by djnarrative | 1 May, 2011 | Reckorder Tutorials
Performing as a live act is something i've only done for the first time recently, so this post will evolve as i learn more. Til then heres a few things that i've bookmarked which give a few different insights. How tom cosm & pitch black use ableton Live On Stage (And tom's first post with links to his overview of performing with ableton live - http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?t=55935) Some tips from Michael Weeks - http://www.musicplayers.com/tutorials/keyboard/2006/0306_michaelweeks.php And some touring advice from Chris...
by djnarrative | 5 Nov, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
Once you've got a killer track how do you get it heard. The game is constantly changing in the social media world and i'm going to write a specific post on the topic, but i just wanted to share this email that i recently received from a local up and coming singer. She's just had a track remixed by a local dubstep producer and got in touch to ask if i had any advice on how to get some gigs. Im no expert but i offered a few ideas she may not have tried and thought it might be worth sharing on here. ------------ I just wondered if you could give me some advice on where to start really please. My dubstep remix is nearly finished and my aim is to see if any djs will play it in the local clubs and if I can get any performances. Do you know any links to djs promoters etc?------- Hey Sarah If you want it played by djs then id say a good place to start to find all the dubstep events and radio shows in brum. Scour the flyers, search on facebook and google for any contact nights and contact info you can find. Then get in touch with the djs, send them a copy and see if they'd be interested in dropping it at a gig or on their show. On rhubarb radio obviously boogie and ross have a purely dubstep show, and you could also try skeleton and dolhasz who do the beat suite as they play dubstep, and also possibly brumcast as he only plays brum...
by djnarrative | 5 Nov, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
Sidechaining was something that used to confuse me but then i saw an early video by Tom Cosm who simplified the process nicely. Basically sidechaining is using one audio source to trigger a compressor on another audio source or in more simple terms, it is normally used for making room for the kick to punch through as the kick and the bass occupy similar frequencies. This can be done by manually drawing in volume changes so each time the kick hits the bass is lowered, or more easily this can be done using a compressor with a side chain function. Abletons compressor has a side chain built in or if you use another sequencer here's a nice free one. He's since posted a more specific video which evolves the process further so to keep things nice and simple here it is. An earlier video i had bookmarked is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tv7gAi2OKY and when using cubase Sx i had this youtube video bookmarked which have been useful in the past. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHfN9yeuoew&feature=related Hope thats useful and any comments or tips please let us know in the comments below...
by djnarrative | 8 Oct, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
I've always found the language of music really interesting, and there's a lot to be gained from learning the lingo. How you are taught, often determines how interested it becomes, so if you've a vague interest in music theory, these 4 episodes of how music works are a really good place to start. And after that here are some useful resources which might also help 6 free chapters from the how music works book- http://www.howmusicreallyworks.com/Pages_Chapter_4/4_2.html How many scales there are - http://www.abrsm.org/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t25726.html Intervals explained - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_scale Key of music explained - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_%28music%29 Circle of 5ths explained - http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths How chords are made up - http://www.cyberfret.com/theory/chord-construction/basic/index.php How to find the key - http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index & http://www.macosxaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php A useful tool to determine notes in a scale - http://www.cyberflotsam.com/phatphish/index.htm A whole site about music theory - http://www.musictheory.net/ And a free pdf on music theory and composition - http://www.ravenspiral.com/ravenspiralguide.pdf Hope some of this has proved useful and any links, tips of feedback gratefully received...
by djnarrative | 8 Oct, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
Arrangement is a part of the process that i've found difficult in the past. Its good to remember that in music there are structures that work, and using these as starting points doesn't compromise your intention of innovation. Coming up with parts is often a very natural process, and there is a tendency to hear how the arrangement might sound in your head pretty early on and therefore start the arrangement too soon. I'm still developing my process on that front, but i have learnt that structure really aids your creative process. Knowing you have a structure to work with can help focus (as opposed to limit) you're flow, and something that will help you develop your own style. Any musician, composer, producer, etc who is passionate about creating music wants to make something thats never been done before. Push the boundaries and create great works. However to get there you need to go through and learn from tried and tested methods. A way of doing this is drop your favourite track into your sequencer, add markers for when the track changes (either main instrument parts or intro, verse, chorus, bridge, etc) and then add your parts in. If you've never tried this, then as a starting point, this can really help move things forward, and once you've moved to a place resembling an arrangement you can choose where you want to take it. Here's a few notes when i first tried it. 1. Import/Record in Chemical Brothers Track or one you like - Label it tracking track 2. Get the same tempo so you can mark it out...
by djnarrative | 5 Sep, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
This is a very old tip i wrote down and is probably outdated now. Nevertheless i'll post it just in case anyone is using an older version of cubase. You never know. 🙂 One of the things i used to have trouble with was wanting to get my midi controllers controlling the virtual instruments on my computer. The ones in question were the cme uf6 keyboard (knobs and sliders), and a uc-16 controller (knobs) I'd heard about remote control, but my previous tests had no luck..This time though i stuck with it and worked it all out, so here's what i did. First open cubase sx 3. Go to device manager, remote devices. generic remote, and delete everything (just to tidy it up). Then add a controller in the top panel of the two. NOW click Learn whilst moving the first controller (on the cme). I found it took a bit of wiggling before cubase picked it up, but once it did, it displayed the controller number. THen i went to the uf editor for my cme keyboard, and clicked on send. This bought up the rotarys and faders for when the light is on (on the keyboard for the rotary's) And for the faders when the 2nd / bottom led is on. NOTE When the light is not on the rotarys and the first light is lit for the faders these appear to be the default settings so therefore not need to be changed, as they are mapped to 74, 71, 73, 72, 10, 91, 93 (and whatever midi message tempo is). The faders are all set to...
by djnarrative | 2 Jul, 2010 | Reckorder Tutorials
This is a post i found once when getting some tips and inspiration on arranging a track. I was going to copy and past the whole thing but you might not visit their site then, so here is the link...
