Who Plays/Produces By Ear

rossana said:
Astroid power....The problem by human ears is that human can hear just sound from 60 Hz....and u have a lot of sounds they are from 50 to 60HZ which we dont really hear,but they can allsoa built a oscilation with ur basseline....And if anyone has the skillz to do mix down without visual indicators,then he is a cat,or he just equalizes his mixing desk preset up 60 Hz,easy as that and i have seen it in studios on all tv channels,that they do it..its cheating,but its way to safe hustle....What u cant do though is to have this preset when u create Drum n'Bass,Dance Hall or HipHop,where the whole sound and vibe depends on heavy basskick and sharp snares.The trick by equalizing in hiphop is to push the sound between 50 and 60 so high,that when u press vinyl,the edition will be extra deep and u dont have to through the vynil out when it doesnt sound anymore( in Techno they do that cheap and u can play the vinyl about 200 times than its gone)...In hiphop u have to have deep editing for DJ they scratch and do beatjuggling....and want to keep the vinyl few years....
So..may be people do music by ear...their music and their own compositions....but be a bit nosy and look in the mixer preset...U will see what im talking about.....the magic 50 to 60HZ!!!!
Its funny....
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the thing about that deep bass in the track is that you can hear the evidence everywhere else in the track as you're mixing. Maybe the difference is between the types of music that we're hearing. This mixer does a lot of pop, and that comes pretty well premixed, with no absurd amount of subbass, usually. He doesn't just High Pass at 60 hz, I know that for sure, because there is resonance down to the ground in his music-he works for the Matrix, too, and they'll put in sine waves for a sub sound on their choruses-just enough to add that sparkle to the high highs in the track.

Thanks for the more indepth response, maybe that's what I was looking for. You didn't sound unqualified to me, and you're obviously a professional, but i just took issue with the idea that nobody uses their ears. and hey, i write fugues, so i might be too german, too. I have used a spectrograph before to diagnose my tracks when I didn't have good monitors:)
 
Astroid powerup...nice nice...well i do hiphop now,jazz and classic..monitore are a bit problem cuz if they are too good u will not recognise if ur music sounds well or not?What kind of monitors do u have?When i do album i go to clubs where they play everything and play the cd there to hear the sound in big room...and sometimes i take **** speakers and hear how it sound in bad speakers...then i go and mix it on my studio monitores....I have the problem that im too affraid about my reputation as woman-producer ...u know how it is....guys do mistake and people say ..."is ok,the sound is a bit distorted,but it sound fat...and by me they start to analyze to give me any advise ..lol....So what kind of music do u do and what speakers do u have?Cuz this is the most important thing...
 
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rossana said:
Astroid powerup...nice nice...well i do hiphop now,jazz and classic..monitore are a bit problem cuz if they are too good u will not recognise if ur music sounds well or not?What kind of monitors do u have?When i do album i go to clubs where they play everything and play the cd there to hear the sound in big room...and sometimes i take **** speakers and hear how it sound in bad speakers...then i go and mix it on my studio monitores....I have the problem that im too affraid about my reputation as woman-producer ...u know how it is....guys do mistake and people say ..."is ok,the sound is a bit distorted,but it sound fat...and by me they start to analyze to give me any advise ..lol....So what kind of music do u do and what speakers do u have?Cuz this is the most important thing...
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i use little Event "project studio 6" biamped system speakers. I don't have a great setup for mixing. my claims come from watching a world-class mixing engineer do his thing. i have to test my stuff on everything i have-walkman, car stereo, home stereo, **** mono setup, everything. That's just how you have to do it when you can't get a mixer.

it's funny, because half of the producers I know are women. Noone would dare go up to Linda Perry and pull that stupid ****, she'd kick their spine out. That's pop, though. Hip-hop must be hell on a woman producer. my sympathy.
 
Astroid powerup...well...i gues we have the same technic prooving sound...Hip hop is hard.Everybody is trying to play G style,or being super clever...Its more about the competition...Im enjoing that sometimes though...
Check out my homepage...
ONE
-Misseducated-
http://www.macbeatrecords.wb3.de
 
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will check your stuff.

give mine a listen from the links in my sig.
 
i never have ever had any training whatsoever and i am also a firm believer in the idea that if you cant here this key to be this key etc, then you dont belong making music. Certain stages of music production involves knowledge, for instance mixing and mastering, but one of the most rudimentary elements should involve pure instinct and if you don't have you shouldn't train yourself to learn it.
 
Im good at making my beats with out any kind of musical training other than what i have learn from just using my gear. I decide to teach myself to play the piano and when away from my gear i read a good music theory book. I just want more to come from my music in the long run. The only way i really know if im getting better is if my beats are making people heads nod, and thats a good thing but i feel if i apply a lil theory to myself ill progress maybe faster and when i do hit that mental block i have a few tricks i could try before i pull my hair out. Like somebody said "Music Theory is like turning the lights on in a dark room". I love that saying.
 
We live in 21st century. Music is comming to certain level, where we cant hold it on traditional quality any more. 40% or more people they listen to music have 5.1. at home and listen even their tv news on Dolby suround...Films are done in THX quality and Cars are comming with standart soundsystem we have been dreaming of 10 years ago...
Producers, like everybody, are slaves of modern manufactures,hi-tech and any new discovered product. People want still more. Consum is pushing us in a corner and makes us doin music on their required level...
We are slaves of production...
I really apriciate every street musician just playn the whole day long for anyone comming by...i love life jazz bands and their energy and joy.....
BUT!!!
Every time new pluggins are on the market, we run into stores at least look at it, cuz is so expensive!!!
MAC producers know very well what i am talkin about...
New artists come with new music and we sit and analyse...and say:" Such a stupid beat! I could do it in 10 minnits!But the sound is sooo sick!!!"
As long we will go hand in hand with technical aspect of modern music production,we will have bread on our table...Or we are genius and we dont need it!!!! But i gues a Mozart, Bob James, Paganini or Sting are a bit far away than me....
 
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i nkow i have no idea on how to play an instrument, so i make beats strictly by trial and error. it's much harder, but if i can come out with something hot, it makes it more satisfying
 
Some people will say they have not Music Theory training and everything they make is because they know what sounds good and thats good cause i do the same thing too. Im not sure how everybody makes there beats but i have steps i take in process in it all. Music Theory has gave me a way to look at things. Before i push a key i have some kind of plan what i want to do next. I do think music theory helps but its really more for the producer who uses a pen and paper and paper and write music down. Most hip hop is done kind of on the fly. I dont think most of write our music down before we play it.
 
I make stuff primarily by ear. However, I have a very basic (cough) idea about scales, keys, and cords from my experiences with piano and saxophone (primarily self-taught in the piano area).
 
I'm in the process of studying theory on a CD-Rom in found online, it's very helpful. Also fooling around with the violin helps a little... But for the most part, I've been playing by ear all these years.

Trying to make my way around that brick wall!! :confused:
 
First I'd like to say hello to all fellow producers (my first post).

I have been producing/recording since I was 11 (for a good 9 years). My whole method for years was trial and error. Like many have already stated, I feel some knowledge of theory will help you, but I think intuition is the best method. My whole feeling for years was that theory was like a formula.

I play keys and guitar now, so I'm trying to learn theory as a means of helping me with composing, although it sometimes feels like a whole different language. I just don't like it when people seem condecending towards people who play by ear....and like someone else mentioned a good number of the greats had no knowledge of theory.

And then again, the need for theory depends on what style you play. With jazz you get those building blocks when you first learn your instrument. However, I came up in hip hop...sampling in the old days. I hated when I first started playing when I would jam with people and they'd tell me to play scales, seeing as I had no idea what the scale was comprised of.
 
Celltrip said:
I have no musical training... I've learned to play keyboard myself over the years. I have no knowledge of chords but I know what sounds good.. and that's enough. ;)
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I know a little theory but I mainly rely on my ear and what I think is good musical sense. Like I always say and you can quote me on this, "music is something you 'feel', it's not a mathematical equation". If you can't trust your own ear and judgement then what can you trust. So to this I say co-sign. I plan to learn more theory, but I will not abandon the girl that I brought to the dance, and that's my ear, tallent, and common sense of what sounds good.
-Ajari-
 
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