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I plan to write a track which combines elements of electronic music with live instruments. I think it could potentially sound interesting to put these two disciplines together. Although I've primarily been an indie rock bassist up to this point in my career, I'd like to explore electronic music in an attempt to make a more unique fusion sound. I became inspired upon meeting an electronic musician who has a portfolio of interesting and professional sounding tracks. I will use one of these tracks as a guide for my mix - "In My Skin" by IHF.

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I'm excited about the prospect of gaining production knowledge; this is something that's extremely limited at this point.

My only experience using a DAW so far has involved recording into Logic Pro and moving the volume sliders so the track seems level (by ear). The gaps in my knowledge are almost everything to do with production, but for this term I will focus my time on EQ, compression and panning.

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My initial SMART targets for this project are as follows:
1. Learn the role of EQ and how to manipulate it to suit the mix.
2. Understand how to pan instruments appropriately to improve clarity in the mix
3. Improve knowledge of compression and learn when and when not to use it.

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In order to complete my song, I will need a number of resources, including my electric guitar, computer, microphone, audio interface, DAW, headphones, MIDI keyboard and software plugins. If I find that I need other resources as the weeks progress, I will state this in future entries.

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Regarding timeline, I plan to have a demo mix ready for 21st October 2022 and a completed produced mix by mid-December.

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Once I've completed this track, I should have a deeper understanding of general production techniques, particularly those related to my SMART targets.  I will be able to create clearer mixes through EQ manipulation, understand which instruments to pan and and how to do this appropriately for the genre. I will also gain knowledge in compression, allowing me to understand its function and apply it when necessary.

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Taking inspiration from my guide track, I began looking for appropriate VST sounds in Logic Pro as a starting point to open the track. As well as the guide track, I also listened to "Clouds" by IHF which has a harp sound which appealed to me. I searched the VSTs for a sound similar to this. I searched "harp" in the VST search box and a number of options appeared. I listened to all search results and two of them sounded interesting: "rain harp" and "artificial harp".  Having played around with them in a random fashion on my MIDI keyboard, I couldn't decide between them. It was then that I realised they work quite well in tandem. I chose to use them both. The best way for me to get a clear sound was to play the melody on one, then copy and paste it to the other. I wanted the track to evoke a sense of positivity, so I played around with the major scale. I also find it easy to play major scales on the keyboard with my limited knowledge of this instrument. The keys are laid out in a functional way for the major scale. The recording shows the melody I came up with  played on the two harp VSTs.

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After completing the initial melody, I felt the song needed some underlying chords. My idea for the sound was less concrete than the melody but I knew it had to be a much less harsh sound than the harp so that they work together without fighting for sonic space. I opened a new software instrument track and played some random major chords while scrolling down "keyboard" VSTs.

Once again, I found an appropriate sound, but similar to the melody, I found a second one which worked well in conjunction with the first. The two VSTs I chose were "Mercer Memories Synth" and "Old VHS Tape Synth". They both had quite a dreamy sound which worked well to balance the harshness of the harp sounds.

The chord itself came from random playing over the harp. My process was to have the harp part loop and for me to play chords under it until something was pleasing to the ear. My approach is not theory-based; I write everything this way. In the end, I thought it would sound fine with just one chord here. I thought it still wasn't interesting enough with the harp melody, so I added a second melody to the chord using the same VST settings. The audio above shows the chords and melody I came up with.

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Here is the audio for both the melody and the chord part playing in conjunction.

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Writing an electronic song is out of my comfort zone but I also thought that it could be an easier process when recording because of the ability to utilise looping of certain elements such as the harp sound.

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I'm happy with how well the harp melody and the underlying chords mesh together. The rhythm of the chords reminded me of something Tame Impala would do - a band I love.

I think there is a strong basis to the the song now with these two elements but something is still missing in the introduction. I'm not quite sure what yet but the track seems to be too immediate as it stands and need to find a way of easing into it more without too much happening at once.

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Listening back, although the song is in a major key, the harp and keys sounds together seem to evoke melancholy. After a recent lecture with Geni Lamb, I learned that the feeling you get from a track may be related to the scale or the mode of the major scale. My knowledge doesn't yet span as far as knowing which mode is present in this track.

The feeling of the track will allow influence in the content of the lyrics in a later stage of songwriting.

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I don't know the theory behind this, but when playing around with chords and melodies, it doesn't sound good to have sounds with similar characteristics. This might be to do with competing frequencies fighting for space. Having this knowledge will influence how I write songs in the future as I will aim to combine sounds with different characteristics.

By the time the track is complete, this will help me to set a standard for future electronic tracks and have a point of reference to improve upon.

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As I'm now happy with the chord and melody basis of the song, I now need to develop a strong bassline and drum sound to tie down the rhythm of the track. I'm happy with how it sounds so far and hope to complete the track within the next two to three weeks prior to the production stage.

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As I continued to write the intro and verse part of the track, the next logical progression would be to focus on the rhythmic elements, specifically the bass and drums. I thought drums would be an easier place to start because I played the other elements to a click at 100BPM and there was a workaround to find the right type of beat; when writing songs in Logic I tend to use the "Drummer" function as a guide before creating my own beat at a later time. I searched through some of the electronic drummer sections until I came across a beat that worked quite well. Under the "Modern House" preset there was a beat called "Furious Four" which had an interesting kick and snare pattern with a shaker. It had an element of swing which works well with the other elements. Although the beat is simple, the complexity of the melody seems to balance this. Over the coming weeks , I plan to create my own original beat. The audio above shows the beat I used.

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After finding a drum to fit the song, I moved on to the bass part. I would normally play a live bass guitar part but after hearing the other elements of the track, I decided it would probably sound interesting to add a bass synth sound instead. Building a predominantly electronic track is not something I've done before, so the only logical starting point I could think of here is to go through some of the synthesiser presets in Logic. I had a sound in my head that I struggle with the vocabulary to describe. I think what I wanted was a more percussive sound than what a standard bass guitar would be capable of. After going through a few of the presets, I found one called "Alphabet City 808 Bass". During one of my lectures with Craig Lowe, I believe he said the 808 was a Roland Drum machine that people realised made an interesting sounding synth when tuned to different notes, so I believe this will be a tried and tested sound that appeals to people. I played around with the major scale until I created something quite catchy. I think it works well with the drums because the notes are played between the beats. It also complements the other elements of the track. See above for the isolated bass loop.

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Attached here are all the elements so far (harps, keyboards, bass synth, drums).

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I'm pleased with how the track is sounding so far and I believe the parts I've written fit together with no clashes in notes. This is unlike anything I've written before and I'm excited to add more elements and arrange the track.

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The overall sound so far is interesting. I'm reasonably happy with the drum style but I'm well aware that I'll need to replace these with original drums at a later time. When I write drums, it will be easier to create more variance in the kick and snare patterns to keep the song interesting because I will write these from scratch and have more freedom to do what I want.

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I've reached the goal of getting the basis for my song now and I believe that is the most difficult part complete, until I get to the point of writing lyrics and a vocal melody. As mentioned before, my current knowledge of mixing and mastering is extremely limited, so I hope to make progress in my SMART goals at this point.

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The track can still be improved by creating an original beat, which I hope to do over the coming weeks. The melodies I played on the MIDI keyboard, specifically the harps and the bass are slightly out of time in parts, so I will either replay these or quantise them at a later date. I will probably opt for replaying them rather than quantising because I don't want the track to sound robotic and overly perfect. I want the track to sound like it was played by a human, not a computer. At the moment, the melodies are a little too far the other way, with inaccuracies in timing.

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First of all I will attempt to arrange the elements I have into a song structure by looping and copy and pasting in the DAW. I will add attempt some guitar parts over what I already have. I imagine that the track will sound interesting with an electric guitar but I will judge this when I attempt it. Later on in the process I will re-record some of the elements to make them sound more in time. I aim to have moved on to lyrics and vocal melody by week 5, along with an initial mix.

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As the song already sounds quite full, I don't think it needs much in the way of extra instruments to help maintain clarity. I've written a section after the verse with percussive synth elements. I originally wrote it on guitar and then I tried playing it on some keyboards VSTs to see what it sounded like. I have the sound in my head of what the guitar part should sound like but it is a little difficult to play. I have left the rough version in for the time being until I can practice and perfect it. I'll play the part slowly to a metronome and speed it up as it becomes easier. The VSTs are "Fairytales Bells" and "Hammered Wood". The Fairytales Bells setting has a bright and jangly sound but I felt it still didn't sound right. In my head I was thinking of a sound I remember hearing from a Frank Zappa song in which it had guitar following the same notes on a percussive instrument, which was probably a xylophone. I tried to replicate this effect with the Hammered Wood VST. It seems to work well with the Fairytales Bells preset. The new section seemed to work well over the original drum and bass pattern. The audio attached shows the new section.

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The song needed a new section away from the theme of the verse pattern to maintain the interest of the listener. I thought a less intense section would work well with a more melancholic feeling. I wrote a new part on the Mercer Memories synth to reflect this feeling. The part came from random playing until something sounded right. I think at least one of the chords is minor, which changes the mood of the song in this breakdown section. The synth audio is above.

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I felt that the track needed another instrument to bring out the melancholy feeling. I thought about what instruments are well-known for evoking this feeling. I tried a violin VST but the range of the sound was too high pitched, so I tried a viola VST which worked much better. As this is a breakdown section, it didn't feel appropriate to use bass; the viola seemed to fill a lot of these lower frequencies. I also included a strum of a chord on the acoustic guitar to add a little soulful flavour. The audio for this section is above.

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I felt this new breakdown section still needed more adding to keep it interesting. I decided percussion was the answer to this. I tried a few things, most of which worked well. I tried clapping on the beat but this sounded too harsh. Next, I tried finger clicks, which felt much more appropriate. I simplified the drum preset in this section to only have the kick drum playing with some percussive noises. I recorded the finger clicks twice so I could get a denser sound and to increase versatility when mixing. I also recorded a cabasa and a shaker in this section and it all seemed to come together. I think the whole effect will bring out the emotion in the vocal once this is written. The audio attached is all instruments in this section together.

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It's been been interesting to write in this unfamiliar style as I've predominantly been an indie rock bassist in my career so far. I feel positive about the direction of the track and I think it sounds interesting with the combination of electronic and rock styles fused together.

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The breakdown section sounds how I imagined it in my head, which I'm pleased about.

I tried a few things in this section, specifically searching for appropriate VSTs. The violin VST didn't sit right in the track, so I tried viola instead, which worked much better. I played a few chord shaped on the guitar before I found the correct chord to play. This went well as it took just a few moments to find the fitting chord.

I was particularly pleased with how the percussion sounds in this section. Although it is quite melancholic, the percussion seems to add a soulful vibe.

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The pre-breakdown section evokes a dreamy feeling and the breakdown is more melancholic. Listening back, it doesn't seem like any notes clash and it is not challenging to listen to. The track is also in 4/4; this can help with more listeners connecting with the song. In future weeks, writing relatable lyrics will also help with this connection.

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I've learned that experimentation with percussion is always worth doing because it can alter the vibe of the song for the better. I've also learned that live recorded instruments can mix well with VST instruments.

One thing I need to improve is the theory behind what I'm writing. I write predominantly by searching for notes on instruments and this is probably not the most efficient method. I think that developing theoretical knowledge will help here, both in the length of time it takes to write and the ability to expand on musical ideas.

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I think I have the basis for the whole song now, so the next thing I need to do is arrange it into an interesting and coherent structure.

After arranging, I will do an initial mix for the formative assignment as I'm on the production pathway. At this point I will address the production SMART targets mentioned earlier.

I future weeks, I will consider lyrics and a vocal melody, then finally add original drums.

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In my head, I can tell where lyrics should go, so this will help with arranging all the parts I have so far. From previous experience with writing rock songs, it is often a good idea to reduce the number of instruments playing when the vocal is most prevalent, allowing the listener to focus on the vocal melody and lyrics. An example of this can be heard in the initial mix between 0:29 and 0:38 when only one harp and drums can be heard. This allows maximum impact when the vocal comes in.

As you can see in the image, I've utilised copying and pasting some sections to improve ease of arranging. I've played around with this sporadically to see what sounds interesting. In the sections with fewer synths, I imagine there will be vocals in these sections, but I can alter this as and when necessary when I record my vocal.

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One thing I've never tried before is adapting the EQ of tracks to separate the mix and add clarity. Having not had this in production classes at this stage, I tried doing this by ear. Here is an example of what I tried. In the image you can see the bass EQ. I know from previous recording experience that bass frequencies are extremely difficult to detect on small speakers, so I tried emphasising some of the higher frequencies to counteract this. When I pulled around the frequencies, some of the mids sounded very harsh and displeasing to the ear, so I kept this section reasonably level. I tried increasing the higher frequency around 2k and this didn't sound too bad.

I repeated the EQ process for all the other tracks. For the kick drum, I had a very similar way of thinking as the bass, accentuating some of the higher frequencies. Personally, I enjoy a powerful kick drum sound, so I increased the volume of it, which I think works well in this track.

I emphasised some of the very high frequencies in the lead instruments, such as the electric guitar and harp, but also increased the bass to give them a more rich sound. I know there has to be a balance met when you have instruments using the same frequency because ignoring this will result in a muddy sounding mix.

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I tried to counteract the effect of having instruments of the same frequency by using the panning function in Logic Pro.

I attempted to move instruments around in the aural space, except for bass instruments which stayed central. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind keeping bass instruments central, but I remember being told this and it seems to give it a powerful sound.

I think there is more leeway for interpretation in more trebly instruments, so I moved these randomly until I got a sound which had a degree of clarity. I found that I didn't like the way anything sounded when I moved the image very far right or very far left.

I recall that my band's producer once said that you should pan a drum kit to the actual layout of one, so I tried doing this. For instance, with the hi-hat panned to the right and the kick drum in the centre.

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I recall that my band's producer once said that you should pan a drum kit to the actual layout of one, so I tried doing this. For instance, with the hi-hat panned to the right and the kick drum in the centre.

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One almost-universal aspect of a mix is the application of compression. In the online production course at WaterBear, George Donahue states that "compression reduces the range between the softest and the loudest point on a track and brings them closer together." I have never used compression before but I know this is something I need to master for quality mixes.

I experimented with a compressor on the master bus initially, taking the advice from the online module to not over-compress and "take the life out of the track".

I went to YouTube and typed "how to add compression to the master bus in Logic Pro" because I don't have enough knowledge of the DAW to work this out without assistance. Having found the answer, I opened up the compressor and it was immediately apparent that the default setting was working a little too well, making the harp sound quieter than it should, so I tried to dial this back by reducing the threshold. I also experimented by turning on the limiter. I find it difficult to explain why, but I think this also improved clarity of the track. The compressor seemed to tame some of the more harsh sounds.

I noticed that the input gain was peaking in the master compressor screen, so I reduced this until it was out of the red zone.

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I'm pleased with how even the very basic production techniques have improved the sound of the song. At this early stage I'm satisfied with the way it sounds but there is clearly more to do when I compare it to my guide track, for example. I professionally mixed song has more clarity.

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It's clearly very different to the track prior to any production taking place and I believe the track has maintained a level of dynamics and nuance even after compression was applied.

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Listening to the mix back on other speakers has highlighted some issues I hadn't noticed when listening through earphones, specifically the volume of trebly instruments such as the guitar and harp synth. Overall, I think the mix is level apart from these things which I'll address in week 6.

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It's quite apparent that my production knowledge is vey limited and I hope to address some more of the basics in the coming weeks. I believe that to an extent I've achieved my SMART targets through experimentation, but not fully. My SMART targets were related to compression, panning and EQ.

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As far as songwriting goes, the next stage is writing lyrics, although inspiration for this is difficult to force. At WaterBear, Kaya Herstad-Carney gave advice in the form of using word charts to help spark lyrical inspiration. My initial thought behind a theme is to have the song be about internal struggles, such as procrastination, which has affected my formative assignment so far. It's quite a universal feeling that I think many people can relate to. The mood of the song also relates itself to this topic.

Regarding the mix, I hope to learn more about mixing and mastering in the coming weeks and make further adjustments to improve clarity and end up with a rich sounding, radio-ready track.

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I finalised writing the lyrics this week and then proceeded to record vocals for the main track. I decided to write about a very heavy and current topic; the climate crisis and the lack of action from governments. I think the intensity of the track matches well with this. The lyrics are:

You can't even decide on the simple things
You walk the other way when you should look within
You know they'd stay and watch you drown
So, I said, "Welcome to my World".

Don't try to aggravate what is left
No other avenue can get through to you

How many times now
Have we started again?
Make a mountain from a molehill
You know we've got to get on and evolve
Why does no one mention our disconnection from the world we live in?

At least I'm not wasted
Just join the queue
Cover up cos stormy weather is coming through
There's no use standing looking out the window

I don't know who to believe

In our lifetime, we're past the point with no ticket to return

Upon completion of the lyrics, I tried finding a fitting title for the track from that. I decided that "Welcome to my World" would make the most sense when considering what the track is about.

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I had already been thinking of a melody for a while before writing the lyrics, so I wrote lyrics with syllables that fit the melody in my head. Once this was done, I recorded my vocal through an SM7B microphone. I used this microphone because my recording room is not professionally treated, so I needed to use a dynamic microphone to prevent too much natural reverb on the recording. Keeping the original signal as dry as possible increases versatility at the production stage. I also put some cushions behind the microphone and closed the curtains to make the signal even dryer. The dynamic microphone can withstand a higher SPL (sound pressure level) than a condenser microphone, allowing me to sing loudly and not worry as much about reverb in the room.

I recorded the vocals countless times because I'm not a trained singer and had some problems with tuning. My course leader, Kaya taught us how to use SVTs before recording vocals; these are exercises that warm the vocal cords and stretch the facial muscles to improve performance.  I used these techniques to prepare for my recording. Eventually, I got a take which was acceptably in tune. I sent the track to my peers to check this.

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I got very frustrated with my seemingly eternal struggle to stay in tune, but I knew I didn't want an artificially tuned sound. I persevered and eventually got to a stage where my singing improved with practice.

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Now the vocals were in place, it was very clear that my track had become extremely different to my guide track. The sound is more of a mix of electronic music and pop/rock, which I'm not upset about. I think it sounds a little different.

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In week 7, I checked the mix I had done so far. There were an extreme amount of clashing frequencies in the mix. I decided to look at the EQ of each individual track and adjust when necessary. The bass I used didn't have enough low end, no matter how much I adjusted the EQ, so I decided to layer it with another bass synth. I like the sound of the original bass, so I wanted to keep this, but use an extra synth for the lower frequencies. After adding this, I increased the fundamental frequency to give the bass more power.

I realised I had a huge problem with my two main synths playing the chord section. I liked the sound of both synths but one of them seemed to be using too much of a wide frequency which made the mix muddy. I decided to reduce the lower frequencies of the "Old VHS Tape Synth" and also reduce its overall volume in the mix. This made the overall sound much clearer.

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After watching a YouTube video about getting a clear mix, I discovered that it would be a good idea to use a low-pass filter on everything except the bass and kick. This removes any unnecessary transient noise and provides clarity.

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I was very pleased with the feedback I got about my summative, although there was very little I could use to move forward with the project due to little in the way of negatives. This was probably largely to do with my mistake in not linking the track properly at the time.

I think the track is sounding better since adjusting the EQ. The overall sound has more clarity.

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Upon receiving feedback for my formative assignment, I reflected on the work I had done so far. The response from the examiner was overwhelmingly positive but I had made a mistake when linking the track as it was then. I rectified this when I found out because the examiner said they would have a look at a different time, although I didn't hear anything back. I've learnt what not to do when submitting the summative assignment.

The formative feedback is as follows: "I wanted to start by saying I cant find the audio submission attached, only the written work? So my feedback here is based purely on the written work and any audio related feedback is with reference to the clips within your written work, I appreciate that your diary entries take you up to a stage within the song writing / production, not completion, so this may be the main reasoning here.

As this is formative it doesn't impact your grade, however its obviously important to ensure everything is correctly submitted for a summative.

If you have submitted your audio and I am looking in the incorrect place please comment below and ill add additional feedback for the audio content 👍.

Development diary:

This is a fairly detailed set of diary entries across 5 weeks. You have given weekly breakdowns of the process in hand and included action plans, conclusions for the week, your feelings as the track progresses and evaluations on a weekly basis. From a learning Outcomes perspective this is all great and ticks a lot of the boxes required to get a higher grade.

As the weeks progressed you also took the time to provide details such as screen shots of plug in settings and audio clips of the track in progress, this is again really helpful and demonstrates a better understanding of the production techniques you describe.

Its also good to see you taking onboard the lecture content from your course and using external reference sources such as YouTube to further understand techniques such as compression and EQ.

The clips I have listened to in week 4 all demonstrate some interesting musical ideas which incorporate a great sense of rhythmic and melodic ideas along with some cool synthesis and sequencing work. You have also shown a good understanding of how to layer instruments, such as the strings over the synth parts, this will always help to create a stronger arrangement and give the track a deeper 3D feel.

Overall this is great, you have meet the required learning outcomes and demonstrated an ability to plan / organise a project.

Please do ensure the relevant work is submitted correctly and as obviously as possible as you move towards the summative.

Well done

Charlie Morland - 26th October 2022"

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I used volume automation when going between sections. I thought this sounded pretty good when trying to achieve a sudden stop of the sound for transitions. The issue was that reverb and delays were sounding out on the synths and I wanted to stop this. I opened an automation track and reduced the volume to zero before increasing it to its previous state after the transition.

I added a plugin (RBass) to the bass stack to increase the resonance to allow more bass frequencies to be audible on smaller speakers. This plugin seemed to do a good job when I bounced down the track and listened to it on my phone.

Added reverb to the artificial harp to richen the overall sound and create depth.

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I've listened to the track so much now that I had started to lose the critical thinking to know if it sounds good or not, but I believe after this week, the overall sound is coming together well. The reverbs and delays, etc, have given the track a much richer sound.

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After thinking about what to do for my alternative track, I thought it would be interesting to completely replace the vocal with a lead guitar because I enjoy instrumental music. It would likely give the track a more live feel rather than predominantly electronic. I also decided to record a live bass guitar to replace the synthesiser. I used week 9 to record the lead guitar and electric bass. The method I used to transcribe the lead guitar was to listen to a short section of the vocal melody and then locate the same notes on the guitar. I have a good ear for music, so this method is the quickest way for me. I then recorded one section of music which ends in a gap, so the continuity of the guitar is not affected. I find transcribing and recording the guitar in sections is much simpler than learning the vocal melody note-for-note. The bass guitar is much more repetitive, so it was simple to work out. I used virtual amps in Logic Pro by converting the analogue signal to digital via the interface.

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I feel relieved to have completed the recording of the alternate track. I initially tried to make it into an acoustic track, but the sheer number of synths in the original prevented getting a decent replication of acoustic guitar. I think the instrumental version has ended up sounding better.

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In the final week of the assignment, I had to make final checks and master my tracks. I checked the levels of the individual tracks to make sure you could hear each element clearly. This was quite a difficult thing to do because the frequencies in the track are very broad and there is quite a lot going on. I had previously tried removing instruments, but it then sounds too empty. I adjusted the gain of each track and proceeded to mastering.

I'd been recommended the Oxford Limiter plugin by Stuart Brewer, my production lecturer. I experimented with this and set the output to -1dB (the industry standard). I used the 'rock' preset, which I thought sounded ideal. I used the limiter to level the overall sound and increase the loudness of the track as a whole. It also ensures that the track has the correct volume level for commercial release.

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The tracks are now complete and I believe they are up to a standard for release. Over the past 10 weeks, I think my production skills have improved a lot as this is the first time I've produced anything.

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Although I'm disappointed I wasn't able to put extra time into my assignment, I'm pleased with the tracks themselves and think this has been a good starting point for my career as a producer. I've overcome many hurdles and improved upon my three SMART goals. I have more understanding of using compression to increase loudness and clarity, and not to over-compress. I used panning to separate different instruments and give the song a wider feel. I adjusted EQ to prevent frequencies from clashing too much. I feel that I have much more to learn when looking at all of these aspects, but I'm pleased with what I've done so far.

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Here is the link to the main track - https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/03effac8-d7a6-49d4-9e0f-a90a12a14b73

And the link to the alternate track - https://waterbear.instructuremedia.com/embed/27272fca-8525-40e9-bea9-b464b6e24429