Monday, 29 August 2011
The Simple Cymbal (Dubstep Drums)
All Hail The Cymbal!
To me a Dubstep track without a cymbal is like bread with no butter, I truly believe that using a cymbal in the correct way could give your track air that could fuel the earth, maybe not fuel the earth but it will certainly give you a beautiful sound...
My general rule of thumb when it comes to heavy half timed drums is layer a cymbal underneath what is playing.
RED CIRCLE = VELOCITY OF CYMBAL (MAKE SURE IT ISN'T TO HIGH)
BLUE CIRCLE = OPENS THE MAIN VELOCITY (MAKE THE SLOPE DOWNWARDS)
By the picture you can see how the cymbal will fall down each 4th beat. Using this method will give you a rich stomping style sound which will allow you to have wide air. Your best to take out the low end of the cymbal so your mix wont be muddy.
Now onto the part which speeds your drums back up for your cymbal heavy first beat...
This practice isn't used by many producers so it is still a fresh sound waiting to be used, I started messing with high hats and found this is my favourite way of speeding up a slow sounding beat with out making it sound off.
and trust me its bloody simple!! :)
The Rattle Snake Hat
All you need is a simple closed hat sound.
Start by putting your hats in sequence like the picture below.
Now right click on the hat and click (SEND TO PIANO ROLL)
That will make the piano roll pop up and what you wrote in the sequencer should now be in a piano roll.
1st RED CIRCLE = Click and drag upwards to zoom in completely.
2nd BLUE CIRCLE = Click the magnet icon to open pull down menu for grid snap.
3rd YELLOW CIRCLE = Click 1/2 step so you will now be able to draw in 1/2 step (smaller blocks)
RED CIRCLE = Make each block into a halved smaller block.
BLUE CIRCLE = (I have left the notes that need velocity change in red) Take the velocity down on the notes highlighted and keep them in a triangle styled pattern.
Once this is played you will have a crashing starting drum which ends on a high roll to bring the power in again when the drums loop over.
NOTE : Make sure the Snake Roll Hat isn't to loud, if it is just adjust the level as you normally would when turning down a sound.
To me a Dubstep track without a cymbal is like bread with no butter, I truly believe that using a cymbal in the correct way could give your track air that could fuel the earth, maybe not fuel the earth but it will certainly give you a beautiful sound...
My general rule of thumb when it comes to heavy half timed drums is layer a cymbal underneath what is playing.
RED CIRCLE = VELOCITY OF CYMBAL (MAKE SURE IT ISN'T TO HIGH)
BLUE CIRCLE = OPENS THE MAIN VELOCITY (MAKE THE SLOPE DOWNWARDS)
By the picture you can see how the cymbal will fall down each 4th beat. Using this method will give you a rich stomping style sound which will allow you to have wide air. Your best to take out the low end of the cymbal so your mix wont be muddy.
Now onto the part which speeds your drums back up for your cymbal heavy first beat...
This practice isn't used by many producers so it is still a fresh sound waiting to be used, I started messing with high hats and found this is my favourite way of speeding up a slow sounding beat with out making it sound off.
and trust me its bloody simple!! :)
The Rattle Snake Hat
All you need is a simple closed hat sound.
Start by putting your hats in sequence like the picture below.
Now right click on the hat and click (SEND TO PIANO ROLL)
That will make the piano roll pop up and what you wrote in the sequencer should now be in a piano roll.
1st RED CIRCLE = Click and drag upwards to zoom in completely.
2nd BLUE CIRCLE = Click the magnet icon to open pull down menu for grid snap.
3rd YELLOW CIRCLE = Click 1/2 step so you will now be able to draw in 1/2 step (smaller blocks)
RED CIRCLE = Make each block into a halved smaller block.
BLUE CIRCLE = (I have left the notes that need velocity change in red) Take the velocity down on the notes highlighted and keep them in a triangle styled pattern.
Once this is played you will have a crashing starting drum which ends on a high roll to bring the power in again when the drums loop over.
NOTE : Make sure the Snake Roll Hat isn't to loud, if it is just adjust the level as you normally would when turning down a sound.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Element of Shuffle For Bouncing Dubstep
The versatility of Dubstep music nowadays give us all so much room to be bold with our sounds and rhythms that we can literally adjust the hats kicks and snares to have a shuffled rhythm that would put a Benga beat to shame. This can be done in two ways;
One way to add a simple yet effective shuffle is to use the swing tool on FL Studio....
One way to add a simple yet effective shuffle is to use the swing tool on FL Studio....
Drag the swing bar across whilst playing your drumline until you can hear a definite swing, as soon as you get a bouncy sound leave it and work your track around the swing.
Another way that a shuffle can be added to your track is to manually input your drums. In any DAW you will be able to enter some alternative to the piano roll on FL Studio and manually input drums were you want them to be. Be creative with this process take your time and place hats in un-original places that will make the beat shuffle, make sure that the track isnt completely off as this will sound messy but just enough so you can feel the swing.
Some styles of dubstep are straight to the point kick snare, but other high level producers are swing masters and can produce a shuffle sound that will make you dance all night long. Just take your time, use your head and if the shuffle makes you dance no doubt it will make everyone else on the floor dance to.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
A Simple Guide To EQ Frequencies
This is a chart I drew up of the EQ frequencies I use in almost all of the music I produce. using these frequencies will give you a fresh sound and all of your instruments will have room to breathe. It is always best to mess around with the frequencies yourself to find the sound that suits your production, just use this as a guideline.
Both charts will provide you with a base for your EQ's but it is always a good idea to play around with the frequencies because its not necesserily set in stone for example if a synth has a rather low sound then maybe boosting a little higher up the range may give it more air and cutting a little low will take out some of the muddiness.
The low end of your mix should be thumpy in my opinion (depending on genre of course) in dubstep its a good bet to say you want the low end to be bone crunching so EQ the kicks at a low Freq Range to give it some serious power. If the sub and kick clash with one another and the sound gets distorted you might have to EQ the kick higher, or Side Chain the kick to the sub this will allow the kick to breath whilst the sub is pumping like a nutter.
An Introduction To Music
To me music is a thing of beauty, a lifestyle..... a passion. It has a way of making one feel deep emotions, whether it be through the words expressed in a song or just the melodies floating into your ears, music finds a way of getting to your soul. A drum can make you dance, a guitar can express love and the spoken word can make you cry... Music itself is an emotion.
It doesnt matter whether you like jazz music or dubstep all genres of music have an emotion inside it, the trick is to find what exhilarates you and include your emotions in the music you create. Once you find what genre you want to create search for it, look deep into it, literally live it. Take what you find on the genre and slice your own interpretation of the sound into what you create, never be afraid to put something out just because it sounds different, that is what the music scene thrives on. There would have been a day when house music was unheard of but there was one musician who dared to be different and now it is muched loved by many... always be yourself.
I am a computer based artist so most of my music is produced using software based instruments (VST's, Samples Etc) and DAW's (Digital Audio Workstation) I use a variety of programs a few being FL Studio, Propeller Head Reason, Sony Acid/Sound Forge and Cubase. To be totally honest it doesnt matter what program you use as long as you can create the sound you had rattling in your head. If you spend to much time on trying to figure out which each button does or if the program doesnt fit your work flow then move on to another because the main idea is to get the sound down that you want.
You don't need to be a professional piano player to get an elegant melody and you don't need to be a drummer to achieve a foot tapping drum line, the fact that you listen to music and understand what each instrument is will be sufficiant knowledge to start producing your desired sound.
A suggestion would be to start with FL Studio as an easy on the eyes software for producers of all abilities, I personally use it and the results can be incredible. Some will say that its not ideal for them as they rather a different one and thats okay, the key is to try out all of the DAW's available and see what is comfortable for you.
Most of my tutorials will be on using FL Studio as that's what I mainly use but as I say it doesn't matter what you use its all down to you, be creative.
It doesnt matter whether you like jazz music or dubstep all genres of music have an emotion inside it, the trick is to find what exhilarates you and include your emotions in the music you create. Once you find what genre you want to create search for it, look deep into it, literally live it. Take what you find on the genre and slice your own interpretation of the sound into what you create, never be afraid to put something out just because it sounds different, that is what the music scene thrives on. There would have been a day when house music was unheard of but there was one musician who dared to be different and now it is muched loved by many... always be yourself.
I am a computer based artist so most of my music is produced using software based instruments (VST's, Samples Etc) and DAW's (Digital Audio Workstation) I use a variety of programs a few being FL Studio, Propeller Head Reason, Sony Acid/Sound Forge and Cubase. To be totally honest it doesnt matter what program you use as long as you can create the sound you had rattling in your head. If you spend to much time on trying to figure out which each button does or if the program doesnt fit your work flow then move on to another because the main idea is to get the sound down that you want.
You don't need to be a professional piano player to get an elegant melody and you don't need to be a drummer to achieve a foot tapping drum line, the fact that you listen to music and understand what each instrument is will be sufficiant knowledge to start producing your desired sound.
A suggestion would be to start with FL Studio as an easy on the eyes software for producers of all abilities, I personally use it and the results can be incredible. Some will say that its not ideal for them as they rather a different one and thats okay, the key is to try out all of the DAW's available and see what is comfortable for you.
Most of my tutorials will be on using FL Studio as that's what I mainly use but as I say it doesn't matter what you use its all down to you, be creative.
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