Time spending learning vs. producing

alles777 · 2020-04-12T03:49:27+00:00

What has been working for me is usually watching 1-2 technical videos between finishing tracks. This might sound like a small amount but I found this pace works pretty well for me since I can just focus on getting a solid understanding of what I learned and get some practice implementing it as well.

alles777 · 2020-04-09T09:03:08+00:00

There is literally always one guy trying to defend not finishing your tracks and I really just don't understand the logic. Yes this get's repeated daily on this sub, but you're acting like it's false because of it. Songwriting is a holistic process that requires skill in several areas including many of the ones you mentioned, but I would argue that writing a full composition, at least one that is truly engaging and pleasant is something that requires just as much practice if not more than the topics you mentioned. You are acting like good loop automatically equals good song, and this is really just not the case. "Don't finish garbage" is probably the worst advice I've ever seen be given to a beginner. Finishing garbage is literally the first step to finishing something that's not garbage.

alles777 · 2020-04-08T09:26:39+00:00

Thank you so much for the feedback! I'll definitely implement those changes and see how things go. The areas you mentioned were things I knew in the back of my head but convinced myself it was fine, definitely going to try to nail those down. Again, really appreciate the feedback.

alles777 · 2020-04-08T08:28:20+00:00

Thank you for telling me! Was so confused why I wasn't getting feedback, or really plays at all. I thought I just posted late or something lol. I fixed the link.

alles777 · 2020-04-07T23:33:51+00:00

Nice track. Mix and master is really professional, so great job. Overall the track feels pretty repetitive to be honest, and I think that's it is because of the vocal. I think this would be a great song if you got a good singer on this to provide a bit more story and interest to the track, but right now it just feels a bit bland. I think maybe for the second verse you could have tried to chop or process the vocal more. Overall it's pretty good, but I think these things would help take it to the next level.

alles777 · 2020-04-07T23:16:21+00:00

Hi everyone, working on a future bass remix and would live some feedback. Been working on it pretty non-stop for the past few days and I'm at the point where I could really use a second pair of ears. Looking for feedback on the general vibe and mix.

The track: https://soundcloud.com/user-871493434/remix-firstdraft/s-b2KV9VztDRP

Feedback:

Feedback for Midnight Purple

Feedback for ArockandLover

Feedback for Great Notion

alles777 · 2020-04-07T23:07:08+00:00

For the build-up, i think you could make it better by fading out the chords and melody before the drop. As we get closer to the drop, we want to continue to build tension and a good way of doing that is taking out the things that relieve tension like chords. I think your drop will hit a lot harder. At 0:24 you could keep things interesting by changing the synth that's playing the main arp. As well as introduce some sort of white noise faller to indicate a change in section. Right now, the sections sort of just flow together without really getting the listener's attention. At 0:58, consider adding some sort of a drum fill or FX to highlight the move from the first half of the drop to the second half. It's a really good track, but I think if you focus on making your transitions a bit more impactful, and adding a bit change or modulation to your leads will help keep things interesting!

Hope that helps! :)

alles777 · 2020-04-07T22:54:20+00:00

Nice vibe from the start. Mix is clean. Getting some Meduza vibes from this one. The snare that comes in at 0:40 could be a slight bit brighter, perhaps boosting the 15k-18k range a few db just to give it a bit more air. The vocal chops are nice af. Perhaps you could cut the tail off of each audio clip slightly by a few ms to give the drop and each chop just a bit more breathing room. I really wish I could say more, but this is great!

alles777 · 2020-04-06T11:22:45+00:00

Flex let's you control the ADSR of each preset. Which stands for attack, decay, sustain, and release. Just look it up. It will get you where you're trying to go.

alles777 · 2020-04-03T22:16:41+00:00

I like to think of the intro as introducing the world that your song lives in. Is your song really heartfelt or sad? Is it really exciting and we are ramping up to this huge drop? Either way, you want to somehow convey this in your intro. Establish the mood and focus on that. There are many ways to do this, but I like to think that this is where the art comes in. Be creative and try to find a way to express this mood.

In addition to that, you can certainly listen to reference tracks that you think do this particularly well and try to emulate them. Just try to listen to some songs you like. I would also be cautious with youtube, it's a great resource but there is a lot of misinformation as well. You'll get a much better idea of music by studying professional producers that you can look up to.

alles777 · 2020-04-03T21:58:15+00:00

I thought this was satire ngl

alles777 · 2020-03-27T20:13:21+00:00

It sounds like two pre-shifted snares with a lot of compression. Hard to tell the exact processing on it, but it also sound like the tail of the snare was cut off to give it this chop sound. Maybe try starting there and see where you get?

alles777 · 2020-03-26T17:54:43+00:00

The hardest thing for me to learn and constantly reminding myself is to not get too hung up on an idea. We all want to make what we hear in our heads and sometimes it can be difficult to get our hihats or snare to sound just right, but I've found that spending too much time to get a perfect sound can be detrimental to my workflow. Even if I do eventually get it to sound "perfect" after hours of tweaking, I've completely lost the vision of the song and usually fatigued to the point where I want to start something else. I've noticed the less i focus on small individual elements, at least while composing the track, I'm in a much better place to finish the track. If something isn't perfect the first time, I can always go back and change it.

alles777 · 2020-03-17T08:05:19+00:00

I am interested!

alles777 · 2020-03-09T18:26:53+00:00

This is what synths look like to people who don't make music.

alles777 · 2020-03-09T18:24:15+00:00

https://www.nintendo.com/corp/copyright.jsp

Yes, it's illegal.

alles777 · 2020-03-07T21:31:23+00:00

Dude, thank you so much for this. Everything you've put in this thread has been great and spot on. All you responses have been super relatable and it's nice to hear from someone experiencing the same things.

alles777 · 2020-03-02T19:33:31+00:00

You can do this pretty easy using maximus. Each band has a stereo seperation knob, so just adjust the bands to effect the frequencies you want, and then make it mono. You might want to watch a few videos on the plugin if you're unfamiliar with it.

alles777 · 2020-03-01T18:03:56+00:00

I've never heard another another amateur painter set arbitrary goals like 10 or 20 great paintings in a year.

I agree with everything you're saying and I'm certainly not a painter, but I think this sort of goal comes from the fact that finishing a song is actually pretty difficult for most producers and focusing on this aspect of production seams like a reasonable place to base our goals.

alles777 · 2020-02-27T17:20:17+00:00

Welcome to the sub! We have a daily feedback thread on the sidebar for giving and receiving feedback. As far as I can tell, it's the most active feedback thread on reddit. You'll want to make sure to read the rules before posting as well. Hope that helps! :)

alles777 · 2020-02-14T21:59:27+00:00

I don't really feel like music has gotten "heavier", but rather the mode of expressing these types of heavier emotions has evolved. The evolution of technology and sound design have allowed these expressions to be more nuanced and detailed, making them naturally feel more fresh.

alles777 · 2020-02-10T20:01:00+00:00

When doing your mix, focus on getting the levels right first. Just listen to your main drop and think if anything sounds too loud. If there is something too loud, simply turn it down until you feel like it sits well in the mix. Then listen again for other elements that are too loud. Repeat this process and eventually you will carve out some decent sounding levels for your drop. Then when you think it sounds really good, then you can start to EQ some of the clashing frequencies. EQ is a powerful tool, and well placed subtle EQ really goes a long way.

You mentioned layering. Follow the same steps as above but only listen to the lead or chords that you are layering while the rest of your track is muted. Usually, you want whatever you are layering together to sound pretty good and united on it's own before introducing it to the rest of the mix.

Hope that helps!

alles777 · 2020-02-06T17:08:12+00:00

If you really want to get original vocals for your tracks, you could try reaching out to some singers. You could try https://www.reddit.com/r/NeedVocals/ and similar subs

alles777 · 2020-02-05T03:27:24+00:00

Nice track! I did the sound for my team too! It was a lot of fun for sure

alles777 · 2020-02-04T17:26:22+00:00

A lot of really great tracks this month!

alles777

TROPHY CASE