How to get a counter melody playing with your main melody

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How to get a counter melody playing with your main melody

Postby dentyr » 06 May 2020 22:16

How to get a Counter Melody (or a Choir Descant) playing behind your main melody whilst playing live (no multi-tracking or Pads).

If the PDF file below does not show, refresh the page. To PRINT it out click on the 'pop-out' arrow in the top right corner (hover your mouse over it if it does not show), then when in Full Screen hover your mouse near the top of the document and a PRINT option will appear.



.. or click this LINK to go there directly.

Do a right-click to open this up in a new tab
http://www.ar-group.org/Files/CounterMelody.pdf

Den
Keyboards: Yamaha Tyros 4, PSR SX700, PSR S970and StagePa300
I knit dolls and animal toys.
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Werk maakt je vrij. Muziek maakt je blij. Work sets you free. Music makes you happy.
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Re: How to get a counter melody playing with your main melod

Postby Brian007 » 07 May 2020 10:13

Hi Den,

Interesting concept, will have to give it a try and see how it works out on my SX700

All the Best and Stay Safe, Brian007

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Re: How to get a counter melody playing with your main melod

Postby dentyr » 07 May 2020 15:25

Below are the Style and Registrations I used for playing End Of The World, and they can be downloaded from Box via these LINKS.
After downloading each one, click the back-arrow at the top to get back to this page.

Style
https://app.box.com/s/uo1m8x77pw0ofcce9ben36sx5rfgmkib
Registration.
https://app.box.com/s/1kzb7snfegjn5olto6m1zc2ovoif9l3m

I set up the registration and style on my Tyros4 and copied it to my SX900, made some adjustments as the SX900 does not have the same voices etc as the Tyros. I have also named the registration "Nevil's Ballard" in recognition of Nevil Sharman who did so much work on the keyboards. Sadly Nevil passed away recently, a very sad loss to the keyboard community.

Now, to get at the settings on the Genos and SX900 : press the Direct Access and then the Harmony Echo button. There you will find the Harmonies and Arpeggios. Now here is the thing that Yamaha did not want you to know. . In the bottom right corner of that screen is a teeny weeny little cog wheel which when touched or poked with a fairly fine pointed pointer will bring up the assignment and volume settings. No good trying it with your finger - that's just tooooooo big. So in the script where it says "Assign R2" this is the place you have to go.

Into the Mixing Console, set the pan of the voices to your liking. (I would put the piano out of the back door, but that's my opinion!)

The volumes may be adjusted to your own taste (that's if you like eating volumes.)

To illustrate all this here is me playing End Of The World, which I recorded on my SX900.

Do a right-click to open this up in a nre tab
https://app.box.com/s/enrpk9ufqaucsz3zpk1pkik1ahrft4cg

And below is Nevil's "Sometimes when we touch" the recording that is in the script.

Do a right-click to open this up in a nre tab
https://app.box.com/s/7c4nnk70u67hmwb7f1wxim1z6u32dv30

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So there you have it.

Regards, Dennis
Keyboards: Yamaha Tyros 4, PSR SX700, PSR S970and StagePa300
I knit dolls and animal toys.
I always try to do things which I can't do in order to learn how to do them. ..
Werk maakt je vrij. Muziek maakt je blij. Work sets you free. Music makes you happy.
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Re: How to get a counter melody playing with your main melod

Postby Hugh-AR » 07 May 2020 15:59

Hi Den,

I have listened to your 'End Of The World' through my stereo headphones, and you've done a great job there. In the first bit where you are playing piano as the melody voice, the strings in the background are playing a definite 'Counter Melody'. But .. when you have the bit with the choir coming in behind the piano I predominantly hear the choir playing the actual melody along with the piano. And a 'full choir' harmony is singing along with it, even though you are just playing single notes. Your 'Harmony function has added into the mix the notes of the chord you are plying with your left hand. Did you have a different setting for this bit of the song?

Nevil's piece was the same, a 'counter melody' at the start; and then full choir singing along with the melody; but a bit further on he once again had a very strong 'choir counter melody'.

I can't do a 'counter melody' on my AR in this way as the second voice always plays along with the melody line, and adds into it some of the notes you are playing in your chord, so the effect you get is a 'full choir' singing along even though you are only playing single notes.

Hugh
It's all about the music ♫ ♪ ♫ Organ: Yamaha AR80 & Keyboard: Tyros 4
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