One [or more, as necessary] Sentence Music-Tip Dump

[Conduit]

Changing timbre is just as important as changing melody, especially in orchestral music.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Less is more.
Unless it needs more.
Ask someone else before you do that though.
You might just be stupid.

[Evdog]

The order in which you place your effects onto a channel can often make a difference to the sound that comes out. Try reordering those around to get a better sound.

Also, NEVER EVER leave a limiter on the master in the final mix. It destroys your dynamic range, and will cause your listeners' ears to fatigue. Look into Multiband Compression and learn how to use it on the master bus.

[Navron]

- Always have something to record on by your side. If you know notation, have a small writing pad. If you don't, have some sort of audio recorder, or a cell phone.

You will have song ideas and melodies pop into your head from time to time. Most of them won't be great, but every now and then you'll strike gold. I've had some crazy melodies come out of dreams, while driving down the road, or at work.

You WILL NOT remember them unless you have a means of writing them down for later.

Don't let a good melody escape you. Keep a pen pad or recorder at the ready at all times.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

A lot of things in music can be boiled down to "You can have [thing], but don't be an idiot with it."

"You can have presets in your song, but don't be an idiot with it."
"You can have a limiter on the master channel, but don't be an idiot with it."
"You can have Modern Talking, but don't be an idiot with it."

and so on.

[DJ TATCM]

If you're running some sort of deadline and you have no way of setting the project aside so that you can listen with fresh ears, try listening with fresh headphones. Switch up your headphones (or start wearing headphones occasionally if you use speakers) every once in a while, particularly those awful white ones that came with your iPod. If it sounds good with the white earphones AND your Sennheiser HD-598s (wish I had those), then it'll theoretically sound good with everybody. I think.

Another piece of advice: don't give much weight to my advice

[ChocolateChicken]

Don't layer your supersaws or leads with white noise. It's dumb, overused, and sounds obnoxious.

[JSynth]

this

[Genkar]

I don't know if this has been said or not, but I'm just gonna say it because it makes me mad.

Never get cocky about your work. You will always be able to improve, so if you just turn down the help people try and give you, you won't get better.

[Nine Volt]

If you're in a creative slump, try working on just sound design or just mixing rather than putting a song together.

If that doesn't work, just close your DAW down and don't even open it for a week or so. Works for me usually.

[PropellerEscape]

Doing slight sidechaining of your hats with your kick drum is a good way to make them sound more fluid

[DJ TATCM]

If you have some sort of chorus thingy in your song (not talking about the fx), try automating your master volume so that it's about -1dB everywhere else, it should provide a bit of extra impact when paired with your sub bass automation (you're doing that too, right?).

[Revandose]

If while using Massive you keep getting different sounds on rapid playback, click the option "Restart via Gate" under the "OSC" tab.

[JSynth]

Louder always sounds better. (Doesn't mean it actually is.)

[vladnuke]

post less produce more

[Ech-0]

Learn to externalize your effects chains for the most unique results.

Music making is a marathon not a sprint.

[Conchetupony]

While reading this found:

"Don't over complicate things. If a person with little musical talent can play a melody you wrote on a piano, it's accessible and they'll remember it. Then it's a hook." - Neon Circus

[Mush]

Sometimes, a catchy bassline can be just as memorable as a catchy melody,

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Layer stuff. Your message contains 12 characters. The minimum number of characters you need to enter is 25.

[JacksonMiller]

A forum member (not on this one) said this to me recently:

If you want to people to focus less on the samples and more on the "heavy beats", then why don't you fucking do it yourself? incorporate your own sounds more. if you feel like a vengeance loop or whatever they're called will enhance your song, than all power to you. but just taking a loop and sticking it in there is just plain slothful. pitch it, chop it up, modulate it, add distortion, just do whatever and craft your own style.


what are you waiting for?

[Genkar]

Layer stuff.

Variety in music is important. Change your sounds/instruments, change your chord progressions, change your key, whatever you can do to keep your song interesting is almost always a good thing.

[Injustrial]

Study psytrance, to learn variation from nothing

[CitricAcid]

How to write a good melody: If you leap an interval greater than a second, follow it with a step or leap in the opposite direction. You should only leap again in the same direction if you mean to complete an arpeggio.

How to write a good chord progression: each chord should either be up a second, down a third, or up a fourth (down a fifth) from the previous chord. Regardless of the previous sentence, you can always progress to or from the I-chord (the chord of the key that you are in).

[ClaviSound]

When it comes to rap instrumentals, you should be able to differentiate between songs not only by the notes played, but also by the instruments used. Otherwise, you going generic son.

[JSynth]

Have a break rule of thumb.
When working with monitors: 45 minutes of mixing - 15 minute break.
When working with headphones: 30 minutes of mixing - 30 minute break.