There are a few things you can Do. I do not know much about
the sequencers and stuff like that. Tell me: what do you
want to use, computer stuff? Or Analogue stuff? {hard
equipment}? Youll need lots of imagination and such, Ambient
is hard to make interesting.


 

Barrett, Syd from Cambridge on 2001-08-06 06:59 [#00019994]



www.zzounds.com has alot of really really cool equiptment.
that would probally be a really good place to start. or
download fruityloops. fantastic little program i've been
addicted to since i got it. it's good for screwing around
with.


 

=|R3FL3X|= from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2001-08-06 07:01 [#00019997]



Yes - Fruity Loops is good for messin' around with. I had
fun with it. I want to get some real equipment soon, but its
costs lots of $$$$ and I need a new car. :(


 

Jar on 2001-08-06 07:03 [#00019999]



I -don\'t- want to use computers. I want to see what I can
create with samplers, etc.


 

=|R3FL3X|= from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2001-08-06 07:05 [#00020001]



Oh okay. Well your going to need a mix board {sequencer} to
relay all your shit through, probably a synth {keyboard}, a
sampler and some other stuff. It can and most likely will
cost a good deal of $$$$$. do a search on the net for some
info.


 

Barrett, Syd from Cambridge on 2001-08-06 07:11 [#00020008]



like i said, www.zzounds.com is the best site to start
looking.... amazing prices there. some really pretty stuff
there too.


 

www.geocities.com/vivadebris/ from arizona on 2001-08-06 07:20 [#00020013]



I think it has less to do with gear and more to do with
mindset. Have you listened to much ambient? Are you aware
of Eno's albums as he went solo? Did you ever read his
album liner notes talking about music that doesn't intrude
upon one's psyche but instead merges with the sound of
knives and forks at dinner? Or the wind in the trees. Eno's
one of those guys who can make wonderful sound even if he
were stranded on a desert isle with crappy gear. Purchase a
cheap programable synth, beat box, a four track tape
recorder and some cheap, used signal processing
gear(echo,delay,flanger, reverb,whatever...) and begin
making simple minimalistic tracks to please yourself first.
If you like it, compare it to ambient works you like and
decide where the differences lie. One need not own great
gear or posess a huge musical pedigree. Just the ability to
be a discriminating listener and have a creative curiosity.
A great photographer can make art with a shitty camera.
Don't get hung on gear. We all want more and better gear
but we don't let the lack of it stop us from creating. If
you have the attitude and humility to start small, you have
all the tools to make fine sounds. And this comes from a
self confessed gear whore. Cheers...


 

Barrett, Syd from Toronto on 2001-08-06 07:24 [#00020015]



eno's music for airports is quite good.


 

leftrightronic on 2001-08-06 07:28 [#00020017]



nice post guy from arizona.. i wish there were more of your
kind in this forum
(ie someone having a little something half worthwhile to
read, and not posting just to post)

congrats ;P


 

www.geocities.com/vivadebris/ from arizona on 2001-08-06 08:35 [#00020031]



music for films is also great. in fact the whole series as
far back as you can find is a tutorial in ambient. Which by
the way has lost considerable meaning in light of the techno
period. I cite Eno because he is not only the godfather of
the genre but perhaps the best as far as actual ambient
sound goes. music that does not DEMAND one's attention, but
rather, like a pleasant daydream, allows one to drift in and
out of it as one wishes. I think the term and the sound has
becomesome what perverted as in the so called ambient music
of late. Which seems to me somewhat tamed or soft and slow
techno. Not quite the elevator (lift, in the UK, i believe)
feel of music that can be ignored. I remember as a child in
Montreal hearing this soft music in the background of food
markets and clothing stores. Not distracting, but mood
enhancing music that came thru almost subliminally. This is
how I understand Eno happened upon the Airport concept. If
you have ever flown you know the anxiety and trepidation
many face. His Airport and Film music albums had this in
mind. How to calm the traveller of the skies. One need not
be a traveller to need a calming sound in one's
surroundings. the stress of daily life is plenty enough.
This theory of his opened new doors for me. That one can
use different(not better or worse!, ) musics for different
moods and occasions. Perhaps start your ambient experiments
with a 90 min. cassette of music for the next time your
granmama stops by. Don't tell her just put it on at a
non-intrusive volume and see if she notices.... good luck


 

www.geocities.com/vivadebris/ from arizona on 2001-08-06 08:39 [#00020032]



music for films is also great. in fact the whole series as
far back as you can find is a tutorial in ambient. Which by
the way has lost considerable meaning in light of the techno
period. I cite Eno because he is not only the godfather of
the genre but perhaps the best as far as actual ambient
sound goes. music that does not DEMAND one's attention, but
rather, like a pleasant daydream, allows one to drift in and
out of it as one wishes. I think the term and the sound has
becomesome what perverted as in the so called ambient music
of late. Which seems to me somewhat tamed or soft and slow
techno. Not quite the elevator (lift, in the UK, i believe)
feel of music that can be ignored. I remember as a child in
Montreal hearing this soft music in the background of food
markets and clothing stores. Not distracting, but mood
enhancing music that came thru almost subliminally. This is
how I understand Eno happened upon the Airport concept. If
you have ever flown you know the anxiety and trepidation
many face. His Airport and Film music albums had this in
mind. How to calm the traveller of the skies. One need not
be a traveller to need a calming sound in one's
surroundings. the stress of daily life is plenty enough.
This theory of his opened new doors for me. That one can
use different(not better or worse!, ) musics for different
moods and occasions. Perhaps start your ambient experiments
with a 90 min. cassette of music for the next time your
granmama stops by. Don't tell her just put it on at a
non-intrusive volume and see if she notices.... good luck


 

m....M..Mw )wW(m M m)Ww( wM..M....m on 2001-08-06 09:37 [#00020046]



Place microphone in a woodpeckers nest, near chirping
crickets, in a windy area where frogs can also be heard from
a nearby lake. Later add this wav file to a wav file filled
with the sounds of alien lazer warfare battle. Later add a
wav file on top of this hybrid of rubbing your hands
together in front of a fire. Maybe add a melody of 2 musical
notes that repeat over and over, and a drum beat using no
more than 2 percussion sounds.


 

od from perth on 2001-08-06 14:31 [#00020101]



vivadebris - fuckgin amen to that

i, being quite lazy these days...dont exmeriment with sounds
and save them as much as i used to (my old stuff before i
had the net was really eperimental)....i dont like saving
tons of wavs so i put what i have through lots of effects
and that.

ambient tips...
1) use flangs and or phase on strings and def. reverb
2) use echo on the high end sounds...

well thats what i like anyway

cheers :)


 

Jar on 2001-08-06 14:34 [#00020102]



Oh, VivaDebris... You are so inspiring. I thank you, my
friend. That is all I can say.


 

Mr Biffo on 2001-08-06 14:53 [#00020107]



Music for Airports was actually played continuously in a US
airport for a few days. I don't think it had the desired
effect, though, because they had to turn it up quite loud,
thus defeating the point.


 

The Grey Gentleman from Eugene, Oregon on 2001-08-06 15:18 [#00020109]



The most important instrument is your mind . You
can make ambient with almost anything, really. I favor my
cheap ass casio synth, an effects box, and everyday sounds
recorded to my minidisc. Sounds like you're new to music, so
learning/using a sampler for ambient at this point would be
quite difficult for you, probably.

Get a cheap synth from Goodwill or something and use that
til you're sure you want to invest more money. I have a ton
of synths, but I use my Casio CT-670 a lot, and I see them
often in Goodwills/Pawn shops

good luck.

also, brian eno is the "god" of ambient, heh. It's all about
plateaux


 

The Grey Gentleman from Eugene, Oregon on 2001-08-06 15:19 [#00020110]



Also, vivadebris speaks many words of wisdom up there, so
take those to heart. better'n I could've said myself


 

wizards teeth on 2001-08-06 15:23 [#00020111]



Grey Gentleman,

Can I possibly have one of your synths?

I will put it to good use, if I ever become a famous pop
star, every time I appear on the tv or radio I will shout
out :

"this one is going out to the grey gentleman"

If I do not become a famous pop star i will buy a pet dog
and say to that "this one is going out to the grey
gentleman", everytime i use the synth

thanks
teeth


 

Jar on 2001-08-06 15:23 [#00020112]



Well, I used to be a drummer in a rock band, and I used to
own a sampler. Well, I still have it, but it does not work.
It's an Akai S20. Had I not broken it, I think I would have
been able to make some experimental stuff like what Pan
Sonic do. I just need a new sampler and something that I can
edit the whole thing with. That's one thing I can never find
out: if I can go about sequencing my sampled noises on the
meticulous level...


 

Wizard MaC from Solis Planum on 2001-08-06 15:27 [#00020113]



A program called AudioMulch is good for soundscapes: you can
create modular setups/instruments and record (and edit) live
knob-changes in a sort of sequencer.
Space out!


 

Jar on 2001-08-06 15:29 [#00020114]



Again, I'm not going to be using computers...


 

Wizard MaC from Solis Planum on 2001-08-06 15:35 [#00020116]



o, sorry I didn't read all the replies
I don't know much about hardware but there's one thing I can
say: for ambient you need a synth with lots of
possibilities.
I've got a Yamaha AN1x and I think this synth offers a lot
of space-sounds for your bucks.


 

hevquip from an egren's coffee shop on 2001-08-06 16:44 [#00020121]



a sequencer is definetly good to have so you can throw your
sounds together and layer them. analogue is good to have for
ambient in my opinion, or a keyboard with some adjustable
parameters. long droning sounds work well. sounds without a
sharp attack or one that's not to noticeable, but have a
long decay work well. "soft" sounds work well. nothing real
loud or abrasive. sounds like strings and wind instruments
or sounds that are transposed down a lot sound good. it's
good to start with a quiet droning sound that will change,
but takes a long time and is subtle, then add maybe a little
brighter sound to repeat, then another sound that will go
for a long time, but more noticeable in it's change and
isn't so quiet or subtle as the first long, droning sound.
after that, throw in whatever will go well with what you
have.


 

www.geocities.com/vivadebris/ from arizona Last post :) on 2001-08-06 17:12 [#00020123]



Hey jar , you live in Hollywood, you ought to trip on down
to Tower records and check out the Eno section. The first
and probably least known Ambient album,Brian Eno - Discreet
Music could be found there on CD. It has all the liner
notes explaining his process of getting to ambient. The
short story is he was in a bad auto accident and was laid up
in hospital with broken ribs and punctured lung. A lady
friend brought some Portmouth Sinfonia recordings for him to
listen to. She put it on and left. But the right channel
was not working and the volume was too low. But he could
not get up to fix it so he laid there and listened to it
that way. That incident got him started thinking about non
intrusive sound/music. I suppose there's
an Ambient section in record stores these days but I
wouldn't expect to see much old school stuff there. Cluster
And Eno is a classic. Cluster was a German duo that worked
with Eno occasionally. If you find it buy it! Rare and top
notch! Got a picture of a pasture at evening with a solitary
mic stand and mic, very blue. Music For Films isn't exactly
ambient but brilliant nontheless. Now you want to hear some
cool shit, find the two albums Eno did with Robert Fripp -
NO PUSSYFOOTING and the other one EVENING STAR. Here Eno
does his electronic noodling with Fripp doing some
mindblowing Frippertronic guitar improv. over around and
theu his textures. I wouldn't normally share this but we're
all buds here - when doing my electronic set live I'll often
sneak one of these two albums onto one of the mixer channels
over a bass and drum groove and it sounds unreal with the
atonal guitar riffs sneaking thru.


 

hevquip from a nefarious pirate ship on 2001-08-15 04:50 [#00021949]



here you go geonime. this is the other topic about making
ambient.


 

Springymajig from New Zealand (www.mp3.com/aureus) on 2001-08-15 06:14 [#00021965]



I did something interesting, but it was on my computer. I
recorded a voice sample from tv to muck around with, at the
end of the sample was a small snippet of the guitar that was
playing in the background. It was about .5 of a second. Any
way, I modulated it, making it slooooow and streeeeeetched
out, reverbed it, and because of the background his it ended
up sounding like part of a multi layered ambient song. I
haven't used it .... yet.


 


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