Recording your own sounds at home can really make your tracks unique, as if everyone is using the same samples from the same packs, it stands to reason there are going to be similarities in the finished tracks, right?
But how do we go about recording sounds at home (properly)? Do we need to spend a lot of money on a decent microphone and acoustic treatment? Perhaps not...
In the video below, I go through how to make Future Bass chords like Flume, using only the native plugins from within Ableton Live.
I explain the music theory behind the chord progression, and then go into the sound design of those big, sweeping synth chords.
Sometimes analysing how our favourite producer(s) do things is a great way to gain valuable insights that can drastically improve our own productions.
In the video below, we look at how to recreate the chorus from the smash track “Harder featuring Talay Riley” by KSHMR and Tiesto.
What if you’ve got a killer melody or lead line, and you want to work out chords that work with it, but you’re not exactly a maestro on the keyboard? No problem! You don't even need to know any music theory for this.
This is a quick, simple, step-by-step technique you can use to quickly work out awesome chords that work with a pre-written melody or lead...
Have you ever asked your Mum (or your friends) what they think of your tracks?
I know I have…we all do… and there’s a time and a place for it (usually when we want to feel good!), but it won’t help us improve.
Why not? Well, unless your Mum is one cool cat, or your friends are bang into production as much as you, the chances are they simply don’t have the impartial ear of a fellow producer.
How do you stand out when there are SO many tracks being released each week? And you’re not even a professional producer yet?
Well, apart from high quality, the key is to develop your own, unique “signature sound”…the holy grail of music production!
In this post we take a look at:
1. What is a signature sound?
2. Why do you want one?
3. How do you develop your own?
One of the most frustrating parts of music production is getting stuck in a four or eight bar loop.
Over and over it goes….The more you listen to it; the more critical you become – swapping out sounds, melodies or other elements until you get sick of the very tune that you thought was an absolute killer a couple of hours ago (or, it’s changed by all recognition and you’ve lost the original vibe)!
Layering kicks in electronic dance music is a tried and tested way to get control over arguably one of the the most important foundations of your track.
What happens when you LOVE the low-end "thump" of a kick sample, but it just doesn't cut through your mix? Sure, you could swap it for a sample with more high-frequencies, but then you could be sacrificing the bass...
Do you ever get bored with using similar chords all the time, or listen to tracks like “I Remember” by Kaskade and Deadmau5 (absolute classic) and wonder how they write their chords? Maybe you love the deep house vibes of Disclosure?
In this short video, I share the secrets of creating beautiful chords in your music...
Imagine this: You look out over the dance floor, the crowd is loving the tune, you’re loving the tune and everyone’s on the same level. This is bliss, and the tension & energy are building. They know it’s coming; you know it’s coming, you wait…wait…wait…then POW! The drop comes in and the room goes crazy.
That is the best feeling in the world, and it's what I love so much about Electronic Dance Music (and DJing); the excitement, the energy and the insane goosebumps. So, what is it that causes those peaks of excitement, and keeps our interest engaged?