What Season are you in as a Music Producer?
Slanj Va!
Hello and welcome!
You’ve just found your whisky fuelled music production life coach
In this week’s video we are going to find out what season of music production you are in right now!
This is important because the overall journey to finishing and promoting a track can be overwhelming, so it helps to break it down into “seasons”
More below…
Before we start, I just wanted to offer you a free gift!
A free video lesson on arranging and mixing!
Click here to access this amazing tutorial!
Music production is complicated, involves a lot of moving parts and also many stages. So knowing the main four seasons will help you feel comfortable as you create!
I used to beat myself up sometimes, like “UH DUDE I’M GIGGING SO MUCH RIGHT NOW I NEVER MAKE ANY NEW TRACKS.”
And then ironically I’d also be like “UH MAAAN FUCK ALL I AM DOING IS MAKING WEE LOOPS AND I HARDLY EVER GIG NOW”
Now I realise I was just in different seasons and the seasons can sometimes even last 12 months or more and that’s OK!
And just like some people love a certain season, like Autumn - (you know… the scarf people on instagram)
there might be a music production season you prefer too, and that’s OK
Check out my from “NO” to “PRO”
mixing course
Take your mixes from a drab, unprofessional sound to a places that wows your fans and friends.
So, coming up in the video we will look at the four seasons in detail,
and what is cool is this is an age old, proven cycle that most music makers have went through since the dawn of recorded music -
going back to the Jazz Age and even further!!!
Prefer to listen?
Listen to the content as a podcast here
Looking for monthly inspiration and motivation? Check out our Music Maker’s Social Club
Remember, you can still sign up for my free mixing and arranging video tutorial!
This is where I take you through one of my most recent releases, and explain how I arranged and mixed it.
Struggle with Sound Design?
Bored of Presets?
Sign up below for my FREE Ultimate Guide to Synths eBook then!
3 MYTHS about Mixing
Slanj Va!
Hello and welcome!
You’ve just found your whisky fuelled music production life coach
Today we are going to bust some common myths about mixing.
This is important because there are a lot of weird things said out there about mixing, and some of these myths just need busted!
So, we will take a look at 3 main myths, and bust them in around a 6 minute read. Enjoy!
Before we start, I just wanted to offer you a free gift!
A free video lesson on arranging and mixing!
Click here to access this amazing tutorial!
Myth One - “COMPRESSION = LOUDER”
This is a classic you’ll hear everywhere online. However, the truth is actually the opposite.
Compression might make your sound appear louder, but what is actually doing is making the peaks of your sound quieter.
It smoothes down any spikes in volume your audio to be closer in volume to the rest of the sound.
Then, if you have left automatic makeup gain on (I suggest you don’t), it will then automatically raise the overall volume.
The human ear judges the volume of something not by listening the peaks (maximum) loudness of sound, but by hearing the average loudness of a sound.
Compressors can be used in a few ways, but the main thing they are designed to do is
Squish down the peaks by making them quieter to the average volume
So then, if you want, you can then increase the average volume (because the peaks won’t go in the red now)
And therefore because the average volume is now up, it tricks the ear and sounds louder than before
This works even if you test it at the exact same volume with or without the compression.
This is called an A/B test and you’ll hear exactly what it’s doing then.
This is always worth doing manually, hence why I mentioned I suggest you turn auto make up off on your compressor
Compressors can do other cool things too, like glue groups of sounds together, add colour to a sound, and more, but I hope this busts the myth that they make things louder…
they make things quieter!
Check out my from “NO” to “PRO”
mixing course
Take your mixes from a drab, unprofessional sound to a places that wows your fans and friends.
Myth Two - “GO INTO HUGE DETAIL WITH THE EQ”
I’ve seen students using the “search & destroy” EQ technique wildly before. I’ve also seen boosting and cutting in many different areas of the frequency spectrum. Their EQ curve looked like the track of a roller coaster, it had that many ups and downs.
Now, there is a place for all these techniques, but if you have to remember an EQ curve like a bit of cooked spaghetti, it can start to sound unnatural to the human ear.
If so many adjustments are needed, you might have to ask yourself “does this part need re-recorded if it’s that bad quality I have to use so much EQ?”
Or if you are using samples, it might be worth considering using a different sample.
Remember the old sound engineering adage “GARBAGE IN; GARBAGE OUT”
Start with great sounds, and then a minimal amount of EQ will be needed to bring out the best in that sound later.
As a rule of thumb, ideally you wouldn’t need more than two filters, two cuts and two boosts per instrument/sound.
Looking for monthly inspiration and motivation? Check out our Music Maker’s Social Club
Is this blog right so far? Get in touch and let me know!
Myth Three - “BOOST THE BASS”
It makes sense right? You want your track to sound more full in the bass region, so you use EQ to boost the bass.
But one of the most surprising things in music production is to get a more clear, defined, and tighter bass; you actually CUT the bass!
This is because any frequencies below around 40-50Hz are very muddy sounding, and a lot of systems will struggle to reproduce these sounds.
My monitors at home do not produce frequencies under 35Hz, for example.
And only the largest club systems will ever come close to producing these sounds. Even then, you will feel that sound in your chest rather than hear it.
So it makes sense, to use EQ, with a fairly steep EQ slope, to cut the bass at around 35Hz.
This will make your bass sound tighter, and more controlled. I think controlled is the key word here.
Remember, whenever you cut, you can reward yourself with a small boost, so if it sounds good, feel free to boost the bass slightly where the fundamental frequency lies.
CONCLUSION
I hope you enjoyed busting these three myths about mixing with me today.
Compression = Quieter
Don’t go insane with your EQ curve
Cutting the bass makes it bass-ier
Remember, you can still sign up for my free mixing and arranging video tutorial!
This is where I take you through one of my most recent releases, and explain how I arranged and mixed it.
Struggle with Sound Design?
Bored of Presets?
Sign up below for my FREE Ultimate Guide to Synths eBook then!
Do You Need a Music Production Life Coach?!
Hello Clan!
There are a million videos out there telling you how to produce, mix and master your music.
But are there any YouTube channels out there that are dedicated to helping you with your artist’s mindset?
We all experience things like:
Self doubt
Procrastination
Unable to finish anything
Unsure if it’s good enough
Lack of inspiration
Lack of motivation
Exhaustion creeping in
So in my new video series, I plan to help you with all this and more!
Check out the video below for a full explanation!
ALSO
Register below, to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook!
Most new producers struggle with sound design and feel bad relying on presets. Whilst presets are great - and you shouldn’t feel guilty using them - it is good to understand what is happening and how to tweak them. Check out my guide below!
Want to learn music production in a more in depth way?
My course combines the skill of being a producer, as well as advocating for a positive mindset and the well being aspects of music production. I am sure you’d love it!
Top 6 Halloween Synth Sounds
Happy Halloween!
In this free guide, I show you 6 ways to add more spooky sounds into your productions!
Register below, to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook!
Most new producers struggle with sound design and feel bad relying on presets. Whilst presets are great - and you shouldn’t feel guilty using them - it is good to understand what is happening and how to tweak them. Check out my guide below!
In the video we take a look at
Pitch Drift
Using Piano sounds
Using found sounds
Free but unusual 1980’s synth plug ins
and more!
Want to learn music production in a more in depth way?
My course combines the skill of being a producer, as well as advocating for a positive mindset and the well being aspects of music production. I am sure you’d love it!
How to Mix Indie Vocals
Who here struggles mixing vocals?
ME: Slowly raises hand
Since I’ve mainly worked in electronica & techno the last while, I’ve not been mixing vocals much.
But it’s something I have a huge interest in, because of a new indie-dance project I am working on.
SO, I was browsing around looking for tips and found this video by Marcus Lapp at the Indie Music Lab.
It’s an amazingly put together tutorial, that flies through some awesome tips in only 20 mins, so I wanted to share it with you!
Enjoy and happy music making!
Also, MY FREE GIFT TO YOU!
Register below, to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook!
Most new producers struggle with sound design and feel bad relying on presets. Whilst presets are great and you shouldn’t feel guilty using them, it is good to understand what is happening and how to tweak them. Check out my guide below!
In the video, Marcus breaks down the following:
How to use a preamp style plug in to add warmth
How to use a DS-er to remove annoying sounds
How to EQ a vocal - and looks at removing honky sounds often found around 200Hz-350Hz and problems around 2000Hz
How to use 3 layers of compression to control the sound, pump the sound, and add character to the sound
How to use a harmonic exciter to make a vocal pop in the mix
How to use time based FX like reverb and slap back delay
How to automate things to add professional details
And more!
I am super grateful Marcus took the time to share this, and I hope you find it useful too!
My course combines the skill of being a producer, as well as advocating for a positive mindset and the well being aspects of music production. I am sure you’d love it!
Is the “perfect mix” a LIE?
Slanj Va!
Hello and welcome!
You’ve just found your whisky fuelled music production life coach
In today’s blog, we are going to look and see if the “Perfect Mix” is a lie or not.
This is important because I believe in struggling to achieve the “perfect mix” is something that could actually be holding back a lot of music producers
So, we are going to look at 3 reasons why the “Perfect Mix” could be a lie, and use some quotes from famous artists and musicians to help us along the way…
Before we start, I just wanted to offer you a free gift!
Most new producers really struggle with Sound Design, and would love to be able to create the sounds in their head more easily - rather than only using presets.
So, to help you out I’ve written this free, Ultimate Guide to Synths eBook.
It has 27 pages of information, tutorials, and lessons you can follow along to improve your sound design skills.
Register below to receive it!
1) PERFECTION IS A LIE
“Perfection is a lie. It's an idea without an example, an unreachable goal” - Forbes Magazine
This is something that is very important to learn in general, and especially when it comes to creating art and music.
Think of a track you think is “perfect”. I can easily think of a few. However, if you were to ask the creator of that track - or find an interview where they talk about it - I am sure they will STILL mention things they think could have been better about it.
Within us is our own harshest critic & perfectionist who we must learn to ignore if we ever want to finish anything.
In fact, many artists have said it is the imperfections that actually make a work great.
Paul Epworth - a famous producer of Indie artists & even Adele - said in Music Tech Magazine:
“You can spend ages trying to make your track sound perfect, but sometimes you’ve just got to give it some fucking teeth.”
And went on to how he oversaturated every channel on one mix to achieve this!
A personal favourite artist of mine - James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem - has also explained at length on how he thinks it is actually the imperfections in his favourite music that make it so good. (Curious Creatures Podcast, linked below)
And a great quote that leads me to my next point comes from Salvador Dali:
“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it”
2) PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF DONE
Quite often, the endless tweaking of parameters to get a mix “perfect” is actually fear & self doubt rearing their ugly heads!
The fear of releasing something to the world you’ve worked hard on, which could then be criticised.
And the self doubt from not trusting your initial, instinctive mix (which you’ve maybe now ruined with all the tweaking!)
So, as Dali says, do not have fear, don’t even aim for perfection. Shed your fear and trust your ears and gut reaction!
You are good enough!
One thing that can help with this, is rather than aiming for “perfect”, have a vision of how you want it to sound.
Is it a glossy pop production?
Is it a dirty, lo-fi dreamy track?
Is it a modern metal behemoth?
Once you have that vision, you can then find good reference tracks, and then aim towards this.
There are also some ways you can always keep improving too…
3) WHAT CAN YOU DO TO GET THE BEST MIXES YOU CAN THEN?
Here are some tips to help you continually improve your mixes, and the main thing I want to emphasise is continuous learning.
Never stop educating yourself in music production. There is so much to learn, and the thing that makes “the best” artists “the best” is that they are always open to learning new things, trying out new tricks, and building upon what they already know.
This can take patience and time, but if you start enjoying the journey rather than always chasing the destination, you’ll be much happier!
BUT it does help to have a map, so here are some things I think you should focus on learning over the next few weeks & months:
Setting levels
Panning & the Stereo Image
EQ - for controlling and colouring the sound
Compression - also learn about how it can control the sound and colour the sound
Time based FX like reverb, delay and chorus
A/B testing of FX
Checking your adjustments work in the whole mix - not just when a track is solo’d
Using Return tracks
How to group tracks and process the groups
Surgical EQ
Using reference tracks
Processing the master bus carefully
CONCLUSION
I hope you enjoyed this free guide!
The big takeaway I want you to have is although perfection does not exist, it is always good to continually try and improve your work, and enjoy learning new techniques and skills.
But don’t let perfectionism and fear hold you back!
Remember, you can still sign up for my free gift!
Most new producers really struggle with Sound Design, and would love to be able to create the sounds in their head more easily - rather than only using presets.
So, to help you out I’ve written this free, Ultimate Guide to Synths eBook.
It has 27 pages of information, tutorials, and lessons you can follow along to improve your sound design skills.
Register above to receive it!
SOURCES
Forbes Magazine & Dali Quote
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2016/10/20/imperfect-is-everything/?sh=116229995eaa
James Murphy Interview
Paul Epworth
https://musictech.com/features/interviews/paul-epworth-psychedelic-debut-voyager/
Is it OK to produce in other genres?
Is it OK to produce in other genres?
This is a question I often get asked - and have asked myself loads over the years!
As a music producer, with all the amazing tools at our disposal, the possibilities are almost endless of what we could create. And when one is starting out, it is exciting to try out all the different sounds & instruments.
This is totally normal, and one of the best things about being a music producer in the 2020’s!
However, when we look at our favourite artists, a lot of them have a strong sonic and visual identity that they don’t often veer from.
Even experimental artists like Bjork are almost instantly recognisable.
So, is it OK to produce in different genres?
The answer is YES!
Read on below for practical advice in this….
Register below to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook
Here are some reasons why it is totally OK:
You can learn lots of techniques you’d never have known about - which you can then take back to your “main” genre
It reflects the different emotions and feelings you have, and you should always be in tune with these as an artist.
You’ll create tracks that might not fit in with any singles you want to release, but the material could be amazing as album or EP tracks.
It also reflects your diverse listening habits.
It might happen In electronic music less - but in the rock & band world, quite often mixing songs of different styles, tempos and feelings into one set is common
So yes, for these reasons and more, it is totally OK to produce in different genres, and you should never beat yourself up for this.
Here are some other points to think about when you get to the stage of releasing music:
Artists with their own sonic & visual identity usually have spent years experimenting and developing this sound. You should allow yourself time to grow too.
You don’t have to release everything you make - feel free to show your friends and family; but when it comes to releasing material it is good to consider what works together and develop your sonic identity
Large acts do this, EG Boards of Canada have talked about making tracks in completely different genres, like 60’s rock. Often, they will re-sample it and work it into material that fits their sound more.
If you really do want to release completely different styles of music, consider using a different artist name and visual identity for each project. It is a bit like when people in a band have a side project.
If you have any questions or want to chat about this further, give me an email!
My favourite YouTube Music Production Tutorial
When I was starting out, this video was and still is my favourite overview of an artist making a track using a mixture of Ableton, Midi controllers, and hardware.
Legowelt is also one of my favourite artists and personalities in the electronic music world - he is always so inventive, has a good sense of humour, and isn’t afraid to stand out!
Enjoy and happy music making!
Also, MY FREE GIFT TO YOU!
Register below, to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook!
My course combines the skill of being a producer, as well as advocating for a positive mindset and the well being aspects of music production. I am sure you’d love it!
Register below to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook
Album Re-Release Interview
For my brother James and I, It’s been a wild ride re-releasing our 15 year old album “21”, under the duo name Kinetic Friends.
One exciting part has been recounting those times in an interview with our friend & host Freddie.
In this we chat about things that might help your own music making like:
Getting other producers to remix your work
Planning your next releases
New ideas that can come about by thinking back to your old writing stye
Enjoy and happy music making!
Also, MY FREE GIFT TO YOU!
Register below, to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook!
My course combines the skill of being a producer, as well as advocating for a positive mindset and the well being aspects of music production. I am sure you’d love it!
Register below to get your FREE “Ultimate Guide to Synths” eBook