This week I have been working on writing lyrics, researching more ideas for lyrics, working on a prelude, and working on my first track.
I have completely scrapped my previous track and lyrics and have written a new one titled "Roads" , I just didn't like "ocean of life" I didn't see a future commercial opportunity for it , and the lyrics weren't vague enough, they were only relatable to a small percentage of people, it's still a learning curve but if you want to make it in the music industry it has to be engaging and catch the attention of a wide range of people or have something about that's completely different to everyone else. Which this did not.
I would say I am happy with the lyrics for "Roads" and very happy with the prelude and the track as it currently is. It seems to be a sort of melodic pop , dubstep song, with trance elements i could see it having potential on the radio and on YouTube, and i think a lot of people would like this, it also fit's in with my initial project plan, i could upload this to BBC Introducing and receive some radio plays. I think it fit's in with a wide variety of people, some people might be more focused on the lyrics , while others might completely dismiss the lyrics but focus on the more melodic chilled vibes of the song. So lot's of room in the future during the promotion stage.
I have chosen my vocalist for the first track and am in the process of arranging a deal for her to sing my lyrics. I have also made a prelude which I want to bring into college next week and use komplete ultimate to add some extra orchestral elements otherwise I am happy with it, and the track is almost ready I would say once I have the vocals, there may be a few minor tweaks.
Over the course of this week, I have improved my compositional skills as well as music theory and production skills, I have learnt from reading my music theory book, using google to find scales and to find out what scale I am in, and watching tutorials on YouTube, I have also read my computer music magazine which has been interesting and has given me some ideas.
The skills I have learnt this week will help me with my future career as a freelancer in the music industry. I have learnt lots of techniques for production, composition, music theory and lyric writing. This is also one of the goals I have set in my project plan, I would say I have achieved this.
I wanted to learn how to create a sound similar to a future bass/chillstep sound where it fades in and rises, which creates a nice effect, to do this I did a bit of research on google then found out that you can achieve this sort of effect by using a plugin called gross beat in Fl studio. So I went to YouTube and watched a tutorial on gross beat, and a tutorial on how to get a future bass sound in FL Studio.
This helped me figure out how to achieve this rising fade in effect.
I started playing around on my keyboard trying to come up with a chord progression, I searched on google, and tried to find the sound I was looking for, I wanted a sort of emotional, euphoric ethereal kind of sound but also pop, I ended up using the Lydian scale. This particular scale sounds euphoric dreamy, and ethereal . I then came up with the following chord progression.
And I changed the velocity of the notes so it sounds more natural. I have done this because when you play an instrument, you play it like a human, and it sounds natural, and there are slightly different alterations every time you play it, the notes might be hit a millisecond out, and not all notes are played with equal velocity. So if you just click in notes on the piano roll it sounds really artificial and not as a human played it, so after I play the chords on the piano, I often play about with the velocity settings in the piano roll to give it a more unique and natural sound.
I then tried out the rise/fade in effect using grossbeat on my piano chords. (see video below)
This is what the end result sounded like
Then I created a melody and a lead using Serum and experimented. I found out I can automate the cutoff on the filter in serum, which if you automate it rising ends up creating a nice build-up. So I layered several leads into Serum and automated the cutoff, as well as adding a filter in the mixer channel and automating it.
I used a sequencer to make a sequence to go over the top of the melody and also automated filter cutoff of this as well so it fades in gradually, I really like this effect.
I then built up the track adding many elements to it. I used the parametric EQ a lot so everything could sit nicely in the mix, I have cut out the frequencies that I don't need in each instrument to make more room in the mix for everything to sit nicely.
When it came to the drop I wanted something empowering and heavy, but chilled and euphoric at the same time. I layered multiple pads and basses. Then used the skill I learnt earlier by using Gross beat to create a fade-in effect.
I wanted it to be a sort of call and repeat so to do this I used low notes for the pads on the first riser above, and higher notes for the second riser.
I noticed where you control the fade-in levels in gross beat is similar to an envelope on a synthesiser, I wondered if I could use that as well.
I created several basses using the synthesiser serum, I didn't want something too heavy just enough to make an impact and fit with the leads. On these basses, I used an envelope and an LFO to create a rising effect in the bass. Altogether it sounds nice and I'm happy with how it turned out. This is definitely a skill I've learnt that I will use on future projects.
I wanted to get a sort of wobble effect on the second part of my drop but had no idea how to do that. I didn't want to use an LFO in the synthesiser because I wanted to be able to control precisely when it wobbles. I did a bit of googling and found that you can use a thing called sidechain which is often used to make kicks stand out in the mix past the bass.
To do this I created a Kick drum but disconnected it from the master channel in the mixer. I then put all the synths used in the drop on a bus channel and side-chained it to the kick. I then created my kick pattern ( where I want the drop synths to play and stop) and placed a limiter on the bus. I then clicked sidechain to kick and fiddled with the attack and release until I was happy.
This was. my first attempt at this
This is my second
This shows the sidechain in the limiter.
This is the muted kick drum pattern
I decided I wanted to shorten the intro to the main track, and instead write an orchestral prelude that leads up to the song.
So I used the chord progression from my main track and created melodies to go over the top.
I fiddled about with the velocity settings at the bottom of the FL Studio piano roles. When you play the piano, for example, you don't always press the keys at the same velocity each time, when you just add notes in on a DAW they are at the same velocity. It sounds much more natural and human with notes played at different velocities. I recorded the piano (which I'm getting better at playing ) and then edited the velocities further to my liking. This is a very useful skill and essential if you want to make it as a producer in the industry. Learning the keyboard is an essential skill to learn as it makes it so much easier to create music as an electronic producer you can play virtual instruments triggered by a MIDI keyboard. so if you learn the piano, you can essentially play every virtual instrument.
I layered several different violins, playing slightly different notes, or pitches.
I wanted the prelude to start off orchestral, then add electronic elements to build up gradually as we go along. then cut straight into the main track.
Here is a sample of my prelude.
Here are the lyrics to my song "Roads"
Roads
Verse
Exploring ancient roads
eager for a change.
memories pass through, decode
looking for an escape
These roads were deserted for some time
theres dust everywhere
I need to claim them back as mine
my ghosts can go elsewhere
Pre chorus
Exploring these roads with no objection
I am stronger now I've had time for reflection
I'm lost but ill always find my way
I built them anyway
Chorus
I see my future at last
In the distance of the horizon
no need to look back at the past
it wont always be frightening
verse 2
I remember this place
I've been here before
this isn't a phase
My lifes only just begun
there's something magical about this place
there's infinite directions
memories once lost
have multiple perceptions
Pre chorus
Gasping for air in this mist of regret
watching the shadow of yesterday
will I ever forget
will these memories slip away
Chorus
I see my future at last
In the distance of the horizon
no need to visit the past
it wont always be frightening
Conclusion
I feel like these lyrics have improved a lot compared to my previous lyrics
they tell a story, fairly vaguely. and are concise. They can be easily relatable to different life situations. And I feel it fits with my initial project plan. I am impressed with these lyrics. I much prefer this new track to my previous one. And the previous intro/prelude I made.
It was a good attempt at the first tracks, but I am happier with the new ones. I may still use the original intro, as the intro to the EP. after learning lots of techniques and researching it has all been worth it as the results for the new track are incredible.
This week I have also developed my composition, and production skills I found between my music theory book, YouTube and Google, it has really helped and has been an effective way of learning, I've learnt a lot fairly quickly, and it shows in the quality of this song compared to previous songs I have made.
I will continue to build on these skills throughout my project and also my mixing and mastering skills.
I would say I have achieved my goal for the week, and am really happy with the results. I'm looking forward to hearing the vocals over it.
Over the next week, I want to have sent my lyrics off to the vocalist, make any final tweaks to my song, add extra elements to the prelude, and record some footage for my music video.
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