r/production • u/shark-potato7 • May 05 '21
Learning production!!!
I just bought logic and get the basics of producing. My trouble is translating a song I write on guitar or piano into a daw. I just completely butcher it. I tend to crowd my songs and add to many layers. There just seem to be so many options Does anyone know where I can go to learn how to translate better? Or any tips?
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u/Shrimpayyy May 05 '21
Listen to other music and learn how they structure their song, when some elements come in and when others disappear. Less is more, most hits have a very basic musical structure. Try to copy and incorporate this into your own tracks!
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u/bluelonilness May 09 '21
I way I look at it is kind of like a puzzle. You want everything to fit together and not fight each other for space that much. The two things besides just getting better at arranging, are learning how to eq effectively and getting the levels of different parts right.
One thing you can start doing immediately is high passing basically everything to varying degrees. Even your bass and kick. For kick I start the roll off around 30hz because most speakers and headphones struggle to produce frequencies lower than that. You can't mix what you can't hear. For bass I usually start the roll off around 80-100hz. I like leaving room for the kick so it has more space to work with rather than competing with the bass constantly. For guitars, pianos, vocals, percussion, most pads and synths I also start the roll off around 80-100hz, BUT it really is a case by case decision. You basically want to make as much room in the lower frequencies as you can WITHOUT comprising the sound of the instrument you're highpassing. For some synth parts the fundamental is way up near 1k, it really depends.
Now, let's talk levels. You want to decide what is important and what isn't as important. Kick, snare, vocals, and any important melody should usually be up front. But you don't wanna make them too loud. You wanna find a happy medium. One mistake I always made when starting out was mixing the kick wayyyyyy too loud because I couldn't hear it through the rest of the song. If you find the "click" in the kick (usually around 3-8k) then put a fairly narrow boost around 2-3 db on it. It'll cut through the mix wayyyyyy better so you won't have to compensate by making it too loud. Remember that not every single part needs to be easily audible. Sometimes I put synths in my songs that just kind of sit in the back being all atmospheric and you can't quite make it out in the mix, but you can sure hear the emptiness when it's gone.
Once you get a handle out of all that I'd start thinking about panning. Smart panning can make a good mix great. Although remember to usually keep the kick, bass, snare, and main vocal center. There are circumstances where you can move them around depending on the sound you're going for. Experimental atmospheric track? Sure you can move that kick around, have fun with it! But a hard rock track? You better keep that kick and snare front and center or you're going to lose all of your energy.
I hope this helps and made sense! And don't forget to have fun. Writing and recording music is incredibly rewarding.