Looking for a Mentor

[Tydin]

As random as it sounds it would be great if any experienced remixers out there would be willing to help me out for a while, I've only just started using the big boy programs and well, I need alot of help. I think I have some raw talent? But I need alot of advice at hand. Sooo Anyone out there, who knows their stuff,

Tydin@hotmail.co.uk

Thats my IM, Please feel free to add me, introduce yourself and hopefully we will make some great music together

REALLY hoping to make some great friends on here.

Tydin X

Ps. If your not into the whole IM thing, feel free to post any advice for me below. Thanyou everyone!

[Rozovian]

Always include any relevant information when you're posting for help, dude. What "big boy program" are you using, what kind of budget do you have (as in, should we recommend EWQL products or soundfonts), what's your music experience so far (music theory, played an instrument, "small boy programs", that kind of stuff).

If you're in the GarageBand-Logic family of "big boy programs" I can probably help you out, but otherwise you'd probably have more use of someone familiar with the DAW (digital audio workstation, ie "big boy program") you've got.

[EC2151]

I will be your mentor.

Your first task is to wax my car.

After that, a few montages, you'll be a pro.

[Fishy]

Like Rozo says, you'll have to give us a bit more info before anyone can help you, but there as specific forums for a few of the more common programs in this forum and a few general guides that might answer some questions:

http://ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Gl hf.

I will be your mentor.

Your first task is to wax my car.

After that, a few montages, you'll be a pro.

Help and newbies forum, not be sarcastic at newbies forum.

[Tydin]

Haha, well to me, anything other then anvil studio is a big boy program

I managed to save up enough for reason 4, budget wise Im savin up for the bigger stuff, my knowlege of software sucks, Soundfonts? I'm more familliar with refills, if there's a difference? Lol, It's pathetic I know, I'm a aboslte idiot when It comes to anything technical, BUT I have been writing and remixing songs for years, I really just need someone to look out for me

Basically, I have...

Reason 4

Anvil Studio

FL Studio

I'd be happy to dish out a few quid for better software, But I wouldn't know where to start.

Really, anything would help. thanks for the comments so far peeps

Tydin XxX

[Meteo Xavier]

I'm trying to figure out a way to detail that maybe a Mentorship shouldn't be advertised like this in such a blatant way without sounding like an asshole, but I have clearly failed for that endeavor.

The reason for this is that the connection might come off very forced, very entitled, very needy - a lot of things that sour a voluntary relationship. You have to remember that the kind of remixers you're looking to disciple from are very busy people and somehow they found a pocket of free time to devote to educating you. Therefore the relationship between teacher to student must be as pristine as possible in order to survive.

I have several people I consider mentors. Rozovian is one of them, God Bless him. Dannthr has been more than an excellent mentor to me. OA. Tweek has been a lot of help. Even the Fat Man himself has volunteered some time for me. I definitely leaving someone out but I can't figure out who. It has been my great privilege to have good repoire with each of them, and thats how you have to treat it if you want it to work.

Some suggestions if you find a willing mentor:

- Act like an Adult. Nothing pisses off a mentor like someone who is needy, whiny, impatient, refuses to listen, etc. I'm guilty of all these and I can vouch for their effectiveness in setting you're progress back to the Stone Age.

- Offer something back. These guys (or gals) offer you their time and experience and intelligence FOR NOTHING. It would certainly help concrecrate the relationship by offering to make up their time somehow. Like, if you have domain space and they need a new website, give it up for them. If they need help with something, volunteer. That sort of thing.

- It pays to study some on your own time. Don't just name drop like crazy, but better defining what you need (like people suggested here) and coming back with information and research you've done on your own really lubricates communication well. I wish someone had told me this when I was your age.

And thats my assessment. Make your teacher proud, my boy.

[Rozovian]

I have several people I consider mentors. Rozovian is one of them, God Bless him.)

Dude, don't forget I'm also still learning. And thanks.

It pays to study some on your own time. Don't just name drop like crazy, but better defining what you need (like people suggested here) and coming back with information and research you've done on your own really lubricates communication well. I wish someone had told me this when I was your age.

This.

Anyway Tydin (and anyone else for that matter) you're welcome to pick my brain over IM, but I would advise you to make friends with others here too, pick theirs as well. Some have more experience, some have more knowledge, some have more skill, some are friendly.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Haha, well to me, anything other then anvil studio is a big boy program

I managed to save up enough for reason 4, budget wise Im savin up for the bigger stuff, my knowlege of software sucks, Soundfonts? I'm more familliar with refills, if there's a difference? Lol, It's pathetic I know, I'm a aboslte idiot when It comes to anything technical, BUT I have been writing and remixing songs for years, I really just need someone to look out for me

Basically, I have...

Reason 4

Anvil Studio

FL Studio

I'd be happy to dish out a few quid for better software, But I wouldn't know where to start.

Really, anything would help. thanks for the comments so far peeps

Tydin XxX

You have what you need to start off with; you don't need to dish out any more for better software until you learn to use what you have right now.

[Tydin]

Some suggestions if you find a willing mentor:

- Act like an Adult. Nothing pisses off a mentor like someone who is needy, whiny, impatient, refuses to listen, etc. I'm guilty of all these and I can vouch for their effectiveness in setting you're progress back to the Stone Age.

- Offer something back. These guys (or gals) offer you their time and experience and intelligence FOR NOTHING. It would certainly help concrecrate the relationship by offering to make up their time somehow. Like, if you have domain space and they need a new website, give it up for them. If they need help with something, volunteer. That sort of thing.

- It pays to study some on your own time. Don't just name drop like crazy, but better defining what you need (like people suggested here) and coming back with information and research you've done on your own really lubricates communication well. I wish someone had told me this when I was your age.

And thats my assessment. Make your teacher proud, my boy.

Meteo Xavier:

Wow, thanks for the advice! REALLY means alot!

I have to admit, I'm a tad impatient when it comes to remixing but thats down to my excitement, and wanting to hear a finish song. Everything else I'm pretty darn good with. I'm a really easy going person. I'm in no way needy and of course I would be willing to pay someone back in anyway I could. I happen to be pretty handy with photoshop (Google "Tydin" and you should be taken to my art profile on deviantart.com always happy to trade my time for custom art or airbrushing)

And no you dont sound like an asshole haha, I'm now just worried I look really needy!

Geoffrey Taucer:

Thats very true, sometimes I try to get ahead of myself so being reminded to focus on what I have rathen then what I think I should have is highly needed with me lol

Rozovian:

I would be very very happy to get to know you better in a IM, if you feel up to it send me your addy and I'll add you as soon as I get a chance And I'm hoping to make many new friends on here. From what I can see, there's a good bunch of talented people on this site!

[EC2151]

I ain't going to be no mentor, kid, but I'll say this:

Now that i actually now what I'm working with, I can actually say something instead of making a reference to Karate Kid.

Soundfonts? They're like limited samples, which means that in your current state, these will be the things you'll make your songs out of.

Look up DarkeSword's soundfont page. It contains a large amount OF soundfonts for you as a beginner to use.

On top of that, if you're into piano, and want a really really good drum soundfont, try searching for the soundfont poprockband-233. It's a free download and I can't recommend it enough.

Well, you download these soundfonts, and what do you do? Well, you go back to DarkeSword's page. There's a program called SFPack. Download it. Without it, the files you have downloaded mean nothing.

After that, put the sound fonts into the SFPack, run the program, and if you're using FL Studio, just drag the packed files into FL Studios little sidebar, and you'll have yourself a whole new slew of instruments to use!

That's the first step, getting your instruments.

-------------

The next step is this:

-Finding the REAL mentor.

Hint: It's you!

Say you now have your soundfonts. Now here's what you do.

Open up the piano roll, or the sequencer, or whatever it is, pick the selected instrument you want to work with, and start putting in notes.

Put in anything. Put in a riff that you think up of on the spot.

Just dick around in the program.

Keep on doing this, just simply putting notes in, adding a few more instruments here and there, adding notes for them... Do that until you have a semblance of a song. Your first attempt should NEVER be a song you have already thought up, or a song you have played yourself and like. If you try to make it now, it will sound like shit, regardless.

Just mess around until you have something short and simple.

That's it, and then your good. Render it, export it, whatever. Pat yourself on the back.

Now, when you're feeling up to it, make another song. You'll be free of some of the anxieties the first song brought about with your lack of knowledge, but many questions will still loom large, since you only really know how to place notes.

This time, try fiddling around with a few of the knobs around your program (DAW), and see what they do. If they effect the sound, see if you like the way they mess with the sound. If you do, keep it. If not, just change it back or mess with something else.

In this method, through fiddling around, your own innovation, your own spark, your own creativity teaches you faster than any person over the internet as I am. Just keep at it, and night will come and morning following, the second song. And look upon what you have made and say that it is good.

On a slightly less Jewish note, here is the first song I ever made when I tried out FL Studio:

Testy Trial

I quite literally considered it a test and a trial running through an unfamiliar program. This was made with the methods I listed above.

Now (if you'd like lol, I'm only trying to illustrate a point) this is one of the latest songs I made:

Organ Grinder

It's much more complex in EVERYTHING.

Because every time I open up FL, the now-DAW of my choice, I try to tweak something new, try some new facet on top of what I already know in order to make things sound better.

You'd do well to do the same.

-------------

The final step, is, listen.

Not just to your own music and judge, but to other people.

Listen around on this forum, and on others. See if they talk about the programs you're using. If they are, see what they have to say, and see if you can learn from it.

Post your works and works in progress on the forums for others to listen and enjoy. Hopefully a fellow musician will offer a word of advice... After releasing about 15 songs of my own, a musician on another forum said "I really like these, but they'd sound a whole lot better if you used filters."

And then, I asked "What are filters?"

He proceeded to tell me at length what they are and how to use them and even which ones I should use for the type of music I'm making, and I thanked him very much for his help and expertise, revelling in my newfound knowledge. In return, I commented and critiqued the tracks he posted whenever he did, and I find him to be quite the competent musician (especially compared to jag like me)...

But the point of that all is that you ask for help, and that you give back when you can. Visit the original mixes section. Post in those topics so starved for posts. And many won't return the favor. But some will, and they'll help you for it.

-----------------

The point I'm trying to make with all this is that you got to 1) Experiment for yourself... Messing around on your programs will make songs that you haven't even thought up of at this moment yet, and 2) Find and don't be afraid to ask for help. If you get those two points down, you'll begin a slow, yet satisfying ascent to better skill at making digital music, and then, being able to finally express your larger musical ideas without the encmberances of making a band, getting a studio to record, or any other such things (I still write down a lot of my musical ideas on paper, though... I need to buy a recorder myself).

[Tydin]

I ain't going to be no mentor, kid, but I'll say this:

Now that i actually now what I'm working with, I can actually say something instead of making a reference to Karate Kid.

Soundfonts? They're like limited samples, which means that in your current state, these will be the things you'll make your songs out of.

Look up DarkeSword's soundfont page. It contains a large amount OF soundfonts for you as a beginner to use.

On top of that, if you're into piano, and want a really really good drum soundfont, try searching for the soundfont poprockband-233. It's a free download and I can't recommend it enough.

Well, you download these soundfonts, and what do you do? Well, you go back to DarkeSword's page. There's a program called SFPack. Download it. Without it, the files you have downloaded mean nothing.

After that, put the sound fonts into the SFPack, run the program, and if you're using FL Studio, just drag the packed files into FL Studios little sidebar, and you'll have yourself a whole new slew of instruments to use!

That's the first step, getting your instruments.

-------------

The next step is this:

-Finding the REAL mentor.

Hint: It's you!

Say you now have your soundfonts. Now here's what you do.

Open up the piano roll, or the sequencer, or whatever it is, pick the selected instrument you want to work with, and start putting in notes.

Put in anything. Put in a riff that you think up of on the spot.

Just dick around in the program.

Keep on doing this, just simply putting notes in, adding a few more instruments here and there, adding notes for them... Do that until you have a semblance of a song. Your first attempt should NEVER be a song you have already thought up, or a song you have played yourself and like. If you try to make it now, it will sound like shit, regardless.

Just mess around until you have something short and simple.

That's it, and then your good. Render it, export it, whatever. Pat yourself on the back.

Now, when you're feeling up to it, make another song. You'll be free of some of the anxieties the first song brought about with your lack of knowledge, but many questions will still loom large, since you only really know how to place notes.

This time, try fiddling around with a few of the knobs around your program (DAW), and see what they do. If they effect the sound, see if you like the way they mess with the sound. If you do, keep it. If not, just change it back or mess with something else.

In this method, through fiddling around, your own innovation, your own spark, your own creativity teaches you faster than any person over the internet as I am. Just keep at it, and night will come and morning following, the second song. And look upon what you have made and say that it is good.

On a slightly less Jewish note, here is the first song I ever made when I tried out FL Studio:

Testy Trial

I quite literally considered it a test and a trial running through an unfamiliar program. This was made with the methods I listed above.

Now (if you'd like lol, I'm only trying to illustrate a point) this is one of the latest songs I made:

Organ Grinder

It's much more complex in EVERYTHING.

Because every time I open up FL, the now-DAW of my choice, I try to tweak something new, try some new facet on top of what I already know in order to make things sound better.

You'd do well to do the same.

-------------

The final step, is, listen.

Not just to your own music and judge, but to other people.

Listen around on this forum, and on others. See if they talk about the programs you're using. If they are, see what they have to say, and see if you can learn from it.

Post your works and works in progress on the forums for others to listen and enjoy. Hopefully a fellow musician will offer a word of advice... After releasing about 15 songs of my own, a musician on another forum said "I really like these, but they'd sound a whole lot better if you used filters."

And then, I asked "What are filters?"

He proceeded to tell me at length what they are and how to use them and even which ones I should use for the type of music I'm making, and I thanked him very much for his help and expertise, revelling in my newfound knowledge. In return, I commented and critiqued the tracks he posted whenever he did, and I find him to be quite the competent musician (especially compared to jag like me)...

But the point of that all is that you ask for help, and that you give back when you can. Visit the original mixes section. Post in those topics so starved for posts. And many won't return the favor. But some will, and they'll help you for it.

-----------------

The point I'm trying to make with all this is that you got to 1) Experiment for yourself... Messing around on your programs will make songs that you haven't even thought up of at this moment yet, and 2) Find and don't be afraid to ask for help. If you get those two points down, you'll begin a slow, yet satisfying ascent to better skill at making digital music, and then, being able to finally express your larger musical ideas without the encmberances of making a band, getting a studio to record, or any other such things (I still write down a lot of my musical ideas on paper, though... I need to buy a recorder myself).

Well I gotta say, this post provided me with alot! Im on my way to posting some WIP's after I post this reply. Seriously, thanks for the words of wisdom, and I hope to hear more in the future, your really right with the whole practice makes perfect thing, really when i look into detail why i want help, most of it is I lack alot of confidence in any skill i do have. But its things like "what are filters" and tips to make my songs sound better that i really need.

I'll also have a look at the soundfornt page asap And I plan to also leave useful comments on other threads. *nods*

And Im no kid, Im 24 lol But ill still wax your car in exchange for cookies! Or smexy bonzai trees