Polyend Tracker. Week Two. Instrument Parameters, Samples, BPM etc. Red Nemesis Dog Diaries

This version of Greensleeves to a Ground is based on an arrangement crafted by Wolfgang Kostujak.
My wandering thoughts:
During my first week of learning how to use the Polyend Tracker I was simply adding and changing instruments and samples using the ever reliable resource of sheet music.
In week 2 I have been working on building a much longer ‘Song’ and starting to understand the ability to change the behaviour of samples and instruments as well as discovering some limitations.
My Experience: The initial choice of samples is critical as there is clearly a tendency, as here, of being limited to a certain type of sound if sample choices are not sufficiently diverse.
Early changes to the Instrument parameters, like volume, overdrive, reverb and delay have to be ‘lived with’ for the duration of the project.
Any subsequent changes you might like to make, as the project progresses, necessarily alters any earlier music created.
The BPM rate is fixed for the whole song and the tempo in individual Patterns does not appear to be alterable making a change of tempo within the song more of a challenge.
I have underestimated the need to have a decent number and selection of drum samples in a longer project as too few results in a lack of originality within individual patterns.
For the record, the traditional English folk song we know as ‘Greensleeves’ was first registered as a broadside ballad by a Mr Richard Jones in September 1580.
Mr Jones called his offering ‘A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves’ and it didn’t take long for others to adopt, interpret and adapt the tune to create more similar ballads.
Interestingly, Jacques Brel used the melody for his 1964 song ‘Amsterdam’ which David Bowie recorded and was released on the B side of the Sorrow single.
It is well worth a listen if you don’t already know it and coincidentally David Bowie was called David Robert Jones...
This version of Greensleeves to a Ground has 15 different variations, however for the ‘real deal’ I can strongly recommend you have a listen to any performance of the piece by Jordi Savall.
In week 3 I am going to explore the sample edit function and dig deeper into the Instrument Parameter options.
It’s all good...
If you are curious about the potential of the Polyend Tracker in the hands of someone who actually knows what they are doing check out Aisjam: • Polyend Tracker Review...
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