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every time i try to add vocals into a track, even one damned phrase, i end up sinking almost an hour into it only to give up and trash the idea. i can never seem to get the timing/warping correct as well as delays sitting right. not to mention the vocal getting muddied by the rest of the tune every damn time. im posting out of sheer frustration.. i guess ill just stick to beats and bass forever
if anyone has any tips or tutorial links on any of the things previously bitched about feel free to throw em at me. otherwise, /rant

ummm... sorry? i have the opposite experience. they seem to make everything come together for me. you just gotta match the vibes maaang

1. Don't try and make vocals fit a tune. Write a tune around vocals. Unless you know for a fact that an idea will work.
2. You need more practise.

All it comes down to

subfect wrote:1. Don't try and make vocals fit a tune. Write a tune around vocals. Unless you know for a fact that an idea will work.
2. You need more practise.

All it comes down to

Truth. Vocals are awesome.

yeah i usually think of the vocals first like in my head, then play with my samples for like a little bit, find something cool

do it again to find another way to put them (do that a couple more times, pick the best few)

then... make the track

Yeah I love adding vocals, my tracks would feel sort of boring and stale without them.

subfect wrote:1. Don't try and make vocals fit a tune. Write a tune around vocals. Unless you know for a fact that an idea will work.

Couldn't agree more - one of the main reasons I'm always saying that the musical element of a tune should be laid down BEFORE the drums/bassline is the fact that once you got something in place, that becomes the template for the rest of the tune. If it's a set of drums, then no matter what you add to the tune, it will always be around those drums.

This applies moreso to vocals, lay them down first and let them dictate where the beats/bass go.

Sonika wrote:Yeah I love adding vocals, my tracks would feel sort of boring and stale without them.

I tend to prefer not having them - most my tunes have a meditative/trancy feel as a result (but then that's generally what I go for so... )

You'd probably think my stuff was boring. haha

wub wrote:

subfect wrote:1. Don't try and make vocals fit a tune. Write a tune around vocals. Unless you know for a fact that an idea will work.

Couldn't agree more - one of the main reasons I'm always saying that the musical element of a tune should be laid down BEFORE the drums/bassline is the fact that once you got something in place, that becomes the template for the rest of the tune. If it's a set of drums, then no matter what you add to the tune, it will always be around those drums.

This applies moreso to vocals, lay them down first and let them dictate where the beats/bass go.

Maybe, but sometimes if you have a track that has other interesting elements that you've put in place first, as well as beats and bass, but you just want a little bit extra, THEN you pop on some vocals

Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

subfect wrote:Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

Nah with enough processing, a lot of off-sounding vocals can fit.

Also, if you're looking for some QUALITY full acapellas to use, check out this guy I just found on soundcloud, JCD mastering, he's got like 30 full length studio acapellas of a bunch of tunes and they are really really nice and clean

Sonika wrote:

wub wrote:

subfect wrote:1. Don't try and make vocals fit a tune. Write a tune around vocals. Unless you know for a fact that an idea will work.

Couldn't agree more - one of the main reasons I'm always saying that the musical element of a tune should be laid down BEFORE the drums/bassline is the fact that once you got something in place, that becomes the template for the rest of the tune. If it's a set of drums, then no matter what you add to the tune, it will always be around those drums.

This applies moreso to vocals, lay them down first and let them dictate where the beats/bass go.

Maybe, but sometimes if you have a track that has other interesting elements that you've put in place first, as well as beats and bass, but you just want a little bit extra, THEN you pop on some vocals

But you'd still be trying to fit vocals to an existing tune - IMO not an element that can be shoehorned in easily.

subfect wrote:Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

Agreed.

Sonika wrote:

subfect wrote:Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

Nah with enough processing, a lot of off-sounding vocals can fit.

There is more to vocals fitting in a tune than just processing them the right way. Vocals are emotive, they need to fit a tune in terms of vibe, rhythm...not just whether you can EQ them to fit into what's already there.

Does anyone know of any Vocalists/Vocalist forum or something? I've been trying to find people that can sing/have professional mics and I can't.


Trying to match vocals to a tempo is a bitch, some parts seem off the beat still :l

Sonika wrote:

subfect wrote:Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

Nah with enough processing, a lot of off-sounding vocals can fit.

Also, if you're looking for some QUALITY full acapellas to use, check out this guy I just found on soundcloud, JCD mastering, he's got like 30 full length studio acapellas of a bunch of tunes and they are really really nice and clean

This is akin to polishing a turd. Doesn't matter how good you think you've made it sound, it's still shit. If it doesn't fit right off the bat (pitch bending/stretching okay), then you've picked the wrong sample.

wub wrote:

Sonika wrote:

subfect wrote:Problem is finding vocals that fit at that point is pure fucking luck. You're better off adding some interesting atmospheric elements at that point.

Nah with enough processing, a lot of off-sounding vocals can fit.

There is more to vocals fitting in a tune than just processing them the right way. Vocals are emotive, they need to fit a tune in terms of vibe, rhythm...not just whether you can EQ them to fit into what's already there.

Right, but I didn't just mean EQing (although that helps). For this tune I made called Thaw, I had my strings, pads, beats, bass, flute/synth lead, etc, but it just felt a little bit stale/uninteresting. I took a vocal of this guy scat singing (completely off key from the project I was working on), and I autotuned it to fit my tune (as well as reverb, compression, EQ, etc). It made the tune 10 billion times better, and I added the vocals in last and they only fit because of processing.

It doesn't always work, but it can.

Sonika wrote:It doesn't always work, but it can.

Quoted cos this is the most important part

In all the years ive been making music; I have only 'really' started using vocals in the last year or so - I used to think they were pointless and they are - UNLESS they're used as an instrument.


A vocal hit or spoken movie sample isn't going to add anything to a track because you could always replace it with a lick, riser or even silence! I only believe in full vocal tracks really.

Obviously there are exceptions but vocal > the music not the music > vocal.

legend4ry wrote:In all the years ive been making music; I have only 'really' started using vocals in the last year or so - I used to think they were pointless and they are - UNLESS they're used as an instrument.


A vocal hit or spoken movie sample isn't going to add anything to a track because you could always replace it with a lick, riser or even silence! I only believe in full vocal tracks really.

Obviously there are exceptions but vocal > the music not the music > vocal.

Mala - Changes

i use vocals in almost every song and i've never had too much problems fitting them into the tune. just try to pitch them to the right key, a little reverb and a ton of delay (of course depends what kind of tune you're making) and you're set