tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64602041128592024362024-03-12T17:46:37.831-07:00Pulse TheoryKyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-58618811967961310732011-10-07T17:36:00.000-07:002011-10-07T17:37:27.795-07:00Fire... Blackstar, Common, NasIt's been a while but the train's back up and running now. I'm gonna be dropping some more production articles in the near future including the follow ups to the <a href="http://pulsetheory.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-is-eq.html">EQ article</a>. If you're just here for the fire though, this won't disappoint.<br />
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Blackstar, aka Mos Def and Talib Kweli, aka one of the best duos in hip hop. (Not to be confused with <a href="http://pulsetheory.blogspot.com/2011/08/you-dont-know-me-and-you-dont-know-my.html">Binary Star</a>) Coming in hard on this one, with that nice jazzy New York flavour and of course the lyrical finesse. Throw in some Common and you've got a nice joint sprinkled with style and lit with consciousness.<br />
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And again. Intelligent concepts and a catchy track stitch this one up tight. Read along with the lyrics if your ears can't snipe it live.<br />
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To finish up, some gritty from the King of NY. Part 2 to the OG track from Illmatic, this one's even darker. Piano adds a lot to the atmosphere and the production overall just bangs hard.<br />
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That's it for now. Roll credits, shout it out in the comments.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-76594374923328332152011-08-24T18:17:00.000-07:002011-08-24T18:28:36.810-07:00Flying Lotus, Pacewan, Appleblim and RamadanmanOk today I've got some stuff of all styles to keep my minions happy.<br />
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First up, if you don't know, you need to know.<br />
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This song defines "jam". One of the top FlyLo tracks out there off his Cosmogramma album, this showcases his skill at constructing funky psychedelic beats like no one else. Pay attention to how he builds energy throughout the song and caps it off when the trumpet drops.<br />
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Next up to hold down the hip hop heads:<br />
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Drums are sweet. Hihats are money. Etc.<br />
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Finally we need a healthy dose of dubstep flavors,<br />
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This track has retarded subs. Hopefully you've got a decent system to listen on and you've set everything up after reading the previous post on <a href="http://pulsetheory.blogspot.com/2011/08/speaker-placement-for-best-sound.html"><u>speaker placement for best sound quality</u></a>. Apart from the sub barrage, this track has some nice floating atmospherics and a cool switchup up in the middle. After the break it comes in with some chord stabs and when it finally drops you get treated with more sub blasts on dotted half notes. Some real head-nod action to be had here.<br />
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Let me know in the comments if you like, if you don't, if you're just commenting to fish for ad clicks, etc.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-83314683723820952822011-08-23T15:04:00.000-07:002011-08-23T15:04:05.971-07:00Speaker Placement for Best Sound Quality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVEC_gJhK9o/TlQiIFdmdLI/AAAAAAAAAEU/TDlvmRXhCo0/s1600/Monitor%2BSpeaker%2BAX7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVEC_gJhK9o/TlQiIFdmdLI/AAAAAAAAAEU/TDlvmRXhCo0/s400/Monitor%2BSpeaker%2BAX7.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Most people when placing new speakers, simply choose the most convenient spot or wherever they look the best aesthetically. If you're more concerned about sound quality and fidelity there are some guidelines to follow to ensure the sound hitting your ears is a true representation of what is coming out of your speakers.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">First up is to determine how far apart they should be. This is assuming you have a standard 2.0 or 2.1 stereo setup with two main speakers. In this configuration, sound that is identical in both speakers creates a phantom center, basically the sound that seems to come from directly in front of you. The sound that is different in each speaker creates the stereo field, or the sound that seem to come from either side and all around you. The distance between the speakers will affect the balance between the phantom center and the stereo field. Too close together and they'll sound mono, with no stereo component. But too far away and the center will be too quiet and lose impact. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A good rule of thumb here is to place the speakers the same distance apart as the distance between each speaker and your ears. In other words the two speakers and your listening position should form a perfect equilateral triangle. If you usually sit 3 feet away from your speakers, the speakers should be 3 feet apart. You can also angle them inwards (called toe-in) so that they're pointing at you. Experiment to find the best angle between pointing straight out and straight at you. In terms of speaker height, you should try to align the tweeters with your ear height.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now where in the room should they be placed? Reflections from your room make up a large portion of the sound you hear, and waves bouncing back off of walls and your ceiling and floor can combine with the direct signal and cause cancellation. Ideally you'd be listening in a treated studio with sound absorbing panels placed at strategic spots. However there are some things you can do in terms of speaker placement that can help reduce these reflections. If your room is rectangle shaped, try to point the speakers at the wall furthest away. You want your sound travelling lengthwise, as this gives it the most distance to travel before it reflects off a wall. The speakers themselves should be away from the wall as well. If possible keep them a foot away to minimize reflections that bounce off the back wall and recombine with the direct signal.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Another big thing to watch out for is corners. Keep your speakers away from those nasty corners! Bass has a habit of building up where walls meet and this causes a very muddy signal. Try turning up your stereo and standing in a corner. You'll hear a lot of bass reflections which will reduce clarity and turn your sound to mush. In pro studios they have specially made panels for the corners called bass traps which attempt to minimize this effect.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Vibrations don't just travel through the air, they can also travel through surfaces. If you have speakers sitting on a table for instance, vibrations can travel through the speaker enclosure and into the surface of the table. The material and density of the surface will affect which frequencies will be affected. You can minimize this by decoupling the speakers from the surface with foam pads (there are a few companies on the market making specialty products for this purpose) or some other material that absorbs vibrations. Also consider moving them to a different surface to see if the sound quality improves.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As with all things in the audio world, the ideal setup requires a lot of experimenting. Hopefully these guidelines will give you a place to start and prevent you from making some of the big mistakes. If you remedy some of these problems in your listening environment you could hear a significant improvement and start noticing things you had never picked up before in your favorite music and movies.</div>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-11758187577154219732011-08-20T19:47:00.000-07:002011-08-22T18:58:17.240-07:00What Is EQ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOPMKbc5xNk/TlBzo6DU6sI/AAAAAAAAADg/RK6U-Hu10Zo/s1600/EQ.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="229" width="274" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOPMKbc5xNk/TlBzo6DU6sI/AAAAAAAAADg/RK6U-Hu10Zo/s400/EQ.png" /></a></div><br />
Eq or equalization is the technique of balancing the frequency spectrum of a piece of audio. A primitive example of this is the bass and treble knobs on your car or home stereo. An equalizer boosts or attenuates a certain range of frequencies relative to the rest of the spectrum and it is one of the most valuable tools in the producer's arsenal.<br />
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Types of EQ<br />
There are a few different types of eq tools you may come across, the two main ones being graphic and parametric eq. In a graphic equalizer, the frequency spectrum is split up into sections or bands. Each of these bands has a gain control to boost or cut in that specific range. The range that each band controls is called its bandwidth and this value is generally fixed. <br />
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A parametric equalizer is more flexible. Not only are you able to adjust the gain of a particular band, but also the bandwidth and the center frequency of that band. In other words you can adjust how much to boost or cut, where exactly to do that, and how narrow the range of frequencies affected will be. On a standard parametric eq, the bandwidth will be controlled by the Q parameter. Higher Q settings result in a sharper band, whereas lower settings will produce a wider band.<br />
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This image shows two boosts. The first one on the left has a low gain setting and a low Q setting, resulting in a broad gentle bump. The second boost has more gain and is sharper due to a higher Q setting.<br />
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Most parametric eqs will also include shelving filters and pass filters. These both work on everything above or below their center frequency.<br />
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Here we have two boosts, the first with a low shelf, the second with a high shelf. Notice the low shelf boosts or cuts everything below its center frequency (the green dot) while the high shelf affects everything above its center frequency. As with the bell shaped curves, you can use the Q control to set how gradually this change occurs.<br />
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In this shot, we've got a high pass and a low pass. These completely filter out everything above or below their frequency. The high pass lets all the frequencies above it pass, while the low pass does the opposite. These are also referred to as low cut and high cut. Try not to get confused here, a low cut is the same as a high pass and vice versa. Again, the Q controls how sharply they drop off. If you were to switch the positioning of these two filters you'd end up with a big valley in the mids where no sound gets through. Only the lows and highs would be audible.<br />
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These are the essential tools to shape the spectrum. The average track will probably use equalization on each instrument and each eq will probably have several bands working at once to get things balanced. In an ideal world, you'd never need to use eq because everything you recorded or synthesized would fit perfectly into the rest of the mix. That's a whole different discussion, but needless to say this is rarely the case; Some type of equalization will need to be applied to make things stand out and prevent frequency clashing.<br />
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In the next article, I'll explain common situations where eq is needed and some techniques to apply it.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-77066203113013313882011-08-19T05:49:00.000-07:002011-08-19T17:19:06.595-07:00Style Wars, The Dusty Movement<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iz7QmgGZUA4" width="560"></iframe><br />
This is like my walking home at 3 am song. Actually it's my whenever song but it's prime for chillin. You gotta turn it up loud to hear all the detail in the background. He's got another little melody tucked in under the keys, which sound fantastic by the way. Like churned butter. The chord voicings are what nails it though, I could listen to that progression forever. It holds on one chord to build up suspense and then releases nicely. There's a fake out fade-out in the middle which just makes you appreciate how tasty it is when it comes back in again.<br />
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More smooth jazz progressions here. Track reminds me of the leaves changing colour and the smell of fall. It'll be here soon enough I suppose, whenever summer gives up.<br />
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And again. Drum and bass groove is locked up nice here. Melody has a nice lazy feel to it. Its timing lags just a bit, with a more triplet feel than the rest of the elements.<br />
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The rest of this EP is great as well, really chill groovy songs that conjure up memories of walking through blizzards, midnight treks across town, and looking at the stars. Best part about this EP? It cost me nothing! There was a free download on his bandcamp, and it's been on my ipod ever since. It's still available if you wanna cop it, go check it out! <a href="http://iamstylewars.bandcamp.com/album/the-dusty-movement-ep" rel="nofollow"><u>Link here.</u></a> <br />
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Note: it requires an email signup kind of deal which is understandable. I did it a long time ago and have never received an email so you're not gonna get spammed. If you don't wanna put in your real address, try a disposable email service or post up here in the comments. If enough people are interested I can upload it to a fileshare site.<br />
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Also a bit of a teaser on what's coming up. The observant ones might have noticed I skipped a couple days there. Don't stress, just been working on some things in the background. Namely a giant music theory guide that will explain everything from the ground up. Should be big things, so stay tuned for that.<br />
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If you enjoyed the tunes or have something to say, hit up them comments.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-56703312113866488142011-08-17T20:13:00.000-07:002011-08-17T20:13:31.367-07:00Follow With Bloglovin<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2826445/pulse-theory?claim=jnf4tm8rupk">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
If you're not familiar, check it out.<br />
New content soon, got some big stuff in the pipeline.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-66948444371690959702011-08-14T21:29:00.000-07:002011-08-16T18:06:08.138-07:00How To Use Your Headphones as a Microphone <br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Quick tip today for those situations when you find yourself without a microphone. Say you come up with a cool idea and need to get it down quickly. You just want to beatbox or sing it into your computer but you've got nothing to record your voice with... or so you thought. Chances are you've actually got something hanging around that will do the trick in a pinch...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hOv_fXhY2xk/TkifHMrV4PI/AAAAAAAAACg/uPZQKS9glpU/s1600/AKG+K141.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hOv_fXhY2xk/TkifHMrV4PI/AAAAAAAAACg/uPZQKS9glpU/s320/AKG+K141.png" width="319" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
That's right your headphones! A speaker is designed to take electrical audio signal and run it through a coil in a magnetic field. Changes in the magnetic field produce movement in the speaker cone which turns out to be the vibrations you hear as sound. A microphone works in the opposite way; Movements of the diaphragm cause fluctuations in the magnetic field, forming electrical currents in the coil, which are then amplified and recorded as audio. Essentially they are the same things, just flowing in opposite directions and optimized for different tasks. <br />
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</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">What this means is, you can take your headphones and plug them into a mic port on your computer for recording! Just speak into one of the cups at a decent volume and you should be getting signal. Don't go expecting boutique tone here though, you won't really be using it for finished productions and they won't be as sensitive as a proper mic, but if you just need to sketch down an idea so you don't lose it this is perfect. Your results will vary with the headphones you choose and generally speaking, the larger the speakers in them, the better. You probably won't be able to get much sound out of iPod buds for instance, without screaming into them.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The only downside here is, unless you have a second pair of headphones, you won't be able to listen at the same time. If you're trying to record in time with audio playing, you can probably get away with using speakers since the headphones aren't going to pick up that much background noise. Another quirky bonus is that with two ear cups, you get two mics. If you're going for some crazy sound design you could record something in stereo with the headphones placed on either side of it. When playing back it should sound like the recording is inside your head! Try flipping the phase of one channel for a different sound.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So the next time you have an idea you need to get down quickly, give it a try. Once you've got that rough sketch recorded, it's a lot easier to reproduce it in your audio workstation without having to worry about forgetting it.</div>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-12350619455872157292011-08-13T06:42:00.000-07:002011-08-13T06:43:56.906-07:00How The Beatles Didn't Sound Like Crap, Tips on Pre and Post EQToday a tip from the old school days! When tape machines were the only recording medium in studios, there were some sonic compromises to go along with the nice saturation and warmth, namely tape hiss. When recording was limited to 4 or 8 tracks, things would have to be recorded, mixed, and then all recorded down to a single track to free up the rest of the tracks. This process is known as bouncing, and it exists in the modern world of computer recording as well. Except now instead of bouncing down to a single tape track, you're bouncing to a single wave file. Now with tape, the issue was that as you re-recorded things, the hiss would get recorded as well and the more times you bounced something, the more hiss that would build up.<br />
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To fight this, engineers developed an ingenious technique. Before hitting tape they'd eq the signal so it had more treble than they'd ever want. Then after the recording they'd eq again to cut out all that treble they added but also taking the tape hiss with it! If they were to just cut the highs to try to remove the hiss, the sound would end up very dull and lacking crisp definition. But by compensating before recording to tape, the recorded sound sounded pretty much the same, just minus the tape hiss! As you can imagine, this helped to keep all that hiss from building up when recording and really helped them get around the limitations of the tape machines back then.<br />
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This technique isn't just useful when recording to tape. There are a lot of processes that add unwanted noise, mainly distortion. This requires you to think two steps ahead. If you know you will be distorting your sound and you'll want to cut out the extra top end noise, add in an eq before the distortion to boost treble and keep everything balanced.<br />
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This is useful for compression as well. Eq your sound beforehand to emphasize the frequencies you want the compressor to act upon. Then throw in another EQ post compression doing the opposite to level things back out again.<br />
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Just one of the (many) ways The Beatles and artists of their era managed to pull out spectacular sounding recordings despite limited technology.<br />
Enjoy, and tell me your experiences in the comments!Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-42092076878788285502011-08-12T07:45:00.000-07:002011-08-12T07:45:43.504-07:00Burial and Four Tet, Some Songs About Insects and Mannequins<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lxzPzfkXpWs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
The heads who know will already be on it, but in case you haven't heard this track do yourself a favour, it's sublime. Chill and deep to the max. In the intro how it fades from kicks on every other beat to four on the floor... first time I heard that was like an explosion of high fives in my mind. Simple yet effective. This is one of the best collaborations since Batman and Spiderman crashed that wedding. The video's cool too, it's like free drugs.<br />
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Another four on the floor tune, this time from Four Tet on his own. Dare I say danceable? Meaning in the conventional club sense of course. I've never had the chance to drop this in a set but one of these days I'll get the right crowd. Here Four Tet works his usual magic over a more conventional stomper. Percussion is stand-out for me. As is the orchestration, it just builds and builds without trying to go over the top.<br />
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I really dig producers that have that ninja style locked down, where they only use as much force as necessary. It's really difficult because not only do you have to have technical skill in using restraint and making each element as powerful as possible, but you have to have that artistic intuition to know exactly how much of each ingredient is enough. One of these days I'll develop a formula...<br />
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Ok, that's all folks!<br />
As usual give me your opinions and general chatter in the comnomnoments.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-70654027260399779012011-08-11T17:00:00.000-07:002011-08-11T17:00:49.395-07:00Fight Laziness With Momentum, Create CreativityLaziness' best friend is the excuse. This excuse can come in many forms, and you'll discover all of a sudden you've become a master at rationalization as soon as it comes time to do something. A common excuse for avoiding creative work is lack of inspiration, and indeed without inspiration it would be difficult if not impossible to create anything of value. But don't let this excuse keep you waiting around, get things moving right now.<br />
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The main foundation of procrastination is that the condition isn't right at the moment. Either the circumstances aren't ideal or you're lacking something (such as motivation, creativity, energy) But if you'd only wait some indeterminate amount, things will surely improve and the task will get finished much easier, right? You trick yourself into believing waiting is a better plan than action.<br />
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In some cases waiting is the better plan. Time can change your circumstances for the better and in the meantime you can acquire more experience and knowledge to better perform the task or make the decision. If you're putting something off so you have more time to prepare or research, then fair play. In most cases though, that's just the excuse while you go waste time on something else. If you can't give yourself a set amount of time that it will take for things to improve, or a set of conditions that need to be met, then you're most likely just procrastinating indefinitely in the name of laziness. If there are things you need to wait for, or things to be done first, write them down and do everything in your power to push them along. Once there's nothing in your way of completing your task, get your nose to the grindstone.<br />
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Now you're probably saying “But I can't force inspiration, it just comes naturally.” This is true, you can't force anything, but there's ways to increase your creativity and get the ball rolling instead of sitting around and waiting for that lightening bolt to strike you in the head. Your goal is to get into that mindset where things just come to you naturally and you can do your best work.<br />
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The easiest way to cultivate creativity is by creating. You may think “how am I going to create anything if I lack inspiration?” Many creative things can be done without a lot of tangible inspiration. Something as simple as doodling, putting together an outfit, arranging things in a useful way, finding a creative solution to a simple problem. It doesn't need to be something magnificent. In fact simple acts of creativity that don't require much thought are more useful. Create in a different field from the one you're working in. If you're an artist, write a simple song, if you're a musician, write some poetry, if you're a writer, doodle, etc. The goal is to be absentminded here. You're trying to engage your subconscious so don't put a terrific amount of thought into it. Just go with the flow.<br />
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The key component of this approach is momentum, and it doesn't just apply to creativity. You start by doing an easy task that doesn't require much effort, and once that ball is rolling, it's easy to translate that motion into something more ambitious. Usually the hardest part of something is getting started and this can be a large barrier to getting things done. But by starting out with just a sample of the task, like creating something simple, or finding motivation to do something easy, you build inertia that will help you steamroll over the speed-bump that lies at the beginning of every project.Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-54053483037034215142011-08-11T14:50:00.000-07:002011-08-11T17:01:42.991-07:00Light PatternsToday for your listening pleasures is probably my very favorite producer, Bonobo. This guy is a real master at arrangement among many other things. His tracks are great for when you're working on something and need a reference to compare to.<br />
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The intro of this track is so effective, he hints at many parts to come without actually giving it away. Finally the flute convinces the bass to follow it into the chorus at 1:21. Tasty jazz flute always wins points.<br />
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This song has such a crazy pulse. The bass just fills up the room and makes things vibe along with it. The last couple of albums he's done have featured vocalists and this is a prime example from his most recent LP.<br />
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I always saw this track as having a double meaning, firstly the more apparent interpretation of romance, but also "If you stayed over" referring to the afterlife and the transient nature of life. At around the 4 minute mark the song morphs into something new and hopeful after the last embers of the vocals have faded. Nice introspective ballad.<br />
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I could go all day but we'll finish up with another from his latest album. This track is a shining example of his arrangement skills and truly embodies the meaning of "epic". The song progresses through a journey starting with wistful strings and clarinet in 3/4 time. Once the percussion develops a bit more, claps on every second note are brought in which changes the feel to 6/4. He manages to tune the anticipation very tightly near the end of the breakdown resulting in a nice release when the horn fanfare finally drops. The bass line (which is great) supports the 6/4 feel here by playing every 6 beats giving things a nice slow pulse while the drums maintain momentum.<br />
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He does occasionally get orchestras to record parts but a lot of the time he's just manipulating samples and slicing things up. This doesn't really sound like what your idea of "computer music" would be yet the large percentage of it is composed, arranged, processed all in the box. He did a masterclass showing how he made Kiara from Black Sands. If you're interested in seeing the secrets behind his magic, check it out <a href="http://vimeo.com/11620229"><u>here.</u></a>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-5731912054119270292011-08-10T20:00:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:01:05.618-07:00Back to Essentials, Cleaning Out Your VstPlugins FolderIn the previous article on <a href="http://pulsetheory.blogspot.com/2011/08/komplete-8-ultimate-overkill-separating.html"><u>Komplete 8</u></a> I brought up the problem of having too much software and the distractions it could pose. If you're like most producers, over the course of trying new plugins, downloading freeware, etc. you've amassed a large amount of software you never use. Not only is this taking up hard drive space, but it's slowing you down when making music. You have to pick the best and ditch the rest. You know what time it is; Let's clean out that Vst folder!<br />
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A lot of software manufacturers these days are touting their product as revolutionary and absolutely essential to the modern producer, but a in a good number of cases it's identical or very similar to the offerings of other developers. Sure it may be useful, but there's no point in having basically the same plugin with a different interface. If you have another plugin that does it better or that you're more comfortable with stick to that and ditch all the imitators.<br />
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If you've got a plugin that you just can't understand or get to work, it could be a good candidate for removal as well. If you've got some cool stuff that you just haven't got around to learning yet, make a list. During one of those times where you can't think of any musical ideas, instead sit down and read some manuals or watch some tutorial videos. This has the added benefit of giving you some new ideas or things to try; Nothing lights the spark like reading about a new way of doing something or a cool new tool. Now once you understand how the software works, you can decide whether it's really essential in your workflow.<br />
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While you're at it you can organize things into categories to make it even quicker when reaching for a tool. What DAW you use will determine how/if you're able to do this but in Reaper, I've set up favorites folders in the following categories:<br />
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Instruments- contains my soft synths and multisample instruments. Try to reduce redundancy by only having the synths that are unique and specialized in what they do. Have one that's good at basses, one for ambient effects, one fm synth, a good simple synth for things like sub bass, etc. Your sampler and drum plugin go here as well.<br />
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Frequency- One solid parametric eq, a linear phase eq for mastering, a good versatile filter (preferably with midi control if that's your thing) maybe a couple vintage modelled character eqs if you like. You don't need a bunch of eqs here, they all do the same thing!<br />
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Dynamics- One vanilla compressor, preferably with versatile attack/release times and ratios, a few character compressors, a limiter, a gate/expander, a transient shaper, and any other fancy dynamics tools if you have em, like multiband compressors/expanders, etc.<br />
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Reverb- pretty self explanatory, pick a good versatile one and you're good to go. Throw in a convolution reverb for good measure.<br />
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Delay- again pretty self explanatory, pick something versatile.<br />
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Distortion/Saturation- A good workhorse distortion, a waveshaper, and any tube saturation style plugs as well.<br />
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Modulation- Chorus, flanger, phaser, etc.<br />
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Special FX- All the weird unclassifiable ones go here. This is the folder to click on when doing sound design or when you want to fuck shit up.<br />
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Meters- finally, any plugs like oscilloscopes, spectrographs, peak/vu/stereo correlation meters.<br />
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That's pretty much the essentials. You can get any job done with this crew of plugins, and grouping them by task saves time instead of trying to remember what company makes that certain plugin. By not giving yourself too many choices you don't waste time deciding on what to use. Not to mention you save your scroll finger from a vigorous workout!<br />
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Maybe in a future post, I'll reveal what plugs I have in my folders and describe how they are useful to me. Cheers!<br />
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Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-57873388732696411692011-08-10T14:07:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:01:45.482-07:00You Don't Know Me and You Don't Know My StyleSome hip hop tunes from the underground (that's where hip hop lives in case you didn't know)<br />
Check out the dynamic duo known as Binary Star:<br />
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Tasty chromatic bass riff. Tagteam style. Nuff said, track is fire.<br />
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This one is smoother and pensive. Wait till the 50 second mark when the intro is over. Lyrical skill is strong like an ox. Flows fit perfectly over the jazzy minor beat.<br />
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Hip hop the way it's supposed to be, undiluted and sporting ties to its roots, with lyrical conscience and rhythmic proficiency.<br />
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If you enjoy, let me know.<br />
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Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-53037227340780184922011-08-09T15:58:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:03:41.687-07:00Komplete 8 Ultimate, Overkill? Separating Wants From Needs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99RJGJbprCE/TkG7gHpwz3I/AAAAAAAAABk/MqE1tBbRWAQ/s1600/Komplete+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99RJGJbprCE/TkG7gHpwz3I/AAAAAAAAABk/MqE1tBbRWAQ/s1600/Komplete+8.png" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/komplete-8-ultimate/"><u>Komplete 8</u></a>, the comprehensive package from audio software giants Native Instruments, releases September 1<sup>st</sup>. Sporting some updates to workhorse legacy products and some new additions to the family, NI seeks to provide all you'll need in one bundle. But how much of it is actual need and how much is gear lust?</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">For synthesis, Komplete includes the heavyweights, Massive, FM8 and Absynth, giving you wavetable/subtractive, FM, and a more modular textural sound design capabilities respectively. Then of course the big daddy, Reaktor, allowing you to build your own anything really. Apart from the Reaktor factory and user library you also get Spark, Razor and Prism, which you can all modify and take apart. Razor and Prism especially are fresh approaches to synthesis and implement some of the new features from the updated Reaktor.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The powerhouse sampler Kontakt also gets an update and includes a huge sample library. Instruments from drums, bass, guitar and keys are all meticulously sampled and ready to play, while Session Strings Pro provides orchestral samples for those epic tracks or film scoring. Finally, they round out the bundle with an updated Guitar Rig and some effects, most notably the new Vintage Compressors.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The goal here is clear: supply basically everything you could possibly need in one bundle and I'd say they do a good job at meeting this goal; Kontakt does represent an extensive offering. It contains something of interest to producers, sound designers, musicians, film scoring, etc.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">While this versatility provides a sort of sonic freedom, could it be preventing you from focusing by overwhelming you with options? Sure it contains pretty much everything you could possibly want but is it all really necessary? A lot of musicians and producers suffer from an addiction to new gear. There's this subconscious perception that more new stuff means better music, and the marketing teams do a good job at enforcing this. The learning curve for this package would be pretty steep if you have no previous experience, especially for Kontakt and Reaktor. Although a lot of these products are the foundation for modern studios, you may be better off choosing a select few and learning them inside out. Seek to master them one at a time; specialty is what is going to yield spectacular results, not just a general knowledge of many tools.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Deciding whether Komplete is right for you will require considering your needs. It's a good investment for studios where versatility is important. For the amount of products you get it's a bargain, and if you think the whole package will eventually be put to use, you can save some money versus buying things separately. If you're just starting out or your requirements aren't as extensive, you might be better off stating slow and just sticking with what you need. As you master one you can move on to the next, ensuring you have a good foundation, and hopefully preventing you from losing track of what's really important: using the tools you have to create powerful music.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Do you suffer from gear lust? Let me know in the comments and tell me how you deal with it. </div>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-85420566853545366132011-08-08T23:25:00.000-07:002011-08-08T23:25:44.127-07:00Is Modern Music Killing Patience?<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's a symptom of the times. Our culture has evolved to such a point where people expect instant gratification in almost all aspects of life. This is an extension of fairly primal instinct, why wait when I can have it now? Of course it's a natural reaction to waiting, but with modern technology, people are becoming accustomed to faster and faster results with less waiting time between getting what they want. Because of this, less emphasis is being placed on anticipation; the idea of waiting for something is seen as bad and something to be avoided at all costs. This mindset is taking a negative toll on our patience and attention span.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As seen in the previous article on <a href="http://pulsetheory.blogspot.com/2011/08/dynamics-and-their-affect-on-attention.html"><u>dynamics and attention</u></a>, the brain awards attention to stimuli that are changing and tunes out things that stay static. This is used in many forms of media, from fast film cuts in movies and tv shows, to radio and music. I'm sure you've heard your local radio station flip through a thousand sound effects and name drops in the span of 20 seconds before. This is like revving the listener's attention. By engaging them with highly dynamic audio it causes their brain to have to focus intently on what they are hearing. As we already saw, dynamics in the music itself can be used to great lengths for capturing attention. This is beneficial to an extent because it allows for entertaining captivating media that engages its audience. Technological advances in other areas like high speed internet, satellite tv, etc. all help the user to access what they want faster and easier. Unfortunately the tradeoff is that we begin to develop an addiction to this constantly changing landscape of information and media that is being fired at us nonstop.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As a result, people are developing increasingly less patience. They skip to the chorus, skim the story, or just get the general gist from a few minutes of a youtube video. Attention spans are at an all time low. The 'good part' is what they crave, and they want it immediately. So badly so that the context is ignored in favour of instant gratification. Gone are the days of people pondering over something. People just take things at face value and move on. Oblivious to some, is the fact that perhaps this face value is not all there is. Perhaps there is something to be gained from waiting, from anticipating, allowing something to develop, while taking the time to think about its meaning. Things such as subtlety and depth need patience to be appreciated.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The problem with constant high intensity is eventually that constant stimulus is seen as static and once again tuned out. Back to square one. You may be giving them what they want off the bat but they will soon tire when there is nowhere else to go. The audience becomes apathetic when there is no flow. Similar to those movies that try to be hardcore action the whole time. The audience becomes accustomed to that level of intensity and this robs the important scenes of their impact. The climax is only relative to the parts around it.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Giving your audience the opportunity to relax and observe from a more chilled passive state will only further the excitement when a captivating event grabs your focus. Anticipation and tension are very strong compositional tools. Make music that keeps listeners engaged but forces them to be a bit patient. This is a difficult balance at times. You don't want a steady stream of intensity, nor do you want too little in certain parts or else your music will be boring and you risk listeners skipping ahead. Great art is made when a balance is struck between these two philosophies. Use curiosity, foreshadowing, just enough interest to keep them moving forward. Then when the time is right hit them with the goods. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Conversely as a listener, the more you invest into the experience the more you'll get back. When it comes to things you love such as art, give them the time they need to be appreciated. Listen to intros, stare at a painting until you think you get it, don't become impatient with something because it hasn't revealed itself fully to you yet. You have to earn that, and when you do it feels much better than skipping ahead.</div>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-56960446701664785942011-08-08T17:00:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:02:30.234-07:00Some Tunes to Listen To and AnalyseCouple of jams for your entertainment. I'm going to deconstruct them a bit and emphasize the parts I thought were effective.<br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F3610167"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F3610167" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/myrkur/myrkur-transmission">Myrkur - Transmission</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/myrkur">Myrkur</a><br />
This track is a favorite of mine and is an awesome example of what can be done with sub work. The chords set up rhythmic continuity along with nice driving drums. Then the sub bass drops which adds another dimension. It provides its own melody and has awesome rhythmic interplay between the chord stabs and the kick drum. The way it dances in between the drums gives the beat a bounce and adds new context to the stabs. Also, listen to how the hihats follow the sub. This track is arranged quite well and supports the philosophy of 'not too much, not too little.' Everything is in the right place.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fS-leJeaBGw" width="480">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;This tra&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe><br />
This track has an exotic sort of vibe. Its arrangement progresses quite linearly, starting in one place and ending in another. The real climax of the song is at what I'd call the chorus I guess, although the section doesn't make another appearance. (1:56) Nice raw dirty bassline here that locks well with the drums. Background vocals providing supporting harmony that sets the stage for the lead vocal which comes in 16 bars later. The lower harmony on the lead vox here sounds really awesome and give it that extra character. After this climax it mellows out considerably as it brings the album to a close with more of the exotic vibes the song started with. My only complaint is I'd like to hear a more traditional arrangement with that badass bass brought back a couple times. This track is serving as the epic album closer though (note the track length) so in the overall scheme of the album, I'd say the arrangement does its part well. The supporting instruments and sound design are also very well done, especially in the first half leading to the climax. Listen for the things in the background.<br />
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Post your opinions or analyses in the comments!<br />
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Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-84945435560214475072011-08-07T21:32:00.000-07:002011-08-07T22:07:44.258-07:00Dynamics and Their Affect on Attention<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ok the subject of this first post is dynamics! Not just dynamics in volume but in all aspects of sound. In order to save processing power and increase efficiency, the brain is programmed to acclimatize itself to static sounds. (or any static stimulus really, but we're talking about music) In the same way you grow to take something for granted, your mind will pay less and less attention to something if it does not change perceptibly over time. This is due to the fact that it can't spend attention on everything and if there's no change then there's no point in continuing to report that stimulus. Think of going to visit a website every day to check if they've published a new article. Day after day you check and most days there's nothing new. Instead of wasting your time and resources you decide to subscribe to the page by rss and ignore it until you're notified something new has been added. This is similar to how the brain handles input.<br />
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<a name='more'></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">What this means for your music is that if you want your listener to continue to pay attention to something, it needs to be dynamic. It's obvious on a larger scale; A 7 minute track of the same 4 beats looping will tire you quickly and the reason will be blatant. But this also holds true on a smaller scale, where it might not be so obvious to the producer. Say you have a sick line but after a while it just starts to grate on you. You think maybe it's just not as good as I thought? Maybe I should change it to something else? You change the pattern and it sounds a bit more fresh so you continue on. But in a while it starts to grate on you again. This can be very frustrating but realize it's not necessarily down to your lack of skill as a producer. It's just lacking dynamics.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">What you need to do is change the part in question over the course of the track. This can be a change of melody, rhythm, timbre, atmosphere, volume, modulation, effects, etc. Anything that you can vary is fair game. This doesn't need to be massive restructuring of the part every four bars. You can still maintain continuity in the part and have it sound the same, while making minute tweaks that don't necessarily register to the listener. This keeps the mind on its toes and constantly processing input of that specific part which means it maintains relevance over the course of the track and helps to reduce boredom.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">You can also do the inverse in your arrangements to creative effect. Repetition is a powerful tool to get the brain used to a certain sound. You can slowly blend something into the background and when the sound finally changes or ends, it draws new attention to itself. I'm sure you can remember not noticing the air conditioning until all of a sudden it shuts off. The abrupt silence sucks in your attention, despite there being not much left to listen to. In this way you can draw attention to negative space in your productions.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Once you get the listener used to something and then take it away they crave it. The track feels empty without it. Like the saying goes, you don't know what you have till it's gone. If you're so inclined, you can then reintroduce the element, which after a long absence, will be appreciated with much vigor and will have a new found importance in the listener's attention stream.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This doesn't just have to do with changes in arrangement over the course of the whole track. In terms of sound design, small variations within a single pattern or even a single note will give your sounds a more live feeling and reduce fatigue. With real live instruments and players, there is always minute variations in timing, tone, pitch, etc. that give things a human feel. Try this out on your productions and see if it gives them some organic analog life!</div>Kyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6460204112859202436.post-7708616638543311092011-08-05T19:59:00.000-07:002011-08-05T22:38:03.530-07:00Maiden PostThis marks the debut post of this blog! It's centred around music production so it will be mainly geared towards the electronic musician but the articles should provide interest to musicians of all genres, creative types, and listeners who love music.<br />
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I will be covering subjects ranging from music philosopy, production techniques, theory, and the creative process. Basically I'm going to try to run the gamut from abstract inspiration ideas to practical techniques, in hopes of documenting the process of creating and refining music, while stopping to ponder about where these ideas actually come from and how to streamline the whole process.<br />
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Seems a bit daunting, but with the right approach it should turn out nicely.<br />
Now let's break that champagne bottle!<br />
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-KyranKyranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249428878946336871noreply@blogger.com4