January 3rd, 2025 (variable tempo)

Prompt: Make a jam where the tempo varies throughout the song
Key: 80-130, perhaps?
BPM: G

Jimmy Hendrix was a master in changing tempo to make the music more dynamic:

I’m guilty of using always a constant tempo for my songs, so I thought we could give it a try to make a jam where the tempo varies.

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Jamuary 2025 - Volca Bass Ambient with Wingie2 NTS 1 and Bespoke Syncmaster.

I got the beat to vary from 30 to over 700 later on… I think that means I followed the prompt at last!

Using the Syncmaster to get the Volca down to 30 BPM.

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Key: G (it’s actually in G minor)
BPM: Starts in 160 and ends in 80

Had fun with this (although I only had one major tempo change). I captured drum loops on the Digitakt II with a Moog Minitaur for bass via MIDI. The other keys and solo are on the Digitone II & it’s mixed/performed through an Octatrack MkII using EZBot’s performance mixer template.

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Oh man, this one was super fun to make and jam out. No lead playing this time, just jamming with arrangement! Hope you enjoy :smiley:

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Techno thing

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very cool jam! also, very nice method of getting the Volca to go to a lower BPM than it normally can :slight_smile:

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yeah!! Amazing energy in this one!

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loved the arrangement! man that was a fun jam to listen to and watch you do your thing!

I’ve been quiet here so far, but that’s because I spent the first day making 8 improvised one-take jam sessions and then made an album out of them :slight_smile:

Individual music videos are scheduled to upload on my YouTube channel over the course of the next few days.

The album theme is “anticipating inevitable grief” and the newest additions to my studio this year include an electric cello (featured on 3 tracks) and Chase Bliss Onward. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you get a chance to listen or at least skim through it!!

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Wow that’s awesome @atam94. It’s amazing that you’ve managed to make an album already. What I’ve heard so far sounds great. I’ll make sure to listen to the whole thing later.

I bought a used OP-Z that arrived in the mail today. I don’t fully understand it yet but I had a lot of fun playing around and making today’s beat with the stock sounds. It’s going to be fun learning this little device over the coming weeks.

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thank you!! Also that’s really cool you got the OP-Z! Your jam is cool and I like the tempo shifting too. Can’t wait to hear more as you keep playing with it!

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It was tricky to make a clock that changes tempo every two beats.

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yes, this sounds superb

Day 3 and this was a though one! Struggled hard to get anything decent. But third try after a walk, I finally got something I liked. It’s in G and tempo is in range, but it’s not variable. That was too big of a challenge for me, so it’s constant.

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Using some more neglected gear. 2xDFAM/Eurorack, Pulsar, S-4, Lyra. Went in wanting to do tempo changes but just ended up jamming for a good bit.

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Today I learned about some limitations of the MPC when working with tempo automation and audio tracks. I enjoyed exploring tempo changes, but didn’t have a lot of time to do a lot.

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Thanks, although someone reminded me that you can get down to 10 with a system setting!

Bit of a shitty day with a very annoying left ear and screaming Tinnitus so I kept the jam as easy as possible. Used the Liven Sonicware megasynthesis to revisit one of my fave DnD experiences ever, a song I wrote the morning after a session as it was the first thing that I heard in my head when I woke up, now THAT is what I like to call… bardic inspiration!

It’s the story about Little Timmy who chopped of his ear…

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Can’t play it. Says I have to sign in to confirm I’m not a BOT!