VG Tutorial Part 5: Making of The Song “Down By The Lake”

 

The Intro

  • I use two different guitar tracks to create the intro of the song.
  • In the 1st track I play an A-minor chord over the bass note
  • Here I use SILKs Bass Note Function and decide for F#2 in the Style Phrases.
  • The style of choice is Simple Folk.
  • I then use SILKs Animate Function to build up tension over the first four bars.
  • In the 2nd track, I play higher notes to create a little prelude.
  • Again, I play here an A-minor chord on a higher position on the keyboard (A5/C6) to create a contrastive pitch to the first track.
  • Style of choice: TENDER NOTES

The Main Part

  • In the main part I play the chords A-minor, Gmaj, Gsus4/C and Fmaj.
  • To create a picked sound fundament, I use two different instances of VG SILK.
  • SIMPLE FOLK is the style of choice.
  • For the rhythmical variations I use the Style Phrases F#2, D2, F#2 and D#2.
  • The 2nd track plays a higher version of the chords with the Style: BREAD & BUTTER.
  • The chords A-minor, Gmaj, Gsus4/C and Fmaj are used in the 3rd track.
  • Style of choice : POWER CHORDS

The Bridge

  • The bridge uses three instances of VG SILK playing A-minor, Gmaj7 and Fmaj7.
  • In the 1st track I use the Style: Allegro Ballad.
  • For rhythmical variations I play the Style Phrases F#2 and D#1.
  • For the 2nd track I use the Style: 70s Folk
  • I also use SiLK’s Bass Note Function in this track, playing an accent on A3 and F3.
  • To conclude the bridge I play a melodic idea with a 3rd instance of VG SiLK
  • Style of choice: : ASYMETRIC.
  • The dampened sound is created through an automation of the mod-wheel to apply SILKs damping function.

Downloads

DRUMS-DBTL.WAV
PIANO-BRIDGE-DBTL.WAV
BASS-BRIDGE-DBTL.WAV
PIANO-MAIN-DBTL.WAV
CELLO-MAIN-DBTL.WAV
BASS-MAIN-DBTL.WAV
PADS-INTRO-DBTL.WAV

Intro Silk 1 – midi – DBTL
Intro Silk 2 – midi – DBTL
1. Main Part – Silk 1 – midi – DBTL
2. Main Part – Silk 2 – midi – DBTL
3. Main Part – Silk 3 – midi – DBTL
1. Bridge – Silk 1 – midi – DBTL
2. Bridge – Silk 2 – midi – DBTL
3. Bridge – Silk 3 – midi – DBTL

Down By The Lake: The Song 

Written by Mara Kim & Martin Seyer
Vocals Mara Kim
martinseyer.com
marakim.com
Song tutorial written by Martin Seyer

About the Author or Article

Martin Seyer is a composer, sound designer and music educator who works for the music and media industry in close collaboration with artists, directors and theatre productions.