Tag Archive for: percussion

Creating Depth in Music

/in , , /by

I don’t know many people who took theatre in school, or aspired to become an actor or comedian. For me, having a background in theatre has shaped my vision of music, performance, and storytelling. In Québec, we have a “theatre sport” called Improvisation, where teams meet in a rink to create stories and characters, out of the blue. After practicing this for 20 years or so, it’s shaped how I perceive songs and sets. There are so many parallels to music in theatre: how a story develops, the use of a main character, supporting roles, etc., all of which can be applied to the use of sounds in a track.

A story is never great without quality supporting roles. Support adds depth to any story, and richness to the main character. Think of all the evil nemeses James Bond has faced—the more colorful they were, the more memorable the story, and the same goes for songs.

You might have a strong idea for your song, but if it has a good supporting idea or two, then you’ll end up with a song that keeps you engaged until the end.

I’ve been really into minimalist music lately; I like music that has a solid core idea that evolves. I was reading a really nice post on Reddit about Dub Techno where one of the main criterion discussed was the importance of simplicity. Simplicity doesn’t make something dull or dumb—in music it can be a reduction of all unnecessary elements, in dub techno resulting in a conversation between the deep bass and the pads and other layers.

If you’re immersed in electronic music, you’re generally used hearing multiple layers and often multiple conversations between sounds. Percussion layers will be often related to themselves, but the main idea is usually supported by a second layer. I often hear this in some indie rock songs too, especially ones that have some electronic elements in them. The way the human ear works, is that we will always hear the main component of a song as the centre of attention, but attention will shift back-and-forth between different layers. The advantage of having depth in music is that it encourages repeat listening. For a listener to replay a song and hear something new is exciting; some songs will grow on them even though they may have felt overwhelming during the first listen.

How can you create secondary ideas and “supporting roles”?

There are multiple ways to do to add depth to your songs.

Negative Space

The most important part when you program or write a melody, is to leave some empty space in it, which I call “negative spacing.” This space is where your secondary ideas can appear, supporting or replying to the main idea. I usually start by writing a complex melody, and then will remove some notes that I will use elsewhere, either in a second synth, bass, or percussive elements. Here are some suggestions as to what you can do with the MIDI notes you remove from the first draft of your melody:

  • Use the same MIDI notes from your melody, but apply them to multiple synths or other sounds to create variations and multiple layers that all work together.
  • Use the MIDI tool chords and arpeggios to build evolving ideas that come from the same root.
  • Look into some MIDI-generating Max for Live patches that can give you alternative ideas. I’ve had some fun with patches like Magenta, but also with the VST Riffer or Random Riff Generator which are really interesting.

The “Fruit of the Tree” Exercise

This is an exercise that is a bit time-consuming that I have a love/hate relationship with. You spend time playing the main idea through intense sound altering plugins. So, if your main idea is a melody, imagine you send it through granular synthesis, pitch-shifting, a harmonizer, random amplitude modulation, etc.—you’ll end up with a bunch of messed up material that can be shaped into a secondary idea while still being related to your original idea. The idea is to transform what you have into something slightly different. There are multiple plugins you can look into for achieving this:

  • Vocoders, mTransform, mHarmonizer, mMorph: These all work by merging an incoming signal and with a second signal. So, let’s say you have your main idea or melody—you can feed it into something completely different, such as a voice, some forest sounds, textures, or percussion, and you’ll obtain pretty original results.
  • Shaperbox 2 is the ultimate toolbox to completely transform your sound by slicing, gating, and filtering it, with the help of LFOs. This is pretty much my go-to to create alternative tools quickly. One thing I like to do a lot, is to run two side-by-side on different channels, and then use them to create movement that answers one another. For instance, one will duck while the other plays. You can also use side-chaining in the newest version, which can create lovely reactivity, if you use it along with the filter to shape the tone by an incoming sound. This allows you to do low-pass gating, for instance, which isn’t really in Ableton’s basic tools.

Background Sounds

The lack of background sounds, or noise-floor, always leaves people with the impression that there’s something missing in a track. This can be resolved with a reverb at low volume that leaves a nice overall roundness if you keep it pretty dark in its tone. Low reverb creates an impression that a song is also doubled, or wide. Another good way to make background sounds is to load up a bunch of sounds that can be played multiple times in different sections of your song, at very low volume. I was checking out this producer who does EDM/festival music, and he would use sounds of people cheering at a very low volume in moments where the chorus of the song would hit, to create more density and excitement. However, at a high volume, this approach can conversely create a “wall of noise”, so it should be crafted carefully.

If you simply drop a background sound into a project, such as forest sounds, you’re missing out on one of the most enjoyable activities in making music, which is to create your own live sounds. A forest has a bunch of—what seems like—random sounds. You can alter this, and say have a basic 5-second background of noise-floor and then decide when the bird chirping comes in via automation and perhaps have them sync to the tempo. This creates a bit of a groove too. A good exercise is to try to create sounds that emulate nature as you’ll have a bit more control over the sounds (and you’ll learn more about sound design in the process).

Ghost Notes

Ghost notes are mostly discussed as they relate to percussion, but they can be used, as a technique, with anything. A common example of ghost notes is their use in hi-hats, as a bunch of in-between hats at a very low volume to fill up space, which stretches the groove and but avoids too much negative space. Aside from using this technique on the low end—where sounds need a lot of space and room to breathe—make sure everything doesn’t sound mushy. The use of a delay in 16th or 32th notes can be a good way to create ghost notes.

A tap delay, where you can program where the delays fall, is also super fun in terms of creating ghost notes, as you can use one to make complex poly-rhythms. However, I suggest cutting some part of the high-end from the delays to avoid clashing with the main transients, and make sure the volume is very low. Using a AUX/Send bus for delays can be quite useful.

SEE ALSO : Improving intensity in music

Creating a kick drum from scratch with an analog feel

/in /by

There’s no doubt that a kick is an important part of electronic music, and in the last few years, it seems like more and more people are creating kick drums from scratch—analog or digital—with lots of depth. The difference between 90s production and modern production is the increased quality of sound systems around the world. I’ve heard that Funktion One sound systems are appearing more and more at festivals and in clubs. I myself have had to adjust my mastering approach to maximize the sound precision on these higher quality systems. In the end, the results are great for everyone. However, one thing I’ve noticed is how 90s music sounds a bit less warm and less open on these newer systems, which isn’t a big deal, but we’re missing out a bit on quality here, as this music is from a different era.

That said, really well designed kicks are so addictive on a nice setup that a kick alone can keep a crowd happy for a while…I’m exaggerating a bit but this isn’t totally false either.

Do you need to buy a drum machine, synthesizer, or something fancy to make beautiful kicks?

Yes and no. There’s something exciting about having gear, but gear can also be a trap. You’ll use it for a while, but eventually you’ll find that a lot of hardware always produces the same type of sound(s). Do you want want the same kick in 99% of your productions? Personally, I don’t—I want variation. This is one of the reasons why I see people buying and selling gear over and over, looking for something they’ll never really find. I like to have a hybrid setup where I get the best of both hardware and software; but trust me, I get a lot from software alone.

I’m a firm believer that one can do a lot with a little. There are a wide variety of cheap options; you can invest a tiny bit without going out to buy expensive machines.

My main kick sounds come from a few machines—I’d advise you to try to find out which machines make kicks you love. I’ve always loved the TR-808 by Roland, which is a classic, but I also love what Jomox does, as well as the Tanzbar (MFB). Once you learn about a few machines you like, the easiest approach is to find some high-quality samples of them; there are many options and sample packs online.

Creating a kick drum from scratch

If you Google “TR-808 free samples” for example, you’ll find websites like this one and this one sharing samples for free. Search yourself and you’ll find some pretty solid 808 kicks. I know this sounds silly, but samples are the fastest way to get things rolling. In a previous post I explained that great kicks are often layered. The best way to build great kicks using a simple setup is to start with a base of high quality samples. They need to be in 24b minimum, not compressed, but at -3dB.

When it comes to making an analog sounding kick “in-the-box” (no hardware), I’d say you should try following these steps:

  1. Start with the low end made by an oscillator. In this case, you can use Ableton’s Operator; you can use the sine wave or use the user section it to color things a little bit with harmonics
  2. Layer a quality sample over it. I’d high pass samples to let the purity of the oscillator take over the low end. It’s also important to align the phasing to get a punchier sound.
  3. Use a transient from a modular sound recording. Snip out a transient or small slice of an audio recording to layer on your kick (I’ll discuss this again later and provide some free downloads!).
  4. Compress the whole thing with an analog modeled compressor to glue everything together. In this case, we can use the Glue Compressor from Ableton.
  5. Add saturation on the sound to provide some finishing warmth. You can use Ableton’s drive, but I’ve never really been a big fan of it. It’ll do the job though if you’re on a budget.

The best way to work with samples like this is to use the Ableton (or whatever DAW you use) drum rack so you can take advantage of the sampler’s modulation system and envelopes.

In Ableton Live 10.1, one feature I really like is the suggested/preset envelopes you can use on any sample. These settings come handy when modeling percussive sounds out of any samples you want. I love to create textures and then slice them quickly using this feature. Returning to the transient recording approach I mentioned previously—this type of slicing is particularly practical when I grab long recordings from my modular synth; there are tiny sounds I can turn into a snare or hat. Like I said, combining the best of all of these sounds will result in a full range kick.

Download sample transients recorded Pheek:

[download id=”39268″]

If you want to invest, below are some interesting kick plugins I’d recommend:

Raw Kick by Rob Papen. Anything by Papen always is quality and you can’t go wrong. Raw Kick is a no-brainer, it will create something ranging from very clean kicks to dirty, badass ones.

Big Kick. As the name states, this plugin creates “big kicks” and doesn’t disappoint. Even the presets—once tweaked a bit—are pretty impressive and ready to use.

Sasquatch. Another solid kick maker that can make a room shake pretty heavily.

Give A Direction To Your Loops

/in , , /by

I have never studied sound or music theory. My blog is a pure description of how my mind and artistic view has grown through time and practice. In this post, I will share some observations on percussion and how it can give your loops a new meaning.

 

Make Tracks From Your Loops

If you’re into making techno or more beat-driven tracks, you pretty much have your own routine. It’s always a bit different from one person to another because we all hear in different ways or simply work in a different flow. But all in all, here’s some of what we can say to sum it up:

When it comes to techno loops or other dance-related music, it sometimes happens that the percussion is the heart and soul of the track. There can be different reasons for this: it can be the DJ tools or loops, or it can also be that it’s just plain good as it is (e.g. a “foreverloop” that you never get bored of).

 

Percussion is often the heart and soul of a track, and as a producer, it can give your loops a whole new meaning.If you’re into straight-up percussive loops and perhaps play with simple ideas for fun or for an eventual track, there are some tips you can keep in mind, just like I do. But let’s not get crazy about it either: On the one hand, some people study percussion all their lives without seeing all of its subtleties, while others can go to university and learn that every culture has its own intricate, complex way of doing it.

 

Let’s keep it simple. But if you want to learn more, there are tons of great reads online.

 

So, in my case, I’ve been inspired by early workshops I did with Gabrielle Roth and have been interested in the “5 Rhythms” approach. Ever since, it’s been in the back of my head whenever I try to design my tracks. The 5 Rhythms categorize dance types into families based on their style of percussion. Roth believes that within an hour, once a practitioner experiences her use of the different rhythms, they can reach a level of personal enlightenment.

Loops can be the most useful tool a DJ might want. Some loops can be listened to forever.

This can make you question, in a way, your own personal quest and reasons for making music. Are you making tracks or are you working on a bigger set of instruments with the purpose of transporting the listener elsewhere? Not to fall into pseudo-new-age stuff, but it certainly becomes more exciting when you give your music a significance.

Now, when it comes to the rhythms, they are:

  • Flowing.
  • Staccato.
  • Chaos.
  • Lyrical.
  • Stillness.

 

One track can focus on one or multiple, but you can also integrate them all to create something balanced.


SEE ALSO:  The Rule Of 10: Production in Rotation for Big Results 

 

 

One of Gabrielle Roth's 5 Rhythms, a good flow is the basis for all other rhythms.

Flowing

To me, this is the most important one.

A good flow is the basis of all other rhythms.

It implies that your track, even with drastic changes, has a way of making all the rhythms work together so that it creates a cohesive whole. Great flow also makes a song catchy and re-playable.

 

When it lacks: There will be a feeling of awkwardness in the transitions. DJs will observe a drop of energy from the crowd.

Try: Working with transitions and arrangements. Try to separate your song into sections, and then find a way to move from one to another. That can be achieved with percussion changes or effects.

 

Staccato

Powerful and dynamic would be the best terms to describe this one. Think of huge samba drums or repetitive, hypnotic, minimal techno loops. The staccato is often dense and can go from very simple to very complex. It isn’t only necessary in percussion; it can also be in the form of simple arpeggios applied to a melody, for instance.

When it lacks: At some level, it can make a groove feel weak and static, which is the opposite of what a great staccato can bring to your work.

Try: Using arpeggios and applying them to any of your sounds. Tweak the settings to get something unexpected.

 

When DJs apply it strategically, surprising a crowd with an off-the-grid beat or rhythm ("chaos") can make people go crazy in a good way.

Chaos

Often hated by DJs who love linear and predictable loops for easier mixing, chaos here doesn’t necessarily refer to Ornette Coleman’s free jazz. I’d say it’s when things get a bit off the grid, and go slightly unquantified in the spirit of infusing your track with quirky grooves or unpredictable moments. When applied strategically, surprising a crowd can drive them crazy in a good way. Chaos can also refer to breaking free of standard genres and ideas to forge something new.

When it lacks: Your loop might sound generic, clinical, predictable — and yes, boring.

Try: Tapping percussions using PUSH. Apply weird grooves from Ableton. Adjust transients so they fall off the grid just a little bit. You may also slice your loop and randomize the order of the sounds.

 

 

Great melodies can make a song timeless.

Lyrical

To me this is the hardest, but that’s mainly because I’m more of an artist than a musician. What “lyrical” implies here is the use of melodies to conjure an emotion. There’s no restriction here: we’re talking pure emotional material, from sad to happy, deep to cheesy. Great melodies can become ear worms and can stay in people’s minds for a long time, making some material timeless. When someone can whistle your main idea, you know you have lyrical content.

 

When it lacks: Your song might be cold or simply ephemeral. There’s no main idea that we can refer to when describing it to someone else.

Try: Experimenting with melodies or asking a musician for help. You can turn to solutions like Liquid Rhythm to assist you as well.

 

 

Stillness

The most difficult to explain, because this one is a pure game of subtle micro-changes. Stillness in music is often translated to boring because nothing seems to happen. When nothing happens, a lot is happening… in the listener’s mind. They will start craving something, will start wondering, getting a bit anxious. Stillness is the art of creating an intelligent tension that makes the eventual release both soothing and powerful. You can also see it as linear music, which is a genre in itself. That is another game.

When it lacks: If you don’t allow for your listener to have any tension building, your song might feel self-supporting or shallow.

Try: Finding songs that build tension in you. When listening to them, pay attention to the very moment where you start getting a bit anxious, and notice how the song is built at that very moment so you can replicate the formula in your own music.