The Music Producer: From Brass to Beats

When we discussed the art of mastering in week 11, it was the first time I’d ever understood the difference between mastering and mixing! While this information was a little overwhelming I decided to have a crack at mastering my track. I like the idea that a good master can make the tune more listenable… Continue reading Mastering

I found a sample! And, funnily enough, it’s from one of my favourite tracks at the moment: The drums, bass and keys all suit one of my songs, Her Eyes on Me. I couldn’t find the stems anywhere but I’ve snagged the intro from youtube and put in Logic. I’ve had to speed it up… Continue reading Sampling Still Dreaming

We’ve looked at many genres and how the songs are constructed within them over the semester so far. I’ve expressed my interest in experimenting beyond singer-songwriter conventions and I want to document some of my attempts and difficulties. So I’ve been trying to crack onto my track for the final assessment task but have really… Continue reading Problems with Genre and Feel

I really enjoyed looking at sampling this week! I would love to experiment with some sampling in my final project. I think it’s a really exciting take on an art form that is essentially regurgitating sounds into new arrangements.  We discussed a lot of the ethicalities of this production process. Is it legal? Is it… Continue reading Sampling

When we talked about defining mixing in week 6 this is the definition I got: Strategy for fitting the right things in the right way for the desired effect. How hard should I hit with this and where should it sit? Sounds pretty important to me but how do I go about it…? Key things… Continue reading How to Mix

So I’m obsessed with DUCKWRTH’s production process. He has a series of videos on YouTube that detail the recording process of his new album, SuperGood. He skirts the line between recording with a group and individually…The sounds are recorded on individual tracks and at separate times, however, there are usually multiple people in the same… Continue reading DUCKWRTH

Love$ick – Mura Masa, A$AP Rocky I wanna do something like this with one of my original tunes. It’s hard cos they are always singer-songwriter vibes simply because that’s how I write them (me and my classical guitar). A good way for me to break out of this would be to pick one of my… Continue reading Reflections after Beats II

As discussed in week 7, the beat of a tune is about the rhythm but also the texture and feel of the music. Subtle differences can produce completely different feels like, for example, the ‘up-down’ beat in a Missy Elliot track versus the ‘down-up’ feel in a Marvin Gaye song. As I’ve predominantly played melodic… Continue reading Beats I & II

I definitely underestimated the significance of a studio environment. Having been messing around with recording myself in the last few weeks, the difference between an empty bedroom, open floor living room, a car, and a conditioned/treated room is huge! I was interested to learn about all the different ways of treating a room like bass… Continue reading Studio Environment

Learning about production techniques back in the 60s really helped me understand what production is and how it is done. Music producers at this time were very much part of the songwriting process, deciding on instrumentation and song structure was a big part of their role. Performance, recording and listening were interchangeable and all equally… Continue reading Production in the 60s