I've only been producing for a little while, but struggle to make only drums and one instrument sound interesting; I find myself 'cluttering' with arps, pads and other instruments to fill up my mix, which can sound good but is, ultimately, not sounding like the drums and one instrument I set out to have.
In particular, I'm looking at this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Czsw7OPUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_hjil5K78E
As you can see, there are relatively sparse areas where things still sound full and interesting... If anyone could give me pointers as to how to achieve a full-sounding mix with only drums and an instrument (or single melody with one or two instruments playing it), I'd be very grateful.
All that I can think of is to make the melody continual and not have many rests (but I wouldn't always want to do this) and have reverb or delay on it to make everything sound busier. I understand that compression and mastering probably play a large part in this, but I presume there's more than that?
Thanks to anyone who can help,
Kieran.
How to make a sparse instrumental sound full and interesting?
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- KVRAF
- 4590 posts since 7 Jun, 2012 from Warsaw
You cna notice that kick drum has significant impact on this mix, which comes both from composition and compression. In particular, it's interesting to have the drum or other percussive instruments compressed when everything else is sparse and uncompressed for biggest impact.
Other than that, it's just the mixdown as a whole - frequency balance, volume balance, reverbation and panorama. There is no easy trick, all of these must be intelligently applied.
Other than that, it's just the mixdown as a whole - frequency balance, volume balance, reverbation and panorama. There is no easy trick, all of these must be intelligently applied.
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Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
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- KVRian
- 626 posts since 30 Aug, 2012
It's all in the sound selection, arrangement, mixing, etc. - the whole picture. It's certainly an art that top people in the biz know better than anyone else.
Make it interesting by keeping it moving - but don't wander too far from the theme or the listener will get lost.
Make it full by adding contrast and harmony - but not too full so as to become cluttered.
Etc.
It's an art more than a "do this". Just keep working at it and trying things. If they don't work - try other things.
Make it interesting by keeping it moving - but don't wander too far from the theme or the listener will get lost.
Make it full by adding contrast and harmony - but not too full so as to become cluttered.
Etc.
It's an art more than a "do this". Just keep working at it and trying things. If they don't work - try other things.
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- KVRAF
- 3080 posts since 17 Apr, 2005 from S.E. TN
Whatever is there to hear, at normal listening levels, will be "full". Whether it is interesting is up to the artist, and it remains more art than science.
It varies by individual listener. With an individual listener it will be commonly different according to time of day. That which is interesting upon first waking in the morning, is likely different than in the afternoon after a pot of coffee, which is yet different than what might be discovered interesting at midnight, especially a midnight having been spiced by a pitcher of margueritas.
Alone or with people. Background or sole attention. Mood. Set and setting.
There has been psych research into optimum complexity. Each individual has a central zone of optimum complexity which can hold one's interest. Neither stimulus too simple nor too complex can hold the attention-- Neither extreme is found interesting enough to pay attention.
Group statisics among the population of hordes of people, the individual optimum complexity makes a bell curve, with the vast majority of people responding to about the same zone of optimum complexity.
There is nothing wrong with targeting the small subsets who cherish stimulus extremely simple or extremely complex. But if you want the biggest mass market, you would target the mass mean optimum complexity.
But musical complexity has many dimensions-- Amplitude complexity (dynamics), timbral complexity, rhythmic complexity, melodic complexity, harmonic complexity (chord structure), tempo complexity.
The percentage of repetition vs change in both the short term and long term. How similar is note 100 versus note 101 in all dimensions? How similar is verse 1 versus verse 2 or verse 5? If there is a chorus, how identical is each chorus? Dropping or adding a beat, bar, or chord for the "surprise element" to recapture a wandering attention. Various pauses, holds stabs, kicks, temp speedup or slow down, solo instrumental breaks. Change in the instrumentation over evolution of the song. Key changes can be effective to recapture attention.
If a song has complex chords then complex rhythm may make the total too complex. If a song has complex rhythm then a too-complex melody may make it too complex to hold listener attention. If the instrument timbre varies wildly then other dimensions need simplification in order to target an optimum complexity. Etc.
Notes only have relevance in contrast to silence. The holes in music are just as important as the pegs. Neither too sparse nor too fat will hold interest.
Bass don't need no steenkin drums or vocal or wacky FX to be interesting, if artfully done--
http://youtube.com/?#/watch?v=kJAJZ0Xn4pA
Or the first track here--
http://youtube.com/?#/watch?v=w2D6tp_Bleg
It varies by individual listener. With an individual listener it will be commonly different according to time of day. That which is interesting upon first waking in the morning, is likely different than in the afternoon after a pot of coffee, which is yet different than what might be discovered interesting at midnight, especially a midnight having been spiced by a pitcher of margueritas.
Alone or with people. Background or sole attention. Mood. Set and setting.
There has been psych research into optimum complexity. Each individual has a central zone of optimum complexity which can hold one's interest. Neither stimulus too simple nor too complex can hold the attention-- Neither extreme is found interesting enough to pay attention.
Group statisics among the population of hordes of people, the individual optimum complexity makes a bell curve, with the vast majority of people responding to about the same zone of optimum complexity.
There is nothing wrong with targeting the small subsets who cherish stimulus extremely simple or extremely complex. But if you want the biggest mass market, you would target the mass mean optimum complexity.
But musical complexity has many dimensions-- Amplitude complexity (dynamics), timbral complexity, rhythmic complexity, melodic complexity, harmonic complexity (chord structure), tempo complexity.
The percentage of repetition vs change in both the short term and long term. How similar is note 100 versus note 101 in all dimensions? How similar is verse 1 versus verse 2 or verse 5? If there is a chorus, how identical is each chorus? Dropping or adding a beat, bar, or chord for the "surprise element" to recapture a wandering attention. Various pauses, holds stabs, kicks, temp speedup or slow down, solo instrumental breaks. Change in the instrumentation over evolution of the song. Key changes can be effective to recapture attention.
If a song has complex chords then complex rhythm may make the total too complex. If a song has complex rhythm then a too-complex melody may make it too complex to hold listener attention. If the instrument timbre varies wildly then other dimensions need simplification in order to target an optimum complexity. Etc.
Notes only have relevance in contrast to silence. The holes in music are just as important as the pegs. Neither too sparse nor too fat will hold interest.
Bass don't need no steenkin drums or vocal or wacky FX to be interesting, if artfully done--
http://youtube.com/?#/watch?v=kJAJZ0Xn4pA
Or the first track here--
http://youtube.com/?#/watch?v=w2D6tp_Bleg
