Have you been searching for ways to enhance your tracks and expand your songwriting process using some new tools? Look no further! These tips highlighting Roland Cloud’s SRX STRINGS and SRX ELECTRIC PIANO are sure to get the creative synapses firing in no time. Read on to start soaking up some inspiration from our team and artists Christophe Keyes and Vincent Jones.
INDIE ROCK ELECTRIC PIANO
Turning on its heel after the guitar-driven ’90s, indie rock fell in love with electric piano at the top of the aughts. Alongside Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” Barsuk Records acts Death Cab For Cutie and John Vanderslice took the electric piano to fresh places on “Blacking Out the Friction” and “Letters to the East Coast.”
To explore that boundary-pushing indie vibe, take a listen to “Gumshoe.” This track features SRX ELECTRIC PIANO as fuzz bass using the Amped EP1 patch and a Pitch Shifter effect. The high piano line uses the Melodic EP1 as its base patch and is embellished with a Tape Delay.
STEPS
- Create two instances of SRX ELECTRIC PIANO
- Choose MelodicEP1 and Amped EP1 sounds from the BANK window
- Add onboard MFX, Chorus, and Reverb
- Process tracks with Pitch Shifting and Tape Delay inside your DAW
SKETCHING OUT A POCKET SYMPHONY W/ VINCENT JONES
SRX STRINGS is a powerful tool for enriching your compositions with thick layers of orchestral embellishment. However, sometimes you just want to map out where you’re going, not see the whole continent at once. Composer Vincent Jones (Grown-ish, F is For Family, #BlackAF, theme for Parks and Recreation) is no stranger to working with bowed instruments and orchestration.
Take a listen to Vincent’s version of the Parks and Recreation theme using SRX STRINGS for an example of how to use the instrument to plan out your masterpiece. Try using SRX STRINGS to build a framework for what an orchestra would do on your track. You don’t even have to break up your string sections into multiple voicings at first. A patch like SRX ORCHESTRA can help you quickly hear what the whole orchestra might sound like.
STEPS
- Play your basic track on an SRX STRINGS full orchestra patch
- Create three instances of SRX STRINGS copying the entire MIDI track
- Assign each track a different part of the ensemble: cello, viola, violin
- Remove MIDI information to create your own string section
USING STRINGS TO CRAFT BIG HOOKS
Sometimes strings want to do more than just lay in the background and create a sense of drama—they become a central hook in the song itself. For example, take Carly Rae Jepsen’s smash “Call Me Maybe,” produced by recent Roland Cloud interviewee Dave Ogilvie. The staccato Philly-soul string motif in the chorus is the earworm.
Then there is a ’70s classic like Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” a song drenched in indelible string hooks, like the ascending marking the chorus’ entrance. Hard not to sing along with, isn’t it? Below are some inspirational tips to make your songs sing using SRX STRINGS.
- Ditch the guitar solo and use a preset in SRX STRINGS to create a punchy lead.
EXAMPLES: “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra, “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
- Fill in the holes around a lead vocal with well-punctuated string blasts using SRX STRINGS.
EXAMPLES: “Viva Le Vida” by Coldplay, “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney
- Start your song off with a sweeping string entrance with SRX STRINGS.
EXAMPLES: “Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins, “Keep the Car Running” by Arcade Fire
"These are some of the best strings I think any company has produced to date. What I like the most about the strings is when you start stacking you can get a lush rich sound that rivals the Philharmonic when done properly."
CHRISTOPHE KEYES
AUGMENTING ATMOSPHERE WITH LYNCHIAN SOUNDS
The films of David Lynch are famously unsettling, and the music of composer Angelo Badalamenti plays a large part in creating that malevolent atmosphere. On legendary themes like the ones for Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks Badalamenti displays a mastery of both classical conventions and noir stylings.
Listen to “Fallen Star” with its mood of quiet menace. On the track, bells twinkle above a gentle SRX ELECTRIC PIANO, hinting at something wicked just around the corner. Here’s how to achieve the “Fallen Star” sound that will help you earn a “damn fine cup of coffee!”
STEPS
- Create two instances of SRX ELECTRIC PIANO
- Click BANK and choose PhasClav CB for the bells and St. Trem EP1 for piano
- Add onboard Chorus, and Reverb to both tracks
- Add additional reverb in your DAW—never too much in this genre
