Unit 49: Creative Arrangement

I want it that way

Background of the song
The song was the lead single from the Backstreet Boys third album Millenium. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson. It became one their biggest singles, leading three grammy nominations and is considered one of their signature songs. This type of song would be classed as a pure main stream pop song.

Electropop
This musical genre incorporates electronic music and pop music, the main component of electropop is the use of synthesisers and the reliance on electronic instruments. It is known for its simple catchy hooks and dance beats, with more emphasis on the songwriting. Instruments that are typically found in an electropop song are:

Lady Gaga's debut album 'The Fame'
released in 2008

• Drum machine 
• Tape loops
• Keyboards
• Electric guitar 
• Bass guitar 
• Vocoder 
• Synthesisers 

Electropop emerged in the 1970's and since then the popularity of this genre has increased. Back then there were a range of different influences that helped produce this genre, "techno pop" from the Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Also electronic music from British artists such as David Bowie and the electronic-influenced disco from Giorgio Moroder. With recents pop artists such as Kesha and Lady Gaga with both of their debut albums being influenced by electropop and helping them gain international success. Even acts such as Britney Spears have been influenced by this genre, with her hit 'Womanizer' in 2008. There are a lot of similarities between electro pop and House music.

Kesha's debut album 'Animal'
released in 2010

This genre incorporates distinctive low frequency synthesisers, combined with effects such as side chain to create that dance vibe that electropop is associated with. Words often used to describe electro pop include: crisp, crunchy, crackly, fuzzy, warm, distorted. dry and dirty. 

Texture	Electropop relies heavily on the chorus to be the main hook that draws people in and gets them interested in the song.
Structure	The structure is similar to a pop song (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle 8, chorus) However some electropop music sometimes starts with the chorus to catch the listeners attention.
Effects	Common effects that would be used include reverb, compression, delay. But effects that make electro pop similar to House music is the use of side chaining. Side chaining helps create a constant beat, that is the undertone in any electro pop song.
Rhythm/Tempo	The notes in an electro pop song would be mainly short and in some cases staccato. The tempo would be 'bright' and up beat to create the dance party vibe. That is the main purpose of this genre of music.

Track List

Below is a track list of all the different instruments and the timbres I have used to create them. I have also added what effects I added to each of them to create this electro pop feel. There is a total of 17 tracks.

Snare- HALion Sonic SE- (Dance Kicks):

• No effects added to this track

Clap- Sylenth1- (DR Snare)

• EQ- parameter 2 has been slightly raised 

Bass- HALion Sonic SE- (SR T9 & T8 Kit)

• EQ- All parameters have been effected, to create a low shelf 
• Delay- I added 13 mix and a Feedback of 19
• StepFilter
• Panned slightly to the left 
• The volume has been automated at the start of the track, so it slowly increases as the track progresses 

Drum- HALion Sonic SE- (House Multi)

• EQ- The first three parameters have been raised slightly 
• Reverb- A mix of 14 has been added 
• Compression- threshold placed at -36.5 and 18.6 make-up applied 
• Side chained- Drums have been linked to the synth track

Bass Solo- HALion Sonic SE- (SR T9 & T8 Kit)

• EQ- Parameter 4 lowered, to boost the lower frequencies 
• Reverb- Mix of 20 added 

Bass 2- HALion Sonic SE- (Subsonic Bass)

• EQ- Has been automated so it changes throughout the track

Main Tune- Sylenth1- (KEY SkyDrops)

• Automation- Some parts I had to boost the volume so the tune could be heard, then in other parts lowered 
• Reverb- Mix of 88
• Link to the side chain

Guitar stab chords- HALion Sonic SE- (Steel Guitar)

• Automation- Some parts I had to boost the volume so the tune could be heard, then in other parts lowered 
• StepFilter
• EQ- Parameter 3 boosted
• Compression- Threshold at -20.0 and no make-up applied 
• Reverb- Mix of 27

Synth 1- Sylenth1- (KEY StarChild 2)

• Compression- Threshold at -42.9 and the make-up at 8.0

Synth 2- Sylenth1- (BS Basic Bass)

• EQ- Parameter 2

Rift- Sylenth1- (KEY BigSynth)

• Compression- Threshold at -29.5 and the make-up level is at 17.2

Guitar- HALion Sonic SE- (Distortion Guitar)

• Distortion
• EQ- Parameter 1, created a low shelf

Verses- HALion Sonic SE- (1984 Synth Stab)

• Compression- Threshold at -35.5 and the make-up is 19.9

Boom Bass- HALion Sonic SE- (Sub Boom Bass)

• EQ- Parameter 1

Chords- Sylenth1- (ARP ChordPad)

• Compression- Threshold is at -32.3 and the make-up is 21.1

Synth 3- Sylenth1- (ARP Neuron)

• Compression - Threshold is at -30.5 and the make-up is 6.0

End- Sylenth- (SFX DesertWind)

• Delay- Mix of 52 and the feedback was set at 50
• Automation- The volume was automated so it decays at the end

Evaluation

I am very satisfied with the end product because I believe I managed to incorporate this song effectively into my chosen style. I was able to use the core elements of this song which were the verses and the chorus. I was also able to create a rift out of the original melody line, this rift became the main hook for the creative arrangement. Furthermore similar to the electro pop genre I incorporated a lot of synths and manipulated them using the appropriate effects to make the song more similar to the chosen style. 
For example for the Main Tune track, a lot of Reverb was applied, I also made sure that I applied the most Reverb to this track. I did this because I wanted the main tune to be the element that was the most prominent to the listener, with the rift in the background keeping their attention. The use of side chaining was the most important element of this arrangement that I made sure I included and was used effectively to create an electro pop arrangement.

However on the other hand, this creative arrangement isn't perfect and evaluating this piece now I know there are sections that could be improved and other parts added to make the piece even better. For instance I could have taken advantage of the use of effects more, I could have panned different tracks to different areas of the stereo field. This would have helped create more of an atmosphere for listener and could have helped submerse them into the track. The rift in the arrangement could have been automated to pan left to right to give more activity to the piece. Another improvement I could implement if I were to redo this task, would be to experiment more with creating my own melodies and hooks. I would also try to use some samples, maybe from the original song, to link everything together. Lastly I could have hired a performer to sing the chorus or verses, then add effects such as chorus or flanger, to manipulate the vocals and make them sound similar to vocals used in the electro pop genre. More effectively I could add auto tune, which is present in all electro pop song, to make them sound more electronic.

The full creative arrangement can be heard by clicking on the link below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-886671367/i-want-it-that-way