Dj Shiva

Monday, 30 May 2011

Home Studio Rescue

There are so many composers out there...who are capable enough to produce beats but the thing in which they lack is proper knowledge to setup a Studio....
So..in this blog i will explain few things and equipments by which u can setup ur own home studio and can start making ur beats....

A beginner or basic studio can be setup with few equipments which m gonna list below with their usage and importance....

1) A Desktop/Laptop

First of all...u should have a computer with a DAW(Digital Audio Workstation) or music making software installed in it...coz without it u cant create or edit ur music.
U can search for various Daw's available in market such as logic pro,cubase,audition,sound forge,Fl Studio etc.
Try n master that software in terms of usage so that u can easily try n figure out things while making music and not getting stuck at any point.

Note: Mastering ur software is really important coz it comes very handy when u start ur music as per my experience. Try n search for those softwares which are easy to use and learn.

2)Midi Keyboard

Midi/USB keyboards are the 2nd most important equipment in setting up home studio as they play the role of steping stone towards music.. coz using keyboards onli u gonna create ur chords, notes or loops.which further gonna convert in wav's or mp3.
There are various companies which are making Midi keyboards such as Roland,M Audio, Akai etc.
for beginners basic 32 keys gonna help a lot.

Note: Try n search for the best keyboard and as per ur budget also coz these little bastards gonna cost a lot...but their resuls worth it...in my opinion M audio nd akai are better in comparison.I by myself use M audio oxygen 61.

3)Studio Monitors/Speakers

The third element without which ur home studio gonna worth nothing is Studio monitors. these are the speakers by which u gonna listen to the final output u have created.
So many people ask me that "y should i buy these speakers when i have my home theatre or computer speakers with me i can make music by them"
if u also think so than lemme tell u that...these 2 wooden boxes may look like ur home theatre speakers but in terms of power and usage they are completely different...they are specifically made jus for studio purpose coz their input and output is same which helps in getting accurate frequencies of sound to our ears in comparison with ur hometheatres coz those take inputs and enhance it due to which u would not able to get the exact frequency which will ruin ur mixdown.
and in price of these to columns u can purchase 5 hometheatres so now u can differentiate by urself.

Note: Studio monitors cant be negotiated u definately have to spend some more bucks to get them. There are companies who are making these power stations like M audio, Edirol, Boss etc. So start saving today if u want ur music to stand out from the crowd.

4)External Sound Card

I hope u are familiar with this thing...sound card is something by which u get ur sounds..and all the desktops have inbuilt sound card in them these days...but for a music composer this sound card is not sufficient as they are not built to take such heavy inputs and cant produce heavy outputs.
so u have to buy an External sound card for which is meant for studio purpose as these sound cards use phantom power to produce output and even u also dont want ur sounds to be low quality so buy this thing as it is essential.

Note: heavy Sound cards are require coz when u send ur digital frequencies through sound cards of low quality they got chopped or if u are recording any live instrument than also low grade or inbuilt sound cards reduse the decibals or khz of high frequencies. U can buy an M audio sound card which comes in 3 forms beginner , pro and ultra.

5) Headphones

Its the last important element in studio which u should buy without thinking coz headphones are used in vocal booths and even while composing tracks coz even u also wants to hear ur sounds clearly many producers wear headphones while creating melodies or chords to kno the depth or to give the depth to the track by listening it again and again and doing slight changes jus to make the mix perfect and the second use of headphones is in vocal booth coz when a singer/rapper sings/rap they have to hear the beats on which they are giving their voice.

Note: U should buy a good pair of headphones as some headphones starts bleeding(sound leaking) when volume is increased so try and search for headphones with thick ear pads which helps preventin leaking.

6) Channel Mixer (optional for beginners)

Well this is something which is important but later...the job of mixer is to mix the different frequencies or sounds which are created during the production process all these knobs which u are seeing helps in panning, increase decrease volume, fade in fade out, lfoz etc. but if u are new to this than try n avoid this for sometime try n use ur inbuilt software mixer which every DAW software contains but if u want to start with everything top of the line than u can buy this beast also.

Note: channel mixer is very helpful in mixing ur sounds manually but if u are more of a digital person than u can mix in ur softwares. This small desk costs a lot so try n spend after thinking...that do u really want it or not.

Important

Try n make ur studio in such a place where there is less disturbance or noise suc as basements,bed rooms,store rooms etc. i will explain the importance of this in my next chapter.

So all these are the equipments and steps which gonna help u in making ur home studio if u follow them.

In my next chapter(updated weekly) m gonna talk about Vocal Booth, acoustic treatment and insulations.

U can have the other necessary info. from the widget blocks on ur left side space.
Dont forgt to join my fan page and get connected

Dj Shiva
Its Not Onli Music Its Wat We live For
X_X

Sunday, 22 May 2011

B.P.M (Beats Per Minute)

As I mentioned in my previous blog (re-mix) that its really imp. to kno the TEMPO or BPM of ur track on which u are working or makin a remix of.

First of all....

What is BPM?

Dont misundastood this term with Business Process Management...lolz

as its nthing to do with this BPM which m talking about.

BPM stands for Beats Per Minute. It means the beat rate on which the song is playing

BPM is counted at 4 beats which goes like this

1...2...3...4...1...2...3...4...1...2...3..4............depending upon the Tempo of the track.

Now the thing which is going through ur mind would be...WHAT THE HELL IS TEMPO?

So lemme tell u dat Tempo is the SPEED of the track on which the track is playing.

it dont require much intro. even u can judge the speed of the track by listening the track as

its playing fast or slow.

BPM and Tempo are one of the same thing

Example : trance music is faster in comparison of RnB or hip hop due to its high tempo

or RnB nd hip hop are faster than classic or country music and vice a versa.

Note : Most hip hop songs' BPMs are in between 88 and 112. Most house songs range in the mid-120 BPM range

If u kno the BPM (beats per minute) u can calculate the tempo.

So there are few easy steps for calculating BPM.

following them u can calculate the BPM of ur tracks by urselves without having any difficulty.

1) Listen to the Drum Beat of the track very carefully

2)Now, look at ur watch and start counting the beats on ur fingures according to the drum pattern for 15 seconds.

(keep on counting all the snare or drum hits with the nod of ur head . Each time u nod count that as one and when u will continously do that u will be doing something like this 1...2...3...4...1...2...3...4...1...2...3...4......

do it for 15 seconds atleast).

3) Calculate ur BPM

Now in those 15 seconds lets say u counted 24 drum hits, which means that if u multiply that by 4 u will kno that how many beats are there in one minute(15seconds x 4 =60 seconds=1 minute) so if u counted till 24 drum hits than the BPM is 96

and if u have counted 36 drum hits in 15 seconds than BPM would be 144 BPM

After calculating ur BPM set ur project according to it and start working on ur track.

Tips :

a) If the track is playing with drum and cymbals than count on cymbal hit as it will be easier.

b)to increase ur accuracy try and count for longer period of time i.e. more than 15 seconds

c) if u are mixing a very old song lets say before 70's or 80's than u will notice that BPM is not constant during the entire song. it goes slightly up and down as drums are played due to live recordings

d)If u play any musical instrument than u must have heard of Metronome by using that u can calculate BPM is seconds using its tap.

e) Most of the DAW's (digital Audio Workstations) or music making softwares have ability to calculate BPM by just one click u can use that also.

Here are few beat tracks. Try n calculate the BPM of these tracks and let me kno

so thats all for now....

if u have missed anything from my previous blog (re-mix) than u can read that again from Archives block (located at left side of my blog)

next time i will discuss about home studio recordings and how to build them.

if u have any questions or queries related this post or previous one just leave a comment and i will revert back soon.

U can join my fanpage and follow me

u will get a free downloadable E-Book on Crash Course In Music Production by joining my Mailing List on my Fan Page

Re-Mix

In this post i will explain the basic ideas which one should keep in mind while making a re-mix or composing a whole new track out of it....
so here are some guidelines which all should keep in mind while composing.....

1) Drum Pattern
U shld be vry selective in ur drum patterns as they r the base of ur beats which u gonna make over them.
Try and listen to various types of drums sounds (eg. snares,claps,cymbals,toms,shakers etc). For beginners
drum Loops will gonna help a lot.
Check this one ( in this re-mix I changed the drum pattern completely as of the original one which gives this track a whole new dimension and vibe)

So be choosy in ur drum sounds as they can convert a normal track into a nice re-mix
making a sound library of ur own will help a lot.

2) Syncing ur Vocals or acapellas into the track

If u are workin on a track which includes vocals than it is very important to sync them in a mixdown
in a mixing process. syncing ur acapella or vocals are really imp. b'coz if vocals are not fitting in ur beats than
it can ruin the whole mix and the track will sound off-beat.
for a good synchronization u should kno that at what tempo or BPM(beats per minute) the track is playing or whats the BPM of an acapella.
(I will explain BPM in my next blog briefly)
Check this one (In this i have made a re-mix of jason deruloz track with completely new beats but a well fitted sync of vocals)

IMPORTANT
If u are working on a non vocal track than also synchronization is important bt in dat case synchronization should be of ur instruments which u are using in ur track.
Like this one.

Note: Its not necessary to use ur vocals as they are used in original track. Try nd experiment with acapellas. u can cut, chop, stutter, reverb, delay or can do any possible effects with vocals of the track but do keep in mind the sync dont let em go off beat.

3) Creating ur instrument patterns
In this one a lil bit of skills are required as its the main crux of the track.
making a nice instrument lines or patters is not an easy job.
For beginners tutorials can help.
but when u get used to it u gonna enjoy it.
when u are creating ur instrument or bass lines try n work in layers for each instrument as u have to listen to ur each pattern many times individually to fit it in ur mix-down.
get updated with the instruments used these days in urban music or plug-ins available out there or on internet.
Note: if u can play any instrument like (guitar,drums,flute,tabla,keyboard or any other instrument it will gonna help a lot in creating the whole body of the track)
Check this one (In this i have used tabla and harmodian plugin as an uplifter keeping the piano keys the main element and crux of the track with some vocals(used reverb and delay to give depth) in the beginning and at the end).

IMPORTANT
Be creative with ur instruments neva hesitate tryin new things. experiment with different sounds try nd develop a sense of music and hearing. Always try nd use various in ur beats and search for the best one.

Note: will explain instrument patters and their importance in my next blog

4) Variation
This is most imp. element for a mixing process and a most important guideline for a music composer as if given importance can make a nice track and if neglected can destroy the complete track.
Variation is something which helps the track in not getting monotonous.
here are few things which u can do in a track for variation
a) try n uplift and downlift the track where possible.
b) insert loops or patters in between for a flavour.
c)search for the longest runnin beat or pattern in many cases its verse or main vocals so in that try n give intervals, put in uplifters,

check this one (in this track of mine i have used violin as an main beat element but to avoid monotonous of the beat i have used gaps and different instrument also just to make the conitnous interest of the listener)

IMPORTANT
variation is very important. dont let ur track to get monotonous at any point . search for the week points and remove them.

So fellas, These are the some basics of music making which one should keep in my mind.
If u have any questions/queries or want to ask anything jus leave a comment and i will revert back to u soon.

Note:Keep in mind
its not all. Its jus an overview. i will talk about it in depth in my next blog updates every week

U can join my page on Facebook(get regular updates and get connected)
Dj Shiva

well..
Thats all for today...
will come back soon with new things and topics to discuss on music production.