SNAM on Electronic Music Production For Beginners

Interview with Robotaki (Producer & Remix Artist / Soundmaker :P)

1.     What do you love about EDM production?

EDM production is great because it is very progressive, and every corner of EDM is constantly being explored by new producers. This can be attributed to the large number of genres and styles that EDM has been sorted into.  It’s very relieving to know that just by manipulating synthetic instruments and exploring new rhythms, I will be able to cater to a certain audience who will enjoy listening to the music.  There are many advantages to EDM production as a process as well.  The implementation of MIDI protocol allows the same degree of interaction an acoustic instrument perfomer would have.  The EDM production community is quite welcoming as well overall, and much more approachable to newcomers.

2.     When did you first start producing music?

Back in Grade 10 when I was 16 years old.

3.     What hardware and software did you use as a beginner, and what do you use now?

I began producing using FL Studio and whichever version was present at the time.  Since then, I have experimented with other DAWs like Reason and Ableton Live, but I simply cannot detach myself from the amazing Piano Roll FLS has to offer.  For that reason, I use it to this day.

4.     Do you think hardware/software makes a big difference?

Once upon a time, I overemphasized the role of hardware because there were sounds I simply could not emulate.  However, software is immensely powerful these days.  Emulations of old analog synthesizers are increasingly more accurate - audio junkies themselves have heated debates over whether analog emulations are spot on in timbre and quality.  For me, I no longer think there is such a great difference between hardware and software.  Whatever makes great music makes great music!

5.     What tools on your DAW do you use the most?

The Arturia synth pack, the inbuilt 3xosc with FL Studio, and the various factory FX available.

6.     How do you start a new project?

It really varies, but a tried and true method is to start with a simple beat and to layer on a chord progression using full sustain and no release/decay pads.  From there, the rhythmic aspects come and the real synthetic manipulation happens.  Melody is the last thing I worry about since it is often the most difficult.  The melody that you find yourself whistling to yourself is the best one to use.

7.     What would you say are the top five most important things for a producer to know?

1. Keep true to your style and put less weight on what is popular at the time.

2. Production quality comes second to innovation and aesthetics to the listener, and therefore it should be the same for producers.

3. Music production should not be too formulaic and rigid - if you have confidence in your sound, it will grow and change just as you will a person.

4. Hold on to some inherent idea of what sounds good and what doesn’t; without this, production will be blind.

5. Don’t tinker too much with a “finished” production! Don’t let comments after you’ve finished something be the reason you go back and change something.

8.     What is the most difficult thing about electronic music production?

The most difficult thing about electronic music production is something that isn’t unique to EDM - having confidence in yourself and your sound.  As a said, there are so many genres and styles out there, you’ll be hard pressed to be satisfied with any final product.  However, you have to be confident that what is unique to your sound will get recognized by listeners.

9.     What is one way to improve as a producer?

Haha. If I could answer that question, I wouldn’t be improving myself.  I can, however, tell you how you can hinder yourself from improving as a producer.  Settling on something that works will slow the whole thing down.  Improvement happens naturally with experimentation.

10.  What would you tell someone who is just starting off in music production?

Find an inspirational sound and strive to emulate it. It’s a great way to start off, and naturally your sound will deviate and become something of its own.  Don’t get discouraged by something you don’t understand.  Music production is a process that involves consistent learning.

11.  Anything else you’d like to say about music production?

The only thing I can say is never stop loving music.  That alone is enough motivation to want to produce it.

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Check out Robotaki! »

http://www.facebook.com/RobotakiMusic

http://soundcloud.com/robotaki/

http://robotaki.tumblr.com/

Check out another interview of Robotaki for Disorder Magazine! »

(download link under photo) click HERE!

Interview with Uplifted (Mashup Producer)

1.     What do you love about EDM production?

If you chart the pace of technological advancement over the past century or so, it’s undeniable that electronics are evolving very quickly. This is exciting because technology affects and protrudes into almost every aspect of our lives—including music. ‘Electronic’ Dance Music is a genre that is heavily contingent on technology, and forward-thinking types of ‘perfected’ music have resulted—perfectly spaced beats per minute, perfect vocals that are edited and refined, perfectly timed melodies, perfect equalization and mastering, etc., all due to machines that can do what humans cannot. The turntable has also progressed significantly and now it can shift pitch, loop perfectly, automatically beat match, and do all kinds of groovy effects with a simple twist of a knob. Better technology leads to easier and more frequent experimentation, which often leads into accidental discoveries of entirely new genres. Recent notables have included Dubstep, Moombahton and Glitch Hop.

I also love dancing myself silly.

2.     When did you first start producing music?

Around July 2011, I purchased Logic Pro and Traktor Pro alongside the Deadmau5 xfer samples and various plugins. I’ve so far used them to make feature-length mixes and mashups, but I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on a keyboard and begin producing seriously.

3.     Do you think hardware/software makes a big difference?

Yes and no. If one has enough talent, he or she should be able to create astounding tracks with limited hardware/software. Arty is famously known for producing his first tracks on a program called Fruity Loops (now known as FL Studio), which a lot of snobs commonly deem to be pretty lowly for music production. At the same time, there’s no question that high quality hardware/software provides the user with delectable synths, drum kits, effects, mastering tools, sound cards, etc., that would otherwise be painstaking to replicate on their lower quality counterparts.

4.     What tools on your DAW do you use the most?

Logic’s mastering tools: the multipressor (multi-channel compressor) and the limiter. My favorite is the goniometer, but that’s just fancy looking and pretty much useless.

5.     What would you say are the top five most important things for a producer to know?

1. God is in the details.

2. Drugs are very common in the EDM scene, but that should not pressure you to use them yourself.

3. Your track sounds vastly different depending on the hardware you’re using (headphones, PA speakers, computer speakers, car speakers, etc.). Be sure to account for that when producing your final draft! 

4. Receiving constant peer feedback. Have your friends, experienced or inexperienced alike, tell you what they think before putting out your final product. What you think sounds ‘good’ may not necessarily sound the same to every other listener. 

5. Be sure that your body is feeling the music as much as your mind. EDM is a dance genre!

6.     What is the most difficult thing about electronic music production?

Knowing when to stop. Just like a painting, you can always add one last ‘stroke’ to your production. Details are to be added everywhere, so it’s easy to get carried away and overload a song that would be better without the extra baggage. Less is often more, and don’t forget that your track can be remixed or re-edited way after its release.

7.     What is one way to improve as a producer?

Actively listen to as many songs and live sets as possible. Countless new, bangin’ tracks are churned out nonstop on Beatport, Soundcloud, iTunes, and a plethora of EDM blogs—thanks to the Internet. All EDM genres are continually shifting so it’s quite impossible to know everything there is to music production. Every new song, when properly analyzed, can provide inspiration.

8.     What would you tell someone who is just starting off in music production?

Make music you love, not music that others love. Also have three buttloads of fun.

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Check out UPLIFTED! »

http://www.facebook.com/Uplifted.Music

http://soundcloud.com/uplifted

Promote Yourself!

Finally, you have something you can share with the rest of the music producing / music-appreciating community! When it comes to getting heard/known in music, networking is the most convenient and quickest way to climb your way to the top. I strongly recommend getting to know as many different producers at all different levels, as they could end up becoming most helpful to you in learning more about producing and developing your sound. Where can you meet these people? On sites like Soundcloud.com! This is where I first started to upload my beginning productions, not really for publicizing my music, but to receive feedback. This is also another source for you to use when you need some other ears to give your production a listen. On Soundcloud, you’ll find an incredible range of producers of original tracks, remixes, mashups, and so on. Many famous artists, DJs, and producers can be found here, but are usually harder to get in touch with the more well-known they are.

Mastering

Audio mastering is the final step of the music production process that heavily scrutinizes all technical aspects of recorded audio, preparing it for publication, duplication and commercialization. Mastering in music is analogous to creating a final draft in writing.

Assuming that the finalized audio will be analyzed and critiqued by listeners other than yourself, audio mastering demands a high level of active and experienced listening. A mastering engineer must consider the fact that EDM tracks are played on a wide variety of playback systems such as small ear buds, studio monitors, car speakers, and loudspeakers in bars, lounges and clubs. One of the most common mistakes is to master a track to sound perfect on one sound system and completely overlook its effect on another. A recording that sounds perfectly fine on your laptop speakers may feature an insufficient amount of bass on your headphones.

Although there are an enormous number of mastering techniques available through a many programs, the four major ones consist of noise reduction, audio equalization, compression, and limiting. This tutorial will focus on the specific tools available in Logic Pro 9, but it should be noted that there are a multitude of other mastering software out there such as FL Studio, Presonous Studio One, Pro tools, and Steinberg Cubase.

The first two mastering techniques—noise reduction and audio equalization—comprise the tools for basic volume control. If you’d like to increase the raw power of your bass kick, or emphasize the words of a female vocalist, you would use Logic’s Channel EQ function. In order to do this, click on the respective channel you would like control on the left hand side, typically labeled Audio 1, Audio 2, and so on. Once you have your channel highlighted, double-click the gray EQ box. A Channel EQ window should open up, displaying frequency levels on the horizontal axis and decibel levels on the vertical axes. What this allows is for certain frequencies of the track to be emphasized more than others. The left hand side consist of the lowest frequencies (longest wavelengths), and thus control the bass levels The left-hand side consists of the lowest frequencies (longest wavelengths) and thus control the bass levels, while the middle controls the mid-range frequencies—usually vocals and certain synth leads—and right-hand side controls the high frequencies, usually hi-hats and squeaky synths that add a certain sharpness to the sound.

With the Channel EQ tool, you could either choose to adjust each frequency’s strength manually or use one of Logic’s preset EQ levels. Such include the Jazz Snare EQ, Grand Piano EQ, Muted Trumpet EQ, Male Lead Vocal EQ, ‘Add Brightness,’ and the list goes on. A master volume control is also in the Channel EQ box, which essentially raises and lowers the levels of all frequency levels, resulting in a heightening or lowering of overall volume.

Sampling

What I love about sampling is that it plays a huge role in any kind of creation. Even in visual arts, sampling happens all the time, whether it is intentional or not. An extreme case of sampling (as I learned in class) is plunderphonics, a term coined by John Oshwald, that is thought of as something like a sound collage. By taking pieces of audio or music that already exists, you can create a new composition. In essence, you can incorporate raw wav samples, manipulate them, chop them up and use them to produce your own sound. The best way to master sampling is just to experiment!

To cut up an audio sample, right click and select “Split” then “Split by Playhead.”

Volume Control

The most basic function on Logic is volume control. By clicking “a,” the tracks open up to reveal volume control. On the left, the yellow bar indicates the volume of each separate track, and you can control each one individually. By clicking on the track’s MIDI region, you can create volume changes throughout a track and different volume curves. This is how most songs “fade in” and “fade out.” On the left column, where all the tracks are labeled, you should see a small triangle on the bottom left of each track. By clicking this (while in volume control), you can extend the volume information of that track. This allows you to take your volume control to the next level. On the very left of the Logic window, you should see the mixer for the selected track. By double clicking the EQ box, you’ll activate the EQ control. Going back to the volume control that branched out from the main track, you can determine the volume for specific frequencies. For example, if I click on the bar that says “Volume” in yellow, a drop window should appear with “1 Channel EQ.” This branches out into a more extensive drop window listing all the different options you can control. “Low shelf gain” is what I use most frequently when mixing or mashing two audio tracks that both play bass parts. To prevent the bass or lower frequencies to sound too overpowering, I simply turn down the volume of the Low Shelf Gain. You can continue to create more specific volume control tracks by clicking the triangular arrow on the bottom left of each track. You can also manually control the EQ by double clicking the EQ box on the left and adjust the different levels (although I find this more difficult to do).

Starting in Logic Pro 9

Open up Logic Pro. You can choose a project template you’d like to begin working with, such as R&B, Electronic, or Hip Hop. You also have the option of opening an empty project, but as a beginner in Logic, I find it easier to open a project that has already been set up and just work from there. That way, you have a set of instruments and tracks ready for you to work on. (Plus, you can always tweak the sounds of the existing instruments and/or add effects.)

Tempo

One of the first things you want to set up is the tempo of your track. Most typical EDM (Electronic Dance Music) songs are 128 BPM (Beats Per Minute) or range from 190 BPM to 132 BPM. To adjust tempo settings, go to Options (at the top toolbar), Tempo, then click Tempo Operations. Usually, you want to have a constant tempo rather than a tempo curve, so change the setting to “Create a constant tempo” and type in the BPM that you want. Then click apply. You can always go back and change the tempo later (although this could interfere with decisions you make in the producing/editing process).

When I first started using Logic as my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), I didn’t have a lot of the presets and plug-ins that come with the full package, so I started off mostly by using samples. There is no right or wrong way to start producing. Everyone works in their own way, but the simplest method, in my opinion, is to lay down the sketch of a beat, starting with the kick drum, the snare drum, then the high hats and other percussive sounds. Next, I create a MIDI region for 4 or 8 or 16 measures/bars to put down a basic chord progression, over which I would start layering other instruments and melody lines. To create a MIDI region, simply right click where you want it to be and select “Create Empty MIDI Region.” Sometimes, I start with the chord progression, and other times with the melody line. Even a loop or sample can inspire a track! Play around on Logic for a while, and soon you will find out how you work best. (There is no set formula in music production, and that’s what is so great about it!

On the bottom right hand corner of the MIDI editing region, there are controls for zooming in and out vertically and horizontally to get a closer look at the MIDI or audio regions for more detailed and precise editing and arranging. With a track pad, this can be done using two fingers and spreading them apart or bringing them closer.

Using the loop function can make it a lot easier to start off. By clicking and dragging the bar at the top (where the measures are marked off and number), you can loop a section so that it plays over and over. (This section should be highlighted green if the loop function is on.) A shortcut for turning this on and off is ‘c.’

For more on keyboard shortcuts, click here.

Hardware

Another important aspect to music production is making sure you have the equipment that will help you perform at your best. It helps to have a decent set of speakers available while you work or a pair of mixing headphones, such as the KRK KNS6400 (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KNS6400/), which are cheap, reliable, and great for starters. With headphones like this as your output device (if speakers are more difficult to come by), you can be sure that you are hearing sounds accurately. The lower frequencies and bass sounds are what usually sound the most different on speaker versus headphones. I personally recommend against getting Dr. Dre’s Beats for producing music since they do not produce “real” sound. In other words, what you hear from these headphones is not what you would hear through monitoring headphones or speakers. What I noticed about the Beats is that the bass is exaggerated, and the active noise cancellation further intensifies the sound of the bass, which masks some of the other sounds. (Yes, Beats do look awesome though.) I am not, however, here to tell you which headphones are right for you. That is something you’ll eventually discover on your own. One of the producers I met through Soundcloud said to me: “The hardware isn’t really as important as the idea because your ears will adjust to whichever headphones your are using. After getting used to any pair, you’ll know how to make something sound just right.”

Audio Terminology

Before getting into the actual producing on Logic, it’s important to get familiar with a few basic terms and concepts in audio. I will go over the most common terms briefly prior to jumping into Logic Pro. If you’re just starting out in sound or taking an Intro to Sound class, you’ll find it extremely helpful to know these terms.

Sound is basically a waveform (longitudinal wave), created by a vibration that allows us to hear it. One wavelength is like one cycle of sound, which repeats itself. The amplitude is the height of the wavelength, which determines how loud it is. The higher the amplitude, the louder the sound is. This is where clipping comes in. When recording, if the microphone sensitivity is high or if the recorded sound is too close or too loud, clipping occurs. This is when a sound exceeds the recording capacity and gets ‘clipped’ at the top and bottom of the audio sample and plateaus at the top. This results in poor recording quality. Clipping is something you want to avoid in any recording situation. One way to prevent this is to adjust the microphone sensitivity level and record at a low level since you can always bring up the gain later.

Timbre (tonal quality or tone color), pronounced ‘tamber,’ is the quality of a sound, tone or musical note that differentiates the source of the sound, from different musical instruments, voices, etc. This is how you tell apart the sound of a piano from the sound of a violin, even if they are playing notes at the same pitch and same loudness. (As technology advances, software gets closer to mimicking the timbre of analog sounds.)

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard way of communication between musical instruments and computers, the key to how we are able to produce sounds digitally as opposed to analogically. The area in which you lay down notes and arrange them is called the MIDI region. MIDI keyboards and mixers are commonly used as external tools to help make the production process easier and more convenient. The same can be done on any DAW on the piano roll through musical typing (the computer keyboard as the input device) or by drawing in the notes manually. (I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I usually draw in my notes to get them aligned and positioned perfectly.)

Commonly known audio effects or plug-ins are reverb, modulation, delay, filter, etc. Reverb adds a quality to the sound that makes it seem like it’s being heard in a large spacious room (natural reverb occurs when sounds bounce off the walls and objects). Within modulation, there are effects like chorus, flanger, phaser, and tremolo (the more commonly used ones), which are useful in creating different qualities in the sounds.

Stereo vs. Mono. Both of these terms refer to output. Stereo consists of two channels, left and right. Most of the time, you want to work in stereo (adds another layer to your sound). Mono is a one-channel output.

For more on audio terminology, click here.