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Hey guys

So I have been learning for a few months and wondered over all what are the elements I should understand to make a good track? So far I always get as far as a few 16 bar loops then start fresh.

I have learned:

They layout of my daw and how to use it basically
Musical key for synth parts
Side chaining (rarely use at the moment)
Parallel compression (also rarely use at the moment)
EQ to some extent (I know what sounds should be hitting which freq but need practice getting them to sit together)

I was wondering what areas I should look into next as fundamentally important areas, I looked up limiters and compressors yesterday and have a basic knowledge of them now but could probably learn more. Apart from those listed I wanted to know where my time would be best spent.

The 1 area I struggle on and dont progress is how to structure the drop section of the track, I can never make all the elements glue and sound good. But thats only one areas I have identified that I can work on.

Thanks for any help guys!

music theory, ur drops dont sound right because they dont sound right, why does everyone always ask that question!

Phase Down wrote:music theory, ur drops dont sound right because they dont sound right, why does everyone always ask that question!

care to expand upon that? I assume if its all in key shouldnt it gel to an extent? music theory is a big subject lol

The drop must sound bigger than the intro for impact,this i achieve by layering my drops and adding impact sounds.Something i read years ago was when you watch tv and the adverts come on they will always be louder than the programme that has just finished to get your attention.This is a good trick for drops,make sure when it drops it has more volume then the intro veryvery simple but effective.
Also i have listened to some of the stuff you have posted and my own personal view is your sound design just lacks impact,layering your sounds will give them a lot more impact.Al this bs about splitting sounds and rahrahrahrahrahrahrah is just waffle,layer you sound to make them big.It is a really simple process,you layer a sub under a mid sound and straight away it will stand out a lot more.Effects you add to you sound add on busses not on the synth channel strip,parallel processes is the road to big sounds but just don't over do it.Its just practice and patience.
What i will do,pm me your email and ill send you some patches i have made with massive,i will even create a patch in massive and set up some parallel processing inside logic then send you that file if you want so you can get an idea of how i go about it.
I wont be able to do it till tomorrow but i am in a helpful mood so pm me if you are interested.

lloydy wrote:Al this bs about splitting sounds and rahrahrahrahrahrahrah is just waffle,layer you sound to make them big.It is a really simple process,you layer a sub under a mid sound and straight away it will stand out a lot more.Effects you add to you sound add on busses not on the synth channel strip,parallel processes is the road to big sounds but just don't over do it.Its just practice and patience.

Phase Down wrote:music theory

This*1,000,000,000

Get

These

Books

Best thing you could ever do. Most serious thing I've said today; and I've said a lot

lloydy wrote:The drop must sound bigger than the intro for impact,this i achieve by layering my drops and adding impact sounds.Something i read years ago was when you watch tv and the adverts come on they will always be louder than the programme that has just finished to get your attention.This is a good trick for drops,make sure when it drops it has more volume then the intro veryvery simple but effective.
Also i have listened to some of the stuff you have posted and my own personal view is your sound design just lacks impact,layering your sounds will give them a lot more impact.Al this bs about splitting sounds and rahrahrahrahrahrahrah is just waffle,layer you sound to make them big.It is a really simple process,you layer a sub under a mid sound and straight away it will stand out a lot more.Effects you add to you sound add on busses not on the synth channel strip,parallel processes is the road to big sounds but just don't over do it.Its just practice and patience.
What i will do,pm me your email and ill send you some patches i have made with massive,i will even create a patch in massive and set up some parallel processing inside logic then send you that file if you want so you can get an idea of how i go about it.
I wont be able to do it till tomorrow but i am in a helpful mood so pm me if you are interested.

hey man it wont seem to let me pm you, will it work if you pm me and i reply?

Turnipish Thoughts wrote:

Phase Down wrote:music theory

This*1,000,000,000

Get

These

Books

Best thing you could ever do. Most serious thing I've said today; and I've said a lot

nearly £60 on books, is there any 1 that does the job? I just know that i wont make it through all 3, havent read a book in years.

To simplify things a little. I will use physics as an example. A theoretical physicist will just do a bunch of equations. They know what to do to get a certain result. They know what formulas to use to solve problems. An experimental physicist will do more experiments to find out data that will then be used to find an answer. (sorry, reading about physics in another tab) You should be in the middle. You should know what notes sound good. For example a "C" to a "D" might not fit as well as a "C" to an "E". I have learnt a lot by just messing around. I actually learned compression by accidentally finding fruity compresser Also read some threads about sound design and field recorder.

just thought id post up saying i ordered this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer ... 1598635034

as it had many good reviews, will this help?

Also i grabbed a subscription to computer music magazine as i assume that can only be useful

a good idea.

no amount of plug-ins or knowledge of theory will save a shit tune. likewise, a great song can only be hampered so much by a bad production.

ideas first, production second.

Tiger Blood wrote:just thought id post up saying i ordered this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer ... 1598635034

as it had many good reviews, will this help?

Also i grabbed a subscription to computer music magazine as i assume that can only be useful

Yes that book is amazing, I have it (I have all three) Work through it and you'll be amazed at how much you improve. The only possible drawback (mine at the moment) is you might not experiment enough with the knowledge gained through the lessons. I need to devote more time to melody sessions and shit.

Computer music is wicked for free shit. Don't get too wrapped up in all the gear slobbery in the mag though, it can catch you off guard and get you fiending for some new toys.

No amount of theory will help you with 'ideas' though.

Turnipish Thoughts wrote:

Tiger Blood wrote:just thought id post up saying i ordered this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer ... 1598635034

as it had many good reviews, will this help?

Also i grabbed a subscription to computer music magazine as i assume that can only be useful

Yes that book is amazing, I have it (I have all three) Work through it and you'll be amazed at how much you improve. The only possible drawback (mine at the moment) is you might not experiment enough with the knowledge gained through the lessons. I need to devote more time to melody sessions and shit.

Computer music is wicked for free shit. Don't get too wrapped up in all the gear slobbery in the mag though, it can catch you off guard and get you fiending for some new toys.

Yea I have the summer off before my final year of uni so will have 4 months of spare time to dedicate to this but at the moment will full time work I am finding it hard to learn and practice, will read through the book and take notes. Does it contain everything I should need to know to an extent?

And to the other posts, I have ideas its just getting them down and making them sit together, I have the track in my head but dont have the knowledge to put it down and make it sound good.

I'd personally get fully to grips with EQing and make sure I understood exactly how different elements of a track can affect each other and how to best glue them together.

This really helped me to start to think in EQ terms instead of it being something I did at a certain point
http://www.dnbscene.com/article/88-thin ... tutorial/1
Saw the link on this forum so props to whoever it was that posted it

i think having to asking what you need to study, whether or not a book will help you, and then admitting "i haven't read a book in years" speaks volumes about where you are at and where you are headed...

Books are a treasure (Yes I'm aware of how old/dorky that just made me sound )

Seriously, get some good music on, grab a brew and get your geek on!

Alternatively if you want to skip the whole learning thing you could just write another song

I suggest getting hold of Mike Seniors book "Mix secrets for small studios" loads of info in that for £15.00

This is relevant also:

http://www.masteringmastering.co.uk/gainstructure.html

Other than that it's all about putting in hours of practice, getting the right kit, playing some bad-ass melodies
and getting things sounding nice in your mix, practice makes perfect.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering

What is parallel compression? Is it similar to multiband compression?

EDIT: Nevermind, found it on wikipedia, sounds like a good thing to try out, I'll have to have a play.

collective wrote:i think having to asking what you need to study, whether or not a book will help you, and then admitting "i haven't read a book in years" speaks volumes about where you are at and where you are headed...

not really, im a final year degree student at uni and that didnt require reading books...books arent necessary when you can condense down information into quality articles / journals... a book is an old format of largely irrelevant information on my experience more can come from specific articles such as the EQ one posted above, but I will give the one I linked a chance.