Tag Archive for: finishing songs

Where Do I Go Next?

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In case you missed it, I recently recorded a video announcing I wanted to make more YouTube videos and shared that I’m working on a series of courses. Making videos came from the need to stop repeating the same information to new people I coach. The first few hours of my coaching cover multiple aspects of music production, mainly focused on organizing your workflow, which will help set what to practice next. In the video, I invited anyone wanting to create and learn to get in touch so I can connect with others about where they’re stuck in their journey, but mainly, to understand why they are blocked.

There has never been as much help, resources, tutorials, plugins, and tools as now, yet people are still blocked. They are told and sold that this solution will fix their needs, yet it doesn’t. My meetings with these random people aimed to see how they’ve been surfing the waves of music-making, mainly electronic music. In the end, the same stories come up over multiple connections.

 

It seems the main issues people face aren’t technology-based. Yes, some technicalities will be a hurdle in the race to a goal, but people can find solutions with some research.

 

One of the main issue people face is asking the simple question “Where do I go next?”

 

This will manifest in multiple ways, and while each participant had different issues, the underlying problem was that, whatever they did, they felt the next phase was unclear.

 

Let me explain more. Based on 2 main categories, I will explain contexts and solutions.

Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

The Hobbyist

 

This type of musician usually has a job, perhaps a family and makes music a hobby. Maybe that person had a moment where they’d party and go to concerts more, but at some point, they felt like they’d also want to make music. One common need the hobbyist will have is to balance their busy life with some activity that is fun and creative, and this leads to finishing some music. If you work 30-40 hours a week in a corporate job (or anything not so creative), you might find your life redundant and lacking one passion. The call to have a purpose self-imposes, and if music is something you live with, it becomes clear that it can be an exploration. But working full time comes with one challenge: spending more time in front of your computer after a full day of screen isn’t super exciting.

 

Making music has multiple uses other than spicing up your life:

  • It actualizes and crystalizes a moment in your life. When you work on a song for a little while, it creeps into your life as a score. It can follow you as an earworm while doing something not studio-related. It can also be like a story that unfolds gently, where you aren’t sure how it will end, but something emerges as you work on it. This is why it’s essential to finish projects more than perfecting them. It allows you to learn something, feel you’re progressing by learning new skills and leave a chapter behind.
  • It has health benefits. Countless studies show that making music triggers hormones that benefit mental health and sharpen cognitive abilities. It can also help prevent dementia, develop emotional intelligence, and encourage troubleshooting.
  • It regulates emotions. Making music helps you experience some emotional states. It is a way of letting go of emotional blocks, allowing you to focus on a particular feeling and not explode randomly later.
  • Music is communication beyond words. Ultimately, we share music as stories in a bottle, thrown at the world in hopes that someone will find it. While making music for ourselves, we want to connect with others through the sounds we love.

 

But these also can backfire in certain conditions. For instance, if you need a studio session and, within the first minutes, you run into technical issues related to technology failing you, that can impact your need to create. One of the challenges the hobbyist faces is a lack of time to dedicate to his art. If most sessions are organized in the time left, they have, not only is their mental energy isn’t sharp but their patience as well.

Successful hobbyists usually set studio sessions in the “green zones.”

 

Everyone has moments during the day when they have more energy. These are considered “green zones,” followed by”yellow” or “red” zones, which are different levels of energy.

  • Green. This is your peak attention time. You’ll be very effective at creating and solving issues and facing challenges that require attention and concentration. The only downside is that you have only one per day, and it has a time limit.
  • Yellow. You have less energy, but you’re still going. This zone is perfect for organizing, cleaning, and preparing tasks. Yellow zones are more extended, but if you handle them with patience, they can morph into spurts of energy.
  • Red. This state is almost lethargic. You are just unable to focus, and your motivation might be low. In this zone, you can approach the studio time to handle software updates, organize cabling, fix decorations, and, most importantly, use it to listen to music and take notes.

Setting your studio session at the best time is essential, but you can set a session’s activity based on what you can do during that moment.

 

Most hobbyists who struggle with music face a contextual issue: they either don’t go out to music or/and don’t have friends with the same interests. Perhaps one of the key points of my meetings relates to the lack of social validation.

 

Not everyone knows an electronic musician that can share knowledge but also, that can understand where one is and wants to go.

For the hobbyist, some have songs, but what are their options?

 

Having a few songs, you might want to push it to the world because the need they want is related to validation and a feeling of belonging. There’s some desperate need to connect with someone who will get it, and putting it out to the world seems like the best option. But since the person doesn’t go out and perhaps has a restraint network, reaching people might most likely end up being lost in a sea of noise where millions of people also want to be heard. I’m not sure where I read that, but there was a quote that said:

If you want to receive, you have to start by giving.

 

So, for the hobbyist, one strategy and activity to consider is listening to other people’s music and being curious. Connecting with those who share your views can provide potential artistic connections. I coach hobbyists and tell them to spend time digging for music on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Knowing music and exposing yourself to new ideas is essential to expanding your vocabulary, but you might also come across another musician who, just like you, is waiting to connect.

With too many options, we disconnect from them and tend to focus on our little habits, tastes, and routines. It makes it hard to see potential possibilities for where we can go next. For hobbyists, having a few friends who are also making music will undoubtedly answer many of their questions—not just about what they can do with their music but also about getting updated on trends, tools, and techniques.

 

Where can they go then?

 

This is a bit of a puzzle for everyone, honestly. If I take Montreal as an example, I will speak on behalf of a city I know and share some ideas that come to my mind. Montreal is a very special city, but you might be able to find similar resources locally.

 

Record stores: If you’re a music lover and rely only on digital for listening, diving back into record stores might be interesting to get out of the algorithm bubble. We have multiple vinyl stores that also sell some cassettes and CDs. There’s a market for that still. You might see other people digging and listening to music in a store. This is always a good opportunity to talk with the clerk and ask for music recommendations, but perhaps venues. If you’re not going out to clubs, there might be alternative indie places that are intimate and worth checking out local talent.

 

Music instruments stores: Similar to record shops, those places might have some gear you could consider picking up. You might want to buy basic percussion instruments to spice up your music with interaction. Talking with the staff, they might even suggest some ideas to try. Adding just a few acoustic options to the studio already makes it more playful, and sound-wise, it becomes personal. Someone like Bruno Pronsato would always record his claps and egg shakers manually. A little touch like that gives your music colour. In both cases, those places are spots to meet up and expose yourself to other music lovers of all ages.

 

Exhibits, activities, cafes and random places with DJs: Montreal always have DJs playing in random places, such as a street festival or presentation in a park. Again, befriending DJs is an excellent step in building a network, and perhaps someone can play your music in the sets or podcasts.

 

Independent Radio events: If you can find your local community radio that plays the type of music you listen to, you’ll perhaps hear about events when shows are related. It’s always a form of promotion we overlook, but local radios have a good reach in communities.

 

Follow local artists on Instagram: Instagram or other social media are places where artists usually share news about their creative activities, events, and recommendations. It’s also a place where you can send direct messages; in most cases, people will interact with you. Don’t expect much news back if you reach out to artists with many followers who are often on tour. But following your artists on multiple platforms, even streaming services, is a resource to find venues for the following shows.

 

Production Groups on Social Media: Many groups exist on Discord or Facebook. You might have to search the web a bit, but you might be able to find a community focused on a specific genre or DAW. Of course, you can be in multiple communities.

 

We have places in Montreal with an open mic concept where everyone can showcase a song. The format changes frequently, so a bit of research is worth it. However, playing your music publicly requires preparation. Releasing music is, in fact, the worst approach to getting attention and a network compared to the ideas I shared above.

 

The Semi-Pro

 

I have another category of people I work with: artists who have found a way of releasing music, perhaps also DJs, and, in some cases, are making revenue out of their exploration. This kind of artist is usually pretty aligned with what they want to do; they have perhaps an alias, a music direction, maybe a few releases on specific labels, and a taste of the different aspects of production. Music making might be one of the main activities of their lives and also takes an essential amount of their free time that overlaps work. Some have a part-time job that might be in the creative realm, but sometimes, the money income is purely functional.

 

For these people, music has benefits similar to the hobbyist’s but also:

  • Some make music in a way that promotes certain bookings. Some festivals aren’t interested in DJs who haven’t released music.
  • Endorsing a specific aesthetic can make you join a community. Some genres have leading record labels, and making music in that direction can dictate your identity, attracting people who love that music.
  • Making music for their DJ sets.

 

For the semi-professional musician, making music is not necessarily only for the sake of releasing, as there are various nuances of self-accomplishment. While many want validation from a broad public, some have focused that need on a close circle of people, which makes it easier to be attuned to where they want to go. But now and then, I see people’s mood tanks when they’re not getting attention or if they’re not releasing music. It might be seen as validation; doubt will creep in if that source isn’t fulfilled.

At some point, that category of people will also encounter a moment of not knowing where to go next. This usually happens when the routine of releases/gigs/social media exposure does not provide what the person was hoping to get. It’s easy to think that a release will be the catalytic moment where you imagine one song getting traction and giving you exposure, and then things unfold themselves. While this can happen, it is more from wishful thinking than an actual domino effect leading you elsewhere.

 

The Role-model Problem

 

I see how people spot an artist they like, then look at what they released, what they did, and where they’re playing and then put this information as milestones that made them who they are. For instance, for a while, people would look up to Perlon because of its lineup of talent and think that this was the angular piece of the puzzle that was the doorway to being validated. I know a few people who did everything imaginable to get on that label, and it never worked. Some got signed, but 10 years later, they’re still waiting for the release, which will probably never happen.

The main reason one person succeeds over another artist is mainly related to the network of people they know. But this also raises a few issues. One is the buildup of cliques and closed circles of people where some intrinsic system of politics and approval is mostly unstable. Any group that is impermeable and exclusive can most likely come to a quick end when gossiping and fights erupt. With the lack of new people, it is not set to strive healthily. The second issue with exclusive groups is the lack of open opportunities but cutting networking, and ultimately, you see members leave as soon as they succeed elsewhere.

I’ve seen many scenes where people get cynical and bitter in those situations.

Seeing how others succeed will not be your path to success. While it can inspire, you might find yourself in situations that have nothing to do with your hero’s journey.

 

What are the options to explore?

 

For anyone who has hit a wall on where to go next, there are multiple things you can look into.

Change of scene, genre, alias. Expanding and exploring other genres are fun. Artists rarely limit themselves to one genre, so it might be time to step out of your comfort zone to see what awaits you.

 

Releasing hiatus. If you are fueling on releasing to manage your ups and downs and your music validation, I strongly encourage you to take a hiatus. A pause from releasing is like taking a break from social media or smartphones. It improves your mind, and you can focus your energy on other things. Try supporting a friend in their first release or study reference tracks.

 

Go to a festival abroad. Find a festival of your choice and go on a vacation to participate. Try to go far and be somewhere you’ll know no one. Experiencing the feeling of being new again can spark fun and inspiration. Not only is going to a different city and seeing other people healthy and inspiring, but sometimes we also discover micro-communities that resemble ours. That was one thing that was constantly surprising me when I toured. I would meet doppelgangers from my Montreal crew in various places, and people who would love the same music as me would connect easily with me on a personal level.

 

Listen to music from clubs you’re new to. This is the same as above, but locally. I name clubs, but if your music is for any other context, you need to visit those places and hear your music, leaving it up to the people there. Very often, artists are studio hermits and forget about the outside world. Hearing certain songs you love in context gives a better understanding of how you can translate your ideas out there.

 

Spend time in Record Stores. Just like the hobbyist, this activity explains why we’re making music. To see records and people shopping gives an outlook to a passion. I like to see this as someone who grows crops and then can go to a restaurant where they use it for their meals. It connects the dots. Sometimes, you might even be able to play your music to the shop owner and see people’s reactions.

 

Collaborate. As it says, opening up a project with someone else, perhaps someone who is not a musician, to see what happens can lead you to unexpected places.

 

Take a class. Learn anything. It can be visual design, coding, or electronic soldering. Having another hobby is very welcomed by the brain that will appreciate the new information, and this is proven even to feed your ongoing desire to learn.

 

Music is more than releasing. It comes and lives in various ways. I hope this article inspires you to try something new.

 

How I Classify My Projects and Files

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I’m not sure if you’re like me, but it’s possible that your hard drive, after a while, becomes a total mess. There will be a few folders with some projects in them, and other folders with random samples. Not to mention all those projects named New project…

 

There are ways to organize folders and all your work that allows you to easily navigate it. The way I classify projects is also aimed at having a quick scope of which one I will work with next, which songs should go in an album, and those that need specific actions.

 

Before I explain myself, let’s talk about the different stages a project will go through and also, the different tasks related to that.

Note: If you’re new to this blog and aren’t familiar with my production technique, I would encourage you to read a few articles about this, which will give more sense to what I’m about to describe.

 

The different stages of music production (and labeling your projects so)

 

The way I work to maximize the results is to take each step in making music and call it a phase, or a stage. 

 

The different stages I label with are these:

 

1- Ideas digging, concept, testing techniques, hook finding, etc. 

2- Preliminary loop made from stage 1 that could be the heart of the song. Basic structure of the song.

3- Arrangements.

4- Mixing.

5- Song at 90% done and needs last minor tweaks.

 

The main reason why I give high priority to the state of the song is based on the idea that when I want to work on music, I might be in a specific mindset. Perhaps one day I’ll want to just have fun doing some sound design or another time, I need to work on an EP and will be checking for the few songs incubating. As you might know my approach for when I do music, when I reopen projects, I want to quickly know where that one is at. In an hour of work that I do on music, I hop from one song to another, while I also like to revisit projects that have been sleeping for weeks because what I want is to always have the freshest perspective on my work. If you work on something for hours, trust me, by the end of it, you might have lost all perspective and the work will suffer for it. 

 

Stages 1 and 2 can overlap

 

I’ll give you a study case of mine so we can have a clear understanding of how I can use a project and its evolution toward a finished song. But we’ll start with the 2 first stages. 

 

Projects that are in stage 1 are your pool for fishing ideas. 

So the idea of a project in stage 1 is really about ideas, not much more than that. It could be more if you want, it’s up to you.

 

Stage 2 is where we’re working on a precise hook or main idea. There are multiple ways to work and find hooks, we have talked about that in previous articles. I usually drop a very simple percussive loop to define what will be the rhythm of the song, its groove, and its accents, and then place what would be the hook on top. We often overthink the hook. It’s often very simple. 

 

Usually, in stage 2, I find that I should have:

 

  • A root key 
  • A scale
  • A hook, not longer than 1 bar
  • Rhythmic groove, time signature

 

If I have all of that, then I know the project has passed to that new stage and will rename it. Usually, when I rename a project, I make sure to save it, and do a “collect all and save” to make sure I copy all the needed files from its previous form. When you rename a project, it’s better you do “Save project as…” in the File Menu of Ableton and its original stage 1 will still exist. You can later decide if you archive the original project or keep it as an incubator. Usually, when I’m finding an idea from an incubator, I will make sure I save the different effect chains as macros so that they can be reused. I also will color code my channels, and name them as well so I can harvest them later from the right side browser of Ableton.

 

However, you might have an incubator at stage 1 that will never grow because you could mutate the original incubator to stage 2 but it’s completely different, but still came from a father project. For instance, I have projects that are sorely made for making sounds, where they never have evolved from there and tons of songs or even live sets have come from them.

 

Arrangements, the full story of Stage 3

 

I find that arrangements should start by working on the middle part of the song and then deconstruct that idea to the start of the song. So the early part of Stage 3 would consist of working in the middle part, roughly 1 minute long.

 

As you can see, you basically shift your initial Stage 2 loop and drag it to arrangements, then stretch it. Some people build their initial loop in arrangement mode so you can just move it from the start to the middle. When I work on arrangements, I usually love to make a quick draft of the song, where I’ll split it in 3 sections: intro, heart, outro. That draft is made quickly, sometimes in a surprising time of 20 minutes alone. I will come back later with a fresh look and listen from the beginning and will readjust the arrangements so it makes more sense. 

 

In stage 3, the mixing isn’t important. You can level it for pleasant listening but I wouldn’t worry much about it. 

 

Mixing as 4th stage

 

This doesn’t need much explanation here but one thing to clarify is that it’s not something rigid either. You might notice some arrangement problems in mixing that will make you redo them. As I always say to clients, if your sound design and arrangements are solid, there will be basically almost no mixing, or just touch-up.

 

Stage 5 is when your song is 90% done

 

To me, 90% done is my definition of done. I know it sounds weird but it is like that. First off, when you first accept that a song is never done, it’s easier to accept its imperfections and to move on. Second, you want to bring as many songs as possible to 90% because the day you want to do a release, you’ll take those and then wrap them all at once to 100%. This might sound confusing but letting your songs sleep at 90% and then wrap multiple songs at once means that the last stretch for all of them is your chance to unify them to make them coherent as a release. 

 

So what’s the difference between Stage 4 and 5?

 

Well, it’s kinda when you’re done arranging, you shift it to stage 5. It’s sort of like, I’m done with this one. Once in a while, I might reopen 5 to maybe do a little tweak but to me, when it gets to 5, it’s sort of saying that it’s ready.

 

In conclusion

 

When I open my folder with all my projects, I will see from 1 to 5, all songs being in order. With the file browser, I can also classify them from 5 to 1 as well. I like in mac OS to be able to put some tags as well. That can be for genre, if it’s signed or whatever is useful.

Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash

Common Beliefs and Misconceptions about Music Production

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Perhaps you’ve been making music for a little while or you’re completely new to it, perhaps on the verge of jumping in this as a new hobby, and you have this overwhelming feeling of being overwhelmed or lost. Let’s be fair, some hobbies are easier than others to start with. Maybe you’ve tried DJing and you saw how fast it is to get into it and then tried producing and found it to be a steep learning curve. Therefore, I thought I’d write about the different challenges people face when they start and the workaround or strategies that I give to students in order to get through the difficult emotions. 

 

Common Beliefs and Misconceptions about Music Production

 

There are so many different misconceptions about our passion that it’s a bit difficult to list them but I’ll try to debunk many ideas that confuse people I work with.

“Electronic music is easy to do” or a variant, “If you have everything you need, then it’s easy to do.”

 

This is honestly the one I debunk on a regular basis. I often also argue with strangers about it and I gathered so much theory. So to start with how easy it is, that’s absolutely not true. I’ve explored making music for 30 years and  there are still times where I’m not totally sure what I’m doing. Also, I learn something new every single day I practice. 

 

Do I need to know everything to make music? No, absolutely not. I’ve been able to make over 20 albums and on some of them, I was just scratching the surface of what production is about. 

 

The idea that it’s easy comes from the idea that compared to someone who grabs a guitar and performs music theory, rhythms and all that is related to music perfectly is harder, that’s something not everyone can do. On the surface, technology has democratically opened music making by making so many tools, software, and hardware that can let many do more than anyone could, 30+ years ago. It doesn’t mean it’s easier.

 

If you want to make a loop and play music, yes, it can be similar to video games and that part is honestly where most of the fun is. Anyone that wants to go deeper will soon feel like that will not be enough and want more.

 

This is where the second variant kicks in, with the idea that you need something else to do that. You’ll also be exposed that you need something from all the ads we are exposed to or if you talk to other producers, they’ll quickly tell you all the things you need… Which is a bit of a trap.

 

I’ve said it many times before, but to do music you basically, at minimum, need one device that can make a sound(mobile phone, tablet, hardware, computer) t and something to listen to (headphones, speakers). That’s really all you need. 

 

When I tell that to people, I often then get the famous “I knew it was easy!” response. 

 

That’s when I drop the bomb. 

 

Oh yeah, it’s easy… You’ll just need to understand the basic theory of sound design, signal flow, music fundamentals, engineering, storytelling, and perhaps also recording too, to name a few. So then again, it’s confusing because as a newcomer, you might be aware of how little you know and this triggers confusion and frustration. 

 

So this is where there’s a paradox. On one hand, everything is there, but it doesn’t mean that you’ll know how to get your way through to achieve what you want to do. 

 

My approach is simple – it’s about convincing  anyone diving into music  to start with little steps. I saw many people wanting to learn how to play piano and some of the first exercises they’ll start with is to get familiar with hands on the notes, play around with scales, and basically just practice going up and down the keys. If you learn piano, this is what you expect to do at first because it’s the basis of playing. 

 

When it comes to electronic music, people are all over the place. They want to make a song, they want to make music like an artist they love, they want to try this and that… So much to do and there’s not much of a methodology anywhere so people try things and it often fails.

 

So, more myths follow.

 

“You make a song by starting from the beginning and then finish it”

 

This one is probably the most damaging of all because it puts people in a workflow that is counterproductive, alienating and just not fun at all. If you are familiar with this blog, you’ll be familiar with my idea that making one song at a time is one of the worst ways to work. So perhaps let’s think about what it means to you to make a song, or what a song is supposed to be.

 

For some, it’s a little story, for others it’s an experiment, or it can be something for a DJ to play. The thing they all have in common is that they have a beginning and an end, plus some ideas that evolve (or not) in the middle. Some songs have one idea, others multiple. But what this means is that each song needs at least one idea. This is where music starts, by finding ideas. That means you can probably listen to music you like and love something in it. Perhaps you want to sample something from an old record or just want to write notes of a melody yourself.

 

I usually stress the importance of finding ideas as one of the main things to do because it’s not hard to do and because it’s fun. The other thing I tell people who start is to spend countless hours in their music software and not have any goals other than to basically test everything with intense curiosity and openness. The more you are goal driven in front of something you don’t understand, the more you might be lost and lose interest. One of the main conditions for finding flow in an activity is to do something that seems doable but a bit challenging while having fun. 

 

Exploring, getting familiar with your software, and doing little experiments is where you start.

 

Here are some little projects you can do if you’re really new to it:

 1- Drag a song or samples you like in your DAW and play with it

chop it, add effects, stretch it, pitch it up or down, destroy it wildly and see what happens. Note what you do and be aware that certain tools bring specific results.

 

 2- Spend time playing 1-2 notes on a keyboard and listen to the results.

This means, test all the synths you have, samplers. Play long or short notes, and see how they behave. Record the notes and try to record the sound, destroy it.

 

3- Be responsive instead of curating.

One of my approaches with music is to pick any sound and have the attitude that if someone paid me $1000 to do a song with this, what would I do?  The problem for many people is that they have access to way too much and they’ll spend the entire studio session searching for a specific sound they’ll never find. This makes you creatively lazy. You’ll learn more working with something crap  than searching for the perfect sound. You might actually learn how to make sounds you love by goofing around.

 

If we agree that ideas make songs and that you like specific ideas, you need to practice playing to gain ease, spontaneity and control in order to eventually make your own ideas. This is why I invite people to play with what they have to become fluent. 

 

So, to sum it up:

 

To make music you don’t need a lot.

There’s a lot to know but you don’t need to know everything to have fun.

If you have fun, you’ll want to spend time exploring.

Remain curious of what you think is useless or too complicated.

Exploration means practice.

Practice brings new ideas. 

Ideas can be turned into songs.

It’s easier to get the most out of a sound than searching for the perfect one.

Simplicity is sophistication.

 

Making music is about having fun. If it doesn’t feel fun, you’re not seeing it from the right angle.

 

Last belief that causes harm:

 

“I have great ideas in my mind but I can’t put them all together in my songs”

 

Anything one has in mind is wonderful but once you try to replicate it, things are never really exactly the same as what you’d expect. In years of making music, I never really was able to translate my inner world to sound. Perhaps if you’re a singer or folk artist, this is easier but in the realm of electronic music, things are completely different. You can have a nice melody idea but you’ll need the right sound. You might have the right sound, but then the melody might not fit. The more you chase something abstract, the less grasp you’ll have on what you actually control.

 

There’s a vast number of elements that can really cloud your judgment and to chase something, always brought me frustration. I sometimes had way more fun working on simplistic ideas than going for a very ambitious project. It doesn’t mean that you have to stop yourself, but it’s important to understand where you stand, technically, and operate with your current skills.

 

Someone was asking, how do I make very long techno tracks like some artists do? My answer was, don’t do that. He was surprised and disappointed. My explanation was that it’s more important that he becomes really good first at doing what he’s doing now. Then you expand and do something a little more challenging once your basis is solid. I explored longer tracks once I managed to make solid 6 minutes ones, then moved to 8, then 10, and then up.

 

Bonus tip here:

 

“My friend told me this software is crap”

 

I could have added a lot of quotes here but my point is that many people will tell you what their experience is, and how they came to some conclusions but in the end, it’s just someone’s perspective. I’m always a bit cautious of people telling me to not do something (especially if I never asked for advice) and will be more curious of people explaining how they managed to do something I like. Many people have self imposed rules that are super weird, not backed by anything technical. Many times I heard some bogus claims that some software wasn’t good enough (FLStudio, for instance is often put down)  or that a plugin isn’t for music, while I know so many people that made amazing ideas with the most ridiculous setup and ressources. It’s not what you use, it’s really what you do with it that matters.

 

Definition Of Done In Music Production

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This seems like a common scenario which involves one’s doubt about the status of their song, mainly to know if it’s done. You may be that person. You’ll be feeling your song is finished, bounce it, listen to it in the car or with friends and then you feel that wave of discomfort overwhelmingly creeping on you because you’re noticing all the mistakes and things that aren’t right. Let me reassure you that you’re not alone and this is more common than you think.

 

The concept of DoD (Definition of Done) is something I borrowed from the Agile process, that is typical of coders dealing with a scrum master, mainly in project management. In Agile, there are sprints where there’s a goal set, then tasks/actions are taken to reach a certain point. They’ll agree that the task is done when a certain number of criteria are met. This could apply to basically any projects possible, from weeding out your garden to cooking a dinner.

In a world that is not from the digital realm, with 1’s and zero’s, the concept of done can be a bit tricky as per the one who sets a DoD, the level of mastery might change. In other words, you might be agreeing that my DoD on a song will be very different from someone’s new to music. And that’s ok.

 

There are a few concepts that we can look into that will help you let go of whatever that inner voice of doubt is whispering you about.

 

A song is never really done

This one hurts, yeah? But I tell you, there will never be a field where uncertainty can hit you the most than music, mainly because things are abstract in the world of sounds. Your main enemy is really yourself and your self-judgment towards what you do will change everyday, sometimes it will completely change within a day itself. You’ll never really know honestly but there are a few things that can help you though. I’m not referring to you to just say to let go of things here. I’m more interested in knowing how much imperfection I can live with and how much a random person will notice. This is where it matters.

There are a number of things we don’t know and there are also a gray area of things we don’t even know that we don’t know of. Your song is in between there and your future self of in 10 years ahead, will have a more compassionate understanding that this song has been done within the technical limitation of that moment. And it’s really ok, trust me. 

 

References will reveal truth

This is where many people fail. You can’t know you’re done if you don’t have a model. So, for instance, you might cook a pizza but honestly, if you never ate one (I would pity you!), it’s sort of hard to compare it with anything. I had some of the best pizza of my life in New York and that taste was forged as my favorite. Whenever I have a pizza now, from the airport to a little restaurant, my mind compares it to that one I had in NY. It’s the same with sound. When I do mastering or mixing, I have models of other projects and know exactly how I want it to sound like.

So for arrangements, what’s easy is to simply load up a song in Ableton or your DAW and just use it as a cookie cutter. I encourage people to do critical listening, counting how many sounds they hear in the reference and compare it to theirs. So many times, people have way too much happening or maybe, there’s one less – and that helps much. Same for levels, in the mix.

But I want to sound like myself… I hear you say. Well, sure, you’ll get there but you need to get your skills of finishing songs to be solid first.

Again, most of the time someone feels they can’t tell if they’re done or not, I’ll first ask “compared to what?” Mostly because if we’re not comparing it with anything, we just feel arbitrary in the decision and this is why you’ll feel like a yes or nay, depending on your mood and insecurity level.

 

Lastly, be careful about comparing yourself to a master file. You might be setting yourself up for failure if you are comparing yourself to a song that has been made by a musician that has more experience than you, that has released a lot of music and also, if the song is mastered and yours is not, well, it will not be even. Checking for volumes (eg. snare vs kick), as well as other details is more of a fair fight.

 

Feedback, ask for it

There are multiple ways to ask for feedback and many places to do it as well. You can get some for free in my facebook group (when I’m free) or through my Patreon program. You can ask other producers, even if they’re not that experienced but be sure they listen to it in the right mind set, or context (some listen on their phones, no!).

 

Take pauses and distance

This has been said many times on this blog but studio sessions beyond an hour long are a road to trick yourself about whatever you’re doing. You might think it’s amazing or shit, perhaps it’s neither because your judgment, honestly, quits after 1h of work. It’s called decision-fatigue and you might have experienced it already.

 

I make sessions of 1h max, but preferably about 20 minutes at a time, with pauses. I let my songs sleep for weeks or months. When I reopen them, I want to have forgot about them enough to be able to feel I’m listening to someone else’s song and we all know how good of a critique we are when it’s not our own. I create projects and often rework them 3-4 years later. It’s really fun and eventually when you create these sessions, you’ll have a bunch and will always rediscover sleeping bombs.

 

When I make a really good idea and feel it would be really good, I usually stop right there and WON’T WORK ON IT! I will let it sleep for months. Mostly because what I think is an amazing idea might not be one and if it is, I want my future self to handle it. Between now and then, i will have thought about it, cumulated new ideas, gained new plugins and experience so that when I open that sleeping gem, I have all the goods to turn it into what I want. Sometimes I am working on a great song and might be missing something so I could also grab that idea and bring it into a almost finished bomb, which is for sure going to be beyong what I expected.

 

Decide when you feel good

This one might be confusing or so obvious you might feel caught off guard. Think of the last time you saw one of your friends in their facebook feed saying they quit their DJ career or something they like… well, they’re basically taking a decision when feeling bad. If you decide to quit, you’ve been accumulating frustration. This is the same about your projects. Like the previous suggestion suggested, taking pauses and waiting before making a decision is quite healthy and let’s you wait for when you feel actually good about your song. Especially if you feel like half of the time you listen to it, it’s shit. When in doubt most of the time, pauses are crucial. If you’re 90% of the time feeling something needs a correction, then do it.

How to set your DoD:

Now that we have covered strategies to find out if your song is done, let’s look into setting your own Definition of Done.

 

1- Pick a reference (or a few), as discussed previously. This is to set the tone, aesthetic, direction. Decide and commit to what this song will be (a ballad? Ambient drone? Dance floor bomb?) then find something you know is solid as your cookie cutter. You’ll refer to that.

 

2- Analyze your reference and know what are the minimum requirements. Understand in advance what you can’t do from that one and what you can control. Ask for help, check tutorials and do as much as you can.

 

3- Decide in advance what you will do and what you can’t. If you know yourself and parts where things are a bit more difficult, you can always ask for help. There’s this misconception that one should be able to do everything themselves but this is counter-productive. Do you want to be average at all the different sides of production? You ideally want to be having fun first and get better but you can also ask for help: friends, other producers, myself.

 

4- Give yourself a plan. You can set yourself a deadline but also zones of no actions to be taken as well. 

 

5- Define some points of what would be some targets of done. This can be a scope of how much mix you want to do (ex. I will spend 2h max in the mix). Or “I want my drums to be very punchy” as something to reach. Perhaps your song will never be as punchy as what you dream but when you ask for feedback to someone who has never heard it, you can ask if they think it sounds punchy. Asking general and vague feedback will bring vague answers.

 

6- Test in context. Play your track in a DJ mix or ask a DJ friend to play it. See what happens, how it sounds compared to other tracks. This alone can reveal many flaws and strengths. I also like to bring a reference in my DAW and play my song with another one, mix them so it is not a mess, so I can see with the arrangements if it works.

 

Conclusion

This approach has proven many times with clients that it works. The more prepared you are, the better. Do you need to always do that? No. I mostly do it when I have periods where I struggle with inspiration or when I’m booked for a bigger contract. But it’s good to put it in practice here and there so that when you’re faced with challenges, you don’t start this with no warnings. It could actually backfire.

 

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Thoughts On “Average” Ideas

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What stops a lot of people from making music is chasing the perfect ideas. Often people think they need to make something groundbreaking for it to be worth working on. This is not true. There are plenty of songs that artists thought were mediocre, which ended up being hits for them. A good example of this is Deadmau5, who thought that his hit, “Strobe,” would only work as a B-Side. Turns out, it’s one of his most famous songs.

If you have a process and know how to create a mood board, it’s possible to turn average songs into great songs, or average songs into songs that people will appreciate for other reasons. That said, this post will be about the importance of working on average ideas.

 

Work On Things for the Sake of Working On Them

Sometimes the greatest surprises in music come from making it in the dark, oblivious if it’s going to be good or not. These moments involve tinkering away, creating loops, pulling sounds out of our sample bank, and fiddling around on synths just for the heck of it. However, sometimes we work on this for hours, don’t see any potential in it, and perhaps get frustrated. For instance, right now, I’m working on a new live techno set, and nothing sounds very inspiring to me. However, I realize that if I keep on working on it, and go through my checklist and process, eventually something interesting will happen. I understand that while it might not be the best composition, it could be a B-Side, which comes with its own set of benefits, which I’ll cover later in the article.

 

The Process

First, let’s cover going through my checklist and process. The first step in my process is what I call a “non-linear production.” Nonlinear production is a way of working where at first you, you sum up ideas, and you pile up a bunch of sounds that you like into the live view, instead of the arrangement. This allows you to essentially build a mood board of sounds that you can pull from and jam with. To build this, I force myself to record anything that just comes out, literally anything and everything. Then, I start activating and deactivating clips and see what happens. Quite often from doing this, I come up with way more than loops – I come up with entire phrases that become entire parts of the composition. And since I’m making techno, it’s loop-based and follows a predictable pattern, so things kind of just start happening.

Before I continue, I have a caveat:  I never go to the studio with an aim to average music. People who insinuate that I do this after saying they should work on average music, are kind of insulting. I’m always trying to make something good. 

However, I’m only human, and sometimes I have average ideas that I decide to work around and see what happens. Sometimes something fun happens, which allows me to make a ghost arrangement by going through my checklist. One part of my checklist is adding a groovy bassline. That’s fundamental to many of my tracks. Next, I figure out if it’s appropriate to respond to that call with a similar arrangement. For instance, does a lead respond well to the bassline?

Once I figure out that basic part of the structure, I think, “Can I make a complementary element, like a background sound?” So I start going through my mood board and picking out sounds that I think will fit nicely in the background – this could be noise, foley sounds, or even texture to add to the instrumentation. 

Next, I start building outwards, since normally what I do in the sketch ends up being the middle part of the arrangement. So I add an outro and an intro. Once these are done, I start thinking of all of the ear candy elements – the bells and whistles. This usually includes an oddball element that makes the song crazy and unusual. Then once I get all these elements together, sometimes something that is average, can be pretty cool.

 

Time Heals All Wounds

So what happens when you do all of this, and somehow everything is kind of “meh?” Easy. Just chill for a minute. Quite often, students will record something that they think is mediocre at the moment, but when viewed in a different mindset, that changes. What you thought was boring a while ago, could sound exciting now, or at the very least, feel worth working on.

Perception will always be the enemy of progress. We all have to remember that some music sounds good at some points in time, and at others, it doesn’t. Also, sometimes you have a sound that you don’t particularly like in the context that it’s in, but when paired with another sketch, it could take on a life of its own. Or it could just be average, and that’s ok! As I said before, the average to you might be awesome to another listener.

 

The Benefits of B-Sides

The thing is ordinary tracks, in my opinion, stand the test of time longer than complicated arrangements. When I do mastering, many of the ideas I love are not that original, or groundbreaking – instead, they are efficient because they cover all the elements of a song that I find important. The over-the-top stuff? Not so much. Perhaps some Chemical Brothers or Plastikman compositions, but overall, no – at least in my opinion.

B-Sides are often some of the best music out there, especially from a DJ’s perspective. They’re typically functional and filled with fewer frills than the main single. This allows for them to be easily mixed and used as a tool, allowing for DJs to create unique moments on the fly during their sets. Due to this, they might not get as many streams on places like Spotify, but they could perform better on places like Beatport or Traxsource.

Once again, I have to mention the Deadmau5 “Strobe” situation. He thought it would be a B-side, submitted it as a B-side to the label, and it became one of his biggest songs. What you think is a B-Side could be your main track.

 

Turning the Ordinary, Experimental

One thing that people forget is that sometimes it’s also good to make experimental music out of ordinary music. Remember that average idea that you had before? You can make it extraordinary with some simple tricks. First, build a long chain of effects on one of your return channels. Then take channels and start sending them to the return. By doing this, you can end up with some really weird syncopated patterns and textures far removed from what you originally made. You can either leave these textures throughout the whole thing or use them for some surprise moments to throw the listener off guard.  For instance, I recently went to see Chaos in the CBD and one of the strongest moments of their live set was right in the middle of the set where they had this wild, all over the place, sonic meltdown from an edit of a 90’s song. I thought it was brilliant because they took something old and made it new again – something that I touched on in the Murakami post. 

 

Make Music For Yourself

So many people are concerned about making music for other people, whether that is a DJ or a label. However, most great music comes from people just making it for themselves. When you make music for a DJ or a label, often, you might find yourself trying to read their mind and overanalyzing their intentions. This results in label owners complaining that all the tracks they get sound exactly the same. While this is a product of their own doing, as they often only sign tracks that fit their meta, at the same time, they aren’t wrong. Memorable producers don’t try to imitate. Instead, they create something that others try to imitate. And in order to create something unique, it has to come from a place of genuineness. And sometimes, if you’re just sketching out ideas, forming a mood board, and working on some songs that don’t quite fit into a paradigm, this is where some truly fascinating stuff happens. 

 

Greatness is the Sum of Averages

In other words, don’t worry about average – just start making stuff. After all, if you are trying to get noticed, algorithms favor frequency, so keep on putting things out. Most will miss, but if you keep doing it, occasionally, you may have a hit.

How To Use Hooks To Finish Songs

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I understand that many artists build a loop and then they expand outwards from there in order to build a track. However, quite often, this results in them getting lost, because they have no vision of where it is going. They hear their loop and think, “Wow this is really cool; I could listen to this for hours.” Then after listening to it for hours they realize they have no direction in where to go with it. 

Sure, there are plenty of people who can create a loop and then build outwards from it, but one thing I notice in coaching is that this is often not the case. Some people can’t finish songs because they have no vision for the finished product. Contrasting, some people can’t finish songs because they have too much of a vision and want to throw it into a template of theirs. Problem is, fresh songs don’t fit a defined template.

Therefore, there has to be a delicate line between planning and instinct. That’s when songs come together with ease.

The Hook Is Your Song

Someone who is excellent at this is production mogul Timbaland. If you’re not familiar he’s done tracks with Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, J Cole, Missy Elliot, and dozens more pop stars. 

Yeah, yeah, a pop artist, but if you have an open mind about music, you’ll realize that writing pop music is difficult. What’s especially difficult is to continuously write pop songs that top the charts, like Timbaland. There are only a few people on the entire planet who have this skill, so that’s to be respected. 

I was recently watching production tutorials of Timbaland’s and one thing that he harps on is that all great songs start with the hook. Sure, it might take a while to get that hook, but he recognizes that it’s the hook that people remember from music. Not the percussio, not even the verses, but the hook. If you don’t know what a hook is, think “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. What’s the only part of that song that you remember? Yeah, that part. That’s the hook. 

Other good examples include Niel Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”, or Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”

Making Non-Pop Hooks

But you may be asking me, “but Pheek, you make avant-garde dance music, and most of your students are avant-garde dance music artists. How on Earth do I take influence from pop hooks?” Well, a hook can be loosely defined. Let’s take Aphex Twin’s “Alberto Balsam.” In a lot of ways, that song kind of follows the “only-hooks” format that producers like Max Martin evangelize, where every phrase is a hook, in a way. Almost every phrase has some sort of memorable element, but in that way, it makes the hook less defined. If there was a hook, it would probably be when the synth first comes in and continues throughout the song in one way.

The key to that “Alberto Balsam” hook is that it readily defines the rest of the song. The moment that comes in, whether it’s a rock band covering it, or it coming on your playlist (because God forbid you’ll probably never see RDJ play it live), you know that it’s “Alberto Balsam.”

This example is easy because it’s prevalent over the entire thing and everything else is essentially a jam over top of it. And that’s all you have to do, in a lot of cases, is just jam over the hook, and you will come out with something memorable.

Hook Modifiers

But before you write your hook, it’s good to think about what sort of emotional direction you want to go in, because ultimately, the hook will define this direction. For instance, do you want your song to be uplifting? Then you have to build tension and release. Perhaps even a triumphant key, like D Major. 

If you want it to be emotionally releasing, then you need to change keys, perhaps from major to minor. It’s often these “hook modifiers” that make a song special.

If you want to raise the intensity of the song, then you can increase the density in the song – with delay, reverb, another layer of percussion. It can be done with velocity or volume.

However, in club music, at some point, someone invented “the breakdown” to raise the intensity of the song, and now we’re doomed because 95 percent of electronic songs have them. There doesn’t have to be breakdowns. Instead, we can have events, which can be to confuse people, change their emotions, or whatever, really. 

In a song, I heard Timbaland ask Siri a question. Yes, corny, but it interrupted the song and took people off guard enough for when the hook came back in, it was fresh again. In dance music, it could be a weird sample or field recording; it could be an awkward silence.

Build Everything Around The Hook

Going back to “Alberto Balsam” you will notice that the hook is prevalent over the entire thing. From there on out, the rest of the song materialized around it. If this was your song, all you have to do is add percussion, take away percussion, add verses. There aren’t a ton of timbres in this song but each one works because it sits overtop the hook. See what I mean that all great songs start with the hook, now?

Make Something New

Perhaps, one day, you will create a transition that becomes the new breakdown, where people start copying your hook modifier. Because ultimately, that’s what it is nowadays: follow the leader. One only has to look at the Beatport Charts to see how all the waveforms look the same: but at some point, there was a waveform that looked different and topped the charts.

However, if you think about songs as just memorable elements and hook modifiers that jar the listener out of their trance, then you may be able to create something that is lasting and memorable. So next time you decide “this part needs a breakdown” think, “can I do something different instead?” Because the goal is to give people something different so that the familiar becomes fresh again – and there are more ways to do this than taking the drums away and reintroducing them. 

 

Service Update: Track Finalization Is Now Exclusive

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It’s been a hard decision to make since I’ve enjoyed collaborating on so many tracks that have been sent to me through the track finalization service that I offer. However, I have found that by just allowing anyone to purchase this, it becomes not only a source of a great deal of stress but also the work to reward ratio often doesn’t pan out. Therefore, I am indefinitely pausing my track finalization service, except for people with who I have enjoyed working with in the past. 

However, rather than just pausing the service, I feel like I owe an explanation. This blog post will be a little different than most and will have two authors. First, I’ll explain my reasoning, and then someone who has used my service a few things will explain his thoughts on working with me.

 

Pheek’s Perspective

I have clients that have standards that are pretty high, which I have no problem with. I’m happy to help. However, paradoxically many producers come to me and love their track just how it is. Yet they still want me to work on it. This is confounding to me, because if you love your track, why do anything else to it? Music is subjective, and in the ear of the beholder, so it will never be great to everyone. The only thing that matters is if it’s great to you.

However, they still hire me and have a track that they are emotionally invested in because they have put so much effort into it. They just want the track to be perfect, so they think that I can do this, which isn’t true. Hiring an engineer won’t fix everything, and transform a piece into the hottest track to hit their respective Beatport chart. And while this sometimes may happen (usually by pure luck), engineers can only fix what we are allowed to, and often have to contend with people’s cognitive bias’ towards their track. 

Therefore, with these clients, it’s necessary to communicate that nothing is perfect and that the concept of perfection, especially in art, is folly. To be fair though, as an artist, this concept took many years to accept. I eventually realized that no matter how much I tackle imperfections, the end result is often staleness. And staleness is something that nobody who is writing art-focused music wants since it’s these imperfections that make songs exciting. It’s these imperfections that make them human. And humanity, especially within electronic music is sorely needed since the criticism from detractors is often that electronic music sounds too engineered, or robotic. 

This pursuit of perfection messes up my client’s workflow because they are often obsessed with having the perfect track rather than just finishing them. To me, this is essentially chasing unicorns in a field of chocolate, because, like I said before, perfection is a fantasy. Still, this mindset persists in many since people set standards for themselves that can’t be easily changed.

Now, a perfectionist mindset would be fine, if it was tolerable. However, after all these years of consulting, I’ve noticed that perfectionists always comes with one personality trait – they’re micromanagers. And let’s be real here when was the last time you heard someone praising a micromanager? Probably never, because it drives everyone crazy. 

The end result is usually two things: they will either say that the track is too close, or different from what they gave me initially. However, I usually don’t know which one it is until after I submit the track back to them. They reply with what else needs to be fixed, so I go and fix it, which I’m happy to do because there is no way I’m going to get it right the first time unless I’ve worked with them before. However, quite often, I spend hours going in a loop and reverting it back to pretty much exactly what they gave me in the first place. Or they will ask for so many additions that it eventually warps the track to a point where it doesn’t match the patterns they have set in their own heads. If you’re a producer, you know what I’m talking about – you can anticipate what is going to happen before it happens and if you miscalculate that, or if it’s different, it creates cognitive dissonance.

This cognitive dissonance is because producers are emotionally engaged with their tracks, and they have heuristics in their mind about where things should be in the mix, or compositionally. They EQ’d it a certain way, they didn’t have certain effects or compositional elements in it that are now in it, so when they hear it, it is jarring, because they expect it to be a certain way. Therefore, it doesn’t sound “right” to them. 

However, more often than not, a producer’s home studio is not representative of the outside world, so it’s no wonder that it doesn’t sound “right” to them. But since they are so wrapped up in it, they ask for more modifications, without realizing that what they are asking for is actually incorrect. However, this sometimes forces me to go back to how it was, because of their inability to realize that the reason why they hired me in the first place was to provide them a track that translates well across all systems. 

This happened again recently, where the producer lamented that it didn’t sound close enough to their reference track, which they never provided. So I asked them to send that over, and lo-and-behold, the reference track wasn’t properly mixed. Now, I happened to know this artist pretty well, so I provided them with a reference that was correct. Strangely enough, I haven’t heard back from this client.

As you may have surmised, I’m not a fan of doing business this way. Therefore, from now on, track finalization will only be available to people I’ve worked with successfully in the past. Because at the end of the day, why would you want someone to finish a track that isn’t on the same creative wavelength as you?

 

Alex Ho Megas’ Perspective

Ok, so none of you know me. However, I’ve been doing marketing for Pheek for almost a year now. And sometimes we trade services, and one of those services is track finalization. He asked if I would write something about my experience working with him on this since we have done it a few times. You may be thinking, “how can someone be unbias towards their client?” The answer is, I really can’t. However, I’m going to do my best to explain what working with him is like.

Reading Pheek’s perspective above, I intimately understand the cognitive dissonance that comes from having your track modified. You do expect certain things to be in certain places, subconsciously. Consciously, I know that they are most likely wrong since I don’t have a tuned studio and an acute knowledge of mixing and mastering. I, personally, just like writing music and designing sounds. 

One thing we often agree on is that music is usually a collaborative process and that electronic music is one of the only genres where it’s often not. Therefore, I hire Pheek knowing that collaboration often leads to better music. So you know, I’m not always immediately happy with everything I get back. I just know to give it time and to send it off to people that I trust to provide feedback. Then, I think critically about it and note things I would like changed. 

For instance, sometimes I notice that the tuning on a sample is incorrect, or that an element needs to either be extended or shortened. Sometimes there are parts that I want to have emphasized that Pheek deemphasized, like how a snare hits at a transition. So I confer with him and ask if it makes sense to change those things. Often he says they can be changed, however, I always make sure to just trust that 1) my room is incorrect and 2) that a new perspective is helpful. Sure, sometimes I override his recommendations, but only after careful consideration. And to be fair, I still could be wrong about those decisions, but as he said earlier in this post, music is subjective in many ways. 

I would say that the most difficult one we’ve worked on was the last one we did. Right from the beginning, there were some warping errors that made the channels not properly align, and therefore significantly changed the composition of the track. This was hard to explain because he was not familiar with the track, so he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. To him, of course, it’s correct, why wouldn’t it be? However, I just pointed him to a time in the original track where it was wrong, and had him compare it to the version he sent over. It took some time to figure out an effective communication method on this, but ultimately, we got there.

Then he added a bunch of foley sounds to the track, per my request. However, they were either too maximalist or minimalist, so I asked for a modification. These weren’t exactly what I was looking for, so we went back again. Being content with what it was, I sent it in for a mixdown. Then I sent the mix to another engineering friend to see what he thought of it – and it didn’t think it was right. So I just asked Pheek to bounce down the stems and send them over so I could see what my friends sounded like. Funny enough, after comparing the two, I prefer Pheek’s and will use his version when it’s eventually released. This example just goes to show that this track had a particularly strong hold on my perceptions, which makes sense – I worked on it forever. It was only after a good amount of time that I was able to crack these biases. 

 

The best recommendation I have about his track finalization service is to make sure to clearly mark where there are things that need to be changed. Note the time, note the duration. Make sure to have a copy of the old track handy that you can send him so that you can point to when you need things reverted. Make sure to mark the times and durations on those. He has a blog post about “how to communicate with an engineer,” which provides tips that will smooth the process of working with him on track finalization. However, it seems like now, he’s only working with people he has vetted in the past. So if you’re reading this, and have successfully done track finalization in the past, I recommend reading this article.

Another good thing to read would be his post on finalizing tracks on your own now that the service has been made exclusive to previous clients,

Difference Between Art Music And Commercial Music

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I often get asked what the difference between art music and commercial music is. And while there is a lot of subjectivity in music, I think I have a pretty good answer for it. 

Before I get into it, I would like to note that all musicians are artists. However, there is a difference between art music, and commercial music.

People have different reasons for why they make music. Some do it because they want fame, or at least relative fame within their niche or region. Other people do it because they have an insatiable desire to innovate. And when they innovate, they often take risks.  And it’s this risk that separates the two.

I would hypothesize that the majority do it for somewhere in the middle, where they desire to be noticed, but at the same time have an innate desire to create something groundbreaking. Then from that middle, it skews to either side, depending on the individual. 

While it is possible to be artistic and commercially successful at the same time, often one has to make concessions depending on what their motives are.

First, let’s define what I mean by both.

 

Commercial Music

In my mind, commercial music doesn’t necessarily mean Top 40. There is tons of commercial music that you will never hear on pop radio. But you may hear it on a genre specific radio station. And to get on these stations, typically songs have been focus grouped to hell; where consultants, and market research have determined what the winning formula is for a song. This could be length, song structure, instrumentation, and lyrical content, among other factors. 

In other words, it’s template, or formula based music.

Since this is primarily a dance music blog, let’s concentrate on techno. If you look at the Beatport Top 100 Peak Time Techno songs, the prevailing techno sound nowadays is 130 BPM +/-3 BPM. 

They all have some sort of “DJ intro” for easy mixing, usually a kick drum, or repetitive synth line. Additionally, their breakdowns happen at roughly the same times – 2 or 3 shorter breakdowns in the first half of the song, followed by an extended buildup and breakdown somewhere in the final third of the song. 

There isn’t much variation in the composition, because it’s music designed to be mixed by DJs, and the second you change up the composition, it becomes harder for a DJ to mix.

Basically, this sort of music, no matter what the genre, is designed for people to understand quickly. 

a wav file illustrating the difference between art music and commercial music on beatport. a wav file showing how underground music can still be commercial music on beatport. a wav file illustrating the difference between art music and commercial music on beatport.

Music Can Still Be Commercial, Even If It’s Underground

So you made a Rominimal track, which is undoubtedly an underground genre. However, underground doesn’t mean it’s not commercial. If it’s a Rominimal track that follows the same formula as what came before it, borrowing sounds and structures from groundbreakers like Raresh, Petre Inspiresu and Rhadoo, then chances are it exists to be sold to other Rominimal DJs, rather than the art. A producer who is taking an artistic approach would take the Rominimal framework and turn it on its head, just like those three pioneers did when they reimagined Minimal.  

 

Art Music

Art music is music that doesn’t try to be anything else, more or less. It’s music that comes from a place of authenticity, rather than a desire to be heard, or understood.  It involves unconventional song structures, reimaged timbres, like a trash can lid for a snare, stream of conscious lyrics, odd time signatures, key changes, etc. In other words, art music takes risks.

The Balance Between Art and Commercial

One thing to note is that art music can also be commercially successful, and even sound popular. There are plenty of uber successful artists whose music is artsy. Classic examples include The Clash, The Talking Heads and Pink Floyd. More modern examples include Radiohead and Billie Eilish.

So, what makes these musicians art focused, rather than commercial?  While they have their commercial hits, these aren’t what define their entire catalog.

Classic Examples

Pink Floyd, with their hit “Money” is in ⅞ and uses extensive folly sounds. However, this song is probably played thousands of times a day and has been for almost 50 years. It’s this time signature, and use of sound that is the difference between art music and commercial music.

A photo of losing my religion's artwork. It's a stellar example in how the difference between art music and commercial music can be thin. An image of Money's artwork.

Another good example of this is “Losing My Religion” by REM. There is no discernable chorus in this song. It’s only verses, with a repeating melody. It also heavily features a mandolin. However, this is still one of their most popular songs, despite it kicking convention in the face. When evaluating the difference between art music and commercial music, looking at the structure is a good place to start.

Modern Examples

An example of a modern art pop song is Blood Orange’s “Uncle Ace.” What’s interesting about this song is that it sounds like something that would be written by Prince. It also has parts that sound like a chorus, but in reality, it has no chorus. 

The song structure instead goes intro>verse>bridge>verse 2>bridge/hook>pre-outro>outro, with no part being discernible similar to each other besides maybe the verses. Once again, it’s this structure that empathizes the difference between art music and commercial music.

Screenshot from the music video for Billie Eilish's Bury A Friend. Album art for Blood Orange's Uncle Ace.


Another contemporary artist that does artistic commercial music is Billie Eilish. Her hit, “Bury A Friend” is a shuffled, syncopated song that samples a dental drill, Easy Bake oven, glass and a staple gun. Its song structure is equally as odd. It goes hook>verse>pre-chorus>drop>hook>verse 2>alternate verse 2>bridge>pre-chorus>drop>hook. Most modern songs with that level of fame are verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. 

In electronic music, art music becomes a little more apparent than most. Good examples are Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Arca, SOPHIE, and Burial. However, they are all successful, and this is often by design. 

 

What Makes Art Music Successful?

 

Popular Themes and/or Lyrics

The late SOPHIE is a great example of this. One of her most popular songs, “Immaterial,” is almost an off kilter tropical house and reggaeton song. However, it’s peppered with atonal sounds, and vocal yodels. Ultimately it’s a pretty jarring song. However, the song repeats the same simple lyrics over and over again, and those lyrics are about materialism, something we can relate to. Additionally, it uses R&B, auto tuned vocalizations that are common in contemporary pop music. 

Same can be said for artists like Arca. While most of their music sounds like an ambient, distorted dystopia, the beats are largely hip hop beats. That’s why they have worked with mainstream artists such as Kanye West.

Standout Marketing

Good examples here are Boards of Canada and Burial. Both have cultivated a sort of mystery around their work. Neither perform live, and while their identities are known, they are shrouded in mystery. Take Burial for example. Even when he was up for a Mercury Prize, his identity was still speculated. However, despite being up for one of Britain’s most prestigious cultural awards, his music was hardly pop. It was lo-fi, future-garage made from samples from YouTube videos and video games. Placed up against songs at the time, it sounded thin. But that didn’t matter, because of the questions around his identity.

Boards of Canada are all about mystery as well. When they released their latest album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, they built a cipher for fans to figure out, slowly revealing details and further ciphers until fans realized it was a new album. 

Having Commercial Success And Then Doing A 180

The best example of this is Radiohead. They blew up with their post-grunge, Brit-Pop single “Creep”, which followed traditional song structure. They then followed that up with their album, The Bends, which featured the similarly Brit-Pop-esque song “High And Dry.” Then they started to get bored. 

Their next album, Ok Computer, still had its rock oriented structure, but started to rely more on timbre, and texture instead of traditional rock sounds. They introduced more pedals into their array, and concentrated on using the studio as an instrument, taking cues from early British artists like The Beatles. They even had experimental vignettes such as “Fitter Happier,” a jarring, Speak-And-Spell driven, ambient hellscape of a track that criticizes the numbing of society by commodities and pharmaceuticals. 

While Ok Computer had one foot in commercialism, one foot in experimentation, it was with Kid A that they went a full 180, replacing guitars with synthesizers, drum kits with drum machines. Their songs started to have less of a discernable structure, concentrating more on themes, and timbre. However, Thom Yorke’s voice still remained a constant, allowing their previous fans to find grounding in their new, forward thinking sound. Sure, it alienated some fans, but Radiohead still continues to release albums, and sell out stadium tours. If you want a good example of a song off this that sounds like one of their more commercially viable rock songs but in reality has a complex, and unique arrangement, check out this video about the arrangement of “How To Disappear Completely.”

Intention Matters In The Difference Between ARt Music And Commercial Music

Ultimately there is no right or wrong way to create; it’s all about your intention. If you want to make music that’s easy for people to understand, so that it gets wider acceptance, then you should absolutely do that. This is probably the most surefire way to make money as a musician, and you will ultimately have more people listen to, and appreciate your music. You may even find some fame.

If you want to make abstract, ambient, noise music, go for it as well! There is no shame in that at all. You are making art for art’s sake, and nothing else. You are being true to you, and nobody else. While you may not find fame and fortune in it, you may at least feel creativity fulfilled.

Just keep in mind, while it can be done, it’s hard to square the two. So when creating, it’s all about your intention.

How To Communicate With Audio Engineer

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how to communicate with audio engineer photoOne thing that I love doing is to work with unestablished artists. It’s why I have Pheek’s Coaching Corner, and it’s why I price my services at a reasonable price. Working with new artists is fulfilling as I often find artist’s earliest work to be their most creative, and raw. It’s in these musicians that you find stuff that can be truly seen as original, having the vestiges of being an entirely new genre. It’s this sweet spot that exists before they start to become either derivative of their own work, or pivot to fill more socially acceptable shoes. However, unestablished generally means inexperienced in the rest of the music industry. There are certain things that both artists and engineers should understand while working together, simplified by good communication. If you are able to put things in a language the engineer understands, your experience will be much smoother. In this guide, I will provide tips, tricks, and methods to make this process as seamless as possible. Therefore, here’s how to communicate with audio engineer.

First, it’s necessary to lay out what a mixing and mastering audio engineer does and does not do.

 

What An Audio Engineer Can Do

1. Their Job Is To Facilitate And Mediate

People come to someone like me to either get guidance, or have access to a set of tools that they would otherwise not invest in. At my disposal are a bunch of plugins, and hardware that are specific to making sure things sound great, and translate well across as many mediums as possible. Additionally, I have access to creative tools that artists may not even know exist, yet could be applicable to their sound.

Additionally, artists come to me to get advice on where to go with their sound. Do they need additional elements to fulfill its intended purpose? Are they having writer’s block, or their skills limit them in what they want to do next? It’s my job to find resources that will help them reach their goals. These resources are something that I will touch on later in this article.

2. Their Job Is To Understand The Genre They Are Working With

how to communicate with audio engineerNot all genres are the same, and they require different equipment. If you were to record a cowboy outlaw record, it’s probably not the best idea to go to a micro house producer. However, I have had rock bands come to me because they wanted their album to sound electronic in nature, despite it being a rock album.

If you were to come to me as a micro-house producer, I’ve been in this genre for a while, and have a lot of resources. Therefore, it’s easy for me to tap these, and find things like reference tracks, or communicate with other artists who have tricks to help your track get to the next level.

Additionally, this genre understanding allows me to reverse engineer aspects of the music, and apply it to your track. Having a problem with simulating a certain textural effect that you heard in a micro-house track? Chances are I know how we can get pretty close to that with the resources, and experience I have.

Additionally, we understand how to reign in things like low-end if you are creating a song that you expect to be spun in a club. Remember, you’re competing with common frequencies of another song, like the kick, or the hi-hat. It’s good to know how to moderate these things for a club environment, and that’s where engineers come in.

3. Audio Engineers Understand The Technical Aspects Of A Release

Do you know how many LUFS the loudness of a track bounced out of the limiter needs to be to normalize correctly on Spotify? How about SoundCloud, or Beatport? Each platform has different loudness variations in their codec, and often if your tracks aren’t uploaded with these standards in mind, then there can be translation issues. This is where audio engineers come in. We understand this boring, uncreative stuff, and how to achieve it in the mix and master, so you can concentrate on being creative. Then again, if you want to learn, we can also play the role of instructor.

4. We Help Accent The Best Parts

Let’s say that you have a killer bridge. We can recognize this, and help bring that out in the mix, or even add elements that will help it transition better into the next part of the song.

 

What An Audio Engineer Cannot Do

1. An Audio Engineer Cannot Please Everyone

Perception is reality, and some people have different perceptions on what things are supposed to be. Especially when dealing with their art. With audio, producers often get married to their sounds, thinking that they should be specifically in this spot in the mix, when, in reality, it probably won’t translate the way you want it to. This may come from hearing said sound over and over again in whatever room, or on whatever medium they were listening to while they were making it. However, in a well treated room, with calibrated equipment, or conversely, in a club with a good, or poor sound system, it may not translate exactly how you anticipate. Some people are more judicious about this, and accept the reality. However, some you just can’t please. So is the way of the artist.

Therefore, I take the approach that it’s best to do the least amount of damage possible to a track, while still allowing the frequencies to properly breathe, and translate to whatever medium the artist imagines it being listened to on.

This is why it’s important to know how to communicate with audio engineer, so we can both come to a mutual understanding through the techniques I will discuss in a bit.

2. Audio Engineers Can Never Say What Does And Does Not Sound Good, Artistically

Kind of expanding on the idea of doing as little damage to a track as possible, it needs to be noted that like all other art, music, and sound is subjective. Sure, there are best practices to get something to translate, and upload to platforms properly, but as far as the timbre, and aesthetics of a sound are concerned, that’s so subjective. There is a reason why techno fans can’t agree on all techno being good, despite it being the same genre. Where everything else is the same, it’s the sonic grade that ultimately defines a song.

Extremely, there is a reason why some prefer the frantic shouts and pounding SH101 basslines of Nitzer Ebb to the soft musings of John Prine. As a matter of fact, they might detest John Prine, and John Prine fans might detest Nitzer Ebb. Does this mean one is better than the other? No, because our realities are subjective.

It’s my job to help you get to the sound that you truly desire, using references to other tracks, or having clear, simple communication.

However, it needs to be noted that we know what sounds good, technically. Like, for instance, if you’re making pop music, or if people are casually listening to your music (alternative or pop), they like mids, because mids translate the best on common speaker systems, and headphones. Chances are that if you submit your track to a blog, it’s not going to be listened to out of a soundsystem – it may be listened to out of a phone, laying in bed, which are mid intensive.

3. Provide Critique Without Having A Solution

Talent is subjective. So is if something sounds good. Therefore, if an engineer gives feedback, or says that something could be better, it’s their professional duty to have a way to fix it. That’s what we are hired for. However, if you aren’t looking for that sort of feedback, it’s good to have that role clearly defined beforehand.

 

Tips On How To Communicate With Audio Engineer

1. Keep Things Simple

how to communicate with audio engineerEngineers get that artists have a lot of things to say about their work, and may use poetic language in order to communicate it. And this prose sometimes leads to elaboration. However, there is a saying in sales, called K.I.S.S, which stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. This is because people understand things if they are simplified. No need to get technical, or elaborate. Just say what you mean. A good way of easily communicating is to provide examples of things that already exist. Let’s be real, nothing is new under the sun, so if we can pinpoint where that idea is coming from, then maybe it can be recreated, with a flourish that makes it your own.

No need to write out a full page of diction. Instead, just Keep It Simple, Stupid. Also, don’t use vague words like, “I want it to sound tight.” That doesn’t mean anything, and is subjective. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Provide References

Expanding on what I said earlier, we are all borrowing ideas. Even if your track borrows many different ideas, and creates something new, if you think hard, you can find tracks that provide the feeling you are going for, which can give clues to the frequencies, and mastering qualities you want to match.

The references also don’t have to be sonic, instead they can be cultural. Let’s say that you imagine your song being played in an after-hours spot. This means that the song will likely be played in a place with little treatment, or in a long, narrow venue that isn’t typically used for music. This requires specific mixing, and pre-mastering to properly express its full potential.

Also, there are moments where something is created that doesn’t exist. There is no way for me to know how to create something if there is no reference to it, so don’t ask for that, since it’s impossible to know without endless tweaking.

3. Contact Us Before You Buy

This is true especially if you have doubts. You wouldn’t hire someone without vetting them normally, so why should this be any different? If you have a song that you think might fit my aesthetic, but not quite, then let me have a listen to it, and I will let you know if I think it’s worth working on. Believe me, I don’t want to work on projects that are unnecessarily difficult, just like you don’t.

You’d be surprised at what projects I have worked on. For instance, even though I make “underground” music, I worked on an EDM project, because the producer liked that I didn’t sound EDM. 

4. Know Some Basic Terms

As producers, many have at least some basic knowledge of the audio engineering spectrum. Most know what equalizers, and compressors are, as well as reverb or delay. They also know what mono and stereo means. However, there may be more specific things that they don’t know – like for instance the difference between a transparent and colored master. A transparent one is where you have a mix you’re happy with, but you want everything to be properly balanced. A colored one is where you aren’t totally satisfied with the mix, and want some more textures, and other elements, such as compression, and saturation added to bring out new elements. In other words, you don’t mind things being changed.

Other common terms used in studios to describe frequencies are:

Muddy: Too much bass.

Boxy: Too many mids.

Tinny: Upper mids or lower highs need reduction.

Bright: Similar to tinny.

Airy: The high register frequencies. The ones that can break glass.

Warm: Reducing high end, or boosting the lower mids to give it a toasty feeling.

5. Don’t Micromanage

Do you hate being micromanaged at work? Well, so does everyone. By micromanaging, you’re distracting away from the work that could be getting done on your project by pointing out things that the engineer recognizes, but hasn’t got to, or may not even be necessary once another process is done. We’re professionals; let us be professional.

 

Conclusion:

All said, if you learn how to communicate with audio engineer properly, you are making yourself better at what you do, because you are furthering your education by understanding the terms. Also, you’re making yourself easier to work with, and at professional levels, easy to work with can get you far.

This skillset will also help with other artistic undertakings, such as remote music collaboration, or doing collaborative DAW projects, or even online collaborative DAW ones.

Hopefully this proved to be a valuable guide to helping artists with how to communicate with audio engineers. Like in most things in life, solid communication, means a solid experience.

 

Stuck on a Song? Tips to Help You Overcome Negative Thought Patterns

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One of the best things I’ve ever done has been a challenge I signed up for in early 2020 to make one song per week for the entire year. It felt a bit like wishful thinking at the time knowing how busy I am; I didn’t think I’d be able to pull it off, but it’s turned out to be one of the best exercises I’ve ever done. The most important lesson for me was learning that writer’s block comes and goes, but being stuck on a particular song seems like it happens more frequently. The more you make music, the more you develop personal strategies to overcome this problem quickly. My experience making one song per week has been extremely useful when working with younger artists, as I quickly spot where they’re stuck and can help them see options they’re not seeing.

I made myself a list of rules and tricks to refer back to when I get stuck on a song and noticed they usually stemmed from two categories: technical issues, and mindset. Rethinking your mindset helps re-frame what the problem is, exactly—but that’s usually the hardest part of overcoming issues finishing a song.

The trick, as an artist, is to quickly spot in which of those two categories of problems you’re facing, and then find a solution. Let’s discuss some of the most common problems that makes people get stuck on a song:

“I don’t know where to start.”

Category: Technical Issue & Mindset

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I lack material to start using, I have difficulty translating my ideas into software, or I lack motivation.

This is a fundamental question that, even with experience, many artists sometimes still have. The thought of starting something new can be overwhelming. Coming into a new session with tons of motivation and ideas doesn’t overcome the very first hurdle you face when starting a new project: how to get it done, and of course, how to get started.

My first recommendation is to take a Kaizen approach (a Japanese project management methodology) and first think about what you want to do, and then start with the first thing you know about it. For example, if you are making a house track, maybe you know you’ll want a 4/4 kick as a loop, so start with that, then add a few other elements. Maybe it won’t be the right sound exactly, but just start with that. Can’t make a loop? Get pre-made loops, slice them, and rearrange them to taste, and have that as your starting point.

For productivity’s sake, use sounds you find, don’t chase something you have in mind. Find one that you like and then play with it to see what you can make out of it. Break your project down to things you know you can do, as this will bring self-confidence before tackling tasks that are difficult to do.

Is there a right way to start a song? No. Each song can be started in multiple ways. But capturing yourself jamming with loops and sounds is about yourself being “in the moment”, and that is very much what music is about.

If you’re overwhelmed by a lack of resources, I’d encourage you investing into LoopcloudLoopcloud. It’s a quick-fix solution to gather samples based on what you need, instead of buying bundles. It’s also an incredible option to find that missing link, as you can open it in your project, sync it to your DAW and play samples in context to see how things fit. Using samples is, for me, a hip-hop inspired approach that never fails. It’s also a way of layering different sounds to create something new. When I’m lost, I go back to sampling.

“I don’t feel motivated to make music.”

Category: Mindset

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I don’t see why I’m doing this, or I lack an idea of where this will go.

One of the reasons why people are obsessed with releasing their music comes with the fact that their efforts are now validated. A lot of artists are goal-oriented, others are more interested in the journey. As life goes on, you might find you’re more one or the other. If you lack motivation, it’s possible you lost track of priorities. Maybe you need to have a goal in mind? Or perhaps you need to be exploring a new technique?

Knowing your needs, you can reorganize your music sessions accordingly. If it’s because you don’t have labels to send your music to, perhaps you can focus on podcasts or DJs. If you need new ideas, I suggest you check YouTube and look for a technique, either new or something else.

I’m a firm believer that I get better results by seeing each song as a lesson, an experiment, something to learn…instead of seeing it as something to be controlled or perfected.

Every time I find myself in front of someone who lacks motivation, I try to bring them back to what makes them happy and encourage them to get back to what works, what brings them joy. Do that for a while, and prepare material for when the inspiration returns.

“My sounds (or anything I use) don’t feel as solid or as cool as my references”

Category: Mindset

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I lack the technical knowledge to achieve something similar to artists I like.

Comparing yourself is nothing new or uncommon; we all do it. Where it fails is, when you compare yourself with people who are not in your league. It’s like playing football and complaining you’re not able to play like Ronaldo or other pros. Your friends would start laughing, right?

How is that any different than comparing yourself to artists who has a lot more experience? You’re seeing a song but you don’t see the 30 other songs they did before nailing that one. Do you need to be a pro to enjoy playing a sport? No. It should be the same for music.

If you keep in mind that each song you make is a lesson, then making 20-30 songs will teach you a lot. On the 50th, you’ll have a vocabulary and fluidity to express yourself with a lot more ease. After this, you can slowly look to others to pick up tricks, inspirations, or ideas.

“After a while, I lose interest in what I do.”

Category: Technical

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: Listening to my song for too long bores me.

Welcome to music production! If you only work on one song, you’ll get fed up with it quickly. The idea of working on a song is that it’s something you want to finish quickly so you don’t lose sight of your initial idea, but you want to take your time to fix the issues. I usually wrap a song and then I’ll come back to it in sprints of 30 minutes to an hour (max) to fix as many issues as I can, but then I’ll close it and do something else. I never get bored and the distance I take between sessions keeps my judgment fresh. As you might have already read, I’ve encouraged musicians to make multiple songs at once to not get bored in this blog many times before.

I have more and more clients that come to me being frustrated with their first song. Usually, this is normal. A large part of my songs don’t feel right, but I need to move on. Moving on is an important habit to learn, I find.

“My song feels boring because of getting too technical.”

Category: Technical

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I tend to over-analyze what I do to the point where I get lost.

Technical tweaks often kill the beauty of spontaneous creativity—I try to find a balance between the two. Sometimes, I ask friends to take care of the technical part of certain songs I don’t want to ruin the rawness of. The thing that makes it boring, is that you have been over-hearing it. To think that anyone would listen as much as yourself, or that someone would analyze your song as much as you do after 100 listens, is highly misleading. Again, this comes down to taking a lot of breaks and working on multiple songs at once.

“Mid point in the song, I don’t know what to do next.”

Category: Technical

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I struggle to make the story-line evolve properly.

Having a loop is one thing, but keeping it interesting is another. Many people make the mistake of starting a song by at the beginning, thinking their loop is the starting point, but I like to think of putting the main loop you’ve been working on, right in the middle of the song. Then I deconstruct it by simplifying it from the beginning. You can then add elements to create the last stretch of your song.

Usually when you’re at the mid-point, most of the song’s main work has been done and you can process your elements to create “child” ideas that you can use as supporting elements, which will help a song carry on until the end.

I usually start working on the main part of the song as well as what follows so I have a better idea of the song’s core. Creating the intro and conclusion ends up being a piece of cake. This usually solves this issue of now knowing what to do in the middle.

Now the other technique is also to give variation to your main idea. The fastest way to do that is to slice it and then change the order, either randomly or by hand, depending of your style.

“I’m lacking ideas on what to add to my song, is it enough?”

Category: Technical

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: My song needs validation.

I always like to start with the premise that my song is enough, and that if something seems to be lacking, it could simply be because I’m not exploiting enough what I have already. Less is more, is the school I come from, and I’ve made tracks with three sounds alone, which was probably the most useful exercise ever, as well as an eye opener for creative use on whatever I had already. If someone playing the hand drum can make a song out of it or if a pianist can write an album, you can do a song with what you have already.

Now, if you say something is missing compared to… that’s another story. The best way to validate your work is to load up the reference and to A/B. The first question is, do they have the same amount of sounds used? Take the time to count them, you’d be surprised sometimes that you might have more than your references. Sometimes, what’s missing is just a good mix, a reverb, or modulations.

“I don’t know how to create a new idea that I’ve never made before.”

Category: Technical

If you’ve made 20 songs, at some point you might run out of ideas. If that’s the case, there are a few quick things you can do to get your inspiration back. I’m not talking about having a writer’s block here.

The first thing I encourage people to do to find new ideas is the “talking out loud, describing what you hear” method. I’m not sure if I’ve shared this idea before, but it’s fairly simple. The way I use it is to check a random song, either in my Soundcloud feed or Spotify, or whatever you use to be exposed to music you haven’t heard before. Play it, and then, using your smartphone, record some vocal notes of you describing your best what you hear. Try to do it for the duration of the song and when it’s done, stop the annotation. I like to have a bunch of tracks described like that and have vocal notes without any references to what I have listened to. When you eventually listen to your notes, it will be very abstract ideas of songs you can listen to. You can also do this throughout the day—some people think about making music all day and don’t know how to vent, so I suggest to record all the ideas they have, vocally.

This method came to me as I was waking up during the night with ideas and I would record a description of my dream. I would later listen to them and have a lot of concepts.

The other way to get a lot of ideas is to use songs or samples and chop them into random ideas. This sometimes will generate an idea that you can extrapolate by pulling out the best of it.

“I don’t feel satisfied with my mixes.”

Category: Mindset

This thought pattern can also be re-framed as: I feel technically inadequate.

This one’s a bit complicated. First and foremost, the idea of a perfect mix is counter-productive because such thing doesn’t exist, or at least, for the person who mixes it doesn’t. There’s always something to fix and at one point, you need to wrap it up and call it done, even with imperfections. What’s left undone, unless it’s a huge issue (which are usually hard to miss), will often be seen as something that is part of the song. People who are looking for the flaws of your song are rare. Usually someone will like or dislike it. This is why very few people care for details. People have small attention spans, and those who really see the issues, aren’t the people you’re making music for.

The idea that each song is a lesson also applies to mixing. You bring your song to the max you can bring it to. I like to have my mixing sessions in three rounds: the first, I remove all issues. The second, I work on embellishments. Third, I do the final adjustments and fix the tone.

You can’t fix everything effectively in one session so it’s always a good thing to take a second look after a night of rest.

“I don’t know how to finish a song.”

Category: Technical

Finishing music is a hot topic. It’s a good thing to know but it’s not a prerequisite to enjoy making music. Some people have a lot of fun jamming or starting loops and that’s it. The idea that you have to finish a song and potentially release it is, what I call, a romantic idea, and just like any romance, it’s not a necessity. Some beautiful relationships exist without romance. I find it way more important to collect ideas, create sketches, and make loops in large quantities. Eventually, when you get to finishing songs, if you have all those ideas and loops ready, it will feel like you have a gold mine.

Learning to finish songs is a skill that comes with using references, as I’ve explained many times in this blog. You use one song, check how it’s made, then apply part of the template to a loop you have. That’ll do it. Really, it’s that’s simple; it’ll feel like cheating.

I hope this was helpful in your day-to-day struggle!

Basic Song Arrangements Tips

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Given the quantity of hours of mixing I do regularly, I work on lot of projects from a wide variety of clients. I also have to do a lot of “cleaning up” before I get to work on the actual mixing of a song. I wanted to share with you basic song arrangement tips that you can do which will speed up song construction and help make it sound better in the end.

Cleaning a project for clarity

“Cleaning” is something many people overlook, but it will help you better understand what’s happening in a song. I strongly encourage people to work on multiple projects at once with my non-linear production technique; a clean project will help you understand where you left off on your last session.

Here are some tips for a cleaner, clearer project:

  • Name your channels/samples something simple. For example, rename that loop “rolling_AD252” to “percussion”. Keep things simple and clear as well as have your own vocabulary.
  • Color each channel based on content. For instance, red for kick, brown for bass, blue for melody, etc. On Live v10, you can then apply that color to the clips.
  • Create a comprehensive timeline in your arrangement. This is where 90% fail! The first sounds in your song should be moved way up to the front and top, and as sounds come in, they should be dropped in below. Since the arranger moves from left to right, you will sounds appear in order of appearance, just like how they make it for movies.
  • Drop markers to see the key points. Markers on the timeline help you see how things are repeating in a logical matter as well as for you to see where to drop in your transitions.
  • Consolidate blocks of sounds, change color if there are changes. Consolidate all the little blocks so you can duplicate them easily and see your arrangements more clearly.
  • Arrangements aren’t mixing. Don’t add all your effects and compression yet, focus on the timeline of things, then you can easily group and do your mixing if everything has been labeled and colored properly.

Before consolidation

Clips consolidated

And duplicated

Think Balance

When you make a song, you have to think of a few key points to keep people interested:

  • Keep things moving to avoid redundancy.
  • Have logical development.
  • Bring in some surprises.
  • Have solid transitions.

All this can be seen visually if your project is clean and clear. Here’s how:

The image above is a good clean start. You can see these blocks are pretty straight-forward and repetitive. Usually when I hear a song like that, I will automatically visualize the blocks coming in and out; I call that type of arrangement “blocky.” There’s not much happening, nothing is too exciting, and the balancing of “blocky” songs is extremely rigid, dull.

However, having a “blocky” song can easily be fixed.

  • A sound can be appreciated agan if you “reset” it. You can “reset” a sound by turning it off, removing it, then bringing it back at a key point. This is a good way for the listener to appreciate different combinations of sounds all together. If you leave all your clips playing all the time, you can’t appreciate if X plays with Y alone. This is why I find that a song with 3 hats and or 3 percussion tracks gives you a really broad range of combinations, but you’ll need to be creative to have them all explored in a song. That can be done by occasionally muting certain sounds.
  • Transitions, transitions, transitions. Did I say this enough? You can make nice transitions with en effect, a silence, a flam (rolling, repeating sounds), a swap of sound(s), a volume automation, etc. Explore!
  • Automation, fade-ins. If your sounds all come in at once, try having some fade-ins from time to time.
  • Create variations. If the sounds were programmed in a specific way in a section, have them varied in the following section.
  • Varied patterns length. If you have multiple patterns that are one bar long, try having some that are 2 bars long, others 4, some half a bar. The richness of the combinations where sounds shuffle over time will be exciting to listen to.
  • Don’t drop all of your musical assets right at the start. Try to keep new sounds appearing per sections.

This last image shows what a project like with some holes added, which will add a lot more dynamism and surprise to your song. Take your time! You can trust the listener by letting things go and let things evolve. If you’re not into ever-evolving songs and more into stripped-down, tracky arrangements, its pretty much the same thing: take your time to get things come in and use automation.

I hope this helps!

Storytelling through arrangements and song arrangement techniques

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When it comes to mixing and mastering, my work involves to listening to many, many songs. Some are great, while others need more love, but from the numerous songs I hear daily I can pinpoint one important thing that makes a song stand out the most: arrangements. I believe your arrangements and your song arrangement techniques are what really show your maturity as an artist.

Your track can have amazing sounds, a crazy good kick, and a really lovely mix, but if you have nothing to say, your song will not be memorable. Although, paradoxically, some songs are also memorable because they have no arrangements at all; no arrangements can also be a form of storytelling.

In this post, I’ll approach arrangements in two ways: the “technical” and “total”; a philosophical point of view. While so many people have different opinions about arrangements, there’s one thing that I feel is important to highlight: to invite you to step outside of the box of anything “commercial” sounding; so many articles at the moment are pointing out how every song sounds the same. I’ll also explain why.

Keep in mind: there is no magic wand recipe or solution for arrangements.

So fundamentally, how can we explain storytelling in electronic music? There are two critical points to keep in mind:

  1. Arrangements start with a simple idea that evolves. The clearer the idea, the more it becomes understandable from the listener. The catchier it is, the most memorable it is. Catchiness comes from being able to make something that people can have an emotional connection with. It is also known that, if we examine at the last 50 years of pop music, there are always songs trends through time. What makes a song “a hit” is usually when someone understand the current trend (which is “in demand”) and adds their own, personal twist to give it a “same old but different” feeling.
  2. Technical arrangements aim at creating music for DJs. One of the most exciting thing about making music for DJs is about being able to architect music that creates a structure that will find a logical place to move into another song, or to create a new song (as in 1+1=3, track 1, track 2 and the mix of both).

These two types of arrangements are different but can also be combined. They have different goals. The reason I find it important to relate this is, as a listener, you don’t listen to them in the same way. The first type, is what makes a track be a song. In terms of vocabulary, a track is music more oriented for DJs, that you can layer while a song is more about music that can be listened on its own and have its own story. Too often, I find that people who listen to tracks will go “something’s missing” but in theory, if that music is made to be layered, it’s because it has space for another song to be layered over it. I like to say that the track is part of a story that will be created by others and it’s important to let go of adding more and more layers. If you leave no space, how can another DJ use it?

So let’s talk about arrangements for tracks and what is useful to do/use.

  • Use a motif: For anything, always use a motif which can be a few notes or a loop. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. If for instance, your motif is a simple two note melody repeating (note: Batman’s powerful motif was just two simple notes too!), then keep in mind that those two notes are simply the core, then add variants or supporting notes; ideas.
  • Define your logic and stick to it: Usually the first 1/3 of your song will define the logic of the rest of your song. For instance, if you mute the kick after 4 bars, keep that logic for the entire song. So, whatever you define in terms of muting,  or adding, stick to it until the end of the song.
  • Divide your song in thirds (1st third is the intro, 2nd is core, 3rd is the outro): Keep in mind that each section has a purpose and demands balance. It should have a surprise, some coherence, a punch and a transition.
  • Leave space: Miles Davis loved the silence between notes and often said they were what would give the true meaning of any phrase. If you find your entire hook for the middle part of your song, make sure you have variants of that idea, with holes/silence.

The importance of defining your own language in your music is important to create your own persona. We all know music is a form of communication and therefore, certain codes can be used in order to create phrases in your music. Everyone has a different view, but I’d like to share my personal lexicon. But let’s consider this: techno is 4/4 music which means a “round” is basically 4 bars long; this is also where DJs try to mix in/out. Each of your songs based on this premise will have better coherence if you keep to a similar logic, and the music will be understood faster by DJs.

  • A phrase is basically a bar long (4 beats). A paragraph is 4 or 8 bars long.
  • Making sounds repeat, is a period (“.”). You usually want to do it at the end of a bar if you are doing a long phrase, but you can also have a period to underline a sound that needs to express something. Rolling sounds help move on to the other bar as it creates energy.
  • Muting the kick or multiple sounds at once is a comma (“,”), it can also mark the end of portion and prepare for another. Muting creates a mini tension and creates anticipation.

Now, these are the basics we can play with.

  • You can slice your entire song structure to clearly see all of your 4 bars in distinctive blocks. This crucial action really helps see the outline of your song and see the organization.
  • I usually go sound by sound (channel by channel) and decide that some sounds will have a change at some point, let’s say X number of bars. For example: hi-hats have a tiny change (a period) every 4 bars, toms will have one every 2 and claps, every bars. Then you slice all the bars in shorter one to be able to edit in details.
  • Add decoration if needed in the same logic. If you started muting and creating space here and there, those areas can be good spaces to insert effects; little, subtle blurbs of sounds.
  • Be very aware of where your song has its main elements, and if it is respecting the logic you have set in the first third of your song.

A song that has balance and repeating events will never feel empty, boring, or pointless because people will consciously (or not) understand the language behind it.

Now look at how it repeats and also, I will try to keep sequences of blocks repeating. For instance, if I have 4 blocks repeating and then there’s a 2 bar silence, I will repeat that through the song.

This is a good example of what I call arrangement logic. You decide of how things happen then follow through.

TIP: Always vary how sound come in and out. You have 2 choices: the sound starts playing or fades-in. Try to have variation between the sounds and how to come in and out later on as well.

The most important part – and I’ll finish with this – is to keep in mind that you should always have a surprise for the listener, and if you surprise him/her, he/she will want to listen to your song again; so be audacious and sometimes, unpredictable. I love the 1-2 punch method: do something, repeat it so the listener goes “ah yes!” then when the listener expects it again, punch him/her with something he/she didn’t see coming.

I hope this helps!

Music production techniques: Non-Linear Production

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It’s been a while since I promised a post about one of a number of music production techniques I use: non linear music production. The very first album I did using this technique and really sticking to rules of it was Intra; and then I recently went deep in to produce multiple EPs in the same vein of non linear production, which were made between end of December 2017 until March 2018. While Intra was an album of 23 songs made over nine months, my last experiment produced 19 tracks over 3 months. I think I’m getting better at it, mostly because it’s becoming clearer in my mind.

Out of the 19 recent tracks, I kept 8 for this album – which you can hear above – I named Returning Home; a statement about home being a state of mind and not necessary a physical place. I’ve been making techno/dance music since 1998, and after diving into more electronic soundscapes, experiments, and ambient music, it just felt good to return to my roots. A funny thing also – I tried working with some other labels to find it a new spot as I wanted to keep my label Archipel for more down-tempo stuff, but I kept getting refusals or complicated compromises. I’m too stubborn to change things and since this album was made based on a very solid concept, I didn’t want to go back and change what felt good.

But back to the non linear production technique. I’ll cover how the process went, from the beginning of where I started from scratch until the end.

I know some people who are like, “but I don’t need a technique as I just do music.” Sure, that is not for you then. But this technique can bring benefit if you’re looking to expand your production. It surely contributed to make me more prolific through time.

Non-linear music production – A concept

This concept (which has been around for decades according to some research I did), encourages the producer to explore working on multiple songs at once, in a non-linear way.

This means that:

  1. You aren’t working on a song’s beginning first to bring it to its end, before starting a new one.
  2. Each track is approached individually for its needs but you also work globally. Keep in mind that what you did in the previous track should differ on the next.
  3. The technique is about repeating the same phases/rounds until you get a solid core. Then there’s the finalization to get ready for mixing.

It’s called “non-linear” because you constantly circle up in a series of rounds, on multiple tracks, all at once.

Note: A non-written rule also implies that working on a track should be done in short periods such as 20-30 min at a time on a song, then stop, save and move on. Why? Because it keeps you fresh.

For many people I explained this to at first, it felt unsettling and confusing. There’s some kind of embedded belief in people that when you go make music, you should find your idea, absolutely stick to it, and build it into a song; beginning at start and bringing it to an end. I usually see people’s projects having a few blocks right at the beginning of the track and then they get lost.

The number one thing I hear all the time: “I can make a great loop but don’t know what next.”

I’ve written a post in the past about this. However the non-linear technique is really aimed at making the loop issue something of the past, because it’s all about transforming small ideas into bigger concepts.

But where does it start? How do you begin?

Before diving into producing, let me explain the rounds of the non-linear music production technique, as this is what it’s all about:

  1. Content creation, generating ideas.
  2. Filtering ideas into a concept.
  3. Building a core loop.
  4. Template structure.
  5. Arrangements.

When you decide to create your project, the first thing you should do is decide on your project type. Is it an EP (3-4 songs) or LP (5-10 tracks)? Perhaps you just want to make a bunch of tracks; I personally believe that we should never make just one track at a time. If you have no precise project, invent one, such as “I’ll make 5 tracks for fun and want them to be mainly techno.” Once this has been decided, you’re ready for content creation. I usually spend a considerable amount of time in content creation and idea generation.

You can also start from unfinished tracks that you want to apply the idea to. The idea is to work on multiple projects in parallel. I usually it works best if you have at least five on the go, but there’s no limit of course. To newcomers, start small though to see if working this way works for you. The technique is about to bring your track from a simple idea to a finalized but unmixed, song. The mixing is not part of this. I find the mix down works better if you don’t do early, it but perhaps it can. Don’t hesitate to build a reference folder where you put songs that inspire you.

Content creation, generating ideas

From all the years of listening to music, running labels, doing mastering and DJing, I’ve come up with a theory: a solid song is – in general – a single, solid idea, supported with two others. The main idea can be a loop, a motif or even a sound. I remember Hans Zimmer describing a motif by saying it has to have an emotional impact on you, that it reappears in your mind later on. He was saying that the Batman motif he did was a simple two notes, but very powerful. You’ll play them and you’ll automatically think of Batman. The two other ideas are necessary because a song usually needs a development and a “surprise.” That said, in this production technique, you need to create fresh ideas. Lots of them.

I made a very long post about how to come up with new ideas but I’ll sum how I did mine:

  • Recycling older ideas: I have countless samples that I’ve used or never touched. I like to process them into new sounds.
  • Recording radio or other spaces with a microphone: When I’m in a creative mood, I’ll spend a lot of time recording sounds around me from that period of my life. I’ll leave the recorder somewhere for an hour to see what comes up.
  • Try demos: I love getting demos and try to see what I can come up with it by sampling them. Some have limited time or others are in days. It forces you to resample the hell out of the work and get something. Sometimes I end up buying it of course.
  • Pure sound design: Layering sounds from different takes is a great way to generate rich sounds. I do this a lot but its time consuming.
  • Jamming with the sounds: When I have plenty, I’ll generally put the sounds in a sampler and jam them with a midi controller or PUSH. I’ll record everything I do into a project.

A project that has many ideas will be recorded with the date of the day for the jam. It might turn out that I have a few hours of material which means there’s hypothetically 3-4 ideas in there.

The definition of done (DoD) of this phase is when you have a project with 3-4 ideas ready to go. I usually do one session per track needed for the project.

Filtering ideas into a concept

This phase is one that you need to do outside of jamming. Why? Because when you jam, you’re in your creative state (right brain) and have tons of ideas but your judgement is off. You can’t be a judge then. You need to feel free and explore without boundaries. This second phase is about going into a more analytical side where you will be curating your crop.

  1. Go through all recordings you’ve made and loop part of it. The question is, can you listen to a loop and feel inspired? If yes, you have something to hold on to.
  2. Use different size loops like 1, 2, 4 bars. Compile different ideas.
  3. Use the session view to make scenes of loops you like.
  4. Try to see if certain loops, once layered, make unexpected motifs.
  5. (optional) Add a kick & hihat to give you an idea of the groove and adjust the timing of the loop.

The definition of done (DoD) of this phase is when you have a few scenes in your session view that feel solid.

*Note that you may go back to create more ideas (Round 1) to complement what you have. You may also create a pool for all ideas of all sessions and then make ideas from that. No rules here, only possibilities.

Building a core loop

At this point, you should have X number of projects (based on your project definition you decided on at the beginning, i.e. EP, LP, whatever), each with material that has been organized into 2-3 ideas. Now comes the moment to put it all together.

The loop you’ll build here is the middle part of your song so it should have all the bells and whistles.

  1. Add a foundation. The fundamental part of your song is the low end and the bass. From the main idea, add a bass that either supports or responds to the idea. Adjust it so it’s in key.
  2. Add percussion. Complementary to the bass, you may add kick, percussion, or anything complementary of what will create the groove. I usually start right away to decide what groove template I’ll use on this core part.
  3. Add melodic touches if needed. Decide how long your melody will be and how it progresses (if it does).
  4. Create a background and space if desired. This is usually the reverb and textures. However, this can also come later on.

The definition of done (DoD) of this phase is that you have a main loop that you can place in the arrangement window, right in the heart of your song (which means you need to know roughly how long it has to be). A good loop is one that is centered around your motif where if you solo that part, it would be what someone would talk about to describe your song.

In the process of working through the core loop, you might need to go back to create more content or you may import some from other sessions.

Template structure

Now that you have the core part of the song, it’s easier to build out the remaining structure. In the arrangement view, create three sections: a beginning, middle and end. You will now lay out your structure to have an idea of what you can do with your core idea.

  1. Copy the elements from beginning to end  that will be present the whole time through the track.
  2. Work backwards by deconstructing the timeline of what comes in first and so, until you get to the middle part.
  3. Do the same process until the end. You may repeat some elements.

The definition of done (DoD) of this phase requires that you have a temporary structure from beginning to end. It might take you a while, I encourage you to do sprints of 30 minutes at a time. The problem with working too long on this phase is that you lose perspective regarding the strength of your song. I usually want some sort of structure to come out of this phase, but I may go back and forth with the other phases until I am happy with it.

Arrangements

This is the final phase. You might need to come back to it as everyone has different needs that will arise in this process. Arranging – in simple terms – is creating the story-line of your song, but also between songs for your project! How do your tracks relate to each other? I have songs that have brothers and sisters, while some are from a completely different family.

After working on the arrangement of song, the last thing I do is export what I’ve done so far. When I switch to another track, I import the last session in the arrangement to see what I did and compare. I adjust the arrangements so all my tracks don’t have the same structure; beginning, breaks, and punches. I adjust them so they can be fun for DJs to mix too.

Arranging is a massive topic that I will detail in a future post and is involved in most music production techniques – but this explanation is a full conceptualization of how I work. Hopefully it helps you somehow too!

 

SEE ALSO :   Non-Linear Music Production 

The 2-minute Soundcloud preview method

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The 2-minute Soundcloud preview method, as I call it, is about creating tracks previews that are 2 minutes long. Why that length?

If you look at most track previews labels and artists are sharing online, they’re about 2 minutes in length. This unofficial standard got popular during the early days of Soundcloud when a little problem was discovered involving people being able to download full tracks from the website; not the full resolution file, but the streaming version, which is very low quality. Many tracks leaked this way and it’s crazy to think some people used those versions to play in podcasts or even in clubs!

So then, why post 2-minute tracks?

Many labels look for artists by browsing their Soundcloud page and it doesn’t look good if the page is empty. As a result, some artists started creating “fake” songs, as 2-minute tracks, often with artwork created by an online app. The crazy outcome of this behaviour was that some people/labels started asking artists to release some of those two-minute tracks, which forced the artists to finish them.

The pros of uploading 2-minute mini-tracks is that if someone connects with you about one, you’ll know what’s working best from all the tracks you have online. This particularly useful if you have a large number of sketches and wonder which ones have the most potential. The cons of this approach, if done poorly, is that it can really backfire at you, and make you look (very) unprofessional.

That said, if your goal is to get some traction online, this method can really be effective. Some people also need motivation and direction to get things done so this approach might be good for you if you’re one of those artists. Here are some tips on how to approach this effectively, to get most out of it:

Use tracks that are in progress to avoid getting caught with unexpected requests. The more advanced you are in the arrangements, the better. You can actually use a complex 2-minute base as a way to find the final ideas of your track. Uploading a very simple loop is not a good idea as it might sound completely empty.

Make sure it is mixed properly. This might be the most difficult part of it, but make sure the mixdown is solid. Use some compression and have a limiter on the master to glue it together.

Make sure the main idea of the track is exposed in the preview. What I mean here is, be sure that if someone listens to your preview, they will have an idea of what the song is about. If you need a better idea, go to decks.de and listen to previews of records to see what I mean.

Have something strong to say. Make sure your loop is exciting, has something special in it and has a memorable element that might make people want to hear more. This is the most critical aspect of your 2-minute track.

Try to have very different song ideas from one to another. If you have too many previews that all sound exactly the same, it’s sort of like having a colour palette with a multitude of beige variations; have different colors but keep an aesthetic that is in tune with your style.

Make sure the mixdown is solid, then normalize. If you don’t use a limiter, export it normalized, this will create a louder version.

Limit the total number of tracks on your Soundcloud page. Try to pick a number between 10 and 15 then never have more. Why? Because you don’t want to be that artist that has zillions of unsigned tracks either. Remove older ones and remove ones that have no comments or likes. This is not good for momentum (see my previous post).

Indicate if the track is unsigned. Let people know the track isn’t signed or mastered; this helps clarify to people who listen to it.

So then, when do you finally finish one of these 2-minute tracks? You should decide to finish it when it generates some sort of buzz. If you get a DJ asking for a copy of a track for a podcast, this can be as important as if a label would like to sign it. If someone interested in your track, don’t sleep on it; let me know of your results!

 

SEE ALSO :  Intuition for decisions in music production   

Checklist to see if my song is finished

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Lately I’ve been working on a live set, and I realized that I have a personal checklist I use to see if I covered everything to help me decide if a particular song is finished; from little details to bigger things, sometimes it’s easy to overlook important factors. Just like with traveling, you want to make sure everything is ready before stepping out of your project.

This checklist outlined in this article is what I personally use before shifting to the mixing phase. In a past article, I explained the importance of exporting the stems out of your project once the production is done. This frees up CPU usage, lightens up your projct, gives you the option to backup or collaborate, or possibly to do some mixing into another DAW to get different textures. But mostly it’s a way to tell yourself “Ok, time to move on.”

Do you need to cross-check everything in this list to declare your song finished? No, not at all. Below is just a cheat sheet to help you have a better idea of everything that could potentially be covered (and I’m sure I’m missing one or two things here).

Below are what I believe to be the major categories of the “song is finished” checklist in terms of production (mixing is another phase altogether that comes afterwards):

  1. The Hook

The hook is where everything begins and ends, so ask yourself these simple questions to get started:

  • What is the main hook of your song? Remember, the hook is what someone would sing or recall to someone else to explain what the song is about. Your song might not have a main hook, which is okay, but a hook is one of the most important factors to help make a song memorable and timeless.
  • What elements supports the hook? A good hook is often not enough. Supporting it with complementary sounds or little blurbs of secondary melody is very helpful.
  • Are you aiming at a pop structure or more of a repeating mantra? There is also a grey area which combines both of these structures. But whatever your pick is, it helps to have a clear answer to this question in your head.

2. Sound design

Sound design is actually the most important section to me and this is usually where I spend the most time. I have sub-categories here that I will cover.

  • What is the direction and purpose of this song? Is it mainly for DJs or at-home or headphone listening? Vinyl or Spotify? Chill, dancefloor or experimental? This is something that can sometimes be good to keep in mind until the very end.
  • What song or artist would be a similar reference to your track? A reference track can be added in the project itself in a channel. See my past post on how to use a reference track.
  • What is the ratio of organic vs synthetic elements? This is something I sort of think about in the beginning but I am usually also open to revising at the end.
  • What is the main key for my song? This is not always essential, especially if you make atonal music. But it’s a good idea to be aware of a general tuning of bass, kick and melodies.
  • Kick drum: Is the kick in tune with the melody? Is it side-chained with other conflicting sounds? I recommend trying to have a different kick from whatever previous track you were working on. The kick is the last sound to be designed as it is there to support and complement the entire project.
  • Snare/clap: Often equally important to the kick, I usually alternate between more of a clap sound vs. a traditional snare and I also try to have multiple layers. In electronic music, the percussion sound that will go on the 2nd and 4th beat should vary otherwise it sounds a bit monotonous. I personally to try to offer different sound options here for when I play my songs live or DJ them.
  • Bass: Is it in key? Is it side-chained?
  • Melody: This one is a bit difficult but as explained in my non-linear production technique, I like to go back and forth with the track to see if the melody has an impact; if it feels good over time. Finding melody is hard enough, but to make a melody that stands the test of time is an art in itself.
  • Atmosphere: Is there a background to this track? What is in the background vs foreground? I like to use busses for creating atmosphere.
  • Recording: Have I used field recordings for this to add another layer of atmosphere or sound?
  • Textures: Are the textures clear and audible? Or is the song meant to be more subtle?
  • What’s the ratio of repeating sounds vs ever-changing? Some people like to always have the same clap through out the song while in Hip Hop for example, producers often like movement and change. Is this a rule you want to follow? If so, on what sounds?

3. Groove

My “groove” section is a bit less detailed, but is very important, especially if the song is more percussive and dancefloor-oriented.

  • Is the groove borrowed from a song or from a groove template? Or is it custom?
  • What is the time signature? Is it global or different for different parts?
  • Is there a global groove applied or is this song using multiple grooves depending on the part?
  • Export all percussion loops to MIDI to tweak the groove.
  • What is repetitive and what not? Find the healthy balance of sounds being repeated through the song and others that change over 1-2-3-4 bars.
  • Is there sidechain between channels to create subtle or obvious pumping? This can make a difference.
  • What are the sounds that are modulated? This is one of the most important thing to do if you want your song to have a more organic feel rather than synthetic. It’s one thing to select all organic samples but the way you program them will be critical for a general feel. In general, the human ear is very sensitive to movement, even if the music is played in the background; you’ll be surprised of what people notice, and what they don’t.

4. FX/Sends

Using sends is crucial for giving the track a unified feel. One of the most common mistake I see from new producers is to use multiple reverb effects everywhere in the project instead of mainly using one as a send. I usually use multiple sends to create elaborated and sophisticated 3D effects for percussion and melodies. One of the most important point I always remind myself is to use them with care, towards the end of the production phase.

  • Is this song more dry or wet in terms of effects? How much room have you left for reverb?
  • What type of reverb do I want for this track? long or short?
  • What is going to have a 3D effect? What makes the song 3D is the amount of sounds you put right up front vs the ones you put in the background. A healthy combination of both will have a better effect.
  • Use one delay for the project! Which time signature does it have?

5. Structure/Arrangements

I previously referred to song structure as Lego building blocks in a previous post. Blocks are often constructed in the same way; this is why using a reference track can help break out storytelling ideas. I always recommend dropping Markers in the arrangements this way: One at the beginning, one at the end, and one in the middle. Markers will give you perspective, help you see if your general storytelling is balanced, and help you determine if things are properly organized.

From the middle marker, I would drop one additional marker between the very beginning and the middle markers, and then do the same thing in the second half. Your song should have four distinct sections. Sections one and four are intro and outro; the middle part is where your song develops and mostly exists.

  • Does your song have intro/outro? Does the action start immediately or slowly develop?
  • How much space have you left for the DJ to mix the track, if you’re making DJ-friendly music?
  • Are your melodic elements evolving properly through each section?
  • Does your song have at least one anchor point of interest per section? All the sections of your track should be interesting.
  • Does the song have any surprises about two-thirds through its duration ? I always recommend considering this to make your song even more interesting.

These sections cover the main points that I usually think about when determining if a song is finished or not. If I don’t like the answers I come up with to some of these questions, I usually go back and work on the track even more!

 

SEE ALSO : Is My Song Good? 

Music Making Is Problem Solving

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Every once and a while the excitement to launch into a session fully inspired, fully motivated, literally can’t-get-into-it-soon-enough hits me, and it’s amazing. Seriously, in my experience there really isn’t anything that gets me pumped like that because when you know your idea is that good, and everything seems to come together perfectly, you know it’s going to be big. It’s different this time. So, you get started, loading the drum kit, mapping out the midi, tweaking the saturation.. soooo gooood….. then, your Facebook beeps, the insurance guy calls, your plugin freezes, and before you know it you’ve completely lost the groove, and the dream is over before it started. Music making requires endless problem-solving. 

Why is inspiration so quick to fade out? Why are there so many obstacles in the way? Does sitting down to make music always have to be this difficult? If you can relate to the experience I painted above you have tasted the sourness of the scapegoat in music.

There will always be a need to solve problems and cut through obstacles, both unexpected and predictable. Yet for better or worse, they come part and parcel with making music. Questions and distractions… Instead of fighting them, we need to minimize their effect on us, and as much as possible reduce the chance of distractions from happening altogether.

Looking back at nearly 100% of any consultations and coaching I do with people, I find there are four main ‘problem’ areas which seem to rotate and steal our attention. While there will always be some form of distraction, if we work to minimize these four main problems we’ll be in much better shape to stay on track during our next session.

We’re talking about a creative solutions to common solving problems.

Problem one: How and where do you get inspiration? I believe that there is a special energy that comes to us when she knows we’re committed to her. When I say her, I mean the work. Professional runners say that the hardest part about running a marathon is simply getting the motivation to put on their shoes, and leave the house. Boom. Just show up and get started – load up your daw, and start making noise, you’ll soon get excited and find something cool to work towards. One of the most important and simple approaches to music production, which I always recommend, is simply making music when you feel great. I’ve read several articles about the importance of rituals – where you design and carry out a pattern that makes you happy inside and out, and within that zone, your mind will enter a very positive space, which is super important when we demand creativity and imagination.

Problem Two: How can I know enough about music production to be a one-man band?
It’s impossible to know everything, and you don’t need to. What you really want to know are the ins and outs of your daw, and instruments you use. If you’ve been buying all the latest synths and each one of them is different, it’s going to take quite some time to know them all 100%, whereas if you are using one or two instruments, read the manuals and learn everything you can about JUST those two synths – you’ll be much quicker to make and achieve the sounds you want by knowing less (less instruments to learn), and focusing more (mastering the ones you use).

Less is more. I watched a video interview of one producer who’s had several track placements with Kendrick Lamar ~ the dude is 18, and records everything into Garage Band on his iPhone. He has a guitar and a phone. That’s it, and he’s making huge strides with his work, even with the most basic equipment.

Find a way to get engaged. Ask yourself what part of music production makes you forget about time, food, and everything else? This is a space where you’re in the zone, fully committed, and nothing else matters. Embrace this process and be aware of when this happens, you may not reach this level of focus and results during other steps along the way. For some, this state will only come to them when Dj’ing, and for others, it will come while locked in a mixdown, etc.. know where you’ll find your flow.

Problem Three: How can I commit to a direction in my music?
While there is no straight answer for this, I’ll simplify things to the belief that – you have multiple options, and don’t have to commit to only one. Record both ideas, and use the ‘save-as’ feature, allowing you to save a second version of the song to work on, and later decide which direction you’ll be happy with.

And lastly Problem Four: What will the afterlife of my song be?

No one can see into the future, so it’s impossible to know. I don’t believe it’s a productive use of your time to dream about what could be one day… without finishing your song, it will stay living on you hard drive forever, which is not what you want. What is important right now is to focus on the important things here:
Making music, Finishing projects, promoting your work, networking with other producers.

(for tips on how to promote yourself as an artist in a way that is personal to you, check this post) 

To wrap things up, problem-solving can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. While a study suggested that in front of anxiety, one of the best things to do is to take a 2 day break, although I’d encourage you to take a week off to start with.

Photo by Oskar Wimmerman on Unsplash

In an excellent psychology related article I read that when one is faced with a challenge, it’s critical to understand exactly what you’re being tested with – that is, you need to know what is the real problem. To know and understand what the problem is you must be able to explain to someone else with clarity, with a clear description. Understand the problem, and understand the options available to you. I read that negotiators who talk to terrorists holding hostages will eliminate many options down to only two in an effort to achieve a quick, yet satisfying resolution. Reduce your options to get moving quickly. Making a decision in haste can also have a negative effect, so don’t feel the need to always make a decision right away – give your self time away from the problem, and trust your brain’s ability to understand that in the background, beneath the surface, at some point a creative solution will emerge, often when least expected.

In the end, to win more, to score more, to get through to the finish line more often, you need to be as creative in finding solutions to problems as you are in every other area of your productions. Set a up a system where you minimize the chance for distractions to happen.

(quick tip– every mac has an app called Automator, where you can assign a chain of commands for whatever you wish to do. Check this video to setup a quick way to close all programs, turn off wifi, launch Live, and kick-start your session fast.

 

Cheers Guys JP

 

  SEE ALSO : Checklist to see if my song is finished 

How to filter your best ideas

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I’m always looking for ways to improve upon what I do, and how I can better serve my clients. I’m not taking any breaks on becoming better and better every day. I read a lot and especially enjoy reading words from entrepreneurs to learn from, and help build upon the success of others. When I come across an article that brings up an ‘a-ha’ moment, I want to share it. One of these moments came from one article I read about how to turn a great idea into a business. Across many different fields, music, tech, etc.. one pattern in runs true throughout all of them – sometimes the best ideas come to you in ways you can’t always predict.

Another thing which is true, to generate ideas you start by brainstorming.

In the musical world, I would translate this as jamming. With nowhere particular direction in mind, you begin by tweaking and trying everything. Make sounds, press buttons, turn knobs, listen to the effect of this and that, try new techniques for the first time. In a past article, I’d invited you to use Youtube to find out something new or use a new synth demo and record the outcome.

Jamming freely. It’s known that Prince would spend time in his studio every day making a ton of noise simply to try new things, try new jams, and record these experiments which resulted in a vault of music no one would hear, except him. I’d encourage you to do add this to your daily routine, either very early in the morning or at the end of the afternoon.

Going back to the article that ignited my ‘a-ha- moment, the process of idea generation should involve the following two steps:

  1. Creative session.
  2. Analytical period.

The article states that the brain has a very difficult time creating and analyzing at the same time. In the moment of creation and discovery, our brains use a lot of energy to focus on active listening. In this messy and uncontrolled environment, our brains are set in one direction, we’re in the zone. The missing piece of the puzzle for me was reading that our brains have a very difficult time when asked to create and analyze at the same time. It won’t work both ways.

This is why it’s recommended to separate the two tasks, create freely one day, then analyze the material on the next. This would also explain why we often listen to what we did from our first session and find it mostly garbage. The key word here is – mostly.

It would also confirm my theory that spending too much time in the studio is counter-productive because without a change of perspective you don’t have enough distance objectively evaluate your efforts.

Over time I’ve nearly burnt myself out explaining this process to others who struggle with the process. I’ve also learned it’s sometimes best to let those learn by themselves, at their own pace. This confirms the idea that the creative process is very much a personal one, and that no two people will learn or develop at the same rate.

Session 1: Jam, have fun, explore, fail, win, repeat.
Session 2: review everything that was recorded and isolate the potential ideas that stand out, and are more usable.
Session 3: Go through isolated ideas. Work around one.
Alternate.

In other words, try to alternate between creative flow and analysis, self-criticism and more technical work.

Your brain can only do one at a time and more so, why go analytical when you are creative and why be creative when it is time to be self-critical. The main thing you’ll refer to as your analytical part is to listen to what feels good to you.

Build. Learn. Repeat. Build. Learn. Repeat.

As a child, going out to restaurants with my parents would normally involve using pencils and paper to draw pictures and doddle while we waited for our food. (this was waaaayy before smartphones became commonplace) For me, a blank piece of paper is a license to get messy. Everything is possible, and I always found it easy to get started. Our favorite game was one where one would draw a weird, unrecognizable doddle, and pass the paper on to the other.

The second player would have the challenging task of turning that mess of lines, shapes, and circles into something recognizable like a car, or a bird, or anything that required a bit of time and imagination. Until this day I’ve always thought this exercise was one of the most creative tasks I ever did.

So, here’s another way to approach this: take something totally random, even something you truly don’t want to work with whatsoever and try to make something usable out of it. Make a loop, make a playable sound, take something terrible and push yourself to find something in it that you can do something with. I did a full EP once, a while back where I’d force myself to work with sounds and recordings that made no sense whatsoever. It turns out it’s a good exercise but also very useful as you don’t depend on only good material to be effective with what you have.

SEE ALSO :  The Modular Trap