Chords for GLORIOUS MIDI UNICORN

_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [F] _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ [C] _ [A] _
[Db] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ [Dm] _
We did it!
This was my second attempt to make a MIDI unicorn inspired by Savant's amazing musical drawings on his Facebook page.
_ [Bb] I've learned so much on this journey.
I showed this in more detail in my last video,
but essentially I edit a drawing down just to some basic lines,
print it onto a sheet of transparency film, and put that over my laptop screen so I can trace it with MIDI notes.
This gives us a good image, but it sounds like junk.
_ _ _ _ _ [Dbm] _ [Db] _
[Eb] So this is the part where you get composing, and a lot of people ask me why I didn't just use some of the software
tools that will automatically move all the notes to be in the [E] same key,
and that's because that just sounds like slightly [A] better junk.
If you've ever heard someone plonking around on just the [F] white piano keys,
they are [A] playing perfectly in C major, _
but there isn't too much else that's musical about it.
Popular music requires a crafted relationship between notes in both pitch and time.
So the challenge in this process was to come up with melodies and harmonies that stuck to the overall shape of the picture.
One thing
I did change and draw freehand was the unicorn's horn because on my mask it kind of points in a weird direction. _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [A] And it was a really [N] different kind of composing process because I'd just be working on tiny
sections at a time, and then I'd zoom out and make sure that the picture still looked good,
and then I'd have to check and see if what I just did worked with what came before.
Sometimes I'd have an idea of what would sound good,
but it wouldn't work visually, so I'd have to keep tweaking it and tweaking it until it did work, or
abandon it altogether and come up with a new idea.
Interestingly, the parts in the picture with the most notes were the easiest to [Ab] compose with.
There were a lot more options for what I
could do and still have it look like a unicorn.
Over here in the unicorn's mane,
I needed this general upward movement,
but I could get away with a lot and still have it look like hair.
By the time I got to the mouth and nose,
there are only two or three notes being played at a time, and they really have to work together to make a specific shape while
still sounding good.
So that was my experience with making a MIDI unicorn.
I have to say it was super satisfying because you get the satisfaction of making a piece of music [Eb] and
making a drawing and the fact that they're [Bbm] working together to make [Ab] each other.
I have no idea if this is [Fm] how Savant is doing his drawings.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Eb] he just draws them freehand without [C] even listening.
If you're like me though,
you'll do it through [Ab] experimentation and sheer force of will, and if you do do a MIDI drawing, I would love to_
Ha ha, do do.
If you make a music drawing of your own,
I would love to check it out, put it on Twitter or Instagram and tag me.
Thank you so much [F] for watching.
My name is Andrew Huang.
I would like to high-five you and here is [Ab] one more drawing for the road. _ _ _
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