The Musician's Gig Room Chat V1 - Songwriting and Sound Design for all! - Creationism Corner

originality = 0 sorry [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-kwhH3yC3Q[/media]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/qlFuRED.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=chaz13;50288449]EDIT: New version [media]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/flying[/media][/QUOTE] This is some pretty wicked FM stuff goin on. Those low ends sound really good, great job mastering those. Maybe a bit more gain on the compressor for the vocals, but otherwise they sound pretty good. Also maybe work a bit more on that snare, it feels dry. of course, this is all my subjective opinion, so you can take it seriously or with a grain of salt, however you feel you can learn. overall, top notch m8. the soundcloud description for this explains things well [media]https://soundcloud.com/thehoyticus/to-be-title[/media]

I'm liking those maj7s. I think the beat starts out a little too heavy, but it's fine once the instrumentation starts. The lead breaks out of its scale at 2:11 but that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just unexpected. Nice track in general, good effects, pretty chill. I really like ambiguous beats that trip you up when a part comes in and you realize that you've been following it wrong. Maybe you could mix up the rhythm, add some swing (to the beat) so the outro doesn't sound like the intro. [editline]14th May 2016[/editline] Also 8 measure trance sound effects, [i]nice[/i].

[QUOTE=Hoyticus;50318200] the soundcloud description for this explains things well [media]https://soundcloud.com/thehoyticus/to-be-title[/media][/QUOTE] I feel like around the 3:00 mark there are some points where there's too much combating low-mid end and it sounds pretty muddy. The high end for the rise gets a little extreme at around 1:30. The overall mix sounds okay, but, like I mentioned, quieting the mids would clean up your track a bit. Overall pretty bouncy and catchy, I like the key changes a bunch, fits perfect with the style you're going for. --- It's me again with another hit song aaaa Melodic dubstep? [media]https://soundcloud.com/relaxedcreeper/melodramatic[/media]

Opening square is too loud, it just sounds awkward when the percussion kicks in. Made me turn down my speakers (preventing me from hearing the parts that are supposed to be loud loud). I like the convolvers. A little too much treble in the leads (but I'm liking the misc percussion treble!). Vinyl noise was unexpected but not unwelcome. [editline]16th May 2016[/editline] Adventures in copyright infringement (not really looking for feedback here, just a goofy loop). [vid]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/108682320/extra%20gentle%20man.wav[/vid]

[QUOTE=inebriaticxp;50274068] i really like the sound, but musically, i'm not sure where it's trying to go i don't know that makes me like it more or less getting vibes of This Will Destroy You at parts, Slowest Runner at others (especially with that synth) [/QUOTE] Thanks! You're right about the song lacking a direction, that's my largest hurdle to overcome. So many ideas, and no real sense as to where to put them, so quite often they end up mashed together. And that seldom plays to my advantage. Anyhow, that's great that you pointed that out, so it helps motivate me to develop my song structuring skills. Regarding the songs you posted - I'm really digging it, the style mashup is just superb, so are the vocals. My only gripe would be the same as Colteh noted above - the guitar could be a bit lower in the mix in the first song. As for everything else - keep making what you're making. The verse vocals on "Wake Me" made me think of Fair to Midland, and I friggin love that band. Btw is that just you? Or a band of sorts?

[QUOTE=RelaxedCreepr;50330007]I feel like around the 3:00 mark there are some points where there's too much combating low-mid end and it sounds pretty muddy. The high end for the rise gets a little extreme at around 1:30. The overall mix sounds okay, but, like I mentioned, quieting the mids would clean up your track a bit. Overall pretty bouncy and catchy, I like the key changes a bunch, fits perfect with the style you're going for. --- It's me again with another hit song aaaa Melodic dubstep? [media]https://soundcloud.com/relaxedcreeper/melodramatic[/media][/QUOTE] Really nice! Agree with Ott, the opening synth is rather too loud I think. The percussion is really cool, but too low throughout. Love the percussion near the beginning especially. In the main drop the snare (and kick somewhat) are drowned out by the main pad. Pad could do with coming down a little and you could go a bit more heavily on the side chain to get the drums sticking through more. Having said that, there's quite a few parts where it feels like the limiter is being slammed a little too hard and everything is ducking out. Maybe taking EVERYTHING off the master chain, balancing the percussion with the synths, then re-adding a limiter and whatever else at the end may help out. The synths themselves are really nice! Working on the mix a little more (thanks for the suggestions), added a few bits here and there too. [media]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/flying[/media]

[QUOTE=CupUp;50331155]Thanks! You're right about the song lacking a direction, that's my largest hurdle to overcome. So many ideas, and no real sense as to where to put them, so quite often they end up mashed together. And that seldom plays to my advantage. Anyhow, that's great that you pointed that out, so it helps motivate me to develop my song structuring skills. Regarding the songs you posted - I'm really digging it, the style mashup is just superb, so are the vocals. My only gripe would be the same as Colteh noted above - the guitar could be a bit lower in the mix in the first song. As for everything else - keep making what you're making. The verse vocals on "Wake Me" made me think of Fair to Midland, and I friggin love that band. Btw is that just you? Or a band of sorts?[/QUOTE] Thanks man! Yeah, mixing is my toughest hurdle but I think I'm slowly getting a hang on it And yeah there's no band, it's all just me my guitars and FL

[QUOTE=chaz13;50331182]Really nice! Agree with Ott, the opening synth is rather too loud I think. The percussion is really cool, but too low throughout. Love the percussion near the beginning especially. In the main drop the snare (and kick somewhat) are drowned out by the main pad. Pad could do with coming down a little and you could go a bit more heavily on the side chain to get the drums sticking through more. Having said that, there's quite a few parts where it feels like the limiter is being slammed a little too hard and everything is ducking out. Maybe taking EVERYTHING off the master chain, balancing the percussion with the synths, then re-adding a limiter and whatever else at the end may help out. The synths themselves are really nice! Working on the mix a little more (thanks for the suggestions), added a few bits here and there too. [media]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/flying[/media][/QUOTE] really nice work, but something is a little bit too loud (or is it just me?) stereo panning is good and the mix kills it. very nice overall! got myself a little new track [media]https://soundcloud.com/noxmusicnight/sunset[/media]

[QUOTE=TheXbriteEco;50331908]really nice work, but something is a little bit too loud (or is it just me?) stereo panning is good and the mix kills it. very nice overall! got myself a little new track [URL="https://facepunch.com/"]Listen to Soundcloud recording[/URL] [URL]https://soundcloud.com/noxmusicnight/sunset[/URL] [/QUOTE] I think that where the hi hat and drums come in should be four bars earlier. To me it's like the part without any percussion is being treated as an intro but to me it is effectively the same as with percussion so the progression to drums at (what is to me) bar 12 instead of bar 8 sounds unnatural. Sound is dope, but I feel the bitcrushed one shot should be used more often, it sounds a little abrasive because it's not common enough to anticipate. [media]https://soundcloud.com/cynyxyty/cosmorgasm[/media] here is a demo my band has put together slowly over the last few months. not looking for recording crit (I know it's bad) but more song writing and overall impressions.

[QUOTE=The Salmon;50336564]I think that where the hi hat and drums come in should be four bars earlier. To me it's like the part without any percussion is being treated as an intro but to me it is effectively the same as with percussion so the progression to drums at (what is to me) bar 12 instead of bar 8 sounds unnatural. Sound is dope, but I feel the bitcrushed one shot should be used more often, it sounds a little abrasive because it's not common enough to anticipate. [media]https://soundcloud.com/cynyxyty/cosmorgasm[/media] here is a demo my band has put together slowly over the last few months. not looking for recording crit (I know it's bad) but more song writing and overall impressions.[/QUOTE] Excellent psych/prog writing, I gotta say. The intro groove is really good but some of the drummer's fills are a bit too intense and cymbal-heavy. I think the first synth solo could probably last a few bars longer. The groove that comes in at 0:55 is really good, but the transition is a bit wierd. Lovely vocals though. The bridge/chorus thingy at 1:45 could do with some keyboard chords or something, it feels a bit barren with just guitar, bass drums and vocals, but maybe that's just up to taste. Besides it provides a good contrast to the fantastic synth solo that comes afterwards. Great transition into the guitar solo too. Pretty much no complaints about the rest of the song. The recording actually isn't half-bad either. ------ I've been making some funky Hip-Hop beats for my production exam. For the first time ever I've included my own bass and guitar playing. A lot of DAW magic was required to make up for my lack of skill on these instruments, like splicing together individual takes of chords, manually quantizing transients and dividing the bassline between two tracks, one for fundamental slaps and the other for ornamental pops. Not sure if I'm going to get someone to rap over it. I feel like there's a bit too much going on already. [media]https://soundcloud.com/brotherworks/solar-fusion[/media]

[QUOTE=The Salmon;50336564]I think that where the hi hat and drums come in should be four bars earlier. To me it's like the part without any percussion is being treated as an intro but to me it is effectively the same as with percussion so the progression to drums at (what is to me) bar 12 instead of bar 8 sounds unnatural. Sound is dope, but I feel the bitcrushed one shot should be used more often, it sounds a little abrasive because it's not common enough to anticipate. [media]https://soundcloud.com/cynyxyty/cosmorgasm[/media] here is a demo my band has put together slowly over the last few months. not looking for recording crit (I know it's bad) but more song writing and overall impressions.[/QUOTE] I actually quite enjoyed this. Your guitar sounds/groove reminds me of Tame Impala. I really don't have any critique for you other than keep working your sound and keep it personal. ~~~~~~ This is some improvisational stuff that me and my friend do. Lewis Hempton is just a drum machine, which I'm sure is obvious. [url]https://trappistines.bandcamp.com/[/url] Blind Robin Muff is too quiet, so I got to fix that. But I guess what I'm curious about is outside impressions. Obviously you can't critique song writing on something that's made up on the spot.

[QUOTE=Ott;50330432]Opening square is too loud, it just sounds awkward when the percussion kicks in. Made me turn down my speakers (preventing me from hearing the parts that are supposed to be loud loud). I like the convolvers. A little too much treble in the leads (but I'm liking the misc percussion treble!). Vinyl noise was unexpected but not unwelcome. [editline]16th May 2016[/editline] Adventures in copyright infringement (not really looking for feedback here, just a goofy loop). [vid]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/108682320/extra%20gentle%20man.wav[/vid][/QUOTE] slow it down and u got a vaporwave masterpiece

[QUOTE=UnknownDude;50344969]Excellent psych/prog writing, I gotta say. The intro groove is really good but some of the drummer's fills are a bit too intense and cymbal-heavy. I think the first synth solo could probably last a few bars longer. The groove that comes in at 0:55 is really good, but the transition is a bit wierd. Lovely vocals though. The bridge/chorus thingy at 1:45 could do with some keyboard chords or something, it feels a bit barren with just guitar, bass drums and vocals, but maybe that's just up to taste. Besides it provides a good contrast to the fantastic synth solo that comes afterwards. Great transition into the guitar solo too. Pretty much no complaints about the rest of the song. The recording actually isn't half-bad either. ------ I've been making some funky Hip-Hop beats for my production exam. For the first time ever I've included my own bass and guitar playing. A lot of DAW magic was required to make up for my lack of skill on these instruments, like splicing together individual takes of chords, manually quantizing transients and dividing the bassline between two tracks, one for fundamental slaps and the other for ornamental pops. Not sure if I'm going to get someone to rap over it. I feel like there's a bit too much going on already. [media]https://soundcloud.com/brotherworks/solar-fusion[/media][/QUOTE] this is lovely please do more of it the slap bass especially is 👌

does anyone have any good tips / resources on writing music? i have two guitars (electric and acoustic), an interface, and a mic, but i lack any ideas. it seems to come to so many people so easily yet i can never understand how to make a song. i can write lyrics all day, but never a melody or anything. that's what i get for starting out a drummer haha. i know how to make chords and everything, just not how to... make anything, i guess.

Just keep playing and don't stop playing. When you can't play, hum. You'll eventually get bored of the song you start with and go off into your own variations. No music is original.

ive usually started by taking the top notes of the chords im working with and just humming little improvisations in the genre im trying to produce in and just get the idea of the melody from there, then refining it as necessary

[QUOTE=NixNax123;50366989]does anyone have any good tips / resources on writing music? i have two guitars (electric and acoustic), an interface, and a mic, but i lack any ideas. it seems to come to so many people so easily yet i can never understand how to make a song. i can write lyrics all day, but never a melody or anything. that's what i get for starting out a drummer haha. i know how to make chords and everything, just not how to... make anything, i guess.[/QUOTE] For me it comes down to not really thinking about it. If you just go at it and try different things, you'll find lots of stuff that sounds like shit, but somewhere in all that shit something good will come from it. You really don't know to know where your music has to go before you play it. That makes sense in my head at least.

I'm going to do my normal thing: post my song and then post-merge my critique. [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/965202/WIP%20Music/Dead%20in%20Tokyo.mp3]Who want's to hear how I work on music?[/url] This is basically that. I started with the piano, improvising live, and then transitioned that stuff to a bunch of different electronic instruments. After that, I added ducking and drums. And then the ending is mainly bullshit just to fade-out on. I do this for a lot of my music. This was done in an hour. [editline]26th May 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=UnknownDude;50344969]Excellent psych/prog writing, I gotta say. The intro groove is really good but some of the drummer's fills are a bit too intense and cymbal-heavy. I think the first synth solo could probably last a few bars longer. The groove that comes in at 0:55 is really good, but the transition is a bit wierd. Lovely vocals though. The bridge/chorus thingy at 1:45 could do with some keyboard chords or something, it feels a bit barren with just guitar, bass drums and vocals, but maybe that's just up to taste. Besides it provides a good contrast to the fantastic synth solo that comes afterwards. Great transition into the guitar solo too. Pretty much no complaints about the rest of the song. The recording actually isn't half-bad either. ------ I've been making some funky Hip-Hop beats for my production exam. For the first time ever I've included my own bass and guitar playing. A lot of DAW magic was required to make up for my lack of skill on these instruments, like splicing together individual takes of chords, manually quantizing transients and dividing the bassline between two tracks, one for fundamental slaps and the other for ornamental pops. Not sure if I'm going to get someone to rap over it. I feel like there's a bit too much going on already. [media]https://soundcloud.com/brotherworks/solar-fusion[/media][/QUOTE] I think this sounds funky as fuck - I absolutely adore the playing. It only falls short in the mixing department, where I feel like there's a lot of fighting for presence. When you introduce instruments, it makes sense for them to be loud, but they've gotta back off later in the song for other instruments to take priority. There's also a lot of background stuff that's just loud in general - swooshing in, the background rhythm guitars, etc. You've gotta make sacrifices. I also think there's different instruments in the same frequency range that also need to be EQ'd fairly - i.e. the bass drum is hard to hear over the bass. This reminds me of the Sega Genesis and video game funkiness that I adore, though. I legitimately love this. [editline]26th May 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=chaz13;50331182]Really nice! Agree with Ott, the opening synth is rather too loud I think. The percussion is really cool, but too low throughout. Love the percussion near the beginning especially. In the main drop the snare (and kick somewhat) are drowned out by the main pad. Pad could do with coming down a little and you could go a bit more heavily on the side chain to get the drums sticking through more. Having said that, there's quite a few parts where it feels like the limiter is being slammed a little too hard and everything is ducking out. Maybe taking EVERYTHING off the master chain, balancing the percussion with the synths, then re-adding a limiter and whatever else at the end may help out. The synths themselves are really nice! Working on the mix a little more (thanks for the suggestions), added a few bits here and there too. [media]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/flying[/media][/QUOTE] I feel like the intro voice has too much bass. I also think the basses and stuff overpower the voice - I'm paying attention to the bass more than the rap. Maybe a simple volume change can fix that, or maybe you'll have to dig into an EQ for the fix. Otherwise, I think it sounds fine! Good stuff. [editline]26th May 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=TheXbriteEco;50331908]really nice work, but something is a little bit too loud (or is it just me?) stereo panning is good and the mix kills it. very nice overall! got myself a little new track [media]https://soundcloud.com/noxmusicnight/sunset[/media][/QUOTE] I feel like you need more melody and chord progression variation. For about a minute it's just layering changes as opposed to significant direction changes, and it's done in a way that seems kind of glaring to me. At 1:40, I feel kind of tired of the song just because nothing is really changing up enough. Technically, it's alright. You might notice that my track I posted is mostly layering - that's something I'm going to change as I continue to work on it - it's set up both as a start and as a means for me to show how my song came about over time throughout the night. I think even dance and stuff like that needs way more variation - I'm a stickler for that stuff.

[QUOTE=NixNax123;50366989]does anyone have any good tips / resources on writing music? i have two guitars (electric and acoustic), an interface, and a mic, but i lack any ideas. it seems to come to so many people so easily yet i can never understand how to make a song. i can write lyrics all day, but never a melody or anything. that's what i get for starting out a drummer haha. i know how to make chords and everything, just not how to... make anything, i guess.[/QUOTE] Listen to great music that you love all the time. Fill your ears with it constantly. Analyze and listen, pick out all of the little intricacies that your favorite artist is doing to carefully craft his piece the way it is. Add to your mental musical vocabulary the things that make you go "oooh! ahhh! that's so good!" Please watch this masterclass video, as it opened my eyes to how easy it is to improvise melodically: [video=youtube;BcC8ARwsCZQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcC8ARwsCZQ[/video] He's basically playing certain types of scales over certain types of chords (think in terms of quality, e.g. major, minor, diminished, etc.), and when you start to do it a little bit yourself your mind is able to just come out and express itself, and the notes sounds pretty damn good while that's happening! I listen to jazz all the time and it basically fuels my soul, without it I'd be a dead husk. I love singing scat along with it and singing all the instruments, once I start I can't stop! Remember music is a language that plays with people's emotions and makes them think and feel. You have to have heightened awareness on how to balance tension and release, color, rhythm, and so much more in order to guide and stir the thoughts and feelings of your fellow man. That awareness comes from experience with other people(esp other musicians), your knowledge of musical theory, listening and analysis, and good practice. When you play what you're feeling and you know what you're doing on your instrument, people will likely say your music sounds really good :)

[QUOTE=chaz13;50331182]Working on the mix a little more (thanks for the suggestions), added a few bits here and there too. [media]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/flying[/media][/QUOTE] I love the low ends. Nicely strong, but clean. the FM stuff in the background is super cool, i wish I could make stuff like that. I feel like the snare gets a bit drowned out, but it works for what it is. I would love to hear an instrumental version, try to reverse engineer some of the sounds. Very nice job. little snippet of something really electronic sounding. still working on mastering [media]https://soundcloud.com/thehoyticus/cool-snippet/s-G7Jtm[/media]

[QUOTE=UnknownDude;50344969]Excellent psych/prog writing, I gotta say. The intro groove is really good but some of the drummer's fills are a bit too intense and cymbal-heavy. I think the first synth solo could probably last a few bars longer. The groove that comes in at 0:55 is really good, but the transition is a bit wierd. Lovely vocals though. The bridge/chorus thingy at 1:45 could do with some keyboard chords or something, it feels a bit barren with just guitar, bass drums and vocals, but maybe that's just up to taste. Besides it provides a good contrast to the fantastic synth solo that comes afterwards. Great transition into the guitar solo too. Pretty much no complaints about the rest of the song. The recording actually isn't half-bad either. ------ I've been making some funky Hip-Hop beats for my production exam. For the first time ever I've included my own bass and guitar playing. A lot of DAW magic was required to make up for my lack of skill on these instruments, like splicing together individual takes of chords, manually quantizing transients and dividing the bassline between two tracks, one for fundamental slaps and the other for ornamental pops. Not sure if I'm going to get someone to rap over it. I feel like there's a bit too much going on already. [media]https://soundcloud.com/brotherworks/solar-fusion[/media][/QUOTE] Lovely track! I feel the strings last a bit too long at the start, there should be a sort of "main" beat that just drops, it feels a bit like a buildup that doesn't get resolved. Perhaps a sort of intermezzo that is more sparse in instruments, more funky? The part at 2:00 is also very nice. Has a sort of Herbie Hancock- Mr Hands vibe to it. I also noticed touches of Jamiroquai in the bass (past 3:30) ------ [media]https://soundcloud.com/patronbernard/jam-2[/media] Had some fun with my new tiny 32 key keyboard that proves remarkably versatile. I suck at glueing sections together and varying the bass & drums...

[QUOTE=Number-41;50407855]Lovely track! I feel the strings last a bit too long at the start, there should be a sort of "main" beat that just drops, it feels a bit like a buildup that doesn't get resolved. Perhaps a sort of intermezzo that is more sparse in instruments, more funky? The part at 2:00 is also very nice. Has a sort of Herbie Hancock- Mr Hands vibe to it. I also noticed touches of Jamiroquai in the bass (past 3:30) ------ [media]https://soundcloud.com/patronbernard/jam-2[/media] Had some fun with my new tiny 32 key keyboard that proves remarkably versatile. I suck at glueing sections together and varying the bass & drums...[/QUOTE] Super cool flavour, I really like the warmth it has to it. really jazzy... in a way I like. Nice amount of variety. maybe a slow section? [editline]28th May 2016[/editline] been playing lot's of the new Doom and was inspired. WIP so if there's any parts/instruments/sections i should add or change i'd love to hear it! [media]https://soundcloud.com/sierios/wip-doom-inspired[/media]

I got a fancy new binaural microphone! Here's my drumset. It has crash [9], crash bell [5], hat bell [6], hat down [6], hat up [3], hat stomp [6], hat hit closed [13], hat hit open [9], hat kiss [4], kick [15], ride [4], ride bell [6], ride side (of the stick) [7], snare [30], snare rim [10], floor tom [15], rack tom [7], snare tom (no springs) [9], snare tom rim [6], and some misc stuff like messing with the snare springs. The kit is tuned pretty low, and the audio is in 24-bit wav. It wasn't recorded in a studio though, so don't over-compress it[sp]may contain parakeets[/sp]. [url]https://mega.nz/#!RxtxzCDb!1Z0AALhLxvEz9l-K_uams6c_V-yWz5mcL2jL_RBFAhE[/url]

[QUOTE=SIRIUS;50410567]Super cool flavour, I really like the warmth it has to it. really jazzy... in a way I like. Nice amount of variety. maybe a slow section? [editline]28th May 2016[/editline] been playing lot's of the new Doom and was inspired. WIP so if there's any parts/instruments/sections i should add or change i'd love to hear it! [media]https://soundcloud.com/sierios/wip-doom-inspired[/media][/QUOTE] I feel like the main synth in the beginning could use a little tube saturation. Drums feel nice and solid, and so does the guitar. Maybe a little extra bass too? Pretty good overall though! In other news, I just finished my collaboration with the awesome Tom Riddle. Feedback (possibly on mixing) on the instrumental is much appreciated: [media]https://soundcloud.com/venadore/a-drive-down-every-rd-instrumental[/media] And the original: [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/a-drive-down-every-rd-prod[/media]

[QUOTE=TheDrunkenOne;50433488]I feel like the main synth in the beginning could use a little tube saturation. Drums feel nice and solid, and so does the guitar. Maybe a little extra bass too? Pretty good overall though! In other news, I just finished my collaboration with the awesome Tom Riddle. Feedback (possibly on mixing) on the instrumental is much appreciated: [media]https://soundcloud.com/venadore/a-drive-down-every-rd-instrumental[/media] And the original: [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/a-drive-down-every-rd-prod[/media][/QUOTE] that shit is fucking incredible imo

[url]http://facepunchforum.azurewebsites.net/.7h[/url] I made a dedicated forum on the new version of Facepunch! I think the rules are fair, and it's nice to be able to enforce the OP now.

Why restrict it to production?

[QUOTE=Number-41;50442056]Why restrict it to production?[/QUOTE] What do you mean? Should I use a more broad term? Unless you're referring to music as a whole, sharing your favorite songs and what not. In that case I'd refer you to the pre-existing Music forum.