Tempest (Dreaming of Nightmares)

And so it has arisen! The hardest hitting song to-date of my new EP, Legacy, which I still plan for a release sometime in January of 2013:

Soundcloud absolutely REFUSED to upload a good version of my song, so I had to put it on youtube instead.

The track isn't completed, but you can listen to my fully amped song as it is now! I plan on making a few other mixes, renaming them the subheading "Dreaming of Nightmares" on the other tracks. I might even put up the multi-track single up on iTunes when I get it all going together. My only plans are to re-vamp the drums in it, otherwise it's pretty dead on.

As for the music progress, I've been visiting some different tutorials for dubstep sounds, so don't be alarmed if the next tracks turn out a little more... dubstep than usual.

Website address and updated design

The bad news is www.superlooper.com is taken and is up for auction. I don't have the cash nor the time to boggle with the address, so the good news is I've chosen a new one.

My "mock" production company was going to be called "Powered by SuperLooper," so I took the address www.poweredbysuperlooper.com. In addition, I'll have a quick mock-up logo for this mock production company in the next day or two. It kind of works out since I'm (obviously) unsigned, so I can work under this mock label until further notice.

Here is a screenshot of the "Store" section I've been working on for my website:

Nothing is permanent, but so far iTunes will be one of the music distribution sites I'll use. I may also consider beatport and some others down the road. Also, Zazzle is a store that can generate random products, such as shirts, jackets, mousepads and etc. products I can throw out there. Again, nothing is permanent in terms of stores, but this the basic layout I've made. When the time comes, I'll re-group the stores into smaller bars to accommodate more online stores.

Also, since the website is centered, I'm thinking about adding a "Gig List" section to the left side, to list off any upcoming gigs I may have (if and when the time comes for that)!

After the next couple of days, I'll probably put the website on the back burner so that I can continue finishing "Tempest" and begin new tracks. None of this will matter if I don't make any music worth buying!

The Social Bar

Nothing new on the music front, but I decided to work on my website a little bit. I designed what I'm calling "the social bar:"

(Click picture to enlarge)

Basically, at the bottom of my website, you can click on the four links to go to my "social outlets." In addition, I have the two major components of my music production; more of a shout-out and... it looks cool!

As for the website itself, I've ran into two problems.

First, the website "www.superlooper.com" is already taken. this means that I'll have to either bid (which I don't have the money in the $200 range to bid on a domain) so this means I'll have to go with something like "www.officialsuperlooper.com," which is kind of lame. I've got a couple other links I'm thinking of, but we'll see.

Second, I'm designing this whole site in Photoshop then rendering it in Flash Catalyst. I've never done this before, so I'm really kind of hoping it works out (and looks good when I'm done).

I'm looking forward to completing "Tempest," which happens to be the first track I've produced that I thoroughly enjoy listening to! It's great when a plan starts to come together. If you want to listen, you can click here (or, click the song title, your call).

Web Design and Tempest Extended

I've extended my Tempest song, but I've come to the all-to-familiar music barrier, so here's what I've done and I'll continue it another day: SuperLooper - Tempest (Extended Sample) (Click Here)

Also, I've started the design of my website:

It's just a prototype, but any progress is good progress. Not much else to report.

Tempest Sample

I built a template in Ableton for my music creation. This allows me to have pre-loaded song design so I don't have to waste time re-building the same sections I always do.

Worked on a new sample:

SuperLooper - Tempest (Sample) (Click Here)

I'm loving the way it sounds, but I'm not quite sure if it's really a club song. In fact, a few of the samples I've recently made don't sound like club music. The original title was "Dreaming of Nightmares" but I thought "Tempest" was cooler. I've been naming songs with three worded titles also, which oddly bothers me. Anyways, enjoy.

New Equipment and an Actual Video

It's been a while since I've jumped into the blog. Been really busy, but now I plan on being really busy with music.

To catch up, I've made an entire new song. It's not great and it's not edited, so I'm not posting it up at the moment.

I did, however, buy some new hardware; the MPD18. It's a basic Controller that's lightweight and uses power off my laptop. My APC40 still doesn't get used, but when I get more serious about performance, it'll be the navigator controller; it will serve it's purpose!

I'd post a picture of the controller, but you can actually watch it in action on my first video!

 

(If you can't hear what I'm playing towards the beginning, it's probably because your speakers are cutting off the low frequency sounds I'm producing. I can't hear it at all on my macbook speakers, but my headset is just fine)

It's no Skrillex, but I took a simple sample I made from Massive & Ableton and I cut it up and turned my MPD18 into a note pad. I took the drum sample from my other full song that I've yet to post. I'm also getting used to hitting notes in the right time (something I'm not good at, yet).  I also made a youtube page, "officialsuperlooper" and I'm currently making a facebook page, so people can follow the page instead of my actual page.

Z.A.C (Zombie Apocalypse Crew)

New song sample:

Z.A.C (Zombie Apocalypse Crew) - Demo Sample (Click Here)

The sound was inspired my road trip to Kansas City to see Dieselboy in concert. While we drove up, we called ourselves the "Zombie Apocalypse Crew" in case we were the last ones alive.

I'm also going to an Ableton class tomorrow with Dj Aleve. I hurried this sample up as a tribute to what I've learned over the last couple weeks.

I'm also working on an actual facebook page so I can post all these articles to people who actually want to read them. More of the song to come within the next day or two.

Limitless Sample Remix

For the past week I've been working on DJ effects and mapping them to my APC40 controller. My friend, Thomas Clough aka theping781, took me over to meet a couple real DJ's, Dj Aleve and Marcobiotics. Aleve showed me some stuttering effects called loop rolls. I learned how to do that and some other stuff. Here is a sample remix of what I used a couple of DJ effects on:

theping781 - Limitless (Sample Remix)

I'd post the whole song, but I didn't really do a whole lot to it. Instead, I posted the most interesting snippet with the the most effects used. Perhaps if I do more later, I'll repost the whole song. Here is what the module looks like:

To the left is the 8 custom mapped knobs, and to the right are all the effects "grouped" into the effects panel that make it work. Pretty snazzy stuff!

Also went up to Kansas City with Tom and his DJ friends and saw Dieselboy. The concert was epic, and loud!

I've been trying to learn how to put effects on what is called "dummy tracks." This allows you to map out effects onto keys and process a song through "dummy tracks" that feed into the master output. It's one way to create clean effects that are mapped to keys instead of knobs. Unfortunately, the tutorials I've seen lately are super vague on how to do this. For DJ effects, I've been laying out the same track side-by-side, and using the crossfader to quickly switch to the track that doesn't have effects on it. I've not seen anyone do this in any tutorials, so that can't be the right way to do it...

After I'm done playing around with the effects and learning more live performance tricks, I'll go back to making another song. I like to figure out how all this stuff works, that way when I go to a new track, I can apply everything I've learned. The next song will be heavy on loop rolls!

Legacy (Full Demo)

I've finally turned Legacy into a full track! I'll probably go back sometime and re-master it, but for now, here is the full song:

SuperLooper - Legacy (Click Here)

I made this song, then I went back and used a tool called "Redux." It's what is giving the sound various harsh tones:

 

Also, this is what the automation looks like for two of my synth lines:

Pretty crazy stuff! I still want to add voice sampling in this clip. I'm going to have a robotic voice repeating "Legacy" then using the vocoder tool to make it sound cool. We'll see how that goes.

I'll probably work on another track, maybe starting Saturday/Sunday. I want to have six (good) songs by January 2013. I'm still having to learn a lot just to make them sound mediocre, so we'll see how that deadline goes.

Legacy Demo used in MW3 Clip

So, while working on my latest track, I decided to take a break and play some MW3 online. Then I decided to render a clip of me playing some oldschool MW2 style gameplay from during my game time. THEN I decided "Hey, this clip is about the same length as my latest sample."

TickleMeMatt Plays Oldschool (MW2 Style)

Sounds pretty legit! Also, that is an updated sample from my previous blog. I added some detail to the synth line and cleared up some of that bass.

Legacy Demo Sample

Behold! The first song created on my new Macbook Pro:

 

Super Looper - Legacy (Demo Sample)

This is the first sample I've created on the new laptop. So far, the only frustration is that the screen is pretty small to be working in Ableton. All the other programs I use, like Photoshop, are perfect on the smaller screen. Oh well, something I'll have to get used to.

Legacy is the name of the EP and the name of the first song on it! So far I'm pretty happy with the progress. Now I need to make it quicker to the "punch," and finish the song up.

Working in 3D

Haven't playing with the music in a week. I will be changing that tomorrow night! I need to reload all my drum samples onto my new macbook pro. I feel a little disappointed I haven't created a new sample in a week.

Here's just a quick screenshot as to what I've been working on:

I already made a 3D logo before, but I've found simpler ways of designing 3D stuff. This is more of a demonstration of my current design progress than anything else. I still want to make it better than my previous design, but we'll see soon enough. Thanks to Nick Bishop for showing me some stuff about photoshop and the macbook pro!

Updated 3D Logo

I spent my time today learning 3D design basics. Here is my basic 3D design:

The colors are decent, but the extrude, or the part that goes back and is a grey color, just doesn't pop enough for me. I want it to be more of a metallic silver color. Again, here is the logo I'm trying to simulate:

It's all shiny and "metallic'y" looking! I've got a ways to go to learn that kind of 3D shading, especially since 3D rendering is pretty slow.

My progress has also hit a speed bump because I'm still adjusting to the Macbook Pro. I am liking the photoshop work on this laptop so far though, 3D is something I couldn't do on any other PC I have. When I'm done with other work-related projects, I will make my first sample on my macbook! Until then, I'll be playing around with my logo.

Super Looper Logo & Album Name

I haven't worked on music much at all this week as I've been busy setting up my new Macbook Pro. So far, it's been a cultural shock not by the operating system, but the software I've set up on it. So far I'm loving the actual operating system.

To celebrate my new laptop, I've created a new logo for "Super Looper:"

So far I like it. I still may need to elaborate on it, as its' not designed as a "vector" logo, but more as a really large layer. I may change the sizing or try my hand in the new 3D features I have yet to explore in new Photoshops.

In addition to a new logo, I also designed a "mock" album with a working title for my EP project, entitled "Legacy:"

As you can see, I have a thing for "starry" pictures! I originally had a different design in mind, but the more I worked on it, the more it didn't fit. I then designed to try an all black background, and it looks pretty cool. Eventually I'll have a picture of myself incorporated into the picture, but for now that looks like a good start.

I will soon start making more samples, but for the weekend and the better part of next week I will have to focus on work. I would like to finalize my 6-song EP by January of 2013, and I have planned out some of the tracks. "Out of Time" will be there, though I probably won't stick with the Piano feel to it. It feels more robotic than a dynamic song. "Untitled Twelfth Song" will most likely be a song, though I plan on putting it on the back burner until I have more samples. I have a song in mind called "Dance All Night" planned for future mixing. In addition, I will start playing around with vocals, including *gasp* my own vocals. We'll see how that turns out..

Here is a 1280x800 wallpaper of my new logo/album name (specifically for macbook pro 13"):

I plan on making all size wallpapers once I get a more finalized logo/album title. How exciting!

Researching Macbook Pro

Instead of working on my music, I've taken the time and got to know Apple's operating system: Mac OSX Lion. Though my laptop will be here Tuesday, since I've never used a Mac computer I'm getting to know everything about it so that my experience will be about applying what I know, instead of learning by trial-and-error.

I don't like to post anything non-music related, but since I got this laptop specifically for music purposes, I want to elaborate on the newest piece of equipment I'll be using. This article will contain opinions and preferences to my new laptop that don't necessarily pertain to music. You've been warned.

• First, the most impressive feature I'm seeing in the operating system is the ability to create multiple desktops. What this does is I can have Ableton running in a full screen on one desktop, and switch over to another desktop that has something else on it. I plan on using this feature to swap between tutorial videos and Ableton, without doing so like on the start menu bar in Windows.

• In addition to having multiple desktops, I also use my laptop for other features. Having multiple accounts is standard, but while I'm working on projects with Creative Suite, I can again have multiple desktops running Photoshop, Premiere and other stuff, like internet and etc... The workspace flow is what is impressive to me. This is something I haven't seen specifically done in Windows.

• As far as screen size is concerned, I got the 13.3" screen. My previous laptop is a Dell with a 15.6" screen, and I think even that screen is sometimes small. However, another feature I will use is the ability to dock my macbook pro's monitor onto my 42" TV (or my current monitor) and be able to have my Akai APC40 controller side-by-side with my laptop. Due to space limitations in the computer room, my controller doesn't sit right next to me, but off to the side where it's quite inconvenient to use.

• Another key feature, is the e-mail system and how it organizes all the e-mails. I'm constantly running separate web browsers for e-mail, and it would be nice to have a streamlined program to run e-mails. Though this feature is in Windows, I never utilized it and I should've at least tried it out. Otherwise, this program looks pretty amazing.

• It will also be able to dual-boot into Windows. I don't really want the Macbook for leisure, and when I want to browse via Microsoft I can still do so (like the company standard Microsoft Word, Excel and etc...). I run quite a bit of strenuous applications that my laptop is starting to struggle with, so it'll be nice to have the power of the mac.

Finally, many people wonder why I'm switching to a Macbook, even I've said distasteful things about Apple in general.

• My first response in favor of a Macbook Pro is: I've never used one before. I'm really interested to see if it lives up to the hype, and I'm ready for a change. Apple is a company that does the majority of their computer designing in-house, whereas Windows will work on any computer built, ranging from (my personal favorite) Dell, to HP and eMachines (my least favorite).

• Second, for the last ten years I've used Windows XP. Every update to the Windows operating system, and respective programs, has felt like an upgrade to look and feel like an Apple OS. If I wanted it to look like Apple, I'd get one. I dislike Vista, I'm not a fan of 7 and I don't know why they can't focus on upgrading XP, instead of looking like an Apple OS as stated earlier.

• The program I use specifically for Ableton is better executed through an Apple OS. Many people will argue for and against this statement, but it's almost unanimous that Apple is the easier of the two. In Windows, you have to update sound drivers and install sound devices to keep from having latency issues, whereas a Mac it already works perfectly. Plug-and-play equipment works seamlessly better, as you don't have to restart the program to identify the device.

I've been met with much opposition on the change to Apple. I suppose this should come as no surprise, as I used to be one of those guys who opposed all things Apple; call it Karma. I'm not switching over to look cool in a coffeeshop, I'm switching because I want to perform music I create.

Twelfth Song v2 Sample

I elaborated more on my new sample, it's starting to come along nicely: Twelfth Song Sample v2

I only have 1:10 of this song, and I'm already up to 13 tracks and 3 returns. I wonder how many layers I'll end up with in the end! It's kind of funny I've actually shaved off 7 seconds from the sample. After I've got about 20-25 tracks down, I can probably make a pretty beast 3-4 minute song. We shall see.

I also ordered my Macbook Pro 13. We'll see if Macbooks really are more powerful.I'm actually really excited to use the screen capture program, so I can show off my Ableton timelines as they play!

Arpeggiator and New Sample

One of the many things I learned from here was the arpeggiator tool. Basically, you take as many notes as you want, stack them and with this effect you can make it toggle through each note:

This effect is featured in my new sample: Untitled Twelfth Song (Sample)

I like the song. I will attempt to make it a full-fledged song later. Unfortunately, it is 6:00AM as I work on it; I spent a few hours playing around with the sounds. I've added more bass to the song than I normally do. I'm always worried I'm going to overpower the song with bass, but I turned it up and it sounds pretty good. I haven't thought of a cool name yet, but I'm sure I will the next day.

I haven't been doing much with Ableton recently because I've been researching new laptops. I'd eventually like to perform live, but I really shouldn't be jumping the gun for a new laptop. I know this goes against everything I've said about Apple, but I'm considering a Macbook Pro. Some of my friends own them and say they are a power house for programs like Adobe Creative Suite. Other people use Macbook Pro's as performance tools because they eliminate issues with low-latency. However, my brother says that Macbooks are completely overrated and supply hardware that isn't even up-to-date with the newest laptops.In addition, Macbook Pro's are dual-bootable and support Windows 7. Having Mac & Windows on one computer!? Sounds pretty awesome. I don't know, I've been using Windows XP for the last ten years and I don't understand why Microsoft strayed away from such a great interface. I think it might be time for a change-up?

As for music producing, I'm not sure if it's my desktop or if it's my lack of professional producing skills, but some of my songs end up with artifacts, or multiple crackling sounds, in the middle of the song (including my newest sample). At the moment, I'd rather focus on producing the music than polishing it, I can learn that once I've gotten a firm grasp on music creation.

Applied What I've Learned

Didn't learn much over the weekend, instead applied what I've learned. Here is a sample:

Random Song Sample

Meh, getting better.

Experimenting: Bass Line Creation, Sidechain Effects and Etc...

I've taken a step back into creating music. Instead, I'm learning what the effects do, and why it's important to know what they do; the key to a great paper is even better preparation!

Here is the featured sample I made today: Tenth Song - Sound Designing & Experimenting (18 Second Sample)

One of the interesting things I learned was that you can create multiple instruments on one MIDI track. This allows me to combine two basslines (Hi Bass & Sub Bass) into one MIDI track, that way I can free up tracks:

In addition to combining instruments onto one rack, I also learned a great deal about the operator instrument and how to route A,B,C & D to create different sounds; operator instrument is pretty fun!

Another thing I learned was the importance of keeping the low frequencies from clashing, specifically the sub bass and the kick:

The compressor allows you to take a track with low frequencies (Sub Bass) and compress it when every kick of the drums happen. This is called the sidechain, and basically moves all the bass of one object so that the low frequencies don't "fight" and cause your sound to get nasty.

I also tried to build the suspense by creating white noise, and adjusting the volume and frequencies as it builds up. Easy technique to create sound as it "whooshes" in!

I also learned what "Send A" and "Send B" do. Basically, you can program an effect into the sends, and then you can have your tracks go through them to produce the effect. It's pretty neat, but I'm not sure why you can't just put the effect on the actual track like I've been doing. I suppose when I build an actual "Live" performance set, have multiple sends with effects will come in handy!

Last, I finally played around with my APC40 controller. The first couple times I don't know what happened, the controller would no longer respond (which isn't ideal for a live performance). However, I managed to keep it from crashing, later, and found some of the buttons somewhat useful. It's more of a live performance tool than a producing tool, but it's nice to just play around with it when I get burnt out on designing songs/sounds!

In addition, Tom is on his way to making 100 songs! Check out his soundcloud here.

Steve Wilson, who helped me understand the drums a little better also has a soundcloud and has made a song:

Steven Wilson III - Steve's New Song Demo.

For the first song, the production value is pretty intense! It's got everything I'm currently trying to learn, which is how to create a bassline, synth line & drums to form a well-designed song. This song makes me feel like I'm going about this whole music creation business the long way!

Voice Work

Not much going on the last few days, except I got my DVDs and my APC40 controller:

The controller is fun to play with, but it's definitely a live set piece of equipment. I downloaded one of Tom Cosm's sample live sets to play with, and it's really fun! His live set sample is very intricate, almost scary when I think about how I have to get to his level.

I ordered "An Introduction to Digitial Audio Production" by Tom Cosm. So far, it's very intimidating! There is so much interweaving of effects and this guy makes it look so easy!

Also, I watched one of his videos on voice work using an effect called "Vocoder." This is what I got when I used it:

Matt Looper - Paradise of the Gods (Voice Only) 

This sample was taken from a line in a script I did for Tom's machinima series, "Legends of Roika." Check it out here! You can also check out his musical progress here. I definitely want and need voices in my music, and for now I can synthesize my own voice to sound really cool. Eventually, though, that'll get old. I've noticed people use sample packs to create their live sets (like pre-recorded voice work, drum beats, etc...). Really nice idea, except I'd like to be the author of my own music.

The blogs will probably be scarce over the next week or two, as I'm going to watch the 10-hour DVDs just to study Tom Cosm's method, and I may re-watch it for further clarification. I can definitely feel the process slowing down as I now must create something I've never made. I trust that in a few weeks, though, I will have a firm grasp and will be able to make complex beats with minimal effort. I would prefer not to spend an eternity getting to know the software/hardware, but it looks like six months is appropriate for most starters..

Out of Time

Out of Time (Click for Song)

Not only is this a new song, but it's a complete song! I've mustered everything I've learned in the last two weeks, and made this song in three hours!

ElectroLite feels like a spiraling mess, probably because it's such a disorganized song. I decided to make a new track, and viola, I created "Out of Time."

To be honest, this isn't the kind of music creation I'm going for. I am glad, though, that I was able to take a simple beat and turn it into a complete song. This is the first song I've actually completed, and it feels great! The only thing I might fix is give it a little more kick, but otherwise a pretty solid song. It's a pretty awesome song too, just not one of those flashy complicated "Skrillex" numbers I'm going for.

As for the creation process, it sounded just "OK" until I stumbled upon an effect that made the song sound infinitely more professional grade:

 

It's called "Car stereo," and it's in the "multiband dynamics" section of Ableton. I don't even know what it does, but now I know this is an important effect for making a well polished track. My next goal is to learn what exactly it does to a song, then make my own custom multiband dynamic. I'm not a fan of using pre-made effects as it makes my experience feel "cheap," but this particular one did magic to my song. I will definitely use it for later tracks, at least for the near future. I wonder what this effect does to a song if I listen to it in... my car stereo!? (Haha... no?)

Yes, the song cover was last minute. Now that I think about it, I need my boy Steve to make a sweet logo for me! This is and ideal title I'd like to have:

My friend Tom also mentioned if I make the flat version, he can make the 3D effects. I think I could get Steve to make the flat outline of it, then I could scan it, make it black & white, then have Tom add the epic effects!

Also, my friend Tom is getting serious about making music as well:

Tom Clough - theping781 Music

You guys should check him out!

Native Instruments - Massive Sound Creation

I've finally gotten Native Instruments Massive to work in Ableton Live!

Fifth Song - Massive Sound Creation

Nothing complicated, but for a first run through I'd say it sounds cool. I added a kick just for fun. Here is what the sound board looks like:

The highlighted parts are all the adjustable settings I used to create the sound. Basically, you assign the oscillators a sound effect (in this case, I mixed 3) and then you adjust the settings until you get the sound you want. Then, you can run the sound through two filters (I used 1). After I did this, I also played with the Insert effects and used a "Delay." I finally used "Reverb" and "Flanger+" in the "FX1" and "FX2" section. I finished off by creating a heavy bass-like tone by controlling the sounds through the "EQ." This program looks complicated, but once you see how it works, it's not hard. I haven't gotten to the wave customization yet, but I'll save that for another day.

The program is very powerful, I plan on using it in the future to create my own custom sounds. This is among the few programs people like Skrillex use to create their own unique signature to electronic music. I probably won't play with this for a while, I'll be getting back to my song, "ElectroLite." I need to complete the song so that I can understand the entire process, from beginning to end. Then I can start to make other songs.

Added to ElectroLite

This song isn't exactly turning out exactly how I wanted it to, but I suppose it's all part of the learning process.

ElectroLite - Extended

I separated the drum kit like I wanted, and added a bass line. I'm still not entirely convinced on the kick I'm using, perhaps I'll change it later. I'll probably scrap the effects towards the end out, it sounds a little sloppy while I'm typing this.

Not much for screenshots to post today, but I'll post the effects panel for my favorite line (starting around :27)

The "Channel Strip A" effect is what is giving the line a very "trance" feel, as I'm bending the High Cut and Low Cut to create an alternating sound. Here is what the entire song looks like (so far):

I'm not exactly impressed with the progress I've made today. It just doesn't sound... professional? That first line is gold, but the rest of the song isn't flowing like I'd hoped. That's what I get for thinking this was going to be a stroll in the park!

As the song grows increasingly complex, my processor is beginning to show its age. I'm hoping by the time I have several more lines, it won't bug out on me. If I ever do a live set, I'd need a laptop that can handle Ableton. Oh the disappointment for today. All I can do is keep moving forward!

Learning the Drums

My biggest fear of all this musical mayhem was that I'd have to learn the drums, and associate every sample sound I have to a certain instance; literally learning how to play drums.

My fear was extinguished today at work, when my co-worker Steve explained the simplicity of drums. In my last blog, I created a new song, that I shall continue to grow, called ElectroLite. Here is what a simple drum line sounds like with it:

ElectroLite w/ Drum Sampling

Simple, yet course altering for the song. Here is what the drum sampler looks like (called the Impulse):

The beats are simple: kick, snare, closed hat & open hat. I didn't take much time to choose my sounds, I just merely explored the impulse device. The way in which I created the beat was heavily influenced by how easy Steve said it was done. Here is what it looks like:

 

Simple, yet very effective! I want to elaborate on the drumming by separating each drum session into their own lines and supplying proper effects on each individual line to give it more flare. Right now, it's simple. I want it to become complicated as the song flows, as well as the hook-line for "ElectroLite."

As for the tutorial for the drumming controls, you can see the tutorial I used by clicking: Sonic Academy - Lesson 5 Creating a Drum Beat. I learned of the impulse device from this, but in another set of tutorials from Tom Cosm, he showed me how to create a more natural flow to the drum set while individualizing each piece of equipment.

My next challenge, aside from creating a unique drum line, is to create a sustainable bass line. I'm sure youtube has a tutorial for that, as well!

ElectroLite

ElectroLite - 27 second sample (Click)

Firs song I've given a name to. I've created a hook I can finally enjoy. Unsure of the second line I've added, but at least I'm happy with the original line. I'm taking extra care of the line I've made, as I would like to turn it into an actual song; I may abandon this song to learn more stuff just to make it "listenable." Here is what the analog control looks like for the line:

(Click to Enlarge)

To the naked eye, this looks impressive. However, I used a simple effect of controlling the frequency at the beginning of every note to give every note "range." Rinse, and repeat.

Hardest part of the creation process is to constantly drive the song in a direction that nice to listen to. Mastering the audio levels is proving to be difficult, as well.

The hardest part, so far, is mixing in the drums. The beat is hard to create a consistent flow, and I'm having the hardest time making it sound, at the minimum, basic. It usually comes out clumsy and disorganized.

I ordered a 10-hour set of DVDs from Tom Cosm. His first two hours are online, and they've already helped me out tremendously.

Also, I played with Native Instruments Massive. That program is two things: ridiculous to understand, and doesn't run well on my computer. I'm hoping to change that, the program is powerful, but it's frustrating me so I'm going to stick with mastering Ableton first. We can't all be Skrillex overnight!

This blog is ugly... I'll have to change that later!

Anyways, I purchased an Akai APC40:

 

This device is mainly used for live performances, but if I want to make it I'll have to try it out. I mainly want to use the device to play with the effects so I don't have to keep using my mouse to test out how certain sounds work when mixed with a variety of different settings.

My next simple project is to make a live song to test out the equipment when it arrives! the 8x5 controls the live settings:

The highlighted section is the portion controlled by the 8x5 keys. You press a key, and it'll play the beat loaded into the box. My next job is to figure out why it only does one bar, or if that can be changed!

In addition, it looks like some of the big dogs also use a program called "Massive" for synthesizer work:

I too shall learn how this program works!

And so, I've created a blog to document my journey of music making: Blogumentary. I'm already disappointed that "SuperLooper" is commonly taken as it is a fitting "stage name" since my last name is... Looper.

Anyways, Here is the first and second song I've "created:"

Matt Looper: First Song
My first song is bland, but I have just begun

Matt Looper: Second Song
My second attempt is better, showing more range of effects and adding the basics of drumming. I'm not a fan of trance music and that's exactly where this song is heading.

Matt looper: Second Song v2
This is another version of the song above. I cut the long transitions out and cut straight to the good stuff, but I added another line instead. I hate the line I've added, but that'll do for tonight's session of "Playing with Ableton."

I plan on sharing everything I create, whether it be good, bad or ugly. The whole point of this is to share the growth of my music journey. My goal is to have a full-fledged grasp of Ableton, and maybe even have an EP available by the end of the year.

I have two different sound clouds:

Matt Looper
This sound cloud, labeled "Matt Looper" will be where I upload the majority of my stuff, whether it be samples or simple beats/sounds I've created. This will be used to "blogument" what I've worked on every day. My goal is to create something every day, whether it's something useful or just a random soundbyte, just to keep me in track of music creation

SuperLooper
When I feel like a song is ready to share under my "stage name" I shall put it here. Not a whole lot will go here for a long time, but when I make something I want to share with people, I will put it here.

Thanks for playing, see you next time!

UPDATE (4/10/12)
I've actually scrapped the second soundcloud, and made my main one as "SuperLooper." I've built up so much steam on my sample soundcloud that I'm making it my main one, instead.