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Primary research - I showed my tracks to fellow waterer colleagues to get opinions on sound, structure and clarity within my mixes.

Someone said before the 3rd drop where the melody it pitched up and overall feel is more open, that I should tease the higher pitch bars before it drops to give listeners an sense of anticipation for the next drop.

The image above highlights this very advice, the last 4 bars of the lower octave melody playing, I added an additional channel grabbing that same melody but pitching it up an octave and then using creative automation I utilised high-cut frequency to make that at the end of every bar had a shimmer and tease of the higher octave playing alongside the lower octave.

Secondary Research - I undertook some research onto layering drums as I had never really done it before. I researched this as my amen drum break wasn't hitting how id like it to and would slightly fall off grid. So in my research I found that layering kicks, snares and hi-hats etc, are very beneficial and allow a more structured and polished sound. This also fuses the sound of classical drum sampling with modernised synthetic drum sounds, adding to the creative aspect of production.

Haven,S. (2023) Drum Breaks: A Guide To Injecting Character into Your Music. EdmProd.com

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For this summative assignment I will focusing on three points that reflect off of the feedback from my WBE101 hand-in;

S1 - Firstly, in terms of the tracks and production, a big criticism I received was that both my tracks were too similar in instrumentation and sound, as I had only altered the percussion to create a 'different' genre. Therefore, for this hand-in I will be making the sound selection my main focal point for both tracks, assuring they have contrasting sound and generate differentiating feelings for the listeners.

S1 - I was criticised into sampling my live recording performances in many alternative ways within the same track, rather than utilising the same loop throughout the track. I could do this through transposition, MIDI/Audio Fx and other automation techniques to produce many sounds/feelings using a singular recording. This will grant me more potential marks in creativity.

S2 - For my written work I shall focus onto showcasing more in-depth analysis of techniques and effects I've used etc. alongside this having a more detailed and filled out Gibbs reflective cycle to grant more insight and potential marks for my S2 hand-in.

To assure success in this module, I will make sound differentiation and post-production for both my tracks my main focus throughout these 10 weeks. This will benefit me as it can force me into being adaptive with alternative genres and grant me not only versatility in my production skills, but also be able to present many different creative/corrective techniques and performance into my entry diary, in the hope of achieving a higher grade.

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Both Quality and Quantity are very beneficial for a producer such as myself for many different reasons. some reasons better than others, resulting in a preference on focusing on quality or quantity when creating music.

Firstly, Quality is for me the most important factor of music creation as is ensures a 'professional' sound and will be praised more frequently via listeners, opposed to quantity.

If quality was disregarded from production, technical aspects of production would be very minimal, alongside hindering the emotional impact for listeners, as a loss in quality means a loss in immersion for most.

Dynamic range for example can help differentiate aspects of the music, adding impact and emotional depth to the track. The 'professional sound' will help an artists/producer attain positive credibility in the music industry, as a lot if popular music is of very high quality. this means the music may be shared around more, gaining publicity, due to the fact matches the quality and output of a highly successful artist, almost putting the music on par with high success.

Hein, E. (2016).How important is sound quality when people listen to music?. New York. Quora

Quantity is also very important, for the fact of building up a catalogue for an artist/producer. What I mean by this is if I were to collaborate with an artist only having a couple high quality tracks, the artist might not get on board with those musical ideas and won't cohere to the artists style of sound. having multiple track ideas, not only allows better chances of collaboration, it also inspires creativity when working in the studio. the artist or producer Im working with may have a different creative view of a musical prompt I created, leading to a completely different track that suits the artists needs even more than if I solely created the music.

Matla, S., ADSRSounds Available at https://www.adsrsounds.com/useful-articles/3-reasons-why-producers-should-focus-on-quantity-over-quality/#

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Here is my SWOT analysis graph detailed in correlation to myself as a music producer

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Strengths - I can utilise my creative sampling and progression in melodies to have fulfilled and versatile ideas to assure creativeness is a focal point of my tracks. this can also help prevent the threat if musical idea blocks.

Weaknesses - I must endeavour some research online on how to mix percussion and lower frequencies (0-350Hz). This will ensure that I can get a professional sounding track to display, alongside gain potential marks for Techniques in mastering/mixing etc.

Opport - To grant a higher chance of success I can collaborate and meet up with other music colleagues to not only create a track, but also learn something new. Whether that be, a new creative technique, a mastering tip or a simple insight into a new genre I haven't worked with.

This could lead onto me being inspired in many different ways, allowing me to branch out my musical ideas and elaborate these ideas in a way that's unorthodox to my production style, resulting in me as a producer becoming more versatile.

Threats - to ensure minimal threats occur, I will be constantly making save files of al my projects and work so I don't lose much progress. Alongside this, make sure I keep up external curricular activities, such as gym, seeing friends, relaxing, as it will make my mental health a more healthy and optimal state for focus and work rate etc.

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Here is my weekly practice routine for the next couple of months in aid of my summative hand-in

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I will track my progress with this routine by creating a new track at the end of every week, applying either new production techniques or performance techniques. This will highlight any improvement as I can reflect back to prior tracks and notice any degrading differences to the tracks, that don't have techniques I apply in later beats.

To make sure I stay on track with my routine, I will use an app called 'habit' which is a mobile app that notifies me when its time to complete a 'prompt' of some practice I need to do, making sure I complete these consistently and efficiently.

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I will be creating 2 experimental dance tracks, utilising sampling for the main melodies as creative sampling is my strong point.

For my remix I will be sampling 'Kraftwerk - Ruckzuck Vertigo 1970' this is an electronic rock piece that has many unique and interesting sound selection making it an optimal choice to flip it into a dance track.

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For my second track I wanted to push my creative sampling limits and try to sample something unorthodox.

I will be sampling a clip of Darius day of which he Is stimming using his voice. I heard potential in the stem as it has repetitive, arpeggiated melody which could be very opitimal for a dance/trance track.

I will be using all kinds of automation and production techniques to utilise this 'non-musical' stem into a satisfying and organic track for my hand-in

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This track is in the key of D major

The tempo of this track is 137BPM

I have created an initial melody for my track by copying an mp3 of a YouTube video called 'Kraftwerk by RuckZuck' and stemmed the audio, of which I had learnt from Joe in the art of the remix, removing all the bass and drums with channel EQ. I then took the sequenced synth pattern melody and used it as my own melody, I then applied tape delay to this channel for a more ambient/glitched sound. I applied a 1/2 delay as it meant the melody would still play in time opposed to 1/8 dotted rhythm which would make it sound messy. I only applied 27% feedback as I wanted to only hear it subtly in the background accompanying the melody, instead of overpowering the melody with a higher feedback causing sound clashing and incoherent note depiction.

I intend to the use the melody for the introduction, I then stretched the melody to half-time, as well as pitching it down an octave to highlight a beat drop in the structure.

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I added a high pitch synth sequence that I grabbed from a sample in arcade into the intro to rise into the intitial drop of the tracks, the added effects and groove from this synth to the melody creates a melodic riser for the listener to anticipate to.

I then used that same instrument and pitch it down half an octave creating a diminished 5th accompaniment for the main melody. This sound is also flute-like, which correlates to the original sampled track as they also use flutes in their music, so they were a good inspiration for the sound selection. I added a pedalboard to this, applying fatness and slight distortion to cohere to the unorthidox and unique sound of the track, makes the synth sound quite dystopian when the main feel of the track is quite energising, creating more emotional impact for the listener.

I finally applied a little chopped up sample section at the end of the first verse bar using tape stop also, as I have an idea to create a bouncy drum roll into the next bar and this will accompany it well.

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Here is an audio demo of what my drums and bass sound like by themselves

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Here is a demo clip of what my melody sounds like for the first 30 bars of my track

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I have started on my second studio DAW track and have finalised the melodies for the rest of my track.

This track is in the key of D and has a tempo of 108BPM

The track starts with the original video of the mum speaking to Darius with a 2 bar loop of Darius stimming. at the end of the second bar I applied tape stop to highlight an abrupt change in sound with coherence and clarity.

I then looped Darius stimming for 4 bars with the end of the 3rd bar having a up transposition in pitch to create diversity in the melody rather than just a continuous loop.

I added 'Chromaverb' which is a stock Logic Pro x effect which adds an ambient reverb to the channel making the stimming from Darius sound more ethereal and applicable for trance music.

I added a high pitch analog synth that I had sourced from alchemy, a stock plug-in on Logic Pro X, to accompany this melody and played a note before the start of the before to act as an accent note into the drop. I panned this synth to -7 for dynamic range in the mix as well as lowering the volume to keep the sound in the background of the track.

Afterwards I added another instrument channel using 'Loopcloud play' and went onto the bass presets, I found a simple synth bass line labelled 'Battery Bass' that didn't have too much distortion or grit with applied LPF, therefore it would gravitate the focus onto the melodies and attain warmth in the overall sound, instead of overbearing the melodies with heavy 808's etc.

on the 3rd bar after the initial drop hits I added a Vox flute sound, which I had found on 'Arcade' under the name 'Toolbox Heart Vox' In the Line 'Raw Takes' as it exaggerates the vocal from Darius in the main melody.

On the 9th bar I added another chopped Vox sequence using the same arcade preset 'Toolbox Heart Vox', only using a different sample on the kit. This accompanied the main melody to achieve some brilliance and almost a call and response type effect with the melodies. I also panned this channel to - 4. This can benefit bounce I the track as well as immersing the listener as there are many ambient sounds playing simultaneously with dynamic range.

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My primary reason for why I produce music and why I play piano all the time, is that i've never been able to express myself through other means. As someone with a highly creative mindset, I want the world to acknowledge my genius in creativity and potentially make a move with my style of creative in the music industry.

I have always heard music differently to most people I know. I always listen to a song with ideas popping up in my head as to how I could flip or change parts of the song to fulfil my auditory needs when listening to music. What I mean by this is, with some music, I can hear an alternative version of that song that would suit my idea of 'perfect' sounding music and how much better it would sound with my modifications. So from this I have always been fascinated with how different sounds affect me differently and what I love to hear and can replicate a sound myself that I love.

A final reason I spend so much time with music is because it is my form of escapism in life. When I make music it's the only time my brain stops with rushing thoughts and fears and be in a 'flow state'. This form of escapism will benefit not only my mental health and satisfaction in life, it also makes me feel I'm putting time into something worthwhile, that could benefit my potential career, instead of spending countless time on useless dopamine exhausting activities such as drinking or scrolling TikTok.

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From taking the procrastination quiz I have discovered I'm amongst all 4 classes of personality in making music.

I am a big perfectionist and rebel when tallying up my scores. this means I am very determined to complete something to my most optimal level and will not accept even the most minimal of 'faults' and aspects that don't cohere to what I want to hear and feel. I have had very stressful scenarios when making music, for example I couldn't find the exact chord sequence I wanted from a synth I was using and would spend a long time trying different variation and key changes trying to find that 'perfect' progression I was yearning for.

As a rebel I am very adamant to utilise my own creative ideas for most of my music, this is a factual analysis as I really know what I want from my music and how I want to progress it. On the contrast I am sometimes open to musical ideas from others, however I will always take those ideas and adjust them to how I see fit, making me feel more proud and accomplished from making a track as taking sole credibility for a piece of music is great for me.

Again, I am not opposed to collaboration, I just wish to express and showcase my style of production prominently in music production,.

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On my Studio track I have added drums and percussion as well as an additional Vox stab.

When the first drop hits I added a simple kick drum that plays 4 to the floor, traditional to house music, just to add some groove to the introduction. I then added a slowly rising kick drum pattern towards the end of bar 18 for a build up into the next section.

When bar 19 hits I added a Vox using darius' mum saying his name to add as a presence of ear candy and dynamic sound to the track. This also acts as a riser into the next bar which will implement more percussion. I added echo and reverb to this channel to create and ambient sound to accompany and cohere with the main melody.

when bar 20 strikes I added the to the floor kick pattern as well as a simple 2-step hi-hat pattern to add progression into the track.

On bar 24 I add additional mum Vox stabs with altercation in pitch for variation in the sound of the track.

Also, on bar 24 I had chopped up a DnB drum break given to me by Joe in the art of the remix and applied it with the kick and hi-hat to achieve a more in depth and authentic sound as well has promoting more bounce in the percussive element of this beat.

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Here is a demo of my progress so far of the track including drums and melodies

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On bar 31 when the melody increases in pitch by an octave, I utilised High-cut Eq automation from 18,000Hz to 195Hz towards the end of the 2nd loop, to accentuate the breakdown into the next section creating a smooth transition.

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On bar 38 I chopped up the amen break for a bouncy kick drum roll into the next section, for added variation in the progression of the track and highlight the anticipation of a new section coming forth.

In addition to this, I added a metallic OH on the next bar when the new drop hits, accentuating the transition of a section and adding further brilliance.

To make this more effective I added an additional OH a bar before and reversed it to act as a creative and flowing riser into the OH. Doing this instead of grabbing a new riser means the riser and OH have a similar feel and sound causing further coherence and satisfaction in sound.

To add variation, I removed the main melody and just had the accompanying synths playing over the drums and bass creating a more open and spacious sound for emphasis on the breakdown.

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Track 1 Remix;

Key - D Major

Structure - Rondo

Timbre - Bright/Mechanical

Texture - Polyphonic

Time Sig - 4/4

Tempo - 137BPM

Genre - Electronic

Feel - Energetic/vibrant/Jiving

Track 2 Sampled Track;

Key - D Major

Structure - Rondo

Timbre - Warm/Airy

Texture - Homophonic

Time Sig - 4/4

Tempo - 108BPM

Genre - Trance

Feel - Soulful/Fluid/Soaring

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after the section of which the main melody is cancelled out, I then just copied there structure of melodies from before and pasted it afterwards.

I copied the lower pitch melody in the first 8 bars then transitioned into the octave higher melody as per the first time and then transitioned it into every instrument playing simultaneously as a final drop.

To create an outro I slowly took away percussive elements starting with Amen break drums, then the hi-hats with the melody using high-cut frequency automation and then grabbed the snare and pitched it down an octave onto the first bar where every other percussion is cancelled out to create a almost crash sound slowly hitting out into silence.

I also grabbed the drum sample chop and added it at the end as a abrupt conclusion to the track.

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On Bar 28 I get rid of all drums besides the sampled DnB drums to create space after the initial build-up to create an illusionary drop that translates into another build-up section.

After 4 bars I add kick drums in a diffrerent pattern than before that bounces off of the sampled drums creating more bounce and hit in the percussion.

After 8 bars I introduce hi-hats with a simple 2-step pattern to adhere to the build-up and create more tension.

On bar 40 I bring back the accompanying synth melody to finalise the progression into a drop.

On Bar 39 Beat 3 I add a reversed kick drum to accentuate the addition of the synth melody creating a creative and hard sounding transition that has no stopping or deduction in sound.

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Finally I created a brand new melody and outro for my studio track.

For the melody switch I stretched the initial main melody to almost double its size to create a sustained and soaring feeling with the melody. This helped create airiness and ambience in variation with the track.

When this switch up happens I cancel out all drums for 4 bars to allow the melody and breakdown to fully immerse the listener. Then on the 5 bar I slowly introduce the DnB drum sample using high-cut frequency automation, making a gradual drum pattern emerge from the new found melody.

The beat then drops on bar 72 going back to the original main melody with accompaniments of the newer vocal melody to create a dissimilar yet recognisable sound and feel.

When this beat hits I bring in the kick drum pattern from the bars 32 replicating the same build-up. Alongside this utilising the same placement of a reverse kick and hi-hats that I had used for the drop on bar 40 creating the same drop as before, however with the new melody creating a whole new aspect of feeling with only minor creative differences.

When the reverse kick hits I bring in the initial chopped Vox sequence to accompany the melody, however I transpose the pitch of this audio down to -7 to create a different harmony and feel, as I wanted a darker and more tranquil feeling for the outro of the track.

On bar 84 I remove the hi-hats and kick drum leaving the sampled drums playing solely with the bass and melody to achieve an initial ending to the track.

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Here is a screenshot of a tape stop just before bar 32. I used this tape stop to creatively transition into a pitch shift I had applied, transposing the pitch down an octave for variation and structure devlopment. This will help create a sense of

On Bar 32 I transposed the pitch of the main melody down an octave for variation and structure development.

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On bar 85 beat 2 I add a 1/1 tape stop onto the sampled drums to slowly fizzle out into the melody outro. This then just leaves the main vocal melody and synth bass play for 2 bars into complete silence. Concluding the track

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After I had produced a melody for my track I went forward with the percussion and bass.

Firstly, I chose a typical stringed electric bass guitar as my bass choice as it seemed the most appropriate and coherent. Kraftwerk also use a stringed bass guitar in their original track

In week 3/4 Joe Newman had sent me amen break drum audio files so I utilised them for the percussion of this track as it's appropriate for the fast paced electronic track I'm creating. When first bar starts I use stretched amen break audio as it sounds like a slower hip-hop drum sound, creating a good build-up accompaniment into the drop.

When the beat does drop I speed the stretched drums by 2x, to create a fast paced energetic feel of groove and bounce. I applied an envelope filter to the drums turning down the gain by 35%, this is because as they are a sampled and stretched, there was slight graininess in the sound, so the gain just helps turn down any distorted aspects of the drums, making them sound more polished.

When the initial beat drops after the intro, I added a Vox crash opposed to a traditional cymbal crash to showcase creativeness. I grabbed the sample from a clip of Kanye screaming, I then transposed it a few tones and added heavy reverb and delay to help carry ambience and bounce when the beat first hits. then when the 2nd drop hits the same Vox plays every few bars transposed down to pitches in the same key.

Before the bar hits I grabbed some drum fills from my downloads, that I had originally sourced from Reddit on 'R/Drumkits', alongside an accompaniment of a metallic riser, to add depth and unique bounce into the drop.