Hi everyone,

I'm a master's student in arts education, and for my project I'm making a 5-track ambient electronica EP. Each track will be made under a different creative constraint, and I'll document the process in a log and see how the constraints affect my creativity.

I'd love your suggestions for constraints. They can be anything: limits on instruments, plugins, time, structure, sounds, techniques, or workflow. The weirder the better, as long as it's possible to make one track under it.

A few examples to get started: only one synth for the whole track, no drums, a time limit of 2 hours, or all sounds must come from recordings you made yourself.

What constraints have worked for you, or what would you want to see someone try?

Thanks!

So I am a solo musician , and I don’t play with anyone else . My goal is release and perform music by myself . However ,‘I actively listen to other music , and use what I hear to get my own ideas . In that sense , would I be seen as a collaborative artist , since I am not directly collaborating with individuals , but using their music as a launching pad for my own music ? Like I actively listen , and I would think “ what comes next “ to create my own unique parts and build from that

Welcome to the /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Motivation Thread! Share your successes and and encouraging words here. Posts/Comments looking for motivation can also be appropriate here.

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So i made a cover of Sombr's Undressed as a garage rock version, it rough but still learning the ropes

I got my Scarlet 2i2, mic, guitar, the works.

Now i try to play along the built in metronome but man...either i dont hear it at all (when playing drums)

Go too fast (playing guitar) or just miss it (playing bass)

Currently my work flow is guitar, drums, bass then vocals. Matching bass to kick drum works but somehow a bpm checker says i am playing at 122 bpm while i put 117 in bandlab.

Any ideas what i am doing wrong?

Thx.

Especially rap. I'm thinking of writing my lyrics out in actual syllables and how they sound so I can enunciate them better when I rap. Singing is less of an issue

Mine was over compressing the master bus, I thought I had a solid mastering chain for so long until I did some experimenting with it and my life has completely changed. Curious to see what other people have had to learn or unlearn to improve their mixes?

This is gonna sound kinda schizo but does anyone else come up with the sickest melodies/patterns right before they fall asleep? It’s super annoying because it’s so hard come up with decent ideas that I like during the day but every now and again right before I drift into sleep my brain comes up with a holy grail of a musical pattern. What the hell is that 😭

Hello! I am a newly graduated musician. I am trying to write new music, but i constantly get stuck in the same place.

I always try to create music with elaborate chord progressions because i really like playing songs like that.

For example Les Champs-Elysée by Joe Dassin, Nobody knows when you're down and out, or the jazz classic All of Me

But i constantly get stuck in making progressions that loop nicely, and then making a few alternate progressions for bridges and choruses.

I dont like making simple 3-4 chord pop progressions because i dont find them enjoyable to play.

I find myself constantly stuck in the same loop, where i make a nice progression, but dont know how to continue. How can i break this cycle?

My last song attempt had a chord progression that went from E -> E7/D -> A/C# -> Am -> E, in the key of E, or Am (im not sure yet) which isnt that elaborate but it sounds nice.

Hey everyone! I've used FL Studio before, but I'm learning hip-hop beatmaking with my Novation FLkey 37.

I recorded a kick-and-clap pattern live at 142 BPM. It sounds smooth and natural when looping, but my first kick starts slightly after the beginning of Bar 1 in the Piano Roll.

A few questions:

1. Timing: Is that okay if the groove sounds good, or should I move the notes to align with the grid?
2. Moving notes: Is there a way to move kick and clap notes together across separate Channel Rack instruments without changing their timing relative to each other?
3. Best practice: How do you correct timing after recording drums live with MIDI pads without ruining the groove? Should I quantize, manually adjust, or leave the notes alone?

I'm trying to learn the best workflow without unnecessarily fixing a groove I already like.

I've attached a Piano Roll screenshot for reference via link. https://ibb.co/kggHMCRh

Thanks!

Does anyone have any tips for distressor or 1176 compressor settings that will match Devil Loc's, im using it on drums and i want to make it sound loud and punchy like on devil loc, i just dont have the plugin. Let me know if anyone has suggestions.

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I’ve been making music consistently for about 2-3 years and i finally finished a collection of songs for an EP that are already mixed instrumentally and even have lyrics written. The only problem is that when I record my vocals they seem to not mix no matter how much I mess with the EQ. I never learned to mix properly just by ear but nothing sounds right except the instrumental tracks. I’m tired of tweaking around and I even tried mixing my vocals live. Do I suck at singing? Do I just become a producer? I have been recording through an sm58 on a 2i2 solo 2nd gen on a iPhone 13 mini un GarageBand. I’m not sure if this is hardware issue atp since I know what I have is showing its age. Are there any specific resources/solutions for this? I also own an m1 MacBook but I prefer to work on my phone, thanks in advance.

Hello there, Hive Mind

I have finished a tune which is (conceptually) in the same kind of mould as In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins – in that it starts with little more than a vocal and a drum loop for the first verse or so and goes nuts from the first chorus onwards.

I played a mix to a friend who does mastering & he says it'd be impossible to master because there's something like a 4 or 5db difference between the verse and the chorus.

How do I get around this? I really don't want to arrange the song differently and having the drums and the keyboards coming wading in at Bar 21 is kind of the point. But equally, I want it to sound all fat and sparkly.

What would you do?

Been struggling to find a replicable process for arranging that works for me, and I'm curious what works for others. Solo artists ideally since I imagine arranging with a whole band is likely a different process. Some questions to consider:

- When do you arrange? Is this separate from the songwriting process for you, or are they largely done together? When is your arrangement locked in? Do your arrangements often change during recording or mixing?

- How do you arrange? Do you write arrangements in a notebook? Are they scratch tracks recorded in a DAW? Do you have a process or steps you usually follow? How do you keep track of your ideas?

- Any tips or tricks? Is arranging easier for you while sitting quietly and imaging the whole song? Do you usually arrange everything with a single instrument?

The best advice I've internalized is to listen to music, use reference tracks, copy things you like, etc, but that doesn't help provide a PROCESS to follow, just ideas. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Feedback Thread! The comments below in this post is the only place on this subreddit to get feedback on your music, your artist name, your website layout, your music video, or anything else. (Posts seeking feedback outside of this thread will be deleted without warning and you will receive a temporary ban.)

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced.

##Rules:

***Post only one song.**- *Original comments linking to an album or multiple songs will be removed.*

* **Write at least three constructive comments.** - *Give back to your fellow musicians!*

* **No promotional posts.** - *No contests, No friend's bands, No facebook pages.*

##Tips for a successful post:

* **Give a quick outline of your ideas and goals for the track.** - *"Is this how I trap?" or "First try at a soundtrack for a short film" etc.*

* **Ask for feedback on specific things.** - *"Any tips on EQing?" or "How could I make this section less repetitive?"*

***

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Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Promotion Thread! Here, in the comments below, you can shamelessly promote whatever music project you've been working on. Music, videos, Discord servers, websites, social media, promote anything you want. Posts promoting anything outside this thread will be removed without warning.

Contest mode has been enabled to prevent vote manipulation. Every time you open this thread, you will see new comments at the top. Your comment will be displayed randomly like the others.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it is automatically replaced.

#Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

* [Click here for Feedback threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22feedback%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all)

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Welcome to the /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Motivation Thread! Share your successes and and encouraging words here. Posts/Comments looking for motivation can also be appropriate here.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced. Note that our rules on "no promotion" are still in effect and apply to this post.

If you are interested in helping us mod these weekly threads please inquire about moderation opportunities by writing in to mod mail.

Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

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Questions, comments, suggestions? Hit us up!

I have a song that I recorded years ago for which I can’t get access to the original multitrack. I love everything about the track but the drum sounds. I understand there are programs that will remove drums from a recording to allow you to play along with the track. Once the drums are taken out, is the audio quality of the remaining tracks compromised in any way? Would it be possible to re-track the drums and end up with a track of reasonable quality?

If there’s a better sub on here to post this, please let me know. Any advice on an alternate way to accomplish this would be much appreciated!

I am fairly new to making music in terms of recording, have played guitar for many years so not complete beginner - I have been making ambient soundscapes, some synth based stuff, main influences being artists like Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Throbbing Gristle also John Frusciante solo stuff. I want to make some fairly simple hip-hop or trip-hop beats and I am using Reaper DAW with free VSTs like surge XT synth and 99 drums and also sitala. I have never played drums but I am learning the common patterns like four to the floor etc. The drums seem to be the hardest part, like I have got a few midi drum patterns but I feel like I should be programming it myself, but then I assume the patterns will not be that good. I would like to find a VST which can do everything but I believe all the major paid VSTs kind of trap you into buying more and more packs and I don't have the wallet for it. I can see from most YouTube tutorials that most people seem to use Ableton rather than Reaper... what would you recommended as an experienced music producer?

Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Feedback Thread! The comments below in this post is the only place on this subreddit to get feedback on your music, your artist name, your website layout, your music video, or anything else. (Posts seeking feedback outside of this thread will be deleted without warning and you will receive a temporary ban.)

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced.

##Rules:

***Post only one song.**- *Original comments linking to an album or multiple songs will be removed.*

* **Write at least three constructive comments.** - *Give back to your fellow musicians!*

* **No promotional posts.** - *No contests, No friend's bands, No facebook pages.*

##Tips for a successful post:

* **Give a quick outline of your ideas and goals for the track.** - *"Is this how I trap?" or "First try at a soundtrack for a short film" etc.*

* **Ask for feedback on specific things.** - *"Any tips on EQing?" or "How could I make this section less repetitive?"*

***

#Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

* [Click here for Feedback threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22feedback%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all)

* [Click here for Quick Questions threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22Questions%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all)

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Welcome to the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Promotion Thread! Here, in the comments below, you can shamelessly promote whatever music project you've been working on. Music, videos, Discord servers, websites, social media, promote anything you want. Posts promoting anything outside this thread will be removed without warning.

Contest mode has been enabled to prevent vote manipulation. Every time you open this thread, you will see new comments at the top. Your comment will be displayed randomly like the others.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it is automatically replaced.

#Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

* [Click here for Feedback threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22feedback%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all)

* [Click here for Quick Questions threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22Questions%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all)

* [Click here for Collaboration threads.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/search?q=author%3A%22automoderator%22+title%3A%22collaboration%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)

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[Questions, comments, suggestions? Hit us up!](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWeAreTheMusicMakers)

Welcome to the /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Weekly Motivation Thread! Share your successes and and encouraging words here. Posts/Comments looking for motivation can also be appropriate here.

This thread is active for one week after it's posted, at which point it will be automatically replaced. Note that our rules on "no promotion" are still in effect and apply to this post.

If you are interested in helping us mod these weekly threads please inquire about moderation opportunities by writing in to mod mail.

Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

• Click here for Feedback threads.
• Click here for Quick Questions threads.
• Click here for Collaboration threads.
• Click here for Promotion threads.
• Click here for Our Former Gear threads.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Hit us up!

I’ve been playing bass in my buddy’s band for almost 2 years, wrote and recorded bass on ten songs, and we play a show every couple of months. I generally really love the songs he writes and i consider him a friend.

Recently though, i’ve been feeling a little under appreciated. We split profits from shows, but that’s next to nothing.

Food is my love language. Providing snacks, drinks and occasionally a meal, goes a long way with me. It doesn’t have to be every practice, but for long recording sessions and rehearsals snacks or a cheap sandwich would be really nice.

Is it unfair to mention something? If not, i’d love suggestions on how to approach it. Edit to say- This is my buddy’s band- he writes the songs and it’s his name on the project.

thank you!

Edit for my conclusion- Mention that it would be nice to use some of our ‘band-camp’ profits for snacks. Put up boundaries with my time so that i’m less likely to feel burnt out and under appreciated. Ponder this question: why is playing music with my homies in itself not enough?