[t(-.-)t]

I just listened to "ghosts in the dark" by Tristam (can´t post links yet, check it out on Youtube)
It really inspired and i want to produce something similar.
My DAW is Fl Studio 10

Now I´ve got some questions:

• When composing Complextro/Complex Dubstep, do you write chord progressions played with different synths, or do you just write a simple melodie played with different synths.

• Are there any special methods I should use?

• Do you know any good tutorials about Complextro/Complex Dubstep production?

[relic]

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

Now I´ve got some questions:

• When composing Complextro/Complex Dubstep, do you write chord progressions played with different synths, or do you just write a simple melodie played with different synths.

Try both. Why limit yourself?

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

• Are there any special methods I should use?

No clue what you mean?

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

• Do you know any good tutorials about Complextro/Complex Dubstep production?

Probably. Try youtube. Computer Music Masterclasses are generally pretty good.

[Br/ainfu+ked]

delete your copy of massive, and learn to make sound designy complex idm just because its hard as fuck

once you've mastered sound designy musical complex produce any fucking thing you want

[t(-.-)t]

Thanks for the answers, was my first post.

No clue what you mean?

I mean if there´s some kind of "secret" I´m missing.

delete your copy of massive, and learn to make sound designy complex idm just because its hard as fuck

once you've mastered sound designy musical complex produce any fucking thing you want

I´m thinking more about the composing of complextro tracks, but for sure I should take my time and improve my sounddesign skills.

[relic]

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

Thanks for the answers, was my first post.


I mean if there´s some kind of "secret" I´m missing.



I´m thinking more about the composing of complextro tracks, but for sure I should take my time and improve my sounddesign skills.

Not to be a smart ass, but we don't know what you already know. So I don't know what information or techniques you might be missing.

I think the biggest secret that a lot of beginners ignore is learn, practice what you learn, experiment. Did I say practicing or practicing? Those are really important. The more time you spend working and learning new techniques and experimenting with those techniques the better you are going to get. This goes for music theory as well as production techniques.

Complextro and "filthy" dubstep both rely on layering different lead sounds and good EQing/mixing. Personally, if I were going to make that kind of track I'd probably produce 3-5 different mid range lead patches, bounce a C5 note of the leads to audio. Layer effects and bounce to audio several times. Then cut things up and arrange them as audio to get that glitchiness going on. I'd probably use a light chorus and a filtered reverb on a send and a tad of compression to "glue" it all together.

[t(-.-)t]

Not to be a smart ass, but we don't know what you already know. So I don't know what information or techniques you might be missing.

I think the biggest secret that a lot of beginners ignore is learn, practice what you learn, experiment. Did I say practicing or practicing? Those are really important. The more time you spend working and learning new techniques and experimenting with those techniques the better you are going to get. This goes for music theory as well as production techniques.

Complextro and "filthy" dubstep both rely on layering different lead sounds and good EQing/mixing. Personally, if I were going to make that kind of track I'd probably produce 3-5 different mid range lead patches, bounce a C5 note of the leads to audio. Layer effects and bounce to audio several times. Then cut things up and arrange them as audio to get that glitchiness going on. I'd probably use a light chorus and a filtered reverb on a send and a tad of compression to "glue" it all together.

Yet I only produce for six months, so I don´t know that much. Thanks for the advice, I think this is gonna help me alot. But theres one thing I dont understand (you see my english isn´t that good)

bounce a C5 note

Does that mean that you would just use one key for all the leads? That was a problem for me back in time, I didnt knew if i should write a melody for the complex part or just use one key over and over again, like someone in youtube did.

[Br/ainfu+ked]

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

T


I´m thinking more about the composing of complextro tracks, but for sure I should take my time and improve my sounddesign skills.

for sure if have toxic you can do things like load the waveform of a kick drum and use it that as a wave instead of always using sine,saws, and squares,

or if you have sytrus you can record your manual changing of the waveform in edison timestretch/pitchshift it, load it into the granulizer for more pitchshiting/flitering and record the output and then load a clip of the resulting waveform into toxic...

I know it sounds very retarded and sarcastic but you can really make some interesting sounds

[t(-.-)t]

for sure if have toxic you can do things like load the waveform of a kick drum and use it that as a wave instead of always using sine,saws, and squares,

or if you have sytrus you can record your manual changing of the waveform in edison timestretch/pitchshift it, load it into the granulizer for more pitchshiting/flitering and record the output and then load a clip of the resulting waveform into toxic...

Sounds interesting I think i gonna get toxic

[relic]

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

Yet I only produce for six months, so I don´t know that much. Thanks for the advice, I think this is gonna help me alot. But theres one thing I dont understand (you see my english isn´t that good)

Does that mean that you would just use one key for all the leads? That was a problem for me back in time, I didnt knew if i should write a melody for the complex part or just use one key over and over again, like someone in youtube did.

No. Sorry. I don't know a ton of theory so here goes my amateur hour explanation: C in the fifth octave is kinda the "neutral position" for me when composing. I know where I stand if I pitch it up or down or if I want to play different notes with the sample it's easy to know what I need to do to play different notes.

The other option would be to write your melody or chord progression and bounce it, chop it up, and add FX layers.

[t(-.-)t]

Originally Posted by relic

No. Sorry. I don't know a ton of theory so here goes my amateur hour explanation: C in the fifth octave is kinda the "neutral position" for me when composing. I know where I stand if I pitch it up or down or if I want to play different notes with the sample it's easy to know what I need to do to play different notes.

The other option would be to write your melody or chord progression and bounce it, chop it up, and add FX layers.

I understand, thanks

[relic]

Originally Posted by t(-.-)t

I understand, thanks

Cool man. Good luck with all that. Remember to read up on EQing and mixing as well. That's essential.

[JamestonThieves]

I like using lots of pitch bends to flow wobbles together when I am jumping around with lots of different sounds. It brings some coherence to the table

[Mctoast]

start of with a 2/2 kick snare beat, make everything as loud and irritating as possible. Then open massive, you can fiddle for 5 minutes, but that takes a bit too long, right? Now make your amazing sound design wubs in 2/2 as well. And done!

it's too complex to evun explein, but wen u her ur song, it's ridiculous!!

Next thread should be "How to make experimental music?"

Spend a few days making some crazy bass sounds, build up a library of cool presets and ideas. Then throw it into a blender and see what happens

[CallAndResponse]

When composing these genres it is all about the call and response (Yes I am aware that is my name)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click here to register]


Read that article so that you can get a full idea of what it is. Basically you want musical phrases talking to each other and having a "conversation". This is what grabs people's attention on the dance floor, it is a natural human reaction, call and response grabs our attention and keeps us interested without the melody becoming generic.

The simplest way to get start would be to have every two beats beats be a musical phrase. Take a dubstep growl for example and make a short melody over 2 beats. Then in the next two beats take another instrument and make up a melody, this melody must relate to the first one and must almost reply to it or to resolve its question. Sounds weird I know but that article will explain. A very good example of track of what I am explaining would be Porter Robinson's Spitfire. Listen to how to growls talk to the higher pitch instrument. Trust me this advice will revolutionize the way you make EDM. Many people don't even know what call and response is even though it is so vital. Listen to any dubstep or complextro song you really like and I am 100% sure there will be a call and response going on. Keep in mind that build ups often don't (but can) have a call and response especially before the drop but as I said read that article and you will see the bigger picture it really isn't rocket science and it is the key to composing good dance music.

[bliprock]

Originally Posted by Mctoast

start of with a 2/2 kick snare beat, make everything as loud and irritating as possible. Then open massive, you can fiddle for 5 minutes, but that takes a bit too long, right? Now make your amazing sound design wubs in 2/2 as well. And done!

it's too complex to evun explein, but wen u her ur song, it's ridiculous!!

Next thread should be "How to make experimental music?"

yep thats what i kind of did to, I do not use massive, and used hardware instead.
It is interesting style to me to try as i do not use a computer, and that style seems very computer orientated so to speak. I get close. I make bass line, and sample it, ect and lots of gated verb on the drums kinda thing. Its the depth of the main synths and the frenetic changes. It takes me bloody ages to do but its kinda good. And after a while with chops done its easier to jam out an idea,.
i need a freq splitter or need to pay more attention to filters and automate them more to get it better. That and more layers. Its good cos its making me do different work flow, and i get closer all the time. its the sound design that takes me the most time. I dont have massive. but yeah so i read these threads and try to do same with hardware. takes longer maybe but is fun at least. That and i like distortion and chopping, and electro. bonus.

[relic]

Personally I find programming good patches much easier with hardware, even if there is a lot of menu diving involved.

[bliprock]

yeah menu diving. I know my gear so its ok, I usually know where to dive in to so to speak, and try to have a goal in mind. Its funny because you can spend hours just making noises for sound design, but its still technical journey, not just subjective fannying about as well. Cos that is what it seems like sometimes. I tell myself that I am making my own loop pack and its for complextro, so that is my excuse for just sitting here and turning dials and making noises. Its seems to me I need at least a few so called kits of hits and sounds for every song. I will have a lot of extra stuff I guess, and my own sound so its good, but very time consuming at the mo. Workflow gets faster all the time so thats fine.
Callandresponse is so right about the call and response stuff. I do it, but on the really good stuff I hear, it has layers of call and response in everything. like tha bass kick and bass line, two synths, and drum patterns or noises, all doing there thing but together. Good stuff thats is stimulating I think.

[Dugg Funnie]

Originally Posted by CallAndResponse

When composing these genres it is all about the call and response (Yes I am aware that is my name)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click here to register]


Read that article so that you can get a full idea of what it is. Basically you want musical phrases talking to each other and having a "conversation". This is what grabs people's attention on the dance floor, it is a natural human reaction, call and response grabs our attention and keeps us interested without the melody becoming generic.

The simplest way to get start would be to have every two beats beats be a musical phrase. Take a dubstep growl for example and make a short melody over 2 beats. Then in the next two beats take another instrument and make up a melody, this melody must relate to the first one and must almost reply to it or to resolve its question. Sounds weird I know but that article will explain. A very good example of track of what I am explaining would be Porter Robinson's Spitfire. Listen to how to growls talk to the higher pitch instrument. Trust me this advice will revolutionize the way you make EDM. Many people don't even know what call and response is even though it is so vital. Listen to any dubstep or complextro song you really like and I am 100% sure there will be a call and response going on. Keep in mind that build ups often don't (but can) have a call and response especially before the drop but as I said read that article and you will see the bigger picture it really isn't rocket science and it is the key to composing good dance music.

That article is friggin brilliant! So simple, but such a strong point.

[Son of Akira]

Originally Posted by CallAndResponse

When composing these genres it is all about the call and response (Yes I am aware that is my name)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click here to register]


Read that article so that you can get a full idea of what it is. Basically you want musical phrases talking to each other and having a "conversation". This is what grabs people's attention on the dance floor, it is a natural human reaction, call and response grabs our attention and keeps us interested without the melody becoming generic.

The simplest way to get start would be to have every two beats beats be a musical phrase. Take a dubstep growl for example and make a short melody over 2 beats. Then in the next two beats take another instrument and make up a melody, this melody must relate to the first one and must almost reply to it or to resolve its question. Sounds weird I know but that article will explain. A very good example of track of what I am explaining would be Porter Robinson's Spitfire. Listen to how to growls talk to the higher pitch instrument. Trust me this advice will revolutionize the way you make EDM. Many people don't even know what call and response is even though it is so vital. Listen to any dubstep or complextro song you really like and I am 100% sure there will be a call and response going on. Keep in mind that build ups often don't (but can) have a call and response especially before the drop but as I said read that article and you will see the bigger picture it really isn't rocket science and it is the key to composing good dance music.

Yeah, this is what I thought of when he asked about chords (thanks for saving me the time to find a link and provide an explanation), in that instead of having a number of voices form a chord in unison, you'd have the call and response voices defining the chord (and/or arpeggios defining a chord) because the thickness of the individual sounds don't lend themselves to lush chords.
I also talked about in another thread of the call and response relationship between wide and narrow sounds.

p.s. Ok, I read the link and it's better than I expected as the examples are on the more subtle side of things. A more straight-up example I always think of (mainly because it's one of my favorite early r&B/rock tracks) is this:

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[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click here to register]

p.p.s. and here's the thing I mentioned earlier from the other thread, a quick clip I threw together: