UCSD Mus 173 - Electronic Music Production & Composition

For the lack of good resources to learn M4L, here are some pointers and suggestions: These are probably the most popular tutorials available right now, available here . Another good resource is the pack " M4L Building Tools " available from Ableton.com. After installing the pack, go to Pack and control-click the "M4L Building Tools" pack and go to "Show Default Lesson". Look at the Help view on the right and follow the examples. There are M4L lessons available in Max after you launch it. Go to Help and go down to Reference.

Here are some helpful resources regarding song structure. Pop song structure: Intro - Verse, Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Outro. Intro - Verse - Chorus -Bridge (solo) Chorus - Bridge -Outro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_structure  EDM song structure:    Intro – Main A – breakdown + build-up – Main A - Outro  http://subaqueousmusic.com/dubstep-and-electronic-music-song-structure/  http://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/tutorial-from-an-idea-to-a-song    

がんばってね (Ganbatte ne)   The Japanese version of “Good luck!” doesn’t actually say “Good luck”.  It literally means “Do your best”.    The final project is a free form musical composition that includes, but is not limited to: original composition remix meshup DJ set for live performance  any live and Ableton performance generative music (automated set)  interactive installation   Finals schedule:  Thursday, June 15th from 3-6 CPMC 367 Optional: Please let me know if you are ready to present on Thursday, June 8th.    Format of the presentation: The presentations are limited to 7min, and should include playback of your composition and a short presentation / explanation of what your did. You can show your Ableton set or make some slides that show the main parts of the set (screenshots) and sound clips playback.   Submission instructions (before the finals): Send us (instructor and TAs) a link to your fi...

Topics for Review / Quiz prep: Make sure you understand these terms. The Two views Clips - Midi versus Audio Signal Chain Effects and Instruments Rack Compressor EQ AutoFilter Vocoder Midi Effects: Arpeggio, Scale, Chords Impulse Simpler Operator Additive synthesis FM synthesis LFO Routing Master Track Return Tracks I/O selectors Delay Side Chaining Clip controls Warping types Follow action Warping markers and correction Recording into clip, into session view Automation / Envelopes  List of chapters in Ableton Manual: 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.5, 8.1-8.4 (all 8), 9.1, 9.2, 10.1-10.4 (all 10), 13.1, 13.2, 14.1, 14.2, 14.6, 15.1, 15.2, 15.4, 15.7, 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 17.1, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 19.1, 19.2, 19.5, 20.1, 22.2, 22.7, 22.10, 22.26, 22.28, 22.31, 23.1, 23.2, 23.6, 24.5, 24.6, 24.8, 

1.  Download and install oscilloscope (drop into appropriate max4live folder in devices) http://www.maxforlive.com/library/device/1124/oscilloscope Create a midi track with simpler and load a sample of your choice (samples can be found in Ableton's Browser under Library). Route the output of the midi track to the audio track containing the oscilloscope. Play some notes on a midi track and observe the oscilloscope display. What is the relation between the scope display and the waveform you loaded? Hint: You can double-click on one of the clips in the midi track and draw a midi note, instead of playing it on a controller / keyboard. Do not forget to select "In" on the Monitor of the audio channel to receive the signal. 2. Edit the oscilloscope in Max4Live. Uncheck the patching mode view to see its contents. Open the scope~ help (control-click the scope grid) and read the explanation about X-Y mode. Modify the oscilloscope patch so that it would receive a stereo input in X-Y...

Some popular remixes can be found here. Try to note how remixing effectively changes the genre of the music and see what elements are used to achieve this. Walter Murphy "The fifth of Beethoven" Tay Zonday "Chocolate Rain" versus "Cherry Chocolate Rain" The Police "Every Breath You Take" versus Puff Daddy "I'll be Missing You" ELP's "Pictures at Exhibition" based on Mussorgsky's piece of the same name Robot Koch has his own unique way of remixing music. This could be an interesting example for a different kind of remix project. Eclipse by Robot-Koch based on Julien Marchal's piano piece An interview with Robot-Koch about this piece is here A mashup piece I showed in class is Fatboy Slim "The Rockafeller Skank" . See also a wikipedia page about it. A digital culture analysis and diagram of remix versus mashup can be found here , also for other types of art.

Deconstruction Project: Choose an existing song, for examples one of the videos below and recreate it. This assignment should be done in groups of 3-4 students. You have to report your group and song of choice by next Tuesday (May 16). What to do: Explain about the form, genre, instruments used, any special effects or sound designs.  Recreate one or more parts of the song to demonstrate the interesting points. Save your set and document the steps, effects or other techniques that you learned while doing the deconstruction.  Summary: Send us a short summary (one page max) with the main points of your presentation: Names of the group participants Name of the Song, composer, genre and etc. Link to video or resources that you used to learn about the song. List of topics you are about the present.   Presentation: Each group will show their assignment in class and explain what they did. You can show the Ableton set live or prepare a slideshow with snapshots...

In many of the previous examples we used routing as a way to pass musical information between different tracks and also to control the way external sources from midi and audio are input into the tracks. Here are some lecture notes that summarize the main aspects of routing. In the notes I also explain about a reverb lead-in sound, also known as reverse vocal effect. This example uses routing to records from one track to another, and also uses in-sample editing by reversing a clip.

Side-chaining is an important effect that can gain a lot of sonic traction for your compositions. Imagine that every time the kick drum or snare hit, the instruments and other sounds are sucked away for that instant. This has become very popular in electronic music, and is also used on tracks in a subtle way where it significantly improves the mix while the listener may not notice it. To get started, check out this historical video. Here are the steps to follow to create these effects, including vocoder sidechaining for a special vocal treat:   MELODIC / PITCHED MIDI TRACKS: 1. Create two midi tracks and select two MIDI instruments, dragging in one for each. For the purpose of this HW, it is good to pick Pads / Strings / long sustaining pitched sounds. 2. Play chords, draw chords, or drag in a MIDI file into one of the MIDI channels. Copy the same clip/MIDI and put it on the second MIDI channel. 3. Mute one of the two instrument MIDI channels (we will use this one for v...

The slides from class today that describe different categories of Sound Effects are here . Specific details of EQ, Compression and Reverb are here . As we mentioned in class, these slides contain some technical details that are important for understanding the underlying theory and more specific or exact use for audio engineering or mastering uses. In our case the best way to learn about the musical "meaning" of these effects is to try them out on different sounds - some melodic sounds, pads, or some dynamic sounds and percussive loops. A good reference book for the Audio Engineering aspects is: Bob Katz, Mastering Audio: the art and science, Focal Press