Where Does This Stuff Come From?

 How Do You Do This Stuff?

Since I have started posting my music to you tube, a little history and perhaps some friendly teaching would be in order.  I enjoy teaching and mentoring and believe that the more we know, the more choices we all have to grow.  That is, if we so choose.

These "spacescapes", as I call them, aren't just random drag and drop sounds inserted here and there.  In fact, I have a real idea of what I am intending to design.  For instance, the title:  The Aeon Mines, is about mining on an asteroid in deep space.  So, the foundation must have audio components associated with mining;  background noise, industrial sounds, clanking and grinding, pulse.  Then, come the emotions that accompany being around, or, working in a mine;  tension, fear, heaviness, perhaps anger? futility, resignation, and etc.  In my "spacescape" Aeon Revolt!, the miners have had enough and they are fighting back, emotionally that is.  This approach to sound design and composing come from my many years of studying film scoring and composition. 

Where it All Comes Together

Right now, my favorite software for designing these kinds of spacescapes  is Ableton, a great software program that is very friendly to just about anything I ask it to do.  Plus, it comes  with lots of  instruments, dynamic processors, and filters.  It also allows me to use virtual instruments from my other audio programs as well as their processors.  If you want to just add prerecorded sounds (samples), the dragging and dropping can be accomplished as the piece is playing, as well as adding and effects that are in the Ableton program.  Again, it's not the only software I use but, for these audio environments, it works best for me.

So, I may start with a beat, particular rhythm, or a chord, or a sound, and I fool around with it and let it Happen. That's important, letting it Happen and not giving up on it too quickly.  Loop it (repeat it), listen and feel, add another instrument or synth to it, does it help?  Which organic sound (sample) would compliment?  and so on.  The next thing I know, I have more than a few tracks, some midi tracks some audio, and I'm focusing on the emotional side of it.  I make corrections to chords or melodies or where I want that particular sound.  And so it evolves.  I also make longer pieces, so when it ends up being licensed ( Oh Please God!),  there are many possible edit points to go in and out of.

Eventually, I have what I call a complete piece.  Then, I work on the individual tracks.  The ones written in midi need to be converted to audio.  After all of that is finished, I start applying EQ and effects.  I may pick and choose from Ableton, Cakewalk X1, Sound Forge, or Adobe Audition.  Each one of these has their own flavor to add, if I choose.  I may throw on some other samples also.  IMPORTANT.  I do NOT believe in using sounds that don't belong to me.  That is, I have purchased the software and have a legal copy or, the particular libraries.  The royalties will have been paid, and my INTEGRITY is intact.  If it isn't my sample, I make a point of altering in some way, the sample by changing the EQ, or adding some kind of dynamic like compression, reverb, chorus, etc.,  reverse the sample, cut it up in pieces.  To me, there is nothing worse than hearing samples that EVERYBODY else is using.  So, unless it's an obvious sound that I want you to hear, like a big ship horn or helicopter or something like that, I'll process the sample.

OK, almost done, check the individual tracks for volumes, too much?  too little?  do some panning and cross fading and whatever little tricks that I may like to apply.  Then I mix it down, export it, burn a CD and try it on other speakers, or in my car.  This will tell you quite a bit if you cross check it with different speaker systems.  Many times I have gone back to the drawing board after I listened to my piece elsewhere.

It's then copyright time, registering the piece (if applicable) with BMI, bringing into Adobe Premier to add visuals, checking, checking always checking that it's all good, making the "movie" and uploading to You Tube or wherever.  The uploading part is a whole other story that I talk about some other time. 

Peace! 

Ronny Belair
p.s.  really, let's just get along and accept each other for who we really are.

p.s.s.  The Aeon Mines piece was composed in total on my Alesis QS.8 in midi, altering  and tweaking the programs, and edited before turning into audio.  No other samples were used.
one more p.s.  link to you tube: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/RonnyBeeMusic