Category Archives: Random Blurbs

ADSRsounds Promos, Random Blurbs

Free NI Massive Course Drawing to Celebrate 10,000 Viewers!!

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Hey guys!

I looked at the people counter and realized that over 10,000 people have viewed this page! To celebrate this “monumental” event, I am working with ADSRsounds.com to give away a free course!

In order to enter this drawing, go ahead and like the How to Produce Electronic Music’s Facebook page! Then, post a comment stating how you got into music production! It’s really easy, and you could win a free NI Massive Masterclass Course!

Also, for extra “karma” in this drawing, post your soundcloud link too! You could get some of your songs on the How to Produce Electronic Music Soundcloud Page!

The contest ends on March 31st, so make sure to like our page and get a free NI Massive course, courtesy of ADSRsounds!

We also have a Twitter!

Here’s the rest of the social media we are on:

Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, and StumbleUpon!

Orjan Nilsen at Cielo
Orjan Nilsen at Cielo in NYC. He is an awesome, down to earth guy. Awesome show at a great (although small) venue.

*Disclosure*

 ProducingElectronicMusic.com is an affiliate of ADSRsounds.com. By purchasing soundpacks/tutorials through this website, producingelectronicmusic.com gets 20% of the sale! Thank you for your contribution!

P.S. If you have any questions at all about affiliate links, what they are, or how they are used by ProducingElectronicMusic.com, leave a comment below, or email me at: [email protected]

Random Blurbs

Always Save Your Music! Learn From My Mistake!

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Hey guys!

Wanted to post a very personal and very heartbreaking warning here, especially for new producers:

ALWAYS save your music in a minimum of three different places. Use external hard drives, USB sticks, another computer; basically anything that can save files from your computer. I recently had to update my computer from Windows 7 to Windows 8 (long story short, I couldn’t get internet and my computer was VERY slow) and didn’t save my files to an external hard drive. Even though it said it would save my personal files, it did NOT save my most personal files: my FL Studio projects.

Within a few minutes of downloading Windows 8, YEARS of my personal time spent making music vanished into thin air. I had recently created a song that my friend sang on and was extremely excited to show to you guys, my followers, how I created the synths and riffs I used in the song. Unfortunately, this is as finished as the song will ever be.

Here is the song in its entirety. I was originally going to remix the song and mix the vocals in, but unfortunately the file is lost and will be redone from scratch.

Here is another recent project I was working on. It was going to be a really dark psytrance track, and I was going to show you guys how to make that too, but that file is also gone as well.

I will be rebuilding my computer and music from the bottom up, which is kind of refreshing, in a weird way. I haven’t lost the skill set I need to make music, and very soon I will have the necessary tools to redo these tracks.

But, once again, I stress:

SAVE YOUR MUSIC!

Cheers!

Random Blurbs

I have been a little negligent to this blog…

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Hey guys,

I realized today that I haven’t posted on this blog in MONTHS. If you have been following me and hoping to learn more about how to produce electronic music, I am extremely sorry. I have been working on new music and learning new tips and tricks to create better mixes and even try to achieve mastering quality. Unfortunately, in this process, I neglected this blog.

So, to make it up to you, I will be creating a new post relatively soon, (possibly today!), to help you guys with starting off your songs and creating better mixes. I will try and show how to properly eq a track and how to leave enough head room for proper mixing.

Thank you for your patience, and once again, I am sorry for the delay.

Cheers,

Brad

Random Blurbs

My Progress in EDM: Then and Now

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In case you didn’t know, today is the last day of the semester. Technically, I don’t have to continue this blog, but I’ve enjoyed making this blog so much that I am continuing with my blog. I have learned a lot of information including sidechain compression, compression, mixing, and even how to make different genres of music.

Since I have been learning so much over these past few months, I decided to remix and edit a song I had made in March-April of 2012. I worked on it for the past week and am very proud to say that I have completed it. Here is the original track “Tundra” from April.

fl-studio-24

Here is the new edited version of the same song, “Tundra,” which has been mixed down much better for a cleaner sound, sidechained to create that “bounce” feel, and newer, more professional sounds were added to give it a slightly different feel from the first track.

Now, as you may have guessed, this track wasn’t the first I ever created. In fact, I started producing “music” (or whatever it was that I made back then) over two years ago. I’m posting this first song I created on FL Studio because I know how hard it is to start out in EDM production. I can guarantee every great EDM producer started out by making music like this.

So, without further ado, I present my first song I ever created on FL studio, “Madman’s Dance.”

Enjoy!

Random Blurbs

The Studio/Radio Station Picture Story

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In the late hours of Thursday night, a radio show takes place in the not-so-busy radio station of 89.5 WSKB: a nice little radio station that many radio personalities on campus like to call home. Not only is it a great place to talk about the different things happening during the day, it is also an opportunity to play some great electronic music.

While the bass is pumping and music fills the room, we contemplate what else we could throw into the mix: perhaps an uplifting trance song? Or a really hard complextro beat to get our blood flowing. It all depends on our mood and what we really want to hear.

The mixer, while looking like an intimidating table of buttons and knobs, is an essential tool in helping our songs (and voices) be heard. Without this essential piece of equipment, there would be no point in doing a show because we wouldn’t be able to control what we want to do in terms of sound.

When we’ve had our share of music and laughs, my co-host and I try and talk about different events that happened during the day, whether locally or around the world.

Last, and most importantly, I perform a mix of songs that I have put together to engage my listeners and portray to them what I consider to be the best electronic songs of the week. This is the highlight of my radio show because it allows me to express myself with all the music that I can indulge myself in. Radio shows, in my own opinion, are one of the most exciting things that anybody could do, and while it can be tough learning all the equipment that goes along with radio, it is simple and fun once you really get into it.

Cheers!

Production Techniques, Random Blurbs

The Pros and (Mostly) Cons of Mixing on Headphones

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Headphones have taken on a large role in our society today, ranging from huge, bulky headphones to ear buds that can be hidden from sight. While headphones are great for listening to music, they are not the best option for mixing or mastering your tracks.

One reason why headphones are not the best option is because they can cause a wide range of problems while listening to your mix, including ear fatigue and not being able to listen to your mix for long periods. Also, the majority of your audience will listen on speakers instead of headphones.

While mixing on headphones can be acceptable in certain situations, it is best to listen to your mix in a wide variety of environments. Listen to your mix on studio speakers, laptop speakers, even your car speakers. You could even try listening on bad speakers just to get a reference.

Headphones also tend to give the false impression that your mix is better than it really is. Good headphones give the impression that the bass and higher frequencies are more clear and crisp than they are on normal studio speakers.

You may have noticed this dilemma (as I have many times) when listening to your mix in the car. It sounded great on your headphones, but after playing it on speakers, it sounded absolutely terrible! This is because our ears don’t take into account the atmosphere of the natural outside environment when we have headphones since the sound from headphones reaches our eardrums much sooner than with speakers.

When your mix is played from speakers, though, we hear what the sound is like after it has bounced off walls and been absorbed or reflected by the floor or curtains (or whatever else is in your room). While you can hear certain imperfections such as clicks, pops, and improper panning in your mix, it is generally recommended that you create your final mix on speakers.

If you absolutely have to mix on headphones, such as, you are working at night, then you obviously have to mix on headphones. If you are going to mix on headphones for certain reasons, you might as well have some information on what headphones to get for mixing. It is also recommended that you get headphones with replaceable parts so you don’t have to buy a completely new set each time you break something.

Hope this helps you on your mixing adventures!

Random Blurbs

Armin van Buuren On Top of the World Again

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http://weloveatrance.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/armin_van_buuren-biography-weloveatrance.jpg

So in case you weren’t watching and anxiously anticipating the DJ Mag Poll of 2012, Armin van Buuren is once again the top dj in the world after giving up the throne to David Guetta in 2011. This is amazing and I salute Armin to all the hard work he has consistently put into his music, record label Armada, and his radio show ASOT (A State of Trance).

Congratulations Armin!