Fine tuning track structure
With
John Watson
What's in the course
14 lessons (2h 26m) · 2 free
01. Getting started & setup
3:21
02. Managing a sample library
Free lesson4:34
03. Ableton preferences
1:14
04. Using samples: Simpler and Sampler devices
7:04
05. Using samples in your track (trim, stretch, tune, EQ)
12:56
06. Adding sampled strings and flutes
7:28
07. Adding sampled rhythm: kicks and snares
25:07
08. Sampling external intsruments - drum machine & synth
12:28
09. Building the parts in Session view
13:55
10. Recording the song into Arrange view
4:34
11. Fine tuning track structure
You are here5:35
12. Mixing the track: effects
21:24
13. Final adjustments
13:14
14. BONUS: Mastering your track & uploading to Soundcloud
Free lesson13:31
Lesson transcript
Music Lesson: Mixing Techniques
And there we have it, really. So I've got to obviously fine-tune it a little bit. Let's come in and have a little look.
Step-by-Step Process
-
Reviewing the Track
I'm going to come back to the beginning and just start to include a little bit more variation here. I will grab this little section and double click. -
Reversing Section
I'm just going to reverse this part kind of just before the breakdown section. -
Adjusting Percussion
Also going to kill some of the percussion. That as well. -
Saving Changes
Give it a save as well. -
Cymbal Crash
Copy my cymbal crash over to really highlight the big changes in the track. -
Adjusting Baseline
Bring the baseline up a little bit. If I can delete a few bits, no. Just trying to keep the variation happening. -
Fading Out
Fade out here with the volume as well. So let me just grab the track volume here.
Volume Automation
What I want to do is click a couple of times while my mixer and track volume are selected and do a little fade out of the hang drums.
- The first thing to do is to pull down this node here.
- I was quite comfortable with that volume level.
- So we're now fading out in a very, very linear way.
Introducing Curves
Now, what I'm going to do is introduce a curve by pressing down Alt and then just popping in a curve like so. This will create a nice gradual fade out.
Final Touches
-
Dropping Elements
Let's just come back here and maybe start to drop some of these elements in the final section. -
Shortening Elements
I think maybe it's time to shorten a few elements here. Selecting this entire region, I will grab this region above now and just move this in. -
Removing Hang Drums
In fact, it's actually quite nice without the hang drums there. -
Volume Automation
I've brought the automation volume down and it has stayed down for this part. I actually quite like that. -
Deleting Unwanted Sections
I'm going to delete this so that now we just have some of the strings, the bass, and some of the percussion. -
Fading Out Elements Again
What I might do as well is just start to fade some of these elements out.
- Let's bring on our track volume here and just play some fade out.
- I'm going to use Alt again to get a little curve happening to make things sound a little bit more natural.
Conclusion
Okay, so I'm happy with that. The next stage now really is to start mixing the track and just make things sound a little bit more polished.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
After work experience with Depeche Mode and The Cure producer Dave Allen, John was inspired to study Music Technology in London. His music career took off after a successful signing to CookShop Records, releasing 9 singles and an album in 2007 that received rave reviews from Q, Uncut and Lowdown Magazine, plus radio play from XFM and Radio One.
John began training as an audio engineer at Bonafide studio in 2005, where he refined his talents, and later that year set up Jackdaw Recordings. He has collaborated with many successful artists, and in 2007 began playing for pop musician Patrick Wolf, performing at leading venues here in the UK and internationally - including The Astoria and Shepherds Bush Empire.
Based in his London studio, John now writes music, with two more releases on CookShop, does sound engineering for prominent artists, and creates sound design for TV ads, film, theatre and corporate video.
That rare mix of songwriter, producer and working studio engineer is exactly what John brings to his teaching. In Creative Composition & Production in Ableton Live and Creative Sampling & Production in Ableton Live, he shows you how he turns raw ideas into finished, release-ready tracks - the writing, the sampling, the sound design and the hands-on engineering know-how behind a professional record.
