We’ve covered a variety of tracking tips in our tutorials so far with Skunk Anansie guitarist Ace, but here, the ACM tutor has delved into the world of tactics for making your guitar melody stand out.
Here, Ace tells you his tactics for recording guitar tracks, and how harmonising can develop the melodic nature of a lead line.
Here, Ace tells you his tactics for recording guitar tracks, and how harmonising can develop the melodic nature of a lead line.
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TechTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 Hi, it's Ace here.
00:06 We're back in Metropolis Studios.
00:08 And today I want to talk about melodies and simple motifs really.
00:13 Let's try to do something very, very simple just to listen to the ear and
00:18 the way that it just fits into the track.
00:21 So start simple, we can get more complicated as we go along.
00:24 First of all, I'm going to lay down a few tracks.
00:27 So I'm going to do the technique I was talking about before, which is one single
00:30 called chord track, and then maybe some root and fifths underneath to give us a bit
00:35 of a rhythm bass.
00:36 Then I'm going to play some melodies on the top, really, really simple,
00:39 maybe harmonize with them, and use maybe some effects sounds as well.
00:44 So here we go.
00:45 First of all, we're going to lay down the tracks.
00:47 So let's go for the single coil open chord track.
00:50 [MUSIC]
01:20 And here it is with a humbucker.
01:21 [MUSIC]
01:31 Okay, so we flashed a few rhythms down there.
01:45 We'll just quickly balance them up left and right.
01:47 And let's try some really, really simple melodies.
01:50 I'll put a little bit of sound on this.
01:53 It's got a bit of chorus on it, and it's got a bit of delay.
01:56 And then just do something really, really simple, and then maybe harmonize with it.
02:00 Let's see how we go from here.
02:02 [MUSIC]
02:22 Okay, so we put down a really simple melody,
02:25 something that just rolls all the way through the chord sequence,
02:28 and a little motif in there as well with a bit of a sound.
02:31 So now, why not harmonize it?
02:33 The most simplest thing to do, as I say, for me, is to play the same thing,
02:37 but the other way around, okay?
02:39 So let's see if this works.
02:40 It might make a simple, nice harmony for us, okay?
02:43 Keep it simple, and always trust your ear.
02:47 [MUSIC]
03:11 So there you go.
03:12 There's melodies.
03:13 Keeping it simple.
03:14 Listen to your ear.
03:15 Always work on good sounds and solid rhythms,
03:18 and try to find something that kind of flows through the whole piece.
03:22 Hooky is the key, and melodic and tuneful is always a winner.
03:28 [MUSIC]