What is a pentatonic scale?

A pentatonic scale is a musical scale that only uses five notes. The two main types of this scale are pentatonic major and pentatonic minor. A major pentatonic scale consists of all the notes of a natural major scale with the 4th and 7th notes of the scale missing so it contains the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the scale. Similarly, the pentatonic minor scale consists of all the notes of the natural minor scale except the 2nd and the 6th. This means that it is made up of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes of the scale. According to percussionsounds.com, the pentatonic scale helps musicians with improvisation. It is also beneficial because it has no semi-tones. This means that there will be no suspense or tension. As a result, the notes of the scale should fit nicely together giving the melody a smooth R&B sound.

Tempo

I again used whippedcreamsounds.com to research the most common tempos used in R&B music. The article mentions that tempo does not define the genre of R&B music so it does not matter if you go out of the average tempo range. However, the article analyses the BPM of 50 R&B tracks and came to the conclusion that the average tempo used in the genre ranges from 80-120 BPM (beats per minute).

Summary

The research from the first week of R&B melody writing has taught me that manipulating rhythm and pitch can establish a simple melody. In addition to this, R&B music can be written using a range of different major and minor scales and typically has a much slower tempo to other music genres ranging from 80-120 BPM.

How to write a call and response melody

The Flypaper article points out that keeping a melody simple and not overly complicated allows the listener to familiarise themselves with the melody, making it catchy. To keep the melody simple, you could restrict the amount of different notes used and use a consistent rhythm that is not constantly evolving. In the EDMProd video, he describes the most important element of a call and response melody as the tones/sounds used. He says that you should use sounds that blend together but still have their own unique sound so that they have presence in the melody. He creates the melody using a piano sound for the call phrase and using a bell sound for the response. The two phrases use the same rhythm. However, the piano is a darker sound while the bell is more bright. This is how he uses the voicing to differentiate the call from the response to structure the melody as if it was a conversation. Furthermore, he uses three notes to start with for the call section then duplicates it and moves it two semi-tones down. In the response section, he does the exact same thing and takes away the final note. This structuring of the call and response melody is something I will be using to write my own with the application of the stylistic features of R&B discussed in week 1.

Writing my call and response melody

To write my version of the call and response melody, I will be using two different tones like EDMProd. These will be an electric piano sound and a bell sound which are commonly used in R&B (instrumentation and stylistic features of R&B will be analysed in week 3). Using the F minor pentatonic scale already restricts me to the maximum usage of five notes meaning I can keep the melody simple like the flypaper article suggests. The electric piano will be the call, while the bell will be the response. An example of a call and response melody in the R&B genre is "Dead man walking" by Brent Faiyaz. At around 26 seconds into the track, a synth pluck sound is introduced. The melody plays one note, briefly pauses, then plays two more notes. The first note is the call followed by the response of the resolving two notes. This call and response melody becomes the main and most prominent melody heard throughout the track. It is simple and catchy to the listener as the call and response section altogether is made up of three notes which is easy for the listener to follow along to. This is an example that helped me understand that call and response is also important in R&B for writing a catchy melody.

Summary

From my research for this week, I can infer that call and response melodies are quite simple but can be used in R&B to establish a catchy melody. From the EDMProd video, I can also gather that using two different sounds that blend together will make the melody stand out more to the listener.

Synths

One of the most common sounds used in modern R&B is synths. Synthesisers are particularly dominant in mainstream R&B music used by artists such as Drake, The Weeknd and Brent Faiyaz. Stefan guy uses Serum to construct his R&B synths. The synths he uses have a bright tone but still some low-end frequencies. Synth pads are used frequently to be layered underneath chords in R&B. They can add tension to a track giving it a darker or a brighter tone. I will be using a pad to layer over my chord progression to already give it a more R&B feel before even altering the melody. Synth plucks are also widely used in R&B. They are usually used in the main melody or counter melody. They are heavily prominent in Brent Faiyaz's music such as "Jackie Brown" and "Dead man walking". The synth pluck in general is usually a brighter sound used to establish a catchy melody. Another extremely common synth sound used in R&B music is the synth bell. The synth bell can be heard in the first and final section of the track "Lie again" by Giveon. The synth bell is typically a bright sound with mainly high-end frequencies. It generates a brighter tone contrasting to other sounds used in R&B such as pianos and electric pianos.

Pianos and electric pianos

Piano sounds are incorporated frequently in R&B and are used to write melodies and chord progressions. Soft and mellow pianos are a key stylistic feature of R&B to generate a calm, soothing tone typically used in tracks with an emotional feel. Soft piano and electric piano sounds are used by artists such as Giveon or Daniel Caesar, who usually makes emotional modern R&B music. In the track "Always" by Daniel Caesar, an electric piano is introduced first to set the tone of the track. This gives the listener a soft, mellow feel.

Guitars

R&B music also features many guitar sounds whether it is acoustic or electric. Acoustic sounding guitars are more frequently used in 2000s R&B while electric guitars are widely featured in modern R&B. The guitar melody used in Brent Faiyaz's "Talk 2 U" uses an acoustic sounding guitar sound which has similar features to guitars used in 2000s R&B tracks such as "Halfcrazy" by Musiq. In more modern R&B music, electric guitars are more frequently used. These electric guitars usually have a clean tone, giving a similar soft tone that is generated by pianos and electric pianos. An example of a clean electric guitar used in R&B is in "Easily" by Bruno Major. This is a soft guitar sound used as a chord progression as well as a melody. The clean electric guitar is able to give a brighter tone from the higher pitched notes than what would be heard from a piano sound. In a separately linked document titled 'R&B tracks' I have analysed the instrumentation and melodies used in successful R&B tracks which can inspire me to use similar instruments and tones.

Summary

From the research I have conducted this week, I have come to the conclusion that R&B sounds are typically quite bright, mostly high and mid end frequencies with still the presence of some low end frequencies. Furthermore, I have discovered that synths can be used to establish tension which can be used to make a melody feel more unpredictable for the listener. Pianos and electric pianos are more commonly used to create a softer more relaxing tone. Finally, acoustic and electric guitars can be used for a similar function to pianos but can generally sound brighter the higher the pitch.

Layering sounds

Adding different layers to a single sound or melody can make it sound fuller and give it different characteristics without actually manipulating the original sound. In the Hyperbits YouTube tutorial on sound layering, he adds darker and brighter tones to his chords in order to give it a larger sound that is more full. He uses bass and lead sounds to accomplish this. Layering can also be applied to R&B by using R&B instrumentation. For example, a synth pad could be pitched up an octave and layered over an electric piano to give the melody more brightness. Alternatively, another sound can be used and pitched down to give the sound a much darker feel. The technique of layering sounds is useful because it shows that you don't need to do any mixing to enhance the frequencies desired in a melody or counter melody.

Summary

The research from this week has led me to conclude that writing different counter melodies can add more textural variety to my melody and perhaps writing counter melodies that only get played once within the whole track will make it more unpredictable for the listener. Furthermore, layering sounds with other sounds will allow me to bring out different characteristics in the same melody which will ultimately make the instrumentation sound more refined and unique.

Drum terminology

Some further terminology I will be using in the next four weeks are phrases such as; syncopation, polyrhythms, drum fills and swing. A polyrhythm is when multiple drums are following multiple different rhythms. For example, the kick may play on every quarter note while the hi-hat is playing on every sixteenth note. Syncopation is when offbeats are expressed within a rhythm. This is supported by the definition given in the Icon collective article. The expression and emphasis on the off-beats gives an unpredictable element to the rhythm. A drum fill is a phrase or section of a drum groove that differs to the rest of the groove. It is used to transition a previous section into a following section using suspense. As stated by the Landr blog article, swing means that a note or drum hit has been delayed slightly to make it sound more off-beat which links to the concept of syncopation. The article also suggests that this makes the groove sound like a real drummer is playing it. Therefore, swing is useful for humanising a drum pattern if I choose to write a real-time sounding R&B drum pattern this week.

Summary

To summarise the research that has been conducted this week, I have learned about different drum parts used in R&B and the terminology used when writing drum patterns which I will be applying to the grooves I will be writing over the next four weeks. I will now write a simplistic R&B drum pattern used the drum parts I have learnt about this week.

In 'Talk 2 U' by Brent Faiyaz, the kick has for the most part a constant rhythm with occasionally an extra kick playing at the end of a loop for variety. The kick is fairly powerful and has a strong thud sound which makes it go well with the bass guitar. As for the other sounds, a snap and a clap are quite prominent throughout the track. The snap is heard more frequently, with the clap appearing at the end of the loop to break the repetition. I can hear multiple snaps throughout the track. The first one is one without reverb which lacks prominence within the mix. The second snap is one with reverb which has more presence within the mix. Alternating between the two snaps throughout the track creates an unpredictable element in the overall drum pattern. As for the clap, the sound has lots of reverb making it a big suspenseful sound. When it is first used, it acts as a drum fill to tell the listener that the chorus of the track is about to be introduced. In the chorus of the track, a closed hi-hat can be heard which follows the kick pattern and plays a triplet pattern in the B section of the kick. There are also multiple percussion sounds being used for texturing the drum pattern throughout the track such as the shakers and the triangle. The shakers are a high-frequency sound that textures the drum pattern and gives it more bounce and a 2000s R&B feel. As for the triangle, it also serves as a background texture adding a more unpredictable element and more rhythmic variety. This texture sounds give the drum pattern more overall bounce and make it more unpredictable than having just the kick, snap, clap and hi-hat.

Summary

In conclusion, I have discovered that the stylistic features of R&B drum patterns include; having a live-sounding feel and having a strong element of bounce. These are features I will be experimenting with in this week's drum pattern writing process.

Summary

Overall, to make my drum pattern fit into place with the chord progression from week 1, I can establish a steady rhythm by listening to the chords and experimenting by placing different drums over it. Also, I can experiment with the sound selection and swap out different sounds and see which compliments the chords best. For example, the kick may sound too punchy and overpowering so I may want to swap it out with one with less punch and power so that it dis not distracting for the listener.

Velocity

As Apple states, velocity in music is how hard a note is hit. Velocity can be a useful element to manipulate in drum grooves. Playing around with the velocity can make more drums seem more impactful than others. This can create suspense and the unpredictable element I am aiming for. For example, if there was a section of the drum pattern where the kick drum plays two notes in the same beat, the velocity of the first note could be lower making the following note seem more powerful and impactful. The velocity can be changed on any drum in the drum pattern. In Logic Pro X, the velocity can be changed by clicking on the note moving the velocity bar left or right in the left side of the screen. If you wish for the velocity of a group of notes to be the same, you can go to functions in the piano roll, then to MIDI transform and then fixed velocity. You can then match the velocity of a group of notes. Alternatively, to do the opposite, and randomise the velocity of all the notes, go back to MIDI transform and into random velocity.

Summary

As a result, I will be using percussion and velocity this week in order to add the final textures to my drum pattern. The percussion will allow me to add different feels to the drum pattern and texturise it further. As for the velocity, this will allow me to highlight parts of the drum groove for the listener making them more powerful.