Best Advice You Could Give off The Top of Your Head

trak660 · Post by **trak660** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:34 pm

My musical abilities came to me after being hit in the head with a big rock.

ArhiteK · Post by **ArhiteK** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:06 pm

MagpieIndustries wrote:
tone-def wrote:Just do your thing and don't try and be anyone else.
Worst advice ever. You should always study, deconstruct, compare and struggle to mimic as closely as possible the very best elements of your favourite tracks. How else do you expect to become good, by accident?

I agree. And uniqueness can come as result of mastery of basics...

Of course, there are some artists who just had something to say and got it out of themselves, but insisting on this forced originality can just block someone. There are many kinds of artists around, so there is a method for every each one of us....

Dusk · Post by **Dusk** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 3:45 pm

1. Once you have "enough" elements so that your basic foundation (usually a 4-8 bar loop) is listenable over and over, write down every element you have. Next, write 2 or 3 characteristics for every element, such as "filter cutoff", "amp release", "chorus depth", "wavetable position", "ring mod depth" or "delay time". Once you have the characteristics noted, systematically program and automate fluctuations in each, through doubling what you have and progamming a different change or two in the newly copied second half. This will turn your loop into a track.

2. Learn additive synthesis to the point where you are able to painstakingly assemble a finished track, sine wave by sine wave.

tone-def · Post by **tone-def** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:26 pm

MagpieIndustries wrote:
tone-def wrote:Just do your thing and don't try and be anyone else.
Worst advice ever. You should always study, deconstruct, compare and struggle to mimic as closely as possible the very best elements of your favourite tracks. How else do you expect to become good, by accident?

It depends what you consider to be good? If you go on beatport listen to todays new releases and hear 99.5% exceptional music then it's a good idea to copy everyone else.

Personally i like hearing creativity and quirky ideas. I need something thats going to stimulate me and the copy cats are not doing that. worst advice ever? give me a break

Atheory · Post by **Atheory** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:42 pm

1)go to clubs, dance as much as you can, go out and see live music as much as possible, make friends with people who like similar music.

2)listen to as much records as you can. learn the history of the music you like/want to make.

3)read everything you can about all aspects of production, even pop/rock music production and mike placement etc. learn synthesis. try learn at least some amount of music theory.

4)try your hardest to do something even a little unique. if a market is saturated by a certain sound its not necessary to add more of the same records into the mix.

Brankis · Post by **Brankis** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:28 pm

MagpieIndustries wrote:
tone-def wrote:Just do your thing and don't try and be anyone else.
Worst advice ever. You should always study, deconstruct, compare and struggle to mimic as closely as possible the very best elements of your favourite tracks. How else do you expect to become good, by accident?

not by accident obviously, but sometimes the best stuff can happen that way...

to me it comes from experience between pure experimentation and knowing how to manipulate something once you've found it. basically like having the ear to identify a killer sound and having the experience to take that sound and make it a part of a whole track

mimic is not something i would do though... (to an extent)

for me its all about making a bunch of interesting loops/sounds/fx chains and just letting the track happen naturally. i used to feel so locked into what i thought a single track should sound like, but any track can have infinite variations in sound, arrangement, etc... i have been starting to focus alot more on just creating an interesting harmony between the sounds, if you can reallyfeel the relationships happening in the sounds you can throw just about anything in the track and it will work

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Android · Post by **Android** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:39 am

finish what you are working on... always!! even if its just 2.5 min, finish it!

let your ears rest before mix down

learn a non musical art or craft and apply those techniques to your sound design

learn how to cook and prepare a meal for your g.f / mum / milf in your life

if you're all digital get a piece of analog

if you're all analog get a piece of digital

if you're all software get a piece of hardware

if you're all hardware, rock out!!

make your own sounds, start with a sine, triangle, or square and go from there

never stop learning or growing

if you're copying something thats released, you're already behind the curve

be your own voice

learn the rules so you can break them

[great thread btw]

JonasEdenbrandt · Post by **JonasEdenbrandt** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:08 am

Why not try to do the opposite. I think Marcel Duchamp said this.