aefenglom | Text; un: Elliot Craig

Entry tags:

Text; un: Elliot Craig

Name: Elliot Craig
Date: 12/13
Format: Text (with an Audio recording)

Hello everyone!

As many people have noticed, there isn't anything in the way of rock music in this world. So my friend Crow and I have been working on synthesizing the sound of rock music instruments using audio illusions using classical instruments and memory. And I'm happy to say, I think we've pulled off!

So I'm here to present the first rock style song in Aefenglom: Unfathomed Force!

Unfortunately, the process of creating a new song with audio illusions takes a long time, not everyone can learn how to do it, and honestly the quality will never be as good as having it played from a real band.

So I was wondering if there was any people out there interested in reverse engineering instruments that make rock music sound. I can help with giving isolated instrument sounds and tell you everything I know about specs, but I'll admit I'm not exactly an instrument maker. So I can't say it'll be easy. But...seeing how many worlds rock music has reached, I think it'd be a really worthwhile project.

Thanks everyone!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They straddled genres fairly uniquely. I can always do it on my own, if it's not really the style you're looking for, but teaching people to play modern music on classic instruments is kind of relevant to my background.

Oh really?

Well, I'd love to learn some! I'm from Zemuria, so my discography knowledge is pretty limited to stuff from there. So the more music from other worlds I can learn, the better!

Edited 2019-12-15 18:58 (UTC)

I have specific categories of interest that may or may not particularly overlap with the style you're looking for, but I've always played the things I like on the instruments I prefer. Violin, cello, concert harp, piano.

Well, even it doesn't overlap, that doesn't mean I can't learn from it. I mean, honestly I'm classically trained, so rock music is already a step away from my genre.

But that's a pretty impressive array of instrument skills!

I won't assume that classical training necessarily means the same thing where we're respectively from, but that's what my background would be described as. I don't do rock music, but I do a lot of other modern music.

Classical training for me is violin, piano, cello, woodwinds, etc. Things you typically find in an symphony orchestra.

That said, I do like dabbling with rock music on the side, so that's kinda why I'm hoping to bring it to Aefenglom. So if you could teach me those Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nick songs over a couple afternoons, I'd be happy to learn another world's music.

Where I'm from, it's less about the instrument that you're playing than what you're learning and how. Musical theory, to read and write (or transcribe) music, classical techniques and style and the difference between the two things, and much of it focused on what we'd consider classical music specifically, thousands of hours of practise, learning about your musical arrangements and coordinating your presentation performances. When we say 'classically trained' it usually means 'this bitch didn't have a life outside of music', although I did because I didn't need the training the same way. I did my undergraduate in the cello although I flirted with a double major cello and vocals.

( her application for the double major was declined for being too fragile to undertake the additional course load, but let's not split hairs. and maybe none of this is that relevant or interesting, but music is indelibly linked to the things (people) she most misses at home, so here she is, rambling about guildhall. )

I can free up some afternoons.

[Elliot meanwhile has to take a moment, because wow, this lady sure just mansplained studying music to him. What is this?]

... Yeah, I have a degree from a music academy? So I do know about all that stuff. I was referring to instrument types because there's people here from worlds with different music technology levels, so their definition what's "classical" is different. There was one guy I taught that in his world, the harpsichord was a recent invention.

I'm glad you're so interested in music, really! And I'd be happy to learn rock songs from your world. But you sound more like you're trying to show off than actually help me with my project. Which can't say I'm interested in, sorry.

Edited 2019-12-18 14:23 (UTC)

Oh. No, like, there's nothing impressive about how I learned personally, I'm a fairy. That I studied music is basically intellectual laziness. I'm not good at it because of training, it's literally magic.

( still sounds dumb when she says it, still doesn't actually sound like an apology. the social awkwardness isn't magical, it's just her. )

I misunderstood your answer. Things are so different here I don't really assume anything any more, and I just wanted to talk to someone about music. I mean, ask for a definition of classical training at home and get seven different answers, the idea it'd be about classic instruments specifically didn't seem like a wild change. I assume even in that scenario probably much of it's the same but like who knows if music academies exist in a place I've never heard of in a different universe or it's like apprenticing to a musician back when where training would be whatever they decided, etcetera.

If you're still not interested, that's fine. I got too enthusiastic. Which is usually the opposite of the problem I have.

( which is just that her personality is terrible. )

Edited (when u think of a better tag in the shower) 2019-12-18 19:16 (UTC)

[That sure is a lot to unpack, right there. From her calling studying music "intellectual laziness" to the long defense of why she said that. At least she doesn't seem well intent, just....]

Right .... you don't talk to human musicians very much, do you?

[Awkward. So very awkward]

At home, I do. More or less constantly.

But it's home. There's no confusion about what the context is, or what we're both talking about, or whatever. I was expecting it to be more of an oh that's the same or oh we do this thing, thing. Showing off has never been an issue so I didn't consider it'd sound like that.

Edited 2019-12-19 19:46 (UTC)

[Well, so much for the theory she just isn't used to how humans interact like mikleo was]

Yeah, well I guess some tones can be easily missed over text.

But...yeah! Looks like we've studied the same thing. Not sure I'd call my studies intellectual laziness though, since it did take a lot of work.

I'll be honest, I'm historically not great in person either.

( which is both a self-deprecating joke, and like, an accurate self-assessment. it's a real skill to actively piss people off when trying to befriend them, and this isn't even the first time she's done it here and the last time there was no text message excuse. )

And no! I mean, for most people it's not. And there were parts of it that I underestimated the work involved (music history, music theory, compositional stuff), but I can hear a piece or read a piece and play it for you, I don't need practise. It was still a good experience, and I think it's been really useful in the sort of work that I do ( which is "sort of" work, ) but in the moment when I decided what to do it was kind of me being afraid of doing anything hard or having a difficult conversation with someone who wanted me to do music, so I did what he wanted me to do.

I appreciate it more than I used to.

Haha, well I...historically know some people like that too.

[That was a joke but boy some of his friends were not great with the social skills.]

Oh, I see. So you went after music because you thought it'd be an easy one to succeed in, because of what you are?

...I think I get it. That could've been me if I hadn't gone to military school first.

More or less. It was really about buying time, giving myself some space to figure some things out without a lot of pressure on. Something I'm good at is low pressure, I thought. I didn't want to jump immediately into a career which was an option I needed a way to turn down without hurting his feelings. Then I got my first book published while I was doing my undergrad, so I actually had something concrete to point to and go: look, I'm not crazy if I want something else.

( it still hurt his feelings, but there was never any real way around that. )

Everybody's got somebody they wouldn't want to hurt, right? We've all done things because it mattered to somebody close to us.

Yeah, I know what you mean. My relationship with my dad isn't so different...though he's not a musician in any sense of the word.

[Still, it was the main reason he ended up at a military academy for a year in the first place, even if he didn't regret the choice]

So you're a writer?

Fathers are invariably complicated. That seems to be the common thread among them, whatever else is going on.

I'm a poet. I sometimes write essays and art reviews, but I'm a poet.

Haha, no argument there.

Oh wow, that's cool! I don't know many poets, so I'd love to see your work sometime if that's alright.

I was kind of raised by a village. I don't think I'd trade it, though.

I'm not shy about it—I'm fairly prolific, although I haven't published anything here—but it isn't to everyone's tastes. Mostly it's about intimacy. My ex called it some of the least sexy poetry he'd ever read about fucking.

Really? That sounds pretty nice actually.

Haha, oh...it's THAT kind of poetry. Well, I still wouldn't mind taking a look sometime. Just maybe not all of it.

I think you might be thinking of something other than what I mean, but that's not unusual. You still probably wouldn't want to read all of it.

I was working on this,

Edited 2020-01-09 22:08 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Text; un: Elliot Craig

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sorry for the late! Was on vacation

i'm just emerging from the christmashole myself 8))

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: domestic abuse