Why do my songs sound empty?
- Thread starter Mouk
- Start date
Do you have a beat melody and bass to the tracks? Not all have to have these, but this may be something.
Also, experiment with hi-hats, cowbells, triangles, and other percussion sounds, this could help. Play the hi hats and other percussions like if it was another instrument, not just simply a sound.
Also, experiment with hi-hats, cowbells, triangles, and other percussion sounds, this could help. Play the hi hats and other percussions like if it was another instrument, not just simply a sound.
E
edit
Guest
compression, compression, compression....and multi-band compression...
compress everything
compress everything
StopRushing
New member
That is the worst advice you could ever give to a newb.edit said:compression, compression, compression....and multi-band compression...
compress everything
Mouk, Maybe you're not using enough of your stereo, so everything may sound a little too boring. Go to this thread for excellent advice on thickening up the stereo sound. You could also post up your songs so we can see where exactly you're coming from, cos the explanation's slightly vague.
Unsystematic
New member
"Stoprushing "is on the money. Use compression sparingly. Compression should be used if needed. To much comopression can squash the dynamics of a composition.
Anyways, do you have any sound files that are posted on the net we could hear to better assist you? Have you tried a counter melody or bass line, as mentioned earlier. Don't over look e.q.ing. In order for a good mix, each instrument should be placed within a certain bandwidth to fill the empty space. they shouldn't fight each other.
Last edited:
AlurOne!
FP Psychoanalyst
edit said:compression, compression, compression....and multi-band compression...
compress everything
ugh!!! terrible advice.
oh, welcome to FP Mouk -
the more you fill empty "space" in your songs, the fuller it will sound. unfortunately, the real trick is to fill that space without the different sounds clashing or competing against eachother. much of this is simply achieved by proper use of eq - maybe i should not have said simply, because it is not a simple matter at all!
with that said, there are also some mastering techniqes that can be used to warm up your songs. dont ask me too much about that though, for i am very very new to trying to attempt to start thinking about starting to learn to master - follow me?
anyway, good luck and keep asking questions. more specific the better.
Laughing Boy
New member
Lot's of great advice already given. I'd also say, listen to songs that you like. analyze them and see how things fit together. I'm always checking out new stuff and old stuff, trying to figure out why that arrangment worked, what sounds are being used etc. You'll find that many songs don't have ton of stuff going on, but the arrangements (how the bass line intereacts with the kick drum pattern, etc..) contribute to the success of the song. The trick is to keep your ears open, find things you dig and make them your own. I've been producing music for many years, and I'm still learning and hopefully getting better. Good luck and have fun.
j-traxx
New member
welcome to fp!!!
give us a link to some of your tracks so that we can better give advice. there is a thin line between sounding full and sounding too busy. if you dont know where to host music try
www.soundclick.com it's free!!! wish you luck and i hope to help out as soon as you post up some tunes.
give us a link to some of your tracks so that we can better give advice. there is a thin line between sounding full and sounding too busy. if you dont know where to host music try
www.soundclick.com it's free!!! wish you luck and i hope to help out as soon as you post up some tunes.
AlurOne!
FP Psychoanalyst
j-traxx said:welcome to fp!!!
give us a link to some of your tracks so that we can better give advice. there is a thin line between sounding full and sounding too busy. if you dont know where to host music try
www.soundclick.com it's free!!! wish you luck and i hope to help out as soon as you post up some tunes.
true that
S
SSTM
Guest
What's up Mouk and welcome to the forum. What I do is experiment with different drumming "Feels" setting on my drum machine to get that right groove going for my track. Also, I experiment with groove quantize templates to get the desired groove as well (if needed). Another thing that shapes a track is its instrument "Panning". Yea, panning and proper eq setting will always bring track to life. Good luck.
P
Paul Rez
Guest
Welcome to FP Mouk
Try using a spectrum analyser to see where the gaps in your mix are. The spectrum will show you which frequency bands are being neglected.
It may look like this.. or not
[] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
50hz 2500hz 15khz
anyway, this really bad diagram shows there are no good top end frequencies (usually hi hats, vocal sibilance etc) .
You can get a Spectrum analyser as a vst plugin for cubase, sonar etc or as a standalone application. try www.hitsquad.com
Try using a spectrum analyser to see where the gaps in your mix are. The spectrum will show you which frequency bands are being neglected.
It may look like this.. or not
[] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
50hz 2500hz 15khz
anyway, this really bad diagram shows there are no good top end frequencies (usually hi hats, vocal sibilance etc) .
You can get a Spectrum analyser as a vst plugin for cubase, sonar etc or as a standalone application. try www.hitsquad.com
StopRushing
New member
Nice picture!!! Can i get one of these analysers for cool edit pro, cos thats all i got in terms of wave editors right now.
balma
New member
A lack of sounds quantity:
If U have a sampler, sample an entire song, so jyou don't have several tracks but one single track,. Separate it in parts, and go to each part and work in detail adding new layers f sounds. Now you have more espace to record more tracks to run parallel to the sample track.
I could call this "compressing" but not with effects, but compressing several tracks into one,
Lack of programmation or sound quality:
Wider your sounds. This could last several months. go to patch program or edition. Increase complexity inside the patch program. on digital synths, sometimes sounds are composed of four internal waves or even more. If your patches have only one or two waves, add another one, send a wave to left channel and another one to right and the last one on the center. Modify slightly the tune of each wave. Add small differences between the waves, as amp, decay level, filter, filter sens, filter depth, don let the waves have exactly the same parameters.
Create new sounds, don't be afraid to experiment with ilogical wave combinations, go to each of them and add aleatory or random elements. You didn't write the equipment you're using, but is common to find inside the parameters of a patch, some random option, on the LFO, or the filter.
Theoric:
Music, as nature, is a balance between order and chaos. If you quantize too much your music, if you work everything with step-by-recording, your music will sound too "square" or mechanical.
In nature, you can see that the trees have something in common, you can recognize what is a tree, but also you notice that they can achieve ininite forms but they always are trees. Everything in nature always stay in a balance, you know what kind of form a cloud can't take, but you'll never see two identical clouds in your life.
So youy music can't follow a totally predictable pattern, it must have any kind of variation, but always stay with a main concept, the identity of the song. But introducin aleatory values inside a square or mechanical track, will result in more complexity. It must surprise, but without losing the context.
I mean, you problem could be the quantity of sounds, or the quality of them, or the concepts you are manipulating.
If U have a sampler, sample an entire song, so jyou don't have several tracks but one single track,. Separate it in parts, and go to each part and work in detail adding new layers f sounds. Now you have more espace to record more tracks to run parallel to the sample track.
I could call this "compressing" but not with effects, but compressing several tracks into one,
Lack of programmation or sound quality:
Wider your sounds. This could last several months. go to patch program or edition. Increase complexity inside the patch program. on digital synths, sometimes sounds are composed of four internal waves or even more. If your patches have only one or two waves, add another one, send a wave to left channel and another one to right and the last one on the center. Modify slightly the tune of each wave. Add small differences between the waves, as amp, decay level, filter, filter sens, filter depth, don let the waves have exactly the same parameters.
Create new sounds, don't be afraid to experiment with ilogical wave combinations, go to each of them and add aleatory or random elements. You didn't write the equipment you're using, but is common to find inside the parameters of a patch, some random option, on the LFO, or the filter.
Theoric:
Music, as nature, is a balance between order and chaos. If you quantize too much your music, if you work everything with step-by-recording, your music will sound too "square" or mechanical.
In nature, you can see that the trees have something in common, you can recognize what is a tree, but also you notice that they can achieve ininite forms but they always are trees. Everything in nature always stay in a balance, you know what kind of form a cloud can't take, but you'll never see two identical clouds in your life.
So youy music can't follow a totally predictable pattern, it must have any kind of variation, but always stay with a main concept, the identity of the song. But introducin aleatory values inside a square or mechanical track, will result in more complexity. It must surprise, but without losing the context.
I mean, you problem could be the quantity of sounds, or the quality of them, or the concepts you are manipulating.