What I Like About It

1. I returned to my favorite key, Bb minor (natural), and improvised simple chord progressions in gradual shifts.
2. There’s a good diversity of notes, including some atmospheric highs and immense lows.
3. Shifts are subtle and changes never happen too abruptly.
4. This completes 50 ambient tracks in 2008.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. There is still too much phase distortion around 1.5 kHz, if listened on clean headphones at high volume.
2. Some of the transitions could have been less muddy.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. This harmonic structure is something I haven’t tried to improvise on before. It’s a scale consisting of only six notes, the whole tone scale in C (C, D, E, F#, G#, A#).
2. I managed to equalize out most of the phase distortion.
3. It sounds much different than lots of the 16-note grid-based compositions lately.
4. Dominant and major “chords” lead in unexpected directions.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. Too much of the music here is below middle C. Of the notes high on the keyboard, I need to practice landing a little less aggressively.
2. There’s still a little bit of phase distortion in mid frequences, but it’s only noticeable on good headphones at very high volume.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. I’m using the full keyboard here, instead of a drum pad controller as usual (my Korg padKontrol’s settings knob that lets me choose note values broke off). The harmony is simply on the D minor scale, wavering between the natural and melodic minor.
2. I’ve used the patch before. It’s unobtrusive and just floats.
3. Many of the transitions are smooth, even when multiple notes change simultaneously.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. The equalization is terrible, with lots of phase distortion that makes this whole piece sound muddy.
2. Some of the chords are just too clustery.
3. Due to my clunky fingers, sometimes the wrong notes stick out dramatically.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. The harmony is similar to what I used yesterday, except this set of chords descends the circle of fifths (Cm7, Fm7, Bbm7, Ebm7).
2. This patch has a nifty pulse in it that makes the piece seem like it moves faster than it does.
3. Transitions, even with shorter notes than usual, seem to work pretty well.
4. The flanger keeps the long chords interesting.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. Sections without a bass note seem untethered.
2. The cadence at the end is abrupt and the Eb7 chord doesn’t resolve to Ab. This sounds a little strange.
3. There’s just a touch of phase distortion in the 1.5 – 3 kHz frequency range. This should have been eliminated in mixdown.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. The harmony is different, this time, four minor seventh chords ascending the circle of fifths (Gm7, Dm7, Am7, Em7).
2. I really like this patch, which shimmers and floats. I haven’t used it before, but I probably will again in the future.
3. Multi-note transitions work pretty nicely here.
4. Various key combinations yield unexpected surprises, which makes me want to use this harmonic structure again.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. At high volume on good headphones, there’s still a touch of residual phase distortion.
2. There are long periods without a bass foundation. In other places, the bass moves around too quickly.
3. Some spots have tense dissonances that feel out of place in this piece.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. The harmony is easy to play with (Dm7, CM7, Bm7b5, A7).
2. The patch I’m using is one I generally overlook, but I like it in this piece.
3. Transitions are subtle and don’t jerk the ear around too much.
4. The mixdown is clean.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. There are long bassless gaps.
2. I should have used tensions and dissonances more.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. I’ve used this patch before, but I love the subtle ringing aftertouch.
2. The harmony is in descending seventh chords, diatonic to Db (DbM7, Cm7b5, Bbm7, Ab7), making it easy to transition from rich openness to clustering tension with the movement of just a couple of notes.
3. The low notes contrast the highs, but not overbearingly.
4. Transitions are subtle and always shifting.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. A few of the notes are a little bit heavy and stick out too much.
2. I should have done more with effects processing and the mod pad.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. This instrument is very unusual with strange bouncing filter effects, lethargically jumping around. I never thought of using this patch before, but it drives the urgency of the piece and gives it a very unique sound.
2. The harmony is in minor Rhythm Changes (Fm7, DbM7, Gm7b5, C7), which I love a lot, because of the delicious tensions it lends.
3. Multiple note transitions and a faster harmonic rhythm makes this seem more interesting.
4. The low notes contrast the highs beautifully, especially with the filter bounces.
5. There are subtle harmonic phases that make almost imperceptible countermelodies right at the periphery.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. There are places where the lows are gone entirely for an unreasonably long period of time, which makes the piece feel unanchored.
2. I probably could have done more with the aftertouch effects.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. The harmonic structure is in minor rhythm changes (Am7, FM7, Bm7b5, E7). I’ve used it before, but it’s easy to get some nice tensions with this chord progression.
2. It’s very quiet and has a light touch.
3. The effects processing and equalization are unnoticeable, but effectively eliminate most of the distortion that’s endemic in a piece such as this.
4. Moving multiple notes at a time gave a more singing, evocative feel.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. There’s still a touch of phase distortion in a couple of places.
2. There isn’t enough on the high end to counterbalance the deep lows — everything is just sort of in the middle.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.

What I Like About It

1. The harmonic structure is much different than the set ups I usually use. FM7, Am7, BbM7, C7. This made everything mostly consonant, while allowing for tensions that were easily resolved.
2. I used a light ring modulator again, with a number of other effects that flesh out the sound of this pad.
3. There are some beautiful lows and sweeping highs.

What I Don’t Like About It

1. I could have used more challenging harmony.
2. There are long periods with no bass anchor.

Note: These are rough drafts. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course.