<Pony> <Remix> Hush Now, Quiet Now

[Naezo]

So, after a few weeks messing around with my DAW (Reaper) I finally decided to do something in full. I wanted to go for a full length song, but, I kept getting lost along the way since I didn't really know what I was doing. xD

So, I decided to take a stab at remixing a song instead. I figured since the ground work was already there for me, it would give me the opportunity to experiment with Reaper, play a song in full, and actually get something done.

So, I chose a song that I've always loved from the show, I knew would be easy to play (I am also learning the piano at the moment, so I didn't want to launch into something too complex), and wasn't too long. "Hush Now, Quiet Now" was my first choice, and I am glad I picked it (looking at sheet music for something like "Smile, Smile, Smile" almost gave me a heart attack xD).

So, here it is! I'm quite nervous letting my first remix out into the wild like this, but, any advice and critique you have would be much appreciated. I am really new to music production, and I would love to hear how I could not only improve this remix but also tips for getting started with writing music (I really have no clue where to begin with that) and some more of the technical stuff (for instance, mastering and EQing... what are they?).

http://soundcloud.com/naezon/hush-now-quiet-now-naezo-remix

I hope you enjoy! ^^

[Overkillius]

First of all, Welcome to the forums!
Second, I think your remix could do with some lower sounds! Especially after the first time the theme plays I think that a cello or really anything playing low would be appropriate! Third, I'd say that a good way to get better at music is to listen and appreciate a lot of other types of music. Specifically if you want to be better at composing, you might consider trying to copy a song you like, just as a way to sort of analyze it.

I can't really offer much if any help on the technical side of using a DAW, Mixing, Mastering, etc. unfortunately, but if you have questions on how to make a full length original song or just questions about aspects of composition in general, I definitely know a little bit about all that.

[Naezo]

First of all, Welcome to the forums!
Second, I think your remix could do with some lower sounds! Especially after the first time the theme plays I think that a cello or really anything playing low would be appropriate! Third, I'd say that a good way to get better at music is to listen and appreciate a lot of other types of music. Specifically if you want to be better at composing, you might consider trying to copy a song you like, just as a way to sort of analyze it.

I can't really offer much if any help on the technical side of using a DAW, Mixing, Mastering, etc. unfortunately, but if you have questions on how to make a full length original song or just questions about aspects of composition in general, I definitely know a little bit about all that.

Thank you! ^^

Hm, I'll give that a try; thanks for the suggestion!

Alright, I've been meaning to expand my music collection; this makes quite a great excuse. xD And thanks for the idea! I never really thought about trying that.

Hehe, that's alright. One thing I would like to know is how do you go about starting to write a new song? I tend to get lost trying to figure out where to begin and what not.

[Overkillius]

When I start on a song I sometimes have some melody or melodic idea in mind. If I don't have an idea of what to do melodically, I try to work out what I want harmonically, (Usually making a bass line) and try to fit a melody over that. Since I'm a singer and I love singing bass in choirs, I usually end up doing the latter.

It also somewhat helps if you have a piano/keyboard and just bang around and see where your fingers lead you!

This is a bit harder to explain, but basically what I am trying to say is this: If you are aware of what other people do in their songs, the more aware you will be of your songs and the better you can make them.

I have always had the question "What instruments play what kind of parts in classical music, and how often do instrument sections split?" I just really had to sit analyze some Mozart. If you want to know "how do I go about starting a song?" try to see what other people do to start a song. Of course you may feel if you try to analyze something that you go through your process and then just realize "I don't understand" even if it is something simple. Still it is important to look at stuff even if you don't necessarily understand it. I have had many a time where I am looking at something in music and I remember it being somewhere else and I just have a big "OH" moment.

*rants on for a couple more days*

and that's how equestria was made!

[DrSorkenstein]

Hi and welcome to MLR! Thought I'd toss in my two cents on the matter. ehem.

WARNING RANT INCOMING!

When it comes to making music, just do it. Got a chord progression? A melody? A bassline? A cool idea (what would a pony version of Björk sound like for example)? Just throw it in your daw and start adding things and just trying stuff. Try out synths, make a beat, add crazy effects, slice up some vocals, distort a cello, bang pots and pans together, sing scat, the sky is the limit.

The point I'm trying to get at is that everyone has their own way of making music and their own workflow. It's something you'll gain after some time. But in order to make music you just gotta start making music. Since you're just starting out the important thing is to experiment and to finish songs. Finish songs and post them to get feedback which you can apply to your next song. Rinse and repeat. Everyone has been a beginner so don't be scared of making mistakes.

As for EQ and mastering, a quick summary:
EQ is the process in which you boost or cut certain frequencies in a sound. For example a bass drum might have a lot of frequencies in it we don't want so we can cut a few of those out using an EQ. In this example the drum might have too much presence in the mid-frequencies were the rest of our instruments sit so we use an EQ to lower them (This is called cutting the frequencies, while raising thm would be boosting). I would suggest looking up some tutorial to get more info but for now, it's not super important.

Mastering is simply the post mixing process where you raise the overall level of a track to a pleasant degree. In an album situation you make sure every track sounds alike and unison. Generally you mix at a few db below 0 and make all the instruments sit nicely, adding reverb and EQ where needed and then raise the volume with mastering.

TL;DR: Don't bother with technicalities, just make tracks. NOW!