Get The Rhythm Started

In this article I'm going to give you some hints, tips and general ideas on how I create my own tunes. Hopefully you may find some of it useful or helpful. If you are as big into making music as I am, hopefully you will! At the end of the day what you ultimately produce is down to raw talent, though you will need to experiment with many different tools and methods before you can produce a great track. Here is an insight into my working method.

What I Use:

Computer (the most essential item!) Acid Pro 3 and 4 with plugin effects Fruity Loops (mostly for drums) Drum Samples Technics SXKN700 Keyboard Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard Yamaha DJX Keyboard A mind full of ideas (gets you going!)

Firstly, let me explain a little about how I go about finding ideas, melodies, and the sort of music I compose. It may seem strange, but I never stick to one style of music, though this is usually the norm. Over the years I have produced Reggae, Soul, Trance, Soundtracks, HipHop, RnB, Rock. You name it, I have tried it! The reason for this is that I like variation in my work and mostly for the fact that I do collaborations which need a certain amount of variation to suit the individual styles.

When it comes to ideas they flow pretty quickly. Anything from a stomping drum track to a gentle melody can start the track rolling for me. Once I have picked up on an idea the track will form very quickly.

As an example here, take HipHop. One of the most important points is a good drum/bassline and a good melody line for the verse and hook. Some HipHop music tends to rely on a lot of loop work which I personally tend to ignore in my productions and try to blend in more sounds and tricks as the track progresses. Something to keep the music fresh but not so over the top that it might spoil any collaborators additional work. Therefore, I believe subtle touches make a huge difference. I like to structure HipHop with a possible idea of a vocal hook in mind or one which has feeling. I also implement other styles into HipHop which if approached properly can often work well.

Here is a typical structure of a track suitable for adding vocals:

Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Break, Verse, Chorus.

The particular structure gives a solid song bed keeping within the rules for additional vocals. Experimenting with this structure is useful, for instance I may introduce a surprise break or twist in the track. If you listen to one of my HipHop tracks you will find that I enjoy adding sound progression. I may add a gentle guitar or string to provide an extra melody for the listener. The important thing to remember though is never to make the individual sounds too powerful. Too many sounds can ruin a a vocal or make the listener feel there is too much going on to appreciate the track. If you intend to add vocals to a track it is better to simplify the mix to allow room for them. The sounds should never be too loud or central in the mix (since the centre field is where the main vocals lie). Stereo separation is a good guide. Bassline generally should always stay in the centre of the spectrum as to usually are the drums. (Variations do occur, and can be gotten away with if done properly!!).

The idea is to build your sounds around the stereo field and remember to leave room for the vocal in the centre. You will find it works best this way so that when that stunning vocal does arrive it will bring out the best qualities of all the surrounding instruments.

Effects should always be used with care. Too much reverb may sound good on your system but certainly not on everyone's. The same would apply to Delay. It should be used in moderation. You will find the most subtle touches of simple delay can make a small synth sound very vibrant in the mix. If you intend to use synthetic guitars and distortion take extreme care. We are all aware that you can't beat the sound of a real guitar, (acoustic or electric), but if you are using these sounds synthetically, a touch of reverb will help keep things from sounding too dry, and a dab of Distortion and Reverb on an Electric Guitar sample will also help liven it up. The idea is experimentation to see what works for you and the whole mix in general!

I would say this is a key area in my work. Volume levels are tricky and getting it right is harder than you would think.

Using Acid Pro as my recording source makes 'on the fly' volumes easy. Each recorded wave has its own volume/pan button, and I always check this two or three times after each track completion to make sure that I am happy with the the settings I have made. As I play mostly in real-time, I need to be pretty cautious with these levels. Acid is the perfect programme for my style of recording. I record 'on the fly' (real-time) so I use this method to create the track wave by wave until I have built a solid song. Over the years I have trained my ears to accomplish quite accurate timing skills, playing by ear and working the track up to a good solid level.

If you intend to use Drum Samples, always make sure you try them out in the right BPM/TEMPO first. You must check to see that if you go under the set bpm or over, does it still sound alright? You may be able a to get away with any hiss/distortion that sometimes comes with BPM changes. (I recommend Cool Edit and SoundForge 6 for help there). My HipHop beats rely on Drums heavily, and if you go below the suggested BPM you may end up with a slightly fuzzy sample. Make sure the bass drum is strong if the beat is going to be hardcore, and the Snare needs to pack a punch. For more chilled tracks, then it is self-explanatory - keep it mellow!.

Basslines need to be ultra strong in HipHop, actually for pretty much all tracks in these genres, they rely on solid drums and basslines. Those are the key elements of most music. If you get these two right your track is half finished. I find dark strings blend well with a strong drum and bass track, as will synth sounds, giving an electronica edge. Acoustic sounds are great for chilled beats and a smooth bassline is great for music of this nature.

KEYBOARDS

The Technics SXKN7000

This keyboard is a Technics SXKN 7000 and retails for around the two grand mark. You can get a good deal online (I paid £1,500.00 for mine). Its a versatile keyboard with so many options it is utterly amazing. I have yet to use many of its powers, but inside this piece of equipment there are well over a thousand sounds which can easily be modified and edited. There are lush piano samples to nice acoustics and some great strings. Is also features cool synths and strong drums, so there is a choice of sounds for most genres here. The KN7000 has zillions of FX and song styles. It features on board programming for each individual sound so you can add reverb, delays, texture changes ect at your discretion. Each sound can be set up with an effect and then played on one part of the keyboard leaving another part open for another sound for a different effect.

The Technics SXKN 7000 has an in built sequencer for all types of song arrangement, with additional volume level control. The KN7000 also has Realtime recording, step and program recording and of course Midi, using Midi 2 and NX sound. You will also get a floppy drive and an SD memory card port for back up . The KN 7000 also has room for expansion boards (wav) and a huge and easy to follow colour screen. Everything is at a push of a button. Very easy to use. The connections on the back are for many function, Line in/Out, Mic and mic options, Midi, Sub woofer, Digital.......and much more. You can even create your own page to go online. These are just some basic ideas, I have yet to really delve into this keyboards full power. I believe the keyboard is there to play for me, but its wealth of features and high quality sounds are awesome. Highly recommended for all synth keyboard lovers!

YAMAHA PSR 500

This piano is great for piano strings and acoustics. It has a wide range of cool sounds and some very nice flutes and FX. Again, easy to use and the sounds are very well recorded for the most part. Some nice FX options to change and alter sounds and its all very simple to use. My track Shangrila is a prime example of how this keyboard sounds.

YAMAHA DJX

An older keyboard which is more dance based in its sound range, (although you do get the normal GM sounds too). This is still used by me in some tracks for certain sounds. Dance/trance like sounds can be maniplulated very well and lead to some great tunes and strong melodies. This Yamaha also has on board real time FX like Cut Off and Resonance which add some cool real time extras to music that has the electronica dance based sound. Yeah, its old and cheap now but it can do the job!

 Recommended Reading

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