Writing a melody

What is a melody? A melody is a series of notes played together that when it is heard you can distinguish a starting point a middle point and an ending point.

first off it is important you end on the same note you start on. for example if you take the C scale and you start on the note C make sure that you end on a C note

5 melody creation steps

1- Pick a scale (different scales have different moods. for example the C scale is very bright and happy sounding)

2-Start on your root note

3- Move up or down from your root("home") note. which is the note you start on. most often the first note of a scale.

4-Pause to Create Tension

5-Resolve (find your way back to the root note)

-Keep jumps to a minimum (dont take big steps throughout the scale) try to move in smaller steps. (you can jump to the 5th and the octave above or below)

-Also try creating atleast an 8 bar melody or add a lot of variations because a 4 bar melody on and on would be really boring. That is if we are talking about an instrumental if it has a singer try building on the voice without crushing it

-keep it simple(dont make it to busy)

-repititon helps make it catchy and easy to remember!

Hope this helps

Mixing and Mastering your recordings

You've finished recording tracks on your computer-based digital audio workstation (DAW) and you're pleased with the performances. Now you must mix and master the tracks before they can reach their full sonic potential.

Professional studios have a distinct advantage due to the experience of their engineers, but attempting it yourself can be a valuable learning experience.

Listen to all of the tracks in your song with a critical ear. Be ruthless and decide which parts are essential to the effectiveness of the song and which are not. Just because you went to the trouble of recording a part doesn't mean it belongs in the mix. Focus on the parts that best serve the song and eliminate the rest and you'll get better results from your mixdown efforts.


Work on the stereo image by panning tracks. Resist the temptation to simply boost the levels of tracks that are not clear in the mix; their volume may not be the problem. It may be that their frequencies are meshing with other instruments in the same part of the stereo field. A gradual panning of the part in question is often all that is necesary to bring it out of the shadows.

Pan the drums to form a natural stereo image of the kit from the audience's perspective, with the kick and snare in the center, the hi-hat slightly to the right and the overhead mics panned hard left and right. Bring in the bass guitar and adjust the level until you have a tight-sounding rhythm section. Then you can add guitars and vocals to taste.


Equalize (EQ) your parts, picking the most essential ingredients of the song and working on those first. When it comes to EQ, less is definitely more. Rather than boosting frequencies to attain the desired clarity, cutting troublesome frequencies is usually a safer bet. Remember that the lower frequencies gobble up headroom, so cut them whenever possible. For example, low frequencies are more important to a bass guitar, so why leave them on guitar tracks where they can overlap and muddy the mix?


Add effects to your tracks, but do it sparingly. Like EQ, a little reverb, delay and compression go a long way. A good rule is to add the effect until it sounds good to you, and then roll it back a little. Overusing effects processors can take the life out of the mix very quickly. Reverbs tend to reduce the presence of a track, and compression squashes the dynamic range, so what initially sounds good may end up giving you ear fatigue in the long run.


Don't let the mixdown session run too long. When your ears tire after you've been listening for too long, it becomes counter-productive. You're better off burning a rough mix to a CD-R and taking a break. Spend a day or two listening to it on different systems, noting things that you don't like. When you go back to do a final mix, you'll have a better idea about what you want to achieve.


Onceyou're happy with the mix, it's time to master your collection of songs by taking these recordings with varying moods, styles and tonal character, and making them into a cohesive-sounding album. You'll do this by making sure that levels are consistent throughout and that the spacing between songs and the fades of songs feel natural and unhurried. You may also want to add a little compression to the overall mix to give it a little polish and sheen. There are many mastering software suites available to help you accomplish this. Two favorites of home recordists are "Izotope" and "T-Racks."

The use of Headphonescan be helpful when identifying troublesome parts of a mix or making edits, but when you're fine tuning a mix, you should use studio monitor speakers. Headphones can greatly color the sound of a mix and can lead to unpleasant surprises when listening to mixes on audio systems. Take extra care when tracking. Making sure that the signal you're recording sounds great when it's being recorded can save you from headaches at the mixing and mastering stage. Give copies of your mixes to trusted friends for critical feedback. When you're very close to a musical project, it can be difficult to be objective. Often, a fresh set of ears can really help. If you're really considering releasing your project as a CD, consider paying a mastering house to master it for you. It's not an overly expensive option, and it may really enhance the sound of your album. Mastering is an art unto itself--a skill that takes years of experience to perfect. While attempting it yourself may work for a demo project, a release that you intend to sell will benefit from the work of someone experienced in this specialized business. Another upside is that you can sit in on the mastering session and learn about the process.

Don't try to save money by using cheap CDs to make your master recording. Use the highest qualityCD-R's you can find to make your master disc. If you will be using a replicator and duplicator to manufacture CDs, you want the master to be as error-free as possible.

Thank you http://www.ehow.com/how_4798310_mix-master-music.html

EQ an Compression

There's no hidden secret to getting a good sound, but if we had to sum up the secret of mixing in two words it would be this - EQ and compression. Okay that’s three words.

These are probably the two most important tools used by professional producers. However, like any tools, if you don't know how to use them you'll be carving Habitat tables instead of Chippendale chairs.

That's where your ears and experience come in. Here we have assembled some production ideas, suggestions, tips and tricks but they can only be guidelines and need to be adapted to suit your material. There are no presets you can switch in to make a bad recording sound good. And if your original material has been poorly recorded not even Abbey Road could salvage your mix. But follow these suggestions and see how much your mixes improve.

How to DJ - Tips & Tricks

To learn to DJ can be one of the most rewarding and fun careers in the marketplace today.

You can turn your hobby into a full-time, in demand job if you know what steps to take and more importantly what to avoid when you are just starting out.

If you are ready to begin your journey, keep reading...

THE TIPS AND TRICKS

· Start out small and practice mixing with vinyl records and cd's before you jump out in front of a crowd.
· Listen to your sessions to see what areas you need to improve on. Be your own best critic.
· Do take requests for songs; it is definitely a crowd pleaser.
· As you are studying different genres of music (this is a must) focus your attention on the songs that are danceable. The reason being is that these are the tunes that the majority of your audience will be familiar with.
· Consider jumping on the YouTube bandwagon and downloading music videos to the most popular songs you plan to play.
· Most venues will have a projector that you can attach to your laptop as well as a blank screen you can use to really get the crowd into it.
· You must be charismatic and full of energy when you learn to DJ. Your #1 goal is to lead the crowd and get them excited. The bottom line here is this: If you lack charisma, you'll lose the crowd.
· You have to be able to feed off the energy the audience is putting out. For example, if the energy seems to be fading, it will be up to you to step it up a notch and keep the crowd entertained.
· To make things easier, separate different styles but putting them in different sections. Let me explain what I mean...you could play slow jams during the opening of the event, during the time when everyone is eating, and at the end.
· Up-beat songs should be played at the middle of the party or event to keep the energy flowing.
· Be creative and come up with a memorable name for yourself. Something people can easily latch on to.

WARNINGS!

· Remember where you are when you are learning how to become a DJ...for instance, never play lots of up tempo, hard rock songs at a wedding or slow love songs for a child's party.
· Remember that people will come to the DJ booth to request songs, so in order to protect your gear, keep it above shoulder height. This way you won't have to worry about spills and food ruining your equipment.
· Stay clear of running other DJ's into the ground. This could be the most valuable lesson you receive as you learn how to be a dj. You may leave a bad taste in the mouth of partygoers and prevent you from booking future gigs.
· Come up with you own style, and never steal another DJ's way of doing things. Even though they say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" you do not want to take this route as a DJ.
· Avoid trying to pump up the crowd when they are eating. This is a time for conversation and relaxing.

Finding the perfect opportunity to mix out of a dance track is a no brainer. The reason being, the breakdown in the record is obvious. The trick is learning how to count. Counting gives you a clear picture of where to place your mix along with the other record you are planning to mix into.

Let me explain what I mean. For example, you would count in this way: 1,2,3,4 - 2,2,3,4 - 3,2,3,4 - 4,2,3,4.

Listen carefully to the tune of the first song being played on the dance floor, be prepared to cue the song that you intend to beat match through your headphones on the other turntable. Your goal here is to begin the second song on it's first beat as the first song is heading towards its outro section.

This is the place where you are going to beat match to the songs. Your hand will need to stay on the pitch of the tune that you are introducing while at the same time matching the drum beats of each song. If you want to speed up or slow down the tune you are working to introduce, simply adjust the pitch.

Now at this point you will need to use both hands - one to adjust the speed of the incoming song - the other to adjust the volume of the mixer. You'll gradually slide the cross fader from one tune to the other. Essentially you are decreasing the volume of the first song while increasing the volume of the second song. And just like that, the change from track to another is complete.



As you are considering these basic principles that teach you how to DJ mix music, you recognize that you can become a pro at mixing your music. You will practice what you've learned here. Right?

Books on music Production

I am often asked where I learned stuff, other than real world experience, alot of perosnal experimentation, many many mistakes, and magazines, I read actual books. I figured I would share some of my favorite books on production. I have all of these and highly recommend them.