Esperado Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 So I'be been thinking that most truly wonderful things in life are a result of human collaboration. This sentiment seems reflected often in the music world. When artists combine strengths they can create a stronger end product than they could individually, while simultaneously learning. That said, I'm not afraid to admit that I've got some social anxiety and as such, collaboration is a tough nut to crack. It seems simple enough at face value, but there are a lot of intricacies about working together on a creative project with someone else over the web, or even in person for that matter. Tldr: collab iz gud. Does anyone have good tips on how to go about collaborating? How do you share projects back and forth? How do you communicate ideas respectfully? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Are we talking IRL or over the interwebz? In the case of the former, it's just usually just "Hey, you should come over and work on this song with me" If it's over the internet, set up a dropbox or mediafire and talk via skype. Then, just trade ideas back and forth as either MIDI or audio files and one person mixes it. If you're using the same DAW, you can trade project files. Usually, I find it's easiest if one person essentially comes up with the foundation of the music (chords and/or melody) and the other person adds to what they are given to work with. As for communicating ideas respectfully, you have to remember it's not all going to go your way - it is a collab. If someone challenges your idea, compromise. If they don't like a melody you wrote, agree to keep some parts of it and change others. It also really helps and most potential issues can be avoided by simply studying each others work and workflow to make sure you're already on roughly the same page, musically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 The most important part of this is knowing how your partner prefers to work, since knowing your roles helps you decide your boundaries. Does your partner like to interpret/write new melodies from scratch or use MIDIs? Does your partner mind who mixes the track in the end, or who maintains a central project file? Who wants to do what part of making the track (sound design, arrangement, mixing, mastering, etc)? Just make sure not to offend your partner, and try to realize a compromise in your combined vision. I agree, I would also use either Skype or dropbox. I find Skype easiest (and I know you have a Skype, so yeah!). I tend to try to find someone who uses the same DAW. Otherwise, sharing WAV files is fine too. When I worked with Sir Jordanius on a mix for the BadAss Boss Themes: Vol. 3 album, I ended up doing the main mixing and mastering, and he sent me over 80 WAV files (he did about half of the arrangement and the solos and such. I did the layering, dubstep, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Biggest tip: Try not to not be an asshole. Your partner has his own legitimate ideas too. Give them room to voice an opinion if you choose to collab with them and listen to what they have to say. If you don't, you'll just end up alienating people. More generally, have a vision. Don't be like "I want to collab with you for no reason!" Assign roles. Maybe one of you is the arranger and another is an instrumentalist. Collabarations are usually two people together working their strengths to create something greater than the sum of its parts. In my case, If i'm not the arranger, I'm either laying down guitars or synths, cause thats where my strengths are Most importantly, COMMUNICATE. So many collabs end up getting fucked due to misunderstandings. If someone collabs with you, don't take it for granted and remove their contributions without at least telling them first because they will not want to collaborate with you again. Those are my two cents. If you communicate and have a good balance with sharing ideas, collabing can be a fantastic experience. However, you've gotta be a little careful sometimes. People are touchy, especially when it comes to their music. Just treat each other respectfully and their shouldn't be a problem. Jorito, Garpocalypse and timaeus222 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esperado Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 I guess all thats left is to think of some ideas, do a little research,and reach out to get some practice with collaboration then! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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