I would say you make life way too complicated.

3 "tips"

1 - Focus
2 - finish
3 - be proud of results

There are very few producers in the world who are WTHIWTM (What they hear is what they make) keep on spamming the boards with your results and someone will pickup....

___________________
Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

I understand, I agree. I'm just looking for a little direction here, which you did offer. Really, I just want to know how helpful it would be to get a true professional to teach me exactly what I need to know (because they know exactly what I want to do.) Not just in terms of synthesis, but Ableton Live as a whole plus that. I'm also concerned about chord progressions. I do not know much about scales and chords, and I while I've read basics, I have not found anything that talks about transitioning from one scale to another which I *believe* could improve writing abilities tremendously.

___________________
Please send your demos to [email protected]
For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/olympikrecords

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I have not found anything that talks about transitioning from one scale to another which I *believe* could improve writing abilities tremendously.

About 99% of all trance tracks are written in the natural minor scale, it is all you really need to know.
You do not need anything more than those 7 notes for this kind of music.

So i would advice you to simple learn all the progressions, notes and chords for that scale fully before you start doing complex stuff like shifting keys etc.

___________________


http://soundcloud.com/subtara

my "dummies" approach: Play a bassline, find chord variations on your bassline, play a melody over it. and arrange the heck out of it.

Theory is handy, but dare to experiment, if it sounds good, it sounds good. and remember a chord can mean many things depending on the scale.

___________________
Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle So i would advice you to simple learn all the progressions, notes and chords for that scale fully before you start doing complex stuff like shifting keys etc.

Shifting keys isn't hard, I do it all the time. What's difficult and not heard often (in general) is modulating to a different tonic. But, say, using A minor in your "intro" and then A major for the main melody, and then bring in your minor line again, that would work fine. Makes for a really nice contrast. But if you want to do that, proper arrangement is crucial or else it'll sound dumb.

Edit:
Get a MoPho.

___________________
Youtube || Soundcloud || Synth Patch Banks

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I do not know much about scales and chords, and I while I've read basics, I have not found anything that talks about transitioning from one scale to another which I *believe* could improve writing abilities tremendously.

A key change isn't magic. If you can't write a decent song without it, it's not going to make things any better.

The magic of music is in between the notes.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

I started about 9 months ago with zero music theory knowledge at all. Honestly the best advice anyone can give you is listen. You're a dj as well, you hear tracks you like all the time. Hear what they are doing in their progressions and then go to ableton and recreate that progression, eventually it will become second nature.

It still hasn't become THAT simple for me, it still takes me more time to get the same thing a very experienced producer will get. But I have also had a ridiculous amount of computer problems to where I'm learning things and then relearning them when my equipment is working correctly when I get it back from the shop. One thing you have to do is pick between dj'ing and producing. I don't mean pick one and drop the other. I mean pick which one you're going to concentrate on and then put that above the other. You just can't do both full bore ESPECIALLY while running a label and holding a regular job.

Just my two cents. Be headstrong, you'll get what and where you want. Fuck up these idiot clowns making trash (and making money off of it lol). That's how I see it. There's very few producers making GOOD trance, there are big leaks in almost every big producers skills. Also and this goes for dj'ing and production but study those leaks they have so that you know what NOT to do. That will put you in the top percentile alone by itself.

And once you do get there, don't settle for your first good result with a track. Let it sit, come back to it, this is how magic happens most of the time imo. A lot of big producers will say most of the big hits will come very quickly. I call bullshit. If that's the case, those can be made even better if they were patient with their work and made some changes after letting it sit.

I'll probably get flamed for this post but fuck it my opinion, nobody said it was fact

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle About 99% of all trance tracks are written in the natural minor scale, it is all you really need to know. You do not need anything more than those 7 notes for this kind of music.

So you're advising him to just stick to writing music the same way everyone else does?

I also use Ableton Live, which I love, but I gotta tell ya, at the end of the month I can upgrade something also. And I am really also interested in ni maschine, I mean, to be able to use it without looking at your computer is what really turns me on, plus you can also use it as a vst in Live, so I am really digging it. But, the mopho seems really sweet too. As far as theory, man, there is sooo much free info on the net including these very forums and youtube, IMO if you would be willing to spend time learning from a "pro", you could just as easily just research and learn on your own and ask people more questions on here, maybe someone will start putting more tutorials on here. You could also read mags like Computer Music, all this stuff is what got me where I am, and I love all on TA who have actually helped out with the tutorials and such. If I were you, I would upgrade your studio for something that will improve your workflow, just my opinion, but hey, what do I know

___________________
www.soundcloud.com/timestretcher

Maschine is a terrible idea. I can't imagine its going to play well from inside another DAW. Apparently you have to use program changes in ableton to alter which loop your playing in the maschine VST Archaic way of working.

How about just practicing some more. Listen to different types of music and try and get your production as good as some of the guys who are doing good work atm. Trentemoller and Apparat come to mind as producers who's productions are tight. Theres very little of that attention to detail in trance now IMO. If you were to buy a synth I reckon the prophet 08 or a waldorf is the way to go...

___________________
New Mix: March 2010 Promo
Soundcloud|Facebook