Exploring Micro Rhythms and Wonky Beats Through Spontaneous Composition and Modern Production Techniques
The Guqin (古琴) is a traditional Chinese seven-stringed zither known for its deep, resonant tones and rich history spanning over 3,000 years. Revered for its association with scholars and literati, it has long been regarded as an instrument of refinement, introspection, and personal cultivation. Its playing technique emphasizes subtle expression, microtonal nuances, and a meditative style, incorporating techniques such as sliding, plucking, and harmonic overtones to produce an expressive and highly nuanced sound. Traditionally played solo or in intimate settings, it has been an essential part of Chinese intellectual and artistic culture, often linked to poetry, calligraphy, and Daoist and Confucian philosophy. Its significance is further highlighted by its designation as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, underscoring its enduring role in Chinese musical and cultural history.
Choxolate is one of my musical projects; in this case, the aim is simplicity and creative freedom. Each track is an experiment, using the project as a playground to explore new sounds, instruments, and unconventional composition approaches—whether writing an album during a flight or learning a new instrument and immediately using every skill gained to shape the next album’s riffs and motifs.
The Guqin is the first Chinese instrument I have chosen to learn. This album is the outcome of exploring the Guqin with different approaches, not only considering traditional techniques but also combining ideas extrapolated from the guitar (such as using a guitar pick) and slapping. Since the music is written chronologically, the last few songs exhibit a slightly more complex interpretation. However, it’s worth mentioning that I am still a beginner, hoping to learn more about this and other traditional Chinese instruments. As always, we’re looking for pure spontaneity—playing or writing the first idea that comes to mind after setting an initial rhythmic pattern.
The first track, “Morning Taste,” begins with a simple pattern of Guqin harmonics that slightly varies and repeats throughout the song. The bass is played using the slide technique on the low C string of the instrument, and a free pitch-shifting plug-in called “Pitchproof” is used to extend its range. Both motifs (harmonics and bass) are recorded twice (doubled), and each recording is panned 100% left and right, respectively. The transients of the low-register recording are modified to enhance the attack of its dynamics using Logic Pro X’s envelope shaper. Refer to Image 1 to visualize these fundamental aspects of the Guqin’s sound treatment.
Image 1. Panning and relevant plug-ins implemented on the first track, “Morning Taste”.
The melodic gestures first appear in bar 17, where a soft piano (LABS plug-in) plays a “delayed/swung” melody characteristic of this instrumental project. These types of melodies are often played by ear and stem from spontaneous improvisation. However, in this case, after recording the melody, some notes were carefully adjusted to the moments where I felt they best achieved the “dizzy” and “late” impression. It would be nearly impossible to notate these kinds of “delays”; however, in Image 2, one can see the auto-generated notation file taken directly from Logic’s MIDI roll (for reference purposes). This melody becomes the focal point of the piece, especially considering that playing melodies was quite difficult when I first started learning the instrument. The MIDI roll (Image 3), which showcases the main melody, highlights how the notes are slightly off the grid.
Image 2. The piano score of the main melody shows the notes’ delays to create an odd, dizzy feeling.
Image 3. The MIDI roll of the same piano melody shows how some of the notes do not match the time grid.
The second track, “Here Anyways,” uses a similar approach for the bass line while incorporating a simple motif played in a higher register around the 15-second mark. At bar 21, another “delayed” melody in D major appears, also played on a soft piano. See Image 4 for reference.
Image 4. Delayed and “dizzy” piano melody of “Here Anyways”.
The third track, “Cloudy Verb,” has a more hip-hop sound. The open panning of the instrument reminded me of some old songs by The Flobots in Fight with Tools, particularly “Rise,” which features wide-panned guitars and punchy percussion suitable for rapping. For this reason, I included a series of rap lines starting at the 28-second mark. The song begins with a simple motif using Guqin harmonics. The beat features a distinctly swung hi-hat accompanied by an even more pronounced delayed bass line. In Image 5, these characteristic rhythmic patterns can be seen in detail. The percussion is highlighted in red, while the bass line is marked in yellow. Notice how the hi-hat and bass line create a dragging feel by landing slightly behind the beat.
Image 5. Midi roll of Cloudy Verb’s bass line and percussion. Showcasing the subtle delays behind the microrhythms of this beat.
These micro rhythms, especially those in the percussion, are emphasized by real shakers recorded and panned 100% to the left and right. The Guqin bass also undergoes the same treatment discussed in tracks one and two.
Track four, “Done Marco,” begins with a low Guqin bassline treated similarly to the previous low-register Guqin motifs (using pitch shifting). An ascending motif is played on a synth emulating a bell sound. This motif follows a triplet rhythm, which becomes central after the 45-second mark. From this point, the beat shifts as the kick and snare align with the triplet rhythm. The swung hi-hat technique is also present here, further accentuated by shakers and vocal percussive sounds in the background. As seen in Image 6, the bass line at bar 33 is constructed by slightly delaying the notes to create a “wonky” feel.
Image 6. Delayed bass line notes (above in pink) in the song “Done Marco” by Choxolate.
The phrase “I’ll call when I am done,” which appears after the one-minute mark, is taken from Choxolate’s second album, Deep Azul, specifically from the song Fama Call. Notably, both lyrics share the same harmony (E minor); essentially, it is the exact same melody but at a different tempo.
The fifth track, “Greeny Trato,” begins with a series of soft Guqin harmonics, later joined by a simple Guqin melody featuring slides. Around the 45-second mark, the percussion stops, creating a moment where only a synth pad and a new series of harmonics playing triplets remain, leading into the final section: a slow vocal passage performed using Logic’s “South African Singers” sampler. This section builds upon the soft harmonics introduced at the beginning of the song.
The sixth track, Sol Tension, opens with a very slow Guqin motif used as a bass line, accompanied by a simple, heavily distorted vocal melody. In the next section, another delayed melody appears, layered over Logic Pro X’s Sculpture plug-in using the “Electric Grand” preset, modified by Audiomodern’s Filterstep plug-in. Image 7 illustrates the subtle delays in the second section’s melody (bar 17).
Image 7. Wonky melody in track six and its odd location off the grid.
Track seven, “Fuente Raisin,” begins with a simple beat played using Guqin harmonics, establishing a seven-beat measure that remains consistent throughout the song. After the first repetition, simple Guqin motifs featuring slides emerge. These slides are processed directly through Logic’s native “Delay Designer” plug-in using the “Nice Delay Behind” preset.
Immediately after, the beat shifts to a simple percussion pattern accompanied by a highly wonky bass line, deliberately played to create a sense of “broken rhythm.” Later, the bass line is accompanied by random changes in the modulation wheel (see Image 8), enhancing the sense of imperfection and inconsistency in the sound.
This beat features a series of simple motifs played with Guqin slides in two different octaves. These seven-beat motifs are later doubled by simple vocals.
Image 8. Random modulation changes in the bassline (green notes). Starting at the 2:09 mark, the sense of inconsistency is heightened by the way the notes are played and randomly modified. Notice how the percussion (red notes) features a delayed/swung hi-hat, further contributing to the beat’s overall wonky feel.
Track eight, “Montaña Foot,” develops another simple bass line played on the Guqin and altered using the “Pitchproof” plug-in technique, as applied in the first few tracks. I used this track as an opportunity to explore the pads in “Twin 3” by FabFilter. The first pad accompanying the bass line is the “Flutter Pad” preset. The “Morning Fog” preset sets the ambiance for the second section of the song, which is complemented by another simple, slow melody played in a higher range of the Guqin.
Although track nine, Whale Fondo, maintains simple compositional ideas, the Guqin performance becomes slightly more complex, incorporating quick jumps between strings and rhythmic sections that span a wider range of the instrument, with notes played in different registers simultaneously. The “Foghorn: VT – Andromeda” preset by LABS sets the tone for the song’s second section, and its whale-like sound inspires the track’s title. In Image 9, the pitch bending applied to these long notes in the LABS pad is highlighted in green. This effect enhances the “whale-like” quality of that section of the song.
Image 9. Pitch bend values applied to the long notes played with the LABS virtual instrument “Foghorn: VT – Andromeda”.
For the final track of this production, “Large Reso,” a slightly more technical melody and bass line are played simultaneously on the Guqin. This opening incorporates various techniques developed throughout the album. The second section of this song introduces a new beat with a higher swing percentage (a heavily delayed hi-hat), designed to support an improvised vocal line. This vocal section is heavily modified and distorted using Guitar Rig plug-ins, specifically the “Dubstar” preset, to create an intentionally unintelligible effect.
Composing and producing this instrumental album allowed me to develop a foundational understanding of the Guqin by exploring techniques such as sliding and harmonics. By incorporating these techniques into my compositions, I transformed simple, spontaneous motifs into expressive musical ideas. This hands-on approach deepened my appreciation for the instrument’s nuances and broadened my perspective on integrating traditional elements into contemporary music.
Moving forward, I plan to apply this knowledge to future compositions, integrating the Guqin with other Chinese instruments such as the Pipa and Chinese flute, further expanding my musical language and creative possibilities.