There’s something weird going on at the moment with the music business. I’m unsure where to point fingers, but I’ll explain what I’m seeing, and perhaps you’ll understand what I mean.
As you know, I’m not new to music making or the business. My first record was out in 1999, and since then, I’ve seen the business change much, going through mutations, transformations, and various crises. From the whole peer-to-peer system, Netlabels, and music piracy to the appearance of streaming services and the almost crash of vinyl record sales to the huge boom.
As they say in Buddhism, change itself is the only thing that doesn’t change.
Looking at how things are going at the moment, we have many options, both for making music and consuming it. We’re being almost feed fed to new music multiple times a day. It’s hard to keep up and dive deeply into the music because we’re chasing everything we might miss. 2024 is the first year I bought plugins and things, and then the week after, I completely forgot about them because something else came up. It’s hard to think there was a time when we’d see new interesting audio tools coming every 3-6 months.
For many musicians, this situation raises multiple questions as the challenge of being heard and seen becomes more than a puzzle. For many newcomers, being able to finish a song and then publish it with a few clicks motivates them to enter the electronic music world. There’s a brutal awakening down the road when there are not many results.
In the past years, we’ve been sold that we could reach out to the entire world with the abundance of music promotion options available on the market. But it is clear that after some experimentation, these false premises left us a bit lost on what those tools are doing. James Blake even said he couldn’t reach out to his fans, so he started his platform. He’s not wrong, though, because when one posts to their fan, it seems like social media are trimming the size of people who will see it to a bare minimum. I’ll see an artist share their new release multiple times a day, and the number of likes I see is often around 10, sometimes more if the artist is widely known. I have 17k followers on Soundcloud, yet only 10-20 will listen when I post a song.
The numbers don’t mean anything anymore.
It seems that releasing music is making people shrug. It is no longer special unless you have a real following of caring people.
Let me summarize a few points that could help anyone with music promotion. In the last six months, I’ve worked with many clients on taking new approaches to their music, and so far, I’ve seen some encouraging results.
Immediate Promotion
The first step to promotion is to understand who your music is for. In electronic music, it is often, in the end, for DJs. Technically, those are your clients and the bridge between yourself and the public. If DJs aren’t your bridge, you need to sit and find out who your promotion proxy is. Perhaps it’s radios or blogs.
Whoever it is, you need to be able to pinpoint locally and in your surroundings who can promote your music. In this phase, the focus of your promotion is that you must avoid promoting your music, yourself, directly to the masses. The soapbox promotion method is not a good one. It is the opposite of the word of mouth promotion. We all know that word of mouth works.
TIP: There are many coffee shops, yoga studios, or other public places that are open to playing music by local artists as a way to give them a first try.
While this might initially seem counter-productive, it is yet what I’ve seen working the best. In a past post, I was relating to the Circle of 5 method, where you need to have people test your music for you and pass the word around.
I’ve been suggesting that people contact DJs to pass on their music. This can be demanding for networking as you must use social media to get in touch. From what I’ve seen lately, using Instagram seems to be a good way. Soundcloud is dead, but it works for finding talent and checking how to contact artists. That said, DJs are always looking for new music, and having the chance to discover talent is something they all want. Using Bandcamp is also another solid way of finding labels and artists and discovering music that could be similar to what you make.
The point is that you want your music to be played and tested in context. Something that drives people crazy, especially DJs, is hearing a song in a set and being unable to find out what it is because you can’t Shazam it. This is why promoting your music that way can create a buzz. That method is called Shadow presence. It’s a derivative of artists who use anonymity to create some mystery
The immediate promotion dynamic’s way is to invert the communication flow; You want to bring people to you instead of running after them.
I’d encourage you to use this method to communicate with whoever you contact.
Whenever you contact someone, don’t drop a link to your music in the first contact. Don’t sound like a vacuum salesman; be human first.
Establish a friendly conversation, get to know the person, be polite and explain your intention of networking.
Ask permission to send music. But first, do your homework and make sure your music fits the artist’s music tastes/direction.
These tips for communicating with DJs are what you’d use with a label. They’re pretty much the safe list approach that makes it possible as you’re not seen as intrusive. But basically, just use these three steps through your career to avoid issues in general.
Labels vs Self-Release
This is probably one of the topics I discuss the most with clients. Too often, I get clients who just finished a song, and their first idea is to send it immediately to a label. What baffles me about this is:
The song has never been tested. Songs need to be played by a few experts to see if it fits the market.
The song never got played in a club. If your music is club-oriented, it needs to be played out to see how it fits a set, touches the crowd and fits among other songs of the same genre.
The song was never peer-reviewed. Music has to be heard by artists to get some feedback.
For many, the idea that every song should be promoted, sent to labels, or released is a validation-seeking exercise. They are completely disconnected from the music release process, ultimately filling the market with space-filling music. Releasing music means you want to commercialize the song(s), and the promotion must be done before.
You commercialize music because there is a demand for it. If you commercialize music to promote it, it will compete with other music (promoted properly) on the market and be lost at sea. Even more prominent artists go through a routine check before releasing their music. Some who don’t might create a backlash with their followers or the press.
The best approach to establishing a relationship with your music’s promotion is to develop patience first. Labels are there to facilitate the commercialization of your art, but there is leverage work of consolidating your online image and making your music solid. Once you have set yourself, partnering with a label will be smoother. They will get you in touch with a community, have channels of sale, and push you through their promotions. But you need a basis first.
Conversely, some people jump quickly into self-release without understanding the consequences or having a solid basis. Before going there, ask yourself if someone mentioned they would like to buy your music. If someone wants to buy it, you can self-release it because that is how you sell it. However, self-release is not a helpful promotion method.
There is no rush or need to release music whatsoever. A release doesn’t set any standards and it doesn’t make you more of an artist than you are already.
It’s not because your music is up for sale that it will sell. I often see clients who immediately put their music on Bandcamp and have two or three sales over a few years. This doesn’t look good and can be interpreted as unprofessional by industry professionals.
Mainly for these points:
It makes you look like you have no network or support.
It gives the impression that you’re not doing your self-promotion properly.
It can give the impression that there’s something off with your music.
It will mostly make you look like a hobbyist more than a pro or semi-pro.
That said, I would refrain from trying that.
Instead, keep your music to yourself and people who want to play it as a way of building yourself a network. People who succeed mostly can say they made it happen because they knew the right people at the right time. Yes, there is an element of luck, but the chance factor is multiplied by the number of influential people you know.
Direct Action
If we think that one of the artists’ goals with their music is to be heard, it is easy to be tempted to reach out to all the promotion options. Yes, sites like HypeEdit, Groover, and others will perhaps provide a window of possibilities for getting through. But then again, it might not be happening. That desire can divert you from the underlying need for validation. Once that is met, you will feel more comfortable waiting for things to happen. Therefore, what can make a difference is what you can control. This involves a series of different things.
The first action you can take to promote your music is to pass it on to interested people. Whether that person uses your music for DJ sets, a podcast, or to play in a local coffee shop, all these micro-actions make your music move. I emphasize working on what you can control.
Quality in your music.
Whatever and however you make music, a certain level of professionalism will pay off in how you sound to others. Some clients will book me for a mix and master, but the song does not have much content or depth. While solid production certainly can be impressive, people usually remember the hook and feeling coming from the song. If the production is a distraction from the idea, that might say that your hook is weak.
Quality combines several elements: sample quality, hook catchiness, idea articulation, execution, and development. That will eventually be the topic of a whole post. Still, if I had to sum it up, I’d say to make sure you use quality samples (not MP3 or YouTube rips) from sites, and if you find a good way to integrate it in a pattern that develops appropriately, then you’ve done a large part of the assignment.
Quantity and Consistency.
This has been covered multiple times in the blog, but I’ll reframe it again (until people know it by heart). To find fun and exciting ideas, you need to dig for many. The first one you see might or not be “good,” which will only be more apparent with time. This means starting new ideas every day. Make a tons. The usual ratio of gems is about 3 to 5%, good ones will be maybe 10%, and the average is 20%. So, if you make 100 new ideas, you will get a rough idea of how it will go. If this can help, I will start with about five ideas daily (for the last 20 years), but only a tiny amount will be released.
The quantity is necessary because you will be exposed to exploring multiple techniques, so you won’t repeat yourself. Eventually, you’ll end up with a lovely catalogue of songs and ideas.
Regular Networking.
The name of the game is networking. Your success is directly related to who you know and how you position yourself with your local community. Knowing people online is one thing, but having in-person contacts is even better. That has been said enough, and I’ll leave it to this as that is something you control for the most part. I’m aware some cities have fewer communities, and some people do not live in big cities with an active scene. But if you’re serious about what you do, organizing road trips to nearby places and making new friends might be something to add to your vacation plans in the future.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SELFPROMO2.png10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2025-01-27 06:00:372025-01-26 13:09:20Self Promotion And The Music Business
One of my favourite topics is about one of the most helpful tools involved in music sound synthesis: Envelopes.
Years ago, I was searching online for essential tips on sound design and ended up in an interview with someone who worked in the industry. While I don’t remember who it was or what he was talking about, the one thing that struck me was how he explained that the most exciting part of his design was related to envelopes. In other words, he said that what made some sound designs “next level” was how they were used.
Every sound around us has envelopes, even constant background sounds such as a the low hum of a fridge.
In sound design, an envelope is a reactive control mechanism that shapes how a parameter, such as amplitude, pitch, or filter frequency, evolves in response to a gate (a signal that remains active as long as a note is held) or a trigger (a short, one-time event). Envelopes modify a sound’s dynamics, giving it motion and expression.
When you trigger a note on your keyboard or punch in some notes for your melodies or percussion, you’re using an envelope to shape the personality of a sound. If the envelope modulates the amplitude (e.g., volume, gain), it defines how it starts and ends over time.
There are two main types of envelopes:
AD Envelope (Attack-Decay):
This more straightforward envelope consists of just two stages:
Attack: The time it takes for the sound to rise from silence to its peak level after being triggered.
Decay: The time it takes for the sound to fade from the peak level to silence after the attack phase is completed.
It is commonly used for short, percussive sounds or when simplicity is needed, as the sound always returns to zero regardless of how long the gate is held.
Since you don’t need to hold a key down for the envelope to work, a simple tap will do, and this is why we often use this one for percussion.
From The Wolfsound webpage
Rampage (Befaco)
This module is similar to another module named Maths. It is a double AD module, meaning that one trigger can trigger two envelopes at once or be used as a multi-stage envelope (see below) where the end of the first envelope triggers a second one. It can also trigger one another into a feedback loop, a technique named Krell patching.
This highly versatile module also has speed adjustment for envelope movement, from slow to fast, once again valuable for creating textures and movement.
ADSR Envelope (Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release):
A more versatile and detailed envelope with four stages, often seen in synths. This one requires a gate to operate because it’s following the time of the gate itself. If the envelope’s settings are shorter than the gate, it will shift to the release stage.
Attack: Time to rise from silence to the peak level when the gate is activated.
Decay: Time to fall from the peak level to the sustain level.
Sustain: A constant level is maintained as long as the gate is active (note is held).
Release: Time to fade from the sustain level back to silence after the gate is deactivated (note is released).
This type is ideal for shaping sustained or evolving sounds like pads or leads, allowing for more dynamic control. It can also be used with percussion but must be longer than shorter sounds. Cymbals and gongs are good examples.
ADSR explained (Native Instruments)
Ableton’s Envelope MIDI is a simple modulator you can map to anything in your project. It also has different parameter adjustments for tweaking it in detail.
Envelope Reactivity:
When a gate signal is applied, the envelope begins shaping the sound according to its defined stages (AD or ADSR) and reacts dynamically depending on how long the gate remains active.
The envelope completes its cycle regardless of the input length for a trigger signal, making it suitable for one-shot sounds like drum hits or effects.
Envelopes are fundamental tools in sound design because of their reactivity. They enable precise control over the evolution of a sound’s character over time.
A function and an envelope share similarities in that both are time-based modulators, but they differ in flexibility and application:
Envelopes:
Typically, predefined stages (e.g., ADSR or AD) control how a parameter evolves in response to a gate or trigger.
Envelopes are tied to musical events like note on/off signals and are specifically designed to shape sound characteristics (amplitude, filter cutoff, pitch, etc.).
They repeat their behaviour consistently when triggered.
Functions:
Functions are more generalized and programmable time-based modulators that perform various tasks beyond standard envelopes.
A function can trigger a single event (like an envelope) and include custom curves, loops, or conditional behaviours (e.g., cycling, repeating with variations, or modulating multiple parameters).
Unlike envelopes, functions may not rely on a gate or trigger. They can operate freely, following internal timing or external synchronization.
In essence, envelopes are a subset of functions purpose-built to shape sound, while functions are more flexible and allow broader modulation possibilities.
What Is a Multi-Stage Envelope (Chained Envelopes)?
A multi-stage envelope extends the traditional envelope concept by adding additional stages, creating a more complex and customizable modulation shape. It consists of multiple chained segments with their curve, duration, and target values, allowing for intricate and evolving modulations beyond the simple ADSR model.
One thing I like in the modular world is having multiple envelope modules with an EOC (end-of-cycle), where when one ends, you can have another one starting. If you have 3-4 envelopes, they can all have different settings, and the modulation will end up being like a function because it is more programming than static and repetitive.
The best application for this is for complex fluctuating modulations. Background design, textures and drones are good examples here.
Key Features of Multi-Stage Envelopes:
Customizable Stages:
Each stage can have different time lengths, target values, and shapes (e.g., linear, exponential, logarithmic, or even user-drawn curves).
Chained Behavior:
The envelope moves through each stage sequentially, often in response to a single trigger or gate. It can also loop specific stages or groups of stages.
Looping and Re-triggering:
Certain stages or sections of the envelope can loop, creating cyclic behaviours (e.g., for LFO-like modulation or rhythmic effects).
Some multi-stage envelopes allow conditional behaviours, such as advancing to the next stage only when a specific condition is met.
Applications:
Multi-stage envelopes are perfect for creating evolving textures, rhythmic patterns, or modulating parameters over extended periods.
They are often used in modular synthesis and sound design software like VCV Rack, where granular control over modulation is needed.
Practical Example of a Multi-Stage Envelope:
Imagine a multi-stage envelope used to control filter cutoff for a pad:
Stage 1 (Attack): The cutoff rises slowly from low to high.
Stage 2 (Decay): The cutoff drops slightly to add subtle warmth.
Stage 3 (Sustain 1): The cutoff holds steady.
Stage 4 (Rise): The cutoff climbs again for a sweeping effect.
Stage 5 (Release): The cutoff fades out smoothly.
This setup can loop stages 2 through 4, creating a hypnotic movement in the filter.
Followers as Mimic Envelopes
An envelope follower is a tool that extracts the amplitude shape (or envelope) of an incoming audio signal and converts it into a control signal. This control signal modulates various parameters in a synthesizer, effect, or other audio processor. While it shares similarities with traditional envelopes, it differs in how it derives its modulation shape.
Similarities Between an Envelope and an Envelope Follower:
Shape Control:
Both create a time-based modulation shape that can control parameters such as amplitude, filter cutoff, or pitch.
In both cases, the “envelope” defines how a parameter evolves.
In many cases, envelope followers have rise-and-fall controls that are used to smooth out the shape of the read signal.
Dynamic Modulation:
Both can introduce expressiveness and movement to a sound by dynamically modulating parameters.
How an Envelope Follower Works:
This is a modulating tool you put at one point of your chain, and it will read the incoming signal. The signal read is then translated into a modulation. It usually comes with a Gain knob so you can control how much movement you want it to read.
Input:
The envelope follower analyzes an incoming audio signal and measures its amplitude (volume) over time.
Output:
It generates a control signal (CV or MIDI automation) corresponding to the input signal’s amplitude.
For example, a loud signal produces a high output value, while a soft signal produces a low output value.
Filtering:
To avoid overly rapid or jagged modulation, many envelope followers include smoothing or attack/release (rise/fall) controls.
Ableton 12.1’s new Envelope Follower has a Sidechain signal, allowing you to intercept the signal from another channel and mix it with the incoming signal, creating a more complex movement that refers to 2 independent sources.
Using an Envelope Follower to Modulate Another Sound:
Extracting Modulation:
The envelope follower “follows” the dynamics of one sound (e.g., a drum loop, vocal, or bassline) and creates a modulation signal that mirrors its amplitude shape.
Applying Modulation:
This modulation signal can be applied to another sound’s parameters, such as:
Filter cutoff: Make the filter of a pad “pulse” with the rhythm of a drum beat.
Amplitude: Shape the volume of one sound (e.g., a synth) based on the dynamics of another.
Pitch: Add a wobbling or dynamic pitch effect driven by the input signal.
Practical Example:
Imagine a drum loop being fed into an envelope follower.
The envelope follower generates a modulation signal based on the drum’s transients (e.g., the kick and snare peaks).
This signal controls the filter cutoff of a synth pad, creating a rhythmic filtering effect synchronized with the drum loop’s dynamics.
Creative Uses of an Envelope Follower:
Sidechain-Like Effects:
Use an envelope follower on a kick drum to duck the volume of another sound, similar to traditional sidechain compression.
Rhythmic Modulation:
Apply the rhythmic envelope of a percussive sound to non-percussive elements, such as reverb or delay levels.
Dynamic Layering:
Use an envelope follower to match the dynamics of a secondary layer (e.g., adding texture to a lead by dynamically modulating it with a vocal track).
Cross-Synthesis:
Combine the dynamics of one sound with the tonal qualities of another, creating hybrid and expressive textures.
An envelope follower is similar to a traditional envelope in providing dynamic, time-based modulation. However, while conventional envelopes are pre-programmed shapes triggered by a gate or trigger, envelope followers derive their shape directly from an audio signal. This makes them a powerful tool for dynamic, real-time modulation, enabling producers to “borrow” the amplitude shape of one sound and creatively apply it to another.
How I use Envelopes and these movements in electronic music
There are multiple insights I discovered while studying sounds, and one of them is how the sound fluctuates and modulates based on an envelope more than LFOs. For instance, deeper kicks often use envelope-based pitch shifting for multiple purposes.
A fast pitch shifting up can make a kick’s transient snappier.
A medium shifting down will create a downward pull, with a feeling the kick is dropping low towards your hips.
Both are common and have the advantage of bringing life, therefore making them more engaging. If the envelope constantly changes, it will feel more acoustic sounding. Considering that one envelope shapes the kick’s amplitude and another one, the pitch, reminded me of what the interviewed sound designer mentioned. I realized that when I use a sound, I always try to have 2 to 4 envelopes and an envelope follower. It became a “by default” macro for my channels.
The advantage of having multiple envelopes is you have them have 3 ariations: slow/fast/medium attack and slow/fast/medium release.
That realization was a 180-degree shift compared to my old approach, where I’d use multiple LFOs per channel/sound. Something about LFOs made the sounds feel more mechanical, while envelopes made the sounds more organic/human. It was also a way of ensuring that one sound would shape the characteristics of the sound of another channel. It made me stop using side-chaining compression and instead would use amplitude side-chaining. But that’s just one example because the applications are pretty vast.
Ideas to explore:
An envelope is used to open up an LFO’s amplitude. If an LFO modulation is constant, it will give more of a mechanical result. Still, if the envelope opens the amplitude, there will be this little temporary movement (think of bird singing). An envelope for exciting evolution can also alter the speed of the LFO.
Opening the wet-dry of an effect such as a reverb.
Envelopes are used to modulate the panning of a sound to make room for another. This is an excellent alternative to predictable aut0-panning and can also avoid phasing issues in some cases.
Using the envelope, a sound but inducing a delay can create a cleaner call and answer for your arrangements.
Create a MIDI channel without an instrument, but instead, add a few envelopes. The envelopes will follow your notes whenever you press keys on your keyboard, and you can then assign the envelopes to a few parameters across your project.
For mixing, envelopes have helped add cleanliness and clarity to songs. Side-chain compression became obsolete more than ever for me as compression alters the envelope more than an envelope will. Compression also alters the density of a sound, which is not always necessary.
You can also create a macro that captures the movement of a sound within a frequency range (e.g., everything over 4kHz, where transients are). Transient shapes can be used to make the texture for another sound.
The exploration is vast here, and I’d love to read your application.
Yes, I know, this blog has been silent for too long. I was half burnt out of ideas, to the point of not wanting to do it anymore. In a way, that was a helpful feeling because I focused on learning instead.
Sarah Belle Reid
From having Sarah Bell Reid as a mentor, Omri Cohen‘s community and wisdom for inspiration and research. Plus, there are a bunch of random courses here and there. I think I learned more that year than in the previous ones combined, where I did some studying. I feel fortunate to have access to this. When I started making music in the 90s, there was no YouTube, so watching your friend’s work was the best way to learn. Montreal had a solid community then to help one another.
Reflecting on the past year (2024), I realized I love teaching and talking with people. But I also love learning (my 15-year-old self would never believe it). When you learn, you see what triggers passion and curiosity. These emotions drive me to learn, probably because I’m passionate.
I realized that so many people invest large amounts of money into gear or software without allowing any time or investment into being taught how to use all of that correctly. I have to say I’m partly guilty of that, but now I have caught up with my investment with enough classes for multiple years ahead.
One of the most effective ways (for myself) to truly learn music is not through isolated tutorials or hours of theory but by observing someone experienced in action. Watching an experienced musician navigate creative choices in real time, asking questions at pivotal moments, and understanding why a choice was made—that’s where the most profound lessons are. It helps understand each context where one technique might be used to achieve a specific result.
Many online courses fail because they’re out of context: with who you are, what you want to have, and what you want to achieve. Most electronic music producers don’t read manuals as they prefer to explore to learn. So courses often fail in the same fashion: linear learning isn’t for everyone.
Music education thrives on interaction, dialogue, and having the space to experiment without fear of making mistakes. Learning with a community is a way of getting accountability and will help acknowledge the progress of an artist. In 2016, I started offering free coaching and created a group on Facebook. It worked for several years, but eventually, it got tired. The objective of the group was to provide technical feedback on songs. I saw many people who initially joined grow into creative artists.
This is also why the artist retreats have been so precious. Online feedback is one thing, but things make more sense in person. We meet as friends, listen to one another’s music, share feedback, eat together, and discuss. The weekend becomes an exploration of learning, validation and belonging. One of my favourite ways to see this is by inviting everyone to perform a song live (5 minutes more or less). Everyone says the same thing each time we do it:
“Why aren’t we doing this in our living room already?”
My most significant learning of 2024 was how the sum of all the teaching came down to the essentials of how I work. There’s not much I can learn if I don’t experiment and revise what I just acquired. Sarah started her course by explaining how circular learning is the key to progression. While I’ve been doing it all my life, it became clear that I have structured it by pruning what I learn, practice and eventually integrate.
Circular Learning: Cycles of “How Do I..?”
Learning (electronic) music isn’t a linear journey. It doesn’t follow a straight path from A to B. Instead, it moves in cycles—rounds or sprints of creativity. Sometimes, your learnings spring you forward, or your lack of time drags you down, but your music will never let you down. However, having people for whom you can play in person is essential. During retreats, we all agreed that we prefer five to ten people listening deeply rather than five likes/listens on a streaming site.
It’s different than learning how to play an instrument. It is multi-dimensional because it covers synthesis, arrangements, sampling, computer understanding, logic, mixing, etc.
This is where many musicians fail to learn online: a generalized lack of how-to structure themselves to get to where they want to be.
The typical scenario I see is someone with the time and budget to invest in music making and starts with strong motivation. As they explore, they’ll constantly hit walls and obstacles, making them realize they lack knowledge on various topics. If their workflow isn’t well defined and there’s a lack of self-organization, it can quickly bring them to the edge of giving up. As a musician, I keep getting exposed to many ads on so-called “solutions” or shortcuts, but I know they won’t solve my issues because I have experience. This is why I want to share some of my circular learning.
What is Circular Learning?
Circular learning means that instead of gathering all the information you need to progress, you’ll explore until you wonder how to achieve something and then get the information you need to move forward. As you see, you’ll be exploring, and then you’ll run into a “how do I..?” question, which will then bring you to the next step of Research. The results are usually either a solution or technique you can then test. This will open up new possibilities for you to explore.
I find that what’s critical is to complete your full circle, as this is a cycle that will bring you learning.
A cycle starts when you ask yourself, “How do I…?”
Examples: How do I make my vocal pop in the mix? How do I recreate this sound from scratch? How does this song hypnotize a crowd when played?
Maybe I’m hearing you think aloud: That’s what I’m doing already.
But how much is it working for you? If it does, then great. Now, you perhaps have the words to explain it better.
If it’s not working, maybe a phase of that circle isn’t handled correctly. Signs of success mean that you constantly add new skills and have fewer and fewer hurdles when creating. Something is incorrect if you learn new things but keep having issues before a challenge.
Cycles and their uses
Each cycle begins with finding a concept—an idea that sparks curiosity.
Then comes the proof of workability, where the idea is tested, put into a template or macro, and explored by jamming. If you constantly rely on tools and macros others build, you’re skipping essential steps in developing yourself.
Understanding how your concept works forces you to learn music production techniques, perhaps new tools you ignored and possibly learn more about sound itself. But sometimes, putting an idea in a technical environment doesn’t mean it works immediately.
There’s a phase of fixing and refining—adjusting elements until they feel similar to your reference. Once the template feels solid, it’s time to record ideas. This could mean capturing an improvisation, layering sounds, or finalizing an arrangement. You then have the heart and soul of a song to finalize the arrangements.
I often tell people that each of my songs results from a new technique I used and learned, providing a fun result. Sometimes, an album is a collection of multiple songs using the same method, making all the songs feel coherent.
But the process doesn’t stop there. The magic happens when the cycle begins again, not from scratch, but from the momentum of the previous session. Ideas mutate, evolve, and branch out into unexpected territories. Your last project is the seed of the following one. This also helps you keep presets, tools and materials you know work well. Consolidating knowledge and technique is done by repeating over and over something until it becomes very easy.
When you learn something, you need to practice it until it’s fully integrated.
This cyclical process mirrors how art develops in the real world—it’s iterative, messy, and deeply human. Artists look at other artist’s works, try to understand it, then come up with theories and tests. It might be a copy at first, but you’ll be elsewhere as you start practicing to perfect it.
Having references you can study will bring many questions and start new cycles. The more unique and inspiring your references are, the deeper you’ll be in your learning process.
Why Education Matters Now More Than Ever
I could go on about how learning electronic music is essential, but I’ll share some thoughts that may support my claim.
Market Saturation.
A few people have told me how lost they are when finding music they like. DJs feel overwhelmed by how many new tracks come up. Since music is becoming easier to make and can also be distributed without hassle, this causes a mass of music that becomes more difficult for the listener to find what they like. They might discover multiple pale copies of the music they want instead. Still, the lack of originality comes from artists who rely on shortcuts, templates, pre-made macros or any solution to speed up their workflow without an integration where they can innovate the sound itself.
The success of a song often relies on understanding what works but adding a new twist to it. The more you know what you want to do, the more control you have over your output, which means your musical vocabulary expands.
Higher quality and control will allow you to distinguish yourself and your art.
AI Music.
This type of music-making is entirely different from the music we make. An algorithm processes a prompt and turns it into a song. While it gives the impression that it makes music for you, your output is still limited as you don’t fully control the render. There’s room for that type of music, especially for making generic music or coming up with ideas you can revisit later on. Still, AI music skips one of the most essential parts of music-making: the long process of composition.
Making music is often more interesting than the outcome, but many people only focus on that part because it is the end of the journey. I like to compare it to travelling. Your travels aren’t the pictures you took of them, but the entire story from when you leave your home to when you’re back. All the good moments and the parts where you had to change plans are part of the journey. It’s pretty much the same thing with music-making.
If AI music expands your vocabulary or eventually replaces a lot of musicians, it will never take away the pleasure of making a song or jamming in your studio. But with education, you can make those experiences even richer.
Personal Understanding.
Understanding something you love doing opens the door to a community and feeds a need for belonging. As musicians often seek validation and appreciation, relying on their music to achieve this, they frequently don’t realize that they’re trying to respond to a need to be part of a community. Making a song can be a lovely business card to get into a community, but being able to share ideas, explain how to achieve them or help others achieve their goals is a need they don’t know they have. This is what education can achieve for artists because it teaches them new skills and one way to learn is to explain it to someone else.
Reverse Engineering Into a Concept.
The final point I want to share is how understanding allows you to hear other people’s music and be able to pull a concept out of it. Conceptual music implies that you’re not necessarily chasing or digging for a hook; instead, you’ll make music based on certain conditions. Imposing yourself limitations is a way to create focus on what matters.
I hope this has inspired you to dig for information and insights.
As a mastering engineer, I’m exposed to dealing with mixes every day, and as we know, quality masters are directly linked to the mixes’ strengths. When in the mastering stage, I’m dealing with a stereo file, which means I can make adjustments but also have limitations. If the mixed file has all its issues fixed, I can focus on bringing the best of the song to life. On the other hand, if there are some issues, I might have to fix them the best I can, but that will also blur the song’s best part(s).
Asking the client to fix some issues is part of my job. How about a blog post to cover the most common problems I deal with?
Before I start, I’d like to say that mixing is an art that takes years and years to get the most out of. While you can take many different classes, practicing and exposing yourself to many other issues is the best way to learn. Sending them to me for mastering trains yourself to how specific tests come out in the end.
Some clients send me music every week for mastering. Not because they want to release the song but because they want to see what it will be like. They constantly practice and tweak their songs and start new ones, and those are the ones who learn to mix fast.
But like a client asked me recently, “Will I always have to depend on someone for learning to mix?”
I replied, “No, but you need to learn the basics first and then the rest will be much easier.”
But before you read this post, I encourage you to watch this video I recorded for clients.
The most common mixing issues I deal with in mastering
As a reader, you probably expect easy pointers to what you do wrong within your mixing session, but some of the issues come from external factors. If those aren’t addressed, you’ll have the same problems no matter what you do with your software or how you use your plugins. This is why, quite often, after listening to the first 20 seconds of a song, I already know in what context the producer is working.
This leads to the first most problematic issue I deal with every day.
Lack of experience with mix-translation
What is mix translation?
One develops this skill when they know how their sound will be projected into the world outside the studio. Mix translation requires spending time in the outside world, listening to different types of music, then returning to the studio and listening to the same songs to see how they sound. Your ears eventually understand that if you have your low end at a certain level in the studio, it will have a particular impact in a club or a car. Some people rely on their car to see if the track sounds right, which is, in a way, a form of mixed translation.
But this has a particular twist. If your studio doesn’t have appropriately adjusted settings, your monitoring will trick you into misleading directions. Or even worse, it might mask some issues or enhance parts that don’t translate well.
Does this mean you need a studio with a full range of acoustic treatments and a room correction by Sonar Works?
The answer is no.
I wouldn’t say I like Sonar Works’ plugin because I would rather get used to an imperfect signal than deal with a plugin-induced flat tone. Some like it, and that’s good for them, but honestly, it’s not something you need. You need a sub or Subpac to understand your low end if you do music where the low end is essential. Get a pair of headphones you love that are not consumer grade and get to know them well.
A client kept asking me to boost the sub, and I eventually found out he had no sub. He had a nasty surprise when he got to play the track in a local club.
Many clients have mixes with too much of a certain range (ex. exaggerated low end) which will have repercussion of be sounding wrong in certain clubs and will for DJs to have to readjust their EQ on the mixer to match other songs they mix.
When clients receive the master of their track, they listen to it in their studio and sometimes feel it’s wrong. That is because they have mixed their song to fit the studio’s flaws, and once those are fixed, then something will feel off. The right way to listen to a master is to compare it to a third-party song that we know sounds right. You can also listen on headphones where there’s no external acoustic disruption.
Solution(s):
The easiest solution is to get yourself a wide array of reference tracks. Some people don’t like working with them, but using and knowing them properly will resolve many issues regarding presence, impact, loudness, tone, and general impression. While I work with a client, I usually propose a master that is, according to my understanding, the best presentation possible. Still, if I miss the aesthetic, a reference will significantly help. It goes beyond the words and explanations of a client as it is a concrete demonstration of the wanted result.
That reference cannot be a client’s track. It must be from a third party with whom we agree sounds excellent. Tracks from the client will sound right in his studio because they were made there.
As mentioned, knowing your environment and going out will help you understand mix translation.
If you handle this first point, it will resolve many issues. But I see other problems, no matter if you hold that point, so let’s continue.
Low-End Clarity
Having a good understanding of the low end is the key to many dance music-related electronic music. How the sub, bass, and kick perform in a club or a festival drives a crowd and keeps energy. I recently brought my son to a local festival where he heard electronic music loud, and he was so impressed by how the bass felt that it gave him a new understanding of why I love the genre and why people get into dancing.
On the opposite side, if the low end lacks clarity, the mushiness will have a sluggish effect on the people listening, mainly because it will lose its power and punch.
What is low-end clarity?
The low end refers to a frequency range of about 150Hz and below. This covers the kick, part of the bass, and the sub. The bass can start at around 250Hz and go as low as 30Hz. The kick can start high, around 1.5kHz (for the transient) to 20Hz. But its punch will be between 200Hz and 20Hz, depending on the genre, which all have a different recipe for handling the kick. The sub is pretty much under 30hz.
Considering how these three main sounds cover and share presence within that range, they can easily overlap, causing confusion. It can easily be disruptive once one masters if one masks another.
Solutions:
One can do multiple things, but the first solution is to handle this right from the start when you’re in the arrangement stage and sound design.
Adjust your sound’s length so they don’t overlap. This is within the ADSR, where you can cut the tail of one sound so it doesn’t hit another.
Amplitude modulation is another option if you’re struggling with the length. This means you can use side-chaining compression or a tool like Trackspacer to make one sound that should be the leader to force others to duck when it plays. While Trackspacer is the easiest to use, that can also be done with Pro-Q, Fuser, Shaperbox, but those require a bit more tweaking to get a satisfying result.
You can also clear your low-end by learning to use a Gate. The gate helps create space, muting anything under a certain threshold. This means it will silence the tail of certain sounds. My favourite Gate is included in the Neutron Suite.
Considering your low end has limited space, consider having a shorter kick if you have a longer bass or vice versa.
Cutting the unnecessary frequencies for each sound can also help, but it starts with the amplitude first.
Gain Staging
For many, this music production and mixing aspect remains a bit esoteric. Even for myself, it was confusing for years, mainly because no one would adequately explain it to me. Eventually, I understood it independently, which was good because now I can describe it easily to anyone.
What is Gain Staging?
Let’s summarize it to the essential: it’s about giving enough loudness during the mixing stage so that once I master it, I don’t have to compensate and boost it too much. That is not just for the general loudness of the track but also per frequency sections, such as the low end or the mids.
Why is this a problem?
Once I have mastered it, I’m left with only a few options to compensate for the mix’s loudness to hit the commercial levels the market needs. If the mix given has a loudness of -19 LUFS, I need to compensate by adding 9 to 10 LUFS, which is quite a lot. This means that the level differences between sounds and the depth, noise floor, and relationship between all the sounds will be altered drastically, giving my client a shock.
Also, sometimes the loudness is almost perfect, but the low end might not have the required density. I must focus on that zone alone, which can alter the track’s direction.
Solutions:
Gain staging is a series of different actions one can do right from the beginning once samples are selected. When you load up a sound, it is essential to normalize it so it hits zero unity, then check its RMS level to see how much power it has. There’s a difference between the peak loudness and the RMS. The last one is about its density. You can stimulate the density with distortion in one of its numerous forms: compression, distortion, saturation.
This means that plugins such as pre-amps, emulations of hardware, overdrive, and waveshaping, to name a few, can help a sound pop out of the mix because it is thicker. See it as if you would put the sound in bold, where it is dense and thick compared to a standard font.
One mistake I often see with clients’ mixes is applying compression at the end of the chain, either on buses or the master. While that can be useful for glueing multiple sounds simultaneously, it also significantly reduces your dynamic range, killing punch if not used properly.
Harshness, Resonances and Transients
This one covers three issues at once because they’re related. The umbrella that covers them all at once would be named harshness.
We all know when a song sounds unpleasant, but what causes it?
Generally speaking, harshness means that when you listen to the song, it feels uncomfortable or worse; it slightly hurts the ears. This is a given in 99% of contexts because you want people to listen to an enjoyable experience. The last 1% is about some noise, punk and Lofi music, where the uncomfortable feel is enjoyed because it creates tension. But even with those genres, there is a threshold on what human ears will handle.
What makes a song harsh is related to one or the combination of different characteristics. One of them is poorly handled transients that feel sharp and will feel like a stabbing to the ear drum. Transients come from the ADSR of a sound where the attack might be too sharp, paired with annoying frequencies. Some people think, de facto, that 3kHz is automatically uncomfortable, but sometimes, that frequency can be ear-pleasing if boosted. The envelope of the sound is sharp, and the concentration/density at a specific spot might be affected. It is just like putting bold in something ugly.
In sound design, different sound sources help replicate real-world instruments. For instance, noise or inharmonic content can replicate a hihat or a snare. Poorly managed noise, such as white noise, which covers a full range, can be sharp. Picking a filter and applying an ADSR to it can help manage that.
Other sources, such as feedback, which can be helpful for non-linear sound design, can be beautiful but can create resonances. That type of sound, if handled properly, can add an organic feel to your sound, but if you exaggerate, it will be uncomfortable. This is why that resonance on a filter can be ear-pleasing at a certain level, which is the same for boosting EQ’s filter.
When I work on a master, I call myself the general ear’s advocate. I’m the wall between the general public and the client’s song. I adjusted the song so that it felt suitable for the average Joe. It can sometimes be shocking for a client to hear their song fixed, where I removed all the uncomfortable points.
Solution:
Quite often, clients or people I coach ask me which online ear trainer they should try to be able to spot problems in their music. My reply confuses you as I suggest not to use any since, in my humble opinion, they won’t train you for that. The real issue is that many clients don’t understand the harshness for multiple reasons.
You will lose the criticism if your monitoring equipment masks your song’s harshness. This is why consumer headphones or, sometimes, hi-fi make everything sound perfect.
Your ears eventually adjust to imperfection if you overexpose something to them. In other words, if you listen to an ugly song in a loop, your brain will trick you. It’s nice because it’s the only option to not go mental by listening to that loop.
Comparing your music to well-adjusted music is a cross-validation system that will reveal imperfection. If you AB your music, you can feel something is wrong with your sounds. Then, what should you do?
No tool will directly educate you about resonance, but some will give you hints. A plugin like Soothe is a good eye-opener because it shows you potential resonances and controls them dynamically. Different alternatives are cheaper. But honestly, a good way to educate yourself on the harshness and rough mixes is to trust your intuition that something is wrong and then follow this routine:
Using a 3-band EQ, isolate one of the three primary ranges (Low, Mid, High) to pinpoint the issue’s approximate location.
While you pinpoint the range, pay attention to which sounds are playing.
Mute some of the channels to find which one is causing the issue. Once you mute one that seems to impact the ear’s comfort, you know you have found the problem.
Sometimes, the problem comes from combining multiple sounds playing simultaneously. If you solo the sound, you won’t have a problem, but playing with others creates a concentration of frequencies that hurts your ears. You can group those channels at once and then apply an EQ cut at the frequency where it hurts. The methodology is the same: put an EQ dip of 6dB to start with and then scrub the area to see if a position makes it more comfortable. Once you find it, adjust it to -3dB to see if that works. Adjust to taste from there.
Consider removing a sample if you must EQ out 3-4 points at 3- 5 dB. This usually means the sample is plain garbage (for your song).
You can also manage transients with a transient shaper or use a compressor with a short attack to control the problematic envelope of certain sounds.
Stereo Width and Depth
Wide mixes are impressive—I get it—but that can also be an issue in some listening contexts. Those issues mean loss of punch and power; some sounds become ghosts by disappearing or losing considerable loudness. In a stereo signal, there are the Left and Right (LR), but there is also the Mono signal and the Sides (MS).
The mono signal is distributed in both speakers. If you go very close to a speaker and hear only that one, you should distinctively hear the mono and panned signals. When the two speakers are positioned, the mono signal will appear right before you (center), so your ears perceive a stereo representation. On headphones, the mono signal feels right up to your nose or in the middle of your head.
The right and left signals are encoded in the specific signal, which is the same on headphones.
The Side signal, once isolated, will feel on each signal but will have the mono signal muted. It’s a hard one to describe. On headphones, it can feel like hearing the ambience of a space alone, almost tricking your ears that you can listen to behind and around your head.
There are many wideners out there that play with psycho-acoustics to trick your ears. The signal is wider, but this can blur out your sounds to a point where they will phase. What we call phasing issues is that the sound cancels itself out because it can’t be properly represented in the stereo image. I could go deeper in the description, but you must know this.
One of the issues I often deal with is the mono signal being too weak compared to the sides. Sometimes, it can be where the side signal, but only a specific frequency, is louder than its mono signal. In the opposite scenario, the sides are too weak, and I will try to open them to give some presence. If I did that, I would never exaggerate it.
Solution:
This is a tricky one. Using a tool that shows your mixe’s MS balance is best. You can also learn to spot if sounds are phasing with a spectrometer. I’d encourage you to get the free vst Span by Voxengo.
General recommendations for enhancing your mixes
Some healthy habits you can start when you make music will directly impact your mix’s quality. I will share a few of them here as bonus content. These tips don’t necessarily address a specific problem but will help you achieve consistency and better results after mastering them.
Mixing Flat / Using an FFT
Keeping an FFT reader on your master bus, such as SPAN, will give you an idea of whether the tone of your song is slanted or flat. For mastering, it’s easier to deal with a mix that is flat than one that is slanted (dark or bright). Having a flat mix gives me the chance to propose to the client a specific direction that will be best for the given song. If the song has an exaggerated tone, and I have to fix the tone, the client will automatically believe I messed up the song.
Testing in Mono
I’d encourage you to test your song in mono during the mixing stage. Multiple plugins, including the Utility plugin from Ableton, can convert a stereo to mono. When your song is in mono, try to see how certain sounds are heard compared to when in stereo. If the sounds in mono signal drastically get attenuated, you must accentuate its presence to solidify its level. You might have overused some phase-inducing plugins, and it might be good to mellow that out.
A/B your music
Drop a few songs directly in your arrangement section to use them for referencing. You can then A/B your song with that one and compare the tone, levels, and width. You can also check the arrangements, which sometimes reveal flaws in yours.
Learn to DJ and use Rekordbox
This might sound strange if you’re only producing, but if you learn to DJ, this will be helpful in how you prepare tracks. When you DJ music you love and then play yours, does it feel right? Is there a gap? Not only can DJing be a fun hobby, but it is an activity that will significantly help with your mixing and arrangements. I consider this essential if you aspire to make dance music-related music. It is a way to put yourself in a DJ’s shoes.
I went to a local club to hear a visiting friend from Romania for an all-night of music that was more aligned with my tastes, and while the DJ before him was a bit linear and predictable, my friend opened up with fresh-sounding music. He didn’t drop the Beatport top 10 music or anything directly linked to the previous DJ, not even an introduction to please the crowd. He dropped some obscure techno, which was a bit audacious, and he quickly followed it with a song from the 90s. The main idea of that track was a vocal saying, “Get House,” which was this song by Caliesto. Beautiful contrast.
Just hearing the sample, I had flashbacks of raves, lasers, glow sticks, and people dancing and sweating, just from a single sample that I heard, which brought me back to a specific era. In contrast to the previous DJ, where all songs blended well together in a seamless flow, there was unfortunately nothing memorable or tangible to grasp from it. I don’t remember a single moment, just a week after. This is not a criticism of someone’s music, but more to say that solid ideas age well because they create intense moments. If you listen to the Caliesto song, you’ll realize it’s relatively simple. Still, the hook is catchy enough for anyone to tell their friends later on about the primary sample, which others can probably remember easily.
It occurred to me that the definition of success has changed since the 1990s. Of course.
Back to DJs
As I got back into DJing, I’m exploring the options available, as numerous tools are now available. For instance, I got a professional account on Rekordbox and paired it with an experienced account on Beatport. This allows me to sync my playlist from the store directly to my Rekordbox, add any songs I want and then have this endless catalogue on hand. It’s basically like having Spotify, where your limitation is your music knowledge or culture. But even if you are new to it or limited, there are discovery tools to help you search what others like and play.
After synchronizing Beatport to Rekordbox and opening the music section related to it, I got overwhelmed. If you know me, you’d know that technology rarely overwhelms me. It took me a lot to get there, but I was staring at the selection and feeling lost. I wasn’t overwhelmed with possibilities; I was confused by how much junk was out there.
I’m not here to criticize the music again, but more from a meta-level, stepping back as a global view.
The number of songs that sound exactly like the previous one was blatant. Some of my favourite artists suddenly make songs with questionable sounds or presets, and many new artists create music with strange, unusable arrangements.
Am I too old for this?
Nah, don’t worry. Once I start digging, I still find a lot of fantastic music. So what happened exactly?
Music Democratization and Open Business Opportunities
In the 90s, electronic music software aimed to allow more and more people to make music by making it more accessible and affordable. This opened the path to countless music lovers interested in making music. I’d be a hypocrite to complain because I was one of those people with no music background; technology was my saviour. Jump 30 years later, add YouTube for knowledge sharing (fueled with the motivation of popularity of likes), and add aggregators who allow anyone with a finished song to access all online stores and streaming platforms. You’ll get albums of barking dogs, techno EPs made by eight years old, fart-fueled drone music and whatever you can think of, you can probably find it.
Is that bad?
It’s not me to judge, but the advantage of people being solid selectors is probably what can make a DJ stand out from their colleagues. But as a producer, I think the question is, can one escape the appeal of the mass wave of music similarity and perhaps be irrelevant?
Absolutely, but this is a tad complicated to cover because it is defined by multiple aspects, such as your Definition of done (DoD), your culture, your community, and what you consider success.
Success Trap
Whatever you see or identify as a “problem” is directly related to a micro-culture of habits that created that situation. For instance, if your bedroom is messy, you have a terrible habit of not keeping it tidy. If you want to clean it, once you have cleaned it, it will remain that way for a day or two until it gets dirty again. The real goal behind this is not to organize your room; it’s to develop cleanliness habits so it remains clean.
We can translate this to the music business as well. A considerable amount of people who consult me in private wish to finish more music because their goal is to be successful, which they translate by having:
Music being finished
Signed to a label
Labels see success by releasing music that eventually gets attention and sales. DJs see success with gigs, and Instagram reels with loads of likes.
While there’s nothing wrong with these, the focus is set on something that defines the success of an external party. You might never feel like it’s enough because there will always be options for better, and while it can become addictive, it can also feel depressing. But the appeal of seeing people having many likes, playing on the big stage, and having many streams is an image we might all crave; I can get it.
Seeing success in others as an end goal is a trap because it doesn’t focus on the habits that successful artists built.
Behind the successful DJ is daily research of old and new music, rehearsals, and research, but also many failures. Behind the successful release is the habit of the producer making music every day and making 23 different versions of each song. Behind the successful label is a team that spends time daily networking with media, DJs, and festivals. Behind each role model, there is a lot hidden, and that is where success lies.
While everyone is debating AI music (or images) generating tools, I rarely see anyone talk about how this is aimed at results and bypassing the creation processes and habit forming.
If you focus on having solid habits, results will follow. This starts with keeping your bedroom tidy, making your bed every day, and washing the sheets once a week. In the end, your room will be clean and remain clean.
This is not my pure invention. It comes from a book called Atomic Habits. I discovered that book years ago, and it made such an impact.
Breaking The Standards
In my last post, where I gave points on speeding up your work process, someone asked how this can flood the market with more unnecessary copycat music when I posted on social media. I asked him if my music was, and he said no (I know the person, so it was a good chat). It came down to how you use your speed and the aim of your intentions. But yes, if you work fast and aimlessly, you may get in the queue to make another version of the best seller on Beatport, which has probably already existed 200 times.
But how can one break standards, routines, clichés?
Forming Habits Based Around Originality
This is where it should all start. That implies recognizing what makes a song original, unique, and memorable.
Being more personal in your expression
There are two popular types of producers: those who want to sound like everyone and those who don’t want to sound like the rest. Each faces some issues:
Sounding like everyone else will not elevate you to the status of a leader. However, it can pay off if you find other people who quickly like the same sounds as you.
Sounding like no one will marginalize you, making it hard to find your community. When done right, originality can be acclaimed and turn you into an innovator.
But being more personal in your music doesn’t mean turning yourself into an alien. It means you can take known ideas but shape them into who you are. For instance, I love it when there is a melodic harmony in my music (using root keys and scales), but I have a hard time following typical chord progression that is popular in songs (progressive, lo-fi hip hop, etc.). When I make melodies, I just hit keys randomly using my ear and eventually organize my notes to make sense (to me). It’s weird for anyone into music theory because it doesn’t follow convention, but it makes sense because it is not harmonically wrong.
My friend Bryan, a jazz musician, said he preferred my weird melodies to some too-organized songs because ” they sounded more like you.”
A client used his voice to sing notes that he’d convert to midi. He felt like his voice would put to melody, something very personal.
It’s the same for percussion. You can follow conventions or play it weird with whatever you like… while remaining on the grid, so it’s playable by a DJ.
Master one or more music production techniques.
The more you master one technique, the more you can push its boundaries. Using a method on its low level is missing that zone where you can extract ideas entirely different from what everyone is doing. Thinking of J Dilla, he mastered sampling and swing groove, which brought his recognizable signature.
If you think of that Caliesto song I mentioned, it’s also about understanding execution more than just relying on the content.
Cross-pollinate genre inspiration.
If you read my blog, this often comes up. Songs that get attention are usually innovative, and recently, there’s been a news saying that David Guetta has done some country music, which is a good example. You might not like him, but in terms of business decisions, this guy always takes decisions that show the way. This also applies to handling sampling as a way of constantly innovating yourself. If you think you’re mastering that technique, think again.
Splice is also an excellent place to dive for inspiration. Their AI that suggests ideas to start with is pretty innovative and helpful. It allows you to break the routine and pick samples from other genres.
Avoid popular sample packs and presets
I can’t say this enough, but some genres rely on the same packs. Unlike drum and bass with the amen break, it’s a sample. We’re talking about a pack of multiple samples just used and reused to the point where it’s breaking any chances of growing as a musician. Considering the number of samples we can access, I have difficulty understanding why this is happening.
Using the same sample packs falls under wanting to sound like the others. One of the excellent features of Ableton Live 12 is the “Find similar samples” feature, which, with a click, proposes a wide array of options. So, perhaps you can start with a base of a few samples but then dive into your library to get similar-sounding ones.
While advocating for presets, primarily for self-education, I also encourage you to tweak them a bit so you can find various colours you didn’t know you had under your nose. While mastering and listening to a client’s music, it often happens that I’ll go, “Ah, he used this synth with that preset,” which is not a problem, but I find it a bit lazy. But that’s me, which means others might also think that. If you aspire to release it, you might not want a label to believe that of your music.
While there’s no “find similar presets” in Live, you can sort of work around it by creating a macro of your plugin by mapping parameters to knobs (as a group), then creating snapshots of your knobs. If you record yourself playing with your snapshots, you’ll see the knob’s position being recorded as well. Then, you can make a slew between the positions. There’s also a max patch that can do it here.
In case you missed it, I declared 2024 “my back-to-production year.” It started slowly because I had a lot on my plate, but as soon as it slowed down, I got into full force. Ironically, the last ten years of education I provided to students and people I mentored were based on my peak time experience, but I wasn’t applying my tricks to my workflow so much.
Sometimes, you need to focus on yourself; other times, focusing on others will provide insights. You can only explain what you truly understand; explaining to others often forces you to rethink your knowledge. Since time flies, it has made more sense to do a lot of music to see the real challenges in 2024 and perhaps find new approaches.
In this post, I will try to summarize the different shortcuts and hacks that have led me to be on the road to work incredibly fast, making 1-2 songs per day on top of my regular workload.
Why Work Fast
If you read this blog, you know I embrace speed in music-making for multiple reasons. The number one reason is that you get better at something with practice, and if you work fast to make music, you’ll work with techniques, face issues and learn something new with each session.
By stating this over and over, it only made sense that I would be fast myself, and at first, I felt a bit rusty, so it didn’t take much time to get back into it. The first step to speed is to understand where you lose time.
For this, there are two main spheres:
Idea generation: Melodies, bass lines, percussive patterns, sequences, chord progression, hooks, song structure, arrangements, etc.
Content: Sounds, recordings, effects, etc.
Idea generation matters when developing your song, while the content sphere is about how it sounds. You can have all the best ideas in the world, but what does it sound like? You might have all the sounds, yet how you arrange them will be what your song is about.
It’s a challenge to come up with both, and many people get lost in one part of this, hyper-focusing on making the best of it and forgetting that there are other things to address. Building speed involves delegating some parts to tools that can handle it while you focus on the ones you are the best at.
A good example is the use of a drum machine. One might want to focus on hook and song structure but will leave the percussive side to a drum machine that won’t need much programmation nor sound design, as it comes with its sound. Another example is from the acoustic genre, like folk music, where the sounds will be guitar and voice, so the artist can focus on the lyrics and perform without worrying about finding many sounds.
Finding Your Shortcuts Through Tools
Once you know where you lose time, it’s time to realize that technology exists to simplify your workflow. Regarding tools and plugins, here is a complete list of all the tools I use to enhance my music.
Idea Generation
Hooks, Melodies, riffs, motifs: After analyzing so many hooks from songs I love (you should do the exercise to see what you like), I can understand that they’re either sampling-related or short phrasing of notes. If you expect to make great melodies without understanding music, your best asset would be to become familiar with the basics. Knowledge is always the best investment before any use of the tool.
That said, writing ideas can be tricky. Plus, if you want to write melodies yourself, you might likely always come up with the same routine. I suggest starting with generators that can propose some starting point and then build on that.
Ableton Live 12 has many different seed generators for creating fresh ideas. I recently related to Phil Meyer’s Suite of Generators, but I also looked at Manifest Audio, which has its palette of tools freshly ready for Live 12.
If you’re not familiar with the various tools AlexKid made, he humbly started with a drum machine sequencer in Live, but soon after, he came up with multiple tools for generating ideas, such as Seqund and the suite bundles.
I also love AudioModern and Riffer, and Rozzer and Sting can be super powerful free tools. Snake just got a new version of Live 12, which is lovely.
Sounds and Content
If we are going to relate to samples, there are multiple options on the market. In the subscription model, there is always Splice (one-shots, loops, plugin rent-to-own and more), Loopcloud (one-shots, loops, midi), Tracklib (royalty-free song content to reuse), and Soundsnap (sound library from field recordings to one-shots, used mainly by movies). You can also explore free options with Freesound, Archive.org, and Samplette (random YouTube searcher).
The best way to generate new sounds is to create a macro where I have mapped the parameters of a sampler or Synth as a macro and then hit the macro’s randomizer to access a new sound.
Creativity comes from action and motion. You need to sit and work for ideas to come.
Collaboration
This is not a plugin, but collaboration has the most significant impact on speeding things up. It also depends on who you work with. In-person sessions can often result in distractions, chatting, smoking weed, and not doing that much. Ideally, I prefer remote sessions where each participant works when they have time, at the peak of their focus.
The other benefit of working remotely is collaborating with anyone, anywhere. In my case, my collaborators are often in different countries.
If you want to learn how to make music fast, work with someone who knows their way. When you swap projects, knowledge will be shared. You will find collaborators in people who do something you love and do something well that you don’t. Someone who complements you will do better than someone at your level or who has the same ways as you.
Now, here’s a twist. Sometimes, it’s good to work with someone with zero music-making experience who is in good spirits and will provide you with some ideas. I find it inspiring to be sitting in the studio with someone who will go, “I imagine the song to do this, and that can go there.” then you do what you can with that information, and whatever happens, it gets you to a place you would not explore on your own. A beginner is often enthusiastic about things you might be jaded about, giving you an appreciation for things you got bored with.
During a recent retreat, we did a jam with four people. While this wasn’t new to me, everyone else had never tried that before, and they were mind-blown by what we were doing. There was no preparation at all. We just improvised, and everything felt natural and fun. What felt like 10 minutes was almost 2 hours of weird music. That was energizing, and we all shared the music that we saw fit with others.
Templates and References
In my fast pace of music-making, I’m having two initial sessions. One is building a base idea, and the other is creating a skeleton song. As you have learned from this blog, fetching, developing, and organizing ideas should be the base of your work, and it takes a lot of time to find the ones you love. But that shouldn’t stop you either from advancing within your music-making.
Building songs from basic ideas is a good starting point; sometimes, the main idea appears as you work on them.
You will be creative by working it out and not by waiting to feel creative.
This is where templates are handy. I like to save a finished song as a template, but first, I remove it from all the sounds while keeping the MIDI and effects. If you think about it, in the 1970s, people organized a mixing board for an entire album recording, which kept uniformity across the project. It would also often be recorded in a unique studio.
Keeping the song as a template speeds up your organizing for the follow-up song(s).
Rekordbox
I once saw someone on Instagram saying everyone should DJ, and I agree. I don’t mean that everyone should perform as a DJ in clubs, but more for self-educational purposes and because it’s fun. It opens you up to many exciting understandings of how electronic music works. If you disagree, fair enough, so we should agree on one point: anyone who makes electronic music for DJs should at least learn and play as a DJ themselves.
In the last months, I went back into DJ mode and found a new range of inspiration. Plus, playing unfinished music in Rekordbox alone pointed out flaws in the arrangements and the mix that I initially felt were ok. It even altered my workflow, where I would make a skeleton arrangement for a song and then directly drop it in Rekordbox to play it with music I love so I could see what happens, what works, and what does not.
So, in a way, stepping out of Ableton Live and going into Rekordbox is a shortcut and also a headache saver.
Everyone should learn how to DJ. There is a lot to learn and it gives you appreciation for the art, for the music while educating you on how music is made. Just as much as everyone should learn how to play piano.
Templates
I’ve discussed this multiple times, but when you start making music, I recommend starting by making one template per studio session. From simple to complex, creating a template ensures that you structure future sessions, organize what you do each time you start a song, and store potential techniques to explore.
Here are some ideas to explore:
Mixing template: Create a template of multiple pre-made channels with effects for mixing.
Minimal (or any genre) template: Have a template with a collection of kicks, synth presets, and other sounds ready for you to put in the spirit of making one genre.
Sound scrubbing: Build a template with different tools for altering and destroying samples, such as granulators, distortion, modulators and samplers.
Complex routing: Perhaps you’d like to explore weird techniques of gating and side-chaining with some complex routing made in advance.
Pad collection: Load up a bunch of synths and samplers to have complex textures in layers.
Percussion swapper: Open multiple drum kits and send the same midi to various kits so you can preview your options.
The beauty of having options in a template means two possible points: the first is that you can open a template and start working on it or import channels from a project you are currently working on.
Macros and Systems
Quite often, when I open up the projects from clients, I see they use a chain of effects. Some make no sense, while others are interesting, but however it works, I never see them being grouped as macros. I’m always surprised how so few people miss the opportunity to use one of the most powerful aspects of Ableton. Not only is it easy to group that rig of effects, but who knows if it can be used later on in another song.
Turning multiple effects into a macro means:
You can map essential parameters of the effect to knobs so you can control them with PUSH or quickly have access to the knobs, all centralized in one place.
Save parameters as global presets to have different colours quickly.
Randomize your rack for unexpected results.
Modulate elements from one spot.
I’d encourage you to add this as a habit, as it will automatically pay off in the short term.
Systems are a bit like macros but a bit more advanced, so they are not easy for a newcomer to explore. What I refer to as a system is when you have built a macro that generates content for your music. This falls under the umbrella of generative content but uses macros. The advantage of generative tools are to create ideas to add to your music. It can be related to percussion or melodies or weird glitches. I have a lot of generative tools I always pull out when the idea “something’s missing” pops into my mind.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/speed-tricks.jpg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-06-18 10:41:272024-06-18 10:43:19Shortcuts And Speed Up Tricks
After a few years of pausing teaching 1-2-1 beginner’s classes, I took a few lately to get back in touch with how it feels when you start making music. One of the reasons I wasn’t taking beginners was that it became redundant to me, and I preferred taking intermediate to advanced producers instead because of the challenge and because, at that level, different problems require some creative approach. Beginners require guidance, help with navigation, workflow, and debunking myths about music making and basic concepts. At the same time, I now realize that I take the challenge differently; I aim to teach them the most with as little as possible.
One approach I take is to see their progression with levels, like video games or Dungeons and Dragons (if you know me, I’m a big D&D fan, playing weekly). In this post, I’ll approach one technique people are constantly overlooking, and whatever level you are, it is undoubtedly something to apply: Slicing.
Sampling, Resampling and Hip Hop
At a beginner’s level, people are looking to familiarize themselves with the tools and navigation of Ableton Live (or DAW). I always insist that if you focus on hardware, you go back to a DAW, as there are a lot of concepts to learn first, and using a computer is far simpler than learning gear. Part of that navigation includes using clips, loops, and simple sounds and building songs with those to understand how arrangements work and simple theory.
At that level, you can’t yet aspire to sound like what you hope for, nor does someone who plays the piano for the first time practice scales. If you want to make songs, you need to practice making songs out of whatever you find. But sampling, resampling and remixing can go a long way. Some producers make a career out of those techniques.
Everyone wants to make songs but no one want to learn how to make them. They all want to skip the practice because they think they have it all figured out.
Hip-hop is a good example. The philosophy and basis of production include sampling old records or any music whatsoever and arranging them, often on an MPC. The logic comes down to “grab and juggle, rearrange to taste.”
Creatively, it is the ideal ground-breaking approach: You take what you love and then arrange it in your way.
I’ve been following this artist, Jon Makes Beats, who applies this efficiently. He often samples records, usually quite corny (apparently many of them were bought at a Salvation Army for a few bucks), rearranges them, adds beats (often from rearranged loops), plays some notes on top, and then booms (usually presets, which he says he’s okay with)—all that is recorded in one shot. To me, this feels like perfect, successful studio time.
Watch all his videos, and it’s impossible not to get inspired by the simplicity of his approach. But also, he has some good, down-to-earth tips that are aligned with mine.
The central concept is simple: once you have your samples, you have the material to tell your story in another way. I’ll share some points and ideas for you to try.
Numerous notable artists have made amazing things with samples, but two who come to mind are the Beastie Boys and Daft Punk. In the Apple TV documentary, The Beastie Boys share how one of their early hit songs relied on three samples as the basis; the rest was a drum machine and their rapping. On the other hand, Daft Punk layered multiple little samples from various records to achieve a song. Those 2 are good opposite examples, but both did so much with taken ideas used creatively.
Creating your own Slicing preset
I wasn’t super happy with the sampling presets in Ableton Live, so I created my own. When I slice a loop, I want, by default, access to a specific macro mapped to what I usually use.
First, if you’re unfamiliar with slicing, you can do so by taking any loop you have, and then, when you right-click, a menu will appear. From there, you pick “Slice to Midi Track.”
Then, you’ll be prompted on what preset to use for the slicing.
You’ll then get a drum rack with each sample (slice) assigned to the rack’s pads. A Midi clip will also be generated with a note pointing to a specific slice. If you play the clip, you’ll hear your original clip, but now you can rearrange the clip so the notes come in a different order. You can also pick one sample.
They’re all OK for vanilla slicing, but the rack’s macros feel underwhelming. Making your preset is so easy and fun that I’ll explain how I made mine so you can do your own.
Create your slicing preset
First, open an empty MIDI channel.
Second, place a Drum Rack and add a Simpler on the C1 pad.
Third, you can map some parameters of the Simpler to the Macro-knobs of the Drum Rack. This means that when you slice your clip, each slice will have its own Simpler, but a simple mapped knob will control all of the same parameters. This has pros and cons. On the positive side, this means that you can, for instance, maintain the length of all the slices, making them short or long. But if some clips are intended to be short while others are long, that can be tricky.
Some of my knobs are controlling these parameters: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release, Volume on the lower right side. Then, the Filter’s Frequency and Resonance. Make sure that you uncheck the Loop and Snap options.
The last step is to save this new preset in the right folder so it can be used in the slicing option.
You drop the drum rack in the User Folder, under Defaults, in the folder “Slicing.” You can then rename it whatever you want, like mine below, “My Basic Slicer.”
If you slice a clip to midi, your new preset will appear in the list.
You’re now set to go!
Now, let’s do a few little experiments.
Slice the Ugly Into Beauty
Sometimes, you might have bizarre and ugly recordings of a synth or perhaps a dissonant effect. I’m particularly interested in those because you can get some unusual melodies or percussion once you slice them. I find there is something poetic in transforming something you’d automatically discard and finding a new, unexpected life.
One issue might be that it might not have transients to be detected, so you might want to slice it into forced regions. I’d encourage you to try different settings, but it could be 1/4 or 1/8, depending on your desired size. Ensure the sample you’re slicing isn’t too long; otherwise, you’ll end up with too many slices, which won’t be interesting to work with.
From there, you can see what slices came out, modify the length, and discover new patterns.
TIP: You can try a sequencer before the drum rack to generate sequences without the MIDI clip. Some fun sequencers exist, such as Rozzer and Snake.
Slicing Melodies
This technique comes from Hip-Hop. They usually slice a melody into more extended regions and then, by playing a MIDI instrument, play the song with a different articulation or change the order of the notes. But you can also take a more abstract approach, have shorter notes, play them randomly, and see if it makes sense.
To do this, people would select a region size that is 1/2 or 1 bar long. But if you’re into Micro-House music, you’d go for tiny regions.
TIP 1: Get a MIDI controller to experiment with playing the regions.
TIP 2: Use the internal LFOs of the Sampler to add some life to your sequence.
Swapping Sounds
In Ableton Live 12 (if you have it), the drum rack has a new option that allows you to swap all sounds for a new selection of similar ones. This can be a rabbit hole because you’ll start with a few sounds, and then you’ll end up discovering plenty of alternatives. You can lock some sounds you like and then dice roll the other out.
To do this, you’ll first need to go into the sample list and consolidate the slices; otherwise, they won’t be detected as single slices.
TIP: Whatever slicing you do, if you use transient mode, mainly for anything percussive, you’ll have a midi DNA of where each transient falls on the grid. You can also use one slicer’s midi and pass it to another. This means that the rhythm of one slicing pattern can trigger the order of another. This leads to rearranged sequences and a fun, unsteady swing.
Third-Party Samplers
It’s also fun to explore third-party VSTs beyond Ableton. There are quite a few out there, but I’ll share my favourites. Not that you won’t be able to create a slicing preset with those. The slicing presets can only be made with the native sampler/simpler from Ableton.
This plugin is XO’s little perfect companion. If you don’t know about XO, it’s probably one of the best drum machines and samplers. XO excels at creating percussive sequences, giving you variations with sounds and patterns. It also visually organizes your collection of samples by category and family, allowing you to find similar samples quickly. Life takes this to another level where you can resample your samples internally and then create new sequences out of them but with many variations options. It also has this option as an app on your smartphone to record sounds anywhere and then link them to your DAW. It is awe-inspiring.
TIP: Use both with automation to really bring your sequences to life.
TIP2: These are essentials if you have the budget.
For DJs to play their sets digitally, Serato has been around for a while. It started with a Vynil encoder where they could beat-match music from their computer. This evolved in 20 years, and now digital mixing is a standard for many. DJing for hip-hop artists who do DMC scratching competitions is an art, and Serato developed a sampler version for artists who want to explore sampling parts in production. This plugin is highly rated because it offers simplicity and easy workflow.
The guys at AudioModern have a series of excellent studio tools I use regularly. Loopmix is quite fun as it’s designed to be used with loops. The idea is to use multiple loops (ideally, it works better with percussion), and then it will slice them to recreate new sequences, blending the different sources. It’s pretty impressive what you can do with this live but also in the studio if you want to recycle the loops you have.
I’m not too familiar with this one, as I only saw demos, but from what I understand, it decomposes the samples into layers. Instead of slicing them in time, it does it on a spectrum layer. This means you can decompose your sample into layers. It’s on my wishlist, and I’m resisting trying the demo because I know I’ll buy it in a glimpse. This is the kind of tool you’ll want if you love drones, textures, moods and anything ethereal sounding.
I look forward to hearing what you’ll do with this technique. Please share your experiments.
The last few weeks have been quite exciting for me. This year so far has brought me a lot of joy when it comes to music. After being at the service of my clients on a full-time schedule for the last nine years, I realized that bringing the spotlight on myself was essential for my creativity and sanity. Moreover, after teaching and explaining concepts for that long, it was time for me to dive into my needs and apply them.
But what ignited much passion recently was that I was invited to play a DJ set, which at first was a bit unsettling, but it turned out to be a positive thing as I dove into digital mixing. I haven’t DJ a set since 2011 and didn’t have fun either. As someone who feels like himself when playing live, DJin feels like a limited version of my creative self. But using Pioneer’s Rekordbox and a controller, I realized that things have changed a lot since and that it’s pretty exciting.
I’m fortunate to have a label (Archipel), and many friends, which made my music collection quite rich, so playing that music felt like rediscovering two things: layering music and creative storytelling.
Most importantly, it reminded me that if you make music for DJs, you will benefit from DJing yourself to know what works or not with your art.
I made a few realizations while improvising music, which I’ll share in this post.
Tracks vs Songs
One of the first things that come to mind when mixing music is that if the music is too full or too arranged, it is hard to layer it over other music. One term we use in music production is “stripped-down music” for tracks that are generally more repetitive and, on first look, feel a bit underwhelming. If you’re into layering music, those songs are a DJ’s best friend. This comes as eye-opening as I am into tightly executed arrangements, and now, when I mix, I tend to search for those mellow songs to mix in just for the texture it brings.
Some songs that I love listening to become a nightmare to mix because they’re overly busy, and relying on the EQ to attenuate some frequency range brings down way too much from that song.
Clients who are worried their music is boring don’t realize that it might actually be a good thing because a song that is slightly repetitive and not so exciting can actually be an excellent tool for a DJ.
When minimal was at its peak in the early 2000s, I remember journalist Philip Sherburne describing minimal techno as “music that feels unfinished but released anyway,” he wasn’t wrong. It was primarily because leading DJs would layer all kinds of songs simultaneously as a performance. Richie Hawtin was the leader of this, as Algorithm, Mike Shannon… I’d say it is an art to find the right balance, and in this interview, Hawtin explained that for his Concept:96, he was focusing on working with elements essential to the song, discarding anything else.
Many people forget that DJ tracks aren’t necessarily made to be listened to independently. You may if you want, but it might be slightly underwhelming. If it is, it’s perhaps done right, which is mind-boggling for many producers who often stress that people might get bored.
I’m blantantly going to point out EDM as the main actor for making overly arranged music, creating a standard that contaminated other genres. If EDM brought people on board to the electronic scene, it also confused the new people that it is the way music should be made.
The strength of music that is filled with risers, swooshes, reverse, effects, drops, and breaks is that you’ll have a crowd that is paying attention, and it will also remove intervention for the DJ to do… or maybe they will induce more action, creating a wall of noise. I don’t despise this genre, but it is not what I want from music. I’m more interested in a hypnotic effect, subtle transitions and a mysterious music excursion.
Back to unfinished songs, I’m not even observing that music that is not so well mixed can also engage in mixing as their imperfection can be blended into a song. I mainly refer to songs with weird filtering or sloppy low-end. Of course, on their own, it’s a bit rough, but as a third deck song, as a way to complement what’s happening, it adds a layer of frequencies that can be a nice colour. Well-mixed songs can carry a set, but there is room for imperfectly mixed songs to be added, as long as you don’t leave them on their playing.
Negative Space In Arrangements
This brings me to negative space, or “holes.” These are voluntary spaces, silences, and blanks you leave in your patterns or longer phrases. The beauty of these silences comes to life when mixing another song, where some aspects of song B reply to elements of song A. When you think this way, this opens up a whole range of options:
Negative space in percussion patterns: Instead of having a full line of an element playing, you could mute half or a quarter of the bar to have space for other percussion.
Space in section: You can see your melodies and patterns by sections where they can play for 1 to 4 bars, then go mute. You can also alternate melodies every X bar instead of having them play throughout the song (a common mistake I see in arrangements).
Less transition, more spontaneous elements: You don’t need to have sounds at every transition. Have it less, and instead, use decorative elements here and there. When mixing with another song, these elements might converse with another song.
Reduce your checklist: Sometimes I feel like a song has a checklist of all the elements it needs to be “full,” so why not leave some out? You could leave out the claps, arp, bass, or something you usually put in de facto. Most other songs have those elements, so leaving an “essential out” is a soft way to create tension.
One-note melodies: We often trick ourselves into thinking melodies need multiple notes to be fun, but using one note can go a long way. It can also be layered with another song with 1-2 notes, creating a new melody. Harmony happens when multiple notes are combined, so having a track with one note complements other songs. One-note sequences are quite helpful in the intro or outro of a song.
Breakdowns, Drops, Effect
Now, let’s discuss things I don’t like about mixing. The first one I need to mention is something I’ve been saying for a long time: breaks.
I don’t understand why each song has a breakdown. Especially long ones. Having a moment with less energy can be fun and offer a different flavour to how the song is built, but you don’t always need a long pause in your music. It has become too easy just always to have breakdowns, as when there is then a drop, people react. There are other ways to do that, and each song has a long break, which gets tiring. As I said in past posts in this blog, it’s the DJ’s job to know when the best moment to drop the energy is, and if you do it for them, it can get irritating.
I found myself using hot cues to skip breaks, and in some cases, I’m now creating edits of the songs where I remove them. Once removed, it feels even like it shouldn’t be there.
Once again, in EDM, one of the main ideas of a breakdown is that once the drop happens, it should propose a new twist (ex., change of percussion pattern or introduction of a new sound). I like that in some way, but not in every song. This is something to be considered for repetitive music, which is in the last third of a song, to add something new and complementary.
This also goes for effects, swooshes, and risers, which are all over the top and unnecessary. Again, I removed some of them in songs I’d want to play.
I’m starting to like “empty-sounding songs,” pretty straightforward ones. Is that a return to my 90’s roots? Perhaps yes.
Arrangement Techniques
There are multiple ways to write arrangements for DJs who, like me, are into layers and long mixing sequences. You can search my blog with the arrangement topic to find a bunch, but I’ll share the ones I’m currently using. Yes, at the moment, I’m lost in a rabbit hole of making DJ-tools songs for my pleasure and enjoying it quite a bit.
1. Find a track you like as a reference, play it in the background of your arrangement, and build your song to fit over it. I recommend isolating the last 2-3 minutes of the reference and then developing your intro over it. This is particularly useful if you struggle with how to start a song.
2. Decorate your track using the reference song and place your “events” at moments where it complements it. For instance, you could add a few notes to answer the ones of the arrangement or place a vocal at another point. These are fun for a DJ to use because as the song goes, they can loop part of your track and layer it over the song that is playing. Sometimes, for longer tracks, where the DJ is waiting for the last part to mix in a new one, there are a few minutes to kill, so if you provide something playful, the DJ can be creative and do subtle mixing or crossfader tricks.
3. Add Bonus content. When your song is done playing, add a few seconds of silence and then the effects, risers, or whatever you want. That way, you can load the track twice, and the second one can be used to decorate the first one.
4. Test your music. Rekordbox is free to download and useful for testing. Load up your references and newly done tracks, then layer them to see how it goes. You can also do that in Ableton or your DAW. Adjust. I don’t think the first version you will do will be the best.
5. Live Jam. This one is where you can have a lot of fun and be less intellectual. Have your reference play, and then gather a bunch of loops you can jam with. The idea is to jam those loops over the reference. See this as if you were the DJ but with more control. Another way to approach this would be that you’re collaborating. Mute the reference and listen to what you have. It might feel a bit weird on its own, but you’ll have a layer to work around as you can build your core song around your playful jam. You don’t have to keep it all. You can trim the best parts.
Leave your comments below if you have other suggestions and ideas. I’d love to read them.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/imper.jpg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-05-14 13:43:202024-05-14 14:11:43Using Imperfection As a Leverage
Whatever your level of mastery of Ableton Live is, you might have occasionally seen some advanced tutorials on YouTube and wondered if these were for you. While I will cover some of the advanced techniques I use below, I want to introduce the topic of what advanced techniques are and why you’d like to use them. It’s one thing to be interested in them, but sometimes, simple might be even more powerful than something advanced and complicated unless you want to do something complicated.
Whenever I have students who ask about advanced techniques, we always end up in a rabbit hole conversation about what is advanced in the first place or why one would want to use that. We talk about ambient music, IDM, EDM, or music that seems to be advanced. The thing is, techniques are always divided into categories, and that’s where it all begins.
Live performance.
Arrangements.
Sound Design.
Mixing.
While music production is a non-linear series of phases that go round and round, you initially use a technique to replicate a specific effect/sound or solve a roadblock. To know which technique you want or need to use, you’ll first need to be able to name the issue you’re facing. That might be difficult because sometimes, we don’t even know we have an issue.
Circular learning Instead of Linear
One of the issues many students who work with me have faced with traditional learning or online classes is that they use a linear approach to teaching and a mono-directional state of lesson sharing. The linear approach is basically like cooking, where you follow steps on the how-to with a result at the end. This issue in electronic music-making is that experiences are more like a tree of possibilities than a unique result. Think of a tree as an entity with multiple roots merging into a core and expanding in multiple branches. It’s the same with music: your roots come from various spaces, and your future should lean towards a wide expansion of possibilities instead of a one-directional place.
Mono-directional lessons mean that you receive information and then apply it. I don’t believe in that method so much because I’m curious, always wanting to know more. Curiosity is one of the most important traits for learning electronic music. I prefer a bi-directional method, which means I will get to know the student, where he’s coming from, how he learns and where he wants to go.
The approach we use is circular when it comes to learning, and it is mainly about understanding the roadblocks and then using strategies to overcome them. This will lead to explore techniques.
Notes from a private class I gave. Working, learning in a circular motion.
As you can see, we start by keeping the student in a state of flow, but when they encounter a roadblock, we have a strategy for finding solutions within an approach.
Now, let’s see how some techniques will work for them.
Problem Solving and Fixing them
It’s one thing to encounter technical difficulties, but it’s another thing to face technical limitations. Sometimes, you don’t know that you don’t know there is a problem, and that’s tricky. In teaching, passing all the knowledge to a student never proved to work. One of the best ways to learn is to start making a song, a miniature or a little live experiment.
As Live came to 2024 with a new version (12), one of the first things that came to my attention was how the whole midi section evolved with the direct implementation of max patches within the clip’s properties. Not long after the new version was out, two developers proposed a series of advanced tools, and I’ll explain below some of the potential issues they’re covering.
The first one that piqued my curiosity was Phillip’s MIDI Tools collection. As the name states, it’s a collection of MIDI-oriented tools divided into two categories.
The categories are new in Live 12. They consist of containers that transform signals or create new ideas. This approach is similar to modular synths, where you have sources and modifiers. So, it is not alien to anyone who comes from that world. It was like that in version 11, but it was not explained in that fashion.
In a way, the new version of Live goes to its roots: playing live.
The tools Meyer offers are numerous. Here they are and what they do.
Blocks
Blocks
Category: Generator
What it does: Mainly used for rhythmical generation. Creating abnormal patterns in an unusual way
What issue it can help with: Breaking your percussion habits, making breakbeats or strange beats. Useful for breaking writer’s block.
I think this one is my favourite. You say how many beats or notes you want and then play with the sliders. Depending on the position given, the notes will be placed proportionally. It’s not euclidean sequencing; it’s a logic of its own.
Phase Pattern
Category: Generator
What it does: Creates sequences logarithmically.
What issue it can help with: It can create a bouncing ball effect, meaning that beats can take speed or change halfway. This is useful for breaks, transitions, effects, and rolls.
This one is fun. It is a good way to create elastic-sounding patterns where things speed up, and it can also be a way to change pace during a song.
Turing Machine
Category: Generator
What it does: Emulates what the Turing machine does in the modular world.
What issue it can help with: Coming up with new melodies and patterns. It is excellent for breaking writer’s block or providing complementary, supportive ideas.
If you’re unfamiliar with what the Turing machine does, I’d encourage you to look at this. It’s a system invented by Allan Turing during WWII to decypher the Nazi codes. Now, we can use it to generate sequences, melodies or patterns.
Polyrhythm
Category: Generator
What it does: Makes multiple patterns at once.
What issue it can help with: Making complex sequences, percussive or melodic.
If you’re unfamiliar with polyrhythms, I would encourage you to look into this. Basically, polyrhythms are a way of programming patterns that aren’t the same length, making the sequence non-linear and not always falling under the same loop. It can have a hypnotic effect and confuse people about where an idea starts and ends, typical in African percussion. This generator uses Euclidean algorithms to create its sequences.
Condition
Category: Transformer
What it does: It takes an idea, and it can propose alternatives upon certain conditions.
What issue it can help with: Finding different variations for a sequence.
Why settle on an idea when you can have unlimited alternatives and choose the best for your arrangements? This transformer will do exactly this.
Develop
Category: Transformer
What it does: Similar to condition but time-related. It takes an initial idea and then develops it, fades it out gradually. See it as an intelligent note-enhancing tool.
What issue it can help with: It can be a good way to develop an idea unexpectedly.
This one is similar to the conditions. It works well in the Arrangement section, where you take an idea and then see multiple ideas evolve from an initial idea. It’s not condition-based but more of a way to have an idea evolve.
Divs
Category: Transformer
What it does: It takes a note and subdivides it.
What issue it can help with: it’s not a problem that it fixes, but it makes ratcheting out of anything.
This technique has been popular with Trap lately. It is made as a buddy for the Blocks tool.
Draw
Category: Transformer
What it does: Gives a melody to pattern or life in different ways
What issue it can help with: Turn a sequence you generated into a melody. You can easily draw pitch or other characteristics and see how it goes.
It is a spontaneous way to create melodies and transform quick patterns into something else, automatically giving them a second life.
Pattern Transform
Category: transformer
What it does: Take a pattern and, upon certain rules, revise melodies and make decisions for you.
What issue it can help with: Slight modifications to a hook can help you create alternatives for other sections of your song.
See it as a condition-based decision-making assistant.
Segments
Category: transformer
What it does: Subdivise a note, but it is condition-based.
What issue it can help with: Similar to Divs but with an approach similar to condition.
Ideal for complex IDM micro glitch patterns.
Feel
Category: transformer
What it does: It’s a humanizer.
What issue it can help with: To break from a robotic, stiff sequence and induce it with a swing and a human fee.
Shift
Category: transformer
What it does: Take a pattern and then shift it around, either pitch, duration, velocity, etc.
What issue it can help with: Useful for having variations on a sequence or to test the shift of its characteristics across a loop.
These tools are what I would call a good selection of roadblock removers. They’re not basic, but anyone can use them, and with a bit of patience, they can provide solid ideas or help move forward to variations.
I would say they’re part of my essentials.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/midi-tools-ab.jpg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-04-29 19:04:062024-04-29 19:33:03Ableton MIDI Tools And Workflow Optimization
Coming from a period when few people made electronic music before its art was democratized, meeting people who were making music was difficult as not many people had the opportunity to produce it. You’d meet someone who would produce music, and it felt like you’d have a lot to talk about because they might have similar gear or setup, so you’d hope to be able to share insights.
Nowadays, we have been experiencing an opening of opportunities where software makes it easier to produce music. With AI, people can skip the creation process and have music custom-tailored to their imagination. I see a feeling of jadedness about the new generation among older producers.
As a friend and fellow musician said:
Making music doesn’t make you special anymore. Everyone can do it.
In parallel, students asked me how they could elevate their craft above that of the average hobbyist. To answer this, I looked into the case of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Basquiat, An Urban Artist
Basquiat was known for his prolific output and unique artistic style, combining street art, graffiti, and fine art elements. Despite his short life, Basquiat created a vast body of work that continues to influence contemporary art.
One aspect of Basquiat’s work ethic was his relentless dedication to his craft. He was known to spend countless hours in his studio, often working late into the night or early morning. A deep passion for expression and creativity drove this commitment to his art.
Basquiat’s work ethic also reflected his intense focus and determination. He urgently approached each piece, channelling his energy into spontaneous and expressive brushstrokes. This intensity allowed him to capture raw emotions and ideas on canvas, resulting in visually striking and intellectually stimulating artworks.
While prolific, he made a name for himself that we still relate to nowadays. If you analyze his work, you will see that he used multiple ways to make a name for himself that can be applied to music-making.
Let’s look into the points that made him rise to the status he built.
Source Material
In the video, the narrator talks about how Basquiat found a book that served as an inspiration base. Basquiat uses a collection of icons, logos, and images on a specific page in many of his artworks. It was his vocabulary, and it became his motor as well. If his pieces were set around a theme, you’d see these same icons being omnipresent. This is a way of always having a collection of repetitive ideas that, in a way, established his brand.
The way I teach music is not too far from that approach. I encourage any artist I work with to build a set of references and allocate a lot of time to finding samples that ignite excitement. Services like Splice offer vast items, such as samples, AI sketch generators, plugins and other tools. Compared to jazz, electronic music has too many sounds to pick up, and it’s easy to get lost in which sound one should pick to make a new song.
Your source material could be divided into 2 main categories:
Place holders. These are sounds you use by default in all your initial ideas. Back then, people would only have money to buy a 909 or a 303, which was the sound they would use de facto. As we now have access to everything, it is helpful to have a template go to sounds you use as a starting point, and then you can swap later on.
Identity. These are more about representing you. Some artists have identity sounds that you can immediately recognize in the first minute of listening to their song. These can be a selection of sounds, presets, or specific effects.
Very often, people buy hardware or soft synths randomly. It’s quite handy to use a demo to test it. But if you use some samples, they are often tagged with the synth’s name used to create them. It can also be reverse-engineered.
If you feel like samples aren’t you, remember that everything has been sampled somehow. Having quality samples trains your ears on what quality is. This is crucial for sound design learning.
If you read this blog, these concepts have been covered many times.
Steal Like An Artist
There’s one point in the video where Basquiat explains where some quotes he wrote come from, which are from some books or movies. Some images, are inspired by artworks he saw. He didn’t copy them, he stole them from a context and brought them into his world.
(Art) comes down to tastes. You basically want to expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then bring those things to what you’re doing.
Steve Jobs
This is true for many things. To cook great-tasting food, you need to eat exceptional food. The same is true for sounds. I often feel more comfortable with the idea that I’m a curator than a musician. My music is a collection of ideas I love from random sources.
Your inspiration comes from your references. Nothing one has done that wasn’t inspired by someone else’s work. The fact that you do a genre comes from hearing that genre in a context that inspired you. So, you might as well start a collection of inspiring songs. It can be for one sound, one reverb, the way the transitions are done, or chord progression. If there’s one thing in a song you like, put it in your reference folder.
Then, you analyze your references. Take tons of notes, and try to imitate. Ask friends how something is done. Search Splice for similar-sounding sounds.
All these experiments build your imagination, which leads to core ideas to keep. It can take 50 ideas to find one exceptionally satisfying. Try to make many of them and blatantly get inspiration from everywhere.
Hip-hop artists are more comfortable taking ideas as they always sample other people. I have to say I’ve been seeing many clients remix pop music in the last year, so the bootleg aspect is becoming an option. However, remember to respect the work of anyone you directly sample.
Have A Message
One of the messages Basquiat had that motivated him was that there weren’t enough black artists in the art world. He wanted to change that and involve himself, making it the center of his work. The strength of having a message is its appeal for the media to look into what you have to say, and it rallies followers who resonate with it.
Punk music has its anarchist message, and hip hop has a gang-related message for some artists, while for others, it’s about the struggle of people in the current world. House music has also had a history of representing a safe space for queer people to dance to. Whatever genre you embrace, there’s a history of its upbringing, and sometimes people forget the political roots of it. While knowing the backstory is not an obligation, you can also piggyback a genre to bring your story and values.
Having a message and a vision will help bring a sense to your music, and in times when you might hit a wall with inspiration, your message will drive more inspiration.
Speed
If you read this blog or work with me, you know that speed is one element I believe in. Ideas come and go, sometimes very quickly and don’t always remain. Having the speed to bring your ideas together will help you catch ideas on the fly, perhaps so that you can finish them later but, most importantly, to see if they make sense. It’s one thing to have an idea; it’s an idea to make it work properly.
With Basquiat, he was working fast. Blazing fast. In the video, they share that his meeting with Warhol stimulated a lot of creativity and that at one point, JM did a self-portrait of them in a fast moment and then brought it back to Andy, who was amazed by how fast he was. One of the reasons why artists are slow nowadays comes from poor organization and lack of methodology. The more you are organized in managing your time and art, the faster you become. Music production is a series of phases, and if you sit down to make music and want to do it all at once, you’ll be hit by decision fatigue.
The second obstacle is ego. That part of yourself always has the impression it has something to prove, to control and to be something you are not. That leads to procrastination and distraction. My view of music making is fueled by fun in all parts. When fun is present, you are in the flow.
Flow is key to success.
Study, Memorize, Internalize
The last part of the video is where I saw the strongest parallel with what, as an artist, I do. In my free time, I listen to all kinds of music, radio, and movies and study many tutorials on YouTube. I think I watch about 10 per day. I take a lot of notes from those, and then when in front of my computer, I will test new findings or revisit techniques I was doing to give it a new twist. For each song, I started with a technique exploration, and I developed new ideas by practicing.
Saving macros has become something that I just now do always. I will map some parameters to the knobs of the macro and then have fun creating presets by randomizing or just tweaking with a controller.
Doing these sketches touches everything above:
Increases speed.
I have more control over my vocabulary, coming closer to my message.
Ease integration of ideas that I “steal” or get inspired from.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/basquia.jpg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-04-24 14:37:202024-04-27 13:00:01Basquiat Work Ethics
I’m not sure if you’ve been following trends lately, but there’s been a backlash against streaming sites. I know it’s new, as the resentment towards those platforms has been intense ever since Spotify became the first leading one, with a ridiculously low amount back to artists, but it seems there’s been a change in the narrative lately.
Where it started
From the various videos I’ve seen on YouTube, it seems like it started with Kanye West’s rejection from the different platforms where he advertised during the Super Bowl, which led to huge traffic to his site.
After watching that video, I’ve seen more and more news going in that direction, but that wasn’t new. In late 2023, since I spent time on forums, Reddit, and Facebook, I’ve seen a wave of comments from artists who were fed up and wanted to sell their music themselves more and more. The direction people were going for was to quit all streaming sites and head to Bandcamp alone with a personal shop.
I’ll share some personal thoughts about this in a post that is a bit more philosophical than technical.
The early Peer 2 Peer Era
As I was making music in the late 90s, I remember working one day, and some of my colleagues were saying they hadn’t been listening to the radio anymore since they downloaded their music instead. Knowing you could access all the songs you wanted for free was intriguing and shocking. I remember browsing for some music, mainly pop material, and barely any electronic music I liked besides The Chemical Brothers. It didn’t take long for all the music CDs to appear. Months after I checked, it fueled some internal conflict about all this. But what was clear then was that all the geeks and real music lovers I knew were keeping an eye on the coming songs.
Mp3.com
Then I discovered the website MP3.com, where artists post their music and meet others. See it as the ancestor of Soundcloud but around 1999 or 2000. A handful of people were doing the same kind of music as I was, and it was useful for creating a little community. Not long after I was on there, I got an enigmatic message from a German guy explaining what Netlabels were and asking me if I wanted to join his under the name of Thinner. It was small, and the concept of netlabels was still in progress.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Netlabel concept, the idea was to use the highly popular stream of downloads to the advantage of artists by inserting your freshly made music in there. The logic was that since people were all getting the new music, we could benefit by adding ours. We were okay with not making any sales; it was purely to ensure our music would be heard.
And it worked.
The Thinner wave
Thinner got big at one point, hitting 40k downloads on the first days of a release. Everything was hosted on the Archive.org site, where other Netlabels also appeared. German media started looking into it and covering it. Since I was the Canadian representative, local media has approached me to learn more about it. Radiohead did the same thing not long after with a free release, and the media went wild for it. Ironically, when I joined Thinner, I had local DJs telling me it was a bad move, that I would never gain respect from serious labels, and that I would burn myself out.
The exact opposite happened. My first European tours were directly linked to my Thinner releases, and when I was performing, people would come to me, all talking about their favorite songs from my albums.
Not long after, I got signed to Hawtin’s M_nus label, which was sort of the first time someone who got known from Netlabels transitioned to a bigger vinyl label. I feel that then, people started giving some credit to the movement Thinner created.
This experience shaped how I saw Spotify appear. I remember at the peak of Thinner, Sebastien Redenz was already saying that the best way to make it sustainable was to sell songs for 1 cent. He had it in mind, and that observation prepared me for the Spotify model.
Piracy Music and Soulseek
In pair with Netlabels, most people still download music, mostly torrents or Soulseek (Still used now). I think that, with the mentality of the late 90s, people were downloading with no shame. It created a community, and while hanging out on Soulseek, I made some friends abroad who eventually got me gigs locally. I used it to share my music. Some of my precious releases leaked, and I preferred not to since it was an agreement with the label, and I saw the community from another angle. I remember someone who got the release told me that “Music is made to be free anyway.” That was a bit disappointing for them, and later on, that same person got a release out and complained on Facebook that people were sharing their music on Soulseek.
There are many ambivalent emotions regarding that, and in the end, I think it comes down to the artist to decide how their music should be shared, which is sort of what I see nowadays with the Spotify backlash.
Bandcamp and Direct Selling
Since the early 2000s, I think only one shop I experienced did things right: Bandcamp. I mean, as of a business model, because their anti-trust approach was quite disappointing. That said, it’s not perfect, and some parts are a bit frustrating, but most of it is spot-on for what, as artists, we need. Even the share of money works. I’ve always been frustrated that shops like Beatport don’t let you pick a price for your release, which I find quite dumb. If you’re a label, there are numerous tools for selling, and it works well.
I wish there was more control over bootlegging. Now and then, you see someone reselling an artist’s music without shame, but it usually gets a lot of hate.
Selling your music from a website has some flaws:
Costs for a secure site
A shopping system that evolves with the market and remains accessible
Updates
Creating traffic
Marketing
Those are the little parts of it, and you’re venturing yourself into the entrepreneur’s path, which is hard. I often say this to clients: until people tell you they want to buy your music, there’s no reason for you to want to sell it. Many people get depressed from their music not selling…
So, is it worth it?
Like I said, not until there is a demand. You need to feed your community first, making sure people around you love your music and will talk about it. That requires a lot of time, dedication, and patience. Few people can afford an ad at the Super Bowl, so aiming for little things first can make a difference.
But I think it could be worth it for a label that has sales, but Bandcamp is where it should start. It’s quite common to find releases on Bandcamp that have no sales. I think it’s better to wait before putting your music there. Recently, Deezer removed 26 million songs that had never been played (or were problematic), and the overflow of music is not helping anyone.
The Other Model
In parallel to all this, I’ve seen another new movement, in a way. On a topic thread, someone commented:
Music fans are basically abusive. You tell them you’re being exploited, they say they care but then continue doing it. That’s no surprise if you see how people continue buying at H&M or getting the latest smart phone. I don’t really want to give my music abroad, I want to keep it to my friends.
The conversation was about what would happen if musicians had the other mentality of not wanting to share their music with the whole world. Instead, they focused on immediate contacts who wanted to listen and play the music. There was a consensus that they’d rather give the music to 5 people who want to listen than pay Tunecore or Distrokid to have their music everywhere and see it was played 10 times. Rarity creates value, not total accessibility.
Why would someone pay for something they can have in a snap of a finger?
This conversation continued for a while, and I noticed some friends and clients going in the same direction. I played music on a friend’s birthday and checked the content of my friend’s USB stick. He had a folder with around 50 songs of an artist I had never heard from. They were all outstanding. I later checked streaming sites or shops, and none of those songs were there. My friend told me about a few artists who make songs every day and don’t sell them. Instead, they pass their music to DJs they like.
You’ll ask, what is the business model here?
I don’t think there is one, or at least it’s unclear. Some people have accepted that they won’t turn their music into a business until people are interested in buying or catching a label’s eye. They know they want their music to be played by DJs, who will eventually get someone’s attention. I think that is the motivation beyond commercializing their music. I like that a lot. It’s a follow-up version of the Netlabels, but more aimed at community building than desperately wanting to get everyone’s attention. That guy made a point, and here I am talking about him.
Perhaps, as musicians and artists, our approach must be more experimental. Running a shop is one, but I don’t think we have found the right way yet. We need more of a community with shops… Which is what Bandcamp is.
Let’s see what the future holds.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sell.jpg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-04-12 13:20:492024-04-12 13:20:49Quitting Streaming and Selling Directly
When we dive into electronic music, one concept continually shapes our audio landscape, and you might not even know what it is: timbre.
Often described as the “color” or “tone quality” of sound, timbre is the characteristic that distinguishes one instrument or sound source from another, even when they’re playing the same pitch at the same volume. In this article, we will approach what I have learned about timbre in electronic music, focusing on how synthesizers and envelope design play pivotal roles in its creation.
Why is it important to understand what Timbre is about?
Well, if you’re interested in sound design, this should be your entrance to that world. If you know how it works, then you’ll have an understanding of how sounds are made. This means you can then extrapolate your imagination’s bleeps into real-life bloops.
At its core, timbre is on a multi-axis, covering the aspects of sound. It has various factors such as harmonics, dynamics, overtones, attack, decay, sustain, and release. These elements collectively shape the fingerprint of a sound, allowing us to discern between a piano, a trumpet, or a synthesizer.
To give you an example, you can play the same C2 on all those instruments, but your ear would be able to identify both the notes as well as what are the instruments. That is because the ear understands timbre’s multiple elements as unique.
In detail, those elements that will determine a sound’s color would be:
It’s the head. The very beginning of a sound will contain dynamic information that will let you understand what it is. For example, a drum and a piano are both percussive instruments but sound completely different.
Spectral profile. The way a sound is composed will be a collection of different tones, harmonics, and overtones. That also involves noise and inharmonicity. The last point, also known as noise, defines a certain amount of non-linear components, that are random and don’t follow a precise pattern.
Dynamics. This is how the sound changes over time. Of course, this is related to the envelope of that sound (ADSR).
Synthesis and Timbre
In early 2024, I decided to join the Synthesis class of Sarah Belle Reid. I was a bit doubtful at first because since I started making music, in the early 90’s, I’ve learned everything by myself and continue learning every day as well. Being under the impression that you can have access to all knowledge gives you a lot of drive but also creates a blindsight where you also have information you didn’t know you don’t know.
These are some of the things people consult me a lot for: lack of vocabulary, lack of understanding of concepts that are badly explained online and being pointed at what a specific sound, sounds like.
Back to Reid’s class. It starts with the basic knowledge of sound itself and goes through each element related to sound, then proceeds with a demonstration. Seeing, hearing, and being explained these concepts, helps being able to perceive sound from a very technical point of view. It’s one thing to understand it but it’s another thing to have vocabulary.
Timbre was one of the most important points of the class for me. It’s not with a simple blog post that I can go through all the main elements regarding timbre but I’d point out that the aha moment was to review how I use a spectrogram.
Seeing the sound from that angle helped me understand what timbre is about. It’s a concept that felt easy to read about but not necessarily easy to grasp.
Here are my 2 tips:
Check the frequency response of the beginning of a sound’s information.
Observe how the sound fades out and how the frequencies shape slowly.
Knowing that the beginning shapes an important part of your sound, this is a direct inspiration on how to use your ADSR envelope to shape or alter the shape of sounds you have. The amplitude of your sound can be shaped by a first envelope and a second one may shape filtering or other elements.
As for creating the timbre of a sound, you’ll have to combine multiple oscillators, noise, and modulations to mimic the spectral content.
Let’s go deeper into the envelope and content synthesis.
Envelope Design and Dynamic Techniques
At the heart of timbral manipulation lies envelope design—an important point of sound shaping in electronic music. You might use it with compression but it is also there for design. Envelopes lead the evolution of a sound over time, dictating its amplitude, frequency, and spectral content. Understanding envelope parameters, particularly attack, decay, sustain, and release (ADSR), is crucial for crafting dynamic and expressive sounds.
Attack: The onset of a sound, characterized by its initial transient, sets the stage for our auditory perception. A sharp attack imbues a sound with immediacy and presence, while a gradual attack imparts a softer, more ethereal quality.
Decay: Following the attack, the decay phase determines how quickly the sound’s intensity diminishes. A longer decay sustains the sound, while a shorter decay yields a percussive or plucked character.
Sustain: Once the decay phase concludes, the sustain segment maintains a constant amplitude until the sound is released. Adjusting the sustain level allows for sustained or staccato articulations.
Release: As the sound fades into silence, the release phase governs the duration of its decay. A shorter release yields a crisp, abrupt ending, while a longer release imparts a lingering decay.
Sounds of the real world or from instruments are rarely static. They often are never the same thing when played a few times, but they’ll be changing a bit too on different aspects: spectral variation, amplitude modulation, pitch. In the modular world, the use of LFOs and envelopes is handy to modify those aspects. You will want to use them to have slight variations.
The soft synth Pigments is very well made in that aspect where it will have a lot of different modulations possible which can then be routed to a lot of different parameters.
Dynamic Use and Filtering
In addition to envelope design, dynamic use, and filtering contribute significantly to timbral variation. Dynamic modulation techniques, such as velocity sensitivity and aftertouch, introduce expressive nuances to performances. Meanwhile, filtering—via low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, or notch filters—shapes the spectral content of a sound, emphasizing or attenuating specific frequencies to sculpt its timbre further.
A good way to push the filtering is to use colored filters such as MS20 emulation or vactrol. To understand LPG (Low Pass Gate) is also another option.
Ever since I got myself a Freak Module from Vult, it brought my sound elsewhere. It has multiple filter emulation, some saturation, and a duplex mode where you can have chained filters or different filters in stereo mode. It’s pretty powerful.
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving world of electronic music, timbre is something to understand if you want to define your sound and personal signature. By understanding the power of synthesizers, mastering envelope design, and employing dynamic techniques and filtering, musicians and producers alike can unlock new creative possibilities. Through this article, we’ve partly covered into the heart of timbral exploration in electronic music, uncovering the intricate interplay between synthesis, envelope design, dynamics, and filtering. With this knowledge, may you define on your sound design skills, sculpting timbral tones that redefine who you are. Continue searching for more details and let me know if you have questions.
Sometimes I find really lovely videos with production techniques that I love and after practicing it, I thought I’d share it with you so you can benefit from this finding. In this case, it’s about the concept of miniatures and also how this pairs with some sound design principles I’ve been applying. Recently I joined Sarah Belle Reid’s Sound and Synthesis program which turned out to be insightful. Once I started diving into sound design and its mechanics, I not only started understanding sound’s DNA from a different angle but also in the context of a song.
What are miniatures?
I was recently browsing YouTube when I found this video that got me excited. Miniature is a step back from making songs and has the perspective of using a sound in a tiny bubble concept. Think of it as a 10-second to 1-minute idea. Nothing more. It’s not about trying to cram in as many elements as possible but more of taking one sound and see how to you can pull out the most from it.
When I teach music production, there is more exercise that I like to suggest to students which is to take a very basic sound (sample) and to turn it into a “main idea.”
To do so, I’d suggest picking first a random sound, preferably something you consider boring, and then playing it repeatedly to find a pattern from it. Change the pitch perhaps, but sometimes, leaving it to its original pitch will be enough. See how you can make a phrase from it and make a song (1-2min) from that alone. Sometimes I see an eyebrow being raised in doubt but then I explain that any sound, on its own, can be a song.
For example, John Cage made a song for hand clapping:
So back to miniatures.
Think of tiny ideas that work, ideally with 1 to 2 sounds. Watch the video below:
The clickbait title, at first, had me roll my eyes but then I checked it to find something that was pretty fun. To summarize it, he suggests that you write down ideas on a card, which will create a little challenge, as a miniature idea. Those prompts have certain criteria:
So this would be an example:
We often forget that songs are a collection of sounds and sounds that evolve on their own, maybe for a short lapse or during the entire song. The idea of creating miniature becomes useful because you’re creating ideas that can later be included in a song. Thinking of music production in a modular way (not modular synth) can help you work on different elements of your songs before diving into arrangements.
One of my principal sources of guilty pleasure is to find fun loops on Splice as a starting point so building my loops is valuable for making songs later.
Envelopes and macro envelopes
One element that we approached in sound design is how envelopes shape sounds as their shape. But when thinking of miniatures or songs, it can be useful to think of a macro envelope. What I mean here is how you have an evolution within the entire song.
One exercise Sarah gave us for a performance is to draw the shape of how your song or pattern evolves over the entire experience. It could start abruptly, then fade, and then increasingly get louder until the end. If you’re a Shaperbox user like me, you know you can use its internal envelopes to shape amplitude or filter over a long period. It becomes handy if you want slow modulation repeating.
If you want some Miniature ideas, I’d encourage you to watch the video up there. I got some instant inspiration for my sounds.
Sometimes I’m baffled by two things when I work with clients:
They start from scratch each time they make a new song.
They let finished projects asleep once over (and never reuse them).
In both cases, there’s a huge loss of time and energy. But when I explain them that each of their projects are a gold mine of opportunities sleeping on their hard drive, I see their faces lighting up. If you think about it, a song has often a lot of leftover material that won’t be used plus, think of all the common elements all your songs have, so why do one person not create a way to have the computer use resources to create that material.
The way I approach making music, ultimately speaking, is to be able to first find a very original idea and then put it in context quickly so you can work to give it a timeline.
Why speeding up your workflow?
Interestingly enough, as an artist and coach, I often teach that creativity is a super slow process and that trying to rush things might not be a best idea. But there’s also the paradox that it’s important to grasp an idea and make the most of it, then to move on. The idea of speeding your process is to ease your expression in order to not get lost in technicalities. One of the place many people loose time is in the details, clarifying technical details and such.
If a song is an idea, put on a timeline, it is also easy to get a lot of distance from this idea if you are more technical than artistic about it.
The strategies below are meant to ease the technical part by focusing on organization.
Strategies
The first way to speed up your process is to think forward. Just like this movement where people would pay for a coffee for a future client who would be low on cash, the best way to speed the next session is to organize it in the one you’re working on. I’ll explain habits and strategies that will be helpful down the road.
One effective method is to utilize the import feature from the Ableton Live browser. For example, if you’ve developed a compelling chain of effects in a previous project, save it as a macro. These macros can then be easily imported into new projects, giving you a head start with tried and tested sounds.
Template Creation
Beyond importing specific elements, consider creating templates based on your most successful projects. These templates can include your preferred routing, default effects chains, and even placeholder instruments. Starting a new project with these templates can dramatically reduce setup time, allowing you to dive straight into the creative process.
If you notice a routine and habit, turn it into a template where you can import what’s needed.
Useful arrangements or mixing templates are essentials.
Templates are basically like a recipe that you can reimport channels or arrangement section, adjust to taste and then, save again as a new template.
See them as “Global Presets.”
TIP: There are different types of templates to start with. Analyze your last 10 projects to see what’s always there de facto.
Creating a Channel of ‘Leftovers’
Another innovative method is to create a special channel in your DAW for ‘leftovers’ – bits and pieces from previous projects that didn’t make the final cut but still have potential. This could be a half-finished melody, an interesting sound effect, a discarded vocal pattern or a unique drum pattern. By saving these leftovers, you create a personal sound library that’s not only original but also infused with your signature style. Whenever you’re stuck or need inspiration, dive into this channel and discover elements that can spark new ideas.
There’s always been a non-written rule that one shouldn’t use presets and should re-invent themselves for each projects. While this answers a need to always have non-repetitive ideas from song to song, it can also be extremely time consuming. A good way is to use your leftovers as a starting point for a future project.
Leftovers are basically what you want them to be. I tend to hoard on anything unused. You’d be surprised the uses I’ve found for some sounds.
Instant inspiration comes from ideas you thought silly: re-pitch, stretch, slice, filter, EQ wildly… or heavily process them.
Decide of your own inner rules on how many times you use a sound. There’s no right or wrong.
TIP: Export your leftovers normalized so they sound full and ready for future projects.
Remixing Your Own Tracks
Sometimes, the best way to recycle is by revisiting your own tracks. Remixing a track you’ve previously produced can be an enlightening experience. Isolate individual elements that stood out and reimagine them in a new context. This not only breathes new life into your existing work but also expands your creative boundaries.
I always smile when a client tell me they can’t decide if one decision is best or another, regarding their track. Perhaps both ideas are good so why not make 2 versions?
You can have as many versions as you wish from your songs. In the 80’s and 90’s, some songs would sometimes have 3-4 variations which was really playful for DJs in how they could use and re-use a song.
Some ideas for new remixes could be:
Instrumental or with a vocal
Change of scale
Beatless or with different percussion set.
Collaborate with a musician for adding live take.
TIP: Try combining 3-4 songs into one.
Systematic Sound Design Sessions
Allocate specific sessions solely for sound design, separate from your songwriting or track-building sessions. During these sessions, focus on creating unique sounds, textures, or rhythms without the pressure of fitting them into a current project. Save these creations in an organized library.
Spending time organizing your sounds is also a useful way to make it easier for later on.
When working on new music, you can tap into this library for inspiration or elements to incorporate, significantly speeding up the creative process.
Take the time to understand complex presets on sounds you love.
Cross-pollinate the preset parameter of one synth to another.
Test demos of a synth you would love to acquire and record your tests to audio.
Collaborative Workflows
Encourage collaboration with other artists or sound designers. Sometimes, a fresh perspective can lead to unexpected and inspiring results. Collaborations can result in a shared library of sounds and ideas, offering a wider palette of elements to draw from when starting new projects.
I love to share a Dropbox folder with someone. As both of us can share projects there, you can see them being updated on each other’s sides.
Ask someone who has musical knowledge to revise and reinterprete a melody of yours with an acoustic instrument.
Befriend producers from other genres and see what they can provide for feedback.
TIP: Share a Dropbox or Google drive with friends.
Regular Review and Curation of Existing Projects
Schedule regular sessions to review your past projects that aren’t released. This is not just to reminisce but to actively search for reusable elements – be it a catchy hook, a unique synth sound, or an effective drum pattern. By doing this, you not only remind yourself of your past work but also build a readily accessible repository of ideas and sounds.
People who work with me knows I love to bring all my projects to 90% of completion instead of 100%. The logic behind this is simple: I like to gather a bunch of songs on a specific day or upon a need and then wrap them all up at once. This resolves multiple issues: coherence across a release, avoiding repetitive structures, better originality, etc.
Revise the kick of a project for a whole new approach on the direction of a song: harder, smoother.
Mute all channels that aren’t part of the hook to avoid clutter. This is easier to do if you are emotionally distant from your project.
Try a shorter version of your song to keep it straight to the essential (eg. radio ready mixes are 3 min long).
Incorporating Field Recordings and Unconventional Sound Sources
Sometimes, the most inspiring sounds come from the world around us. Regularly record sounds from your environment – these can be anything from street noises to natural ambience. These unique sounds can spark new ideas or add an original flavor to your music. There’s a beautiful plugin named Life which comes with a mobile app that sync up with the software on your computer. Not only you can grab sounds from everywhere but the software will chop it, while giving it a structure. The results are impressive.
When you are someone public such as a restaurant, pay attention to the music in the background. What do you hear when in a new context? Think of how your music would translate.
Try to listen to melodies from your environment. There can be hidden melodies from a street performer, from people talking around you or from a car passing by.
Explore noise and shape them to percussion.
Routine Exploration of New Tools and Habits
While it’s important to have a familiar toolkit, regularly experimenting with new plugins, instruments, or software can bring a fresh perspective to your work. This doesn’t mean always buying the latest gear, but rather exploring different tools, perhaps through demos or free versions, to keep your creative approach dynamic.
Exploring new tools means, perhaps, exploring mobile apps that can do sounds. There’s a large myth over those as many things they’re not good enough but you’d be surprised how many of them are extremely solid enough to make ideas. Not only the interface is lovely but the fact that you’re not in front of your computer is a different outlook on what you do. You can explore on your mobile shop to check apps that are tagged as music related and you’ll see synths, drum machines or weird DAWs. You can also check on VR headsets for the same kind of tools to explore.
Mind Mapping and Conceptual Workflows
Sometimes, the block isn’t in the production but in the conceptual phase. Employ techniques like mind mapping to outline the themes, emotions, or stories you want to convey in your music. This pre-production step can provide a clear direction and help in choosing or creating elements that align with your vision.
For this year, Mind Mapping is all rage for me. I’ve been starting to put down to image concepts, how I work in audio. Sometimes to mind map what you do gives you some insights you can’t think of when you only always do music on it’s own.
One method I learned is named “Sticky Steps.” Basically you start with the end and then roll back with little steps on how to get there. I like to think of it as a reverse engineering method. It’s possible that some steps, you will lack the knowledge to explain or know how to do it which is why you can contact me for instance, or ask friends.
I hope this kickstarts your new year in good manner. Don’t hesitate to leave comments or questions below.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/recycle.jpeg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2024-01-09 12:08:342024-01-09 12:08:34Recycle Your Old Projects
One thing I noticed with people who want to learn how to make electronic music, is that they face a lack of information on where to start. I stumbled upon an interview with Mr.Beast recently where he was suggesting that if you want to learn about how to make viral videos, you need to start by practicing making videos. His suggestions sorts of overlap how I teach music where the importance of practicing is more important than, let’s say, finish songs perfectly. He was suggesting that one could aim at making 100 videos where they practice one element in each, trying to improve by 1% instead of overtaking something huge to start with. But mostly, to remain a bit private about the whole thing until you become more solid at what you do.
Songs are stories based on a personal finding. If you think about you sharing a personal story to a friend, you’ll focus your story on one element and you might, in your storytelling, bring it to a final punch. Music is a bit similar but for many people who start making music, they really don’t want to disappoint or want to look like a beginner. So they try too hard, in most cases.
As you advance in learning music production, you don’t know that there are many different techniques out there unless you find them by searching or by someone who tells you. You might not know that your music has different issues unless reviewed by an experienced mentor. So it can be quite confusing.
This is why I decided to take on Mr. Beast idea of 100 projects and made a list for you here.
There is no right or wrong way to use it. It’s basically 100 ideas that you can take. Most of them also come with a Youtube video you can look at to learn about the technique to practice. As for projects or song, I would say that try to make songs that are between 1 to 5 minutes long. It’s not something to impress, but for your own development. I added enough videos and links per project for you to practice one technique. Try your best to use it but you can of course start at one point and end up in a totally different result. There are no rules here.
This project is directly linked to my Patreon Program. There’s the “Road Map” tiers that allows you to join for constant support.
Building the Basics – Projects 1 to 10
Loops, MIDI, and Arrangements
Making electronic music usually starts by using samples, loops and MIDI. Let’s start with the basis.
Round 1: Loops and Basic Arrangements (Projects 1-3)
I would encourage you to get a subscription to Splice to get some loops and sounds. You can also visit Freesounds.org to get free ideas but the quality can be questionable sometimes.
If the song key and scale confuses you, this article will help. Also this video.
Project 1 – Loop Exploration
Title: “Loop Groove”
BPM: 100
Duration: 1-2 Min.
Key: C Major
Scale: Minor Pentatonic
Element to Practice: Importing, duplicating, and arranging pre-made loops effectively. The focus here is to import a few different loops and play in the arranger section. See how you can place them to create a timeline. This is the most basic introduction.
Project 2 – Loop Transformation
Title: “Loop Evolution”
BPM: 110
Duration: 1-2 min.
Key: D Major
Scale: Major Scale
Element to Practice: Modifying loops, adding fades, and creating variations. Try slicing loops and re-arrange them into different versions of themselves.
Project 3 – Basic Arrangement
Title: “Simple Structure”
BPM: 120
Key: G Minor
Scale: Natural Minor
Element to Practice: Building song structure with loops, including patterns, sections, and hooks. Try to aim at having distinct sections such as verse, pre-verse, chorus, bridge, outro.
Round 2: MIDI Basics (Projects 4-6)
Have a look at this tutorial and practice them fundamentals of midi for the next projects.
Project 4 – Introduction to MIDI
Title: “MIDI Essentials”
BPM: 95
Duration: 2 min.
Key: A Minor
Scale: Aeolian Mode
Element to Practice: Understanding MIDI, note input, and basic MIDI editing. Use a soft synth like Operator to receive notes and start doing melodies using a key and scale.
Project 5 – Melodies with MIDI
Title: “Melodic MIDI”
BPM: 130
Duration: 2 min.
Key: E Major
Scale: Mixolydian Mode
Element to Practice: Creating melodies using MIDI, exploring notes and scales. Open a loop that is a melody and you can try either reproducing it (a bit more advanced) or complement it. Make sure to know the root key of that loop. Extract a melody from a loop.
Element to Practice: Apply everything learned to create your first complete song.
These first 10 projects will provide a solid foundation in loops, MIDI, and basic arrangements. After completing these, the student will have the skills needed to create a complete track.
Building the Basics – Projects 11 to 20
Loops, MIDI, Arrangements, and References
Round 4: Loops and Advanced Arrangements with References (Projects 11-13)
Round 6: Applying MIDI and Arrangements with References (Projects 17-20)
The idea here is to take your reference and while it’s in the arrangement section, try tapping down some midi notes along the reference to reproduce notes, percussion or anything else, to hit at the same time.
Project 17 – Combining MIDI and Loops with References
Title: “Hybrid References”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: 2-3 min.
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Combine MIDI elements with loops inspired by referencing the track’s bass.
Project 18 – Layering and Texture with References
Title: “Textural References”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: 3 min.
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Creating textures and layers using references. Learn how to use field recordings for backgrounds.
Project 19 – Advanced Arrangement Techniques with References
Project 20 – Milestone: Advanced Track with References
Title: “Elevated Creations”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: 2-3 min
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Apply all concepts learned to create an advanced track with reference track influence.
Building the Basics – Projects 21 to 30
Loops, MIDI, Arrangements, References, and Effects
Round 6: Loops and MIDI with Effects (Projects 21-23)
Project 21 – Loop Manipulation with Delay
Title: “Delay Loops”
BPM: 100
Duration: 3 min.
Key: C Major
Scale: Minor Pentatonic
Element to Practice: Importing loops, applying delay effects, and creative arrangement. Focus on the different types of delay plugins and have fun tweaking parameters.
Project 22 – MIDI Effects: Arpeggios and Phaser
Title: “Arpeggiated Phases”
BPM: 110
Duration: 4 min.
Key: D Major
Scale: Major Scale
Element to Practice: Using MIDI for arpeggios and applying phaser effects.
Project 23 – Effects-Driven Arrangements
Title: “Effects Arrangements”
BPM: 120
Duration: 4 min.
Key: G Minor
Scale: Natural Minor
Element to Practice: Creating arrangements with effects-driven transitions, where you use automation to change the delay’s parameters as the song evolve.
Round 8: MIDI Mastery with Effects (Projects 24-26)
Project 24 – MIDI and Reverb for Atmosphere
Title: “Reverberant Atmosphere”
BPM: 95
Duration: 4 min.
Key: A Minor
Scale: Aeolian Mode
Element to Practice: Using MIDI to create atmospheric sounds with reverb.
Project 25 – MIDI and Delay for Texture
Title: “Delayed Textures”
BPM: 130
Duration: 4 min.
Key: E Major
Scale: Mixolydian Mode
Element to Practice: Crafting textured soundscapes with MIDI melodies and delay/reverb effects.
Project 26 – MIDI and Flanger for Movement
Title: “Flanged Movement”
BPM: 85
Duration: 3-4 min.
Key: F# Minor
Scale: Harmonic Minor
Element to Practice: Adding movement to MIDI percussive elements using flanger effect.
Round 9: Advanced Arrangements with Effects (Projects 27-29)
Project 27 – Arrangement and Filter Sweeps
Title: “Filter Swept Arrangements”
BPM: 115
Duration: 4 min.
Key: Bb Major
Scale: Dorian Mode
Element to Practice: Creating arrangements with filter sweeps. Play with the filter on different elements to practice opening and closing frequecies.
Project 28 – Arrangement and Stereo Panning
Title: “Panned Arrangements”
BPM: 105
Duration: 3-4 min.
Key: C Minor
Scale: Phrygian Mode
Element to Practice: Adding depth and movement to arrangements with stereo panning (auto-pan). Turn the auto-pan into a tremolo.
Project 29 – Milestone: Advanced Track with Effects
Title: “Effects-Driven Mastery”
BPM: 125
Duration: 4 min
Key: F Major
Scale: Lydian Mode
Element to Practice: Apply all concepts learned to create an advanced track with a focus on effects. Explore the use of Chorus.
Project 30 – Remixing and Effects
Title: “Remix and Effects Showcase”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: 4 min
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Remixing a track while integrating Beat-repeat effects techniques.
These projects will allow students to explore the creative possibilities of effects while further enhancing their skills in loops, MIDI, arrangements, and references. If you have any specific effects or tools you’d like to emphasize in any of these projects, please let me know, and we can tailor them accordingly.
Building the Basics – Projects 31 to 35
Loops, MIDI, Arrangements, References, Effects, and Modulation
Round 10: Modulation Essentials (Projects 31-35)
Project 31 – LFO Modulation on Synth
Title: “Synth LFO Groove”
BPM: 100
Duration: 3 min.
Key: C Major
Scale: Minor Pentatonic
Element to Practice: Using LFO modulation to add movement to a synth sound
Project 32 – Envelopes for Dynamic MIDI
Title: “Dynamic MIDI Envelopes”
BPM: 110
Duration: 4 min
Key: D Major
Scale: Major Scale
Element to Practice: Applying envelopes to shape the dynamics of MIDI elements
Project 33 – Effects and Envelopes for Vocal Processing
Title: “Vocal Envelope Processing”
BPM: 120
Duration: 4 min
Key: G Minor
Scale: Natural Minor
Element to Practice: Using envelopes in combination with effects for vocal manipulation. Learn how to use Shifter. You could use filters or reverb as something to be modified.
Project 34 – Advanced LFO Techniques on Effects
Title: “LFO x LFO”
BPM: 95
Duration: 4 min
Key: A Minor
Scale: Aeolian Mode
Element to Practice: Applying LFO modulation to another LFO parameter for creative sound design. Use the Shaper tool.
Project 35 – Modulation Showcase and Milestone
Title: “Modulation Mastery”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: Your pick.
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Learn to hear modulation into songs you know. Try to reproduce one sound effect. Explore effects on Splice.
Building the Basics – Projects 36 to 40
Loops, MIDI, Arrangements, References, Effects, Modulation, EQ, Filters, and Compression
Round 11: EQ, Filters, and Compression Techniques (Projects 36-40)
Element to Practice: Using groups, learn how to apply side-chain to open up space for a lead.
Project 50 – Advanced Bus Processing
Title: “Bus Driver”
BPM: 85
Duration: 4 min.
Key: F# Minor
Scale: Harmonic Minor
Element to Practice: Utilizing buses and groups for mixing.
Project 51 – Return Channels and Reverb
Title: “Return Channel Reverb”
BPM: 115
Duration: 3 min.
Key: Bb Major
Scale: Dorian Mode
Element to Practice: Incorporating return channels and reverb for spatial effects. Use 2 return channels with one set to Hall and the other, short reverb. Send various channels towards them.
Project 52 – Mixing with Reference Tracks
Title: “Mixing References”
BPM: 105
Duration: 4 min.
Key: C Minor
Scale: Phrygian Mode
Element to Practice: Learn about Gain staging and adjust your channel’s level to these.
Project 53 – Effects and Mixing
Title: “Dynamic EQ”
BPM: 125
Duration: 3 min.
Key: F Major
Scale: Lydian Mode
Element to Practice: Learn how to use dynamic EQ in ableton.
Project 54 – Vocal Production and Harmonies
Title: “Vocal Production Excellence”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Duration: 4 min
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Learn the main effects used for vocal treatement: Shifter, Delay, Reverb, Chorus/ensemble.
Project 55 – Milestone: Mix and Routing in action
Title: “Mix and Routing Exercice”
BPM: Analyze and match reference track
Key: Analyze and match reference track
Element to Practice: Apply all concepts learned to create an advanced mix with intricate routing and processing
Going Modular has been in trend in the last years and the concept got momentum with the arrival of VCV Rack. One of the best way to learn about modular techniques, is to install VCV which is free as a stand alone DAW. I learned more about sound design with it than years studying it.
Round 14: Advanced Sound Design and Modular Concepts (Projects 56-65)
Element to Practice: Apply all concepts learned to create an advanced sound design piece
These projects will allow students to explore the fascinating world of sound design, modular concepts, and synthesis techniques, enabling them to craft unique and expressive sonic textures.
Round 15: Resampling, Recording, and Voice Manipulation (Projects 66-70)
For these projects, the duration doesn’t matter as long as you can build ideas over a few minutes. From here, try to always have an introduction, middle part and outro.
You’ll want to try to have a hook per song as well as supporting ideas. You know enough from here to be able to create songs and should now put a bit more energy to get them as done as possible.
Project 66 – Creative Resampling Techniques
Title: “Resampling Magic”
BPM: 100
Key: C Major
Scale: Minor Pentatonic
Element to Practice: Exploring creative resampling methods to transform audio.
Project 67 – Field Recording and Sampling
Title: “Field to Sound”
BPM: 110
Key: D Major
Scale: Major Scale
Element to Practice: Capturing and incorporating field recordings into music production. Learn how to simply use your smart phone to record sounds and import them.
Project 68 – Vocal Recording and Processing
Title: “Vocal Doctor”
BPM: 120
Key: G Minor
Scale: Natural Minor
Element to Practice: Recording and processing vocals with resampling.
Project 69 – Voice Manipulation and Sampling
Title: “Voice Transformation”
BPM: 95
Key: A Minor
Scale: Aeolian Mode
Element to Practice: Manipulating and resampling voice recordings for unique textures from the clip’s warp mode.
Project 70 – Resampled Soundscapes
Title: “Resampled Soundscapes”
BPM: 85
Key: F# Minor
Scale: Harmonic Minor
Element to Practice: Creating intricate soundscapes through resampling and manipulation.
Project 100 – Milestone: Generative Music and Final project
– Title: “Final Project”
– BPM: Analyze and match reference track
– Key: Analyze and match reference track
– Element to Practice: Generate ideas randomly and with the techniques learnt then make a whole song with it.
Congratulation if you went through all the exercises. You should now have a strong basis to know your way into making a song. There are so many topics that could have been covered. If you have any suggestions to add, let me know in the comments.
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/begin-ableton.jpeg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2023-11-29 20:18:042023-12-05 11:05:42The Road Map To Learn Music Production
In the diverse and ever-evolving world of electronic music, countless aspiring artists and producers are diving headfirst into the sea of music creation. With technology at their fingertips, creating music has never been more accessible. However, this ease of access can sometimes lead to a contentment with simplicity, especially for those who may not have a traditional background in music theory or composition. Yet, the realm of music, with its deep roots and intricate branches, offers a vast landscape of possibilities waiting to be explored.
It’s no wonder that trained musicians are often overlooking electronic music and will say it’s not “real music.”
I find that what makes an artist sound pro in their melodies compared to someone who start is often related to articulation, which we will cover in this post.
For many, the journey into music production begins with loops – those repeating sections of sound that form the backbone of many electronic tracks. Loops are the building blocks, the starting points from which entire tracks can emerge. But what happens when the novelty of looping fades, and the desire to craft something more complex and personal arises? This is where the concept of articulation comes into play, offering a gateway to elevate a simple loop into a rich tapestry of sound.
(Inside note: At the moment of writing this, Ableton just announced version 12 of Live. Some of the elements mentioned below will be covered in solid ways for that version but since I haven’t tested it yet, I can’t really expand on it yet.)
Articulation in Music to Elevate your ideas
Articulation in music refers to how notes are played or sung, influencing their transition, duration, and overall character. In electronic music, articulation can transform a basic loop into a nuanced and dynamic piece. If we were to compare two extremes, we could put on one side, loopy techno as not very articulate and on the other extreme, an experienced, jazz vocalist.
It is much more than just accent and velocity as many think. Those are just a fraction of what’s possible.
Let’s delve into the different types of articulation and how they can add depth and complexity to your music.
Staccato: This indicates that notes are played sharply and detached from each other. Staccato notes are typically short, light, and separate.
I find that in the low end range, kicks and bass notes have a much better clarity when short. You might not want short basses or kicks all the time, so you could alternate the gate length to have variation.
Melodies that are staccato work well with arpeggios and bring a fast mood to a song, excitement and movement.
In melodies, staccato also gives the impression of bringing a delicate touch.
Legato: Opposite to staccato, legato articulation means that notes are played smoothly and connected, with no noticeable break in between. This often creates a flowing, lyrical quality in the music.
Accent: An accent mark indicates that a note should be played with more emphasis or force compared to the surrounding notes. It stands out due to a stronger attack. We often use it in percussion as we mark where the groove has emphasis.
Accents in a pattern accentuate the groove. If you are using some grooves, they also enhance accents at given points so consider that.
It can also be described as adding an assertive tone to a note.
Tenuto: This suggests that a note should be sustained for its full value, or slightly longer, often with a slight emphasis. It can add a sense of weight and importance to a note.
When programming a pattern, I like to keep my high point velocity around 100 (of 127) which gives headroom for notes with emphasis.
Marcato: This is a stronger form of an accent, where the note is played much louder and with a sharper attack. Marcato often creates a more pronounced and emphatic sound.
That one would be at 127 in velocity.
In music, there can be a part in marcato, meaning that a section is played with stronger impact.
Fermata: This indicates that a note or a rest should be held longer than its usual duration. The exact length is typically left to the discretion of the performer or conductor.
What makes a groove, an articulation are pauses. It’s good for dynamic range but just like when someone talks, pauses are crucial to understand the sense of a phrase.
Portato: Also known as mezzo staccato, it’s a combination of legato and staccato. Notes are played somewhat detached, but not as sharply as staccato, and with a connection similar to legato.
Glissando: This is when a performer glides from one note to another, playing all the intermediate pitches. This is common in string instruments and the voice.
Often used for acid basslines.
Slur: Notes are being played, blended all together. I think it’s similar to a legato but it’s of a way of creating “syllables” sound where they’re a bit mashed up.
Trill: A rapid alternation between a note and the one above it, creating a fluttering sound.
I like to do this with a 2 notes arp.
Now, let’s explore how to apply these articulations in digital audio workstations like Ableton and modular environments like VCV Rack.
Examples
Staccato: In Ableton, you can achieve staccato by shortening the length of MIDI notes. You might also use a fast attack and release in an envelope on a synthesizer. There’s a MIDI tool named Note Length that can you can use to modify the duration. Any synths has an ADSR envelope and by playing with the decay/release, you can control the length, making any sound shorter, into staccato.
In VCV Rack, consider using a gate modifier or an envelope generator with a short decay to create sharp, short sounds.
When and why to use: Useful when you want to to introduce movement and a sense a density, in a rhythmical way. Short notes fill a space as well as leaving room for other elements. A good example would be tribal music.
Legato: For legato, ensure that MIDI notes overlap slightly in Ableton, and use a synth with a glide or portamento setting to smoothly transition between notes. When you use a midi clip, there’s an option for Legato that will stretch all notes to their longest option until it meets another note.
In VCV Rack, you can use a longer envelope decay and sustain, with a portamento module for smooth pitch transitions.
When and why to use: This can be good for thick melodies, pads, longer synth notes which create a nice background or the front part of a song.
Accent: In Ableton, you can increase the velocity of specific MIDI notes to create accents. You might also automate volume or use a transient shaper plugin. In VCV Rack, use a velocity sequencer module to modulate the amplitude or filter cutoff for accented notes. I like to pictur
When and why to use: As said, it’s useful in a groove but it can also be a sporadic moment in a song as well to create a sense of dramatic impact with a feel of heavy impact.
Tenuto: Emulate tenuto in Ableton by extending the length of MIDI notes slightly and using a slight increase in velocity. In VCV Rack, a combination of longer gate times and subtle amplitude modulation can help achieve this sustained emphasis.
When and why to use: Little arps do well to bring secondary melodies, enhancing, supporting the main one or simply to add decoration.
Marcato: For marcato, increase the velocity significantly in Ableton, and consider using a sharper attack on your envelope. In VCV Rack, use a combination of high-velocity settings and an envelope generator with a quick attack and a moderate decay.
When and why to use: Snappier attack on a sound makes it a bit more aggressive but is again, another way to induce drama and intensity in a melody.
Fermata: This is more about performance expression. In Ableton, you can extend the length of a note where a fermata occurs and perhaps automate a slight increase in volume or reverb. In VCV Rack, you might manually control the length of a note using a gate or hold module.
When and why to use: That’s an alternative way to bring
Portato: Combine the techniques of staccato and legato. In Ableton, this might mean programming MIDI notes with moderate length and slight overlap, and using a synth with a bit of glide. In VCV Rack, set up an envelope with a moderately fast decay and a bit of sustain, with a slight glide between notes.
Glissando: In Ableton, you can use pitch bend automation or a glide/portamento setting on a synthesizer. In VCV Rack, use a portamento or glide module, and create a sequence where the pitch CV smoothly transitions from one note to another.
Trill: In Ableton, program rapid alternation between two MIDI notes. You might also use an arpeggiator set to a high rate. In VCV Rack, use a fast LFO or a sequencer to alternate between two pitches rapidly.
Exercises and Applications
Experiment with Velocity: In both Ableton and VCV Rack, play around with the velocity of each note. Notice how changing the force behind a note alters the emotion and energy of your loop.
Change Note Lengths: Experiment with shortening and lengthening notes within your loop. Observe how these changes affect the rhythm and flow.
Use Automation for Dynamics: Automate volume, filters, or effects to add movement and life to your loops.
Layer Different Articulations: Layer loops with different articulations. For instance, combine a staccato bassline with a legato lead melody.
Play with Effects: Use reverb, delay, and modulation effects to enhance your articulations. A staccato note with a tail of reverb can create an entirely different feel.
Morph Your Loops: Take a simple loop and create several variations, each with a different articulation style. This practice not only enhances your skills but also provides a plethora of material to work with. I do this as comping for effects but you can do this with midi notes as well.
By incorporating these articulations into your music production, even the simplest loops can blossom into complex, emotive
https://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/articulation.jpeg10801080pheekhttps://audioservices.studio/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/logo-menu.jpgpheek2023-11-16 20:04:522023-11-16 20:04:52Upgrading Melodies with Articulation
Every now and then, you might be like me and stubble on a song that either wow or confuse you for the different sounds it has or for a particular effect. You might be spending a few hours or days listening back to the song wondering how it was done, perhaps search online. But then you face your first limitation: your vocabulary. Yes, that part of yourself that hear a specific sound, might not know exactly how to name it. Then, this creates a gap in how you can explain it to someone or search for its nature, through search engines. In my case, I’m lucking enough to know enough about sound processing to be able to name it and so many times, someone booked me for an hour to ask me about a specific sound but then felt disappointed that I explained it in less than 2 minutes. I swear this happens a lot. But then I see them feeling a relief that what they thought impossible becomes something they can now add to their song in the making.
The first rule of audio reverse engineering is to be curious and open. But also, persistent and patient.
The second is to not be afraid to ask for help.
The third is to understand that it often takes 9 fails (in average) to succeed (the 10:1 ratio).
That said, It took me a while but I compiled how I work when I try to reverse engineer sounds so that you can consider this as a way of understanding more how you work. The more you understand sounds, the more control you’ll have over your own sound design.
Understanding the Sound
As simple as this sound, understand the sound starts with paying attention, isolating a moment within a song and be able to name which family it belongs to. In terms of families, there are a few that I use, which are related in how I label sounds (or how most online sample stores as Splice or Loopcloud use).
Drums: kicks, snare, hats, claps, toms, cymbals, breaks, fills, acoustic. These can be electronic based or acoustic. You’d see them on drum machines quite often.
Percussion: Shakers, conga, tambourine, bongos, djembe, bells. This is mostly the large amount of world traditional percussion related sounds.
Synths: Pads, stabs, chords, leads, arp, analog, fx, plucks. Basically, the sounds are the results of synthesis from a synth through sound design.
Vocal: All the types you can imagine and think of, that aren’t synthesis related.
Effects: Noise, risers, sweeps, impact, textures, atmosphere, field recordings. In general, they don’t really have a tone/recognizable root key but they might have one.
Brass/Woodwind: Sax, trumpet, trombone, flute, harmonica. Wind based instruments, mostly not synthesis related.
Keys: piano, electric piano, wurtlizer, organ, classic, organ. Anything sounding close to a piano.
Bass: Sub, acoustic, analog, synth, wobble, saw, distorted, acid. Anything mid-low or low in frequencies. Strings: Violin, cello, orchestral, staccato.
Some family overlaps, especially in electronic music, as many of the sounds can be created with a synth in one way or another but to name the base, perceived family is usually where it all starts.
Listening Carefully: The audio engineer will first listen to the sound repeatedly to understand its characteristics. This includes identifying the pitch, timbre, duration, and envelope (attack, decay, sustain, and release phases) of the sound.
Once you have the family, you need to define it’s nature through these characteristics. These will be helpful to either recreate or modify a specific sound. Whenever you start by designing a sound, these elements are the basis of where you start.
Example: Simply zoom on the isolated sound to start with can reveal some of those details: duration and envelope are very clear.
In this example, we see this sound has a fast attack, pretty high decay and sustain but super short release (as there are no tail).
This sound also has a fast attach and a high decay, the sustain is fairly short and it seems the release is mid point. We see there is some sort of texture on the sound as there’s some noisy looking texture that stretches. This could mean that this sound was made by adding a layer to the original sound design.
Spectral Analysis: Using spectral analysis tools, the engineer can visually inspect the frequencies present in the sound. This helps in understanding the balance of fundamental frequencies and overtones.
In this example, the sound has a root key of C1 that is this huge bump in the low end area. After that bump, we see the complexity of the harmonics and overtones.
Understanding the overtones and harmonics is a strong indication of the content of the sound. It’s also telling us that this sound isn’t filtered. If it is, it might be in parallel otherwise we wouldn’t see the harmonics going up all the way there. If you don’t have a good one, I’d recommend getting the free SPAN.
Replicating the Sound
Identifying the Source: The engineer tries to determine the source of the sound. Is it a natural sound, a synthetic sound from a synthesizer, or perhaps a processed sound with effects?
This is where it gets complicated, especially if you’re new to sound design. Whenever I teach sound design, I encourage people to spend some time testing different oscillators and synthesis method. Each companies who build synths also work on having a particular sound and sometimes it’s just not possible to find out what it is. So the best attitude possible at first is to remain open and to try multiple iterations. But it won’t be possible to understand the sound if you haven’t exposed yourself to many of them. Spending a lot of time playing with various synths, emulations and checking online demos of synths can be a very essential activity to train your ears.
Using an oscilloscope is also super useful to “see” the sound if the wave form wasn’t clear enough from the file itself.
Consider foleys! This type of sound is what you see with sound artists that create the effects for movies by manipulating items in order to create a new sound. Perhaps you could be creative and use items in your kitchen to recreate the sound or even with your mouth, try to “say” or imitate the sound in order to see how it sounds like. Maybe you’ll feel silly but it can be pretty interesting in the end.
Synthesis: If the sound is synthetic, the engineer may use synthesizers to recreate it. This involves selecting the appropriate waveform (sine, square, triangle, sawtooth), setting the envelopes, and modulating the sound using LFOs (Low-Frequency Oscillators) and filters.
We saw on this blog that LFOs and envelopes are related to movement in sound so once your have worked on finding the possible sound source, the next is to hear the movement in it. This will let you know how to organize your movement settings.
One of the most useful and powerful tool you can use for modulation is Shaperbox. It has all the different tools for modulation. It has provided me a lot of insight on modulation and sound just by playing with it so it is not just useful for sound design, it is also educational.
Sampling: If the sound is natural or too complex to synthesize from scratch, the engineer might resort to sampling. This involves recording the sound, if possible, or finding a similar sound and then manipulating it to match the original.
Sometimes sampling the sound you want to replicate and play with it within a sampler can reveal details that you initially missed.
Processing the Sound
It’s rare that a sound as is gets our attention. It often is the case that it will have a color. We can process the sound by adding some effects that can twist the phase or open up the spectrum.
Effects Chain: The engineer will then use an array of effects to process the sound. Common tools include equalization (EQ) to adjust frequency balances, compression to manage dynamics, reverb and delay for space and depth, and possibly distortion or saturation for character.
Handy tools are multi-effect tools. Lifeline is one fun effect that can drastically or subtly alter the dull sound into a new one.
Layering Sounds: Often, the desired sound is a combination of several layers. The engineer might blend multiple sounds together to create a complex sound.
When it comes to layering, I like to use the arrangement side of Ableton to do it. You can also use an envelope follower to use the envelope of your desired target and apply it to the sound layers you’re working on. When layering, EQs and filters are your best assets.
Iterative Tweaking
A/B Testing: Throughout the process, the engineer will frequently compare their recreated sound to the original (A/B testing), making small adjustments to get closer to the desired outcome.
Some useful tool to understand the composition of the sound can also be an oscilloscope. Melda has one here for you for free otherwise, again in Shaperbox, you can find one which is very useful to have hands on the design.
Resampling over and over: The engineer might create “feedback loops”, where the processed sound is re-recorded into the system and processed again for more complex effects. What we mean here is not a literal feedback loop which is pretty hard on the ear but more of a resampling of a resampling into something new. This approach is a good way to hunt down variations of what you work on and go further down the rabbit hole of variations.
Final Comparison and Tweaking
After doing A/B testing for a while, you should at some point closer to the target in mind. One thing in mind as for searching for your ideal replication is to come up with something close and also be open to variations to it. Save as many presets as possible by turning multiple effects into a macro. You want to be able to recall your processing into future sounds and if you applied some processing, that is “make-up” that you can apply to other sounds of yours, which will open a new array of possibilities.
Fine-Tuning: Even once the sound seems close to the original, additional fine-tuning is often necessary to capture the nuances that make the sound unique. Sometimes that means to swap some effects (swap reverb X with another) to get subtle new outcomes. Even a musical EQ can change the identity in a little way. A lot of the best outcome is the sum of multiple tiny tweaks.
Environment Matching: The engineer also considers the environment in which the sound will be used. A sound in isolation might seem perfect but could require adjustments to fit into a mix or to match the acoustics of a particular space. Using a convolution reverb can be giving an idea what the sound could be like elsewhere.
Reverse-engineering a sound is as much an art as it is a science. Audio engineers need to have a keen ear, a deep understanding of audio synthesis and signal processing, and patience to iterate until the sound matches their goal. It’s a challenging but highly rewarding process that often leads to the creation of innovative sounds and effects.
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The first step to promotion is to understand who your music is for. In electronic music, it is often, in the end, for DJs. Technically, those are your clients and the bridge between yourself and the public. If DJs aren’t your bridge, you need to sit and find out who your promotion proxy is. Perhaps it’s radios or blogs.
AD Envelope (Attack-Decay):
