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Berklee
college of
music
Time Lapse
Culminating Experience
Tyler Sasso
Masters of Contemporary Performance
The Meaning of Time Lapse
¡ Time lapse is a technique used in photography
that combines several photos over time and
shows the progression through a scene.
¡ In this project, my original recordings will act as
the individual photos of a specific point in my
career.
¡ Together they will show a progression over time
leading from where I was musically before
Berklee, to where I am now after having spent a
year incorporating new techniques and
influences.
Berklee
College of
Music
Musical Background
¡ Guitarist/Composer from Windsor, Ontario, Canada
beginning at age seven.
¡ Studied two years of classical as well as two years of
jazz in undergraduate program.
¡ Performed and composed primarily classic rock
and progressive rock outside of school.
¡ Interests include recording demos and using
programs such as GarageBand to compose and
build songs.
Berklee
college of
music
Major Influences
¡ Primary genres of interest are classic rock and
progressive rock/metal.
¡ Classic rock influences include: Led Zeppelin, The
Eagles, Billy Joel, Foreigner, Van Halen, Guns N’
Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Journey, Peter Frampton,
Queen, and The Who.
¡ Progressive influences include: Pink Floyd, Rush,
Yes, and Dream Theater.
¡ Top Guitar Influences: Jimmy Page, David
Gilmour, Eddie Van Halen, John Petrucci, Steve
Howe, Alex Lifeson, Eric Clapton, Slash, and Brian
May.
Berklee
college of
music
Experience Gained from
Berklee Classes
¡ To expand on performance techniques,
searching for new chord colours, melodic
textures, and exploring new genres and themes.
¡ To show an increase in production concepts
including recording, mixing, and properly using
effects such as EQ and compression.
¡ To have a stronger business sense in the form of
self-promotion and efficiently using social media
and email lists.
¡ A chance to experiment with new techniques
and work with musicians from different influences.
Berklee
College of
Music
The Songs
¡ The focus of the project centers around six
original compositions.
¡ Three of which were written before attending
Berklee, and the next three were written over the
course of the year.
¡ Each were written with different goals in mind for
performance, composition, and technique.
¡ The overall goal for each song was to be
different from one another and to incorporate
something unique into each song.
Berklee
college of
music
The Writing Process
¡ Each song began with either a riff or chord
progression played on the guitar.
¡ Some songs used the acoustic guitar to get a rich
raw sound and to keep a softer dynamic.
¡ The electric guitar is primarily used to create a
wide range of effects that include distortion,
delay, chorus and more.
¡ Each song was written with the intent to
incorporate different stylistic techniques and
bring them into a rock setting.
Berklee
college of
music
The
Old Three
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
¡ Vocals : Jana Sustersic
¡ Guitar/Keyboards: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Andrea Fraenzel
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Nick Zeigler
¡ Mastered by: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
Berklee Master
Careless Words
¡ The primary goal was to create a song with a
progressive feel but to be concise and contain
only necessary information.
¡ It was also a test to write a song with a shorter
time, aiming for a four minute mark.
¡ Careless Words was written in the second half of
my undergraduate degree.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
¡ Revamping the song began with taking out the
instrumental prelude, leaving the focus to be just
on the primary section.
¡ The order of the song was changed slightly to
include a shortening of the section before each
verse.
¡ This helped to keep the listener’s attention
because the song was now less repetitive.
¡ In addition, a chorus was added after the solo.
¡ A slightly higher tempo was chosen.
¡ This created a better flow and stronger ending.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
Guitar
¡ Utilizes a combination of both acoustic and
electric guitars.
¡ The acoustics are layered in two, with one using
a drop D tuning and capo on the 2nd fret.
¡ The electrics are layered with three main guitars
and a fourth harmony (which enters later in the
song).
¡ The use of different guitars was an effective way
to build dynamics for the end while retaining the
initial feel of the song.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
Mix
¡ The mixing focus of this song was to balance the
instruments in order to properly represent the
dynamics.
¡ The feeling of space was key while avoiding
drowning it in reverb.
¡ Use of effects such as delay on the vocals and
lead guitar helped create the sense of space.
¡ Early attempt at getting a better mix out of drums
and bass.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
¡ Vocals: Kyle ‘Wolfgang’ Gibbard
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums : Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Nick Zeigler
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Melody by: Kyle Gibbard
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
Berklee Master
Follow the Road
¡ The initial goal of Follow the Road was to write a
song built around the acoustic guitar.
¡ The acoustic guitar offers the ability to strum
chords differently than you would on an electric
guitar and was an aspect I wanted to include in
an original song.
¡ It was a chance to create a song similar to the
acoustic tracks of the Eagles and the Black
Crows; combining the acoustic guitar with a full
band arrangement.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
¡ Was one of the first songs that I had written the
lyrics for that seemed to work as a storyline.
¡ The melody was created by the singer after two
run-throughs of the song.
¡ It had the ability to be performed as an acoustic
duo but the middle section also had the
foundation to incorporate a bigger sound
spectrum of layered acoustic guitars, drums, and
bass.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
Guitar
¡ The guitar for this song was tuned to D Major (D,
A, D, F#, A, D).
¡ It is an open tuning that allows the guitar to not
be fretted but still sound a full chord.
¡ The different layout of the fret board led to the
discovery of the intro riff.
¡ The recording contains one primary acoustic, a
secondary ‘double’ in the middle of the song, as
well as a 12 string to follow the dynamics of a full
band.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
Mix
¡ Before basic tracking was completed for this
song, some pre-session work was done.
¡ This included taking the original vocals and 12
string guitar, placing them into a new Pro Tools
file, and creating a click track.
¡ The old tracks could still be used and the new
tracks could be recorded over them.
¡ Some of the acoustics were re-recorded at my
home studio to better create the doubled guitar
effect.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
¡ Vocals: Kyle ‘Wolfgang’ Gibbard
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
¡ Guitar/Keyboards: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Randy Schroeder
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Melody by: Kyle Gibbard
Berklee Master
Turning Point
¡ The vision for Turning Point was to create a song
based primarily around progressive ideas.
¡ There was no initial restrictions on a time, rather the
music was to develop in a way that flowed best.
¡ This was a first attempt at creating a song that
followed more of a 70’s theme than an 80’s (i.e. no
synthesizers).
¡ Writing for Turning Point began with the idea to
create a guitar line that did not focus on chords,
but more on an arpeggiated style as heard in the
intro.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
Guitar
¡ The primary guitar in Turning Point is a clean guitar
with chorus added.
¡ The chorus adds a sparkle to the guitar, allowing for
a crisp and clear sound to both create a unique
sound as well as to cut through the mix.
¡ The clean guitar focuses mainly on playing
arpeggiated style chords, allowing for room to play
off and at times harmonize with what the keyboard
is playing.
¡ This is also the first song that incorporates jazz style
chords.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
Guitar
¡ Using these style of chords adds more colour and
emotion to the song than normal power or open
chords could achieve.
¡ This was one of the first steps in the interest of
combining aspects of jazz into rock to help
expand the possibilities still within the rock form.
¡ Although it is not a direct jazz guitar playing style,
the influence from jazz playing helps to see what
potential a chord might have and how it might
change the effect of the song.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
Mix
¡ The vocals for this song was completed using the
original demo tape similar to Follow the Road.
¡ Because of this, a similar Pro Tools session was set up
ahead of recording the basic tracking.
¡ Mixing presented some complications, primarily with
bleed-through on the drums.
¡ This was partially resolved with automated volume
within Pro Tools as well as changes in panning.
¡ This was also the first song to re-amp the D.I. bass
using a guitar amp plug-in to create a warmer and
fuller bass tone.
¡ Turning Point was the first song to use a Rhodes style
keyboard.
Berklee
college of
music
The
New Three
Berklee
college of
music
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ Vocals: Luis Regidor Pain
¡ Guitar/Piano/Organ: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Robert Roddy
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
Berklee Master
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ The purpose for this song was to complete and
expand on some of the ideas brought out by
Follow the Road.
¡ This includes the use of the acoustic guitar
strumming chords using most of the strings to
create a thick sound.
¡ The style of how the band works differently with
this song was influenced by the Eagles’ later
work, especially their ‘Long Road out of Eden’
album.
Berklee
college of
music
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ This song was also an opportunity to try out some
of the jazz ideas taught within lessons.
¡ Though it is not directly playing a solo jazz guitar
piece, it is more the idea of the guitar focusing
from the top string down (essentially the melody
instead of bass).
¡ This helped to see how to combine chords with
more texture on the top note and to expand and
accent the vocal melody.
Berklee
college of
music
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Guitar
¡ For this song, the acoustic is again tuned to an
open tuning, this time A Major (E, A, E, A, C#, E)
¡ Originally, it was intended to be played on the
electric guitar (as heard in the demo).
¡ The guitar is divided into two parts, one playing
the primary chords while the other played more
diverse and moving chords.
¡ The second guitar also plays higher up the fret
board to focus on a different range out of the
way of the first guitar.
Berklee
college of
music
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Mix
¡ The recording for this song was done without
outside help.
¡ The drums and vocals were recorded in smaller
studios, the guitars and bass were recorded at my
home studio, and the piano and organ were done
through MIDI.
¡ Each was done separately starting with the drums
playing over a rough guide track.
¡ This was the last track to be recorded after using
upwards of 40 hours spent in the on campus studios
between all of the tracks (not including recording
outside or mixing sessions).
Berklee
college of
music
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Mix
Berklee
college of
music
The piano in room B89, used for the
recording. Due to tuning issues, the
track was not kept in the final
recording. Four microphones were
sent to the Mbox.
The drums in Studio A, used in for the
recording.
Distant Journey
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Tabla: MT
¡ Engineered by: Kyle Pyke
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Music by: Tyler Sasso
Berklee
college of
music
Rehearsal Recording
Berklee Master
Distant Journey
¡ The primary goal for this song was to create a
more modern heavier style similar to John
Petrucci’s solo album ‘Suspended Animation’, as
well as some of Steve Vai’s work.
¡ The song was to be an instrumental, focusing on
the electric guitar.
¡ The final mix was key to creating the modern
sound that was desired.
¡ It was also a chance to use new instrumentation
such as the tabla.
Berklee
college of
music
Distant Journey
¡ The song began with the introductory riff.
¡ The song is organized into three primary sections.
¡ This was my first instrumental which meant there
was plenty of uncharted territory to explore.
¡ The chance to write a more intricate and
virtuosic style solo using techniques such as
alternate picking, tapping, and sweep picking.
¡ It was a chance to follow a different mode and
test out new scales.
Berklee
college of
music
Distant Journey
Guitar
¡ Though the initial guitar plays an arpeggiated
line, the main guitar is a heavier comp playing
lower chords.
¡ To achieve the lower notes, all the guitars were
tuned to double drop D (D,A,D,G,B,D).
¡ The solo guitar was tuned standard.
¡ A high use of harmony on the guitar is used
throughout the song, at times up to five layers.
¡ Effects such as flanger are used to give an edge
to selected parts of the guitar.
Berklee
college of
music
Distant Journey
Mix
¡ This was the first time using a plug-in called
‘Trigger’. It adds a sample to a drum hit allowing
you to center in on the specific sound you want.
¡ This was used only on the snare to get a tight skin
sound that cuts through the mix, but also has no
rings or overtones.
¡ A lot of time was spent mixing the toms to get a
crisp and deep sound that matches modern
sounds.
Berklee
college of
music
Distant Journey
Mix
¡ To close in on the specific guitar tone, the guitar
was sent though a ‘MXR Super Badass Distortion
Pedal’ and then straight into Pro Tools through
the Mbox Pro.
¡ Plug-ins such as EQ, Low Pass, Compression and
Eleven Free were used and tweaked to create
the desired sound.
Berklee
college of
music
Out of Berklee Studios
Apartment Studio
Valencia, Spain
Home Studio
Windsor, Ontario
Berklee
college of
music
Back Home
¡ Vocals: Luis Regidor Pain
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Andrea Fraenzel
¡ Drums: Carlos Ballester
¡ Engineered by: Alayna Hughes
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
Berklee
college of
music
Rehearsal Recording
Berklee Master
Back Home
¡ The primary goals of this song were taken from
many of the ideas suggested during our
production class for our first project.
¡ Some of these ideas have not been used before
in my writing process and this gave me the
opportunity to try them.
¡ Some of these included writing lyrics in a clearer
way; keeping the song format to one that’s not
as complex and creating hooks that stick with
the listener, such as a chorus.
Berklee
college of
music
Back Home
¡ I also intended to try and keep the song closer to
a modern pop style as far as not containing too
many sections, leaving the focus for the hook.
¡ With the hook being the chorus, the rest of the
song essentially needed to build its way back up
to the chorus.
¡ The order went through several major changes
until the song became clearer and had an
approach that was more stylistically appropriate.
¡ The song began with influences from bands such
as Rush and Van Halen.
Berklee
college of
music
Back Home
Guitar
¡ The main rhythm guitar section contains two guitars,
each playing similar chords, however, in different
positions on the guitar so as not to have them play
in unison. This allows for each guitar to be clear in
the mix.
¡ The intro guitar contains a few effects to create the
sound that is heard. These include delay, chorus,
and a panning effect.
¡ On the bridge, two separate clean guitars play the
same line, with one being an octave higher to
simulate a 12 string guitar.
¡ This song also uses a wide variety of harmonized
guitar lines.
Berklee
college of
music
Back Home
Mix
¡ Back Home was initially mixed in first semester.
¡ It was later remixed following some of the suggestions
given when the project was initially submitted.
¡ Back Home was the first song suggested for use with
Trigger.
¡ When remixing and starting at the drums, I focused on a
better kick sound as well as using Trigger on the snare.
¡ I was also able to apply new techniques that I had
learned after first semester.
¡ These techniques included isolating the toms, adding a
low pass to lead guitars, switching and layering
harmonies, and using limiters and master compressors.
Berklee
college of
music
Putting it All Together
The
~Acoustic Waves~
Project
¡ ~Acoustic Waves~ I am currently a part of this
duo.
¡ At first, it was a great way to earn some money
playing jazz standards at banquets and charities.
¡ Also, it was a chance to play modern music at
festivals and outdoor shows.
¡ It is an opportunity to use my training from
Berklee
Berklee
college of
music
Putting it All Together
Performance
§ Techniques taught in private lessons has given
me the skills to better accompany the singer.
§ This includes a wider array of arrangements of
songs (not just playing what's on the page),
exploring various chord colours and structures, as
well as being able to perform solo to give the
singer a break.
§ This will add individuality to the songs we play as
well as to make it more interesting to perform.
Berklee
college of
music
Putting it All Together
Production
¡ Our group now has a way to be able to record
songs on our own with high quality.
¡ These recordings can be used for promotion,
social media, as well as to release an album.
¡ With the tools taught in production, we can
properly produce our sound to tape as well as
take control over the sound and direction
through mic placement for general mixing and
mastering.
Berklee
college of
music
Putting it All Together
Business
¡ There are a few plans in mind for the future of the
band such as beginning to write original songs for
the project, as well as to add more instruments
such as drums and bass to further our songwriting
and performance opportunities.
¡ The business classes provided valuable
information that will be applied in the future.
Berklee
college of
music
Putting it All Together
¡ These include properly setting up social media
such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
¡ It is crucial to properly use these sites to get the
most benefit, such as keeping fans involved and
interested though messages written on
Facebook, as well as having new material
presented to fans on YouTube in a timely matter.
¡ An E-mail list is also very important to keep track
of your popularity as well as staying connected.
¡ We hope to apply these soon and see what
impact they have.
Berklee
college of
music
Over the Rainbow
¡ Performed by: ~Acoustic Waves~
¡ Vocals: Lisette Gagnon
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Engineered by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Music By: Harold Arlen
¡ Lyrics By: E.Y. Harburg
Berklee
college of
music
Video Performance
Berklee
college of
music
Thank You
Berklee Valencia 2013/2014
Tyler Sasso
college of
music
Time Lapse
Culminating Experience
Tyler Sasso
Masters of Contemporary Performance
The Meaning of Time Lapse
¡ Time lapse is a technique used in photography
that combines several photos over time and
shows the progression through a scene.
¡ In this project, my original recordings will act as
the individual photos of a specific point in my
career.
¡ Together they will show a progression over time
leading from where I was musically before
Berklee, to where I am now after having spent a
year incorporating new techniques and
influences.
Berklee
College of
Music
Musical Background
¡ Guitarist/Composer from Windsor, Ontario, Canada
beginning at age seven.
¡ Studied two years of classical as well as two years of
jazz in undergraduate program.
¡ Performed and composed primarily classic rock
and progressive rock outside of school.
¡ Interests include recording demos and using
programs such as GarageBand to compose and
build songs.
Berklee
college of
music
Major Influences
¡ Primary genres of interest are classic rock and
progressive rock/metal.
¡ Classic rock influences include: Led Zeppelin, The
Eagles, Billy Joel, Foreigner, Van Halen, Guns N’
Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Journey, Peter Frampton,
Queen, and The Who.
¡ Progressive influences include: Pink Floyd, Rush,
Yes, and Dream Theater.
¡ Top Guitar Influences: Jimmy Page, David
Gilmour, Eddie Van Halen, John Petrucci, Steve
Howe, Alex Lifeson, Eric Clapton, Slash, and Brian
May.
Berklee
college of
music
Experience Gained from
Berklee Classes
¡ To expand on performance techniques,
searching for new chord colours, melodic
textures, and exploring new genres and themes.
¡ To show an increase in production concepts
including recording, mixing, and properly using
effects such as EQ and compression.
¡ To have a stronger business sense in the form of
self-promotion and efficiently using social media
and email lists.
¡ A chance to experiment with new techniques
and work with musicians from different influences.
Berklee
College of
Music
The Songs
¡ The focus of the project centers around six
original compositions.
¡ Three of which were written before attending
Berklee, and the next three were written over the
course of the year.
¡ Each were written with different goals in mind for
performance, composition, and technique.
¡ The overall goal for each song was to be
different from one another and to incorporate
something unique into each song.
Berklee
college of
music
The Writing Process
¡ Each song began with either a riff or chord
progression played on the guitar.
¡ Some songs used the acoustic guitar to get a rich
raw sound and to keep a softer dynamic.
¡ The electric guitar is primarily used to create a
wide range of effects that include distortion,
delay, chorus and more.
¡ Each song was written with the intent to
incorporate different stylistic techniques and
bring them into a rock setting.
Berklee
college of
music
The
Old Three
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
¡ Vocals : Jana Sustersic
¡ Guitar/Keyboards: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Andrea Fraenzel
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Nick Zeigler
¡ Mastered by: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
Berklee Master
Careless Words
¡ The primary goal was to create a song with a
progressive feel but to be concise and contain
only necessary information.
¡ It was also a test to write a song with a shorter
time, aiming for a four minute mark.
¡ Careless Words was written in the second half of
my undergraduate degree.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
¡ Revamping the song began with taking out the
instrumental prelude, leaving the focus to be just
on the primary section.
¡ The order of the song was changed slightly to
include a shortening of the section before each
verse.
¡ This helped to keep the listener’s attention
because the song was now less repetitive.
¡ In addition, a chorus was added after the solo.
¡ A slightly higher tempo was chosen.
¡ This created a better flow and stronger ending.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
Guitar
¡ Utilizes a combination of both acoustic and
electric guitars.
¡ The acoustics are layered in two, with one using
a drop D tuning and capo on the 2nd fret.
¡ The electrics are layered with three main guitars
and a fourth harmony (which enters later in the
song).
¡ The use of different guitars was an effective way
to build dynamics for the end while retaining the
initial feel of the song.
Berklee
college of
music
Careless Words
Mix
¡ The mixing focus of this song was to balance the
instruments in order to properly represent the
dynamics.
¡ The feeling of space was key while avoiding
drowning it in reverb.
¡ Use of effects such as delay on the vocals and
lead guitar helped create the sense of space.
¡ Early attempt at getting a better mix out of drums
and bass.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
¡ Vocals: Kyle ‘Wolfgang’ Gibbard
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums : Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Nick Zeigler
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Melody by: Kyle Gibbard
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
Berklee Master
Follow the Road
¡ The initial goal of Follow the Road was to write a
song built around the acoustic guitar.
¡ The acoustic guitar offers the ability to strum
chords differently than you would on an electric
guitar and was an aspect I wanted to include in
an original song.
¡ It was a chance to create a song similar to the
acoustic tracks of the Eagles and the Black
Crows; combining the acoustic guitar with a full
band arrangement.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
¡ Was one of the first songs that I had written the
lyrics for that seemed to work as a storyline.
¡ The melody was created by the singer after two
run-throughs of the song.
¡ It had the ability to be performed as an acoustic
duo but the middle section also had the
foundation to incorporate a bigger sound
spectrum of layered acoustic guitars, drums, and
bass.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
Guitar
¡ The guitar for this song was tuned to D Major (D,
A, D, F#, A, D).
¡ It is an open tuning that allows the guitar to not
be fretted but still sound a full chord.
¡ The different layout of the fret board led to the
discovery of the intro riff.
¡ The recording contains one primary acoustic, a
secondary ‘double’ in the middle of the song, as
well as a 12 string to follow the dynamics of a full
band.
Berklee
college of
music
Follow the Road
Mix
¡ Before basic tracking was completed for this
song, some pre-session work was done.
¡ This included taking the original vocals and 12
string guitar, placing them into a new Pro Tools
file, and creating a click track.
¡ The old tracks could still be used and the new
tracks could be recorded over them.
¡ Some of the acoustics were re-recorded at my
home studio to better create the doubled guitar
effect.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
¡ Vocals: Kyle ‘Wolfgang’ Gibbard
Berklee
college of
music
Original Recording
¡ Guitar/Keyboards: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Randy Schroeder
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Melody by: Kyle Gibbard
Berklee Master
Turning Point
¡ The vision for Turning Point was to create a song
based primarily around progressive ideas.
¡ There was no initial restrictions on a time, rather the
music was to develop in a way that flowed best.
¡ This was a first attempt at creating a song that
followed more of a 70’s theme than an 80’s (i.e. no
synthesizers).
¡ Writing for Turning Point began with the idea to
create a guitar line that did not focus on chords,
but more on an arpeggiated style as heard in the
intro.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
Guitar
¡ The primary guitar in Turning Point is a clean guitar
with chorus added.
¡ The chorus adds a sparkle to the guitar, allowing for
a crisp and clear sound to both create a unique
sound as well as to cut through the mix.
¡ The clean guitar focuses mainly on playing
arpeggiated style chords, allowing for room to play
off and at times harmonize with what the keyboard
is playing.
¡ This is also the first song that incorporates jazz style
chords.
Berklee
college of
music
Turning Point
Guitar
¡ Using these style of chords adds more colour and
emotion to the song than normal power or open
chords could achieve.
¡ This was one of the first steps in the interest of
combining aspects of jazz into rock to help
expand the possibilities still within the rock form.
¡ Although it is not a direct jazz guitar playing style,
the influence from jazz playing helps to see what
potential a chord might have and how it might
change the effect of the song.
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Turning Point
Mix
¡ The vocals for this song was completed using the
original demo tape similar to Follow the Road.
¡ Because of this, a similar Pro Tools session was set up
ahead of recording the basic tracking.
¡ Mixing presented some complications, primarily with
bleed-through on the drums.
¡ This was partially resolved with automated volume
within Pro Tools as well as changes in panning.
¡ This was also the first song to re-amp the D.I. bass
using a guitar amp plug-in to create a warmer and
fuller bass tone.
¡ Turning Point was the first song to use a Rhodes style
keyboard.
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The
New Three
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Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ Vocals: Luis Regidor Pain
¡ Guitar/Piano/Organ: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Robert Roddy
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Engineered by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
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Original Recording
Berklee Master
Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ The purpose for this song was to complete and
expand on some of the ideas brought out by
Follow the Road.
¡ This includes the use of the acoustic guitar
strumming chords using most of the strings to
create a thick sound.
¡ The style of how the band works differently with
this song was influenced by the Eagles’ later
work, especially their ‘Long Road out of Eden’
album.
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Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
¡ This song was also an opportunity to try out some
of the jazz ideas taught within lessons.
¡ Though it is not directly playing a solo jazz guitar
piece, it is more the idea of the guitar focusing
from the top string down (essentially the melody
instead of bass).
¡ This helped to see how to combine chords with
more texture on the top note and to expand and
accent the vocal melody.
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Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Guitar
¡ For this song, the acoustic is again tuned to an
open tuning, this time A Major (E, A, E, A, C#, E)
¡ Originally, it was intended to be played on the
electric guitar (as heard in the demo).
¡ The guitar is divided into two parts, one playing
the primary chords while the other played more
diverse and moving chords.
¡ The second guitar also plays higher up the fret
board to focus on a different range out of the
way of the first guitar.
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Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Mix
¡ The recording for this song was done without
outside help.
¡ The drums and vocals were recorded in smaller
studios, the guitars and bass were recorded at my
home studio, and the piano and organ were done
through MIDI.
¡ Each was done separately starting with the drums
playing over a rough guide track.
¡ This was the last track to be recorded after using
upwards of 40 hours spent in the on campus studios
between all of the tracks (not including recording
outside or mixing sessions).
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Nothing I Wouldn’t Do
Mix
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The piano in room B89, used for the
recording. Due to tuning issues, the
track was not kept in the final
recording. Four microphones were
sent to the Mbox.
The drums in Studio A, used in for the
recording.
Distant Journey
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Daniel Toledo
¡ Drums: Leo Teran
¡ Tabla: MT
¡ Engineered by: Kyle Pyke
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Music by: Tyler Sasso
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Rehearsal Recording
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Distant Journey
¡ The primary goal for this song was to create a
more modern heavier style similar to John
Petrucci’s solo album ‘Suspended Animation’, as
well as some of Steve Vai’s work.
¡ The song was to be an instrumental, focusing on
the electric guitar.
¡ The final mix was key to creating the modern
sound that was desired.
¡ It was also a chance to use new instrumentation
such as the tabla.
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Distant Journey
¡ The song began with the introductory riff.
¡ The song is organized into three primary sections.
¡ This was my first instrumental which meant there
was plenty of uncharted territory to explore.
¡ The chance to write a more intricate and
virtuosic style solo using techniques such as
alternate picking, tapping, and sweep picking.
¡ It was a chance to follow a different mode and
test out new scales.
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Distant Journey
Guitar
¡ Though the initial guitar plays an arpeggiated
line, the main guitar is a heavier comp playing
lower chords.
¡ To achieve the lower notes, all the guitars were
tuned to double drop D (D,A,D,G,B,D).
¡ The solo guitar was tuned standard.
¡ A high use of harmony on the guitar is used
throughout the song, at times up to five layers.
¡ Effects such as flanger are used to give an edge
to selected parts of the guitar.
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Distant Journey
Mix
¡ This was the first time using a plug-in called
‘Trigger’. It adds a sample to a drum hit allowing
you to center in on the specific sound you want.
¡ This was used only on the snare to get a tight skin
sound that cuts through the mix, but also has no
rings or overtones.
¡ A lot of time was spent mixing the toms to get a
crisp and deep sound that matches modern
sounds.
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Distant Journey
Mix
¡ To close in on the specific guitar tone, the guitar
was sent though a ‘MXR Super Badass Distortion
Pedal’ and then straight into Pro Tools through
the Mbox Pro.
¡ Plug-ins such as EQ, Low Pass, Compression and
Eleven Free were used and tweaked to create
the desired sound.
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Out of Berklee Studios
Apartment Studio
Valencia, Spain
Home Studio
Windsor, Ontario
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Back Home
¡ Vocals: Luis Regidor Pain
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Bass: Andrea Fraenzel
¡ Drums: Carlos Ballester
¡ Engineered by: Alayna Hughes
¡ Mastered By: Pierluigi Berberis
¡ Words and Music by: Tyler Sasso
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Rehearsal Recording
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Back Home
¡ The primary goals of this song were taken from
many of the ideas suggested during our
production class for our first project.
¡ Some of these ideas have not been used before
in my writing process and this gave me the
opportunity to try them.
¡ Some of these included writing lyrics in a clearer
way; keeping the song format to one that’s not
as complex and creating hooks that stick with
the listener, such as a chorus.
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Back Home
¡ I also intended to try and keep the song closer to
a modern pop style as far as not containing too
many sections, leaving the focus for the hook.
¡ With the hook being the chorus, the rest of the
song essentially needed to build its way back up
to the chorus.
¡ The order went through several major changes
until the song became clearer and had an
approach that was more stylistically appropriate.
¡ The song began with influences from bands such
as Rush and Van Halen.
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Back Home
Guitar
¡ The main rhythm guitar section contains two guitars,
each playing similar chords, however, in different
positions on the guitar so as not to have them play
in unison. This allows for each guitar to be clear in
the mix.
¡ The intro guitar contains a few effects to create the
sound that is heard. These include delay, chorus,
and a panning effect.
¡ On the bridge, two separate clean guitars play the
same line, with one being an octave higher to
simulate a 12 string guitar.
¡ This song also uses a wide variety of harmonized
guitar lines.
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Back Home
Mix
¡ Back Home was initially mixed in first semester.
¡ It was later remixed following some of the suggestions
given when the project was initially submitted.
¡ Back Home was the first song suggested for use with
Trigger.
¡ When remixing and starting at the drums, I focused on a
better kick sound as well as using Trigger on the snare.
¡ I was also able to apply new techniques that I had
learned after first semester.
¡ These techniques included isolating the toms, adding a
low pass to lead guitars, switching and layering
harmonies, and using limiters and master compressors.
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Putting it All Together
The
~Acoustic Waves~
Project
¡ ~Acoustic Waves~ I am currently a part of this
duo.
¡ At first, it was a great way to earn some money
playing jazz standards at banquets and charities.
¡ Also, it was a chance to play modern music at
festivals and outdoor shows.
¡ It is an opportunity to use my training from
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Putting it All Together
Performance
§ Techniques taught in private lessons has given
me the skills to better accompany the singer.
§ This includes a wider array of arrangements of
songs (not just playing what's on the page),
exploring various chord colours and structures, as
well as being able to perform solo to give the
singer a break.
§ This will add individuality to the songs we play as
well as to make it more interesting to perform.
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Putting it All Together
Production
¡ Our group now has a way to be able to record
songs on our own with high quality.
¡ These recordings can be used for promotion,
social media, as well as to release an album.
¡ With the tools taught in production, we can
properly produce our sound to tape as well as
take control over the sound and direction
through mic placement for general mixing and
mastering.
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Putting it All Together
Business
¡ There are a few plans in mind for the future of the
band such as beginning to write original songs for
the project, as well as to add more instruments
such as drums and bass to further our songwriting
and performance opportunities.
¡ The business classes provided valuable
information that will be applied in the future.
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Putting it All Together
¡ These include properly setting up social media
such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
¡ It is crucial to properly use these sites to get the
most benefit, such as keeping fans involved and
interested though messages written on
Facebook, as well as having new material
presented to fans on YouTube in a timely matter.
¡ An E-mail list is also very important to keep track
of your popularity as well as staying connected.
¡ We hope to apply these soon and see what
impact they have.
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Over the Rainbow
¡ Performed by: ~Acoustic Waves~
¡ Vocals: Lisette Gagnon
¡ Guitar: Tyler Sasso
¡ Engineered by: Tyler Sasso
¡ Music By: Harold Arlen
¡ Lyrics By: E.Y. Harburg
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Video Performance
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Thank You
Berklee Valencia 2013/2014
Tyler Sasso
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