Ascending Stairs
NOTES ON "ASCENDING STAIRS", "ASCENDING STAIRS (DOWNTEMPO)" and "ASCENDING STAIRS" by SuZanne Ledwith
For the concert-version of Ascending Stairs please refer to "Leaked Live FMT" page.
Notes On "Ascending Stairs" by SuZanne Ledwith
TRACK DATA
Composition tool: MuseScore3, Studio One 5 Professional
Recording tool (DAW): Studio One 5 Professional
Number of tracks: 67
Sound source: Presence XT, Impact XT, Mai-Tai, Mojito (All built-in sound sources of Studio One), TAL-NOIZEMAKER
Guest musicians: SuZanne Ledwith, The Windscale Blues Experiment
Composition and Recording period: Jun 5 2021 - Jan 12 2022
(TI writes:)
In addition, SuZanne's singing on Ascending Stairs has opened up new possibilities for her, and we wanted to explore these possibilities. It's also a way of saying thank you to her for taking part in our live show.
For this version, the performance of the instrumental track is almost identical. The drum pattern is slightly different and the length of the break is different. Also, the place of the Sax, the phrasing and the balance are different, and the tone of our part of the performance has been slightly changed from the live version.
On the other hand, for SuZanne's vocals, we replaced many parts of the Live version with new takes and dubbed in additional vocal tracks.
She was also inspired to try out a new singing style, and sent me a number of takes, which we used to create different combinations and takes.
I had a lot of fun exchanging ideas about ancient Irish culture, Japanese culture and music.
I listened to it over and over again, spaced it out, communicated with her over and over again, reworked the mix, went over it again and again.
For the live version, I did not edit it as much as possible and kept the effects simple, but for this version, I adjusted the reverb and delay in detail, and even for one take, I layered several tracks to adjust the localization and volume. I also handwrote the envelope for the volume control to make sure that the reverb and delay would work well with her voice.
For the vocal part, she herself directed which parts of the take to use and how to balance them. The result is an elaborate 16-track mix of 8 vocal takes and speeches.
We will continue to collaborate with her in the future. She has already sung on some of our Live-version tracks and we are working on a new track.
Notes On (Original) "Ascending Stairs" & "Ascending Stairs (Downtempo)"
Notation Video
Track Data
Composition tool: MuseScore, Studio One 4 Professional
Recording tool (DAW): Studio One 4 Professional
Number of tracks: 53(1st),10(2nd)
Sound source: Presence XT, Impact XT, Mai-Tai, Mojito (All built-in sound sources of Studio One), TAL-NOIZEMAKER
Composition and Recording period: July 17 2020 - Oct 30 2020
[Background]
(TI writes:)
There have been a lot of more experimental songs in recent years, so I wanted to create a song that is easy to listen to next time.
I also wanted to listen to songs like "Susumu Yokota" and "Rei Harakami", which have a similar atmosphere. Both are Japanese musicians of my age, but they are deceased writers and I can no longer afford to listen to their new recordings.
[Composition]
(TM writes:)
I heard a phrase "E-F#-E-D#-C#..." while I was sleeping just after a dream (which I don't remember). After I woke up in that rainy morning, I opened a new blank sheet on MuseScore, a notation software to write it down. It took very short time, perhaps within a day, for me to compose as well as arrange it to an around-50% level.
It seemed to me that it well reflected my sentiment at that time, which might be an effect of COVID and the rainy season but might be something else. It also seems to me now that the sentiment I had was quite common with what is in our track called "Far From The Way" as well as Russian music.
It must be ordinary in general to put chords on it, but we are FMT. I identified the scale (or mode) as A or F# Ionian, developed it into a longer phrase, and added a 6-beat pattern of a dyad phrase on the same scale like ascending stairs. It's like a chord and I think you can say so, but it's composed as a phrase. The title originated from this. Thus, no accompanying chords are designed at all in this track.
The dream phrase is not necessarily the only central melody whereas the ascending phrase was equally central. The ascending one hears something accompanying but in fact we treat it as something much more central and it's developed more complexly on the (sampled) 12-strings guitar. It’s interesting enough (and a little bit funny) that the title comes from the accompaniments rather than melodies, isn’t it?
Usually, I come up with an idea that features quirkness or uniqueness... something interesting that doesn't seem to exist. But it might not be the case this time.
Later, I describe my intentions in composition section by section.
(TI writes:)
Then TM just sent me a motif that had that vibe to it, so I added new melodies, counterparts, and harmonies to it.
Also, as TM wrote, the motifs were created relatively rigorously and logically, so I followed Western classical compositional techniques and theories in creating them.
Therefore, I didn't do anything special in terms of music theory or compositional technique; I just added some harmonies to the motifs that TM created, assuming a counter-melody and a string quartet that I thought "this note or phrase is the right note to add to it". I didn't want to arrange it in a way that would change the mood of the track.
[Sound Creation and Mixing]
(TI writes:)
In this case, I used mostly the tones of acoustic instruments in their natural state.
As for the mix, I concentrated on making each note sound clear and firm without distortion. So I was able to complete the basic mix in a few days. But it was a long process from there. Sometimes I'd leave it alone, listen to it again, and then tweak it a little bit, and repeat.
But if the sound was too clear but too separated, it wouldn't fit in with the music, so I recorded the strings and pad sound in a separate file, and once the mix was put together with just the strings or pad sound, I overlaid the master file. I think this gave a clearer sound image despite the haze.
I also used a lot of effects on top of the effects applied to the tone to make the sound blend in. Specifically, I apply distortion or filters only to the high frequencies of the reverb component, panning to move it around, and so on. I use it a lot, especially on strings and rhythm instruments.
I aimed for a sound that is clear, but the components of the sound are not recognizable.
Also, the featured rhythmic sound is a standard GM sound source called SFX, which I found in the free Musescore standard soundfont.
However, this sound was very bad, with noise mixed in with the attack and release components. These sounds were carefully removed and equalized based on TM's suggestions, and they sounded great.
[Section by Section]
(TM writes:)
Introduction
Basically, this (almost) whole track is scale music, rather than chordal music, following the Ionian mode. It is A Ionian, but begins with F# in order to dilute the key note, which sounds a little bit F# Aeolian. I left the mode ambiguous.
One phrasal block lasts for six beats, though it’s made ambiguous as well. It repeats three times, but changes to dyads in the middle of the second phrase. (And, of course, strictly speaking, it’s not repetition.)
The percussion, which is based on 4/4 meters, joins the piano. Also, the piano is left ambiguous between being the melody and something accompanying. Later in this track, this ascending phrase, which made me tentatively titled “Ascending Stairs”, becomes an accompaniment and plays a central role.
Thus, the Introduction symbolises the world without the start and end or without the central and subordinate roles.
Theme Section 1
This piano motif is almost identical to what I originally wrote down. The mode is something between A Ionian and F# Aeolian, while the melody starts with E and the accompanied dyad with C# and F# without a bass. Again, it’s left ambiguous.
The phrase of “E F# E D# C#” is my first intuition, together with a 6-beat close accompaniment. I came up with this when I was sleeping but a dream had just ended. It was a strange experience to me as I usually make composition more with my thinking or reasoning. I no longer remember the dream, so I’m quite happy not to have forgot the phrase unlike the dream.
Just like the Introduction, while the percussion is on the 4/4 meters, the motif is 6 x 4 beats long in A Ionian. “E F# E D# C#” appears in the first, second and forth times with alternations. The third one is a development. It’s classical to some extent. You might think then that FMT would probably break it in some quirky way, but it’s yes and no, I would say. We will not break it afterwards, which is quite new to us.
Development Section 1
We are not treating what seems an accompaniment of the ascending-stairs phrase as a pure accompaniment. That’s what I found interesting here. A development is normally supposed to alter the melody phrase, but instead the accompaniment in A Ionian (or somewhat F# Aeolian) is developed here as the central role on the 12-strings guitar.
Another thing is that the guitar is central but the bass part is played by it at the same time.
It has an image of weepy rain, perhaps because I started to work on this composition in the rainy season here in Japan, which was exceptionally long in 2020.
Break Section 1
It’s almost F Ionian, but begins with Ab on the piano, which does not imply a major scale (despite being Ionian in a major scale) causes, again, the tonality to remain ambiguous. The key is transformed from A or F# in the Development section into F, which I like as totally different landscapes presented.
The main part shifts from the piano in the Theme Section to the guitar in the Development, and here back to the piano and then expands to ensemble.
Obviously, the percussion shows a poly-rhythm, which repeats a pattern of 4 and half beats. It also contains only single notes throughout; there is virtually no simultaneously sounded notes. I designed the percussion as a "single-note phrase" as well.
Theme Section 2
Developed from the Theme Section, the motif phrase is developed this time, which leads to a climax.
But, as a matter of fact, the development of the melody phrase is just modest; rather, a counter-melody on the viola is added and the piano accompaniment is modified in an emotional manner.
Intermediate Section 1
Nearly B Ionian (starting with a D# bass sound) and 3/4 meters. I think this is very FMT-esque in my view, but don’t think of any other track that takes on a similar style.
The rain stops for a while, whereas clouds get brighter.
Intermediate Section 2
Bb Ionian, but this is the only section in this track close to chordal music. This is located here to let listeners forget the first half, or neutralise it, if you like, at 85 beats per minute.
This section was not included in the version I composed on the first day.
Theme Section 3
Back to A Ionian or F# Aeolian, developed from the Theme Section. The development is subtle in a sense, but almost all of the piano melody is altered while a counter-melody on the marimba is added. This section is relatively depressed so that the final Theme Section 4 sees an explosion (to a certain degree).
The tempo from the start to the Intermediate Section 1 was 75 beats per minute, but was neutralised in Intermediate 2 at 85, then speeds down to 73 before you may know.
Development Section 2
On A Ionian the central guitar is developed and a counter-melody on the strings is added. It’s interesting enough that another counter-melody responds to the developed accompaniment phrase.
Break Section 2
Almost F Ionian. Developed from the Break Section 1, it is played with a totally different set of instruments, together with a polyrhythm of the 4 ½-beats pattern.
Theme Section 4
Even though the motif melody plays on the piano, the counter-melody on the violin becomes central to some extent here towards the climax again.
[Downtempo]
Track Data
Composition tool: MuseScore, Studio One 4 Professional
Recording tool (DAW): Studio One 4 Professional
Number of tracks: 68(1st),3(2nd)
Sound source: Presence XT, Impact XT, Mai-Tai, Mojito (All built-in sound sources of Studio One), TAL-NOIZEMAKER
Composition and Recording period: July 17 2020 - Nov 2 2020
(TI writes:)
I think the beauty of this piece is also in its "resonance" and "harmony". My motivation is to expand that part of the music and make it more pleasant to listen to.
There are "ambient" and "drone" music genres in the world. I like the sound of both of these, but there were times when they were lacking in sound quality. That being said, too much of an instrumental harmony often detracts from the quality of the music, so I try to extract that pleasant element and mix it so that it doesn't become either.
It is not a repetition of the same note over and over again, but a gradual change in strength and weakness, and the shape of the change is not constant.
To do so, the original tempo was too fast, so I slowed the tempo down to the limit (BPM 10) at the slowest point, and the tempo was not constant, but rather fluid and variable.
In addition, I replaced short notes such as guitar and piano with strings and organ sounds to make the harmonies sound better, and the harmonies are more complex.
The string and organ harmonies from the second half of this song are a masterpiece for me.
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