Hit a Brick Wall

Hey all, New to the music production game, I have managed to get the drum loops sorted but now I have no clue where to go or do next, Using ableton live 8, tried following some tutorials but unable to find how to’s for dance/trance and not quite got the cash to splash on the tutorials/courses on here.



can anyone point me in the right direction to allow me to progress a little further.



all advice is much appreciated.



Thanks;)

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (20/12/2011)[hr]Hey all, New to the music production game, I have managed to get the drum loops sorted but now I have no clue where to go or do next, Using ableton live 8, tried following some tutorials but unable to find how to’s for dance/trance and not quite got the cash to splash on the tutorials/courses on here.



can anyone point me in the right direction to allow me to progress a little further.



all advice is much appreciated.



Thanks;)[/quote]



if you have a drum loop done i would start working on a bassline. if you like trance do as much research as you can on chords and chord progressions.:slight_smile:

you can search youtube as there is tons of free tutorials on there. my advice would be try not to force it mate, take your time :cool: make shed loads of drum loops if you have too. it comes together gradually!:wink:

[quote]Mussi81 (20/12/2011)[hr]you can search youtube as there is tons offree tutorialson there. my advice would be try not to force it mate, take your time :cool: make shed loads of drum loops if you have too. it comes together gradually!;)[/quote]



What he said. Stop stressing about it and keep experimenting and having fun!



Sometimes the best thing to do when you got a great loop working together is save it, then move it to the end of your arrangement. Once you’ve done this, load a template track you like into track one and mute it. Now from the waveform you can see the arrangement to follow.



Build your track 8bars at a time using your loop material as your palette of sounds. Usually I end up taking the sounds I’ve created in a whole new direction using this method of working. It can be quite liberating.

Youtube is your friend…

Trust me when you say this you think youve hit a brick wall but subconsciously your still developing. Its felt like I have hit that Brick Wall myself for about 3 months now yet if I listen to anything I do new it sounds MUCH better than what I was doing back then.



In the meantime if it is worrying you just chill out, it doesnt hurt to take it slowly, just do things slowly day by day.

Just think about the genre you want to make and start thinking about whats most important in those tracks and start working on that element.

As Willidaniel said if your interested in trance start learning Chord Progressions and more about Melodies.

We all hit brickwalls in our productions so don’t sweat - I personally do something completely different for a while - sometimes even days - then return to the project and if I don’t like it i scrape it



Make endless basslines is a good idea where your at now - just keep at it and remember it is supposed to be fun :):cool:

Top advice guys and is much appreciated, I have been on youtube looking for videos and found some really helpful ones, which got me started with the drum loops using impulse, but trying to find other videos and try and piece it all together is a bit tougher, i am a complete noob at this and only ever used Ejay few years back.



my library is very much basic and not much to go on, hence why i have hit a brick wall, I know what i want to do, its just guidance that i need, i know it takes time, that i can handle.



bottom line is…i have no idea how to work ableton live 8 from impulse onwards lol, I am not looking for someone to hold my hand, just some visual guides and advice from you guys who have vast experience in this game.



I was looking at the peak time trance course and wondered if its for me or a bit advanced at this stage?:ermm:

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (21/12/2011)[hr]
bottom line is…i have no idea how to work ableton live 8 from impulse onwards …

I was looking at the peak time trance course and wondered if its for me or a bit advanced at this stage?:ermm:[/quote]

It is probably too advanced for you. But the peak time trance course costs £34.99, or you can buy the silver pass which gives you access to all the vids for 3 months for the same cost.

Do a few of the beginner courses to learn Ableton then do the peak time trance before the 3 months is up.

^^ yes



You’re already at the right place to learn more about Live and production. The silver pass is the best investment you can make.

ok so I have subscribed…now what lol



how do i update my library with new vst etc, the library is very basic and need more material, aslo trying to activate my plug-in folder and it brings up the preferences, again being so new to this I have no idea what to do.

This website is not going to provide you with new VST’s or Samples is it?



Anyways, Ableton should have everything you need.

Its got a FM and Subtractive Synthesizer, a good Sampler could Simpler (I never use Sampler, just Simpler myself but if you have the upgraded one you can go for Sampler as well which is apparently better).

Its got FANTASTIC Effects VST’s, its Reverb, Compressor and EQ are all good for DAW Provided plugins.

Outside of that I dont think you need anything else?



Me I use Vengeance Samples, NI Massive, Ableton and Ozone and thats it.

Ableton does pretty much everything I need.



Vengeance Samples I use cause I dont personally like Abletons Packaged Samples but they are good enough for starting with.



I use Massive cause its my favourite synth but Abletons Operator and its other synths are actually really good if you spend the time on them.



Ozone I use for Mastering, but again if you use Abletons Saturator, Limiter, Compressor and EQ you should be just fine for mastering as well.



Dont go looking for other VST’s and Samples just yet, get comfortable with what is provided first.

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (21/12/2011)[hr]ok so I have subscribed…now what lol



how do i update my library with new vst etc, the library is very basic and need more material, aslo trying to activate my plug-in folder and it brings up the preferences, again being so new to this I have no idea what to do.[/quote]





Watch and work through the beigineers guide to music production and beginners guide to Ableton 6 (don’t worry if you are using 8).


[quote]phoenixoftheflames (21/12/2011)[hr]ok so I have subscribed…now what lol

how do i update my library with new vst etc, the library is very basic and need more material, aslo trying to activate my plug-in folder and it brings up the preferences, again being so new to this I have no idea what to do.[/quote]

Are you subscribed where you have access to all the tutorials at the moment?  If so, the song building tutorials have sample files to learn on.  There are some good samples (kicks, hats, etc) in those. 

But what Ant said.  You need to go through the basics first before jumping into the song creation tutorials.  It takes time and practice to get comfortable with Ableton in the beginning.   

[quote]slender (21/12/2011)[hr] remember it is supposed to be fun :):cool:[/quote]

+1

also try to watch the music theory vids. trust me you will need it going forward and the entry level theory vids are really good on here.

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (21/12/2011)[hr]ok so I have subscribed…now what lol



how do i update my library with new vst etc, the library is very basic and need more material, aslo trying to activate my plug-in folder and it brings up the preferences, again being so new to this I have no idea what to do.[/quote]



Keep the library basic for now! You’re going to be tempted by every synth and effect under the stars, but it’s not a good idea to load yourself up in the beginning. I suggest trying out the Sylenth1 demo. It’s an easy synth to learn and not something you’ll outgrow for quite some time. Live comes with everything else you need right now.



Loops can be had for free, at least to practice with: http://www.looperman.com/



Pick up a few issues of Computer Music magazine, too. Loads of goodies included with each disc.

Excellent guys, very helpful going to get practising and I’ll let you know how I get on and hopefully I will be closer to making my first ever track



Cheers

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (22/12/2011)[hr]Excellent guys, very helpful going to get practising and I’ll let you know how I get on and hopefully I will be closer to making my first ever track

Cheers[/quote]

Godspeed :cool:

[quote]phoenixoftheflames (22/12/2011)[hr]Excellent guys, very helpful going to get practising and I’ll let you know how I get on and hopefully I will be closer to making my first ever track

Cheers[/quote]

Delete your porn :smiley:

[quote]ICN (22/12/2011)[hr]



Delete your porn :D[/quote]



Where would all his inspiration come from then!? :hehe: