Transcription
Hey, Soul State here. If you're struggling with anything in your production, I think you're gonna find at least one thing really, really helpful in here. Enjoy it!
Sing the melody.
Skrillex, this tip is cool for two reasons. First, singing forces you to feel the music more deeply. Second, if you can't sing it, how do you expect listeners to remember it?
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I think this could go higher right here.
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Hello! Make singable phrases.
Ian Kirkpatrick, this is just like the Skrillex tip but a little more advanced. Instead of just singing the melody, the whole musical phrase should be singable. Like you're about to see, you should be able to remember the phrase and sing it hopefully a few hours later.
I like that you said you only hear four elements in the song because that's the objective. The listener doesn't know how many layers you put on your kick. The listener doesn't know how many things you got going on, but out of all the details and stuff, you're making a phrase.
When I'm walking around the house, sometimes I'm just like, not pretty. Like, I'm just like, it's memorable, you know? And it might be a ton of layers, but it sounds like a phrase, a unit, you know?
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Counter melodies can make a song come alive by Skrillex. Oftentimes, if I personally can't make a melody come alive, the solution isn't necessarily changing that melody. The solution can come from changing a different melody, a counter melody.
Sometimes the beginning of an idea, you'll have this kind of melody in your head, and it almost doesn't make any sense until you kind of put those counter melodies in. So like this is the first idea, just it's simple, but then this gives it an instant move, this counter melody.
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Right, and then the baseline.
Simple.
Listen, layer different MIDI.
Leno, let's say you have a melody that isn't quite there. You don't want to add a counter melody. Maybe you already have one, and you don't want to change the melody because you like it. Try adding what I call an accent layer, something in between a counter melody and a new melody to sort of subtly bring life to what you already have.
Synth lead guy, another Sam Fleet guy or so, they kind of like have this little chord thing going. Like when layering stuff, you shouldn't necessarily always try to have all the parts play a similar MIDI. Like have different layers playing different things. I think that will help you come up with richer textures and stuff.
So this on top of the chords will sound like...
[Music]
This.
So then we have this wobbly arp, which I think is a pretty important element. Even though you can't really hear it, or you can't hear it, but like it's kind of subtle. It sort of gives the track a sense of movement.
Try octaves and passing fifths for better bass lines.
Low file, this is one of the simplest ways to spice up a bass line. Really common thing bassists do when they play, they'll experiment with octaves. Always try your octave up and then going down the octave too, but hitting a passing note in between, like a fifth away or something on top of the chord is also a really common bass trick.
So I'm basically just doing octaves with the occasional little tiny fill in it, but the whole bass line is based off of these octaves.
Right, let's do it again.
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Violate space.
Ian Kirkpatrick, Ian uses this technique a lot. It can help create unique grooves and melodies even with the exact same notes. The important thing is not to overdo it.
I think of this a lot like salt. You don't want to put too much on, but if you put on the right amount, it can really help bring out all the flavors you already have.
Shout out to Ian!
Like one of my favorite things to do in production and not in real life, one of my favorite things to do is violate space. Establish a room and then totally violate it, you know? Introduce a reverb and then cut that reverb off.
Like I said, I only do that in productions, not in real life.
All the yellow parts are silence that I chopped out, so like no line noise at all. Like right here, you could see a little bit of line noise and reverb. You can really hear the reverb break.
Your DAW, Lax City. If you're still trying to come up with a great hook or great melody and it's not working, just break your DAW. Try something. It forces you to create in the moment and really pay attention to what's happening versus overthinking everything.
I feel like you need the right attitude to actually see the potential in having like all these limited tools that made the craziest sounds just by using plugins in ways they're not supposed to.
Like literally breaking them, just tweaking something in your DAW that's like not supposed to be touched. Like maybe this master pitch.
You have to remember that everything in your DAW can be recorded. When you break something or tweak something that's not supposed to be messed around with, you might get the craziest sounds.
Chase the feeling.
Oliver, this is very helpful if you're trying to decide if a certain part of your song is right or not. Listen to what you're feeling. Is the EQ that you're tweaking giving you the feeling that you want? Is the reverb bringing out the emotion of the vocal?
Tips are tools, but the feeling is what you're truly after. Really, that's what it is, is a feeling. Chasing a feeling.
Yeah, at least my mixing process or when I'm actually trying to dial in the sounds, it's all just chasing a feeling until I get that feeling where I'm like, "Oh, that just hits right."
Like until I get that, I don't really stop because it's not a technical thing. It really isn't. It doesn't matter how you get there. Until I get that feeling, I'll try everything.
Do I need to EQ this? Do I need to put a different sound in here? Like whatever it takes. It's really not about that. It's about the end result.
Does it feel right? Am I bobbing my head and dancing? Because if I'm not, then probably other people won't. Until I get that feeling, I'll try everything.
Get into the zone on demand.
Ian Kirkpatrick, one thing that distinguishes pros from amateurs is that pros show up no matter what. That's what this tip is about. Budget time, show up, and get to work.
This sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, over the years, I have learned how to get into the zone on demand. It still takes me a couple of hours to like really get into something or, you know, an hour or sometimes 20 minutes if like the ideas are obvious.
Like two days ago, on my calendar, I allotted one day to start work on this duet I'm supposed to produce for two humongous, humongous artists. Most of that day is spent trying to get into the zone.
I can't get in the zone without a vision, you know? So like I'm trying all these things. I'm walking down this road, I'm walking down that road, and I'm like trying to develop a theme for the song.
Then when I do, which I did, I don't want to stop. I go as long as I can because I go to like my, you know, 11 p.m. or 11:30 because I gotta be up early in the morning and do my exercise.
I wanted to introduce discipline into my creativity. My creativity used to be this wild animal, and it still is. It still is wild as [ __ ] but I tame that [ __ ].
Say no to writer's block.
Cashmere, this is similar to what Ian said. If you think about most of your favorite artists, they spent most of their time making songs you've never heard. Daft Punk has put out a few hours, a few hours of music over a 30-year career.
My philosophy is often painful, but I just sit in front of a computer until it happens. And if nothing happens, I just go to bed and I feel like a worthless human being. And then I repeat the process the next day.
You know what breaks writer's block? Writing something good. Oftentimes, when you cross the finish line and you score a touchdown and you remember what that feels like, then you're back in the spirit of it. You're back in the mode, and you're going to score more touchdowns.
Becoming blind and reversing progress.
Morgan Page, despite everything we just said, forcing music isn't always the best solution. If you're investing the time in music, it's important to be honest and ask, "Am I becoming blind and reversing progress?"
For me, taking breaks, even just 10 to 20 minutes, really helps reset my ears and helps make sure that I'm actually making progress, not just sitting in front of the computer.
In the past, I thought that working a 12-hour day was the standard and that you're going to do better work by working overtime, which simply isn't true.
You really can become blind to what your song sounds like, and you can undo your work and work backwards in your mix. I've worked backwards countless times, thinking I'm working hard, I'm maximizing my day.
I'm in the zone, and to be honest, most people will disagree with this, but you're probably only getting three or four good, really, really good musical hours in a day.
It's honestly like if you look at, there's a book that described the diaries of famous artists and musicians, and a lot of the most famous artists, they put the work in every day. They'll do their three or four hours, and they're like, "I'm done. I'm gonna go, you know, go for a walk or hike the rest of the day."
And these are legendary writers and authors. It's funny because you don't need those 12 hours. You're probably fooling yourself into thinking that you're maximizing your day.
I take it as far as I can, and then when it feels like I'm forcing something, then it's time to take a break.
The 7k trick.
Jaws, we're all super obsessed with cutting the low end and making the kick and bass fit together, but this tip is really about making the synths and the hats and the transients fit together really nicely.
Big disclaimer, this doesn't always work, but it's super helpful if you're looking for a very, very clear high end, specifically on your drums.
I swear this is the first time I've mastered a song like this, and it's this loud, and the high end is just like pristine.
I swear to God, it's because I'm cutting all of my synths at like 7k, seven and a half k, so all of the hats and the white noise and everything has room to breathe.
It's nuts! So here's without the filter, here's with the filter. Everything about that sound stayed exactly the same. You're just missing that crispy little high end, but that's fine because we have these hats.
So now the hats and the synth aren't fighting for space, and the mix will sound a hundred thousand times more clean.
I won't take that advice as my own. I got that from Sullivan King like two months ago, and ever since I started doing it, I swear everything is just so much easier.
Does your snare slap?
Zed, for genres where you want a big snare, a great question to ask is, does this snare slap?
We'll do a little educational moment. I'm gonna play this again at full volume, and you will tell me yes or no. The question is, does this snare drum slap?
Your [Music]
It appears like the snare drum does not slap.
The majority of my chats, while that is what we are trying to achieve.
The close your eyes vocal test.
Zed, even basic sensory deprivation like closing your eyes can really help you focus on what you're hearing and not get tricked by plugins and your DAW and colors and, you know, all the stuff that isn't actually sound.
Anyway, just another great question to ask yourself when you're mixing.
Oh, oh, hey! I didn't know you were watching. I was just getting some dirt off my shirt.
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Your voice sounds a little bit far away. It almost sounds like you're singing from here.
I don't know if you recorded quite far from the mic or if you like it distant, but I always try to imagine when I close my eyes, and in my own music, I want the vocal to feel like it's right in front of me, like in my face. That's how I like it.
Limit and saturate your kick.
Abstract, if you're like me, you spend a lot of time, too much time thinking about the transient of your kick drums.
Ever since seeing how Abstract makes kicks, I've been thinking a lot about how much air is in my kick transient.
And another trick that I really love for kick drums, this is all saturated. Always.
Yeah, you push it to the edge of clipping. Like four is almost too saturated. Like it's almost too hard. Three is kind of like still at the edge, but two still has like the low, like just to get the hair off.
Find a vocalist.
Cashmere, one of the hardest things for me, and I think many other producers, is finding amazing vocals because I think it can be hard to know if a song is done if you don't have a really strong hook or vocals to bring it all together.
So this tip really makes me think about producing a vocalist really as a learning exercise. I really encourage you guys to find a vocalist, especially if you're getting started, and work with them a lot because it teaches you a lot as a producer.
Because suddenly you're not just in there like this lone wolf. Suddenly, you're involved with another human being in the process, and everything that you do is in furtherance of the song that you've made together and in furtherance of how to better create a song around their vocal.
And so using an artist and building around them, it just really gives you a new energy that you can start really whipping out songs quickly.
My vocalist was this girl, Dev. We did G6 together and based down low, and by producing all of her music, I really learned quickly how I would produce my own music.
Try producing first singer five or six songs, and I think you'd learn a lot about producing and how to simplify.
Outsource your mastering.
Abstract, now on the surface, this is obvious, but Abstract's reasoning behind it is brilliant. It's very easy to get sick of a song and not ever finish it, but the decision in advance that you're going to outsource your mastering is a way to solve that problem.
I don't do my masterings myself. I work with a homie that does it for me because otherwise, I could do it myself, but otherwise, I would just spend so much time doing it again and again and again, switching headphones out.
It was just a headache for me. It would make me hate my music, you know?
So I try to work on my mix downs as much as I can and make the track sound as crazy good as I can using just a limiter. It's gonna affect the volume basically, and then I send it to someone that masters it that just kind of makes it a bit, you know, prettier.
That means that I don't go back to this project and touch it again. I can move on to new things.
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