Spi.der.men Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 When just starting out, have any of you ever put off learning new techniques like side chaining and learning the ins and outs of mixing? If and when you decided to go further into the game, what is the first advanced technique you remember learning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Hi/Lo pass filters were probably the best discoveries for me. Then maths for some advanced stuff (time-based things and panning) lately and I won't reveal my secrets yet;). Took me a while to understand compression and I'm not a master at it but it's awesome when using with subtility on various things. First thing I've "discovered" which is not advanced was reversed reverb and it's awesome too but I forget to use that nowdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Thinking in terms of waveforms, spectrum, and space is really what's helped me the most, not any particular technique. Once you know the idea behind the mix you want, you can usually do it with pretty simple techniques, at least to a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I didn't know that DAWs, virtual instruments etc. even existed until a couple years back. I was of the understanding that if you wanted to record your music you had to go to a pro-studio and if you wanted sounds of other instruments, you had to get musicians who played those instruments or use a Korg Keyboard. So yeah, all this home music production stuff. I know I've shown some resistance to getting into composing music entirely within a DAW; but it's so hard for me to get a lot of this shit down since I was learning and writing music via notation, tab and ear for easily 5 years before discovering this home recording stuff. Most people here seem to have started with MIDI and Digital Audio Workstations so I kinda feel outcast.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 The first barrier for me was understanding that individual instruments really mean nothing.. gotta hear the mix as a single entity. So individual instruments might sound really weak or boring on their own but help the mix overall. I came from a non-musical background so all my energy is poured into developing my ear, not so much "techniques". Technical skills come easy to me, and most other people once you just sit down and do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Most people here seem to have started with MIDI and Digital Audio Workstations so I kinda feel outcast.... No dude, it's pretty much the same as you for me. Started composing stuff on Guitar Pro back in 2002 and only bought my DAW in 2010. I used to record with Windows XP's recorder, routing the ouput of my pc soundcard to the mono mic input to record my Guitar Pro backing track and used the merge function of recorder to merge the resulting .wavs Since it was limited to 60 seconds I would use the "slow" function before loading the wavs which doubled the time. Recording guitar with a Metal Zone plugged in the 1/8 mono mic jack. LOL big time but still, part of the learning process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 The first barrier for me was understanding that individual instruments really mean nothing.. gotta hear the mix as a single entity. So individual instruments might sound really weak or boring on their own but help the mix overall.I came from a non-musical background so all my energy is poured into developing my ear, not so much "techniques". Technical skills come easy to me, and most other people once you just sit down and do it. That sounds awesome. I think that learning new stuff about music is this reiterative process where you highlight a nuance of making music, work with that separately, then learn to include the new knowledge in mixes intuitively. What Modus highlighted is probably that last step. Before that comes the analytic thinking and listening, but that in itself is worthless without putting it all back together and enjoying it as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drop Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I don't *consciously* avoid learning anything, really, I don't think. I just don't really learn anything without putting it into practice a bit first, and so the stuff I use regularly gets internalized faster until I have the mental capacity to explore other concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I don't *consciously* avoid learning anything, really, I don't think. I just don't really learn anything without putting it into practice a bit first, and so the stuff I use regularly gets internalized faster until I have the mental capacity to explore other concepts. Exactly. That's another facet of what I was getting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thinking less and doing more helped me more than anything else. You can talk/read about this stuff all you want but at the end of the day it amounts to nothing unless you apply it in practicality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicThHedgog Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thinking less and doing more helped me more than anything else. You can talk/read about this stuff all you want but at the end of the day it amounts to nothing unless you apply it in practicality. If this was a tweet, I would retweet it. Same with Rozovians post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thinking less and doing more helped me more than anything else. Oh my god, this. I can't tell you how many time I've started a track with a plan in mind, and then upon discovering that I'm not sure how to execute that plan, I just quit working on it. Every time I've decided instead just to wing the rest of the track without thinking or trying to stick to the plan, I end up with a completed track that sounds just fine. Aaaaand to answer OP's question, the first 'advanced' technique I learned was probably sidechain compression, and I learned that on day 1. Really, the way I discovered most of my mixing techniques is by really delving into the demo projects included with FL Studio and asking artists like zircon and Flexstyle about various ways to improve my mixes. Their advice has really been invaluable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 You're all talking about the power of Intuition that comes through doing stuff with your gut. It's just that intuition is such a big bloated word Think of the jazz music mantra of 'no mistakes'. Whenever a good jazz muso plays something that sounds like a mistake to him, he plays around it until the mistake vanishes, becomes integrated, or is transformed into something deliberate. All amounts to the same thing. That is the exact opposite of sticking to the preconceived plan. You work with mistakes until they cease to be mistakes. Works with both improv and compo, only in different ways. Composition is more intricate timeless sculpture, improv is more like a split-second real time decision making game. But it's all intuitive. Happy accidents and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshaggyfreak Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I have found reading to be a very important part of the learning process. There are a number of concepts and ideas that I would have gotten a handle on if it wasn't for studying being part of what I do. The other key thing for me is to physically watch someone work but I'm rather visual person. Also, if you can afford it, take some classes whether it be online or from a local community college. Yes, you can learn a plethora of stuff by trial and error. I would never make that my one and only choice for learning, though. There's just too much to gain from another persons experience. Never stop learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 There are a number of concepts and ideas that I would have gotten a handle on if it wasn't for studying being part of what I do.. Funny typo. WouldN'T, no? Not even arguing as I'm down with u. Books are great. I think school has a way of killing people's enjoyment of books though. People confuse open sources of inspirational concepts with end all be all manuals they have to grow attached to. That is why theory and technique are a bit dangerous. You need to put it in the right context for it to enrichen your experience, not limit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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