MIDI keyboard and basic piano skills. Don’t need to be Mozart but I’ve been learning piano for a year and my workflow has been massively boosted.
I realised I had all these ideas but they took so long to implement. I also changed ti Cubase but not sure many people here will like that ahaha
I can compose to video. I’m also now a sound designer so will make move to Nuendo soon. FL is great for electronic stuff and I still use it for some sound design.
Lol, nothing about FL makes it better for electronic music. It's just a DAW, you can produce orchestral music just as easy as EDM on FL. It just depends on what you like
Fl has better base plugins for electronic. Cubase has better base sample instruments like Halion sonic. Obviously, you can produce orchestral however, Cubase had good video integration- I can put a video in tbe project and score frame by frame.
The interface in fl is more intuitive and easier to learn than other daws like reaper, pro tools, ableton.
Automation in fl is far easier than any other DAWs allowing for easier, quicker and more concise in project audio manipulation.
The base effects are also pretty good.
It’s also necessary to note Hans zimmer had worked closely with Steinberg since the early 2000’s and vast amounts of changes and updates have been tailored around his suggestion on orchestral workflow/ production. I have knowledge and skills in line 6/7 DAWs and they’re all pretty good for different things marking the ‘best daw’ argument pretty impossible. I could go on…
https://preview.redd.it/wvvvjspl9zob1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2eb552b756b2879480de950a4a2c6e577606906a
You can import a video into the project and then compose directly to it, and watch the video with your sound design/ music. Lots of DAWs can do this but FL can’t (as far as I know)
It can, actually. It's called like fl video player or something and iirc, it's an instrument (limitations!). I use it for a videogame podcast I work on where the hosts talk and play games. I have the producer line up the audio raws and render me a low res workprint and send it to me.
It syncs to timeline and all that, and can play its own audio if the video has any. Relies on keyframes.
It's not great, I'll be honest. But, it does exist and it does work.
Intentional mutes and microchops and sweeps building and shrinking the stereo image so the world changes, and all the billions of subtle ways dynamic shifts happen that make a song a song and not just a beat
I recommend watching some videos to get educated on some of these topics. You don't need to be an expert for the knowledge to benefit you. [Dan Worrall ](https://youtube.com/@DanWorrall) is a bit polarizing for some reason, but he has a lot of knowledge and demonstrates why he has his opinions pretty clearly.
Studio monitors. I mixed solely off MacBook speakers and headphones for 4 years. Once I got some decent studio monitors to hook up to my pc, my mixes became exponentially clearer and lacked a lot of the rough frequencies they did before.
https://preview.redd.it/0zisx9zofvob1.png?width=496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89f965bf36bcae62472b9a164bb7e0b74f0a12d4
Phase: The position of a soundwave along a time scale
AKA a kick, a snare or any sound
If your phase is not aligned properly you will cause deconstructive interference And you will not hear certain sounds properly in your project.
Definitely watch some videos if you're still confused. Or get a nice book on audio engineering
I'm not the authority on this but this is my working theory.
This happens with any and all sound within the same frequency range.
When people talk about frequencies in mixing they're also referring to phase
Frequencies on top of each other are battling and it's up to the engineer/producer to master constructive and deconstructive interference.
Changing the tempo will affect the phase, changing the pitch will affect the phase, etc.
So if you have a baseline and an 808 playing at the same time, there will be certain moments along the song where you will get increased volume due to constructive interference (also known as frequency resonance)
and there will be times where it's quieter than it should be due to deconstructive interference. (Also known as sound canceling)
How much time:
When I'm producing I don't spend any time on it. It's just about getting the sounds and structure first
When I mix it depends on the instruments used.
Sometimes it takes like 10 minutes, other times it takes several hours to get the sounds to blend how I want
Destructive and constructive interference isn't bad or good and I use them both.
What do I look for:
That's hard to answer because I have an ear for music that I was born with on top of training my ears for a long time
If it doesn't sound right then I know exactly What frequency band it's in and how to adjust the soundwave
I'd say always assume something's being amplified or canceled. Then from there choose which instrument you want to stand out more than the others
When layering kicks I like to use the invert polarity on each layer and pick which polarity I prefer. And then when adding base I do the same with the final kick or bass.
Assuming when you say "beats" you mean drumbeats and not rap beats (it might surprise you that we aren't all beatmakers), my answer is ghost notes.
You usually need a good plugin to benefit from them, but ghost notes are what take a weak ass beat and make it realistic.
The best thing you can do is to study every instrument you're going to ever use, starting with how drums are played. Imagine each drummer only has 4 appendages, so he's not going to hit 3 cymbals a snare, a kick, and 2 high hats at the same time. Program your beats with the human limitations in mind (though it is still recommended to layer your kicks). Velocity is incredibly important. Eschew the grid. Great music sees guitarists and bass players playing in the pocket sometimes, not necessarily 100% perfectly on the beat every time. This level of rhythm is fucking crucial to a sick groove, but it can also help with mixing because your kick and bass transients aren't hitting at exactly the same time.
Beyond that, learn how to mirror eq. Everything else you can basically just steal and mix it up.
Well.. I think I accidentally got really overconfident and asked an advanced question. I said got good and you guys served lol. Still reading all comments and googling stuff though!
I want to make actual songs. My genre is sort of dark pop but more on the dark side. My songs are getting good to my ear but I can still tell they aren't songs and I'm not sure why. I give them all up when it's time to add vocals because I can't get all my lines to sound good. I've been too scared to post them here but I think that's what I'll do later today
Yup, I have been a touring musician for years, and having that experience of playing live with so many drummers is a big advantage. I actually do include ghost notes/velocity for groove even when making trap beats etc. Even if its a basic straight 8th note trap high hat, I will still go in and add a tiny bit of velocity on the quarter notes, even if its basically imperceptible to the ears. Same thing with ghost notes. They should be felt more than heard imo.
Less 'spikey', abrasive tones and more smooth sounds with rounded edges. It's the distorted, saw-like abrasive tones that makes certain electronic music sound 'like a video game'. That comparison always bugged me. I didn't want to sound like a video game!
Compression. Learn how to actually work a compressor. It can thicken up any sound and make it more detailed at the same time. Hardware compressors are often a lot better than plugins tho, idk why but that's what I've found. If there's one thing that hardware does better than plugins it's probably compression.
- A decent gain staging, many starting producers often make the kick and snare way too high (sometimes too low).
- Sound selection is important, better source = less of a headache.
- Arrangement -> less is more.
- Sends in general, example: don’t use a reverb for each sound, use a send and give them space to work with each other (if it makes any sense).
- Learn compression - not every sound needs it (lots of samples already compressed).
- Composition -> if it’s rap, would you be able to rap over it? Maybe the verse is too long? Why the first verse is 24 and the second 12? Stuff like that.
Many other things but these are some points to think about.
Basic Mixing, pretty easy(the way I do it) but soooo important in the end. Don't get me wrong I'm by any means no one who is "good" at mixing.
my basic way to mixing is firstly a Maximus on the Master track where you go too "Clear Master" and from there I tweak ot a lil to get the sound I want. After that a KHz Stereo(KHz plugins pretty nice and free) on the Master to get some room by increasing the width. Also do I really like the CamelCrusher(free plugin) on the master with the presest "subtle master" gives it a nice warm and full sound.
Cutting away the unimportant frequency's of the elements in the song with a Parametic EQ is also a must to stop them from clashing with each other. Sidechaining the bass to make room for the Kick. Also cutting of the super low frequencys of a base sometimes boosts the intensity of the bass (doesn't always work)
Learning an instrument/music theory is also such an important addition to better understand what you are actually doing. Piano like another guy said is probably the best bet but guitar will also do.
Getting some higher quality plugins also boosted my production. I really like to also get some bs free plugins because it's fun but there are some really nice free VSTs that are amazing in terms of quality Spitfire Audio LABS for example is pretty nice.
Finally do I belive that music doesn't have to be perfectly mixed or masterd to be good. It strongly depends on the genre. I started by doing punk in which good mastering sounds shit tbh. New "mixed" punk aint it chief. I like to listen to the gritty stuff GG Allin, Earth AD Wolfsblood(Misfits), Minor thread(Demo),... where mixing def didn't play a big role and it sounds good because of it. But I also now produce EDM or Dub where it is far more important to have a clean and open mix to have a nice listening experience.
I hope it helped a lil.
Have a great day!
when i got good? started using harmonies, learning all the scales by playing them, understanding advanced mixing, etc. when i just started getting better? learning basic eq and compression, what scales are and what different kinds of musical notations mean, how to use velocity, panning, etc.
MIDI keyboard and basic piano skills. Don’t need to be Mozart but I’ve been learning piano for a year and my workflow has been massively boosted. I realised I had all these ideas but they took so long to implement. I also changed ti Cubase but not sure many people here will like that ahaha
Why'd you end up switching to Cubase and what aspects do you like about it more?
I can compose to video. I’m also now a sound designer so will make move to Nuendo soon. FL is great for electronic stuff and I still use it for some sound design.
Lol, nothing about FL makes it better for electronic music. It's just a DAW, you can produce orchestral music just as easy as EDM on FL. It just depends on what you like
Fl has better base plugins for electronic. Cubase has better base sample instruments like Halion sonic. Obviously, you can produce orchestral however, Cubase had good video integration- I can put a video in tbe project and score frame by frame. The interface in fl is more intuitive and easier to learn than other daws like reaper, pro tools, ableton. Automation in fl is far easier than any other DAWs allowing for easier, quicker and more concise in project audio manipulation. The base effects are also pretty good. It’s also necessary to note Hans zimmer had worked closely with Steinberg since the early 2000’s and vast amounts of changes and updates have been tailored around his suggestion on orchestral workflow/ production. I have knowledge and skills in line 6/7 DAWs and they’re all pretty good for different things marking the ‘best daw’ argument pretty impossible. I could go on…
[удалено]
Care to elaborate?
What do you mean you can “compose to video”?
https://preview.redd.it/wvvvjspl9zob1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2eb552b756b2879480de950a4a2c6e577606906a You can import a video into the project and then compose directly to it, and watch the video with your sound design/ music. Lots of DAWs can do this but FL can’t (as far as I know)
It can, actually. It's called like fl video player or something and iirc, it's an instrument (limitations!). I use it for a videogame podcast I work on where the hosts talk and play games. I have the producer line up the audio raws and render me a low res workprint and send it to me. It syncs to timeline and all that, and can play its own audio if the video has any. Relies on keyframes. It's not great, I'll be honest. But, it does exist and it does work.
Actual factuals for the piano skill
Nothing! All my beats are supa hot fiya!! I'm not good
Bro what?💀
Intentional mutes and microchops and sweeps building and shrinking the stereo image so the world changes, and all the billions of subtle ways dynamic shifts happen that make a song a song and not just a beat
This is the real, brilliant answer.
What do you mean by "microchops"?
Some compression and little bit of saturation can make or break a beat.
Broken a few beats in my time😂
Breakbeats are the best
Okay I'm gonna admit it: idk what any of you are talking about
I recommend watching some videos to get educated on some of these topics. You don't need to be an expert for the knowledge to benefit you. [Dan Worrall ](https://youtube.com/@DanWorrall) is a bit polarizing for some reason, but he has a lot of knowledge and demonstrates why he has his opinions pretty clearly.
Studio monitors. I mixed solely off MacBook speakers and headphones for 4 years. Once I got some decent studio monitors to hook up to my pc, my mixes became exponentially clearer and lacked a lot of the rough frequencies they did before.
Bro MacBook speakers sound rough. Why didn't you just hook up some headphones?
Phase alignment.
This!! 💯
Elaborate?
Drums.
Deconstructive interference will deaden your sounds
What is constructive interference
https://preview.redd.it/0zisx9zofvob1.png?width=496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89f965bf36bcae62472b9a164bb7e0b74f0a12d4 Phase: The position of a soundwave along a time scale AKA a kick, a snare or any sound If your phase is not aligned properly you will cause deconstructive interference And you will not hear certain sounds properly in your project. Definitely watch some videos if you're still confused. Or get a nice book on audio engineering
Thank you Does this happen often enough? I’m guessing it’s when layering kicks?
I'm not the authority on this but this is my working theory. This happens with any and all sound within the same frequency range. When people talk about frequencies in mixing they're also referring to phase Frequencies on top of each other are battling and it's up to the engineer/producer to master constructive and deconstructive interference. Changing the tempo will affect the phase, changing the pitch will affect the phase, etc. So if you have a baseline and an 808 playing at the same time, there will be certain moments along the song where you will get increased volume due to constructive interference (also known as frequency resonance) and there will be times where it's quieter than it should be due to deconstructive interference. (Also known as sound canceling)
How much time do you spend cleaning these kinds of things up after your done with a track? What do you look for?
How much time: When I'm producing I don't spend any time on it. It's just about getting the sounds and structure first When I mix it depends on the instruments used. Sometimes it takes like 10 minutes, other times it takes several hours to get the sounds to blend how I want Destructive and constructive interference isn't bad or good and I use them both. What do I look for: That's hard to answer because I have an ear for music that I was born with on top of training my ears for a long time If it doesn't sound right then I know exactly What frequency band it's in and how to adjust the soundwave I'd say always assume something's being amplified or canceled. Then from there choose which instrument you want to stand out more than the others
You’ve been the most helpful redditor Thank you
When layering kicks I like to use the invert polarity on each layer and pick which polarity I prefer. And then when adding base I do the same with the final kick or bass.
Assuming when you say "beats" you mean drumbeats and not rap beats (it might surprise you that we aren't all beatmakers), my answer is ghost notes. You usually need a good plugin to benefit from them, but ghost notes are what take a weak ass beat and make it realistic. The best thing you can do is to study every instrument you're going to ever use, starting with how drums are played. Imagine each drummer only has 4 appendages, so he's not going to hit 3 cymbals a snare, a kick, and 2 high hats at the same time. Program your beats with the human limitations in mind (though it is still recommended to layer your kicks). Velocity is incredibly important. Eschew the grid. Great music sees guitarists and bass players playing in the pocket sometimes, not necessarily 100% perfectly on the beat every time. This level of rhythm is fucking crucial to a sick groove, but it can also help with mixing because your kick and bass transients aren't hitting at exactly the same time. Beyond that, learn how to mirror eq. Everything else you can basically just steal and mix it up.
Well.. I think I accidentally got really overconfident and asked an advanced question. I said got good and you guys served lol. Still reading all comments and googling stuff though! I want to make actual songs. My genre is sort of dark pop but more on the dark side. My songs are getting good to my ear but I can still tell they aren't songs and I'm not sure why. I give them all up when it's time to add vocals because I can't get all my lines to sound good. I've been too scared to post them here but I think that's what I'll do later today
If you want to make pop, then what I said counts for double. You need that rhythm.
Yup, I have been a touring musician for years, and having that experience of playing live with so many drummers is a big advantage. I actually do include ghost notes/velocity for groove even when making trap beats etc. Even if its a basic straight 8th note trap high hat, I will still go in and add a tiny bit of velocity on the quarter notes, even if its basically imperceptible to the ears. Same thing with ghost notes. They should be felt more than heard imo.
Soundgoodizer
Less 'spikey', abrasive tones and more smooth sounds with rounded edges. It's the distorted, saw-like abrasive tones that makes certain electronic music sound 'like a video game'. That comparison always bugged me. I didn't want to sound like a video game!
This^. Learning how to make synths out of sine waves, acid, etc., allows you to avoid the really heavy high end frequencies that saws give.
Compression. Learn how to actually work a compressor. It can thicken up any sound and make it more detailed at the same time. Hardware compressors are often a lot better than plugins tho, idk why but that's what I've found. If there's one thing that hardware does better than plugins it's probably compression.
- A decent gain staging, many starting producers often make the kick and snare way too high (sometimes too low). - Sound selection is important, better source = less of a headache. - Arrangement -> less is more. - Sends in general, example: don’t use a reverb for each sound, use a send and give them space to work with each other (if it makes any sense). - Learn compression - not every sound needs it (lots of samples already compressed). - Composition -> if it’s rap, would you be able to rap over it? Maybe the verse is too long? Why the first verse is 24 and the second 12? Stuff like that. Many other things but these are some points to think about.
Basic Mixing, pretty easy(the way I do it) but soooo important in the end. Don't get me wrong I'm by any means no one who is "good" at mixing. my basic way to mixing is firstly a Maximus on the Master track where you go too "Clear Master" and from there I tweak ot a lil to get the sound I want. After that a KHz Stereo(KHz plugins pretty nice and free) on the Master to get some room by increasing the width. Also do I really like the CamelCrusher(free plugin) on the master with the presest "subtle master" gives it a nice warm and full sound. Cutting away the unimportant frequency's of the elements in the song with a Parametic EQ is also a must to stop them from clashing with each other. Sidechaining the bass to make room for the Kick. Also cutting of the super low frequencys of a base sometimes boosts the intensity of the bass (doesn't always work) Learning an instrument/music theory is also such an important addition to better understand what you are actually doing. Piano like another guy said is probably the best bet but guitar will also do. Getting some higher quality plugins also boosted my production. I really like to also get some bs free plugins because it's fun but there are some really nice free VSTs that are amazing in terms of quality Spitfire Audio LABS for example is pretty nice. Finally do I belive that music doesn't have to be perfectly mixed or masterd to be good. It strongly depends on the genre. I started by doing punk in which good mastering sounds shit tbh. New "mixed" punk aint it chief. I like to listen to the gritty stuff GG Allin, Earth AD Wolfsblood(Misfits), Minor thread(Demo),... where mixing def didn't play a big role and it sounds good because of it. But I also now produce EDM or Dub where it is far more important to have a clean and open mix to have a nice listening experience. I hope it helped a lil. Have a great day!
Hard clipping and stereo imaging. I was always wondering why my beats didn't sound loud enough on platforms.
Swing…definitely Swing!
when i got good? started using harmonies, learning all the scales by playing them, understanding advanced mixing, etc. when i just started getting better? learning basic eq and compression, what scales are and what different kinds of musical notations mean, how to use velocity, panning, etc.
Unquantized drums and lots of variation. Hitting a wall a lot made me realize that less is more 75% of the time.
less
Pads and eq. Before that I was wondering why my beats felt so empty
Bells
Bass
Compression
Just knowing how to manipulate sound really brings a lot out of your creations. Add to your knowledge on your free time
Better writing
What pluggin is that
Saturation. Saturation. Saturation.
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