zircon
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Posts posted by zircon
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Well.. I spent pretty much my whole night so far on this track, and I came up with the following;
http://www.zirconstudios.com/Mixdown.mp3
Pretty generic chord progression, mixing's not too great, but more importantly I don't know what to do with it. I feel like this would be the ideal time to get vocals - unfortunately, I don't have any.
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There's definitely nothing wrong with associating mainly with people online, provided you at least make an effort in "real life". Sometimes, you just end up in situations where there aren't people you're really compatible with in your immediate geographical, like where I am now. My parents didn't really have many friends in high school, but after that they did fine and met lets of people that they still communicate with today.
Anyway, what I'm trying to do at the moment is write something more melodic and with an actual chord progression as opposed to strictly electronica like I've been trying to do. Something more in the vein of BT for example (I'm a big fan of his Emotional Technology CD). I haven't had any luck so far, but I'm really giving it my best shot.
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I appreciate the personal life advice, but you guys are off the mark here. As anyone who met me at the NYC meetup will tell you I'm a sociable, friendly guy and I enjoy hanging out with people. I had a total blast at that meetup. The issue is that here at Drexel, there are very few people who I have things in common with. The main thing is that I don't drink - Drexel is basically a party school, in that all anyone does for fun is get drunk. This includes my roommates. Even my fellow musicians in the music industry program are really just not people I like for the most part (yes I've talked to them, eaten lunch/dinner, hung out etc). I'm already a member of several clubs here too but it's the same story at them as well. Even at the religious club I'm part of, where the people DON'T party for fun, they're extreme right-wing conservatives and we don't share anything in common.
The issue is not "getting out more". I've already made a lot of contacts here, I've gotten to know people, I've been to social events, I've done all of that already. I'm still a member of several clubs which I go to regularly. After doing all that I found out that the people here are not the type I really want to spend a lot of time with. There's nothing wrong with that, I know a lot of people who are in similar situations. I still maintain contact with my buddies from high school, and of course there are the people here at OCR and other communities that I communicate with on a regular basis. As for going places.. well, go where? Parties? I don't go to parties. Concerts? I don't go to concerts. Shopping? I don't have any money to blow - I save my money as best I can. I am perfectly fine with all of this, too. I don't mind being in my dorm in most of my free time. I'm a very happy person.. provided I'm able to write good music.
I would also like to add for emphasis that I appreciate all the advice that has been given to me so far, regardless of whether or not it has worked for me or not.
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well, that's all i had for you andrew.
there's 4 pages of people trying to help you in this thread and you've pooh-poohed most everything.
perhaps there are no solutions for you.
Well, what do you expect me to say? I'm not going to lie and tell people that I haven't tried a solution when I already have. There's no point in ramming my head into a brick wall. I am posting here because, as I said, I'm at my wit's end. I was aware that I had writer's block since 7-8 months ago and was already talking to many people outside of these forums about it. Thus, I've already gone through a number of attempted solutions, including many, many more that were not mentioned here. This is a final, desperate attempt on my part.
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just have fun!
There we go. That's the answer!
And, dont discount any of the methods because you've TRIED them. Just go back to a time when you've had fun with a music, and relive those moments. If something doesnt work the first time you try it, go do something different, but dont forget to try again. Just have fun with music. You dont have to be the best all the time. Sometimes its just fun to make crap songs, makes the great ones even greater.
I don't think I've implied anywhere that I don't have fun with music. It's just that the amount of enjoyment I get out of tooling around on my keyboard (what I've been doing for the last hour) is significantly less than the veritable seratonin FLOOD that I get when I complete a great original work. Seriously - after I finished Impulse Prime, I was walking on air. I don't think any bad news could have possibly brought down my incredible level of happiness that I got from completing it and getting the first positive reviews.
I guess what I'm saying is, I don't really get any lasting "fun" out of music unless I'm (1) writing great songs and (2) people are listening to and enjoying said songs.
you are getting into a dangerous cycle. if making music becomes a frustrating processes, then you will make fewer attempts to do so. and each time you try it will become more frustrating. eventually your days of making music will be over. this is how it happens.I pretty much make constant attempts to create music regardless of how frustrating it is. Like I said, this is pretty much my life, it's what I'm here at college to study, it's my only hobby and my only form of entertainment.
When I create a bad song, it's just that - a bad song. I get no pride out of that, just like I get no pride or enjoyment out of creating those demos that I posted earlier.
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Then get off your computer. I'm serious. Get off the computer for a week or more (or be on the least amount possible).
Since Impulse Prime was released I've taken two breaks to go on vacation with my family. While I sometimes have musical ideas, by the time I return, they're all gone. I doubt that I could take a week long break here at Drexel from the computer as it's my only form of entertainment and more or less my only form of social contact.
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I would say that I have a pretty good grasp of proper arrangement and structure - as you can hear by listening to my "good" originals and remixes. The problem, once again, is getting to the point where I have enough material to actually create a song. A 1 measure drumloop and lame synth riff is not enough.
Working with someone else? Yeah, I've always wanted to do that. Working with tefnek is a blast, every time. However everyone is pretty much too busy and I can't expect someone to be able to sit down and work with me whenever I feel like writing a song (which is all day, every day).
I recall you having said in the past that you hadn't been taught any music theory. If you read up on a little about the theory of music or even just books concerning music itself it can sometimes give you ideas.This is no longer the case. I am studying music at Drexel University and traditional music theory has been in my schedule every term so far. It's fascinating, but not helpful to what I'm trying to do here.
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Another thing to consider - if you are making EQ changes in the mastering phase of more than about 5db then you should really go back and work on the individual parts more. The EQ changes in the mastering phase should be minimal - you're just doing subtle, transparent edits to polish the finished track. All of the major EQ work should be done in the production phase.
This brings me to something that I learned from tefnek, though it's a technique that many major producers use as well. When working with sampled drums, it is a wise idea to put the individual drum parts on their own channels; eg. kick on one track, snare on another, hats/rides on another, toms on another. But after you do the necessary processing and mixing, what you can do is then route all of them into a 5th channel (in FL, you can do this with sends). You can then apply some saturation, perhaps a vinyl effect, a little EQ, and some compression. This can make the drums sound like they were recorded from the same kit, even if your drum track is composed of 30 samples from all over the 'net. Most notably, The Crystal Method uses this technique.
Edit: Some more stuff that I do..
* Always make sure that when you're changing one particular part of a song, you listen to it by itself AND in context of the mix. For example, let's you're doing a basic rock song and you have drums, bass, guitar, and voice. If the bass sounds "off", what you should do is first solo the bass part and treat that by itself. Once you think it sounds good, then play it back with the rest of the mix and see if you were right. This is a sound method of working because you don't want things to be tweaked and sculpted to hell, making them sound lifeless or unrealistic (even though they might sound OK together in the mix), nor do you want them to all be mixed as if they were playing solo, meaning they'll muddy eachother up when played together.
* If you're working with samples and you're spending an inordinant amount of time on one specific sample, trying to make it sound good, you might consider simply trying a different sample. Some people that I have talked to believe that EQ and processing can fix anything. I disagree. Sometimes, making a crappy kick drum sample sound good really is impossible, and you're better off finding a kick sample that sounds closer to what you want, and then tweaking that slightly. You'll save yourself a lot of time working this way. Of course, layering samples is another way to mask weaknesses and build on strengths.. not only for drum samples, but for other stuff too (for example, mixing different string sounds to get a more realistic and expressive blend).
* Vary up the frequency range that the listener is subjected to over the course of the song. No matter what genre you're working in, prolonged exposure to a certain frequency or sound WILL wear down the listener's ears. Try this for yourself. Find a sample of a 10khz sine wave and play it back at a normal listening volume. Annoying? Yep. While you're not actually working with pure tones in a mix, the concept is still the same.
Some common pitfalls include making hihats or other top-end percussion sound really bright and clear, and playing them throughout the entire song. Alternatively, having a low-end synth playing constantly at the same frequency range. Even something as simple as acoustic guitar strums can eventually become grating. Using "bridge" sections in your arrangement is one way to avoid this problem, but also, simply being more aware of what parts are playing for how long can help a lot too.
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Ehm, those demos were all pretty cool. I have no idea where your problem is
. Do you ever just jam along with your songs? Maybe some sort of less linear sequencing methods are in order...like Ableton Live or something.Yeah, I jam along all the time, but nothing usable comes out of them. Again the difficulty is not in creating little clips - it's that I'll complete as much as I did in those demos and hit a dead end. Any additional work I try to force makes them even worse. It's infuriating.
A different sequencer is something I'm considering, but I do not have the money to purchase more software right now.
I've got about 60-70 of those song orphans, and I think soc has an assload as well. Sometimes what gives me inspiration is when I get a new VST and play around with the settings, then have to throw some drums in to make it sound better...then a track pops out. Hit up KVR and grab any instruments/demos you can get your hands on to see if that method works for you.
Considering how many VSTs and sample CDs I already have.. I can assure you I've tried this method and it doesn't work at all. The "Enlightened" demo came out of Sytrus presets, for example, but that's all I was able to write. I ran out of ideas.
Improvisation has always helped me out. When i was stuck for a while, i pulled up a sampler, attached as many random sounds to it as possible, and then played along to a semi-cool song in the background. It didnt sound good, but it got my head out of a linear mindframe, which helped alot. Also opening old sparse mixes and humming a improvised melody along get me thinking differently.This is something I've also tried. I'll load up some loops or hits in something like Battery 2 or Stylus RMX and just kind of jam or play along to songs in Winamp. However, this has never given me any song ideas. I've even tried using non-traditional sounds as you suggested. For example, over the weekend I started this new project. I heard a Stylus RMX chopped guitar loop that I thought sounded cool, then replicated that progression and tone with Lyrical Distortion samples. I tweaked that a bit and spent some time getting the guitar sound down that I wanted. Then I loaded up about 20-25 'weird' drum samples and layered some patterns, creating an interesting drum beat which I then combined with RMX material. Then I sat there for the rest of the day with no ideas of what to do with that. And the next day.
Alternitvly, mabey you just need a new surrounding for a bit... go somewhere new, meet with someone new, experience something unusual, even just for a weekend.This is a great idea. Unfortunately, I'm in college (so I don't have time to go anywhere), I don't have a car, I don't have much money, and I live in the middle of a city that I'm unfamiliar with so I wouldn't know where to go anyway.
though i've practically given up on writing anything by mouse anymore. i just can't do it. i'll have something in my head, but when i actually get it down, it sounds very different. this is where it helps to know an instrument. so when something does pop into my head, i can play it on piano or guitar and work from there.I actually did try working with keyboard input, and came up with a cool <1m jazz piece (which, of course, I got stumped on). However I can't rely on keyboard input for two reasons. One is that I only have a synth-action 32 key controller. I am looking to get a new one but I don't have the money right now (and I might not even have the space). Two is that my projects get very, VERY CPU intensive very fast. I usually use upwards of 100 effects and tons of VSTs to get the exact sounds I want, forcing me to use latencies of 50+ MS simply to get proper playback.
Thank you for all the suggestions everyone, even if I've already tried most of them
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The problem is not in creating small component parts. As you can hear with the above examples, I am quite capable of creating very basic synthlines and grooves. Anything past that I have been unable to do. If I were able to write even the simplest of hooks or melodies I would not have writer's block. Even 'remix' style music requires some sort of motif or building block to go off of.
In other words, if I only have garbage available to me, the only thing that will come out is garbage. Song production 101
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you said something about not digressing into other genres because you're not very good at it, right?
why not just take a while off from electronic-style stuff and learn a new genre? I mean, it couldn't hurt to expand your skill set, and it could just be the right kind of break you need to get back into your groove.
I did Subterranean Opus, Lover Reef, and four songs for an orchestral/ethnic video game soundtrack in between my last original electronic piece and now. While I got some enjoyment out of that, those things are not my main interest. You might as well have told Johnny Cash to do something different than country. Electronica is what I want to do. I have worked in (and continue to work in) many different genres but the only thing that makes me truly happy is electronic music - creating good examples of it, anyway.
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I can't bring myself to finish a lot of the garbage that I've worked on. eg
www.zirconstudios.com/Enlightened.mp3
Crap.
www.zirconstudios.com/Huge%20Beat.mp3
Crap.
www.zirconstudios.com/wanderer.mp3
Crap.
www.zirconstudios.com/Surf.mp3
Crap.
www.zirconstudios.com/gruv.mp3
Crap.
www.zirconstudios.com/Synthscape.mp3
Total crap.
I've tried listening to music, improvising, etc. That did not work.
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I find that immersing myself in others non-musical art helps me a lot. Stories, Pictures and stuff tends to inspire me. Hell, webcomcis inspire me. No idea if it will work for you, but maybe it will.
A lot of things inspire me in the sense of "Wow, that's beautiful" - but nothing leads me to actual notes in the sequencer. I don't look at art and suddenly hear the melody "A - B - C - B - F - E" (from good morning, by tefnek btw). I wish that were the case.
ps. No, I am not going to do drugs. Ever.
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Well, analog clipping is simply when you push the volume above 0db on an analog device, like a tape machine. It can produce a variety of effects depending on the type of device, or even the exact model. Therefore, there's no one way to describe what happens.
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soc; basically every keyboard on sale now is velocity sensitive. I assume you mean "weighted".
Also if you're inputting stuff one hand at a time, yes, 3 octaves or so is all you NEED.. but trust me, the more keys the better.
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Maybe take a break for awhile, mate. Sounds like you're pushing yourself too hard... trying to force something from nothing.
I haven't had a slump in awhile, but when I did nothing really worked. I just had to ride it out.
edit: oh, you already said you took a break. Maybe a longer one?
I dunno, breaks of months at a time are long enough for me. I feel pretty useless when I'm not writing music anyway.
sgx; no, I don't play guitar. I might try that.
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Well... digital clipping is ALWAYS bad. Analog-type saturation however is usually a cool effect.
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Oh, no. USB MIDI is exactly the same as standard MIDI cabling in terms of function and performance.
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I've been looking around, because I want to get into the remix community very badly. I have been trying Fruity Loops and Prop-head Reason Demos, but manually putting in notes is driving me insane. I'd rather do it with a midi controller.
I'm on a very tight budget (due to me being a high school student and having a pretty lame job.) but i'm seriously ready to start getting good at arranging/composing. I'm going to buy the software of my choice as soon as I get the money.
I'm already good at recording guitar (and even better at playing it) and I am really itching to bust out a couple final fantasy songs on guitar that i have in mind.
Well, to the questions.
Korg K61? Buy or Keep looking? It seems pretty good to me, and has everything I really need. There are no reviews on it, and i was wondering if anyone got to play on one yet. (They were at the NAMM 2006 show, so they are relatively new.)
If you just want a MIDI controller, that could be a good choice. You would have to compare it to Edirol, M-Audio, Studiologic (etc) keyboards to see exactly which one you like more. They all have similar features.
Does USB MIDI work as well as the standard MIDI cable connector (when connecting to computers)?Not sure what you mean here. Could you be a little more clear?
When recording MIDI, is perfect timing an essential?What I mean, is does it cut stuff off when you go back to look at it (questioning reason/fruityloops), or is it like real-time recording in cakewalk?
Again, not sure what you mean by "cut stuff off when you go back to look at it". But no, perfect timing is not essential. You can always quantize or manually edit the notes later.
I have an SB Live! 24-bit. Will I need to upgrade to an Audigy?Don't upgrade to an Audigy! If you want a good soundcard for CREATING music, you want something like an EMU 0404.
My Computer:2.4Ghz P4 (no HT)
1024MB DDR333 RAM
SB Live! 24-bit
SB PC128 (I was too lazy to take the old one out. I have it disabled.)
Geforce 6200 TD (for playing my PSX games, i know i dont need it)
Not a bad machine.
This is the plan. Tell me what you think:AMD 64 3000+ (HT)
1024 DDR400 RAM
SB Audigy or Live
Nforce Motherboard Video
Enough Fans to allow 24-7 cooling during hot summers. (my room gets around 85 degrees during summers, and i already leave my computers on all day.)
This however is not much of an upgrade. In terms of creating music, you want lots and lots of storage space and RAM. If you are planning on building a new computer (something that you really don't have to do given your current specs) I would max it out at 2GB RAM and the best processor you can find.
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I'd give anything to be in your position. At least you have the song in your head. That just means it's a matter of practice - transferring the ideas you have on to paper or into your sequencer. That's the easy part. But there's nothing you can do when you don't have any ideas to begin with.
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I appreciate your suggestions, however..
I often get monthly periods of music increativity and it takes a while to get back into things. What normally does it for me is spending some of my time on other creative things like art.Unfortunately I have no other creative talents.
I find, personally, that if I just sit down without an idea other than to make a song more often than not it worsens the situation. Really the best thing is to get the idea. It feels kind of awkward trying to explain this to someone with much better talent in this area but we're all out for the music.Out of maybe 40-50 songs I've written (counting video game soundtracks) I've had an idea for them beforehand maybe.. 5% of the time. I almost NEVER have song ideas. All of Impulse Prime was written on the spot. I stared at my blank FL6 screen until I was inspired to write something. It's extremely rare that I think of a melody or chord progression in my head, and even more rare that it sounds good.
Another personal thing is that I get bored with styles of music quickly, I set out to create a similar song to previously and get bored. As the breaks didn't work for you try making something that you're not accustomed to.Since my last original song I've done about six or seven songs in totally different styles (remixes, game soundtrack, music for radio) However I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of them because I don't enjoy those genres as much.
Try creating less listenable music, or less electronic ideas. Whilst this is a break from the electronic music that you normally make it's not a break from music. You could find some techniques that you want to incorporate in your own music.This is not a bad idea but I wouldn't even know where to start without having some sort of direction given to me.
Finally if you hear something that really impresses you then try and replicate the sound. Then try and experiment with it or making things in that style, even if they don't turn out well (which isn't as bad as it seems, you don't have to listen to the song after - it's practice).I do this on a regular basis.. I have probably hundreds upon hundreds of dead projects, many of which are me ripping off some big name artists. I've obsessive when it comes to that kind of thing and I've gotten down a lot of the styles perfectly. I don't release these clips of course because there's no point.. I didn't write them.
Again, this is all personal really but I hope some of these suggestions are useful. I'm much newer to using computers for music so it may just be because I'm so early on that these techniques work.Best of luck to you man, look forward to hearing some of your productions.
Again, thank you.
The best thing to do it be patient becasue it will pass. But another thing to do is to force yourself through completing a song (it will help to clear your mind after you finish).Arguably this is something I've had for over 8 months now. The one original electronic song I was able to write (Throwdown) was sort of a one-of-a-kind thing and a fluke more than anything else. I have absolutely not been able to do anything since and I have been feeling steadily worse about it.
I have also tried forcing myself to complete a song but it hasn't worked. All I have are lots of ultra-crappy WIPs to show for it. They go straight to the recycle bin.
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I only get hiss with my UB502/802 when I turn up the volume very loud. At normal listening levels (the master volume and phones knobs at about 9:00) I hear absolutely no noise at all.
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I am at my wit's end. I have literally gone for months without being able to write an original song from scratch (not counting songs I've done for a soundtrack, which I do not count). I have a veritable graveyard of over 20-25 project files of failed songs and WIPs. The last song I wrote was a short original around December and before that the last thing I did was my 2nd CD, which was finished in June. I've tried everything. I've tried taking a break, listening to different kinds of music, playing around on my keyboard, studying theory, taking walks and looking at the scenery, etc.. NOTHING WORKS.
It feels like I'm just incapable of creating any new music at all, as if I already reached my peak and am now already at the bottom. It's the worst feeling in the world.
Does anyone - preferably, someone who writes electronic music in the same kind of style that I do - have any suggestions for remedying this situation? I think I'm going to go insane if I have to spend another day twiddling my thumbs and messing around on my keyboard because I have no song ideas..
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They're recorded dry. With the proper reverb, use of the expression controller (modwheel/cc1), and perhaps a little EQ, you can get some good results.
Official Mastering and Production thread
in Music Composition & Production
Posted
Right. Peak volume represents.. the peak volume, eg. the loudest the track goes. RMS = Root Mean Squared, which is a representation of the average loudness. It is always lower than the peak.