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Kim Lajoie Blog: Don’t make better mixes. Make better music.
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| Eric J |
Nice post on Kim Lajoie's blog today that seems particularly relevant to many EDM producers these days. Oh and if you are not a regular reader of his work, bookmark it. Its surprisingly relevant, especially to newer producers.
http://kimlajoie.wordpress.com/2010...e-better-music/ |
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| Stylz |
| Where can I hear this guys work? |
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| Stephen Wiley |
| i believe he is all bark, no bite |
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| DJ Robby Rox |
He says
"Oh yeah. That sounds like a lot of work. Making music is a lot of work. Cry me a river."
I'm definitely not going to argue that statement. But there are people like me who bust their asses trying to make their music sound better. I'm not a closeminded person and understood 90% of that blog before I even read it.
The problem is I have no frame of reference for ANYTHING. I've never met a competent producer in my life, not a lot of people in my area even really like trance, and when you have to learn everything on your own you wind up wasting too many valuable hours learning nothing. Going through youtube it seems 95% of the on there is utter garbage. I just got done watching a "professional mastering video" that said to throw soundgoodizer on your master. That was the ENTIRE video.
I have to stream through endless heaps of garbage just to find 1 jewel. It seems logical in one respect but it doesn't seem right when you look at the bigger picture.
I found an article on here a few days ago about layering bass sounds and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. In depth, concise, comprehensible, and to the point. I found another article I think beatflux posted about "hit factors" or w/e. ANOTHER great read. But I NEVER find these articles searching the internet on my own. I dont even find these articles in the master tut list. I find endless hours of video that don't apply to me. And you have to watch the entire video before you realize it was a complete waste of time.
And I don't even think its about a certain blog or tut being relevant to a select group of producers, it seems that theres just sooo much information out there thats outright irrelevant no matter what group you fit into. Whether your a newbie or vet, the tuts have no SUBSTANCE to offer.
I've learned everything I know by tuts, time, and practice. The better tuts that I can find, the better I can practice, and the quicker I can learn. But because the internet is full of SO MUCH garbage, it feels like I have to learn at a slower rate simply due to the amount of morons out there. Like how is a tut about layering basses not relevant to everyone? There was pieces of information in that tut that could be used by almost everyone because it had a certain frequency of useful information. I just feel a lot of my problem is not finding information, but finding quality information.
Like that blog was good, I understood what he was saying. But its still at the end of the day a waste of a read. He merely provided examples in an almost freestyle fashion.
Focus on melodies more
Focus on rythm more
Focus on harmony more
really? NO . What the hell does this guy think I do all day? Are producers REALLY that bad... or is he just blowing it out of proportion and providing no real useful information himself?
That entire blog could have been written in 2 words. "Be creative". He really didn't provide one original way to do it. Like please, "alternate between shuffle and straight" "vary syncopation" like does anyone NOT try that in their first year of production?
And the funny thing is I myself don't know about music, but I know enough to realize that so much information out there is just useless. And THAT is truely sad.
Great I'll go do something spectacular now cause I'll focus on preproduction.
I already focus on enough, the last thing I need is more to focus on. I need to sit down with Aly & Fila for one day and just watch them make a track. Its funny that I can prob spend about 3 years reading tuts and still not learn as much from one day with a competent producer. Thats what pisses me off the most about music, is I always feel like I'm on my own and don't have a quick enough way to get the answers I want. |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric J
Nice post on Kim Lajoie's blog today that seems particularly relevant to many EDM producers these days. Oh and if you are not a regular reader of his work, bookmark it. Its surprisingly relevant, especially to newer producers.
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No,no,no. I rather do the Sean Tyas thing and keep making the same song over and over. LOL |
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| cryophonik |
Yeah, that blog was really nothing new. The problem in my personal observations is that too many bedroom producers don't want to learn an instrument or music theory because they have this wild notion that it will burden them with a bunch of "rules" that will stifle their creativity. Also, I think that many amateur producers seem to wear it as a badge of of honor that they can create compositions despite having no formal musical training or education - nothing wrong with that per se, but I can say with a good deal of certainty that the vast majority who have taken the extra steps to further their musical training/education don't regret it. And, finally, how many times have we all read threads in which the majority of respondents claims that EDM is 70-90% (or, pick your own majority) technical/mixing and only 10-30% musical. Not coincidentally, how many threads on the same pages of those same forums have topics complaining about all the crap that is saturating the EDM market?
Bottom line is that, like the blogger, I prefer tracks that have strong melodic and harmonic components and think that those characteristics are far more important aspects of a quality song than the technical side is, but I feel like I'm very much in the minority. Oh well. |
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| Stephen Wiley |
Or just become friends with a producer you respect (popular or not) and try to get him to mentor you. Eventually he'll send you project files where you can really start to learn and then ask him questions related to the projects. That's what I did anyway. I'd say who it was but I'm not sure they would appreciate it as they post here sometimes.
It has been by far the most effective and time saving process. If I could go back to the beginning I would be offering certain producers hundreds of dollars just to see their old projects so I could see how they worked, what they did, and then adapted it into my own style. Would have saved hours upon hours of time along with $$$ spent on books and what not. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Stephen Wiley
...see their old projects so I could see how they worked, what they did, and then adapted it into my own style. Would have saved hours upon hours of time along with $$$ spent on books and what not. |
Well, no offense intended, but it sounds like you guys missed the point and are talking about exactly what the blogger was saying NOT to do. Reading tutorials on layering basses and studying old project files, etc. isn't going to improve your ability to write good melodies/hooks, etc. Learning an instrument and/or improving your musical knowledge will, and will open doors in your creative mind that you probably wouldn't have even imagined or stumbled upon by clicking notes in the piano roll while following someone else's youtube tutorial. |
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| Subtle |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Well, no offense intended, but it sounds like you guys missed the point and are talking about exactly what the blogger was saying NOT to do. Reading tutorials on layering basses and studying old project files, etc. isn't going to improve your ability to write good melodies/hooks, etc. Learning an instrument and/or improving your musical knowledge will, and will open doors in your creative mind that you probably wouldn't have even imagined or stumbled upon by clicking notes in the piano roll while following someone else's youtube tutorial. |
This |
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| Stephen Wiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Well, no offense intended, but it sounds like you guys missed the point and are talking about exactly what the blogger was saying NOT to do. Reading tutorials on layering basses and studying old project files, etc. isn't going to improve your ability to write good melodies/hooks, etc. Learning an instrument and/or improving your musical knowledge will, and will open doors in your creative mind that you probably wouldn't have even imagined or stumbled upon by clicking notes in the piano roll while following someone else's youtube tutorial. |
I suppose I should have elaborated more. Simply put, what the author has stated is a "no duh" blog. Of course composition comes first, but composition can be greatly enhanced by looking at old project files to see how the instruments talk to each other (chords, melody, bass) as a good start, and then develop your own unique style from there.
Quite frankly I thought this blog was......not needed. Everybody with a brain knows what he/she stated. (And not everybody in Beatport's top 100 has a brain, so don't measure yourself with a chart as much as you'd like to be on one)
IMO what the problem is is that too many people are trying to produce, period. Just like college/university is not for everyone, well neither is music production and instead of people facing reality they force the issue and thus we are where we are. That's where you get these imbeciles cranking out one generic trance tune after the other with fruity loops & sample packs.
Any serious artists, or serious blogger for that matter, shouldn't have to be told what was written. It goes without saying. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Stephen Wiley
I suppose I should have elaborated more. Simply put, what the author has stated is a "no duh" blog. |
I gotcha - and, yeah, I agree. |
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| JEO |
Interpreting that I could be far more musical by using ie Reason. Sitting and jamming by the piano doesn't really fix anything if you use FL, right?
I personally think "trance" is in such a silly phase right now, it makes people that don't even listen to trance much say it's dead. But the day you have that perfect musical concept in your hands and you know nothing about mixing? What are you gonna do? If you're producing electronic music, they go hand to hand I say. There's just too much flying in the air to even breath anymore. Either trance progresses to be something new and all the uplifters (sorry) follow along and ruin that glimpse of gold by numbers. I like progressive but it has become such a fashion thing just like uplifting, it will be ruined eventually too.
The new people that get to know certain genres as they are the moment they get to know it, they learn to like it that way. And those who like it the old way will eventually be flamed as purists, old etc..
It's only natural, not that I'd appreciate it, allthough I'm young too. |
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