<pony><original> Distant Horizons + VIP Mix

[Techniponi]

Greetings, fellow magic rhythm horse nerds. I come in search of feedback and advice, as I have recently stepped into the world of electronic music production and I am looking to improve my skills. Embedded below are my first two completed songs, Distant Horizons and its VIP mix. I have more songs in progress, and I am trying something new with each one, but none of them are really "complete" enough to be worth showing (yet). You may find a cover of Friendship by Aviators on my channel, although my singing has improved greatly since recording it and I'm just not very happy with it anyway (original vocal track is in the works.)

So let's just embed them here and see what you guys have to say~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvBq9UuI_iA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1teAF4sPZbo

I fiddled with the youtube tags for a bit but I couldn't get them to work... if someone could explain, please do.

[Guthey]

Well I must say that the VIP seems like a pretty large improvement over the original. Also, the Melody sequence at 1:10- 1:18 was very good, I actually listened to that part more than the song, so good on you there. One thing I have to point out is the repetitiveness of this. and the lead (I think) coming in at about 2:55 is pretty good, a very nice melody. You sound like you know what you're doing, and your music only proves it. The only main issue that seemed to be present is that we were listening to the same old melody, it was nice, but it got tiring after about a minute, and there was litte variation to the track, only every now and then did we hear something a little different for a bout 5-10 seconds, nonetheless, it was still a pretty good track. Also, Welcome to MLR, I subbed to you and hope to hear more of you on this site and on YT aswell, also, since you're coming into the EDM genre, if you need any advice or something i'm always willing to share what I know.

[Techniponi]

Well I must say that the VIP seems like a pretty large improvement over the original. Also, the Melody sequence at 1:10- 1:18 was very good, I actually listened to that part more than the song, so good on you there. One thing I have to point out is the repetitiveness of this. and the lead (I think) coming in at about 2:55 is pretty good, a very nice melody. You sound like you know what you're doing, and your music only proves it. The only main issue that seemed to be present is that we were listening to the same old melody, it was nice, but it got tiring after about a minute, and there was litte variation to the track, only every now and then did we hear something a little different for a bout 5-10 seconds, nonetheless, it was still a pretty good track. Also, Welcome to MLR, I subbed to you and hope to hear more of you on this site and on YT aswell, also, since you're coming into the EDM genre, if you need any advice or something i'm always willing to share what I know.

Awesome! Thanks for the support. On the subject of the repetitiveness, I'll be honest and say I noticed it to a degree myself. Both of these songs served as the sort of "getting my feet wet" in a DAW - learning my way around the buttons, the general feel and procedure of things. Now I'm in a position where I can relatively quickly and easily do what I intended to do, which I did not have when these were created.

The melody on both the original and the added sections in the VIP were, in all honesty, completely random notes hurled wildly at the piano roll until I liked how it sounded. It started, at the VERY beginning, with a single one measure 4-note-chord loop. I found myself so addicted to this loop thing I somehow managed to make, I couldn't help but keep messing with it. That is how the melody for the original was born. The added portions of the VIP were literally just copy/pasting the chords I already had around and messing with note lengths, and possibly fiddling with the notes themselves in a couple parts. I honestly had no idea what I was doing - I didn't even know what key it was supposed to be in (now I know it's G.)

On top of the melody, I tried things mostly with synths and automation clips. I messed with presets and knobs until it sounded cool, and layered synths on top of each other to see what I could do. I messed with the synths independently, so while they were typically playing more or less the same melody, they would fade in and out of each other to add variation. The VIP mix also had a unique system for drums - I took a premade drum loop, sliced it around a little and chopped off the end, and combined it with my own manually placed samples. This has turned out to be a really good formula for good drumbeats, as removing the ends allows me to perform subtle progressive transitions while retaining the same basic drumbeat, as well as being a pretty well-made one in the first place.

Seventh Element actually taught me some mixing/mastering basics, mostly just how to remove clipping. It definitely sounds far, FAR clearer than it did before I released it.

I produce with ATH-M50's and a 61 key MIDI keyboard, as well as a Blue Snowball + pop filter (like I explained in the OP, the only thing I've uploaded with singing really isn't very good and doesn't represent what I am capable of now). I'm good from a hardware standpoint :P

I suppose now I'll just have to finish something else and see how that ends up. If you or anyone has any other comments aside from "it's repetitive" (because I definitely know), please, do not hesitate to share.

Thanks again. Hopefully my music career in this fandom will turn out to be as fun as I am hoping, and I know this forum has been the birthplace of many an amazing project and musician. Glad to be a part!

[Guthey]

Possible way to improve-

This is my own idea and suggestion on how you could improve, so if you ever go back to this track, or just feel like messing with some new stuff, try following some of this.

1. One word. Bass. The thing with the EDM genre now-a-days either consists of, or has traces of some form of bass. This has barely noticeable hints of bass other than a possibly bassline, which I don't think I was able to hear(if there was any). If you ever get into the bass production I would suggest you start early. The reason for this is that bass production comes in many shapes and forms, usually that squelchy and vocodized type. The production of it is not at all easy. it took me 4 months of grinding on FL to understand the dynamics and functions of how to produce an effective bass, ranging from an electro bass, house, dubstep, drumstep, dnb, and glitch-hop basses. Each Genre requires it's own style of bass, and it is absolutely CRUCIAL that you understand the difference. I can't exactly explain it, but to understand it i would suggest listening to those genres to better understand their composition and structure.

2. How to add bass. The best way to add the bass is to first create your break into the main part of the song, which is usually the chorus, or the drop as it is referred to. After you've created the break, listen to it and let your head and ears do the work. Subconsciously your brain will construct timely positions, or at least adequately placed points, to initiate a bass sequence. The bass sequence usually lasts around .5-1 seconds, at least that's what I try to go for, you have the ability to exceed this number, but I usually have trouble when doing that, you might not, but I'm just saying. The only bass I know that is easy to comply with the other elements is an LFO type bass that just bobs up and down. After you've added on point of bass, just continue the process until you feel you have an satisfactory amount of bass into your composition. Do not flood the track with bass, if you do that then you are severely troubled and need to rethink what bass is and how it is to be constructed. Which brings us to my next point.

3. What is bass? Bass is a soundwave made of a sine wave with multiple striations and fluctuations in it's frequency, all the while it still retains its sine wave like quality. At least that is what bass is from an EDM stand point. A bass can also just be it's practical sine wave formation, it all just depends on what you are trying to create. There is no specific type of bass, which is why it is so hard to understand and formulate. The best way to understand it is to try your hand at it yourself. The best way to understand it is through tactile experimentation. Simply watching someone else do it is impractical and you don't really understand its complexities, although it is good to watch how it is created, it is best to spend time with a synthesizer and begin it's creation. Which is my next point.

4. How to create bass. The best way to create it is to start out with a regular sine wave, usually around the C1,C2, and C3 range. Start by putting a simple 1 bar note there and listen to it. In your head. formulate what sound you want and begin messing with the complementary oscillators. Though this is doable in a regular 3xOSC, it is much harder to fluctuate the harmonics. I would suggest either Sytrus, Hamor, Harmless, FM8, or Massive. I, personally use Sytrus and Harmor as they are perfectly capable of creating an acceptable bass, and they also allow for easy harmonic manipulation. There are more complicated plug-ins such as FM8 and Massive, but Sytrus and Harmor are just as powerful and flexible, plus harmor has an awesome resynthesis engine that allows for even more harmonic and frequency manipulation. A starter Bass would be a saw wave into a sine wave, with the 2nd OSC being the saw wave. It's a simple bass, and should suffice for any minor production and example means. The best way, again, is to try your own hand at it and see what you can create, but when you are messing around with OSCs make sure your volume is low, or you will be in for some serious ear rape.

Last point.

5. Why bass? One reason is for it's qualities. Bass in general is stereotyped as an awful sounding demonic creation from hell's deepest pit, at least in the EDM world. That is not the case. Bass allows for simple yet effective fillers into any EDM production. There are indeed some House and electro tracks without the use of a fluctuated and striated sine wave, but those track are created in a different manner and form, of which I am not familiar as I am a bass producer strictly. Also, a bass can be very flexible during it's creation, as long as it retains its sine wave form, it is a bass, and adding in striations is simple. Any other sound is strictly a single wave form, a simple tweak of a knob and a symphony can be turned into disaster. Any modification made to a melody's sound wave creates an entire new sound and frequency, while bass, as long as it is still composed of a sine wave, it is a bass, and is perfectly viable. Lastly, it sounds cool when you are getting deep into it's production qualities. Bass is what took the EDM genre into a whole nother chapter, before you would have just harmonized melodies combined into an awesome song. Bass adds an entire new element to the song. it can change boring into exciting. imagine some well known EDM songs without bass. All you have are chords, leads, pads, drums, and any other random noise that may occur. Bass is what created an entirely new genre in the EDM world, Dubstep, a strict Bass oriented genre.

That's pretty much all I have to say about that. Bass is what give most EDM tracks their flavor and texture. not all basses need to be a nasty and harsh sound, not all need to be a simple sinewave; the possibilities are endless when it comes to its production, you just have to have the ear and understanding for it to become part of your music.