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Dr Lecter

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Of course it will sound different. Kind of the whole point.

But she doesn't want that. She wants to make electronic/dance sounding music. I'm sure she would use more of a regular band with real instruments if someday she made a different type of album that was less dance and electronic based.

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I still don't understand how you expect her to perform her electronic music from her albums on her tours using real instruments like guitar, bass, acoustic drums. It's going to sound totally different and not the sound she is going for. Electronic music and conventional instruments by their nature sound very different. It's going to sound totally different and while some think it sounds better that is not the sound she is going for.

But she doesn't want that. She wants to make electronic/dance sounding music. I'm sure she would use more of a regular band with real instruments if someday she made a different type of album that was less dance and electronic based.

For me its not as much whether the instruments are acoustic / 'real' vs electronic, but whether they are played live vs pre-programmed. When they are played live, each time is a unique expression where sometimes mistakes are made, etc, which makes it much more interesting than the same exact programmed music being played by pressing a key on the laptop. I don't like vocal backing tracks for the same reason, I prefer real backup singers even if it doesn't always sound perfect. I enjoy the imperfections that can happen during a live performance

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Guest Rachelle of London

For me its not as much whether the instruments are acoustic / 'real' vs electronic, but whether they are played live vs pre-programmed. When they are played live, each time is a unique expression where sometimes mistakes are made, etc, which makes it much more interesting than the same exact programmed music being played by pressing a key on the laptop. I don't like vocal backing tracks for the same reason, I prefer real backup singers even if it doesn't always sound perfect. I enjoy the imperfections that can happen during a live performance

:clap:

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For me its not as much whether the instruments are acoustic / 'real' vs electronic, but whether they are played live vs pre-programmed. When they are played live, each time is a unique expression where sometimes mistakes are made, etc, which makes it much more interesting than the same exact programmed music being played by pressing a key on the laptop. I don't like vocal backing tracks for the same reason, I prefer real backup singers even if it doesn't always sound perfect. I enjoy the imperfections that can happen during a live performance

I agree :) and yes this was The point of The topic I think. Are instruments played live or preprogrammed. Nothing to do with electronic vs. acoustic. (Though obviously they sound very different)
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Guest Rachelle of London

This thread has literally got me listening to the live performance of Bad Girl from Arsenio. Madonna sounds amazing with a band like that. Could you imagine how delightful a promo tour like that would be for the fans! We would keel over.

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This thread has literally got me listening to the live performance of Bad Girl from Arsenio. Madonna sounds amazing with a band like that. Could you imagine how delightful a promo tour like that would be for the fans! We would keel over.

i know. i just listened to the who's that girl tour and the live instruments really add the atmosphere. the difference is big

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Guest Rachelle of London

i know. i just listened to the who's that girl tour and the live instruments really add the atmosphere. the difference is big

Doesn't ITG from Who's That Girl Tour just have that certain something. It's bloody brilliant

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Live band is everything.

What really kills it is the 'pre-sequencing'. It doesn't allow for the musicians to add too much personal flair or little details to make the music richer because everything has to be played in-time, in-sync to timecode programs that all the music is sequenced in - which is obviously very important for a production relying on cues that must go off perfectly in terms of syncing of video, stage lifts, props, effects, etc. Unfortunately, the music does suffer. The rich little details are missing because the format doesn't allow for too much of it. Even if she did add more musicians, it wouldn't necessarily change the overall sound if the set-up is still as heavily pre-sequenced. It also comes down to the in-house mixing. All mixers have a different touch, but if the artist asks for the pre-sequenced sound to be mixed in more, or at higher levels, there's nothing the musicians can do. It may just be what Madonna herself wants. That being said, you can still have complex production and lots of pre-sequencing, but you would have to also make the choice to mix things a certain way to bring various instruments to the forefront...or don't pre-sequence as much and let the musicians carry the load more. It all basically comes down to personal choices and priorities of the artist, and the needs of the production. She probably could have a much more "live" sounding band even with 4 musicians, it's probably just not want they wanted, or not a necessity to her and her team, or it may make her more comfortable to have a certain musical consistency every night in relation to an already complex production. There could be many reasons...

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while we're on the subject of the instrumentation becoming more programmed, lets get rid of the autotune/vocoder fx. I much rather listen to slightly off key than the fx.

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while we're on the subject of the instrumentation becoming more programmed, lets get rid of the autotune/vocoder fx. I much rather listen to slightly off key than the fx.

She only uses on 2 songs to minic the album vocals...
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You should listen to a Rihanna concert. Lol, I know how that idea sounds, but she uses a full band. Drums bass, you name it. And it sounds good! It really shouldn't matter what kind of music it is. Everything can be converted and performed with the use of live instruments.

OMG I just did it... I saw her live in 2013 on Diamonds Tour, I don't know if her vocals were having a better day or she used excessive back vocals, but there was some singing in that concert... This Rock in Rio performance is such a mess. She literally doesn't sing, stops singing every 3 seconds....

PS: I agree with you that live instruments are mostly better. But on this concert, some performances ,such as "we found love", were dying for some electronic beats. I think it is better finding a happy medium. Lady Gaga's Monster Ball had great balance between live instruments and electronic bases in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUitoCwKxxc

Edited by MonsieurB
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She only uses on 2 songs to minic the album vocals...

its body shop that could really do without vocoders, and I guess iconic too

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Doesn't ITG from Who's That Girl Tour just have that certain something. It's bloody brilliant

Yes! :thumbsup:

I still don't understand how you expect her to perform her electronic music from her albums on her tours using real instruments like guitar, bass, acoustic drums. It's going to sound totally different and not the sound she is going for. Electronic music and conventional instruments by their nature sound very different. It's going to sound totally different and while some think it sounds better that is not the sound she is going for.

I don't mean this to be flip or rude, but I don't understand what you don't understand -- she's done exactly this sort of thing before. Just look at "Music" on DWT. "Music" is one of the biggest electropop hits of all time -- and she puts a percussion breakdown in the middle of it. And it's fucking phenomenal!

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Guest Rachelle of London

Yes! :thumbsup:

I don't mean this to be flip or rude, but I don't understand what you don't understand -- she's done exactly this sort of thing before. Just look at "Music" on DWT. "Music" is one of the biggest electropop hits of all time -- and she puts a percussion breakdown in the middle of it. And it's fucking phenomenal!

:clap:

Considering Madonna uses the best musicians in the business I'm pretty sure her band are capable of playing a song :lmao:

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Yes! :thumbsup:

I don't mean this to be flip or rude, but I don't understand what you don't understand -- she's done exactly this sort of thing before. Just look at "Music" on DWT. "Music" is one of the biggest electropop hits of all time -- and she puts a percussion breakdown in the middle of it. And it's fucking phenomenal!

The current tour uses live percussion too. Brian the drummer has an acoustic drum kit and an electronic one. So she is using some live conventional instruments on this tour. But I thought people were saying she should eliminate any electronic programming and use all traditional instruments. DWT uses electronic programming as well combined with some live instrumentation. Music on the DWT still has electronic programmed mixed with the live percussion. She can incorporate some live instrumentation but she can't rely totally on that and eliminate all electronics and have the sound she wants.

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:clap:

Considering Madonna uses the best musicians in the business I'm pretty sure her band are capable of playing a song :lmao:

It's not a matter of being able to play something. Electronic instrumentation sounds different from acoustic "live" instrumentation. If she wants the songs to sound like the album version she has to use some programming. Brian the drummer is featured on the cover of Modern Drummer. It's a great interview and he explains all of this. People should read it.

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