EP Tracks Analysed And Explained

I produce music under the production name Trakscene
Here Is a Link To the finished EP
But I wrote My name as the title so its
clear that its actually me

http://soundcloud.com/trakscene/sets/trakscene

I had to change from my original plan of sitting down
and producing four tracks in two weeks , it was
an unrealistic target as I have loads of other work to be doing.

This meant I had to change and develop my plan to fit in with
all my other work. This involved moving dates when I
planned on being in recording session and using different software
than I had planned to because its more user friendly and saved
time.

Im happy with the finished product and I hope others are too.

Below are the explanations on how I produced each individual track
and where you can find links for each individual one, although the link
at the top will take you to a set I have made where they can all be viewed at once.
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I decided to make a a Dubstep/Grime Instrumental , hopefully later on in the project I will be able to find an artist who can provide vocals for my track which would be a win win situation for both of us.

I started my track my producing a simple SFX loop with a sort of electronic sound. I made sure that the loop was made to match the 140BPM mark so that it would be syncronised with the drums, bassline etc.

                                                       Here is a photo of the SFX Loop

 Once I got further into the production of the track I decided to remove the SFX loop from the intro and bring in on the 2nd drop half way through the track , I liked the idea of having a change up as apposed to keeping the same SFX sound going on in the background throughout as it might bore the listener.

I then went on to produce two different drum loops each four beats in length and containing a kick drum , two different high hats , a snare drum and finally a clap.

I wanted to produce two different loops so that I place them into the track at apporiate moments for example at the end of every 16th bar I used the 2nd drum loop.

Here are photos of both of the different drum loops the 1st drum loop is on the top , and the 2nd on the bottom.

After producing the drum loops I wanted to produce a piano melody and a bassline. I began with the piano melody.

I had previously produced various different piano loops using Reason 5 and had saved them as mp3 files so whenever Im making a track I can just take those loops and throw them straight on without having to plan out the notes and chords , it helps me maintain my momentum when creating music.

I imported the loops I had made into FL studio and placed them straight into the "Playlist" with the drums I had placed in the intro.

                                 Here is a photo of the drums and the piano loop on the playlist

When Finally mixing down the track and adding final samples and edits I felt should be made I decided to remove the piano loop as it didn't work with the bassline I created very well and the track sounded better without the piano.

I imported a bass loop that I had made in Reason 5 using the Malstron VST instrument and sliced it up to create a new intro. Once the track drops on the 16th bar I changed it back to the original loop I produced as to give the track a change up to give it some variation.

The first photo is the sliced loop that I cut up to create a different sounding intro and the second loop is simply a loop that I had produced earlier and had placed on this track without editing.

As you can see their is a massive difference beetween the two , despite the fact their all the sames sounds just rearranged in a different order.

I placed the bassline loops and the drum patterns in a structure I was happy with and then began to add SFX samples to the playlist for example I added a reverse cymbal before the 16th bar to build tension and make it clear that the drop was coming. I also used a sample of a sweep sound to fill the gap beetween the 7th and 8th bars where the drums stop and all you can hear is the bassline.

Here is a photo of both SFX I imported into my track , I bought a sample pack of the internet and these were both included in that pack.

This is a photo of the playlist once I had produced all the different parts that I would need for a song and then imported these other clips to add to the the track.

This photo also includes all the automation clips that I added to control volume on the track e.g. automating the master volume so the breakdowns and intro are not as loud as the rest of the track.

Once the basic structure was in place I decided that it would be a good idea to add effects to different parts of the song and I also used various different plugins such as parametric equalisers to get my end sound exactly as I wanted it to be.

Here is a photo of all the effects I put on the master Output

I also used several different effects on my bassline. Here is a photo of all the effects.

I borrowed a USB microphone from college so that I could record vocals over the track.

I found a grime artist who wanted to use the track because he liked it so much.

Here is a link to the track with the vocals on.

http://soundcloud.com/gms

Im not happy with the vocals I got from this artist I thought they were better at grime than they turned out to be. Im still pleased that I managed to use a microphone to put vocals over a track though.

We recorded all the vocals in silence directly to the zoom and then placed the files in the playlist on FL studio.

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This is the next track on the EP

Its a Dubstep Track with samples from

the movie "The Matrix" added

This is the artwork I used for this track online

I produced this track at home using FL Studio 9 so I more or less went through the same process as I did with the first track but using different sounds and layouts of patterns that Iv'e created , unfortunately I don't have any printscreens for this track but its been uploaded my soundcloud account where it is available for free download.

http://soundcloud.com/trakscene/the-matrix

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This Track on the EP

Is a Liquid Drum and bass track

This is the artwork I used for this track

I produced this track using the same programs and proccesses as the

other two track mentioned previously

http://soundcloud.com/trakscene/shaolin-killer-hq-free

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The Final track on my EP is a remix to a song call "Babylon" by an artist called "Nit Grit"

This is a Dubstep track

This is the artwork I used for the Remix

The Artist released the stems for his original track online

and basically said anybody is welcome to remix his track.

After downloading the Zip folder with all the stems in

I opened them in Cubase.

I left out some of the stems because I didnt want it to sound

to similar to the original , but this meant that I had to replace them

with music I made.

I sliced up various different drum loops

and took out the originals.

I placed in various SFX , such as sweeps

and reverse cymbals to add to the builds in

the track.

Link To The Track

http://soundcloud.com/trakscene/nit-grit-babylon-sketch-remix

Artwork For My EP

This is the artwork Iv'e designed for the cover of my Ep.

Research for the Project

My research is on different styles of making music and how different artists manipulate the insturments and virtual instruments available to them.

Researching into drum programming has helped

me understand the software better which means

I can produce tracks with better drum patterns

Looking into how artists that are already commercialy

succesful make their music and what they think makes

a good track.

I found online tips on how to record good vocals at home as I think this could be useful if I am able to find a vocalist for any of my tracks.

I got these tips from http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct98/articles/20tips.html

1. Make sure the singer is well rehearsed, physically comfortable, and under no psychological pressure. Most singers perform best standing up in a room that has a comfortable but not over-warm temperature. If they are distracted by other members of the band or by hangers-on, send everyone but the engineer (and producer, if you have one) out of the studio.

2. Take time to get the vocalist's headphone mix right, and give them a little reverb to help them sing more confidently. If you can rig up a system which allows vocalists to adjust their own monitor level, it will make life a lot easier. A good headphone mix really helps to encourage a good performance.

3. Always use a pop shield between the singer and the microphone. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in unnatural 'pops' on plosive 'b' and 'p' sounds that can't be fixed afterwards. The pop shield may be a commercial model or a DIY job comprising stocking material over a wire coathanger frame (one such design was explained in the Cheap Tricks article in SOS February '95), or even a fine metal or plastic sieve or chip-pan splash guard. Any of these will do the job without affecting the tone of the mic. Foam wind shields are virtually useless in combating pops.

4. Use a good microphone: it doesn't have to be anything too special, but you should avoid low-cost 'bargain' models or those designed for use with home stereos or portable cassette recorders. Professional studios generally use capacitor microphones, but in the project studio a good back-electret mic or even a good dynamic vocal mic can produce excellent results. For more on these different types of mic, see April's SOS.

5. Pick a mic to suit the singer. Singers with thin or excessively bright voices may actually sound better with a dynamic mic, such as the ubiquitous Shure SM58, while those needing more of an open sound would benefit from a capacitor or back-electret mic. If you have several mic models to choose from, try a test recording with each and see which is most flattering to the vocalist.

6. Use the right mic pickup pattern: most project studio vocal recordings are made using a cardioid or unidirectional mic, as these pick up less sound from the sides and rear. However, an omni mic of a similar quality generally imparts a more natural, open sound and that can be useful if you're working with a singer who tends to sound nasal or boxy. If you work a couple of inches closer to an omni mic, you'll get close to the same 'direct sound to room sound' ratio you'd achieve with a cardioid.

7. Put the mic at the right distance, because if you get too close to it you'll increase the risk of popping and the level will change noticeably every time the singer moves slightly. Cardioid mics also exhibit a bass-boost 'proximity effect' that varies as the singer's mic distance varies. On the other hand, if the singer is too far away from the mic the room reflections will colour the sound, making it seem remote and boxy. As a rule, a mic distance of around six to nine inches (15-24 centimetres) is ideal.

8. Minimise the room's influence on your sound. The mic picks up both direct sound from the singer and reflected sound from the room. Reduce the room's contribution by keeping away from the walls and by improvising screens using sleeping bags or duvets behind and to the sides of the singer.

9. Use mic technique to help control level: if the singer can be persuaded to pull back from the mic slightly when singing louder notes, there's less risk of overloading the recorder or mic preamp, and you won't need to use so much compression to even things up. An experienced singer may also lean into the mic on quieter, more intimate passages to exploit the proximity effect. However, to prevent an inexperienced singer getting too close to the mic, position the pop shield about three inches (7.5 centimetres) from the mic.

10. Where possible, mount the microphone on a stand. Only let the singer hold the mic if to do otherwise would compromise their musical performance. When the singer is hand-holding a mic, particularly if it's a cardioid model, make sure they keep their hand clear of the rear of the basket, as obstructing this area can change both the directional and tonal characteristics of the mic.

11. Don't settle for anything less than the best vocal performance you can get, and don't expect to get it all perfect in one take. More often than not you'll have to punch in and out around phrases that need re-doing, but if you have enough tracks, get the singer to do the whole song several times and then compile a track from the best parts of each take. You can do this on tape by bouncing the required parts to a spare track, but hard disk editing is much more flexible in this respect.

12. Use suitable compression -- even well-disciplined vocalists tend to sound uneven against the very controlled dynamics of a pop mix, so it helps to apply a little compression while recording. Err on the side of using less compression than you think you will finally need, and use a compressor that has a reasonably neutral characteristic. Aim to achieve 5-8dB of gain reduction on the loudest signal peaks, and if the compressor has an auto mode, use it.

13. Don't be afraid to use more compression on the vocal track once it has been recorded. When the performance is in the bag you can try both subtle and heavy compression to see which works best with the track, though if you're using a lot of compression you may need to gate the vocal track first. This will prevent noise build-up in the pauses between phrases. It's at the mixing stage that a compressor with an obvious character can be used to make a vocal seem larger than life.

14. Don't gate the vocal while recording. A badly set-up gate can ruin an otherwise perfect take, so save gating until the mixing stage. Use the gate before any further compression, but don't gate so hard that you remove all the breath noises preceding words, as these are part of the character of a vocal performance, and the recording will sound unnatural without them.

15. Don't run amok with the EQ: on most budget desks the EQ only sounds decent when used sparingly or to cut unwanted frequencies. Mid-range boosting usually results in a nasal or phasey sound, so use as little EQ as you can. If you've picked the right mic, and taken the time to fine-tune its position during recording, you shouldn't need much corrective EQ anyway. Of course, there are times when EQ is used for creative purposes, and at such times it's best to use a good-quality outboard equaliser, because the difference between a budget EQ and a really good one is immense. Resist the temptation to pile on too much high-end boost, as this will enhance sibilance, bring up background noise and may make the end result fatiguing to listen to.

16. Use reverb sparingly: vocals recorded in a dry acoustic environment need reverb to give them a sense of space and reality, but don't use more than the song really needs. As a general rule, busy songs need less reverb and slower ballads with lots of space in the arrangement can afford to use more. Listen to some commercial records in a similar style to your own and see what reverb techniques the producer has used.

17. If the vocals are very brightly recorded, they may cause any added reverb to sound sibilant. Instead of de-essing the vocals (which often sounds unnatural), try instead de-essing just the feed to the reverb unit. You can also experiment with the reverb type and tonality to minimise sibilance and spitting.

18. If you do have to de-ess the vocals, try to use a split-band de-esser rather than the simpler compressor with an equaliser in the side-chain, as the split-band approach produces fewer undesirable side effects. It's always best to try to avoid sibilance by moving the mic slightly or by using a different mic, rather than trying to fix it afterwards. Pointing the mic slightly above or below the singer's mouth sometimes helps.

19. When you're using prominent echo or delay effects on a vocal, try to get them in time with the song, either by calculating the delay needed to match the tempo or by using the tap-tempo facility if one is provided. For a less obviously rhythmic echo, try a multi-tap delay with irregular tap spacings.

20. To ensure that the vocal is mixed at the right level in the song, listen to the mix from outside the room and see if the song has the same balance as something you might hear on the radio. The vocals are the most important part of the song and so must be well forward, but not so far forward that they sound 'stuck on' to the backing.

 

Proposal

-Title or working title of project (in the form of a question)

Can you produce a music EP, consisting of four tracks and two twenty minute mixes to a near professional standard?

-Project objectives (eg, what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to do? What do you want to find out?):

I want to find out if I can produce an EP of near professional standard. I want to learn how to produce high quality music, using things like midi keyboards, industry standard speakers and professional software.

-Reasons for choosing the project (eg, links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):

I chose this project because I’m very interested in music production; it also has massive links to my Sound Track production and Audio for the moving image. Having a strong interest in music production will help my stay on task and keep working because it’s something that I already have some understanding of and want to learn more about.

Plans on a basic level

I need to get myself new software so that I can produce my music to a higher standard. Im going to purchase Cubase 5 and Reason 5 and link them together because I prefer Cubase as far as the interface goes but I prefer the VST instruments and the samples included in Reason.

I need to research different production techniques so I can produce music of a higher quality. I need to research into different aspects of songs for example builds, atmospheric and mastering.

Then I need to get down to the actual production of the Tracks.

After finishing my tracks to a standard I am happy with Il move on to creating two mixes each twenty minutes long.

What resources will you need for your research, write up and presentation (eg, libraries, books, journals, equipment):

Most of my research will be done on the internet , I will probably use video tutorials, take advice from producers on forums, speak to people with strong experience and listen to the type of music I will be creating to draw inspiration from other peoples work. I will also be using articles in magazines that are about music production.

What your areas of research will cover?

I need to research different production techniques so I can produce music of a higher quality. I need to research into different aspects of songs for example builds, atmospheric and mastering. These are the aspects of music which I feel I need to work on so this research will be critical in producing a good CD.

Pink Panther Video

Soundtrack Log for Pink Panther Clip

I used four different effects on the pink panther audio that plays for the first minute.

I used a Room Works Insert.

A chorus insert.

With a Leslie Style Preset

An octaver

With a Guitar Solo Preset

And finally a stero enhancer

With a Crisp Your pads Preset

Samples I added to the video

At 1.01 I added a sample of a cartoon sounding car.

This fits in with the cartoon as at this point the scientist pulls up to the observatory in his car.

At 1.05 I added a sample of a button being pressed.

At this point in the clip the scientist presses a button to bring up the telescope.

At 1.15 I added a sample of a scream.

At this point in the clip the panther sees that the scientist is looking through his window.

At 1.40 I added a panting sound.

The scientist is looking down the telescope at a picture of a woman in a bikini.

Sounds that I need to record

I need to record somebody saying random things so that I can fill in the phone call that the scientist has with the research headquarters in the observatory.

I need the sound of running as well so that I can fill in gaps where the scientist is running around.

I need to record three loud bangs identical to each other so that I can fill in the gap where the Pink Panther is building a wall.

Midi that I will use for my video

I produced a song that I want to play after the pink panther music cuts out so that I can have my own backing track that plays for half of the video.

http://soundcloud.com/trakscene/who-the-fuck-is-trakscene-hq

This is the track that I want to use for my video.

App Pitch

Watch the Pitch.

https://learnzone.henleycol.ac.uk/file.php/861/VID00616.MP4

I was the project manager for Team Awesome.

I designed all of the artwork and graphics for the game.

I helped come up with the basic concept for the game.

I was in charge of overseeing the work everybody

did in the group and making sure that everybody

kept on task and got their part of the task done

properly.

We had loads of reaserch done and when people

asked qeustions it made it alot easier for G to

awnser them because we had already worked

out most of our awnsers.

We had loads of illistrations so that our audience could get

a picture of exactly what we were talking about and

the ideas that we had.

We also spent a long time on our concept , researching

other games that were already on the market and

finding out what type of game sells the most copies.

Our pitch went really well the only problem we came

across was when I hit the touch screen and it skipped

to the next slide but besides that everything went

exactly as it was supposed to.

I think the pitch went so well because we have a

good concept, kept it simple and got alot

of market research done so we knew what

to say and how to present it.