Symmetric Panning Automation in Ableton Live

I love this picture. Because it really makes me think of my tracks in terms of panning and my automation. There are lines of symmetry all over this object, and I like to think of the panning plane in the same way. Some people might say its more of a 2D field, left to right, but...there is so much more to panning than just those 2 locations. There is also depth (z axis) (reverbs and anything adding distance to a sound). But what I am going to talk about mostly today is the symmetry of the panning. Where in fact you have your left and right sounds sitting, and how, if not looked at properly, will make your track lean to one side or another (which I dont usually desire, so I try to stay pretty symmetric. You can use it artistically of course).

For some sounds, staying straight up the middle is a good idea. Your kick & bass for instance are generally best sitting up the middle...especially in climactic parts. Its good to have the weight of the track distributed equally. Sometimes, its really good to throw a utility plug on your synth sound or bass sample, and choose either the right or left side only as the audio source. This will make sure the bass is in fact mono and evenly distributed. This does not mean that a stereo sounding bass wont work...because they can sometimes sound great...but, if you are using a rather sine wave sounding bass....its probably better just to use a mono source. You can add a little bit of your own stereo dynamics if you like, and make sure that it is evenly distributed over the left and right channels.

Now, where symmetric panning starts to become important is when you start throwing tons of stabby sounds around. Quick, low or no reverb, attacky sounding stabs especially, but anything can fall into this category really. When you start to make rhythmic variations to your stabs per left and right channel, its important to try to stay symmetric on your left to right bounces. It is especially import to figure out HOW MANY ACTUAL STABS are happening within a 4 or 8 bar measure, and try to make it symmetric from there. I will explain in a moment more in detail, but if you have an even number of stabs, its easier, but in times when you have an odd number of stabs, it might be good to reverse the automation for the next 4 bars so that it balance itself to 10 stabs over 8 bars, or something of the sort. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but lets look at some examples of my panning and why I did what I did.

These panning's are coming from my tracks.

So, this is a wider screen of one of the stabs I am using.

So if we zoom in on just 2 sets of those we get this.


Now these are the little nintendo stab sounds at the end of this track.

They are little groups of 3. I know you see 7 notes per clip...but the last one is just a double hit. So look at the first midi clip. When working with 3, one of the main symmetric tricks to do is put ONE of them up the middle, and then another left, and another right. This is an EASY simple trick to make symmetric panning out of 3 sounds.

So in the picture, I do -

LEFT - RIGHT - CENTER, LEFT - RIGHT - CENTER

Now, this is a good start. But we are still left with a problem in our symmetric panning idea. Since you went in this order, you are ACTUALLY swinging the panning right a little bit. Because, if you look in my first clip, I did them BOTH LEFT-RIGHT-CENTER. So the swing still technically swings you FROM THE LEFT....(feel the motion) TO THE RIGHT....then SHARPLY back to center. So you still feel a RIGHT HAND SWING. So, the way you do this, is just REVERSE your automated panning on your next set of stabs, so it swings you the opposite way. Lets look at that same picture again now -


Look at the 2nd set of midi notes. Notice the panning is the opposite now. The 2nd set is

RIGHT, LEFT, CENTER, - RIGHT, LEFT CENTER

This will balance out the first one, and keep the mix symmetric.

Also, since I made my last hit in both groups - CENTER, I can apply a stereo effect like PING PONG DELAY to the last hit, to make them bounce rhythmically in a fading out, panned delay fashion. As I did in this picture of the same part -

Just by THINKING in terms of symmetry, you can help to keep these stabs balanced. What is nice about MATH....is that anything x2 is an even number...so in MOST CASES with repetitive stabs, just doing the opposite thing on the next bar can help to keep it balanced.

Here is another case where by just putting the first and last hits on center helped make the whole thing symmetric. Its not prettiest draw automation, but you get the point. This will then repeat after this -


Now it is also safe to say that ANOTHER GOOD reason to put the first hit CENTER, and then the others on left right....is if you are making any kind of DELAY effect when the volume is being lowered. It helps to keep that stab at the foreground, and then let it disappear in a stereo ping pong delay. In other situations where you are using AUTOPAN, it is also sometimes good to use the automation of it and make sure the very FIRST hit is not panned. It will help the stab stand out on its own, and then disappear with volume and autopan (or a delay effect). This is totally situational, and half the time it will be good this way, the other half, direct stereo panning of the first hit will be more artistic and sound better.

Next is an example of making sure your 1/16 note high hats "center panning" is on the kick, because I am SIDECHAINING my high hats with the kick...because I want it to compress the HHs when the kick hits so as not to ruin the dynamics of the powerful kick. But, we want to make sure that we arent just compressing the LEFT more than the RIGHT, or vice versa. So since I still want panning on my HHs, I just set the first one center (where your kick hits), then start panning it symmetrically until the kick hits again. I only did this on the FIRST kick, and not all of them, since the compressor will still compress rhythmically. I just want that first kick to be nice and even. See below -


Next is another example where the stabs were in sections of 3. So by using the opposite panning on the next section, it helped to balance them out -


This idea can be applied to ANYTHING that stabs in ODD numbers. Just double it, and now its even, and will balance your track out in the long run.

The next is an example where I was using 2 dubstep sounding wobble basses, and they were battling it out one after another. If you notice, I switch the automation between the 2 clips. This helped to balance the sound out also -


Anyway, I think those are enough examples. Its really not that hard of an idea to grasp, just check your panned sections, and listen specifically for symmetry. After you do it for a while, you will naturally do it. Also, I must note, in many situations, you may NOT WANT symmetry. It is an artistic choice 100%, just MY OPINION...is with that being said...many times you also WANT symmetry, and I find, more times than not, you will need to think about it. Especially for percussion items sitting in the background that are mostly creating rhythm. They typically should be symmetric...however, things in the foreground, like big builds, or quarky synth stabs....artistically, you can do with them however you please. Its part of the creative end of panning. You could be the Picasso of panning if you really wanted to make people uncomfortable in the club.

So, the examples I showed you may be hard to understand without audio...but, just take the concept and apply it. Interpretation is half the game in music....so just use the concept of symmetry, and apply it to your work. You may even be able to come up with your own results better than this!

Peace!

FroBot

Off Hit High Hats & Ghost Notes in Ableton Live

Today, I am going to talk about the importance of OFF HIT high hats, and ghost notes to make a major difference in the swing over all in drum loop. High hats can be the "make or break" element in a track, and help to define its swing and overall feel. Just as a drummer helps use it to keep time, we need to use it to keep time. But you will also notice that when a real drummer is playing the high hats, you will sometimes see them dance or swing their arms in a funky way with the rhythm of the HH's. This is crucial to music that involves a swing...and this gives you a lot better control than just using grooves from your groove pool. Lets begin.

As always, I am using my drum elements section to make my drum loops. Here we will look at the 1/4 note HHs on the off hit. I will also be running a kick in the background so I can feel the swing a little more. Open simpler. Place 2 or 4 midi notes to activate a HH sample (or any other off hit sample of your choice).

As you can see, I have 4 midi notes, but for the time being, I am only going to use 2 of them. When you play this back, it can sound really drum machine like. Sometimes this works, but for house, it almost never works. Now lets do some simple adjustments to make it swing a little. This may go without saying to a lot of people, but I know there are always new users who find this information useful.

Lets shut off your grid (right click and select OFF from fixed grid) (you can use shortcuts if you like too).

Now that the grid is off, select the notes and move them to the left or right. Usually, for your MAIN hard hits, its better to move them to the RIGHT as to make it swing a little slower. This will make the girls hips shake a little more in the club...and we all like that!

As you can see, I shifted both of them to the right a bit. The swing of the beat is really starting to show through. This is nice for getting your house beat made. Now, another key is to change your velocity a bit so it doesnt sound so robotic. This can be done using the little bars below the notes....and is really important once we get into ghost notes. Now, before you go any further, you want to make sure the velocity setting in your simpler is set up to a desired level. I use 100% most of the time...but if you want a less drastic change, you can change it to a setting you like. It is the button in the bottom right of your simpler.

Now go back into your midi note view, and change some of the note velocities. You will notice a definite change.

Now lets talk about ghost notes. These are notes with a very SMALL velocity setting that can barely be heard, but def add dynamics to your HHs. What I am going to do is draw a couple notes in front and back of my louder HH sounds. Its best to keep the grid off at this point because you usually dont want to put these in time (on the grid markers).

As you can see. I added 2 small notes just before and after my first note. The velocity is VERY small, but this really adds to the sound. It sounds more like a real drummer is playing it rather than a drum machine. These are key to getting right. Move them from left to right to get them to sound just right. Sometimes, you may even have to change these a little as the song progresses if you add other percussion elements to the track.

Something else I didnt mention is the LENGTH of your actually midi note. As you can see, mine are pretty long. I didnt clean them up yet. One even falls past the loop marker. You should clean those up. Depending on how long your sample is, they should be ending where you want them to.


Now, another way to get a totally different sound out of your high hats is to actually control the note length within simpler. I almost always do this, because I tend to like sharp sounding HHs. Just my preference, it all depends on the person. I know tons of people of like long resonating HHs, but I usually like sharp ones. As you can see in this picture, I moved my end marker and shortened up the HH.

Now here is a little trick I dont hear to many people talking about, but I like to use. I like to use filter envelopes within my clip to change some of the filter parameters of 1 or 2 of the notes. The way you do this, first, you need to activate the filter button (turns yellow) and then also the other filter button in the bottom left (also turns yellow). Also, the ENV button in the bottom middle left should be turned up a little bit so that the envelope activates.


Now you need to go back into your midi notes editor, and click the envelopes button (little button in the bottom left that looks like an "e"). This will open up your envelopes. Then from your envelopes selector, your filter options should be within it since you turned on your filters in simpler. I am going to select the ATTACK parameter and change it a little bit.



I drew in some automation of the attack over the first ghost note.


Now...no change should be taking effect because I did not change my filter setting. Go back to your simpler and set the filter to your liking. Also, keep in mind that the automation within clip view doesnt work the same as normal automation. You wont see the black the knob moving on the attack parameter like you would if you would have made changes in the compose view...but rather the little orange bar around the attack should be moving. Make sure you have the attack parameter set up if you want it to take place. It only takes place UP to where you have the BLACK line pointing on the parameter.


You can do this with other parameters within simpler too, and it gives you a lot of possibilities when changing up your HH sound. There are many unrealistic sounding things you can do too, like turning on an LFO, and then automating it to speed up VERY QUICKLY over one of the snare hits. Whatever your mind can come up with, it is all possible.

These are just a few of the ideas. Hopefully you can get your HHs sounding just the right way. Making sure your OFF HIT high hats are just right, will ultimately give your sound the groove you are looking for.

Keep makin tunes!

Peace!

FroBot

Mixing in Key (And Other Tips) in Ableton Live

Todays information is a little bit different than before. Since I have a show tonight, I was working on a new mix today rather than production...but they can work hand in hand. Todays main tip is about mixing in key and using the circle of 5ths as a guide to mix within harmonies.

Many DJs switch to ableton live due to its versatility in mixing. I like to take this to the extreme, automating tons of things so my hands are free to do more remixing than actual tedious mixing things...after all, if I wanted to mix the old way, I would use vinyl or CDJ's.

The main secret to my mixing is the use of a program called "Mixed in Key". Its about 60 dollars, and dont think about pirating it, cause its just not out there. Its one of the most useful programs I have ever bought when it comes to mixing.

What Mixed In Key allows you to do is analyze all of your tracks to determine its key & bpm. Then it labels them with a useful ID like A1 or B2, etc etc. I will explain what all this means in a minute.

First of all, to use it, just download it, and drag your tracks into it. Set the naming settings to your likings, and then click analyze. Be sure to check your settings, because it will rename your files if you have that selected, and it will be a bitch for ableton to find your newly named files in your past sets if you want to go back. Think of getting this program as a fresh start to your ableton experience, and rename all your tracks and reorganize everything. Its a days work.

What is also nice is that the tracks can be drug right into ableton for easy use. Use of this program is pretty straight forward, just play around within the tabs.

Once you have it labelled, I like to make nice list within ableton so I can find harmonies easily. In this picture, I color coated each similar key (A1, B1, etc). The black ones are tracks I have already used in a certain mix that I was preparing.


Now what do these labels mean. Well pretty much, it follows the circle of 5ths. Meaning that, going from one piece of the circle to an adjacent part will be in harmony. Tracks labelled the same are obviously in the same key. You can get an idea from the diagram below -


Anything labelled B is in a MAJOR, and anything in A is a minor. You will see after analyzing your songs that most tracks are in minors, which give a little bit more serious sound to the track.
You can move from either (for example) 7A-7B, or 7A-8A or 7B to 8B. Just change either one number or one letter, and you have a nice harmonic mix. Changing from Major to minor can really change the feeling of the mix too.

This opens a world of possibilities when mixing on the fly, because you know for a fact that 2 selected tracks will mix, as long as you choose a nice place where the kicks arent to powerful, or the bass isnt too heavy.

Which brings me to my next point, "WHERE SHOULD YOU MIX within a track?"

Now, in a traditional sense, a regular vinyl or CDJ dj will change the EQs (especially the lows) and make to beats line up. This way you dont have an over heavy kick or bass. I NEVER like to do this. I think of it as a way of the past. I almost never mix with beats over top of each other, because I simply do not like the way computer EQs sounds. If I absolutely want to, I would probably use the clubs mixer...but again, I rarely do that.

I prefer to mix within the ambient sections and build ups of a track, for a more explosive changing mix. It is very hard to do this with regular CDJs and vynal, (because there is no beat to match them together) so your mix can sound more unique than most DJs who just phase between one track to another. After all, the db levels are usually lower in these parts, and mixes can get really spacey and powerful. If you look at the next 2 pictures, you can see that I chose 2 ambient parts to mix within. They contain a very light beat, or are totally ambient.



If I prepare some of my mix before hand, I like to use the loop marker as a marker to remember where I am mixing (even if loop is not activated). If you like to do it by memory, that is fine too, but I only play a few minutes of a track, so it can be hard when dealing with hundreds of tracks every few months.

I like my mixes to mathematically meet and end. So a nice build up will begin in a new track, and then I will have the end point of the old track end right when the explosion hits. Keeps everything clean.

Now back to the key part. Lets say you do want to mix some tracks that are different keys. One trick I love, and maybe even use too much, is the transpose envelope within the clip. This is also good when you have 2 tracks that just wont mix right. I like to make the key drop or rise until it meets the key of the next track....or just totally destroy the track by taking all the way down or up to + or - 48 semitones. You will find you can make tracks mix and use a cool effect at the same time. You can see I did this in the example below -



It can also sound really creative to drop the key in a straight slope if you have some nice chords or ambient hits. The crowd will notice too, because something seems too clean!

Another thing I really like to do is crop my tracks. I tend to really HATE diva vocals, but there are tons of good funky tracks that have great beats, but then some horrible diva singing. Just drag your tracks into the compose view and chop the track where the vocal starts (or whatever you want to remove). Experiment with which part to bring in after it, but you will be surprise as to how many sections after that part will match right up when you join the clip together. Since everything is warped, it usually slices well. After cutting it, bring them back together, and select the 2 clips, press APPLE J, and it will join them back together. Drag them back into your session view, and you have chopped out the part you dont want. This is also handy for breakdowns of tracks that you think are too long. I hate watching all the uneasy dancers at a club stand there when there is a 1 1/2 minute breakdown without a beat...so just chop part of it out.

Be careful when moving clips from session view to compose view because it will only take from where your start marker is, and if you have a loop marker in it, it will end where the loop marker is. Remove those if you want to see the whole track. Sometimes it can get confusing when you look and remember "oh, point 97 I want to cut" but then you move it into compose and it starts where your start marker was, and not the whole tracks...and that point will be point 57 or something, instead of 97.

Some other good ideas for mixing with automation is to throw on small delay or reverb at the very end of a track, so that when it ends, it isnt SO abrupt. Just toss your track into compose. Cut it at the very end of the track. Then route (usings abletons routing), from that track to an empty track (ins and outs). Record the new track with the effect on it. Save that. Then just drag it back into compose and connect it to your old track. The levels will be the same as long as both were playing at 0db.

Again, if you just want to do it live and by hand, you can do that too, but the cool thing about ableton is that you can automate things so you dont have to, and your hands are free to do other things.

Another HUGE secret of mine, is using filters instead of EQs for mixing, but I will save that for another blog.

Anyway, thats it for today. Enjoy mixing in key, and making your mixes as clean as possible.

Peace!

FroBot