This week, we’ll be exploring the awesome creative potential of Ableton’s Drum Rack. We’ll discuss a number of ways of creating beats, with reference to the work of some classic producers, and see how their distinctive approaches can be applied to your own productions.
Mac | Windows | |
---|---|---|
Create Audio Track | Command + T | Control + T |
Create MIDI Track | Cmd + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T |
Open Preferences Window | Cmd + , | Ctrl + , |
Insert MIDI Clip | Cmd + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M |
Export Audio/Video… | Cmd + Shift + R | Ctrl + Shift + R |
Play/Stop | Spacebar | Spacebar |
Change Velocity | Cmd + Drag up/down | Alt + Drag up/down |
More Shortcuts… |
Convert Drums to New MIDI Track
Article: The story behind some of J Dilla’s greatest productions
Courtesy of our partners Loopmasters.com. Please note that these free samples are for demonstration purposes – students can use them in their own tracks but if they want to use them in a commercial manner, they must purchase the full packs.
Download free sample packs:
Your first assignment is to check out the following helpful resources. Most of them are online, so follow the links then bookmark them in your browser.
Two excellent resources here on mixing and mastering audio. Both books contain a great wealth of technical information, coupled with an appreciation of its artistic applications:
Using the methods we’ve covered, you must produce three new sketches.
Each sketch should include all of the following (at least!), but in each case you are required to use a different method of creating beats, as covered in class.
You must submit both a Soundcloud link to your track, and an archived Project Folder.
This week, we’ll be exploring the frequency domain and its applications in producing and mixing. We’ll discuss a number of functions of the equaliser, and how it can be applied in mix situations as well as creative scenarios.
Mac | Windows | |
---|---|---|
Create Audio Track | Command + T | Control + T |
Create MIDI Track | Cmd + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T |
Open Preferences Window | Cmd + , | Ctrl + , |
Insert MIDI Clip | Cmd + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M |
Export Audio/Video… | Cmd + Shift + R | Ctrl + Shift + R |
Play/Stop | Spacebar | Spacebar |
Change Velocity | Cmd + Drag up/down | Alt + Drag up/down |
More Shortcuts… |
Equalization is one of the most powerful tools in your sonic toolkit and can be your greatest enemy or your greatest ally in the battle for the perfect sound.
It is always best to ensure that you get as good a sound as possible from the microphone, synth or sampler coming into the mixing console. If you start off with good sounds, then a good result is almost inevitable.
You should always aim to use EQ to improve an already wonderful sound. If the sound isn’t good without EQ, then you will never end up with anything but second best. The only time you should ever use EQ to ‘save’ a sound is when you have been given a tape to work on that was recorded by a lazy engineer.
Nobody is born with the inbuilt ability to EQ. You can only learn through experience and a lot of careful listening.
EQ Bands and the Frequency Spectrum
The human ear is capable of hearing frequencies in the range from about 20Hz up to about 20,000Hz (20k). Everything audible in a recording falls somewhere in this range or thereabouts and a given instrument (or any other sound) will occupy certain frequencies more dominantly than others.
For example, a hi-hat cymbal would have significant amplitude (volume) between around 3k to 5k and would have virtually no amplitude at 30Hz. Likewise, a bass guitar will have a lot of amplitude around 80Hz and next to none at 10k. In other words, most instruments will have a dominant frequency range that constitutes the “meat” of the sound.
If you apply this theory across all of the tracks in your mix, you can imagine how each track (instrument, voice) will primarily occupy a certain range of frequencies.
It would be fantastic if it were that simple. However, they will also occupy other frequencies in less significant amplitudes that make up some of the characteristics of the sound. For example, the “thump” of a kick drum might be around 60Hz while the “click” might be around 2k or higher.
We can use Ableton’s EQ 8 to solve masking problems, and also have an artistic impact on the material we’re presented with.
Shelving filters are often used when an overall change of timbre is required. For example, you could make the drums brighter by boosting the highs. They are similar to Pass Filters in that they operate above or below a specified frequency, but unlike pass filters, but they can cut or boost.
Parametric Filters
Parametric
Open one of your finished compositions and see how EQ can be applied on individual tracks to achieve the following results:
This week, We will explore dynamics processors and the concept of compression, while trying out some of its many uses. We’ll also look at Gates, both as a utility and as a creative effect.
Mac | Windows | |
---|---|---|
Create Audio Track | Command + T | Control + T |
Create MIDI Track | Cmd + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T |
Open Preferences Window | Cmd + , | Ctrl + , |
Insert MIDI Clip | Cmd + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M |
Export Audio/Video… | Cmd + Shift + R | Ctrl + Shift + R |
Play/Stop | Spacebar | Spacebar |
Change Velocity | Cmd + Drag up/down | Alt + Drag up/down |
More Shortcuts… |
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1) Open one of your finished compositions and see how compression can be applied on individual tracks to achieve the following results:
2) Experiment with sidechain compression on various instruments. You can try triggering (or “keying”) the sidechain directly from a kick drum, or perhaps by muting the sidechain trigger and adding an independent kick pattern.
3) Read up about classic compressors, and the myriad uses of compression. This article from Sound on Sound is a great starting point, and YoUTube videos are an excellent resource for seeing in real time how various instruments can be treated in a mix. Try searching “how to mix bass guitar”. “how to mix drums”, or “how to compress vocals” etc.
In our final class, we will explore the harmonic series, and its relation to the science and art of equalisation. We’ll also take a brief tour of Operator, and try some applications for Ableton’s Vocoder.
Mac | Windows | |
---|---|---|
Create Audio Track | Command + T | Control + T |
Create MIDI Track | Cmd + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T |
Open Preferences Window | Cmd + , | Ctrl + , |
Insert MIDI Clip | Cmd + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M |
Export Audio/Video… | Cmd + Shift + R | Ctrl + Shift + R |
Play/Stop | Spacebar | Spacebar |
Change Velocity | Cmd + Drag up/down | Alt + Drag up/down |
More Shortcuts… |
When music meets maths…
Using the vocoder with an external carrier
Place a Vocoder on the track to be affected
Add an external carrier instrument. Try adding a MIDI track and placing an instance of Operator or Analog here.
On the Vocoder, set the Carrier to External, then choose the desired instrument track as the Audio From source.
If you have not already done so, add some notes in the Operator channel.
Using the methods we’ve covered, you must produce one complete track.
Each sketch should include all of the following (at least!).
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