As part of my IDS project, I’m creating a complete song to display all the techniques I have learned. My song generally fits into the metalcore genre, and that means aside from hard distorted guitars and fast riffing, one of the key features of this genre is the drums. This is the second post in

As part of my IDS project, I created many different types of ‘riffs’, short melodic repeating patterns; some came naturally, others were more difficult. Very early into my project, I created a riff that inspired my main song, Machine Hell: This riff was probably one of the most natural excerpts I’ve ever come up with.

Today as part of my IDS project, I learned about the double harmonic minor scale. The double harmonic minor scale goes by many names, depending on the musical culture: the Mayamalavagowla, Bhairav Raga, the Byzantine scale, and the Hijaz Kar(sometimes referred to as the Arabic scale by Western musicians). Possibly related to the fact that

Today as part of my IDS project, I added a very unique part to the song I was working on: a metal take on Mozart’s famous requiem Lacrimosa. Although not many people know this, one of the greatest influences on metal music wasn’t hard rock or Gothic poetry(although those certainly did have an impact). Metal

Today as part of my IDS project, I upgraded my pieces using a feature of MuseScore called Soundfonts. On its own, a score is just notation. It serves to tell those who play music what notes to play at what time and with what articulation; the composer doesn’t really need to go into much detail

As part of my IDS project, I utilized the unique sound of a palm-muted electric guitar to create motion and texture for my piece. Muted guitar notes have been a mainstay of rock and metal, and even classical guitar and some blues/jazz music for a long time. They’re played by slightly muting a string with

As part of my IDS project, I’m creating a complete song to display all the techniques I have learned. My song generally fits into the metalcore genre, and that means aside from hard distorted guitars and fast riffing, one of the key features of this genre is the drums. This is the first post in

Today as part of my IDS project, I learned about the Persian scale. The Persian scale is also known as the Raga Lalit, especially in Hindu Classical. It is very commonly learned among guitar players(which is why I decided to experiment with it) and is known for using an unusually large amount of half-steps. The

Today as part of my IDS project, I wrote a chorus using a method that I discovered, which can put together the chords for a chorus with incredible ease. I discovered this technique while I was trying out chords in the D Harmonic Minor scale, trying to figure out a progression for the chorus of

Today as part of my IDS project, I learned and experimented with he unique sound of harmonic 7ths, and how to utilize them. First of, the harmonic minor scale, which is also known as the Nahawand, Buselik Hicaz, or the Raga Kirwani, is essentially just the minor scale with a raised leading tone(seventh note). It