The Secret Cove

Hi, Here’s my Ambient contest submission.

I used Spitfire LABS Soft Piano to provide a pulse. I’ve always viewed ambient music as textural without any harmonic function. So, for texture (and because they’re free & sound great :slightly_smiling_face:) I used LABS Choir, ghost bells and Granular Piano.

Also, Albion 1 Lovely Simple Pad and Wind Waves along with Alchemy Jumaana Rain and Storm for the foundation. I varied the volume between the instruments hoping that provided movement. There is also a swell from Albion 2 & the Lesotho Pad from Kontakt for balance.

Finally, a soprano sax holding some notes from the pentatonic scale with a little chorus & tape delay. Kinda Jan Garbarek.

I saw a tutorial from someone writing ambient music a while ago on YouTube. I don’t remember his name, but do remember he dropped the pitch to 432, so like Jeremy, I went with 432.

Thanks!

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Thanks for sharing. I found it to be peaceful. And it’s interesting that folks drop their music to A432. I just had a conversation with a fellow composer about this topic.

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Hello, Thank you. I haven’t looked up why ambient is tuned to 432 yet. If I remember the harpsichord is tuned to 415… it’s been a while. After comparing 440 and 432, I found the lower pitch more calming (?), but that could be all subjective.

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Really good track - lovely layering of textures - excellent sound bed.

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Yes thanks for sharing very ,very smooth changes, just love it ,:+1: very calming and soothing wow!

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hi,
interresting track
at the first listenning it makes me think to the game world of warcraft, in some area of the game you can listen to this kind of music , very cool
great job

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Hi Florent. Thanks. I’ll look that up. I don’t know if my son plays that game, but if he finds out I wrote a piece that may sound like something in the game it will become instantly unhip. lol.

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Fran I was wondering how did you change from 440 to 432 ?

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Just go to project settings in logic and select tuning ( think you need to make sure you’ve got advanced settings on in preferences). You can adjust global tuning here in cents or Hertz. You can even adjust note intonation to get micro tuning etc.

Software Instrument Pitch: Tune slider:Determines the global tuning of all software instruments. The default is concert pitch A (440 Hz). Detuning is in cent (1/100th of a semitone) steps.

Software Instrument Scale: Equal Tempered:Disables any tuning, and uses an equal tempered scale.

Software Instrument Scale: User:Allows you to detune each semitone in steps. Drag vertically in each semitone box until you reach the value you want, or double-click in a box and enter a value. Click the Reset button to reset all of your tuning adjustments to their default values.

Software Instrument Scale: Hermode Tuning (HMT):Allows you to set different Hermode Tuning (HMT) modes and degrees of effect.

Most Daws have global tuning though to some degree.

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Hi Brian, I’m working in Logic. After finishing the piece and applying the plug-ins in the Stereo Out channel in the mix window, trying for something close to a decent mix, the last plug-in is AUNewPitch.

In the area on Stereo Out - click to insert audio effects plug-ins - at the bottom of the pop up menu is Audio Units. click Audio Units - Apple - AUNewPitch - stereo.

As much as it would be great if everyone thought I did the math. I googled it. In AUNewPitch I entered -32 in the cents window.

There are, I think, a couple of ways to adjust the pitch in Logic. I went with this one.

Hope that helps.

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Thank You Phil

By the way You mention Microtones
What is that ? new kind of scale or tuning and how would you use that in Logic ?

So microtonal music is any tone(s) or scale that differs from Western twelve-tone equal temperament. So its basically notes inbetween the notes on a keyboard etc. For example many world musical scales use notes inbetween a semitone. Traditional Indian systems of 22 śruti where it is the smallest interval traditionally you can detect although there are plenty of scales with smaller intervals.

There are plenty of other examples - turkish, arabic, Balinese gamelan are a classic example as well. Harry Partch’s 43-tone scale which is used in Quadrangularis Reversum instrument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_instruments_by_Harry_Partch#/media/File:Quadrangularis_Reversum.jpg

Quite a few synths can play microtones Yamaha TX81Z (1987) for example the tricky thing is general midi doesn’t support microtones as far as I’m aware

Some examples

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Thanks for share Phil Wow!!! My ears :ear: :open_mouth: trying to grasp those tones
wow !! I think that kid say 74 or 1200, tone for octave that is so crazy but interesting :grinning:

In my view, is a very quiet and tonally consistent piece. The rain carries the piece. Sometimes so I think it’s good and sometimes it bothers, in my opinion. I think the pad is great. The high recurring tones have something meditative. If you change the sound a bit, I would tap on Indian music. For me, this music is ideal for relaxing.

Greetings
Klaus Ferretti

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Hello Klaus, Thank you. That sounds a little like what my kids think of me, “…it’s good and sometimes it bothers”. :slightly_smiling_face: I tried to approximate the sounds of whales with the high tones, something I’ve always thought relaxing. I found it interesting you mentioned Indian music. I wasn’t thinking that in this piece but have been listening to a lot of Carnatic music lately and have a good deal of Indian percussion in a project I’m working on.