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My situation, your opinion
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| Stephen Wiley |
Hear ye Hear ye! (I'm talking to all you bored people at work reading this. Don't forget to reply!)
Ok, so this is what I have along with what I *think* I need. I wanted to post it here for others to see, because I have some money to buy an upgrade, and well by god that's what I want to do.
I would say my strongest point right now is understanding frequencies, amplitude, and sound manipulation and the importance of cutting frequencies and if needed, boosting them. I feel like I have a really good ability to manipulate frequencies and get instruments to sit and sound where they need to be, both in tracking and album mastering. That being said, I still need to get better with my device chains and continue to experiment and understand how they all relate to each other. I feel like it's an endless process. Do I have presets that I love? Sure, but I constantly keep finding different things that I love.
I've really been hitting compression and chorus hard and the light bulb is coming on for those effects and its such a good feeling. Anyway, my desire is the same as anybody elses here. I have a strong desire to write the greatest music possible. The only difference I would probably throw in is I have a very very strong desire to understand frequencies isolation and manipulation to the point of "GrandMaster," which, arguably comes with the ground when wanting to design such great music. But not all composers are great engineers.....
So here's what I got...
"Production" Gear
2 good computers
Ableton + VSTs + Samples = Covered (Not interested in buying anymore right now, still trying to learn the ones I have)
Novation Compact Remote SL 49 (love it)
Yamaha HS-80 Studio Monitors running TRS
ESI JULI@ Sound Card (Love it)
Sony MDR 7506 (I use these primarily when my lazy ass doesn't want to get out of bed and instead write music on my laptop)
Here's where I am at in terms of production skills, knowledge, and desire. I know my way around Ableton fairly well, I understand substractive synthesis (always trying to improve), learning FM8 much quicker than I thought, and feel fairly comfortable from the writing aspect of things outside of chord progressions, although I do know the important and highly used ones.
My headphones are fairly worn and could use an upgrade, but they are serviceable. I was thinking about getting another pair of headphones, but I remember reading review after review after review that the Sony MDR 7506 was just a mind blower for its price. I wouldn't mind dropping $250 on a pair of cans if they were noticeably and decidedly better. (A flash back of an article I read preferring the 7506 over a $2,000 pair of cans comes to my head)...So headphones are somewhat of a priority....
I'm also interested in possibly adding a piece of hardware. I've got one MIDI I/O available along with USB, and even though I said I was set on the VST's, I wouldn't mind having something to play with.
Have looked at Dave smith instruments - Mopho
I've looked at the NI MASCHINE and it looks tempting, so that is a thought.
And, here is the curve ball idea. Online audio training. I know there are some "commercial" sites out there, but I actually got connected with somebody who is a genuine pro who knows way, way too much who I think will help me. $40 an hour for 1 on 1 sessions that include homework. He says he thinks he can have me where I need to be in 3 sessions. (Hard to believe....and tempting) And NO, this is not a promotion. Just wondering your thoughts on this service.
http://theonlineaudioschool.com/Welcome.html
OK so that's all I can think of for now...if you think I have missed something then throw it out there |
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| Raphie |
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.... |
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| Stephen Wiley |
| 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. |
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| Subtle |
| 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. |
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| Raphie |
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. |
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| alanzo |
| 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. |
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| Beatflux |
| 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. |
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| mfitterer1 |
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. 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 bull. 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 it my opinion, nobody said it was fact:) |
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| Domesticated |
| 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? |
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| Lucidity |
| 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 ;) |
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| kitphillips |
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:haha: 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... |
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