Every producer must watch this video on production

[Sugarholik]

I would like to know if your still doing it everyday.

Weird... I maybe filled three pages and forgot about it but I leaped lightyears ahead in producing. Whatever. It worked! \o/

Idk how much they cost though. XD

Mine was 16 €. But like the guy said, don't go for the cheapest so it feels more important!
16 € is big money for me! :S

[LFP]

I spend all my money on candy....

Gonna watch this tomorrow as now I need to sleep, looking forward to improving

[LFP]

I'm Averaging about 85$/month on candies :l



I'm still thin as air :]

[ph00tbag]

I don't really agree with him on building a library. I would rather go with the discourse he goes into later. Incorporate synth design, sample manipulation, etc. into your flow state. Make it so that you can zero in on a sound from scratch by memory alone without having to think a lot about it. Otherwise, you find yourself using the same exact sounds over and over again. Essentially, you keep your sound design analogue, even if the instruments are digital, because every time you go for a sound that would be in the same part of your library, when you're building in from scratch, it sounds different every time and it gives every track its own character, which is essential to maintaining a fresh sound.

Otherwise, I like what he has to say.

[the4thImpulse]

I don't really agree with him on building a library. I would rather go with the discourse he goes into later. Incorporate synth design, sample manipulation, etc. into your flow state. Make it so that you can zero in on a sound from scratch by memory alone without having to think a lot about it. Otherwise, you find yourself using the same exact sounds over and over again. Essentially, you keep your sound design analogue, even if the instruments are digital, because every time you go for a sound that would be in the same part of your library, when you're building in from scratch, it sounds different every time and it gives every track its own character, which is essential to maintaining a fresh sound.

Otherwise, I like what he has to say.

I understand your reasoning and completely agree on practicing sound design so you can zero in on the sound you are going for. I save all the patches I make so in future tracks I can go through them to be inspiered in creating a new sound from a black patch. I think its good to build libraries of your own sounds so you can better understand synthesis and develop more or less your own sound. I would never take a premade patch and use it either even if I made it. I think a combination of the two has helped me the most in my music making process.

[colortwelve]

I tend to do sound design in my spare time when I have the attention span, and I save most of the good stuff I make, but no sound I make is a sonic screwdriver, and practically every sound I load up in any given track, whether it's made by me or someone else, ends up being messed with almost beyond recognition. It may be as simple as turning down an effect, or as much as switching out each oscillator one by one, but the sounds I make are usually adequate starting points.

Of course, while it helps to have a library organized, I keep mine organized only on a folders level, and no individual file has a distinct name I can use to identify it, but sometimes it helps to just be able to scroll through a bank of sounds until you find the perfect one. (Actually, in another vid of his, .gates talks about how his Ableton template has drum samplers set up that use an entire folder and can cycle through the folder just by turning a dial. I like to think that, even though I cannot (or haven't figured out how to) do the same in FL, I approach samples in a similar fashion.)

[Navron]

I think a lot of electronic musicians end up creating their own sound banks, but tweak the hell out of their own patches for each song.

For most of my songs, the 8-10 bass patches I've made are close to the amount I need where I can load one up with a sound that fits, and then tweak it to get the desired sound I want.

Although speaking of patch banks, I surprised my coworker the other day when he was playing the Korn dubstep album, and on one of the tracks I asked, "Is this downlink?"
*Looks at his phone.*
"Yeah it is. F***! You can tell what dubstep artist it is just by the sound of their bass?"
"Eeyup"

True story, including the eeyup part.

[Ed Viper]

Wow. This video really taught me a lot, but as I've read through this thread I've felt there's a lot of things I still need to learn... Technical terms, making my own sounds, and a whole host of other things... A problem I have is that I'm naturally a very analytical person, so I find it very easy to over-think things and find mistakes in whatever I'm doing...

I feel like I'm falling into a trap, though. He talked about how the record dudes wanted him to learn a bunch of technical stuff and it took him forever to make an album... I don't know :/ It's all really overwhelming all of a sudden. My head hurts just thinking about all of it. I'd like to say this video helped (and don't get me wrong, it did), but I also feel like I've been told that if I'm not ready and willing to fully commit myself to making music (which I am not, by any matter of means), then I shouldn't be making music at all. I also see people who have great ears for music, and can actually pick out specific pieces of a song by hearing it, or can actually put down a song they hear on paper or in a DAW and effectively remake a song. I just don't have that ability, and instead of these people inspiring me to get better, the opposite often occurs with me. I always end up comparing myself to them and finding all of my faults, which just generates a greater feeling of helplessness :/

It's pretty late, maybe I just need sleep. I guess I'll get a journal sometime soon and start doing that (maybe it'll be fun, as I have absolutely no recollection of my dreams). Or just sit in a corner and cry ;-;

[BronyTuber]

Wow. This video really taught me a lot, but as I've read through this thread I've felt there's a lot of things I still need to learn... Technical terms, making my own sounds, and a whole host of other things... A problem I have is that I'm naturally a very analytical person, so I find it very easy to over-think things and find mistakes in whatever I'm doing...

I feel like I'm falling into a trap, though. He talked about how the record dudes wanted him to learn a bunch of technical stuff and it took him forever to make an album... I don't know :/ It's all really overwhelming all of a sudden. My head hurts just thinking about all of it. I'd like to say this video helped (and don't get me wrong, it did), but I also feel like I've been told that if I'm not ready and willing to fully commit myself to making music (which I am not, by any matter of means), then I shouldn't be making music at all. I also see people who have great ears for music, and can actually pick out specific pieces of a song by hearing it, or can actually put down a song they hear on paper or in a DAW and effectively remake a song. I just don't have that ability, and instead of these people inspiring me to get better, they opposite often occurs with me. I always end up comparing myself to them and finding all of my faults, which just generates a greater feeling of helplessness :/

It's pretty late, maybe I just need sleep. I guess I'll get a journal sometime soon and start doing that (maybe it'll be fun, as I have absolutely no recollection of my dreams). Or just sit in a corner and cry ;-;

Are you me?

[HMage]

This sounds like something I should watch.

[JoshMono]

Wow. This video really taught me a lot, but as I've read through this thread I've felt there's a lot of things I still need to learn... Technical terms, making my own sounds, and a whole host of other things... A problem I have is that I'm naturally a very analytical person, so I find it very easy to over-think things and find mistakes in whatever I'm doing...
...

Well, of course there is still a lot to learn. There will always be stuff to learn, but that shouldn't be something you should be afraid of. Indeed, it can be really frightening to see and/or hear a lot of technical terms we don't understand, but the truth is is that the people uttering those terms only do that so easily because they've probably spent years doing so. They started out without any knowledge of the subject just as anyone else, but they worked hard and studied what they loved.

Being an analytical person is not a problem at all. Actually, I'm convinced that this is a great quality to have. I consider myself to be analytical as well, so I think I might know what you're going through. But you need to realize that being analytical is not a problem. Constantly analyzing, chronically being stuck in the analytical realm, is a problem. Something you also need to realize is that we will constantly come across problems we have to deal with. These are challenges, moments of growth. It's easy to look at them as brick walls, which automatically launches you straight back into the overly analytical (and extremely self conscious) way of thinking. This will only hamper your progress, and thus is not very productive.

Experts only make dealing with problems seem easy because they've basically dealt with similar problems for many years on end, and have developed their own set of tools to deal with said problems.

So you kind of get an anxious reaction when you realize you have a lot of technical jargon to learn? Well, that's entirely reasonable. Would you like to learn some theory? You don't have to go all the way and become a technical genius, you know. Just learn what seems relevant to you right now, and maybe a little more if you're eager to learn. What you want to be aiming at is that whenever you're thinking "Oh man, I have no idea what it means", you'll respond with "I'll look it up right away!" That is, if it seems important to you. There is plenty of learning material out there. Some are really technical and written for experts, but there are also enough books/sites that are really accessible.

Just because you don't know something right now doesn't mean that you won't ever know it. In fact, you can go learn it right now! You will need to put some energy into it, though. But it is not impossible. The thing that makes it possible or not is this question: Do you want to? If that's a yes, then you can achieve it. If it's a no, it's probably not really worth your time (at this moment).

And you know what? You don't have to learn everything. Not at all! I know my way around theory (I need to with jazz music and all). However, I have this huge binder at home which weighs a ton. That binder is filled with music theory. It probably discusses everything about music and composition. It also goes into composition for orchestras for each single instrument. It is incredibly complex and just looking at that binder makes me cringe. I haven't studied it. Yet. It just doesn't feel relevant to me at this moment in time, and it's a little scary. I'm just not at the point yet where I could seriously study this material, and you know what? That's completely fine. I'll just keep it for later For now, there are other music theory books that 'resonate' with me a lot more, and I'll study those for the time being! But what's important is that you feel like you're making progress. If you're not entirely clear about what that could be, look out for moments where you start to feel anxious. Then start asking yourself why you're feeling anxious. There's probably a learning experience hidden in there somewhere, but because we analytical types tend to become really self conscious at times we often remain stuck in that anxiety. Take a step back, look at what it is, and what you can do about it. And take baby steps. Putting "Become the next Beethoven" on your to-do list never helped anyone

...
I feel like I'm falling into a trap, though. He talked about how the record dudes wanted him to learn a bunch of technical stuff and it took him forever to make an album... I don't know :/ It's all really overwhelming all of a sudden. My head hurts just thinking about all of it. I'd like to say this video helped (and don't get me wrong, it did), but I also feel like I've been told that if I'm not ready and willing to fully commit myself to making music (which I am not, by any matter of means), then I shouldn't be making music at all. I also see people who have great ears for music, and can actually pick out specific pieces of a song by hearing it, or can actually put down a song they hear on paper or in a DAW and effectively remake a song. I just don't have that ability, and instead of these people inspiring me to get better, they opposite often occurs with me. I always end up comparing myself to them and finding all of my faults, which just generates a greater feeling of helplessness :/
...

Of course it's overwhelming! You're thinking a thousand steps ahead! I think anybody would feel incredibly overwhelmed. You've also got to realize that these lectures are often aimed at people who really want to become a musician no matter what. Often because they've given up on other things or because they simply don't want to do anything but write music. If they get stuck in a rut, that's a disaster for them. So they really have to focus and dedicate their lives to making music.

I can't dedicate myself fully to making music either. I'm studying to become a biology teacher, which is something entirely different. Music is my biggest hobby, my passion if you will, so whenever I have time I try and dedicate some time to music. I can't dedicate my life to music at this point, but what I can do is consistently dedicate some time to it. Both things are ways of investing your time into something you'd want to develop. One way goes all-in, and the other one is more conservative. Just because one can go all-in doesn't necessarily mean he'll create a better album in the end, though.

Even though I can't dedicate my life to making music, I'm completely fine with that. I have other things to do, too! And I like a little variety in my life. I do love making music, however, so I choose to dedicate some time each day to at least try to make progress. Maybe it'll take a little bit longer, but you have to do with what you've got.

You also mention a lot of skills, and that you feel bad for not having them. Like I've said before in a slightly different way: just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you'll never be able to do it. All skills can be practised, and through consistent practise eventually you become skilled. Some people seem to be born with some kind of talent, but that doesn't mean you can't get there. And realize that simply having skills doesn't guarantee success.

We all constantly find faults in ourselves, especially us self conscious analytical folk. What you need to try next time is look at what that fault is. What is it, and what can I do right now to work on that? Under-developed hearing? Look up ways to train your ear. Use a web-app. Close your eyes and play major and minor chords on an instrument and listen very carefully. Play scales and hum along with them, try to predict them. When you're showering randomly sing a scale. Listen to your favourite songs and really listen to them. What do you like about those songs?
(Here's a good program, by the way: http://www.miles.be/software/34-functio ... trainer-v2 - It runs on Adobe AIR, so be sure to have that installed)

Wow, I feel like I've written a book. I think it's probably best to end the post right here and get back to my studies I've got plenty of schoolwork to do, but if I do this now I know I'll have more free time later today I can spend on making music So hey, keep your head up, put your hoof down and look for solutions

I do hope there's some value in my post... It's so long D:

[Ed Viper]

WOAH WALL OF TEXT... But... It's such a nice, encouraging wall of text. Thank you very much, I did find a great deal of value in your post, actually.

Anyone have any idea how to actually load sounds made in a vst into my library on FLS, though? I do actually have some sounds I've made saved and sorted within the vsts themselves, but apparently that's not a library :/

I slept on it, and I've kinda come to terms with the fact that while music is something that's really fun for me and is something I like to do, it will always just be a hobby, really. I'm going to school for computer engineering, and I doubt there'd be any time in my engineering career where music is relevant (unless I go into audio engineering...).

[JoshMono]

WOAH WALL OF TEXT... But... It's such a nice, encouraging wall of text. Thank you very much, I did find a great deal of value in your post, actually.

Teehee, sorry about the wall, but I'm glad you appreciated it! One last thing I forgot to add was that you need to keep this in mind: just like with any science, the phenomenon was there first. Science was made to explain the phenomena, but didn't make them happen. Science can be used to get results quicker and in a more predictable way, however. And so it is with music. First there was music, then came the theory. In practice it goes something like this: If it sounds good, it is good, no matter what the theory says. And if it sounds bad, but the theory says it's good, it's still bad (subjectivity left aside)
So feel free to experiment and be that stereotypical chemist mixing fluids (or notes) together and see what happens. There is usually some theory behind the exceptions of the rules, which might be nice to know, but first things first: what does it sound like?

Anyone have any idea how to actually load sounds made in a vst into my library on FLS, though? I do actually have some sounds I've made saved and sorted within the vsts themselves, but apparently that's not a library :/

I'm not really sure, but I'd just save it as a preset and organize your presets if that's possible. The message I distilled from the video was that you need an organized way to access your instruments, so you won't be distracted out of your creative zone. For example, I recently made a preset in my ARIA sampler where it will automatically load up all the drum samples in the right channels. Previously I would have to load every channel manually, which is a little bit of an annoyance. You basically want to streamline your workspace so you'll have as little distractions as possible.

That's what I got from the video anyway

I slept on it, and I've kinda come to terms with the fact that while music is something that's really fun for me and is something I like to do, it will always just be a hobby, really. I'm going to school for computer engineering, and I doubt there'd be any time in my engineering career where music is relevant (unless I go into audio engineering...).

That you think of it as something you find really fun and really like to do is the important part And well, you never know what the future brings!

[Rainbow_Rage]

Anyone have any idea how to actually load sounds made in a vst into my library on FLS, though? I do actually have some sounds I've made saved and sorted within the vsts themselves, but apparently that's not a library :/

You can save the channel settings and then import those directly if thats how you have everything organized. What the video was getting at is that you have everything organized so that you can access all your sounds without needing to stop your creative process. For example when you think of a type of sound you want to add, you can just grab it without needing to search through your library because it should be efficiently organized. How you want to go about that is up to you

[Ed Viper]

Anyone have any idea how to actually load sounds made in a vst into my library on FLS, though? I do actually have some sounds I've made saved and sorted within the vsts themselves, but apparently that's not a library :/

You can save the channel settings and then import those directly if thats how you have everything organized. What the video was getting at is that you have everything organized so that you can access all your sounds without needing to stop your creative process. For example when you think of a type of sound you want to add, you can just grab it without needing to search through your library because it should be efficiently organized. How you want to go about that is up to you

Well that's a relief ^ ^ I do have them organized, they're just not in my library haha...ha..ha.

[Rainbow_Rage]

Well that's a relief ^ ^ I do have them organized, they're just not in my library haha...ha..ha.

options>file settings is where to go to tell FL what folders to look in.

[ph00tbag]

I feel like I'm falling into a trap, though. He talked about how the record dudes wanted him to learn a bunch of technical stuff and it took him forever to make an album... I don't know :/ It's all really overwhelming all of a sudden. My head hurts just thinking about all of it. I'd like to say this video helped (and don't get me wrong, it did), but I also feel like I've been told that if I'm not ready and willing to fully commit myself to making music (which I am not, by any matter of means), then I shouldn't be making music at all. I also see people who have great ears for music, and can actually pick out specific pieces of a song by hearing it, or can actually put down a song they hear on paper or in a DAW and effectively remake a song. I just don't have that ability, and instead of these people inspiring me to get better, the opposite often occurs with me. I always end up comparing myself to them and finding all of my faults, which just generates a greater feeling of helplessness :/

Well, the whole point of him bringing up the record company dudes was that they were really full of shit about what makes music good. Logic, Pro Tools, Massive, Ableton, baller sound set-ups... they're all very excellent tools, and when you know how they are useful to you personally, learning how to use them is important, but they really aren't going to make your music good. Like he said, if you can't make good music with a pencil, paper and eraser, then you can't make good music with any tools. So focus on getting an approximation of the sound that's in your heart. If the results aren't up to snuff, then you start to learn more about what tools you need, and you use those tools. Eventually, you find yourself using high level tools, and you don't really know when you learned how to use them.

I'm always encouraged by listening to tracks from the nineties and early thousands. At that point, this asinine attitude, that every track needs a compressor, and they all need to be sidechained together like a fucking truck bomb, and if your vocals aren't pitch-corrected you've committed a horrible sin, didn't exist. It was just music. Go listen to some old Astral Projection stuff. The synths crowd each other out, the effects are muddy as hell, the kick drum sounds like they're hitting a soggy rug with a dead raccoon. But I would rather listen to that than any of the trite, overproduced nonsense Deadmau5 farts out on a weekly basis. And that's really what it gets down to. You just have to grow into good production values, and worrying too much about that will make you forget about the important part, which is making sure the music is good.

[Acsii]

:D learn a DAW, make it yours.
and then modify it to suit your needs.
...
...
...
buuuuuuuuuut. learn music theory first.

music theory does help quite a lot

[Acsii]

it's the only thing that makes my music worth listening to. XD

It helps keeping to scale and quantising. Also, it allows to make a song that is nicer on the ears

[Ed Viper]

Well, I have taught myself a great deal of music theory since I've joined here. I'm just having trouble understanding the circle of fifths (my aunt warned me about that...ugggghhhh).

But, all in all, despite the troubles I have with this video, there are actually a lot of good pointers in there. Stuff I feel like I should be doing simply to foster my creative side in general, and not just for music.

[natsukashi]

What the fuck is the circle of fifths anyway

[Rainbow_Rage]

What the fuck is the circle of fifths anyway

That's the circle of 5ths (going clockwise). It's very handy although I prefer the circle of 4ths (go the other way around)

[GhostXb]

Great video 4th, thanks for sharing. A lot of the concepts he talks about are mentioned in a book titled 'The Art of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin. He's a chess champion, and a martial arts push hands champion. I didn't think to apply his ideas to music until now, and the way the guy in the video puts it, it actually makes perfect sense.

"Listen to music outside your comfort zone. Analyze it the same way you analyze the regular music you listen to. After awhile you may appreciate certain sections that sounded off to you before, and because you'll be listening to music outside of what you normally listen to, your creativity will start implementing those ideas into what you like, and you'll end up broadening your creativity, and have more at your disposal."

Does...does that mean I should listen to Justin Bieber? *shiver*

[Ed Viper]

good god no.
he said listen to MUSIC outside your comfort zone.

Heheheheheheheheh. Dat's a funny.

Also, I don't really have much of a comfort zone with music. I listen mainly to techno and metal, yes, but I absolutely ADORE jazz and ska, and I'm totally fine with listening to rock (contemporary and classic), hip-hop (I actually really like some hip-hop), country, reggae, just about anything, really.

[Ed Viper]

comfort zone is all consuming for me.
...
except country and pop... eww.....

Some of my favorite songs are actually county and pop songs