First week on the production tools course. I am a bit scared if I am honest as I simply do not have any idea what I am doing with any of the software. 

I have previously looked in to both logic and Ableton and am not very clear on which one of these DAW’s I will use. Having always been quite good at using using online systems and computers I'm confident that I am going to be able to overcome it. 

This week we have looked at the Logic Pro DAW. Looks similar to one of the systems which I have used in the past but I think I am going to have to reserve judgement for a later session once we have explored the other DAWs available.   

I really like how the system Is laid out, seems like a natural thought process and visual appreciation for how my mind would approach musical formations. I like the linear approach. 

I haven’t really mangled to put anything into the DAW yet as I am still really unsure of what I am doing but I think I will need to have a much more in-depth look into how the functions work.

For the first week I am very excited with what is to come and also nervous about the steep learning curve which I have got to overcome. 

So we have taken a look at Ableton this week. What a programme this is, it certainly has give me the WOW factor. I think for me works in a more mathematical way, and I am hoping this might help with how my brain works when I am trying to think about musical formation. 

I like that there are two viewing modes, this might confuse me more, I am unsure. 

I think if I really think about how I want to be performing eventually I would think that Abelton is going to be more useful to me in a live environment.

Visually I can see me playing out in a live environment, using multiple decks possibly with Ableton integrated. I do, however personally think that this could look quite messy. 

Not made up my mind yet as to which of the current presented DAWs I will use but there is certainly a lot of food for thought. Ableton certainly has the functionality for me, I have found it some what easier to get some beats down and starting to produce in this DAW compared to Logic. I do think I am going to be needing a lot more support for the coming weeks to get me to a stage where I am able to produce something for me end piece, it seems a very long way away from my ability at the moment. 

Speaking to others in my network it seems the more universally used DAW is Abelton, so I can be sure to have some great support out there if I run into any issues. 

On reflection I am feeling very nervous about getting to grips with the DAW knowledge to allow this to happen. 

Off the back of the learning from this week I have invested in a Nektar like we have in class. I haven’t had much time to use it as of yet, finding it hard to find time outside of uni to commit to my course and it has been a hard week for me. 

Midi control with a PUSH will be my aim for the end of the term. 

This week I have managed to input a Piano main part for the track but I have yet to see if that will be used in my final track. 

Over the last 36 years of my life I feel like I have been collecting nuggets of musical information to collate together and put into new music. My favourite sound era has got to be Motown. 

Some of the trumpet, trombone, sax and piano samples I would love to get my hands on so learning how to do this is going to be integral in my musical journey. I have a vision of being able to infuse some new house vibes with these elements. I have come across a track which I want to sample. ‘Whos that Lady’ By the Isley Brothers. There is a guitar element at the start of the track which I can’t wait to get my hands on, sampled in ‘Basement Jaxx’ Just one Kiss (Isley Bootleg). To put this in a track would be my dream… 

One thing I am finding hard is getting the finances together to upgrade my Ableton from just the free one that I have at the moment. 

I have been reflecting on how I am going to be implementing this into my tracks and I think I am going to have to be practicing this with immense rigidity for the foreseeable. I haven’t yet managed to create a zone at home to be alone and focus on my work. External influences are making it very hard for me to focus at the moment and being too mind exhausted to focus has been hard, that said I am trying to get the correct support in place through uni and external agencies to help me to do this. 

Each session video is helping me to recognise which functions are going to be useful to me in the outset. The trouble that I have is that I do thins in an automative way. Im finding my strengths are hearing the music rather than being able to make it from scratch in the DAW, it is a frustrating thing to undo, its also like I need to be looking at track production from a reverse stance. 

I have purchased a Mini Novation Launchpad, I’m quite excited to see how I can use this to make the drum programming ‘easier’ if this is a thing?. I like that you are able to change the velocity of each element within the drum patch. Learning so much each week. 

Drums will form such a huge part of any music I produce, still undecided between house and techno or a hybrid sound of the two really… and not your classical tech-house sound. I want to create something different… perhaps a track which I can produce in a ‘house’ vibe but then change the elements in to more melodic synth based instruments for a techno inspired sound. 

Using the step sequencer would be great fun, I think for me using a real ‘instrument’ rather than the computer might be more fruitful in the long run so definitely something for me to see up for for the future. 

I have a love for Fred Again. I think the way that he uses real life sound cuts of tube trips, street walks and spoken word are very unique to how he produces and comes up with his music. Having a very interesting conversation with someone this week about their through process and how they think this is a lazy was of producing was a heated discussion. I think he has come up with a very unique way of doing it. 

Not having a home studio will make it quite hard for me to do this in my own time so I think for future development booking some time through uni to use a studio to record a vocal for my track would be very beneficial.

Having now managed to export a MP3 file for me to have play on my decks with it has helped em realise where I need to look at my track and make some adjustments. I was toying with the idea of starting to use video files to show my working within Ableton but I just don’t have the skills to do so but will endeavour to do this for next term. 

For me, being a more natural part of the music production of which I have seen so far on the course. I think I have really taken stock this week of how alien this all is to me. I want to produce music but am finding it very hard to find a musical identity and which genre I want to be producing music in. It feels very alien to me, still after being on the course as long as I have to be trying to make music because I really at this stage don’t know what type of music it is that I want to make. 

House music I think is going to be my natural affinity, but I have such a strong love for Techno to be producing that was my aim before I even got accepted into uni so I think I still need to pay this some attention when thinking about the type of music which I am going to produce. 

I am still no nearer to having anything solid by way of production and being off uni so much since the start of term has really had a huge impact on my creativity and desire to make anything as of yet. I think throughout the next couple of weeks I am hoping to find where I want to be going with this element of the course. 

When it comes to presenting my tracks I am really not unconfident that I have the ability to do it, my concern at the moment is actually being able to produce something that I am able to showcase. 

In my mind the piece of music which I am making will have a few eq changes, a drop and a main body. This is where I am at the moment, hopefully this will develop into something more. 

My track is starting to come together and I am trying to utilise all of the elements which I have learnt thus far in our production tools lectures, I am still however finding it hard to even get to grips properly with Ableton as my chose DAW and I think a lot more time is needing to be spent on working out how I go from start to finish in making a track. My strengths lie in knowing what a good track sounds like, the elements which make up a track. I want to make a track which has a punchy beat with some harmonic piano sounds in it. Adding a vocal to my music will definitely help me to level up my techniques but I don’t think I am quite there yet with the blue print which is somewhat frustrating.

My piece is okay, ready to play into a set having tested it out this week on my decks and finding some house based tracks to pay around it for my set I am happy with the end result. My barrier at the moment is knowing the technical terms associated with the effects and technical structure of the piece which I am trying to achieve. 

I think once I have made a few more pieces of music this will come more naturally because the moment it is a matter of me just working my way through the DAW and its functional elements, I have decide that I am going to stick with Ableton as I think this could be more useful to me in a live environment. With a dream perhaps to one day performing in a live environment with an Abelton Push to really showcase the music which I am producing.