RAYZOON

eed Help with My Song', 'Hey guys, Jamstix newbie here. I'd like to use Jamstix to create the drum track for my song.

https://soundcloud.com/user-949498172/m ... RGdJ7sVyuI

This is just a rough mix with a one-pass guide vocal which even has some clipping that I haven't removed, so please forgive the imperfections.

The problem is, Jamstix requires me to specify a very detailed outline of the structure of the song - the different parts and the number of bars for each part, etc., and I'm not so well versed in music theory as I only play by ear. Here's the lyrics of the song:

[i:d26dcd9b68]My Faraway Friend

I.
Can you hear me callin', my faraway friend
I still remember the way we were then
So free and easy, I never had a care
So full of wisdom, your silence was rare

Refrain.
(Now | Cause now) we're livin' in a world of persuasion
Forces that keep our minds from the truth
Innocence lost in bad vibration
How could we let it be
Can we still break free
I still remember those times alone in my darkest hours
You came along and showed me the way
You barely spoke, you just stood and listened
Looking at your eyes I could see a fusion of joy and suffering
Just one look at me and I'd know the answer to life's mystery

Bridge.
Reading my mind like a book from page to page
Changing my life in a thousand different ways
Freeing my mind from its dark and lonely cage
You turn my darkest nights into the brightest days

II.
I hope you don't mind my putting into words
Someone so hard to find, I just can't leave behind
You were my only friend, the others weren't real
Tell me it's not the end, cause that's the way I feel

Repeat first 5 lines of Refrain

I know that all I've got to do is call you from deep inside
You'd come along and show me the way
So near yet so far I can feel your presence
Looking at your eyes I could see visions of joy and suffering
Just one look at me and I'd know the answer to life

Coda.
Not a single proof did I ever need
To believe in someone as true as you
A gift from above, a golden seed
You grew and blossomed into one so beautiful and true
[/i:d26dcd9b68]

I'm not even sure if I've labeled the parts of the song correctly, like, maybe what I call "Refrain" should actually be "Chorus".

Long story short, could someone please help me by studying the structure of the song and giving me a list of all the parts such as Intro, Verse, Refrain, Chorus, Bridge, Ending, etc., complete with the number of bars and repetitions for each part that I could enter in Jamstix?

Also, please suggest what drummer, drum kit, style, and other parameters or settings to use that would be most fitting for the song.

Your help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

If you recorded that without a click track, you will have to tempo map the vocal, then Jamstix will follow the tempo fluctuations.
You can then see what length the verse is etc
Once you have tempo mapped and can see what length in bars they are it, clear the song in the song builder and put an intro basic 8th rock beat through the the whole song in the section lengths you need.
This song sounds like it has an 8 bar acoustic guitar intro. This is followed by another 8 bars of guitar and bass, instrumental then the vocals come in. That's 16 bars.
Create 16 bar pattern. Split it how you like, a 4 bar section, repeated 4 times, or a 2 bar section repeated 8 times just experiment with the intro part, till you get something you like.

For example, Jamstix will automatically generate an intro bar, if you put one in the song builder, so start your guitar on bar 3, so it matches with your intro, then tell Jamstix how long each section is in bars and map them out in the song builder to match
You could have Jamstix play silence on the first 6 bars and play a two bar intro fill on the 7th and 8th to lead into the lead guitar section, so they come in at the same time for example.

You can even start with just intro and verse and then add parts as you need them. Then you can experiment with the fills etc, change styles, kits, drummers and see what you like.


You may have to hand edit your bars in the bar editor, if you want specific crashes etc on a particular beat or if you have sang a particularly odd bar length in some places, you will have to add bars and specify how long you want them to be.
Jamstix part names can be called what ever you like to match your song.

The other option is to use a click or basic Jamstix track as a guide to timing and resing your vocal along to it. You can then just build your song in the song builder matching Jamstix parts to the sections.

I would experiment. by just generating a basic 8th rock pattern for the length of the first verse of your song and sing along with it while changing styles to 16th rock or country Or any other style while it is looping, to see if you find something you like.
If you use the clear song button Jamstix will generate a 30 bar long sequence where you can test that the song is in tempo with the drums before you start getting into the detal of verse, chorus, what kit you want or what drummer you want to play it.


I think you need to experiment with Jamstix a bit as it is very powerful but can be a bit confusing at first as there are many ways to use it.
There are a couple of basic tutorials on YouTube that will help you get the hang of it.

Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions! I'll try them.

I hope I'll get past the learning curve that Jamstix requires. It sure is a powerful program and I guess it's all gonna be worth it.

It certainly is. Don't forget with your vocal playing in your daw you can use the tap tempo button (most daws have one) to tap the timing and get yourself in the ball park for tempo.

You may find after doing that, you won't have much adjusting to do.
Just make sure your daw is set NOT to stretch the audio to match the tempo.

I use Reaper and that DAW stretches the audio to match the tempo by default, unless you tell it not to.

You don't want to do that. In this case, you want to change the tempo to match the audio, if you intend to use the audio you have already recorded.

If you are doing a new recording, then with your click track turned on, just sing a few bars of your song and tap the tempo along with yourself singing. Your DAW will change the tempo to match the tempo you tapped. Now when you add drums they should match perfectly with the speed you want to sing your song at.

When I was learning Jamstix I found it useful to build a song made of just one verse and one chorus, then play with that little 8 bar section, changing drummers, styles and playing with the power settings on each part. Play with the fill lengths too.

You can even have one drummer play the verse and another drummer play the chorus or bridge on a part by part basis. You can do the same thing with styles, you can have Charlie play a country rock verse and Carmine play a jazz chorus, followed by James Stix, who rumour has it, is based on Ralph himself, playing the bridge. Great fun to mess about with.

You can only use one kit per song but you can mix and match drums from each kit and save it as your own custom kit.
Hope that helps.

andy_camb wrote: When I was learning Jamstix I found it useful to build a song made of just one verse and one chorus, then play with that little 8 bar section, changing drummers, styles and playing with the power settings on each part. Play with the fill lengths too.

I pretty much did something like this. I just used a whole song I had already written and had all parts known and done. While I was doing this, I was reading and rereading the manual.

One style that I find works great on a new song that I am starting is the Jamstix Classic Style. If you can, learn to use that little grid, it's very powerful! Along with the other features in the Bar Editor and Song Editor, you can get anything you want from this program.