Today David and I reviewed my first track (Jungle Fever). David appeared to like the track and suggested that I tighten up the beats, pushing the bass and treble of the track to make the beat stand out more and become more prominent within the mix. He also suggested using a sample kick drum to punch out the beat using side chain compression. Albeit the track does not have a vocal, which David suggested it is hard to judge without, he thought the track was what I should be aiming towards and to get a vocal down quickly to finish it off. He suggested that I record lots and lots of vocals, using Melodyne and appropriate reverbs to achieve LO2.

How I am going to benchmark my work is an important aspect to my research. I aim to compare my music to contemporary pop music (which I have listed previously in posts) and when submitting a track blog about the track I have compared it to stylistically and production wise (LO4 and A&O 2&4)

Throughout working at University of Lincoln I have used Pro Tools for 99% of my work and used Logic Pro X in my spare time at home. I purchased it before starting at University primarily because it’s relatively cheap and has a lot of functions with VSTs. I will be using Logic Pro X for this project simply because I believe it to be a better program for a project such as this, and has more creative scope than Pro Tools due to the sheer amount of VSTs, presets that are available to alter and the quality of the virtual instruments. I’m am not to argue that Logic is a better program than Pro Tools, just has a different use. I prefer Pro Tools as a multi-tracking software, but as for creating sounds and using midi etc, Logic Pro X wins it for me.

Within Logic I will be using Ultrabeat and Alchemy. Ultrabeat is a drum programming plug in; as I am a terrible drummer (and all round rough rhythmically) having a strong and simple to use plug in to print my ideas is a necessity. Ultrabeat has 80 preset kits that are a good starting point to modify and use to compare to my benchmark material. This should hopefully enable me to create a stronger “rhythmic” sound. Alchemy is also a fantastic plug in synth instrument, the vast amount of sounds, layers and options within the plug in allow for a massive sonic pallet to work from; the ability to alter existing sounds in such a simple way allows for creativity to flow without being bogged down in the production all the time. A lot of the work I will be doing will be a mixture of production and writing cohesively, but being stuck in one are for too long will be unproductive. Alchemy is fantastic for allowing me to creatively work and also give the options to manipulate sounds to be comparable to songs that are contemporary pop.

To improve my skills within Logic Pro X I will be using YouTube tutorials to get the best out of the program and deepen my understanding using VSTs of mixing within another DAW (LO 2&4) Such as ones listed below. YouTube videos are great to get an understanding of a plug in and learn about it.

Learning Outcomes:
1.To have furthered my knowledge of contemporary pop music composition.
2.To deepen my understanding of VST usage within pop music composition alongside traditional instruments.
3.To further understand the roles of pop music composers within the contemporary music industry.
4.To enhance my pop music mixing skills within a DAW.

Aims & Objectives:
1.Produce a cohesive EP of contemporary vocal pop music
2.Compose appropriate material to facilitate contemporary pop production approaches.
3.Employ a hybrid approach of real instruments and VSTs.
4.Mix the tracks to the technical standards of appropriate benchmark material.
5.Mix the tracks to the aesthetic/stylistic conventions of appropriate reference material.

This week in my tutorial David McSherry and I discussed my project and to seal off the potential aims & objectives. My Aims & Objectives will be posted in a separate post. David suggested that as my project is a pop music project my aims should revolve around the pop music aesthetic, specifically aiming around the vocal and use of VSTs. The tracks should work towards a benchmark of listening material and use a hybrid of real instruments and VSTs.

The outcomes of learning were also discussed. As this is my final project I wanted to do a project that would challenge my production style. David suggested as I write music myself that writing and producing my own music would be a suitable avenue to go down. I have a unashamed love for pop music and its composition/production. It would have been easier for me to get a rock band or a similar genre and record them – however that would not widen my skills. For this project I really wanted to try something that would open different doors creatively and to alternate styles of production.

For my Semester B Project I will researching the creation of pop music and the producer’s role as a co-creator. My initial ideas for this project came from my fascination with Max Martin. Max Martin is regarded by many as the most prolific writer/producer of the 21st Century. Having writing/production credits with Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, The Weekend, Maroon 5, James Blunt and Justin Timberlake (to name a few!). He has accumulated the 3rd most #1s of all time, behind Paul McCartney & John Lennon and also is the runner up of producers with the most #1s of all time, #1 space being occupied by George Martin.

For this project I will be researching production styles of contemporary pop music and the writing styles that accompany it with Producer/Writers. Below is a list of several artists I will be identifying with and breaking the production/writing down. Each week I will be adding to my research by having a more in-depth look at these songs and the production.

Lorde – Royals
Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
Fall Out Boy – Centuries
Lana Del Rey – Video Games
Haim – If I Could Change Your Mind

I have also created an iTunes listening playlist to familiarise myself with songs that are pop orientated which have achieved commercial acclaim. The majority of the tracks have producer/writers and use a team. Over the coming weeks I will be listening to this playlist to influence my work, and most likely be adding/removing songs from the playlist.