A strategic approach as a decision-making aid: what frequencies should my piece have and how do I want to generate these frequencies?
Hidden worlds
An electromagnetic microphone (EMF microphone) opens up a previously hidden world of interesting sounds. It is very easy to make yourself (e.g. “telephone coil”).
The „chiptune“ era
A good source of inspiration is undoubtedly the music from the video game industry and in particular, the brilliant compositions that were created for games consoles in the 80s. A trip to the classics of this era is always worth your time and the chiptune style can be copied today with simple means.
In the hall of eternity
The workflow usually starts with writing a theme and then finding the right preset for it.
On the other hand, taking the time to actively listen to all the presets and cataloging the useful ones can also lead to new results.
With a bit of luck, a new idea can emerge from a play around with the right sound.
And what will happen if I switch effects to it now …
Show me yours and I’ll show you mine
Exchange instruments and other peripherals with your musician friends. You don’t necessarily have to master an instrument to get a sound out of it.
Movement in the mix
Which elements from your track are ideal for movement in stereo space?
#panning #automation
Fits the mix
In order to be able to use the effect of the elements within a composition in a more targeted way, you should have a rudimentary knowledge of the basic principles of audio engineering. Which instrument focuses on which frequency range, what is suitable for filling a frequency gap and which elements in combination should be toned down later in the mix?
Field recording
Field recording is an almost meditative activity. It sharpens the senses and trains the perception of what surrounds us.
Controlled breathing for the perfect recording and 360-degree awareness demand something of the body and the often dulled ear of modern man is trained for active listening.
Of course, there are already countless libraries on the market that cover a wide range of sounds. But to underlay your synth ambient track with gentle rain that you have recorded yourself in a warm summer night is a completely different feeling; an emotional connection.
I can only recommend everyone to get into it, because once you realize the versatility of these recordings, it can quickly become a fulfilling passion. Field recording not only encompasses the soundscapes of nature with all its sweet spots, but also offers the opportunity to collect and sample unique sounds.
Sound FX are used in video games, films, radio plays, but also in music.
Creating your own sample libraries (for example via the free Kontakt player from Native Instruments) not only offers a good option for structuring the sounds according to your personal ideas, but also the opportunity to design your own instruments and refine them with effects.
Creating SFX assets for the gaming industry requires more than just creativity. In addition to skills, you also need the right concept and a lot of hard work to meet the requirements of the platforms.
It often takes a bit of luck but as the portfolio grows, so does the chance of a regular source of income.
Your own recordings can also be used as impulse response samples to create reverb tails (for example with the free reverb plugin “Avid Convology XT”). When applied to a synthesizer instrument, the resulting reverb can provide an interesting and natural character.
If you have the opportunity to use a good friend’s industrial warehouse or workshop on a quiet Sunday, let him unlock the door and tell him “You can pick me up in 4 hours” – such a place has great potential for collecting sounds. Chains, neon tubes, the warm-up process of a printer …. you never know what you can make out of it later.
My tip: always carry a mobile recorder with pop protection!
If you want to dive deeper into the subject, you should definitely pay a visit to Marcel from “free to use sounds” on the web.
By the way: putting effect pedals on all kinds of instruments is always a good idea, whether analog or digital.
Low-budget instruments
Most instruments don’t need a master to get a sound out of them. Instead, they encourage experimentation and expand the scope for the famous “I want to try something” that was at the beginning of many great ideas.
There are now some really good and affordable brands for very different instruments to add many more possibilities to your arsenal and even if the quality can’t usually keep up with sample libraries, it offers enormous flexibility and individual texture.
96 khz to 44.1 khz downsampling
By downsampling a sample made at 96 khz to an audio resolution of 44.1 khz, the speed is almost halved (54.17 %) and the pitch is reproduced approximately 6 semitones lower.
This effect is particularly useful for creating interesting samples. For example, a clanging sheet metal can easily be transformed into a heavy steel beam. Experimenting with this method often produces exciting results and the 44.1 khz still offers CD-quality resolution!
Old patterns
With synthesizers in particular, it’s easy to come up with a thousand presets and it’s very tempting to pick your all-time favorites, but that’s not what your personal book was written for.
Disharmonic sounds
Poorly tuned instruments are generally outlawed by musicians. However, some tone friction can create an interesting touch, give a more natural texture and bring an instrument a little more into focus without straining the mix – of course, it’s all about the right balance.
The western trained ear perceives tunings outside the usual scales as interesting. It has happened to me more than once that I took an acoustic guitar out of its hibernation that had been parked for a long time and played around with the strings for half an hour before finally tuning it.
Re-tuning instruments
Re-tuning string instruments not only opens up new frequency ranges, it can also be an easy way to create interesting chords and tone sequences.
Obviously, guitars are better suited to this than other instrument groups.