#JAMUARY2023-11

Music often reflects the mood of the creator, and my jam for the eleventh day of Jamuray2023 certainly illustrates that. I'm in a dark place today and I don't feel particularly well, and it certainly came out in the music.

Today's jam again uses the Modal Electronics Skulpt SE virtual-analog synth for the tone generation, and the Zoom G3n to help create the space. I used only three patches from the Skulpt -- a thick, dark pad; a heavy, deep bass; and a sawtooth-based lead that can sound both mournful and anxious.

I used a new effects chain in the G3n today as well. The two-button mono looper returns along with the ice delay, but new today is a stereo chorus, an auto-panning delay, and a particle reverb. These effects, along with the patches chosen on the Skulpt, lend an almost-human voice to portions of the backing soundscapes. I was actually taken aback when I heard some of it.

Everything is performed using the Novation Launchpad Pro again, this time in A minor, and I made an effort to use some repeating melodic figures as well as phrasing that allows some room to breathe -- all before watching a video from Synth Seeker in which he spoke about melody as conversation, and the desirability of leaving spaces in the melody for breath.

I mentioned yesterday that I wasn't really all that enamored with the Skulpt SE, and I'm still not (though today was better than yesterday). It's not a bad synth -- it can make some great sounds, and it's certainly well priced. But I just don't gel with it. Perhaps it's the quirky everything-on-the-diagonal control layout or the cheap-feeling controls. Who knows. At this point, it's still available for sale....