Productions

Blind Man Driving

What I Did: First I had to listen to “Blind Man Driving” a couple of times to get a feel for the music. Once I had learned about the song, I had to pan the instruments, choose how far left or right I wanted them on my stage, making sure the lead singer and guitar tracks were front and center. Using the volume sliders I moved the instruments back and forth. Next, I applied compression to the bass and drum tracks, making the deeper sounds clearer for the listener. Next, I added the Multiband and Limiter to all tracks to make it clearer where the instruments were located on the stage. Then I had to use Feslyian to find sound effects like a car screeching and someone screaming to give the track a little bit of a story. I then applied a fade-out at the end of my song so that it would come to a nice, clean end.

What I Learned: The most exciting things I learned were about compressors and limiters. Compressors are usually only applied to basses and drums, but limiters can be used for all tracks. The tracks we were given were already amazing, but using the technology on Ableton to make them clearer made the song as a whole even better. It made me more appreciative of the track preparing processes. 

Dilla Style

What I Did: First, I searched through Ableton Live's samples category so I could find beat samples. Once I found a couple of beats that I liked, I put them onto tracks for later use. Next, I found some cool sounds from The Avengers, downloaded them, and put them onto their own track. I had to change the BPM of those sounds because when they transferred, the tracks sounded wonky. I also edited the timeframe in which the track played so that the track played the words I wanted. Then I searched for bass sounds in Ableton Live and transferred them onto a track. Once I found those sounds, I used the Push to make my own tracks. Once that was finished, I recorded my song on Ableton Live.

What I Learned: The most important thing I learned from this project is how to make my own tracks. I had yet to use the Push to make my own tracks, and it was a little easier than I thought it would be, but still difficult. I also learned how to adjust the BPM of each track so that the words were audible. It was also just cool to see all my work come together and see how my bass arrangement sounded with the rest of my beat tracks.

Doctor Who Remix

What I Did: First, I downloaded the bass and melody arrangement of the “Doctor Who” theme song 4 times (2 times for each piece) and found two sounds that I thought were sci-fi enough to fit two audio sections for the arrangements. Once that was done, I went onto fesliyanstudios.com to look for a sound to implement into my piece and make it sound more sci-fi. I chose a hammering sound, and then used both phasers and flangers to make it sound super sci-fi. I copied the TARDIS sound and put it into the soundtrack as well, adjusting the decibels of the track as needed so that it wouldn’t supersede other sounds. After this, I used my Ableton Live push to make a recording of my song and change the volume of the separate tracks to make my remix sound good. I faded my song in and out so that my song sounded more cohesive and like it had an end. 

What I Learned: I learned how to use phasers and flangers to change the way my audio tracks sound. It will be interesting to use them on other pieces of music I will create to change the vibe of my songs. I also learned how to select the types of sounds I want my tracks to have, which also contributes the vibes of my songs. 

Ableton Live Remix

What I Did: I learned how to navigate Ableton Live effectively to create remixes from loops on the program. I started by learning what each button on the Ableton Live App did on the computer, using only my mouse and keyboard. I recorded some remixes just to get the hang of it. Once I was ready, I moved on to using the Ableton Live Board to produce music. Using the Ableton Live Board, I was more easily able to mix tracks and change what tracks were being played to create dynamic music. It was also cool to see how the board enabled me to change the volume of the instruments while recording which made my recording have more depth. I was also able to pan my tracks so I could mirror what a stage set-up would sound like on a recording.

What I Learned: I learned how to move instruments to the front and back to make my songs more dynamic. Giving my music depth makes them more interesting not only to me, but to my listeners as well. I also learned how to blend the tracks, making them work together so that no single one stood out over the other.  

Fix the Mix

What I Did: I started the project by listening to the loop and figuring out what type of vibe I wanted the track to show. Next, I began to change the type of instruments with the Bass, Synth Chords, and Piano loops. Bass became Fuzzy Bass, and both Piano and Synth Chords became Electric Pianos. I moved the octaves down of those three loops so that the music felt more lowkey and low energy. After that, I changed the volume of all the loops so that I could bring back and forth the most important instruments. For the three loops I previously mentioned I added effects such as the Graphic EQ and Multi. Filler to change the way the loops sound and mix together. I then decided to re-evaluate what other loops were a part of my track and decided to delete one guitar that I thought did not really work with the vibe of my song. Finally, I added sound effects to make it sound like the video game the music was for was playing in the background. 

What I Learned: I honestly think the most important things I learned while doing this project were the importance of loop selection and how those tracks work together. Initially, the loops did not mesh well together at all, but changing the octaves and instruments of the loops nearly fixed the problem. Deleting the guitar loop that was unnecessary to the track also improved the sound. Changing the type of instruments being played in the Piano, Synth Chords, and Bass was also important because the different instruments added varying sounds and made the song work better. 

Mixing Music on Stage

What I Did: I started out the project by searching through the list of available loops on Band Lab. I found the 5 loops that were my vibe and that worked really well together. I then had to pan the instruments so they would mimic how they would appear on stage. To accomplish this I had to use the volume to separate the different instruments in my song. The louder the instrument, the closer to the front of the stage, and vice versa. I then added a Graphic EQ to every track so that I could adjust what parts of each track was being accentuated and could be heard more when everything was played overall. I played specific tracks with each other to make sure they worked together (not only all at once). I then played the tracks all together to make sure everything sounded coherent.

What I Learned:  I honestly think the most important things I learned while doing this project were the importance of loop selection and how those tracks work together. Initially, the loops did not mesh well together at all, but changing the octaves and instruments of the loops nearly fixed the problem. Deleting the guitar loop that was unnecessary to the track also improved the sound. Changing the type of instruments being played in the Piano, Synth Chords, and Bass was also important because the different instruments added varying sounds and made the song work better. 

What I Did: For this project, I had to learn how to navigate Bandlab and actually make my own music. First, I looked for tracks that I liked and were the simplest for me to start with. I then placed them together and did so in a way that would have different instruments playing at the same time. Next, I recorded my voice saying "My name is Donna" and one other clip to add to the remix. Once those were completed, I finally put all my tracks together to listen to the final piece. It was really cool to see that my first try at remixing came together in a way that I liked.

What I Learned: I learned how to properly remix ready-made tracks and change the vibes of the music by having different tracks playing at different times. I enjoyed just learning how to navigate Bandlab and discovering all the different tracks at my disposal. I look forward to building my remix skills further and creating more pieces.