Production 101: A Basic Walkthrough of the Production Process

Note: I made a SoundCloud account last night and the music player below includes some uploads of my past work.  Feel free to shuffle through the songs or pause the player altogether. Enjoy!

Laugh all you’d like at the worn-out lyrics and generic instrumentals found in popular music, but deep down we all listen and sing along to the songs when they come on at a party. As a producer, I can safely say that anyone in the industry would love the opportunity to produce a “sell-out” record that gets heavy radio play. 

Sure, it’s not cool or unique to produce anything other than underground music, but sometimes it’s a fun challenge to create a song that has mass appeal (not to mention that most pop songs draw influence from the underground scene).

Not only do pop tracks gain popularity in the industry, but it’s also where the money is at.  I’ve been producing music since the age of 13, and within the past five years I have worked with major labels and learned quite a bit about how to effectively create music with general appeal. 

While there are no set methods to production, there are some efficient tips that I have learned along the way.  Crafting a radio-friendly record is no walk in the park; however, here are some great starting points to get you well on your way to becoming the next Timbaland (maybe not that big, but we can all dream can’t we).

The Basics (Pre-Production)

The first essential step to creating music is to have production software on installed on your computer.  A plethora of software already exists, ranging from the fantastic price of free all the way up to several thousands of dollars. 

Personally, I have taken a liking to Logic (which is only available on Mac computers, so I apologize to all you PC users out there).  However, one of the most common software choices that I see used is Fruity Loops Studio (FL Studio). 

This software is free or very cheap to upgrade, and has actually been utilized by high end professional producers for years now.  It is one of the most user-friendly products out there and while I have not used it, I believe it may be a great place for the beginner producer to start.

The second essential step to creating a song with a radio potential is to listen to current hits as well as underground successes for inspiration.  The most popular producers are able to combine underground trends with mainstream trends to develop a cross-genre record.  

Some of the recent examples of the fusion between underground and mainstream components include dup-pop and EDM songs, which are now heard on all of the current top 40 stations.  Being able to stay emerged in both cultures is essential to creating the next big radio hit. 

A final optional tip to consider before beginning production is the incorporation of hardware to the equipment setup.  Some individuals prefer to have a physical MIDI keyboard to play, whereas some are content using the computer keyboard that they already own.  This is all personal preference.

The Fun Part

So now that the basics are covered, it’s time to have a little fun and begin the process of making the instrumental.  However, keep in mind that this is my personal process and that there are several ways to go about this. 

Also be weary that to utilize these steps it may be beneficial to have a slight knowledge of how to operate your chosen software.  Some of the terms you may see in this section are important to familiarize yourself with and may require some outside work. 

Some Useful Terms:

-          Plugin – a plugin is an additional component of software that can be added to the already existing software to create more options for the producer.  For example, if someone is using Fruity Loops and they purchase a techno plugin, they will now have access to a new techno instrument within FL. 

-          VST (Virtual Studio Technology) – this is the interface in the software that has all of the effects and audio editors.  It also includes access to the virtual instruments found within the software. 

-          Bars – this refers to the segment of time on the audio track (think of a metronome counting out 4 bars).

-          Quantization – this is a process that allows you to set drums and other notes to a specific beat or fraction of a beat.  This tool helps with imperfections seen when recording and can help to place all notes on a uniform beat.

Step 1

Create a basic one note melody progression

The easiest way to start the melody creation is to go into the software and select 4 bars of the project and set them to loop.  What this does is sets those 4 bars to continuously play back, which can be helpful when creating a simple melody.  

In order to play the melody within your software, you must first find a list of virtual instruments and select one that you think fits the song concept well.  Now begin the process of finding small combinations of one or two notes that sound good together.  

From there continue to add notes until you reach a nice sounding melody pattern.  Depending on the track, notes can be similar or even run a full octave apart.

Please be aware that you may have to look up the simple steps such as creating a new file or setting up the loop pattern on your selected software.  There are several different programs that have different interfaces and would take forever to explain on here.

Step 2

Build on the melody that has already been created

This process is similar to Step 1 with respect to the method.  At this point you already have the first lead melody created, so building on it is much easier.  Often times, the quickest way to build onto the first melody is with the incorporation of chord progressions.  

These add complexity to the track and provide a more “full” sounding record.  A simple way to add chords is to take the individual note you have in the melody, and use that note’s full chord simultaneously.  For example, if you have a C note in the beginning of the melody, add a C chord behind it to add depth. 

Step 3

Develop a basic one note drum pattern

Once you have the core components of the melody, you can begin the process of adding drums.  While there are no set portions of the drum pattern to start with, a common starting place is with the kick drum.  

Navigate to the software’s drum VST section and open the digital drum.  There should be a menu that displays several different drum sounds; within this menu, find and select “kick drums.”  With the melody playing, begin to experiment with simple one note drum patterns.  Remember that this is only the first step to drum sequencing, so if it sounds a bit weak or empty after this step, don’t worry at all!

When producing some styles music, drums are edited with heavy amounts of reverb and depth.  To do this, you can simply go to the reverb section of the plugins menu and select “echo,” or something of the like.  Once the control comes up, play around with the reverb echo until you have a mellow, down-tempo drum foundation.    

Step 4

Add depth to the drum pattern

Just like the melody, the drum pattern needs more depth to create a full sounding instrumental.  Often times, this is the step where the hi-hats, toms, and snares come into play.  The most difficult portion of this section is being able to keep on rhythm in order to record the drums accurately.  

So you may be sitting there worried because you don’t have any rhythm and couldn’t keep beat if your life depended on it.  Well guess what?!  There is a simple solution to your rhythm deficiency and it’s called quantization.  

If some of the drums notes seem a bit off beat, simply find the quantize tool within your software and open the plugin.  From there you can select the specific beat that you would like the notes to “snap” to, and voilà!  A perfectly timed pattern.

Step 5

Create a fitting intro build

Although it seems strange to add intros so far into the process, I find that it allows for a better understanding of how the song should be introduced to the listener.  Also, this allows the producer to take snippets of the melody and stretch them or minimize them to create a well-fitting intro.  

A simple way of making an intro is to take the chords of the melody along with a downbeat drum component and add that on loop to the first 8 bars of the song. 

Step 6

Create an outro fade   

This step can be done by essentially taking the intro and “reverse engineering” it.  For example, let’s say the intro was 4 bars of chords, and then 4 bars of chords with quiet drums; the outro for a song like this could be 4 bars of chords with quiet drums followed by 4 bars of plain chords.  

While that is the simplest way of creating an outro, a lot of producers like to get innovative and create entirely new melodies to close out a song.  One way of changing the outro without having to produce a new melody is to highlight the 8 or so bars and change the tempo to halfspeed.  

This can be done by finding the tempo control within the software and simply entering a number that is half of your current tempo.  For example, if the instrumental was 120 BPM, change it to 60 BPM for the closing bars of the song. 

In Closing...

Although these tips may not provide the most in-depth instructions for music production, hopefully they do provide some insight into the process of getting started.  Improving within the music industry is just like improving within any other field; it requires a great amount of dedication and practice.  Whether you're a beginner or a professional, you must work hard to stay relevant and up to date on trend changes.  

Continue to develop the craft of music making and familiarize yourself with your own sound. Hopefully one day you'll be accepting your first Grammy and you can look back and thank this blog for sparking your interest and getting you started on music production.  

The American Dream: Dead or Evolving?

On January 12, 1964, a baby boy was born to a teenage single mother by the name of Jacklyn Jorgensen.  As this boy grew up, he took an interest in electronics and developed a strong work ethic due to summers spent with his grandfather on his Cotulla, Texas ranch.

 

Throughout high school and college he made an effort to exert his abilities to all aspects of his life.  Striving for a great education, he was able to make the jump from a lower-class household to the life of a Princeton graduate.

After reaching adulthood, he secured a well-paying job at a New York hedge fund.  However, he heard about this new trend of internet usage taking place across the country and he decided to explore the new field.

During a cross-country road trip, Amazon was created.  The story described above is that of Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of the mega-corporation we know as Amazon.  Jeff was able to work his way through the American infrastructure to become one of Forbes richest individuals, with a current net worth of nearly 30 billion dollars.

Jeff’s story represents the true American Dream.  But as of late, several analysts are making claims that the American Dream may be dead. 

According to the latest report from the Pew CharitableTrusts, entitled “Pursuing the American Dream,” only 4 percent of those raised in the bottom 20 percent will rise to the top 20 percent by the end of their life.  The report states that instead, those raised in a particular class are highly likely to stay in or around that same class. 

One important note from the report states that “Forty-three percent of Americans raised in the bottom quartile remain stuck in the bottom as adults and 70 percent remain below the middle class." 

While these numbers describe the long journey from the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder to the top, there are other statistics that claim that even achieving wealth higher than middle-class is difficult in today’s economy. 

Currently our economy is in the recovery phase, after the “Great Recession” officially ended in June of 2009.  Although there is a clear improvement in some areas of the economy (home sales and unemployment rates), there is no arguing that the median household income has declined.  In fact, according to Sentier Research, the median income is now $52,100.  Once adjusted for inflation, this number shows the average income to be 6.1% lower than the average income in the middle of the recession.

One modern measurement of the American Dream has simply become home ownership.  Many individuals look to the numbers to determine whether or not the dream is still alive, and the numbers are not looking great.  TIME Magazine discusses the issue in more detail and reveals some surprising statistics.

Only 65 percent of Americans actually own their home, down from the pre-recession era.  Another interesting fact is that nearly 1 in 4 Americans are rethinking why they want to purchase a house and what theyre looking for.  For Example, rather than looking for the perfect house with a white picket fence, they are now simply looking at the most affordable housing.  This takes a huge toll on the housing market.

So what do all of these statistics add up to?  It’s now more difficult than ever to get ahead.  Not only that, but it’s now more difficult just to maintain middle-class status. 

The rich are getting richer much faster than the middle-class and lower-class can account for. 

This confirms the belief that economic mobility may not be quite as achievable as hoped.  If you’re born rich or born poor, odds are you’ll remain that way throughout your lifetime (according to this study).

However, not every group is as negative about the well-being of the American Dream.  In fact, some analysts have an optimistic view of mobility and have specified a few groups that are still benefiting from the opportunity to achieve great success here in America. 

A new study posted by the Equality of OpportunityProject depicts massive regional variation with respect to the numbers of people able to escape poverty.  For example, being born in the Northeast or the West Coast provides a better opportunity for upward growth than a city in the South.  The study goes on to show several specific cities that provide higher percentages for economic mobility.  Topping the list is Salt Lake City, Utah (with an 11.5 percent chance to change classes).

Other recent studies and interviews show similar hope for success.  According to interviews conducted by Dr. Fiona Citkin, American immigrant women tend to view the American Dream as something that is alive and well (keep in mind that American immigrant women make up 51 percent of all immigrants).

So it seems that there is a variance in the view of the American Dream and the prosperity that our ancestors saw as they arrived on the shores of this country.  However, there is something that needs to be addressed in this post.  What exactly is the American Dream?

For the sake of this informational piece, I have been referring to the term to be something of a material success measure.  To clarify, this is not the all-encompassing definition of the dream.  However, it is one of the few ways to measure individual growth with factual numbers. 

For example, it’s easy to look up the average income amount in modern America.  It is much more difficult to get factual evidence for feelings of equality or fairness.  While these areas may be prospering, they are nearly impossible to gather data for. 

The technical definition for the American Dream (as stated by the all-mighty Merriam-Webster Dictionary) is “an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity; also, the prosperity or life that is the realization of this ideal.”

Despite what society may say or what the dictionary may claim, when all is said and done, the American Dream is different for every individual living in this great country.  Some may place a high value on feelings of democracy and respect, while some may concern themselves with achieving great wealth.  

No matter what the American Dream means to you, it’s important to understand the fact that it is – as the name suggests – a dream. 

And dreams never die.