A glass of vintage wine on one hand, a melodic mash of deep, tech and prog on the other hand
There is this snare to fix. So you reopen your project, once again. Fix the snare. Tweak this synth. Now it’s good. Next day… there is this riser to improve. So you reopen your project, once again. And again. Seems like you’re never going to finish this track!
Sound familiar? Here’s a technique to actually finish your track much, much faster.
It’s so cool to apply lots of reverb. It sounds wider, deeper, longer, warmer… better. Or does it?
Reverb everywhere?
Does your kick get through? Does it irresistibly make you want to tap your feet or even stand up and dance? Or is it weak, mellow, lifeless?
You know it: a kick can make or break a dance track. The wrong kick, and your otherwise excellent track can totally lose its impact.
Let’s review several techniques which will make your kick outstanding.
This is an acoustic kick drum. Let’s see if you can do better with your electronic one
In 2020, the spring equinox occurs today Thursday, March 19, which is earlier than it’s been in over a century! This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Uh? Reference?
You have undoubtedly in the past created a track that sounded awesome… until you played another track in a similar genre. Suddenly yours sounds dull, narrow, weak, boring, and you start to switch from excitement to depression mode.
You don’t have to.
One way to avoid this disappointment, as you go creating and building your track, is to be able to check on the spot how it sounds compared to an existing track, preferably a released track that you like. This existing track therefore becomes your reference.
Nothing forbids you to use several tracks as references.
Does my track look (sound) like that famous hit?
Yes, you know what I’m talking about. The internet. When producing your music: remove, cancel, discard, stop, erase, annihilate your internet. Why?
Why? Because when you are in a production session, after a few minutes (or more), you enter the “zone”, this state – often called “flow” – where time does not exist any more and where things come naturally.
Nothing is worse than a beep from your message notifications or a pop up from your email client to break this state. And it takes time to go back in this state (it seems that before the mind is more or less back to this state it takes around 25 minutes; much more if the incoming external information has a negative character of urgency, must do, problem…)
we all love internet, don’t we?
You open your DAW. You place ideas here and there. Then you spend your time scrolling up and down and clicking all over the project to remember where you placed that particular sound. Save lots of time with a little bit of preparation that we’re going to go through now. [Read more…]
Of course, you should not send your fresh MP3 still-work-in-progress to hundreds of labels in Bcc (did I need to say that?). To dramatically increase your chances of being read and heard, there are a few simple steps to follow. [Read more…]
You’ve just finished your track. You bounce it. Done! Can you send it around now?
Oh no, not yet! (Unless you want to miss your target…). Let’s see the few simple actions you need to undertake to make your track look pro when being seen by others. [Read more…]
Your track is in good progress. You’ve added sound after sound, channel after channel. Each time you add an element, your track takes shape, and you get happier. You start singing along, tapping your foot, even dancing in your room/studio.
But now you realise that it sounds busy, clogged, tiring, messy… it’s far from sounding as clear and punchy as your current favorite tracks from your Beatport or Spotify. [Read more…]