Go Pro Sign In
Sign Up
X
Sign Up
X

Finding Your Sound w/ Shadowstar

Finding Your Sound w/ Shadowstar

X

Course Lessons

Course Preview

Finding Your Sound

Kick Drum Fundamentals

The 808 and 909 Kick

How to Process your Kick

Using Templates

About This Course

Mixmasters Production coach ShadowStar shares his strategies on how to develop your own unique sound in Ableton Live. In this course, he focuses on breaking down the fundamentals of a kick. By focusing on one sound and how to study it, you can apply these skills to any sound you want to create.

Building awareness and practicing active listening as a musician helps you recognise subtleties in music and what you like about it. No matter what stage you’re in, these fundamental practices and skills will drastically expedite the process of discovering your own unique sound.

You will learn how to:

  • Identify core kits and samples used for specific genres. 
  • Find your sound through active listening. 
  • Build your own unique sample library. 
  • Reduce, reuse and recycle sounds. 
  • Design and shape samples through sound design.  
  • Use audio and MIDI racks. 
  • Use session view. 
  • Work with templates.

Lessons: 

1. Finding Your Sound

Dylan goes over what he will be covering in this webinar. He takes a more philosophical angle in explaining how to connect with your sound and overcome any fears or anxieties you might have when starting off.  He discusses using a technique of active listening, where you focus on one sound and how to study it. Once you understand the characteristics of the sound and how to achieve them, you’ll be able to adapt it for use in your own music.

2. Kick Drum Fundamentals

In a short exercise, Dylan shows you how to identify the difference between an 808 and 909 kick. He also shows you how to design and shape a kick sample depending on the context of its use.

3. The 808 and 909 Kick

Dylan delves further into this exercise to help you answer the question: What is happening in this sound? He plays through a range of different kick samples to identify and understand the characteristics of each sound.

4. How to Process your Kick

From the big and boomy kicks in Techno, to the short and punchy kicks in Tech-House, Dylan breaks down the waveform of a kick into frequencies and transients to help you understand the sound.

5. Using Templates

Using templates is a great way to ensure everything you need to work is set up and ready to go beforehand, so that you can focus when you need to. Dylan covers using a project template, audio/MIDI racks, as well as master chain templates.

Q&A

  • Does side-chaining make a big difference to the bass and kick?

Meet Your Teacher

ShadowStar

Born and raised in Austin, TX  Producer/DJ ShadowStar weaves dreamy melodies of deep house and shamanic like entrancing rhythms in his soundscapes with contemporary performances in central Texas. Living in the live music capital of the world influenced him greatly with a diverse and often southern style that reflects in his music today. 

One side of his music complements the emotive aspect of the Progressive House genre and yet the simple ethereal melodic elements will take you on a halcyon sojourn no matter when or where you are in the day. While the other side will take you into a psychedelic trance with the versatile bass grooves of Deep Techno infused with UK Garage influence.

Discussions

Dream of finally finishing that draft or launching that side-hustle? Make your next creative project your best yet, with simple steps from creative superstar Emma Gannon!

Discussions

Dream of finally finishing that draft or launching that side-hustle? Make your next creative project your best yet, with simple steps from creative superstar Emma Gannon!

About This Class 

Dream of finally finishing that draft or launching that side-hustle? Make your next creative project your best yet, with simple steps from creative superstar Emma Gannon!

In this new class, Emma shares the framework that allowed her to overcome self-doubt and carve her own path as an author, broadcaster, and podcast host. The secret to her success? Fed up with feeling afraid—of failure, of not being good enough, even of success—Emma dug into the science behind self-sabotage and learned exactly how to get out of her own way.

Now, Emma is sharing what she’s learned so that you can do the same: unlock your creative potential while feeling energized and empowered! 

Together with Emma, you will:

  • Identify the patterns in your life, and let go of habits that don’t serve you
  • Cut out comparison to figure out what you really want and need
  • Silence your inner critic by talking back to negative beliefs and behaviors
  • Own your success and vulnerability—both go hand-in-hand with creativity

Packed with insights and examples from Emma’s personal journey, this class is designed for every creative who needs a pep-talk or extra push to get started—and includes five exclusive downloadable worksheets to support you along the way.

Whether you’re looking to break through block, remove self-imposed pressure, or simply approach each new project with intention, this 45-minute class will unlock your confidence as a creative. Get started and celebrate taking the first step!

______________________________

All you need to follow along is a pen and paper. Download the worksheets to follow along with Emma’s exercises, or jot your thoughts in a notebook.

Resources

  • Introduction
  • Week one

Why Join Mixmasters?

Live, weekly Zoom classes with industry experts

Unlimited production & marketing coaching with track feedback

Access hundreds of expert-led courses, instantly

Download thousands of exclusive royalty-free samples

Get Started For Free
X

Other Courses You Might Like...

GBA ArchivesThis is where you can find all our previous training videos and interviews that haven't been made into a course
Procrastination, Productivity & Personal Branding w/ Dan MeredithAbout This Course Dan Meredith life coach, author of Amazon no 1 best selling book “How To Be Fucking Awesome”, and successful high-level business strategist, gives key skills that help combat procrastination, advises on goal setting tips and gives ideas on how to progress your own personal brand. You will learn: Ultimate Sales Machine -Chet Homes What to do when it’s your turn, and it's always your turn -Seth Goding (sp?) Eat That Frog (author?) Think and Grow Rich Training DJ Goals Book Lessons: 1. How to combat Procrastination Dan begins by discussing why we often don’t do what we say we will do; he goes on to talk about how easy it is to lie to yourself, to allow things to slide, and how accepting these lies or versions of the truth that suit us, facilitates conditioning yourself to accept mediocrity. Dan highlights that this is the pathway to setting yourself up for failure. He explains this see internal and external in terms of pressures we experience for example: work pressure, deadlines, family, wealth, and the internal would be procrastination negative self-talk; he strongly suggests that people should stop that negative self chat. Dan then explains that speed of implementation is a great way of tackling procrastination. Just do it, stop self-doubt if you start doubting yourself you’re undermining yourself … and then you won’t do it- ACT! 3 second rule… if you see an opportunity just take action. 2. Do you Really want it bad enough? Dan discusses how hard he had to work in order to get to where he was because he wanted it badly enough! He suggests writing an achievement wishlist setting a set of goals and targets. Then he advises that you just start writing it down everywhere! He suggests not getting caught up with too much detail- it doesn't have to be perfect just do it! 3. What is your big why The Big Why: what underpins your motivation? What is driving you to act, what is driving your target and desire? It’s imperative to understand what you want and why you want it so badly. In Dan’s case his motivating factor was his sister who needed extra care and he wanted to ensure he could provide private care for her needs, though your motivation doesn't need to be altruistic, and it can be multifaceted, you need to have a clear understanding of it. 4. Write it down everywhere (R.A.S) Dan talks about RAS- the part of your brain that filters - he suggests that you write your goals down absolutely everywhere: let your brain sees the goal everywhere: put it on your lock screen on your phone, the first page of your diary daily, on your fridge etc your brain will start to filter to it! Dan says we are presented with opportunities daily and we have to have an antenna open to these opportunities, and then take action. 5. BHAG Goals BHAG = big hairy audacious goals - put what you want to achieve in a year in a list. Then, decide on a 90-day plan and break that down into actions to make the end goals. Then break it down into a 30-day plan and make actions, then break down into a weekly, daily etc. 6. Set Goals That Leverage He then advises that you set goals that leverage social pressure, but with emotional detachment. Specificity- a big challenge but not one that crushes you! By telling people about it you’re therefore accountable and under social pressure, use it- harness that pressure to motivate you. Think of the emotional attachment to the feeling of successfully gaining that goal, but not to the actual outcome! Specificity with your goal: ie if your goal is to DJ in a well known club- get specific- which Club? Which room? Which time-slot, by what date? Etc 7. Brain Dumping Brain dump- write down everything - then rank it- 1,2,3, etc ranking system: 1 urgent, 3 doesn’t matter. Realistically 20-30 matters that need dealing with maximum. Get a day planner- write 3-5 key actions a day to keep moving forward. They write a daily, weekly, monthly and 90 Day review. 8. Daily, Weekly & 90 day reviews Health wealth productivity and connectivity: Start writing down under these subheadings where you stand ie your mental and physical health, with your wealth - what you have in the bank etc With productivity -how much do you need done? Rank your tasks. With connectivity- how are your relations, are you making friends, networking, family relations? 9. How to grow your brand on social media Personal Branding: next he discusses the fastest way to grow in the social world, personal branding, being authentically you. He suggests leverage with your story, talk about what you like, share your thoughts & feelings, what you stand for, and against and tell the world! Next pick a platform, and hammer it -consistency is key: so for DJs - SoundCloud, Mix cloud & Spotify for music and for socials its Instagram and Facebook, get cool images of you doing your craft, using stories, record insta tv, upload to insta - do it daily: ie 3-5 post FB, 5 insta posts, podcasts 2 per week, 2-4 livestreams p/w. 10. Infotaining Share your content in a way that people can engage with, add your story, and be funny. Present your stuff on social media in a way that people will connect with. 11. Enjoy Life Make a decision - enjoy your life! Hard graft- have a go! 12. Live Q&A Due to personal life choices on the way I party; I have noticed now that I'm getting invited less to parties. What should I do to get invited back into the scene? What was your turning point? When did you know this was it and there was no turning back? How do you manage your inner Saboteur?
Think & Grow Rich: Danny SavageA condensed version of the trailblazing book by Napoleon Hill, who was commissioned to carry out a case study of the most successful men of his time (1920s) to understand the common threads of success that underpinned all of their careers.
Effective Networking To Gain Influence w/ Danny SavageThe importance of networking and social networks in conjunction with your business and career is explained. Danny talks through his accomplishments to date, and how so many of his career achievements are due to the networks he has developed. Danny breaks down How To Win Friends and Influence People into 10 easy steps. Danny gives DJs a fully comprehensive guide to attending music industry events, how to prepare, handle the event and organise post-event follow-ups and how to utilise social media for effective networking.
Overcoming Fear & Building a brand /w Bradley Gunn RaverBradley Gunn Raver’s dancing/Raving career spans 3 years to date. This webinar addresses how he managed to create his profile in its current form, gives great tips on branding and what to do (and what not to do!) when it comes to social media, and ideas on building your personal brand. They additionally look at how to overcome your fear and the fear of saying no is also discussed. They also cover advice on how to get noticed and get ahead in the music industry.
Music Industry Hustle in a Digital Age w/ Roger SanchezHow to identify your brand, your style, your KSP’s. Roger discusses his own career path and stresses that essentially the importance of understanding who you are and then creating and pushing out your own brand, is key to starting out. Then creating as much relevant content and consistently getting it out there on your social platforms to create your own following. The bottom line is that these days you can be your own radio station and record label. Use these platforms to create your own social media presence, following and establish your brand. But you must be prepared to put in hard work. Roger mainly focuses on Instagram as the main social media platform to use to engage with your fans.
DGL @ Brighton Music Conference 2018
Get Heard & Get Signed w/ SaytekSaytek gives you the knowledge to build your profile to get noticed by labels, how to self-release and start your own label, how to expand and get noticed by the bigger labels, your presence online and how to make good contacts in the industry. Key words: profile, labels, distribution, mastering, artwork, PR, signed, released, music, impact, print, digital, radio, expand, vinyl, records, longevity, presence, facebook, Instagram, youtube, engagement, following, contacts, A&R
How To Make Money From Your Music w/ Mark LawrenceTeaching you about publishing, Mark Lawrence is the Spokesperson for Association For Electronic Music, and he runs Black Rock publishing - In this course, he gives you advice on how to make money from your music. With 10 years experience at PRS, an organisation that manages copyrights of writers & publisher in UK & worldwide. He became aware of a lack of focus on electronic music artists & producers rights. That's when Mark set up Black Rock publishing & label. He started the campaign Get Played Get Paid. Mark explains that you can only get paid if you are registered with all the associations and have a publishing deal and he thinks around 70% of the artists in electronic music do not have a deal… What is publishing, why do you need to get your material published, what benefit is it to you as a DJ or a Producer?
How to Pitch Bookers & Labels: Danny SavageDanny gives a masterclass on how to approach bookers & labels.
Speak to Sneak - Live Q&AChicago house music legend DJ Sneak does a live Q&A and shares his experience about his musical journey so far. He discusses the importance of being yourself and doing what you love in a crowded industry. This Q&A will give you insights on how to navigate through the many challenges DJs and Producers come across. We also see Roger Sanchez and Doorly dropping in the session to say hello and to ask questions.
How To Use Spotify As An Artist w/ Grahame FarmerData Transmission founder and Editor-in-Chief Grahame Farmer delivers a tutorial on how to use Spotify as an artist. He discusses the benefits it offers in providing content for all connected social networks and driving traffic towards them. Working with labels and mutually promoting tracks along with streaming revenue for radio shows and mixes is also covered. In the comprehensive Q&A section, Grahame answers a variety of questions including using Spotify from platforms such as Soundcloud, avoiding full-length DJ tracks and what to do if your artist name is already being used.
Rekordbox Mastery: Export Mode w/ Sam ShepherdSam Shepherd guides us through how to use Pioneer’s industry standard software Rekordbox, concentrating on the Export version which is free to use.
How To Build An Email List Of Fans & How To Use It w/ Danny Savage
DJ Goals 12-Week Planner
Build Your DJ Profile
DS Internal: Team HandbookWelcome to Danny Savage's Remote Team! This handbook will guide you through all the processes, tools, and etiquette we follow in the team.
Three Proven Steps To Double Your Fanbase with Hypeddit: John GoldJohn Gold, founder of Hypeddit shows you his proven formula to boost your fanbase to get more fans who will buy your music and come to your gigs. Hypeddit is the worlds no.1 download gate.
Ableton Live Masterclass w/ SaytekIn this Ableton Live Masterclass Saytek looks at programming drums, basic mixdown techniques and everything in between. You will learn how to: Use Ableton’s stock instruments to create drum patterns, basslines and other elements such as pads and strings. Work with audio and midi. Use FX to start adding character and depth to your music. Use automation to progress your track, build suspense and interest. Set up a midi controller to sketch out track ideas or use in a live performance. Start arranging ideas into a full track. Use session and arrangement view together to start arranging a full track. Start using basic mixdown techniques to let each element of your productions shine. Lessons: 1. Making Beats A tight drum loop is the foundation of all good dance music. In this lesson, Saytek guides you through the basics of creating a drum pattern in Ableton Live. He shows you how to use Simpler, drum rack and the ‘convert drums to midi’ function to create a solid 4 x 4 beat. As a bonus, he goes through the beginnings of putting together a powerful bassline. You will learn how to: Use Simpler to isolate drum hits from samples and programme them. Use the 808 and 909 core kits in Drum Rack. Adjust volume envelopes. Add swing using the groove pool. Add a bassline using Simpler. Use the ‘convert drums to midi’ function to chop up a breakbeat, giving character to your loop. 2. Basslines and Melodies A strong bassline and a catchy melody can make or break your track. In lesson two of the Ableton Live Masterclass, Saytek teaches you how to create ear-grabbing basslines and melodies using Simpler and other Ableton instruments. He then adds processing to give the sounds more depth and interest. You will learn how to: Use loop samples to programme your own bassline in Simpler. Write basslines and melodies that are in key using the ‘scale’ midi effect. Create interesting rhythms using the ‘arpeggiator’ midi effect. Turn single notes into chords with the ‘chord’ midi effect. Use reverb, delay and filters to add character to your sounds. Program auto-filter automation. Add lead basslines, pads and strings to your track using some of Ableton’s stock instruments. 3. Working with Audio Working with audio can give you different creative options than midi. In this video Saytek shows you the basics of using audio and some techniques you can use to put your own spin on sounds. You will learn how to: Convert midi into audio. Use FX such as reverse, pitch-change and warping to get creative. Make glitchy hi-hats. Create reverse reverb and delays. Chop up a breakbeat in audio. 4. Automation Automation can be a powerful tool for sculpting your sound and progressing your track. In part 4 of Saytek's Ableton Live Masterclass, working in session view, he shows you how to use the automation feature to control FX and volume. You will learn how to: Consolidate and organise audio so it’s easy to work with in session view. Add automation to an auto-filter, utility plugin and delay effect to add interest and build suspense in your track. 5. How to Use a Midi Controller You can use a midi controller to jam out ideas when producing a track in Ableton, or as part of a live performance. In this video Saytek shows you how to set up your controller to trigger scenes, FX and automate parameters for optimum performance. You will learn how to: Optimise your preferences in Ableton to get the most out of your controller. Map your controller to trigger commands in Ableton. Understand notes and cc numbers when triggering. Use range to reduce the risk of clipping. Control and record automation. 6. Arranging a Track #1 Do you find it hard to get out of a loop and arrange a full track? In this part, Saytek teaches you how to start arranging your tune in Ableton Live. He takes scenes from session view and records them into arrangement view to get a rough sketch of a track. Then he adds further editing and automation. You will learn how to: Use session and arrangement view together to lay out a sketch of a track. Start building a breakdown. Make risers using Ableton’s stock synth: Analog. Create a snare roll in Drum Rack. 7. Arranging a Track #2 More tips for creating a fully arranged track. In this lesson of the Ableton Live Masterclass, Saytek goes through more editing and organizing of scenes before recording a rough sketch of a track into arrangement view. Once he has this, he shows how to add interest and create suspense just using the elements you already have, removing or adding extra parts to your liking. You will learn how to: Organise and edit scenes ready for arranging. Jam out a sketch of your track into arrangement view. Create variation and build tension by taking away and adding more of existing elements, such as kicks and claps. Edit automation to fit better within the arrangement. 8. Mixing #1 Without a good mixdown even the best arrangement in the world cannot compete in today’s music industry. For lesson 8, Saytek shows how to get started on a basic mixdown for a track. You will learn how to: Start using basic mixing techniques to create space and power in your track. Start balancing volume levels, leaving headroom. Pick out and emphasize key elements. Use EQ, compression and other FX effectively in the mix. Use A/B testing to find the best sound for all elements of your track. Use panning to create space and dynamics. 9. Mixing #2 In the final part of the Ableton Live Masterclass Saytek takes another look at the essentials of mixing. Saytek talks about the equipment you need to get a quality clean mix and looks at basic mixdown techniques. You will learn how to: Establish a mixing mindset, only changing what needs to be. Process elements with EQ, compression, saturators and limiters to create space and definition. Use Corpus to add sub to a kick drum. Use sidechain compression.
Mixmasters Production VaultEvery single Mixmasters production workshop can be found here.
Building New Habits & Routines
Fanbase Booster Live - John GoldJohn Gold gives a game-changing workshop full of tips and tricks on how to boost your fanbase and make more money as an electronic musician. John Gold, founder of Hypeddit shows you his proven formula to boost your fanbase to get more fans who will buy your music and come to your gigs. Hypeddit is the worlds no.1 download gate.
DJ Growth Conference 2019 @ Ministry Of SoundMusic Industry professionals at the top of their game cover the key areas you need to master if you want to grow your music career, including how to make chart smashing music, how to market yourself, mastering mindset, networking skills, being a club promoter and much more.
Mixmasters Live 2020Mixmasters Live was the world's largest virtual summit for electronic artists with over 25 workshops spread over 3 days, covering everything you need to take your career to the next level.
Building a Track and Making Effective Transitions w/ JackyIn this course, renowned DJ & Producer Jacky shows you how he starts to build a House track from scratch in Ableton Live and how to stay productive when producing music. DEFECTED favourite Jacky has in a short space of time racked up an impressive collection of releases across Elrow Music, FFRR, Repopulate Mars, VIVA and of course DFTD among many others. Known for his versatility when DJing, his chunky studio productions reflect this too, spanning the genres of disco, tech and deep house. Having hit the top of the Beatport charts on numerous occasions, he certainly has plenty of music production knowledge to share with you. In this session, Jacky begins to breakdown how he goes about building a track from start to finish, offering essential workflow tips and other productive techniques to allow you to effectively arrange your musical ideas and formulate them into a track. Jacky mostly uses Ableton’s stock plugins, however he also reveals one of his favourite external plugins for Ableton Live: OhmBoyz. You will learn how to: Optimise your workflow and maximise your productivity How to set up a project file template How to create the basic components of a House Music dance track Creative techniques for adding groove How to create a ‘fat’ bassline How to use send and return tracks effectively Chapter 1: Setting Up Your DAW Jacky reveals his template for how to start creating a track from scratch in Ableton Live and shares some tips on how to organise and speed up your workflow to ensure that you stay focused on the creative elements of music production. He covers how he sets up his send and return channels and how he uses one of his most used plugins: OhmBoyz. Chapter 2: Building A House Track From Scratch Jacky goes through the fundamentals of how he builds a House track from the beginning. He shows you how he uses production techniques such as subtractive EQ to clean up the kick drum, compression, delay and other tools to improve the key percussive elements (e.g. the clap and hi hats) of a dance music track. Chapter 3: Building Upon The Basics - Part I Here we explore how Jacky builds upon the track’s basic foundations: adding swing and groove, using quantisation. He also reveals some workflow tips to aid productivity, such as: key mapping and grouping tracks in order to uniformly process percussion and apply FX. Chapter 4: Building Upon The Basics - Part II Learn how Jacky creates his basslines, using Ableton Live’s stock plugins. See how he applies saturation and sidechaining to ensure a tight low end that works well with the kick drum. He also reveals how he creatively makes use of vocals to add texture to his songs. Chapter 5: Q&A Jacky answers questions on House Music Production in Ableton Live.. Questions include: How wet/dry should FX be when applying them; why blend 2 different kick drum samples; what order to apply audio effects and where does Jacky get his infamous Kimonos Using return channels - how wet/dry should FX be when using them? Why do you blend 2 kick samples together? Why do you use 2 EQ audio effects in one audio effect chain?
Getting Creative With Midi w/ JackyAs a child, Jacky Maughan was a drummer who played in numerous bands. It wasn’t until the age of 19 that he bought his first pair of decks, but his keen sense of rhythm and ability to control the energy within a room landed him his first gig in 2009 at Newcastles ‘Bar Beyond’. Since then, he has claimed residency from the likes of ‘mute!’ and taken to producing music, having support from artists such as Skream, Nick Curly, Richy Ahmed and Steve Lawler. In this lesson, Jacky demonstrates how to use Ableton Live’s MIDI effect range to create pitch perfect melodies with no prior composing knowledge necessary. He uses no external plugins, so his method is applicable to any Ableton Live user. This course is suitable for aspiring composers who lack the formal knowledge needed to make music, or experienced composers who understand what it’s like hitting ‘the wall’. This method can create melodic concepts for further adjustments What you will learn: How to create buses to route effects to MIDI tracks How syncopation can be used to create evolving melodies How to add variety to a progression with randomness How to use MIDI effects to create chords and scales How to record a randomly generated sequence How to use a random sequence to form a melody or bassline Chapter 1: Creating a varying sequence How to create a melody that varies over time. Jacky shows how altering the length of a loop can create new melodic results and shows how to route multiple MIDI progressions to play through another channel which controls the properties of a sound. Chapter 2: Altering a sequence with MIDI effects How to create an effects bus: a channel made specifically to route effects to multiple MIDI tracks. Jacky shows how to apply MIDI effects to a bus in order to generate varying melodies that remain in key. Chapter 3: Finding melodies within a generated sequence Once a sequence has been generated, patterns can be recorded, manipulated and rearranged in order to create a catchy melody. Jacky shows how to finely pick the best loop from the sequence, as well as tips for adjusting the loop to sound the best it can be.
Referencing Other Tracks to Build Your Own w/ JackyDEFECTED favourite Jacky has in a short space of time racked up an impressive collection of releases across Elrow Music, FFRR, Repopulate Mars, VIVA and of course DFTD among many others. Known for his versatility when DJing, his chunky studio productions reflect this too, spanning the genres of disco, tech and deep house. Having hit the top of the Beatport charts on numerous occasions, he certainly has plenty of music production knowledge to share with you. Lesson: In this course, DJ & Producer Jacky explains how to use reference tracks to help you build your own track. Jacky explains how to select and use reference tracks to act as a guide and help you build your own track. You will learn: How to analyse a reference track How to use a reference track to help build your own track Why referencing is an important tool in music production 1: Referencing Other Tracks To Build Your Own - Introduction & Listening Exercise Jacky introduces the session and plays through Mr Oizo’s ‘Flat Beat’ which he will be using as an example of a reference track. 2. Analysing A Reference Track Jacky deconstructs his example reference track to explain why track arrangement is important. He analyses Mr Oizo’s ‘Flat Beat’ and breaks down the subtleties and elements Mr Oizo has used in each section of the song. 3. Applying Your Reference Track How to build your own track using a reference track. Having analysed in depth your reference track, Jacky discusses how to transfer the knowledge you have gained through analysis, and how to then apply this to help you build your own track. 4. Why You Should Use Reference Tracks Jacky explains why referencing tracks is highly beneficial for creating your own tracks. Q&A Jacky answers general questions on music production and building your own house track. Questions include should you use automation on the master channel, how to add groove to your track and how to work faster in Ableton. When automating a high pass filter on the kick, do you ever automate on the master channel or on the individual track channel? Can you automate the delay of the whole channel? Do you just have to add groove on the channel? I’m asking because when I adjust the delay whilst the track is playing the audio skips and makes a cracking noise… If you are new to Ableton Live, what is the best method to organise your sound library in order to be able to work faster?
Arrangement Best Practices w/ JackyDEFECTED favourite Jacky has in a short space of time racked up an impressive collection of releases across Elrow Music, FFRR, Repopulate Mars, VIVA and of course DFTD among many others. Known for his versatility when DJing, his chunky studio productions reflect this too, spanning the genres of disco, tech and deep house. Having hit the top of the Beatport charts on numerous occasions, he certainly has plenty of music production knowledge to share with you. Lesson: In this session, DJ & Producer Jacky shows you the best way to arrange a house track. Jacky picks up where he left off in the previous masterclass (see ‘How to build a house track from start to finish). He demonstrates the best way to arrange your musical ideas in order to turn them into a full house track. You will learn: Techniques and tips for arranging your tracks How to arrange an entire track quickly How to make a breakdown How to make a powerful drop How to go beyond a 4 bar loop How to mix kick and bass How to EQ you bass for a tight low end How to make your basslines interesting How to sidechain Chapter 1: Introduction Jacky introduces himself and reviews the project files we worked on in the previous masterclass ‘How To Build A House Track From Scratch'. He shows you how to create a new bassline for a house track and how he uses Ableton Live’s stock plugins: auto filter, saturator, EQ and compression. Chapter 2: Mixing the bass & kick How to mix a bassline with a kick drum. Jacky shows you how he applies sidechaining and EQ to ensure that kick and bass sit together cleanly in the mix. You will learn how to modify your basslines to make them more interesting to listeners. Chapter 3: Arrangement Techniques Learn how to arrange a track. Jacky teaches you how to turn your ideas and loops into an entire song. Get an exclusive look at Jacky and Mat.Joe’s forthcoming track ‘Never Be The Same’ and see how they have arranged their track, using ‘tension and release’ and LFOs in the breakdown to create a bigger, harder hitting impact on the drop. Chapter 4: Q&A Jacky answers questions on arranging a House track in Ableton Live. Questions include: techniques to add groove to your percussion, whether you should find the key of your kick drum, how you should group instruments, and how to use reference tracks to help your song arrangement. How do you add more groove to your drums? Do you check the key of the kick or the vocals in order to make a bassline? How do you know what is the root note of your bassline? Do you always apply makeup gain when using a compressor? Which instruments do you usually group together? Do you recommend layering the bassline and adding the low mid and/or high notes? Do you use reference tracks to help you arrange your tracks? What VSTs are used in the Spray audio effect rack (which Jacky uses in ‘Colly Wolly’)
Basic Compression and EQ on your Low End w/ Lenny FontanaHouse legend Lenny Fontana shows you how to use basic compression and EQ on your low end. Lenny is a stalwart of the House scene, with over 25 years experience Djing and producing. Born and raised New Yorker Lenny has an impressive catalogue of hits, including a top 10 in the UK charts and much more. He is the founder of the mighty: Karmic Power Records and was also the first US DJ to play in Ibiza. Lenny has an impressive knowledge when it comes to production, his lessons are encouraging and full of tips and tricks. In this workshop Lenny works on the kick, bass, guitar and other elements from his track with Chris Willis: 'Top of the World'. Lenny uses external plugins from Waves to add compression and EQ and as a bonus he shows how to glue your kick and bass together. He uses Digital Performer but the techniques can be applied to any DAW. . In this lesson you will learn: The basics of compression and EQ: when to use them and how to apply them successfully. How to use compression on: A kick drum. A live bass recording. A live guitar recording. Conga’s. Horns. Rhodes How to glue your kick and bass together with the Shadow Hills: Class A, Mastering Compressor. 1. Intro and Track Playthrough: Lenny introduces himself, what the lesson will cover and plays through the track that he will be working on. 2. Compression on Kick and Bass: In this chapter Lenny applies compression to an acoustic kick drum and then a live recorded bass guitar from his track. He explains the uses of compression, what to listen for and how to apply it to each element. He then adds fine tuning whilst playing the kick and bass together. 3. EQ on Kick and Bass: Using EQ on the kick and bass to accentuate the elements that you like and remove those that you don’t. Lenny talks you through eqing these two parts of your track, explaining what you are aiming to achieve and how to do it. Once this is locked in he plays them with the whole track to show how to adjust their volume levels effectively. 4. Compression and EQ on Live Guitar: Using compression and EQ on a live guitar recording to control it and bring out certain qualities, making sounds brighter or darker and which Hz responds to which part of the sound. Once again Lenny uses the DBX 160 (s) and SSL G-Channel. 5. Compression and EQ on Conga’s: Using compression and EQ on conga’s to control the sound and bring out elements that work in your track. Using the compressor to tame the dynamics, Lenny then uses an eq preset and adjusts to bring out the slap of hands on the top of the drum. 6. Compression and EQ on Horns: How to use a compressor to control the dynamics of horns and an eq to adjust the sounds to taste. Lenny shows how to bring the peaks of your horns down without squashing them and how to make them brighter but not screechy. 8. Compression and EQ on Rhodes: Controlling Rhodes in your tracks and emphasizing the qualities that you like and fit with the vibe. Lenny shows how to control their dynamics, eq to taste and then readjust volume so that your Rhodes fit in the mix. Q & A with Lenny #2 Lenny answers questions on basic compression and EQ on low end, other elements in your mix and other areas of music production. Sending Kick and Bass to a Bus and Glueing Once you have added basic compression and EQ on low end elements you want to glue them together with processing. Lenny shows how to set up a bus and then use a mastering compressor for cohesion. Setting up channels to route your kick and bass to a bus. Glueing the kick and bass together with the Shadow Hills: Class A, Mastering Compressor. Meta description: Lenny Fontana teaches how to use basic compression and EQ on your low end. He walks you through processing a kick, bassline and some bonus mid-range elements.
Workflow Techniques for Hard House w/ Amber DAmber covers a range of topics including production mentality, how to find your sound, how to use samples in a creative manner. Amber shows you how she approaches producing hard house music using FL Studio. This course is designed for both beginners and intermediate producers. You will learn: How to use sidechain for cleaner mixdowns How to mix kick and bass Tips to better organise your projects in FL Studio How to ‘find your sound’ How to use samples in FL Studio Creative techniques using reverb, filters and vocals The art of remixing a track The best mindset for music production Lessons: 1: Introduction Amber introduces herself as a hard dance and house DJ/producer, explaining her musical background and influences. 2: Track playthrough and Mindset Amber plays through her song and explains her mindset for producing hard dance music. Track playthrough Mindset when producing 3: Track deconstruction Amber begins to deconstruct one of her own hard dance tracks in FLStudio. She explains how she uses techniques such as sidechaining, EQ and layering, as well as offering tips on how to mix the kick and bass for a tight low end. Amber demonstrates how to use a filter envelope to modify a kick sample to taste. Kick Drum & Clap Mixing Kick & Bass Sidechaining using the LFO Tool 4: Organising Your Project Learn how the professionals organise their projects. Amber suggests tips and tricks to speed up your workflow in FLStudio. Organising your ideas Workflow advice 5: USING SAMPLES TO ‘FIND YOUR SOUND’ Amber shares her ideas on how to ‘find your sound’ as a music producer and how to get inspired to overcome writer’s block. She explains her approach to using samples and what the difference is between REX and WAV files. How to find ‘your sound’ How to use samples 6: How To Remix How you can use remixing to your benefit. Amber explains why reworking another artist’s track can help you with your own music production. She talks you through her remix of Dance Monkey, revealing several creative techniques she uses with reverb, filters and vocal acapellas. Track Playthrough Dance Monkey Remix Deconstruction 7: Live Q&A Amber answers questions on how to use FL Studio for music production. Questions include: what FX does she apply to her master channel, how to find the pitch of a kick sample and the best way to use samples. What FX does Amber apply to her master channel when in the creative stage? How to find the tone of a kick sample? What is the best way to make fast acid patterns? Transistor Bass How can you use ‘busy’ samples that have lots of elements playing at the same time?
Vocal House Production w/ Ian BlandIan Bland has over 30 years’ experience in music production, with hits across many different labels and under many different monikers, his biggest claim to fame being Dream Frequency and Dancing Divaz. He is smashing it today with releases on Todd Terry’s: InHouse and other big names, he also runs his own label: Maison Records. His lessons are full of next level techniques and tips to up your production game. Lesson: To get a balanced and powerful mix in any genre, each element needs to be processed correctly and have its own place. In this lesson Ian uses a mixture of third party plugins and stock Logic Pro FX to mix each element of a Vocal House track. It includes how to get an analog sound from digital equipment, mix classic key sounds and add depth to vocals. You will learn how to mix: Drums. Bass. Keys. Vocals. 1. Mixing Drums Ian shows you how to process your drums so that they sit well in the mix. He explains how to process the kick separately with Slate Digital Plugins and stock Logic Pro FX. Then he looks at the drums as a whole and uses Metric AB to compare them to a reference track that he knows works in the club. 2. Mixing Bass Mixing down your bass so that it is powerful but not overpowering and doesn’t clash with other elements in the mix. Ian uses third party plugins such as Nicky Romero’s: Kickstart and Logic Pro’s Utility and Overdrive. 3. Mixing Rhodes This chapter shows you how to mix one of the staples of Vocal House, Rhodes. Ian gives some of his best tips for writing chords, how to use Auto-Filter to slowly introduce keys, how to use FX such as ChromaVerb and Stereo Spread to add depth to your productions and more. 4. Mixing the Main Piano Processing your main keys so that they sound the best they can in your mix. Again, Ian uses a mixture of third party plugins and Logic stock FX. How to add character with VintageVerb from Valhalla, using Metric AB and Oxford EQ together and other powerful techniques. Mixing your vocals so that they shine in your mix. Ian shows how to add warmth with Virtual Mix Rack plugins, compression with Logic Pro’s stock compressor, stereo width with Stereo delay and other techniques. 6. Extensive Q and A Ian answers questions on mixing Vocal House and production techniques applicable to all genres. Questions include: alternative ways to add distortion to percussion, using sends and returns and templates in Logic Pro. What other distortions do you suggest for percussion? How do you get so many slots in your FX chain? Can you recommend any third party Tape Delays? Where do you use your Span plugin? Do you use a template? Would you put your reverb through Aux sends? What are your top tips for making the most of spare time and workflow? Do you use Ableton too? Do you use any Waves plugins? Who did the vocals in this track? Do you use Logic for recording vocals? Would you recommend Logic or Ableton for mixing down? What hardware do you use? Ian bland talks you through his approach to mixing Vocal House. He works through the main elements in typical vocal house productions: drums, keys and vocals.
Stepper Track Deconstruction w/ KreatureAlthough Ash Burgoyne - better known under his moniker Kreature - has retained his youthful appearance, he’s actually already a veteran in the dance scene, having been involved in music for over 15 years. From humble beginnings as a precocious bedroom DJ, by the time he turned 18, Ash had already secured a career in music, touring as a DJ around South Africa, Australia and Europe. Growing up, Ash had a broad and eclectic taste, listening to everything from jungle to garage to disco. His productions can be seen to reflect these diverse listening habits, spanning deep house, tech, minimal, techno, acid and down tempo electronica. Quickly earning the respect of his peers, Kreature has released across numerous labels such as Solid Grooves, Under No Illusion, Swerve Digital, Resonance Records and District 9. Kreature deconstructs his Tech House track ‘Stepper’, which was and produced in Ableton Live and released on Solid Grooves. In this masterclass, he reveals plenty of production tips and techniques that you can implement to make your own productions sound more refined and professional. You will learn: How to create a minimal / tech house track like a pro How to create your own kicks How to shape kicks for better mixing How to synthesise your own bass sounds How to use transient shapers like Smackattack Layering techniques and tips How to use Ableton Live’s groove pool How to build percussive layers Sound design techniques EQing best practices (subtractive, mid side etc.) Introduction Tech House producer Kreature introduces himself, his track ‘Stepper’ and explains how he plans to break down each element so you can see exactly how he created his tech house groover. Kick How to synthesise your own kick. Kreature discusses different ways of creating kick drums, either through synthesis or layering. Learn how to sculpt a kick drum using Punchbox, or blending different kick samples on top of each other. Kreature shows you how to tune and EQ kicks so that the low frequencies of your tracks work in harmony. How to create bass sounds for tech house. Kreature analyses his bass sounds and offers insight into the techniques he applies in order to achieve a solid low end. You will learn tips related to EQ, sidechaining, transient shapers, useful bass plugins and layering that will help you to create big, clean, powerful bass yourself. Building Drums 1 Having finished creating the bass and kick, Kreature shows you how he creates the percussive layers’. Ash deconstructs the individual drum parts, the processing applied to each element, how he uses return tracks, and how to add swing using Ableton Live’s groove pool. Plugins used include the saturator, MetaFlanger, Decapitator and Abbey Road Reverb. Building Drums 2 Part 2 of building the drum section of Kreature’s tech house track ‘Stepper’. Ash explains how he creates the top layer of his percussion, modifying and shaping them sonically to taste by using Smackattack transient shaper. He goes into greater detail how he uses percussive samples and the additional plugins (e.g FilterFreak) he uses to enhance their sound. Drum Processing A more in depth look at the processing applied to the drum elements of ‘Stepper’. Plugins discussed include Soundtoys Decapitator, Glue Compressor, FabFilter EQ, Autofilter, Ableton’s EQ 8. Ash also answers questions related to mixing, making drums sounds glue together and how to use mid side EQ. Pads, FX & Vocals Ash examines the final parts of his track ‘Stepper’. Kreature shows you how he created his pads and noise FX, what vocal processing he applies, and how to synthesise one of his additional bass sounds.
The Art of Mixing & Mastering w/ Richard EarnshawRichard Earnshaw has done it all: for over 20 years he has been a songwriter, music producer, sound engineer and mastering engineer. The classically trained pianist is also the co-founder of Duffnote, Guess Records and One51 labels. For decades the soulful house maestro has been prolific, releasing on esteemed labels such as DEFECTED, Soulfuric, Ministry of Sound, Sony Music, Hed Kandi and Peppermint Jam. Richard has gained vast experience working with the very best in the industry, collaborating with the likes of Jocelyn Brown, Roy Ayres and Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, whilst being commissioned to remix disco heavyweights Dave Lee (formerly Joey Negro), Miguel Migs, Rasmus Faber and Martin Solveig. Richard’s productions tastefully draw upon elements of jazz and disco, resulting in a spectacular, chart-topping record more often than not! Richard shares valuable tips on mixdown techniques, mastering techniques and looks at his go-to plugins to carry out mixdowns. In this workshop, you will learn: Mixdown techniques Mastering techniques How to create space in the mix What are the best plugins to use when mixing and mastering What hardware the pros use How to make your tracks sound loud Why it is important to know the limitations of your studio monitors Whether you should use external mastering sites such as LANDR Chapter 1: Introduction Richard introduces himself and the track he will be using to explain his mixing and mastering techniques. Chapter 2: Mixing Techniques Techniques for mixing a track. Richard shares his favourite plugins, how he uses EQ and suggests tips for creating space in the mix. You will learn how to process samples in order to achieve a well balanced mixdown. Chapter 3: Mastering A Track Richard discusses hardware and the art of mastering a track in Pro Tools, however the techniques he discusses are applicable to any DAW. Chapter 4: Q&A Richard answers questions on mixing and mastering. Questions include: Techniques for filling out the mid-range frequency, what headphones would he recommend, how to use stereo frequency analysers to assist your mixing decision making, how much compression to apply, and what FX to apply when mastering. What is your chain of plugins used on the drum bus chain? When bouncing down for premaster do you pull down the master fader? Or mixing down to -6db? Do you route to a mixbus premaster? Are you using the same presets for the master on each track? With compression in general, do you have any guidelines on what to do? And do you EQ after compression? Is mastering just making the volume loud? Do you run synths or drum sounds through pre-amps to beef up their sounds? What are your views on using sites such as LANDR for mastering? Do you really need to use a summing mixer? What other DAW (besides Ableton) would you recommend for a Windows user?
House Music Masterclass w/ Eddie Amador“Not everyone understands house music”...but Eddie Amador certainly does. After writing those now famous lyrics for his seminal anthem ‘House Music’ back in 1997, Eddie cemented his place as a legendary figure within the House music scene. His ability to create unforgettable House Music anthems - filled with deep, hypnotic grooves and soulful, moving lyrics - mean that his productions have been played countless times by the world’s best DJs, including the likes of: Carl Cox, Frankie Knuckles, Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong, Danny Tenaglia. He has also completed remixes for the biggest names in the industry, such as Madonna, Donna Summer, Jason Derulo and Michael Bublé, receiving a Grammy Nomination for ‘Remixer Of The Year’ in 2015. In this course he shares some of his vast knowledge he has accumulated over the years, offering production tips and techniques he uses to create a professionally sounding House music track. Lesson: Eddie Amador shares his best practices for writing house music in Ableton. Looking into layering sounds and the importance of vocals, he dives into the house music fundamentals from start to finish. You will learn how to: Use Ableton Live’s stock plugins Layer sounds Why you should use sample packs Arrange and structure a House music track Use vocals to create killer hooks Why you don’t need fancy studio equipment Use tension and release Chapter 1: Introduction Eddie introduces himself and discusses how he approaches building a House music track. He explains what is important when structuring a track, why he uses samples and why he thinks vocals are essential in House music. Chapter 2: Track Deconstruction Eddie deconstructs one of his songs, explaining how he arranges a House music track, beginning with the intro, then building this up with layers. He shows us how he uses sample libraries and creates tension in the build up to the drop. Chapter 3: Q&A Eddie answers questions on House music production in Ableton Live. Questions include: how to apply compression & EQ to process vocals, how to layer sounds, build tension, whether to use external VSTs or stock plugins and how he applies automation... AUTOMATION Qs What automation does Eddie use in his build ups? Why does Eddie use automation in linear steps (Either turned on or off)? Do you ever automate the gain on utility rather than automating the track’s volume? And is there an advantage to doing this? Processing vocals - how do you apply FX to vocals? How does Eddie create his killer vocal hooks and know what makes a killer hook? If you don’t have access to a vocalist, what would you recommend if you want to work with vocals? ARRANGEMENT Qs Key tips on how to arrange a track… How do you create tension in a buildup? What advice can you give for layering sounds? How many strings & synths would you use?
Live Drums & Samples w/ Rhiannon MairRhiannon Mair is a producer, engineer and songwriter championed by Music Tech Magazine as one of the ‘UK’s rising stars of production’. She has worked with artists including Martha Hill, Charlotte Clark, Laura Marling, Bryde, Emma McGrath and LUNA with her work receiving national radio playlisting and multiple Spotify New Music Friday placements. Following her nominations for Breakthrough Engineer and Breakthrough Producer of the year at the 2019 MPG Awards, Rhiannon was voted onto the Board of Directors for the Music Producers Guild and currently stands as an Executive director. As a songwriter, Rhiannon has co-written with artists, as well as writing for brand clients such as Netflix, Sky and STARZ Play. Lesson: Songwriter and music producer Rhiannon Mair shares her knowledge on working with drums and making them sound professional. Using a track recorded at Universal Publishing Studio’s on Pro-Tools, she shows us how she treats her drum channels and what her go to plugins are. You will learn: The mics she used for this track for each drum Various plug in chains using Waves Q10, Brainworx BX Hybrid, UAD Little Labs, Sonnox Oxford Dynamics and Steven Slate Trigger to treat the drums. Triggering MIDI samples from a live drum channel Working with boxy sounding rooms and how to counter this. Bussing and working with auxiliary channels for full drum kits. Stereo image for a live drum kit. Chapter 1: Microphones for Drums Chapter 2 - Kick Drums Rhiannon discusses her go-to plugins when it comes to treating Kick drums, as well as miking techniques to get the best sound possible. She also shares valuable tips on working with kicks of different frequencies and layering them. Chapter 3 - Snares Rhiannon shares her tips on recording the right snare, and getting it right in the studio. She then shares her methods of treating snare drums to achieve clarity and snapiness in the mix. Rhiannon mentions the gate is used to capture the loudest part of the sound, while removing everything else. Filters would roll off frequencies that are needed for the sound. Layering snares Chapter 4: Working with room mics Rhiannon mentions the room she recorded in was small which led to the overhead mics sounding ‘boxy’. She shares valuable information on working her mixing chain and how to deal with issues from the recording stage. Chapter 5 - Toms Using triggers and processing functions to achieve a desirable tom sound. Rhiannon shares creative techniques to make drums sound punchy. She talks about troubleshooting midi sampled drums vs live drums to make them sit in time, using trigger functions and specialist plugins - Massey DRT. Chapter 7: Bussing and working with auxiliary sends. Rhiannon shares her plugin chain for her bus channels that all the drums are sent to. This helps the drums stand out in the mix and can sound more polished, punchy and warm.
In-depth Mastering w/ Richard EarnshawA classically trained jazz musician, producer, DJ, remixer, songwriter, co-founder of the iCulture brand and Duffnote, One51, Guess Record labels, Richard has been nothing short of prolific when it comes to output having featured on a long list of labels including Soulfuric, Defected, Large, Reel People Music, Groove Culture, Salted Music, Purple Music, Morehouse, Swing City, Peppermint Jam, Hed Kandi, Ministry of Sound, Sony Music and many more. An accomplished mastering engineer and an apple listed master provider, Richard goes in depth with his mastering chain and highlights important processes and issues to tackle. You will learn: How a premaster should be Plugin selection Stereo Width Codecs Limiters Mid/Side EQing Creating Smooth Tops Export Formats for streaming Technical execution Chapter 1: LOOKING AT THE PRE-MASTER The finished product should be almost ready in the mixdown stages, a mastering engineers job is to make the sound shine more and balanced across all listening devices, not to fix mixing mistakes. Chapter 2: PLUGIN SELECTION AND LOUDNESS Sonarworks room correction software can be used to sort out any issues you may encounter in the room. Richard goes through his go-to plugins for mastering and discusses the trivial loudness wars topic. Chapter 3: BASS Bass takes up the most space in the mix, Richard discusses what you can do to shape the sound and discusses other mix issues. Chapter 4: STEREO WIDTH AND CODECS Making small increments to every plug-in in the chain, Richard explains how to apply stereo width into your master while discussing the various codecs to consider when exporting a master. Chapter 5: TRACK LISTENING & LOUDNESS Keep your bass in mono. Chapter 6: MID/SIDE EQ & IMAGING An essential tool for any master, it allows you to mix frequencies in the centre of the mix or the sides of the mix. Richard does this using Logics EQ and Ozone 9. Chapter 7: SMOOTH TOPS One of the biggest issues is not having your room give you accurate feedback on what you are listening to, as well as your hearing. Hearing damage starts with high frequencies usually so please wear ear protection in loud environments. Chapter 8: EXPORT FORMATS & MASTERING ENGINEERS The standard way of delivering masters for all platforms is 16Bit 44.1KHZ WAV. Richard advises against using automatic mastering platforms as it will never be the same as having a human do it.
Music Theory Hacks w/ SaytekWith global recognition for his live modular shows and releases on Carl Cox and Christopher Coe’s Awesome Soundwave label, Saytek is definitely someone whose advice is worth listening to and his lessons are always easy to understand and inspiring. Lesson: In this lesson Saytek reveals some music theory hacks to improve your music production in Ableton Live. He will teach you music theory hacks to help your workflow and ensure that you write functional harmonies and melodies. He will offer production tips and explain how you can choose the right chord to evoke emotion, create and release tension and much more. You will learn: Theory Hacks for how to write major chords Theory Hacks for how to write minor chords Theory Hacks to ensure you stay in key What are the different types of chords When you should use each type of chord How to use Ableton Live’s chord and scale plugins 1 - Major & Minor Scale Hacks: Saytek explains why music theory is important, how it can help your music production and shares helpful tools such as KeyDetect that can aid you. He will teach you a clever shortcut for working out which notes belong in any diatonic major or minor scale. You will learn how to apply a pattern in the sequence of intervals between the notes of a major/minor scale, and how to then transpose these notes to different keys. 2: Working In Key How to ensure that you work within key. Saytek will show you how to apply the technique we learnt in the previous section to only compose in the key you are working in. He will also teach you the different types of chords such as the major, minor, diminished, major seventh and minor seventh. 3: Creating Moods With Different Types Of Chords Find out why certain chord patterns evoke emotion and mood and learn how to resolve a sequence of chords that feel unfinished. Saytek also shares some tips for how to use inversions and build tension in a breakdown. 4: Music Theory Hacks: Q&A Saytek answers questions about music theory. Why is there a sharp in the scale spacing example you showed us? What transition of notes or scales would you suggest for melodic flow to create energy on the dancefloor? Can you use major and minor chords in the same key? And can you develop from one key to another and then resolve back to the original key? Can I hack my keyboard to only play chords in a particular key? Is there a plugin that can do this for me? What’s the formula for working out the relative key? Is Saytek going to cover his Ableton Live rig integration in a future course? Can you share a hack for a groovy bassline structure in relation to scale and key?
Creating Edits, Bootlegs & Mashups w/ Rob TisseraRob Tissera is one of dance music's most prolific stars. A top-selling producer and versatile dj whose technical brilliance and effervescent sets have seen him pack out parties across the globe. Tissera's experience and ability to thrill audiences playing any genre is something only a handful of DJ can match. Famed for his hi-energy hard trance and hard house sets he's also rocked audiences playing dirty funk, uplifting house or big room trance. Rob starts an edit from scratch, using the famous At Night vocal, he demonstrates how he would start an edit and finish it fully. Merging several tracks (in key) to make one uniform ‘Edit’. In this lesson you will learn: How to choose the right samples Getting a sample in time (Warping) Arranging a track Creating builds and tension Editing a vocal Chapter 1: Setting up and choosing samples Using Ableton’s Warp function, Rob explains how to check timings with your start and end point and warp to your BPM. He shows us how to find the key of the track using Mixed In Key and how to find vocal samples to fit that key. Chapter 2: How to time a vocal Rob shows us his process on finding acapella samples. Using sites like Acapella 4 U and Vocal It. He dives into the Warp function on Ableton and shares insightful tips on how to get the vocal sample in time with the groove. Chapter 3: Arranging the track & adding in sounds. Working in 16 and 8 bar phrases, Rob explains how he would arrange the track to lead up to the vocal sample. He goes through his process of finding sounds to fit, keeping them in time and applying effects. Chapter 4: Creating Builds and Impact Rob shows us how to create build ups using kick rolls, uplifters and impacts on the break. He arranges crashes every 8 bars to keep the track moving. Chapter 5: Arranging the acapella Rob demonstrates what to do when the acapella isn’t fully uniform with the track. Making critical decisions to make sure the track flows well. Chapter 6: Making the breakdown more powerful Using snare rolls built in the Chapter 4, Rob demos how he would make a breakdown hit harder and create more tension and release.
House & Techno Chord Stabs w/ SaytekWith global recognition for his live modular shows and releases on Carl Cox and Christopher Coe’s Awesome Soundwave label, Saytek is definitely someone whose advice is worth listening to and his lessons are always easy to understand and inspiring. Saytek dives into the essence of grooving house and techno - Chord Stabs. In a detailed lesson on how you can create your own, get creative with samples and polyrhythms to create moving music. You will learn: Polyrhythm chords How to make chord stabs Fixed Interval Chords Using various sounds as chord stabs Chapter 1: Intro to Chord Stabs Saytek explains how chord stabs have been around dance music since it’s birth. Heard a lot in house, techno, dub techno and many other sub genres. Chapter 2: Making chords Starting with a simple triad chord, Saytek explains how he would make interesting chords from scratch and ways to automate and process it. Chapter 3: Fixed Interval Chords By resampling, Saytek shows us how to make a Fixed Interval Chord. Starting off with a grand piano in G Minor, by freezing the track you can make fixed interval chords. Chapter 4: Getting creative with sounds Saytek makes this track more ravey by using a horn sound added into the melody. He explains how to treat and process it to fit with the tune.
Mixing Down a Track using Slate Digital Plugins w/ Ian BlandIan Bland has been a Professional Dance Music Producer for over 28 years, during this time he has successfully produced tracks under various names including Dream Frequency, Dancing Divaz, Quake, Dejure and currently Dancing Divaz and Blandy. His work is varied and includes music used in T.V commercials and film sound tracks. He is the owner of cutting edge House Label MAISON RECORDS Ian makes a track specifically for this lesson, he shows us his way of working with Slate Digital plug-ins to mix a track fully. Using some Logic Pro stock plugins, he dives deep into the world of mixing and shows us how powerful these plugins can be. You will learn: Various Slate Digital Plugins Mixing A Kick Mixing Top Drums Mixing Bass Mixing Melodic Instruments Mixing A Vocal Master Channel Chapter 1: Introduction to Slate Ian introduces the Slate plug-ins, showing us the various types of plugins they make and what the different types do. Chapter 2: Mixing a kick Mixing a kick using Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack. Ian demonstrates the power of the virtual mix rack and what processes he would apply to a kick drum. He illustrates the importance of referencing your mix against another well mixed track. Chapter 3: Mixing top drums Ian describes the processes involved in mixing top drums, looking at stereo width, EQing, compression and more, he applies the techniques for getting top drums to sound tight in the mix. Chapter 4: Mixing Bass Mixing low end with the Slate Virtual Mix Rack, Ian makes the bass sit nicely on the mix and describes how to do it. Discussing auxiliary send channels and sending a bass to a reverb send channel. Chapter 5: Mixing melodic instruments (Rhodes, Piano, Strings and Guitar) Ian creates his rhode sounds using Logic’s E-Piano. He then mixes it using a combination of the mix rack, Logic Autofilter and Valhalla Reverb. He discusses sidechaining melodic instruments and goes on to mix the pianos, strings and guitar in the track. Chapter 6: Mixing a Vocal Ian touches on the warmth of tape machine plugins, using Slate Digital Tape Machine, he mixes his vocal to sit nicely on the track. Chapter 7: Master Channel Ian demonstrates his structure on his master channel, going through various plugins and what they do to enhance the mix.
Building a Track in Key w/ Estelle RubioEstelle Rubio is a producer, remixer and singer/songwriter. Her style spans electronic genres such as House, Latin (from her roots) + Chill-Out with releases on labels Atlantic Jaxx, Saifam, Looper, Curve and Lounge Masters. As an artist she has performed at London's 02, Carfest Festival, Atzaro Ibiza, Cuckoo Club, Green Meadows festival and Fashion Week Shows blending Bossa Beats and Latin House grooves with loop pedals, guitars and synths. Using Logic Pro X, Estelle shows us how to set a project in key, sample in key and how to go about this with little music theory knowledge. She builds a track from scratch and dives into arrangement and adding energy to your music. You will learn: Working in key Building a track Adding harmonic energy to a track Chapter 1: Working in Key Working in G Minor, Estelle demonstrates how to set the key of your track, sample audio in key and effective workarounds for when you don’t know advanced music theory. Chapter 2: Building your track Estelle shows us how to tune drums, her processes for arranging a track, and adding in additional sounds to emphasise the existing parts. Chapter 3: Adding harmonic energy to tracks Using Drum Machine Designer, Estelle breaks down the importance of harmonic energy in tracks, focussing on how to build them up and add drum rolls to builds.
Creating Melodies with Scale, Chords & Arpeggiators w/ KreatureAlthough Ash Burgoyne - better known under his moniker Kreature - has retained his youthful appearance, he’s actually already a veteran in the dance scene, having been involved in music for over 15 years. From humble beginnings as a precocious bedroom DJ, by the time he turned 18, Ash had already secured a career in music, touring as a DJ around South Africa, Australia and Europe. Growing up, Ash had a broad and eclectic taste, listening to everything from jungle to garage to disco. His productions can be seen to reflect these diverse listening habits, spanning deep house, tech, minimal, techno, acid and down tempo electronica. Quickly earning the respect of his peers, Kreature has released across numerous labels such as Solid Grooves, Under No Illusion, Swerve Digital, Resonance Records and District 9. Lesson: Kreature breaks down 2 of his tracks and shows us the importance of working in key. Using software tools to help with the theory knowledge, he explains how you can easily write music within a scale. You will learn: Writing music in key Using Arpeggiators Chord Progressions Bass Arpeggiation Changing scales within the track Chapter 1: Scales Highlighting the importance of setting a key before you start a track, Kreature demonstrates the theory behind different scales and moods they set. Chapter 2: Arpeggiators Creating arpeggios within your scale, Kreature shows us how to set up an arp to play with a chord. Chapter 3: Working with Chords and Keys Kreature explains how to take key information from samples you like and implement them into your track, he touches on quantization and using the Chord feature on Ableton. Chapter 4: Working with different styles of music Kreature shows us how to implement these scale strategies in various types of music, he makes a chord arpeggiation using Arturia Mini V3.
All Things Vocal w/ Marcella PuppiniHailing from Bologna, Marcella Puppini is a jazz vocalist, vocal mentor, songwriter and electronic music producer. Her interest in music began when she was just 5, learning to play the piano. By the time she finished school, she had moved to London and was working at Vivienne Westwood Studios. However, whilst working at Westwood Studios, Marcella performed concomitantly as a singer in nightclubs all over the capital. After graduating in Jazz Performance and Composition from the renowned Trinity College Of Music, Marcella formed a band called The Puppini Sisters. The three-piece group attained a Gold disc in the UK with their debut album, Betcha Bottom Dollar. The trio have since gone on to collaborate with superstars Michael Buble and Cyndi Lauper, as well as featuring on multiple TV shows as both performers and composers. Marcella Puppini shares her knowledge in relation to music producers working with vocals. In this lesson Marcella discusses everything there is to know for music producers working with vocals, sharing insights she has learnt over the years that will help anyone who enjoys using vocals in their productions. You will learn: How to find a vocalist Where to source acapellas Techniques to become inspired, beat writer’s block and write your own lyrics How to use acapellas How to fit acapellas to your track Tips for recording in vocals and harmonies Marcella introduces herself, outlining the music production and vocal topics she will cover with you during this lesson. How To Find Vocals Learn how to find vocals for your music productions. Marcella explains how you can source a vocalist or an acapella. Discover what some of the potential problems producers typically face when working with vocals, such as: fee negotiations, publishing rights and legal issues associated with royalties. How To Use Acapellas Learn how to use acapellas. Discover how you can utilise acapellas as musical inspiration and a foundation for you to build a track around. Marcella demonstrates how to: warp and synchronise vocals, export them to your project, and suggests ways to combine them with other elements of your track. Writing Lyrics How to write vocals. Marcella shares a technique to overcome writer's block and become inspired when writing your own lyrics. She then demonstrates live how to record your own vocals and harmonies into a DAW. All Things Vocal - Q&A Marcella answers your questions on using vocals. Questions include, how do you know which notes will work as a harmony, does the producer specify the tempo at which a vocalist will record an acapella, and how much auto tune can I use to change a vocal.
Ableton Push 2 Masterclass w/ Simon LyonSimon Lyon is an Ableton Certified Trainer. Simon has been a Live user since 2004 with a focus on the integration of technology into live performances with bands and instruments. Working with a variety of Manchester based acts, he has remixed, produced and co–written with members of Inspiral Carpets, Julie Gordon (Happy Mondays) and MC Tonn Piper (Rusko, Roni Size) as well as contestants from The Voice and The X Factor. He has helped bands take the studio to the stage using Live, including Manchester-based Bipolar Sunshine (Polydor). Simon goes through his Push 2 set up and shares valuable information on how to it incorporates with Ableton Live seamlessly. In this lesson you will learn: How to set up and load sounds in a Push 2 Adding drum tracks and saving/editing patterns Drawing or playing bass notes Recording automation Warping and slicing audio samples Chapter 1: Intro to the Push The Push 2 is basically Ableton software put into a hardware controller, Simon shows us how to load in sounds, set your scales and capture notes. Chapter 2: Working with Drums Simon demonstrates how to add a new drum track and browse through drum packs, tips on easy quantization, editing patterns and organising the hits with colour. Chapter 3: Drawing in bass notes Simon shows us how to browse through bass sounds, record notes and overdub. Chapter 4: Variations, Automation and Scales Simon explains how to automate in the Push 2. He then explains how to easily work in key and how to design sounds using Wavetable.
How To Use Ableton & Logic To Make a Track w/ Roger SanchezRoger Sanchez, a Grammy winning producer and four-time DJ Awards winner for ‘Best House DJ’ has proven himself to be one of dance music’s most prolific and successful artists. Whether it is performing under his underground dark house persona ‘S-man’ or the more pop-orientated Roger Sanchez, his performances and productions have always been met with acclaim. Recognised as one of the industry’s hardest working figures, records such as ‘Another Chance’ have rewarded him with commercial success and elevated his status to a global level. In addition to DJing and producing, Roger runs Stealth Records and UNDR the RADR. Lesson: In this lesson Roger shows you how he uses Ableton Live during the creative stage of music production: laying down his initial ideas, chopping up samples and layering them to create new grooves. Then, he shows us how to export the project files in Ableton Live as STEMS to Logic Pro for the next stage of production, however, these concepts can be applied to any DAWs. He also discusses some of his favourite plugins when working with vocals and basslines, how to creatively use samples and offers advice on clearing samples. You will learn: How to creatively chop samples in Ableton Live Roger’s advice on how to legally clear samples How to render STEMS in Ableton Live How to export and load STEMS into Logic Pro How to rewire Ableton Live to Logic Pro What are Roger’s favourite third party plugins Chapter 2: Moving from Ableton Live to Logic Pro How to render Ableton Live project files into STEMS ready for exporting to Logic. These STEMS can then be opened up and processed within Logic. We see how Roger uses Logic for the sound design and mixing stages of production. He uses a blend of Logic stock FX and third party plugins such as Wave’s CLA vocal delay. Chapter 3: Refining sounds in Logic How to refine sounds and best practices when using plugins. Roger shows us how he uses Logic to program bass and synths using plugins such as the Ultra Analog, and advises how to prevent CPU intensive plugins overloading your laptop/desktop. Chapter 5: Q&A Roger answers questions on how to use Ableton Live and Logic Pro together for music production. Questions include: when to mixdown, what plugins to use on vocals, what hardware does Roger use, how to add groove and advice on using samples and clearing them. How much of a mixdown do you do before exporting stems? Vocal FX: Wave’s CLA vocal delay , RP-verb , Dubstation, Fusion Field How to arrange a track? Techniques to add groove How much time do you allocate to production? What is Roger’s go to plugin for creating basslines? Rob Papen: Sub Boom Bass SAMPLING How much sampling do you use? Licensing and using samples How to clear samples Slicing a sample to MIDI and changing the sound to comply with licensing Do you use drum plugins to create beats in MIDI or use samples? Ultra Analog VST HARDWARE Do you ever use DJ hardware for production purposes? RMX-1000 ; DJS-1000 What other hardware do you use? JUNO 106; SP1200; AKAI LPK-25 ; Apollo Twin BONUS How does Roger get his beard looking so symmetrical?
Creative Techniques For Dance Floor Working Tracks w/ Carl BeeJust over 10 years ago, little known DJ & Producer Carl Bee launched the ‘Bee Expedition’ - a weekly radio show and iTunes podcast - along with a new monthly party called ‘Gringos’ at Malta’s famous open air venue ‘Uno Village’. Possessing a diverse sonic palette, each week Carl would seamlessly support the likes of Green Velvet, Dubfire, Nic Fanciulli, The Martinez Brothers, Roger Sanchez and Eats Everything with his blend of deep house, minimal, melodic house, tech-house and techno. He rapidly gained the respect of his illustrious guests, and it wasn’t long before Carl had records signed to Carl Cox’s prestigious label ‘Intec’. Since then he has gained support for his tracks from techno titans Adam Beyer, Carl Cox and Joseph Capriati. However, not one to be limited to a single genre, Carl has established himself as a talented tech-house producer too, breaking into Beatport’s Top 20 Tech House Chart and receiving plenty of airtime on BBC Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Pete Tong and Annie Mac. In this lesson Carl Bee shares some of his creative techniques for producing a professionally sounding dance track. Heexplains some creative techniques he uses when using samples and loops, including how to resample your own sounds. He only uses Logic Pro’s stock plugins to demonstrate his creative techniques, however these processes can be applied to any DAW. You will learn: Creative techniques for working with samples using Logic Pro’s stock plugins How to be creative resampling your own sounds in both Logic Pro and Ableton Live How to create effects and powerful buildups Arrangement tips to make a dance track more interesting Chapter 1: Introduction Carl introduces himself and outlines what he will be teaching you in this lesson using Logic Pro. He will be running through one of his melodic techno productions in order to show you what creative techniques he uses when creating a dance track. Chapter 2: Creating Your Own Loops From Sample Packs How to use samples to make your own loops. Carl explains how he extracts sounds in sample packs from online libraries such as Splice, and creates new loops using Logic Pro’s stock plugin sampler - the EXS24. You will learn how Carl then processes these samples, using a ghost kick and compressor to apply sidechaining. Carl will also teach you how to creatively manipulate the ES M and arpeggiator stock plugins to create basslines. Chapter 3: Creative Resampling How to resample sounds from your own previous productions using auxiliary channels. Carl uses Logic Pro’s in the box plugins such as the Tape Delay, Spacedesigner and Pedalboard to create build FX and loops. Chapter 4: Creative Techniques For Percussion How to add movement to your drum sounds. Learn how Carl Lee uses the ES P plugin to generate white noise and synthesise this noise into an uplifter and hi hat sound. Using the Alchemy plugin as a sampler, Carl explains how he creates a melody for a melodic techno track. Chapter 5: Q & A Carl Bee answers your production questions on the creative techniques he uses to produce high quality dance tracks. Questions include: how to EQ your kick and bass correctly, what format should I send demo tracks to labels, and how to resample in Ableton Live 10? Is there something similar to the ES M plugin in Ableton? What frequencies did you EQ to create your bassline? How to EQ your kick and bass? What is your process when creating your music? What elements of a track do you put in mono to help create space? Have you ever spent 2-5 days on a track, then woken up and hated it? How to resample using Ableton Live 10? Do labels prefer you to send demos unmastered? In what format should I send a demo track to a label?
Sounds of Sasaab Production Challenge w/ Huxley
Making A Track w/ Davina MossHaving previously spent 16 years producing psytrance, Davina Moss rose to wider prominence in the underground scene when she switched to producing Electronic/Tech music. A highly accomplished producer and remixer, she has had notable success regularly releasing on Jamie Jones’ Hot Creations and Hot Trax labels, however, her productions are also featured on the likes of ViVa Music, Do Not Sleep and Pacha Records. The French native has now moved to Ibiza, and can be regularly seen powering out alluring, emotive, groove-laden Tech House around the White Isle’s superclubs: DC10, Zoo and Pacha. In this lesson Davina Moss reveals how she approaches music production and making a track from scratch. Davina uses Logic Pro to show you how to build a Tech House track having started from nothing, using only Logic’s stock sounds and plugins. The course is suitable for beginners as Davina will start from the beginning and create the foundations of a tech house track. However, there are plenty of tips in this session for intermediate producers to benefit from too. You will learn: How to build a house track from scratch in Logic using only stock sounds and plugins How to EQ percussion How to tune your kick and drums How to EQ bass How to sidechain to mix kick and bass cleanly How to write groovy basslines How to add swing How to import and process loops Whether there is a best DAW to produce on... Building The Basics How to build a house track from scratch. Davina begins with the basics: setting the tempo, adding a kick drum and a simple bassline. Adding Percussion How to create the drums for a house track in Logic Pro. Davina reveals how she builds up her percussion, ensuring that each drum hit is tuned correctly. She teaches you how to save a channel strip of plugin FX that can be used later to beef up your percussion. Working With Samples How to import samples and audio files into Logic. Davina shows you how to load into Logic sounds from outside the core library, explaining how to trim kick samples. Sound design Learn sound design techniques such as EQ to shape drums and bass to taste. Davina shows you how to mix the kick and bass more cleanly using a compressor for sidechaining. You will see how using an arpeggiator can add groove to a bassline. Building Upon The Basics How to develop your track by adding in percussion loops. Davina explains how to use imported loops, ensuring that they are warped to the correct speed/tempo. She will show you best practices for EQing drum samples and how to add swing to your percussion and bass. Q&A Davina answers your questions on using Logic Pro to build a house track from scratch. Questions include how to ensure your kick and bass are working in key, what genres she enjoys producing and whether there is one DAW that is better than the others. What tips and advice do you have for working in key and writing a bassline? What sort of genres do you enjoy producing? And which genres do you want to learn? Is there an Ableton Live alternative to drummer? Why do you rewire Ableton Live into your Logic Pro? Is there a difference between Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Cubase? Which DAW should I use...is one better than the other?
How To Approach a Remix w/ Annie ErrezAnnie Errez has been a DJ for well over 15 years, first gaining plaudits as a resident at Leeds’ famous Mint Club from 2008 until it closed down in 2019. Since being established as Mint’s go to warm up DJ, she has since played at nightclubs all over Europe. Formerly rated as one of the 100 most underrated DJs by FACT Magazine, Annie's dedication, graft and expertise means she is now a highly respected member within the electronic dance scene. Music production was a natural progression for Annie, and years of accumulating a deep and diverse record bag have helped her shape her own signature sound, resulting in a blend of deep, dark, tech and minimal house. In this lesson Annie will offer advice and her insight for how to remix another artist’s work. She discusses the different stylistic approaches a producer can take when remixing, important things you need to be aware of when remixing, and offers ideas into how you can put your own spin on someone else’s track by deconstructing a remix she has been working on herself. You will learn: The art of remixing...what is it? How to get the chance to remix a track The different ways to approach remixing music How to remix a track (guided walkthrough) Music production techniques to apply when reworking another artist’s track Tips for a successful remix The Art of Remixing How to remix a track... Annie begins by giving an overview of what is a remix, how to find a track to remix, what you should expect to receive in order to reproduce someone’s song. Annie also shares plenty of tips and advice that will make your remixing process much smoother. Original vs. Remix Analysing the original piece of music to understand how to approach remixing a track. Annie plays through the track from which her remix is based upon, and compares this with her reproduction. Remix Walkthrough Annie now deconstructs a remix she is currently working on to show you how she would tackle a remix whilst putting her own sonic signature on the original. She breaks down the bass, pads, textures and vocals and explains how she has reworked each element for her remix. Q&A Part 1 Annie answers questions on the best way to approach remixing another artist’s work. Questions include: is it normal for my remix sound appealing during the loop but not the arrangement stage, how to change the key of a vocal sample, and how long does a remix take to complete... Production Tips & Techniques Useful music production techniques when working on a remix. Annie discusses layering percussive sounds, adding stereo width, using panning to create space in the mix, and how to blend two kick samples to create fatter and punchier kicks. Q&A Part 2 Annie answers questions on how she approaches completing a remix. Questions include: should layered kicks be the same pitch, what type of headphones and monitors does Annie produce on, and whether she utilises the Haas effect.
Automation... (You're in control) w/ Estelle RubioEstelle Rubio is a DJ, producer, remixer and singer/songwriter. She is Apple’s only European female tech presenter, and will regularly demo Logic and software products for the company. As a music composer, her works have been published on Sky and ITV, whilst a collaboration with Basement Jaxx saw her playing at Glitterbox / Hi Ibiza. In the world of dance music, her production credits are no less impressive, with EDM, Latin and House releases on a multitude of well respected labels, including Atlantic Jaxx, Saifam, Frontman and Looper. She is also currently part of the rapidly growing B-side Project Remix Competition, presiding as a judge alongside La Roux, Clean Bandit and Roni Size. Estelle Rubio discusses automation and shares some advanced techniques for applying automation to an electronic dance track. You will learn: How to use automation in the DAW ‘Logic’ What is the difference between touch, latch, write and draw automation Which automation mode to use and when Creative ways of applying automation How the pros use automation with guided examples How to create bigger build ups and better breakdowns How much automation to use in a dance track introduction DJ, Producer and Logic tutor Estelle Rubio introduces herself and outlines the topics she will be covering in her lesson about using automation in the context of a dance track. Touch Mode Using touch mode to automate customisable parameters in a DAW. Estelle begins with the most commonly used automation mode - ‘touch automation’ - and demonstrates how to use it to automatically modify components with Logic, such as an instrument’s cutoff or oscillator. She shows you how to set up key commands in Logic to speed up your workflow. Applying Automation To A Track How to use automation in breakdowns and build ups. Estelle teaches you how to link up analog hardware to control automation manually. She suggests tips for using automation to create bigger builds and create atmospheric breakdowns. Which Mode Should I Use? Learn which mode of automation to use and when to apply each mode. Estelle explains how and when to use Logic Pro’s touch, latch, draw and write modes of automation. Ideas For Using Automation Learn how a professional music producer applies automation in the context of a dance track. Estelle shares creative ways of using automation and demonstrates how she automates bass and vocals. Guided Demonstration Estelle provides a guided walkthrough of how to apply automation to a dance track. She discusses how much automation to apply and explains the difference between regional and track automation. Q&A Estelle Rubio answers your questions on using automation in a DAW. Questions include what are the best practices when using automation, how much is too much automation, and how much automation does she tend to apply to her tracks.