INTRODUCTION:
In the past I've pretty much taken a "by the gut, seat of the pants" approach to writing songs. Which has worked OK, but I notice some songs are a struggle because I'm doing things out of order which causes the frustration, and causes me to end up doing and redoing things over and over.
As evidenced by this entire blog, I am a person who writes to think. Writing for me refines my ideas and makes me analyze things a bit closer.
As such, I write this installment as a form of self help. And, possibly it can help someone else (If anyone ever reads this). I'm compiling this list like a recipe, to achieve the most efficient flow, and hopefully arrive at the end faster, with maybe even better results. But keep in mind, the best chefs don't use recipes - they've done it so much they know the process, the best ingredients, and what works. Hopefully, some day I'll get to that level. Meanwhile ...
It must be said that this is my usual method. It is certainly not the only way to compose a song, and it may not work for you. (or for me in every case since it may churn out the same type song everytime). As with all learning and creativity it's best to experiment and improvise within and outside the basics to find what works or pleases.
STAGE 1. THEME, STRUCTURE, & MUSIC:
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A. First determine in a general sense what the song is going to be about - message and mood. Deciding this will influence the kind of musical choices you make, and guide those decisions while writing (Tempo, Key, Instrumentation, Progression, Beat, etc).
B. With your theme in mind, consider the general outline/arc of the song as for energy levels and moods. Use markers in your project to define the outline of the song (this is not hard set at this point but helps you focus later. Set the meter. Set the tempo, and tempo changes if any.
C. Make the music. Play with musical ideas to come up with a riff. Establish the riff (chorus, verse, intro, bridge). Use themes, motifs, cadences, etc to play off the first riff...let riffs play on riffs. Try to structure chordal progressions and melodies to each section's mood, using strong and weak progressions. Write good transitional builds ups and let downs, and low and high energy sections to accomplish the intended arc of the song, and category of the section. Unless you've got a killer rhythmic idea, or the crux of the riff is rhythmic, don't worry about, or invest too much in the rhythm section at this point. Use a basic beat, unless a basic beat or click is getting in the way. Rhythms will be refined later to match the vocals section energy , and melodic rhythms which all better refine the feel of the song as far as what the drums/percussion should be doing.
STAGE 2. LYRICS/SINGING:
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A. With your theme in mind, establish a rough vocal melodic outline using the Jibbersih technique ... feel free to play with it and do multiple versions to find the best melody - then pick and mix what pleases/works. The jibbersih method concentrates more on the melodic content and how the sounds of vowel and consonant fit, as well how their syllables/rhythms fit. The actual words are unimportant at this stage, but you will find that with a theme in mind you end up singing or hearing words in the jibber. This may be a neat trick happening, calling up subconscious magic.
B. Using the theme and jibberish write the lyrics (see Poetry & Lyrics 101 blog). Caveat - don't let the jibberish get you stuck - the words don't have to have the same cadence, sonority, or syllables. It is only a rough baseline. Expressing the idea is more important - BUT be careful not to break the jibberish "feel" with clumsy words, esp if you're really diggin the feel of it. This is where your words skills become important - your lexicon.
C. Once you have lyrics, have a rough go at singing the lyrics through the section to make sure they work. This will further refine the phrasing and timing of the jibberish and possibly force the inclusion, exclusion, modification or replacement of certain words. It's imperative that you record this in a rough take once you've ironed it out. This will preserve how words are pronounced, placed, and sung rhythmically, as well as vocal techniques. Also, it's good to note the lyric changes in your written lyrics at this point. I find it helpful to solo the bass and drums and main harmony when laying down vocals both here and the final stage. You should basically mute anything that is distracting, and solo anything that is helpful.
D. Leave it at this point and move on to production - choices made there may change what you've laid down here (timings, word choices, adding or subtracting). Vocals are the last stage of production ... Harmonies are actually the last stage, BUT, as always, if at any point you're hearing a killer harmony, or something magic - lay down a rough take of it of course.
STAGE 3, PRODUCTION:
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A. Iron out transitions between sections so they work. Evaluate each part against the other key elements. The key elements are usually Drums, Bass, and the main Harmony (chordal) instrument(s). This is done to get rid of conflicts (harmonies, rhythms, phrasings). Evaluate if each section is "working" - is that intro working? Should I try a new one, or maybe just kill the bass until the drums hit full tilt?
B. Instrumentation - be critical of your song at this point as far as instruments used - is that kick really working (This may be fixable in the mix stage). Is that the right bass sound? Is that the best bass line? Does my drum track work in this section? Does it push or compliment the song/bass/musical rhythms? Should I add some strings at this part? Is this instrument line conflicting with my vocals? Is what's going on in this section meeting my "energy level - mood" map? (stage1)
C. Somewhat B related, but don't be afraid to take stuff out, change it, replace it, or add things at this point. This is still a compositional stage.
D. Now you have vocals evaluate how they work with the instrumentation - and be flexible to change either - but keep in mind, most people listen primarily to vocals. Most my decisions here are made against the instrument, and toward the vocal. Some of these conflicts can be fixed in the mix (panning, EQ, Volume)
E. Now you have vocals they define better the feel or energy of the song. Use this to make beat/rhythmic/energy decisions. This is the point where I "produce" the drum track, add percussion, alter kick/snare patterns to fit the section. Add builds. let downs and fills within section transitions, etc.
F. Solo the Bass and drums and run it through to make sure they're working together - refine as needed.
G. Solo the bass and drums with the main harmony "carrier" in the song and do the same as in F. - refine as needed
H. Solo each "flourish" and melodic instrument against these three key elements (Drums, Bass, Main Harmony Instr) - refine as needed.
I. Solo "flourish" instruments against each other - - refine as needed.
J. Once everything is working musically - record your finished vocal - then harmonies if any.
STAGE 4, MIXING:
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Some rough mixing will always take place in the previous steps but should be confined to setting rough volume levels.
The 3 elements of mixing are Volume levels (sliders and pan), Frequency zones (EQ), and Presence/Placement (Panning, Volume, Reverb)
1. Volume:
Volume determines how forward or present a sound is to the listener. What you want to showcase should be among the key elements (vocals, drums, bass, main chordal instrument), even allowed to eclipse them if needed. This goes back to stage 3, but one way to feature an element is to reduce the others, either by volume or activity(note frequencies)
Compression - taming the volume dynamics. I typically only compress Main Vocals, Drums - Kick and Snare, and Bass. As these have the widest dynamic range. This constrains the volume level of the instrument and tames it into a tighter range. This is a problem especially with vocals as most vocalists don't have a volume knob you can set, and tend to get louder with high notes and don't remember to close in or back off the mic appropriately. It's also a problem with a live drummer and even a MIDI drum set or MIDI Bass with a wide Velocity -> volume setting. Live Bassists can get a bit over excited at times in the song as well.
I usually set the volume of the bass and drums soloed to get a baseline and then mix around those. leaving them set. Vocals are usually mixed (volume wise) last to put them “on top”. It's important to watch gain staging at this point so that you're not clipping the master bus. If so play the song through to see your clip level and note it. Then link all the output channels (group) and slide them all down by the db amount you noted (make sure you have no limiter or maximizer on the main while doing this). Play it through again – you most likely will need to push them up a bit as the volume of all the tracks is a composite. Turning them all down at once is usually and undershoot. The objective here is to get the level 0.3-0.6db below clipping.
Although I mention volume first, it is actually the first and the last step in mixing – I get generally good mix on volume levels then move on, and do the final volume mix once EQ and Panning and FX are set.
2. Frequency:
Most sounds have a predominant frequency span. Kick and Bass are low, Vocals, guitar, piano are middlish, and cymbals are high as well as some other instruments. The gotcha here is synth sounds. They can be anywhere, and are typically everywhere. A lot of synth sounds are tricky in this area because preset designers and synth manufacturers want their sounds to be WOW! This makes you more likely to be impressed and buy them! Which usually means they hog all the frequency and are awash in reverb and delay (which often muddy a mix)
Psycho-acoustically - High frequencies feel more forward and high spatially, and low ones more distant and low spatially ... but that leads us to Presence. Where is sit/appears spatially in the mix.
3. Presence/Placement (FX) - Time & Space:
Time:
Note Frequency - As said in 1, the number of notes occurring within a span of time make that instrument seem more present. A repeating 8th-16th note bass line is more in your face, then a note held for a bar.
FX - Another time factor are time fx - Reverb and Delay since they spread the event out in time making it feel more present - BUT a reverb also softens the sound making it feel more distant (space) - so it's more there but perceived as more distant - if that makes any sense. Delays can also fill time because of repeating notes that clutter the space, making that instrument more present. Dry (unFX'd) sounds feel very forward in space. But now where getting into space.
Space:
Panning - In my opinion main vocals, bass and drums (kick and snare) should ALWAYS be centered. Harmonies are best panned, as well as flourish instruments. One of the best ways (besides setting complimentary EQ zones) to tame conflicting instruments is to separate them with panning. Panning will also reduce volume (unless compensated for by a panning algorithm), so you'll likely need to adjust the volume when panning.
As mentioned earlier - frequency can affect the perceived position in space.
As a mixer it is usually desired to fill ALL the available space - but to do so judiciously without conflicts (MUD) - this is the definition of a good mix - everything is cleanly heard and present in its own space without conflict.
Mudslingers:
Too much reverb on any sound can mud it up and ruin the clarity/sharpness of the sound - also reverb on everything is usually a bad choice - Different reverb settings on tracks can make for mud and ruin cohesion (You typically want your song sounding like it's all coming from the same acoustical space)
Too much delay - delay on things where it is imperceptible makes only mud. If you use delay make sure it's working and necessary.
Sound FX which hog large swaths of frequency. The use of Phasers, Flangers, Chorus and Unison FX fatten a sound and spread it wider in the mix. Evaluate the use of these and if they're really necessary to the sound as they will make the sound more of a frequency hog.
Too much happening at once - Sound FX, rythmic notes (arpeggios & gates), delay echoes, melodic flourish parts, or note frequencies, especially drum and bass notes.
Too much of a good thing - One frequent violator - at least for me is bass - anything too loud can squash out other frequencies - since bass is usually so full, constantly plucked, and/or played legato and prolonged it does a good job of muddying if too loud or not EQ'ed (low passed, and pulling the midrange down to give the other instruments room).
I usually try to carve out space between the Kick and the bass to give each a prominent zone in the low end to keep them from trampling each other and muddying up the low end.
The best way to rid a mix of mud is to define(carve out) their frequency space with EQ without removing the essence of the sound - for example EQ a bass enough and they all sound pretty much the same - you've lost the much of the defining character.
Stage 5, Mastering:
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Mastering is something that is done to the entire track – if you're doing anything anywhere else but on the master output buss you are mixing – not mastering.
Mastering is done to put the finish on the whole mix and to make the song the same volume level as other songs you've written, or average mainstream songs.
Mastering involves the three basic concepts of punchy, shiny, and loud.
Punchy = Compression, at this point a multiband compressor is preferred to isolate compression levels within determined frequency bands (usually 4-band)
Shiny = EQ. This step usually involves taming or boosting each band (Low, Middle High) to achieve the desired overall frequency spectrum of the song. You can also use exciters here, but I have never done so.
Loud = Maximizer, Limiters – These FX push up the volume while limiting it so it won't clip – if overused it actually squashes the sound making it feel loud, but distorted and muddy.
SOME FINAL COMMENTS:
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Happy Accidents: During each step in the process there are almost always stumbled upon magical moments - when they happen RECORD THEM - GET THEM IN ASAP. For example - Often when editing a midi part with the transport playing, or moving a midi event or note to the wrong place I hear some magic. Sometimes when listening to a section I hear lyrics/vocal FX/melodies. I keep the notepad open in my project to jot them down, or make note of the idea (like "use a jungle sound in this section, or add a vocal effect to that line), or record a sudden melody idea either by using a midi keyboard or recorded vocally. Some people can notate it, but not me. Notation can lose timing and groove nuances too.
Regarding Happy Accidents, if something is just not floating your boat – experiment, you're bound to stumble upon something you like better or that drives the song or part in another direction.
Be Flexible: Obviously these stages are not hard-set, for example you could start a song with only lyrics or a melody. The steps within each stage are even less rigid. Just like a recipe, it is all meant as a general outline to guide an efficient sequence of events.
Most of all this recipe is meant to avoid wasted time doing things out of order which later will either be thrown out or changed - for example don't spend too much time mixing when you haven't decided on all your instruments and sounds or haven't even got the vocals on or finished. Don't start producing the song until you've worked out its general structure from start to end. Most likely you'll be doing it again if you do it in the wrong order, just like a cook must chuck the botched batter and start over.
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