Phat Sam's "How to get started in Music Production" Thread

when the only response they get is illegible slur accompanied by pictures of a gorrila trying to dry hump an elephant, im sure they'll start investigating..

This.

Some EQ tutorials and tips for you all:

http://www.dnbscene.com/article/88-thinking-inside-the-box-a-complete-eq-tutorial

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/8-easy-steps-to-better-eq/

Quite an oldschool/shitty looking website but all the info needed is there:
http://www.dak.com/reviews/tutorial_frequencies.cfm

Peeeeeeeeeace. x

---------- Post added at 00:04 ---------- Previous post was at 00:01 ----------

Also, not the page I wanted/tried to find but this is such a good thing for anyone trying to mix things down:

VISUAL MIXING TIPS:
http://www.ocularstudio.com/visual-aid-art-mixing
 
I've been meaning to post something useful in here for a while now but never got round to it. So heres my input.

1st off you need to decide what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) you want to use. There is plenty of options out there for you to choose, so the best way to decide which one is right for you, is to go and grab the demo's of each of them and give them a try. Don't worry if you choose FL Studio, and everyone you speak to uses Ableton or Logic, it really doesnt matter, as they all do the same thing essentially, it's just how they are presented to you that differs, so going with the one you feel most at ease with is the right choice.

Now, once you have your DAW, you are set to start making some beats. If you really are at the start of your production journey, then at this point I really wouldnt worry about what synth's or samples you need to be getting, as most DAW's come pre packed with a few synth's and basic samples to get you started. They may sound like shit, but for now it's about learning how to get beats made. Once you are more confident in building a simple drum loop or sound, then you can venture out into the big wide world and acquire more resources.

Also, something I must point out, is this....If you are asking around on here, or any other forum how to do something, and someone responds using some technical terminology you arent familiar with, dont feel disheartened, EQ'ing, Compressing, Phasing, Mixdowns etc are all something you will build a knowledge of over time. If you are serious about production, then you'll be in it for the long haul, and gradually the technical side of things will become easier. For now, just spend your time focusing on how to get those rythyms from your head, into real time audio.

As others have said before, youtube is the best resource for learning production. There are an unlimited amount of tutorials on youtube that cover the real basics of just getting started, right through to some of the really advanced technical stuff. Just type in the name of your DAW and then whatever it is you want to learn, chances are you'll have a good choice of video's to watch. Also, while we are discussing the learning aspect of it, go grab yourself a copy of Computer Music magazine, or Future Music magazine once a month from your local newsagents. Each month you get a dvd disc with a whole heap of royalty free samples, free synth's, Masterclasses with professional big name producers, and tutorials. In the magazine, there's always walkthrough's on creating different sounds, building different genres of music and some helpful Q&A's too.

So this should be enough to get you started. I'll come back soon and add more....
 
Something i have picked up on recently and im really starting to notice it more....

There really isnt any point in just trying to sign 2 tunes for one release on 1 label.

Your release comes and goes and unless you've got another release lined up people will forget who you are pretty quickly (unless you are a supasta producer)

So my next advice would be, perfect your skill and make sure you have between 10 and 20 tunes finished and ready to be signed/mastered/released.

Then send em out to various label and try and get about 4/5 releases lined up straight away. Then whilst the label is worrying about the promo for your releases, you can concentrate on the next 10 to 20 tunes and repeat the process.

Unless your tunes really are just god awfull you'll build up a fanbase and quick as you will always be popping up in the featured/new releases sections on all the shops. Familiarity is a brilliant tool to use to your advantage.

Dear god this doesnt mean make a tune, delete the bassline, make another tune with template... i mean make and finish 10 to 20 tunes, this could take years, but aslong as their finished and you're happy with em send em out...
 
guys... how do you accurately change the tempo of a loop etc to match the song? i use logic and say i found a house loop of hats that i really enjoy-simple no shuffle or anything but its at 128 and my tempo is 180. i cant just time stretch cos it fucks the dynamics up and the only other thing would be to chop it up but is there not an easy more effective way?
 
guys... how do you accurately change the tempo of a loop etc to match the song? i use logic and say i found a house loop of hats that i really enjoy-simple no shuffle or anything but its at 128 and my tempo is 180. i cant just time stretch cos it fucks the dynamics up and the only other thing would be to chop it up but is there not an easy more effective way?

Not really the best thread to be asking in... Ask in main production section.

(Still... try Flex Timing it)
 
yea I gotta agree some samples 'turdy-ness' has actually been a plus for using when layering etc

I'd say that rule only applies to the main kick n snare, strive to get them sounding crisp and your away!

Also just to add to the this, I would have to urge any beginners who think they have made a 'banger' to just compare that track in the mix with something of a similar style. If you find its missing something or doesn't sound quite right then go back to the drawing board. Its a bad idea sending out stuff that isn't up to par, there's plenty of competition out there so at least get it sounding as close as you can. Remember your name is technically a brand and you will have to work double hard to try impress people if you send stuff out too early!


This bit of advice should be the first thing that new producers are taugh in any genre. Make sure you compare your tune with another tune as you're making it. Benchmark. That doesn't mean rip it off, it just means to listen to its sonic make up and style. Of course innovate, but think of how everything fits together and whether your song works as a piece of music.

If you do that properly, you will release fairly polished music.
 
Hey there, this was quite helpful but I struggle with putting everything together and creating my own loops etc. Could anyone spare a little bit of time to help me or even show me some tutorials on how to put together a drum and bass track?
Thanks!
 
Hey there, this was quite helpful but I struggle with putting everything together and creating my own loops etc. Could anyone spare a little bit of time to help me or even show me some tutorials on how to put together a drum and bass track?
Thanks!

I don't really do DnB, but experimentation is the name of the game. Go through the loops that you have and pick out some break beats. Then cut them up and pick out a few different sounds from each. Either load them into a sampler or arrange them on the audio track (by copying and pasting) until you've got a decent background beat that you like. The best way to go about that is to start with a kick and snare from a library (not cut from a breakbeat, yet), and get your basic kick and snare pattern, with the snare either on 2 and 4 or at half speed on 3. Copy and paste it from bar 1 to bar 2, and then from bars 1-2 to bars 3-4, giving you a 4 measure kick/snare beat. Then loop the first measure and add in parts of your breakbeats until you've got something that works for you. Then copy it to measure 2, and make some adjustments. Then do the same thing you did with the kick/snare to 3-4 until you've got a 4 measure platform to work from. The key is to make sure that no 2 measures are the exact same. Then solo your break beat tracks (or just mute the kick and snare) and add some effects. Then bounce that down to an audio file. Now you've got another break beat to work with. Cut snippets of it out and replace part of your original break beat for measures 5-8 to give it some added variation. Don't forget that you can move things around too. One of the best things you can ever do is keep it simple. Meaning don't over-crowd your mix, and don't over-think a part. Also, don't be afraid to randomly hit the mute button on a track while it's playing, it can lead to a sense of anticipation, especially on a part that has been looping. Once you've got a decent 8 or 16 bar groove going, then it's time to add in that all important bass. Start with presets, and just mess around until you've got something you like. Then modify the preset. Eventually, as you learn how to program your synths, you will be able to just imagine a sound and program it without using a preset. It'll take some time, but that's the only way to truly make it. Otherwise, you'll always be one step behind everyone else in a genre where being cutting edge is absolutely key. Once you've got that all figured out, then it's just a matter of repeating the process to extend the main body of your track: Going from 16 to 32 bars. Copy, paste, variation. Then drop the drums out, or super simplify the pattern, and use a different synth for this part. Then go back into the main body of your track. The key is getting the transitions sounding like they go together, rather than Part A and Part B. Then do the same thing you did with the transitions to create an intro and an ending.

That's it, but obviously very simplified. Throughout the way, you want to experiment. Bounce things down to audio, timestretch them, pitch shift them, add effects, layer them together, create stutters by chopping out equal parts of a sound (every other 32nd note, for instance). It all comes down to personal taste, but experimentation is the name of the game in DnB. Take a sound intended for one thing and use it for another. Timestretch a snare drum or a clap, and add a bunch of delay to it, comb filters, bounce it, then pitch shift it and stretch it some more with more delays and some reverb and a big swooshing phaser and bounce it and reverse it and stretch it yet again, and figure out a way to turn your snare into a pad. Use snippets of a trance synth pitch shifted with the same exhaustive usage of FX and use the result as part of your break beat. Take a bunch of sounds and create a bar from them, and then create variations. That's all you've got to do to create your own loops.
 
First time I've checked this in a long old while!

Hopefully people are gaining things from it?

I think I might do some tutorials for this thread. Maybe make a track from start to finish with some basic shit and moving on to some slightly more productive, advanced stuff?

If people are up for it then I'll do it. Can't be arsed if it's gonna flop and people aren't bothered...

Or maybe do a most requested tutorial? If there's something people really want a tutorial about then I could do something about that? I dunno, just ideas. :)
 
First time I've checked this in a long old while!

Hopefully people are gaining things from it?

I think I might do some tutorials for this thread. Maybe make a track from start to finish with some basic shit and moving on to some slightly more productive, advanced stuff?

If people are up for it then I'll do it. Can't be arsed if it's gonna flop and people aren't bothered...

Or maybe do a most requested tutorial? If there's something people really want a tutorial about then I could do something about that? I dunno, just ideas. :)

More tutorials would be brilliant, if you have the time. (Obviously I'm reading through as much stuff as possible, but having things in one place like this would make it so much easier to find useful info quickly, even if people just link tutorials they particularly liked?)
 
Some of the best advice I can offer to people looking to improve their skills is this:

1.) make lots of loops and mini songs. Don't spend more than a day or two on each one. This will allow you to discover lots of new techniques and experiment more.

2.) After you have tons of loops, choose some of the best ones that go well together and build them into one bigger song.

3.) Focus more on actually writing an original song instead of getting bogged down in the engineering side of it. Of course sound design is important, as is the mixdown, but a greatly produced song with no excitement is boring to listen to.
 
Some of the best advice I can offer to people looking to improve their skills is this:

1.) make lots of loops and mini songs. Don't spend more than a day or two on each one. This will allow you to discover lots of new techniques and experiment more.

2.) After you have tons of loops, choose some of the best ones that go well together and build them into one bigger song.

3.) Focus more on actually writing an original song instead of getting bogged down in the engineering side of it. Of course sound design is important, as is the mixdown, but a greatly produced song with no excitement is boring to listen to.


This is the sort of stuff I've been getting into lately; I set aside about an hour a day to just designing any sort of sound, an hour of literally 1-8 bar melody loop writing, then try to log 2 hours of putting combo's together to make tunes, sometimes stuff happens, sometimes it doesn't.

Sound design and other audio knowledge aspects ARE important, but let's get real, odds are you're trying to recreate a sound (you're just trying to re-invent the wheel, so to speak) that is easily available somewhere else so just find the damn sound in a sample pack and then try and learn to arrange; because that's where 90% of the power of a tune comes from. And if you can't arrange, why even bother trying to recreate the sound in the first place?
 
The samples one is a big one definitely!

I started off making Trance with acoustic kicks and Drum & Bass with Hardstyle claps and shit haha..

But seriously, I still don't know what a 'good' sample is, I just try to make it fit and see what happens :typing:
 
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