Posts Tagged ‘music tips’
The Top 10 causes of Writer’s Block & How to break the cycle
The Top 10 causes of Writer’s Block & How to break the cycle
Writer’s block is a creativity killer that we’ve all run into time & time again. Sometimes these periods can last days or months. In my case, it was years. Sure, I still toyed around with new programs & made a few decent ideas, but nothing was completed or released during this time.
The sad thing is that it’s easy to use writer’s block as a crutch so we define every creative obstacle as a form of writer’s block & give up. Many of us don’t even bother to try to define what writer’s block even is.
Lack of inspiration?
Lack of Motivation?
A creative black hole?
All of these definitions could be accurate, but let’s start calling it by it’s real name. Fear.
Fear is something you can face & overcome, unlike something as impenetrable as Writer’s Block. Sounds like a disease with no cure but to wait it out doesn’t it? It’s not.
Let me try to shed some light on the subject & hopefully set you back on the path of creating right away. Below are habits & belief systems that have lead me to the dreaded Writer’s block & some ways to crawl out of that hole.
Avoiding simplicity – A huge obstacle many people have is that they are trying too hard to impress themselves & their peers. Every idea that they come up with seems too obvious, too simple or both. Sound familiar?
It’s important to remember though, you are writing a song, not a riff. The only way a song can work is when it lays on top of a simple foundation. When you let go of your ego & just bang out a few chords you’ll find that more complex ideas will come to you as you play those simple parts back.
Complex parts are always derived from a more simplistic idea, so don’t be afraid to start simple & add layers until you hear something interesting. If you come up with a better idea later on, you can always scrap your simple parts later. More often than not though, it’ll be the simple parts that will give your song it’s backbone.
Don’t over complicate. Start with something you might consider overly simply, obvious or amateur if you have no other inspiration. Keep building the idea until something interesting comes of it. If it doesn’t turn into something you love, don’t sweat it. You’ve pushed past the fear of simplicity & survived.
Avoiding sucking – This is a huge one. Anyone is capable of sucking & we don’t want to be in that anyone category, so instead we hold out for genius. This can be a very long wait. During this time, you get more & more out of practice, so your current skills start to get rusty. The longer you wait, the harder it is to jump back on that horse. It’s a much better idea to challenge your fear of sucking head on every time. If you can’t make genius, make soemthing that sucks just for the hell of it. Have a laugh. Do you have any idea how much genius was created this very way?
Why are you so afraid of sucking? Tell me one thing you are good at now that you weren’t worse at when you started? Everyone who has created genius has a lot of suck in their closets that you haven’t heard. Don’t sweat it. Your job it to choose which of your creations are the best ones to share. Never stop creating altogether because you are afraid of sucking. Anytime you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, you are going to have to face the fear of sucking. Might as well get used to it now instead of later.
No Feedback – This is a big one these days. We create for ourselves, but if we are honest, we also create for the reaction & feedback of others. It’s why we all got into this.
When all you have to do these days is make a clever post on Facebook to get “liked”, this instant gratification becomes a curse when you are writing music. You want to know as you are in the process of writing whether something is good or bad.
The excitement of others fuels the creative process, whether it be friends, bandmates or family (although, you’re family will rarely tell you you’re work is genius). It’s good to look over your shoulder for some feedback when you are unsure. Not having it can put you in the fearful position of having to think through a creative block on your own, not knowing if you are building on an idea that doesn’t have a good foundation to start with.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes you are gonna have to grow some balls & be willing to say “I like this & I’m willing to take the risk that you won’t”. To always rely on other people is going to hinder you from finding your own unique way & that is what the world wants from you anyway.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t work with other people or get opinions. Just always be prepared to accept criticism & go your own direction anyway. It’s liberating.
Creative beliefs – A big part of writer’s block is the belief that some people have got it and some people don’t. What you spend your time doing is figuring out which side of the fence you are on. This is a trap. Nobody can be inspired if they hold the belief that whatever it is that makes someone a true artist, they don’t have it.
You are going to have to reprogram your belief system to the understanding that there are some people that preserver through their creative challenges, and those who give up.
It’s pretty easy to know which side you stand on with that belief & the remedy is crystal clear. The it is something that comes from putting so much time into your craft that you no longer fear it.
Social media – This is really similar to having no feedback in our creative lives. The first thing we want to do when we feel insecure with our creations is made a clever post on your social network of choice. This gives you your “fix” of approval.
The downside is that it becomes so easy to get approval this way that doing real creative work takes a backseat. A good way to break this pattern is to intermix creativity & social media by announcing your creative goals & putting up your progress for those who support you.
It’s really important to create partnerships with other musicians of a similar vibe or style. These are your “go to” people when you want feedback on an idea.
Get yourself a Soundcloud page & post private links to people you trust to be the most constructive & honest. You may also want to make a separate page on your Facebook or Google+ strictly for your music. If you are going to be on those sites, you might as well use them to build your support team.
Brand yourself as an artist so people will expect work from you. This should help break the pattern of instant gratification. Also, never forget that you are in the driver’s seat. You can ask for directions, but never hand over your car.
Tutorials – It may seem taboo for a guy who makes tutorials to inject this into one of his blogs, but I think it’s important to realize that tutorials alone aren’t likely to build your songwriting confidence. In fact, if you aren’t putting what you learn immediately to use, these tutorials won’t likely do you much good. If you only consume information & dont put it to use, you’ll lose the habit & motivation to write. Then you’ll become afraid to write, and that’s exactly what writer’s block is.
Sometimes watching people way above your skill level can inspire you, but other times it can make you feel unqualified & unprepared to make music.
Don’t let yourself fall into this trap. Put on a Sex Pistols album & rebuild your confidence by making something within your current skill levels.
I personally like albums made by less talented musicians, because I feel like I can hear that angst in the music of not being able to fully express themselves. Have you ever read somebody writing about something that affected them so much that they struggled to find the words? That is powerful & should be embraced.
I don’t mean you should lower your standards. Instead except that the genius isn’t in the complexity of things. It’s in looking at simplicity from a different angle & layering these simple ideas to build something new.
Too many choices – This is something I know all too well about. When I played guitar in bands, life was simple. I have my Guitar, my amp settings & a limited amount of guitar effects. From there, I had to come up with something that meshed well with the other players. In all honesty, I probably had about 6 settings I used regularly. This made it super easy for me to just focus on writing.
When I started using drum machines, samplers & synths, the options were exciting, but it took ages to choose a sound palette. By the time I got ideas laid down, I had forgotten the original inspiration, leaving me with an uninspired set of sounds.
I’m not blaming the choices. I’m blaming myself for not having the foresight to know my own sound & search for those few patches that sounded like me.
I encourage you to take the time to build some go to sound patches, drum kits, etc. These are patches that already sound good & inspiring to you. These should be the first sounds you go to when starting a new track ( a guitar or Piano is also a great place to start). This way you can bang out something that sounds good as the ideas come to you.
You can always change things later, but you’ll have the advantage of solid ideas to give you direction when exploring unfamiliar sounds, synths, samples etc.
If you want to bust your writers block, have good sounds ready at all times or your favorite instrument at arms reach. Would you be surprised to know that Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode/Yaz/Erasure) starts all his songs on guitar? He saves all the noodling on synths til after he knows he’s got a song worth writing. Something to keep in mind.
Past failures – So you write a song or a few songs you are excited about & the reaction you get it less than enthusiastic. This one is tough. I’ve been there myself. After sharing this music you’ve worked hard on, your motivation to continue making music is shattered & writer’s block sets in.
The thing you need to realize is that everyone does stuff that isn’t up to par.
Everyone.
Secondly, you’re friends will rarely share your excitement. Sometimes they just aren’t into your style. If you aren’t directly copying another artist, you’re likely to come across people who just don’t get it. People tend to praise the familiar, so if you’re getting a lot of praise from people close to you, be cautious. You might not be very original.
Now let’s say this person who isn’t into your stuff has a point. Have you exercised that constructive criticism muscle lately? It’s time you start.
Here’s what is great about constructive (or even critical) criticism. When you are put in a situation where you have to defend your work, you are putting your conviction to the test.
The people who challenge your work are the only ones who will give you an opportunity to defend it. Most likely, you’ll discover the parts of your work that you are most proud of because the criticism won’t bother you as much. It’s the stuff you aren’t as confident in that really bites you in the ass. To hear someone point out these things is just confirming what you already know, you’re not quite there.
Would you prefer to release something that is substandard because no one challenged your work? Every Major artist who works with an engineer will hear “maybe not so much of that, it’s not really working”. That’s what they are hired for (I think George Lucas could have used more of them with his last few movies..”You nuked the fridge? really??”).
To have past failures doesn’t mean you suck, it just means you haven’t written enough music. You should look forward to criticism, it’s a form of quality control that every artist needs. We aren’t talking about perfection here, we are just trying to get it to a higher quality standard. In the end, perfection doesn’t end up sounding good anyway. It’s like quantizing everything you do 100% to a 1/16th note grid. Life=gone. Imperfection gives life to your music & art.
Past successes – This can be even worse than past failures & is something I’ve had to deal with myself. After having some success with my tracks in the progressive house field, it first made me question what I was doing right & how to repeat it. Then my ability to write was hindered by the fear that my new tracks would sound amateur & ruin the reputation I had built. This led to literally years of not finishing tracks.
It took a lot to get myself back in the game & by that time I had lost some of my chops & the tracks weren’t as well received. Now I realize that had I not stopped, the quality of work work would have likely been better, but even if it wasn’t, I’d get over that hump and on to new tunes soon enough. It’s a hard lesson that I hope you don’t have to go through.
When you have success, take note of what you did well but move on & do something new quickly. Don’t sit too long feeling good about yourself or you’ll become crippled & not able to move. Try to ignore the fact that you were well received & just keep making music you like & have fun making it.
There are bands that have made brilliant albums later in their career that will always be known for 1 hit song early on. Radiohead – Creep for example. Just imagine what a loss it would be for music if they stopped after their first album(deal with it haters). They did the right thing by pushing outside their comfort zone. Creep might be their most popular song but I certainly wouldn’t consider it close to their best.
Don’t stop writing, don’t get comfortable & don’t conform for success. It could be the end of you if you do.
Chasing the dragon – So many musicians are searching for a shortcut. That 1 tune that will change everything. So instead of listening to their own creative intuition they are constantly searching for friends, charts, radio & tv to tell them what they should be doing.
The problem with this of course is that it’s very rare to build a career by doing what is currently popular. By the time you finish your perfect dubstep album, the trend is over-saturated & played out and of course, since you were putting your focus into following trends, you lost your ability to have confidence in your own ideas. Now that style is toast & you look for another trend to follow.
This habit of chasing the dragon will likely get you nowhere & you’ll likely never build your own sound. Your new goal is to make songs that sound like songs other people have already made so that your friends will respect you.
Now I have no problem with being a fanboy of some sort. It’s pretty much how we all start. We hear something we connect with & think “I want to do that!”
Fair enough. Just make sure you are ready for the long haul & that you are injecting other influences that excite you, not what you think others will like. It would be hard for me to think of a more sure way to give yourself writer’s block than trying to please others.
Want to break this habit real quick?
Write something you like that you expect your friends won’t. Do it on purpose just to freak them out. Don’t purposely make a song that sucks, just pick an influence of yours that is less popular & have fun with it. Stop asking what others would do & start asking “what would I do?”. It might not be your best work, but it is incredibly liberating. And who knows, maybe your friends will end up liking it anyway.
Gear envy – Sometimes I wonder if we are music makers or just purchasers of toys. I’d say I am a bit of both, but I’ve leaned too far on the gear end before.
You’ve got this amazing song idea in your head, but you don’t want to start it ’til you get that new gadget. You saw someone going apeshit with it on YouTube & you now consider it the holy grail. This is exactly why your music hasn’t been up to par!
You get it home, love it for a month (but never actually make a song with it), and then you’re back to YouTube looking for another piece of kit, sample cd, soft synth, plugin or whatever.
Stop!
All you are going to do is spend a lot of money, have some bragging rights but never get anything done. You, my friend, have become a gear hoarder(they will soon make tv shows about you). Plus you haven’t even learned what your current tools are capable of.
I promise you, you can write a great tune with what you have now. Let’s be honest. Think of the best tune you ever wrote (or the best unfinished idea, if you aren’t there yet). Was it the gear that made it great? Are your newest tracks with your latest toy always your best? I’m willing to bet there is something else. Something not so tangible that makes it good.
It can be maddening to see these popular musicians with craploads of gear filling up their studio, but I guarantee what got them there wasn’t the gear. It was good ideas & doing the best with what they had. Even u2 started small, and some people would argue that their best albums were before they had every toy known to man. Luckily, they aren’t hindered by the gear. At the end of the day it’s a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer jamming things out that makes good songs.
If lack of gear is giving you writers block, then just tell yourself you are making a demo with what you have & will it improve later. I think you’ll be impressed with your results. Any result is better than no results.
I hope this article, which turned out to be a pretty long one has given you some food for thought. Writer’s block is simply fear disguised as other things. It’s certainly not something that is out of your control. Make creating a habit, even if it’s for 15 minutes a day. Whatever you do, never stop because of fear. Take a break on your own terms when your confidence is high.
Happy music making
P.S. – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above). All your feedback & support is appreciated.
Interested in Learning Logic or Reason?
I recommend the sites below:
Logic Courses
Reason Courses
Secrets to holding a listeners attention
Secrets to holding a listeners attention
I wanted to talk today about music that is based on repeating loops. The challenge many of us have when making songs based on either premade or self made loops of 1, 2, 4 or 8 bars is that it can be difficult to keeps things sounding interesting and exciting. I run into this scenario quite a bit and I’d like to share some tip sand ideas to help you improve the flow and interest of your tracks.
Filters
Filters and resonance is probably the most obvious way to keep interest in a part that loops. Closing a hi pass filter can can create a feeling of tension or repressed energy and opening the filter creates a nice release. Depending on the part, this can be very intentional and noticeable or subtle. Either way it can keep the listeners attention as the ears are impeccable at distinguishing minor changes and fluctuations. 2 or 3 builds in your song can go a long way to keep your track interesting.
Lfo’s
An LFO (or Low frequency oscillator) is a fantastic way to create subtle movement in your loop or midi part. If you are working with a synth, adding an lfo to panning, filter or pitch is usually possible directly on your hardware or soft synth. It doesn’t take much give a sound more life. Sometimes you can’t really notice exactly what is happening with your sound but you instinctually just know that it sounds more interesting. If you are working with a sampled loop, you may need to add an effect that offers lfo movement. Ableton’s built in effects offer alot of options in this arena. Adding something as simple as a chorus or flanger at a low “wet” percentage can really help. For more randomness I wouldn’t sync the lfo to tempo. A slow lfo that repeats out of sync with the tempo will keep the lfo’s themselves from being too loopy.
Duplicate and Layer
I use this technique alot. There are one of a few things I might do to keep things interesting. I will duplicate my loop and make the duplicate an octave higher or lower to introduce different frequency information. Often times I’ll go an octave higher and filter out most of the low frequency content so it doesn’t clash with the original part or other parts in the song. Then I’ll add some dirt with a type of distortion or saturator. Next I’ll automate the volume subtly so hints of it comes in and out of the mix. I may make it more noticeable during breakdowns and buildups. You can also add a layer that is a harmonic of the original. I like trying to repitch a dupicated layer 7 semitones above the original. See what works for you.
Also something to look into is duplicating your part and reversing it. Then find the parts that sound interesting and cut them up and strategically place them in interesting places. It will often assist and enhance the feel and movement of the loop if not overdone.
Send/Returns
This can be similar to the last tip. You would simply create interesting fx chains on several return tracks. One might use bit reduction and erosion. Another might introduce an interesting delay or Reverb, while another has a chorus or phaser. Ableton has some really creative effects, so definitely mix and match. It’s best to put the wet/dry on 100% as you don’t want to send the original track back into itself in most cases. Once you have those chains, each of your tracks, including your loop track will have send knobs in your session view. Your track sends are just as automatable as volume or panning, so automate subtle hints of each effect in different points of your song. This is certain to keep things interesting. Just make sure not to get lost here. You were probably attracted to the original loop for a reason, so make sure you aren’t diluting what makes the part great.
Attack, decay, release times
This is another technique that can make a huge impact on your synth part. unfortunately, you won’t have this option with a sampled loop, but I’ll give you a tip that might still help. If you are using a synth, you are sure to have Attack, Decay, sustain and release. In most cases, I like to back off my sustain and release to the lowest setting and then tweak the decay between long and short times. It’s great to open the decay up during builds and breaks and then back it off when things kick back in. This can bring your sound from choppy to washy. Experimenting with the attack can create interesting results at times too. Just like I said before, make sure you don’t lose perspective of the loop that inspired you in the first place. If you are working with a sample, you can drag in a Gate effect and experiment with the threshold. Sometimes this can create a similar effect.
Sidechaining
This is a dance producers secret weapon and can easily be overused but the movement and groove it can give a part can’t be denied. Subtly (or more noticeably) syncing a loop to the kick can certainly help keep things interesting. Naturally when the kicks drop out, so does the sidechain effect which is pretty popular in dance music. Whether you choose a standard noticeable approach or or something more subtle, the listeners ears will thank you. Also experiment with sidechaining to other parts in your song for interesting results.
Outside the loop
Although there are many many things you can do to make a repeating loop sound interesting, there is also something to be said about building interest outside the loop. In general, the listener is not going to want to hear a static loop for more than 8 bars. There are things outside the loop that obviously need to stay interesting as well. Filter rises, swells, evolving ambient sounds and high frequency sounds are some of my favorite ways to keep interest. Many songs, for example, will put a crash at every 8 to 16 bars. Surprisingly, that one sound can reset your interest in listening to a loop for another 8 to 16 bars (depending on how interesting the loop itself is). On top of that though, reverse sounds and weird noises run through reverb and delay can really create space and depth in your track. Another favorite trick of mine is stretching audio. Whether it be a vocal sample or, well, pretty much anything, you can really get some amazing drones with tons of subtle movement. Heck, even try stretching your loop itself. You can do some pretty massive stretching in Ableton but I prefer a fantastic free program called Paul Stretch which you may recognize from an earlier post of mine. It does some fantastic things and can bring endless fun!
I know there are ways to keep a track free from too many effects and dry sounding without losing interest as well, and that would have alot to do with drum programming, groove quantizing and knowing when to add another layer of hihats or when to drop the kick for dramatic effect. Hip Hop is really good at this, but remember, most hip hop is only a few minutes long and has vocals throughout. Getting the same results on a 7 minute track without vocals is much more challenging. I’m certainly not an authority on this approach, but I admire those who are able to take a minimal approach and keep things interesting and engaging.
Other things to note for keeping interest are counter melodies. Being able to change the attention from one melody to another can keep listener interest for a far longer time. Just make sure both parts have movement and have areas in the song where each is more noticable than the other as well as a part where both parts are layered pretty evenly. That alone gives you 3 movements for your track.
Last but not least, changing just 1 note in your bassline can make a dramatic effect if done in the right place. Don’t underestimate the power the bass plays on a melodic loop. Changing the key of your bass, or just a note here and there can do wonders to keep interest.
Use you best judgement
All of these techniques are simply suggestions and it’s really going to come down to your personal style and what you would like to accomplish. Some technique might not benefit your track at all, or perhaps you’ve found the perfect loop that needs very little to keep interesting. You are the master of your own craft and ultimately, you make the rules. All I am hoping to do is empower you to be the best YOU possible.
Below is a video I posted not long ago, but I thought I would add it to this post as it lead me to writing this blog and might give you some other ideas.
Creating Evolving Loops/Soundscapes
This is a simple way to take 1 boring midi loop and make it much more interesting through layering the same part through different effects chains. I also show you a trick of creating automation for each layer that loops at odd times. If you think of running several tape loops all at different lengths, when played together, the sounds never combine the same way twice. This makes things more pleasing and interesting to the ears.
Below is a video showing you this process in Ableton Live 8.
http://www.musicsoftwaretraining.com/vids/evolvingloop.f4v
(Right click and Save as)
Feel free to download the song file to see exactly how I approached this:
Happy Music Making,
Jason
P.S. – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above).
All your feedback & support is appreciated!
30 Day Ableton Music Production Journal
Welcome to my 30 Day Journal experiment. Below are 3 of the 30 videos available in my full Ableton video collection. Over the course of 30 days I forced myself to record at least 30 minutes of producing everyday journaling my full creative process for 2 songs and a DJ mix. I also show you how to take a song from within or outside of Ableton and prepare it for live performance.
Be aware that due to the volume of video material I’ve recorded (20 or more hours), there are no zooms or tricky video effects. I am also aware that there may be some imperfections & volumes may fluctuate with my voice from video to video. In this case I’m going for a wealth of content instead of perfection. It is recommended that you enlarge this video to fullscreen for best results. Enjoy and please share this with your friends through word of mouth, email, Twitter & Facebook. I’d like to share this free content with as many people as possible.
Day 1 (Song 1 begins)
Day 14 (Song 2 Begins)
Day 27 (DJ mix begins)
Download completed songs & the Mix at the links below(right click and save):
Jason Timothy – DJ Mix August 2010
Final thoughts:
Realize the songs & dj mix were not abandoned at the point of perfection as reaching that can require far more than 30 days. Also be aware that reaching a level of satisfaction instead of perfection may be just the discipline you need. I know many people who spend years on their work and by the time it’s close to perfect, they realized it now sounds outdated to them thus starting the cycle all over again.
At the end of the day, completing your creative works takes a level of skill, patience and most importantly confidence. If you can’t muster the confidence in your work, you’ll never be able to say “This is finished”.
I took a huge gamble when starting this 30 day video journal. I had no idea what I would accomplish, if anything. I had no idea if I would be well received as I stumbled through each day trying to share an honest reflection of my creative process. I knew I would be far from perfect and that I would have several of my weaknesses exposed for all to see.
For me, this was a test of will, persistance and courage. I completed the challenge and I came out alive on the other side. As a sidenote I’ve pushed my comfort zone out quite a bit and have become less resistant to facing my fears. I want to thank you all for the support and the positive feedback. I hope this process has inspired you to have the confidence to create and complete your work.
Special thanks to Nick from NicksTutorials.com for loaning me the space and bandwidth to make this possible. I highly recommend you stop by his site. His Ableton tutorials are fantastic and he has loads of free vids as well.
For those who are interested, all the songfiles, samples and final mixes of the songs available immediately if you decide to order this full collection (you’ll need version 8.1.3). The full collection will soon be priced at $79 but is reduced to $59 for a limited time. (Keep in mind that the songs used for the DJ Mix are not included due to obvious legal reasons).
I hope you enjoyed this 30 day experiement.
Happy Music Making
Jason
P.S. – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above).
All your feedback & support is appreciated!
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My 30 day video producing Journal
My 30 day video producing Journal
For those of you who are following me on Twitter over the last 30 days, you may have seen me tweet about an experiment I started on the 1st of August. This idea has been running through my head all year and I kept putting it off because I was honestly a bit afraid of embarrassing myself publicly by agreeing to let you watch my songwriting process for 30 days straight.
One major hurdle was the fact that I have never produced music everyday for this length of time and wasn’t sure what the outcome would be if I forced myself to create when I wasn’t particularly inspired. Would inspiration show up or would I be left showing you 30 days worth of “go nowhere” ideas? That can’t be good for anyone’s ego. :-)
Another fear was that you might not learn much from this process. I don’t purposely do complex things just for the sake of it, so most of my process is experimenting with layers of simple ideas until I find something that works. I didn’t want you watching me use the same techniques over and over and thinking “I thought he was gonna show me some crazy stuff” and being disappointed.
Then I had a thought…..
These excuses were the exact reason nobody else has done something like this before and if that’s the case, this must be common with most everyone that creates. Maybe by showing my strengths and weaknesses I might be able to pull others outside of their comfort zone. Maybe this will show you some of the essential things to learn instead of you feeling like you have to know everything before allowing yourself to start.
Through this process I’ve been motivated, unmotivated, grumpy, anxious, unorganized, inspired, bored, confused and slightly embarrassed at times. Despite all that I was able to complete 2 songs & a DJ mix I am pretty happy with. That has got to count for something. I’ve also become that much better at fighting through resistance and getting to the other side. I may talk more specifically about my struggles as I share this 30 day process. If I can create in the state of mind I was in on some days, you definitely can too!
So here’s how this is going to work…
At some point soon I will be posting 1 video on my blog a day for 30 days. Almost all the videos are 30 minutes of longer, while some are well over an hour. Each day 1 video will be up to watch for free for 24 hours (or until the next video takes it’s place). So for 30 days you will have a new video to watch. I’ve edited the videos a bit to keep them more focused so you don’t watch me go off on tangents that are unnecessary. You will however see me do some things that don’t get used at all in the final process. I figured it was important to include that so you can pretty much watch the whole creative process.
For those who find value in this collection, I will later make it available if you want to purchase it. It will include all the samples used and all the Ableton song files from each day as well as the 2 completed songs and DJ mix (obviously seperated tracks from my DJ mix will not be included).
Don’t call this a tutorial
Although there is alot to learn from this collection of videos, it was put together without any planning and therefore is not like any other collection I have made. This isn’t a “how to make a (choose your style) song” but rather an relatively honest approach to some ways I approach making music. I do however limit myself to just Ableton’s internal effects and instruments. These limitations take me outside my comfort zone which I thought was a good challenge. I wanted to be working with tools that all Ableton users have access to so everyone can not only follow along but stop thinking they need more stuff before they can start creating professional sounding music. In another track I built the song just using samples and internal effects. I also go through the process of preparing a song to play live in Ableton and build a DJ mix. Do to the 20ish hours of footage, I haven’t done the type of editing I usually do. Sometimes you’ll find me in the “zone” and I stop talking about what I’m doing and I just DO, although I try my best to fill you in or why I’m doing what I’m doing and what I am thinking at the time.
I hope this lets some of you inside my head creatively and shows you some building blocks, techniques and tools that you can apply to your work. I certainly didn’t invent any of the techniques, so it’s only fair that I pass along what I know so you can take it and figure out a way to do it better. … Then I can learn from you :-)
Keep your eye on this blog and make sure to follow me on Twitter if you want up to the moment updates.
Til then,
Happy Music Making,
Jason
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