Transition & Sound Effects

J

Joseph Gayle

New member
My biggest issue with producing right now is the my use of sound effects. Transitions I know are an all important part of music. (Particularly in Hip-Hop which is the genre I specialize in) The issue is I end up using the same transitions over and over again. Using the same reverse crash clap or synth riser throught the entire song can be repetitive and dull, how can I add some variation to to that and posssibly design my own? Also, I know sound effects play a role in keeping the listener's attention. Kendrick Lamar's ***** don't kill my vibe is a great example of this as it does a good job of keeping the listeners attention with sound effects during the verses. How can I design sounds like this or find decent samples to use in my own projects?
 
Learn synthesis, it's not some secret science and mostly pretty straightforward to get started with. Simple effects (like "risers" aren't hard to make). Also, consider just recording random sounds and process those into something interesting.
 
I've been at your stage once, I had no creativity on making small adjustments and add that little extra small effect.
It's pretty much like climbing over a wall - it's very hard to climb up, but when you've managed that you just need to jump down (without breaking your legs :) ).
Try dedicating a complete studio session by just slowly going through your track from the beginning to the end and just test whatever crazy idea that pops up.

Also bounce your track down regularly with maybe a very quick mixbus processing to it to make sure you don't sit there and waste all your attention on how bad the soundquality is. I've noticed that when I'm listening to my track bounced I find it much easier to analyze it as a listener, and then you suddenly come up with all those spontaneous thoughts like "I want to have that over there" or "meh that was lame" etc. This way you hopefully may come up with some interesting ideas to try out.

Agree with krushing as well, it's easy to make that swoosh or that rising synth, and it's easy to make several types of them.

Lastly, keep on practicing and you'll get better at it!
 
Yeah, bouncing down is definitely a good way to assess the whole track - at least I tend to start fixing/changing things immediately when I listen to it in the DAW, so I rarely end up listening through the whole thing like that. I've also noticed - and this is of course purely psychological - that I immediately listen to my own stuff differently if there's someone else there to listen to it. Even if they have nothing constructive to say about it, just them being there changes my own perception (and usually makes me even more critical).
 
Isn't that so, not to mention it almost feels awkward and you sometimes even think your track sucks when there's someone with you, even though you think it's good otherwise.
 
I get the basics of adsr controls I can design in programs like masive ane what not but I have a hard time creating sounds that fit with the track and don't sound like garbage.
 
This is a very creative aspect of the production process. These are the little details that give a track identity and a chance for you to put your stamp on it on your work. For me, this is the hardest part but one of the most important if you want and develop a sound that is your own. Anybody can drag and drop a riser from a vengeance pack to the end of every 8 or 16 bars followed by a crash. But the more time you spend on this stuff, and the more creative you get, the more unique your sound will be.
 
steffeeh said:
Also bounce your track down regularly with maybe a very quick mixbus processing to it to make sure you don't sit there and waste all your attention on how bad the soundquality is. I've noticed that when I'm listening to my track bounced I find it much easier to analyze it as a listener, and then you suddenly come up with all those spontaneous thoughts like "I want to have that over there" or "meh that was lame" etc. This way you hopefully may come up with some interesting ideas to try out.
Click to expand...

Oh I forgot to mention, doing this works the best after having a few beers! :D
 
Honestly when I have a sound that doesn't sound real good or as good.. It might just need a LP filter on it or some reverb...my problem is I track my stuff dry and for the longest time I was like this sounds like shit and I filter a little maybe add some distortion bam it all comes together
 
HalfBlacko0000 said:
Honestly when I have a sound that doesn't sound real good or as good.. It might just need a LP filter on it or some reverb...my problem is I track my stuff dry and for the longest time I was like this sounds like shit and I filter a little maybe add some distortion bam it all comes together
Click to expand...

It's so funny you say this. I just finished a track and man it was like wrestling an alligator. Something in the bridge just wasn't right. I was using this sweepy pad to transition into the break and it just sounded wrong.

after messing with notation and every thing else under the sun I decided to play with the synths filters and started low on a low pass and turned it up gradually through the bridge and voila, it sounded tight as hell.

sometimes it's the small things. It's funny though after doing this awhile your ears will tell you when somethings wrong.
 
For fills and variation, I like to change the drum pattern. If you're practiced, the right drum fill can be as good as any riser you can make...
 
Listen to some of your favorite songs/productions.....what are they doing? Not everyone is using a reverse crash clap or synth riser for transitions. You might want to think outside of the box as well....maybe it's not just the transitions, but the overall arrangement of the track that can help give you the desired effect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top