LET’S CRITIQUE THIS PRODUCTION | Intros, Low Mids, Chords!! | Episode One
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Is your intro hooking us in? Are your chords artfully creating and releasing tension? Is every frequency range moving and grooving as much as possible?
Join Gregory Scott, Kush Audio’s plugin and gear designer, as he puts a viewer’s production in the hotseat and dares you to get beyond drum buss compression and vocal eq, and get to what actually matters. All this, plus some random falsetto humming, if you dare!
Want to support the channel? Check out all things Kush at thehouseofkush...
Thank you very much for this great feedback on my track! The information about the lows is invaluable and I really appreciate it. I'll also definitely take the information about the 1 into consideration because you're correct, I did assume that everyone would be following the bass progression rather than the melody..
Regarding the mood, this particular track was somewhat inspired by the vaporwave aesthetic which is sort of nostalgic and happy/sad, with a lethargic feel almost like music that would've been playing over the intercom in an 80s mall. That's probably not many people's cup of tea but that was the feel I was kind of aiming for in this particular tune. Regardless, I think your input here was still very useful for me.
Thank you again for the feedback, I actually work in music production (I'm kind of a newbie to the scene), and I feel honored that you decided to critique it. I will definitely be employing your advice in the future!
(also, I noticed several people commenting about loops - for what it's worth the guitar and bass were not loops, those were played live)
Brandon!! Thanks for the gracious reply, i was a bit worried that my main message - that this production is extremely well done - got lost in the noise of my notes.
Knowing that your musical intention was to go for what I think of as a Muzak vibe definitely clarifies things, in which case just think of my thoughts on the harmonic structure as ‘possibly interesting food for thought’. 🍔🤔
And for what it’s worth, the guitars were probably my favorite part of the production, I think they really brought an organic and sparkling quality to the looped feel. Keep at it man, you’re doing awesome work!
Cool track! For the record, I had no problem feeling the 1
I like it. Good stuff. Keep it up!
no issues feeling the one and where the beat would come in ☺️ I actually found it super predictable. Remember "Beautiful" by Pharrell and Snoop? not a single moment where the bass actually sits on the 1... brilliant masterpiece
This felt natural and "predictable". I heard all the music (all the elements) and they gave me the pulse. Basic. We can all get confused from time to time though ;) ... caught of guard and all that. But don't dumb down your music by "holding the listeners hand" and give them a count off or "where one is" before the music starts.... geez..! If somebody gets caught by surprise then that person should consider her self to be in luck if anything ;)
This is high-quality feedback.
YES!!!!!!
Definitely!
@@tomasoyarzunarenas This is high-quality feedback.
@@michaeldunn5695 Well played my friend, well played.
this guy is a mix god, a pedagogical master and a really handsome man
Hope this becomes a regular series. Great video and advice.
That's the plan!
damn mate, you are skilled.
that's really a great critique, thanks!
As a bassist I hear the bass on the 1 :)
Dude!
Would you be cool with one of your viewers putting a link to a Spotify Playlist vote?
Man.. I will never be able to articulate how much I appreciate this channel.
You just did, and I appreciate your appreciation every bit as much!!
Same here man ❤
Me before watching this: PICKMEPICKMEPICKME
me after watching this: Holy shit this is flawless and he's finding problems DONT PICK ME
😂
That's what I love. While I thought the song was good, the lack of tension and release made it feel like background music. That's okay if that's what you're looking for, but I feel it's important to know how to make attention grabbing music.
@@TheHouseofKushTV This is Nice. Thanks!!
@@nakazul1 If you want to learn I hope you don't think you have to wait until your song gets picked. You should be able to find stuff that applies to your music from any of these videos. :)
I would much rather have this kind of feedback than feedback like "sounds really good, great job!" While that can help stroke your ego and get your mind in a good spot, I would much rather have a critique about how to change/fix something. Even if it's a production type tip that I don't agree with at all, it still gets me thinking more about the next time that I get into a similar situation.
This video kicks a serious weight of arse. There's a load of folks who do sound engineering stuff and another load of folks that do music stuff but not that many that do both at the same time, not as well as this anyway. Any number of these will suit me just fine. And props to Brandon for having the bottle to put his tune up for this, the song is good, man, rock on :)
So what exactly you mean by your comment?
@@DrSamE they loved the vid because its hard to find someone whos really good at the musical and technical part of production and hopes for more of these videos
LET'S GO! I look forward to After Hours all the time.
Holy shit Kush, that kicked ass and I'm glad I didn't send my sh%t to you. I reinterpreted your closing statement at no charge. 'I really really enjoyed this, thanks for the 1,500 submissions... right now I'm good, but I might need more because I'm really skilled at this and actually I was born for this, true story, no joke.'
For real, I submitted mine via link, email, wav, etc and now I'm like GOOD LORD DONT LISTEN TO IT
@@MrSkylightOffical Why not? The point is to get feedback and learn from it. Everyone that sent a song in should be hoping like crazy to get their song picked. This is a great chance of getting very valuable and honest feedback :)
@@MikeRendar84 yeah, I agree. My comment is mostly comical tongue-in-cheek and I'm sure if he did pick mine he would find a good balance of positive and negative things to say about it.
@@MrSkylightOffical Aah i see :) Best of luck to you, mate! Keep it up!
I respectfully disagree about the "the listener must know where the one is" comment... its what makes intros fun! Sting is a master of this (listen to Ghost Story, you won't know where the one is for 2 minutes). Catching the listener off guard rhythmically is a great trick.
It can work, as anything can in music... to taste. It can also not work. I’ve had my share of mixes get off track due to a tune having a tricky Intro to line up... not fun.
your abstracting. ghost story is a very slow ballad while this is a disco/80's style dance track and defining the one is far far more important if your intention is to keep people moving on the dance floor!
@@mollyoko good point!
@@mollyoko I see what you are saying and I completely agree it that was the artists intention. Certainly the track has the rhythmic element and production that would work for dancing, but 80’s disco typically has far more dramatic chord progressions and I think the track could also be “vibey” sort of mood. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to blend 80’s dance with vibey (or static chord progressions) but i do think the track needs more life somewhere, whether it be chords, production, melodic ideas, timbre, rhythm, etc. the problem with being too specific with genre is sometimes we can limit artists, and I’m not sure what their intention was here honestly. I think they could commit more in one direction or the other.
I’m just over here confused because I called the drums coming in perfectly and was jamming then I was confused by his confusion.
Brandon's song: I totally felt ONE where it was supposed to be. But I also like songs that don't clarify the ONE in an intro so I sometimes feel taken off-guard when it turns (though it's usually an intentional artistic statement and not an accident) - though this one didn't do that to me. The rest of this, I agree with completely.
I like that, as well, but I did not feel where the one was. The funny thing to me was that I just recently watched a vid on another channel that showcased songs that use this exact technique to give the song more interest.
I felt the one as well. It was pretty obvious to me, actually. The pad as the first chord gives the listener the cue. Sometimes even with an element on the one, we are just tuned into something else. It happens to me over and over again with the most obvious songs so I don’t think it’s about an element being on the one of not.
@@Avant5 I also feel the One where it is. But Gregory right, maybe when you listen on Systems that not clarify the Bass enough it could help. What you say Gregory?
Same here. I wonder if those of us (like me) who have spent time with four-on-floor dance music are more at ease finding the one beat like this one. This vibe is super common in certain electronic genres.
I like being surprised by music. Is that so wrong?
Now I have watch the next 1499 videos of your channel, because my track can be last one.
Really can't be overstated enough that Gregory is sharing knowledge most people have to work in a studio making coffee runs for years to obtain before they even sit at a board (read any TapeOp interview haha). This is top shelf, my fave audio channel by far!
“The magic is in the One”- James Brown, Bootsy Collins etc
Prince was a master of it, too.
I think people who are commenting "I didn't miss the one!" may have not missed the one, but sure missed the point. :D Just because you heard the one doesn't make the tips related to that any less valid. These are general tips that you should apply broadly, the example tune is just a vehicle for them.
David Attenborough of Audio Engineering 👁👄👁
this information has already changed how I would approach even the song I submitted myself! the concept of soloing frequency ranges in a multiband and making sure they're moving on their own is HUGE. thanks again for the great content, looking forward to the future episodes of this series! this channel's gonna explode
A nice tip for electronic music is instead of the same old “just mute the beat” intro a decent alternative is copy pasta the bridge as the intro and change it up a bit. Then the next time you’ll write an intro with the bridge in mind instead of 8 bars of waiting till the beat comes in. That always works because when the bridge comes in the listener is like “hey I heard this before” and when the final part of the song kicks in it feels as if something is coming to a conclusion.
Hell yes, that's a classic structural device from songs as far back as the 40's and the jazz standards. Clever people figured most of this shit out decades ago, I love harnessing the genius of all the styles out there!
I literally just did this on a song I'm writing... except it's kind of a folk/country song.
@@half-arsedmusic Yeah I don’t know why I said “electronic music” because it works in almost every style.
To be honest, if you want your song to be even more memorable, the intro shouldn’t reference the bridge, but the chorus instead. So when the chorus kicks in the person will be like “I’ve heard this before”. The chorus is what sells a song, not the bridge, so I do that a lot. Even if it’s a simple element or melody from the chorus
@@iamdannywyatt sure, but you don't want to do the same thing every time. Unless you do want to.
I don't know, dude. I think a good game of _guess the one_ can really make an intro more engaging on first listen. Think Baba O'Riley. That intro gets me every time.
Oh, yeah, it absolutely can! You're talking to a guy who learned to drum by playing along with songs like Spirit of Radio and Black Dog, I totally dig metric madness of all sorts! I just didn't get any sense that this was in any way the artist's intended effect, because the one *was* introduced as expected, but the arrangement and mix made confusion distinctly possible. Given that, my gut told me to clear that up so as to not lose anyone in what would not be 'surprise' so much as 'unpleasant disorientation'. Judging by the comments I could've done a much better job at clarifying that, but... I vamp these at 3am, so we get what we get 😛
Cock The Hammer by Cypress Hill is the ultimate for this. I always hear the first bass note as the 'one' even though it's a pick up, then get competely weirded out when the drums come in (also on an off). Though _sometimes_ I manage to stick with the completely weird groove that is the result.....
I LOVE this effect. It's really surprising and makes you pay attention, and then you get used to the groove, and if it happens again later in the track (e.g. after a breakdown), you can expect it, and it feel great.
This was my first thought upon hearing Greg's critique "uhh, some of my favorite music makes me cock my head and ask 'whoa, what's that?'" However, if that's not an *intended* effect supported by what comes later in the song, then maybe it's worth taking a second look at
every damn time!
If the chords against the melody would've been Am Dm E7/G# FM7, maybe that would have saved it its unbiased sound. Different bass, same melody, a few chord changes and that'd be good to go. As a more dramatic piece, yet I kinda like what Brandon did, it's curious and simple. The low mids mud is the only problem here in my opinion.
I personally really enjoy when a song makes me incorrectly hear the 1 in a "beatless" intro. It feels more satisfying when it clicks, as opposed to the obvious approach I've heard a million times.
That's just my personal preference though.
Totally agree on that Sergio
yeah agree
Me too!
I used to produce trancy house music in the early nineties and i tried to find new ways to trick the listener into falsely believing where the one dropped. I loved that moment of confusion.
I agree with this take but I think what kush was implying was that it wasn’t executed in the most effective way as it felt unnatural attempting to keep time based on the initial melody so while the beat change made sense and works retroactively upon first listening the melody might gives one the wrong impression
whats the multiband plugin used that shows LUFS -- asking (*ahem) for a friend
I’d gladly pay for feedback like this
Nothing wrong with the mix or the tune. The only problem is its a tad on the bland side and sounds like something from 20 years ago. No offense to Brandon. I just have to call it as I see it. Push your Overton Brandon, start thinking a bit more about what can you do to make your music stand out from the crowd. I can assure you, its not your mixing that will do that.
Great breakdown/feedback. I love your videos bro!
The only thing that I didn't expect was your "problem" with the one. It was perfectly clear to me where the one was though.
Same
I didn't get the comment on the "one" either. And I don't understand that even if the one would be disguised, why that is a problem. It's a concept called "rhythmic illusion". Typical stuff in rock and jazz.
I also agree - the one was obvious to me from the first time you played the track. But hey, we all hear music differently - thank buddha :-) Keep on keeping on, y'all . Pax.
Me too. I can definitely see making it MORE obvious where the 1 is supposed to be though.
I don't know. The first time I heard this I wasn't sure where one was either. Wasn't sure what the pulse was.
great video. I just change my way to do music with this channel
love from france!
"Sometimes stuff matters." 😂😂😂👌
I almost edited that out, I was clearly stammering, but... it cracked me up, so it stayed! 😛
@@TheHouseofKushTV It was great 😂 and the video was fantastic, as always!
Can you make a tutorial about tracking vocals with analog compression
It's my pleasure, truly!
This feedback really helped me understand some aspects I wouldn't have been able to put my finger on, on my own. Another example of why *House of Kush* is an essential TH-cam channel for recording musicians. When Gregory first stopped playback, I was baffled, thinking to myself "here's a great sounding track - what could he possibly be ragging on?"
Oh, I can *always* find stuff to gripe about! 🙀
And we can disagree too. I actually love when a track fucks with my perception of the 1, but I do agree that sometimes, I like a musical Easter egg (like said chime) to establish the 1 without making it too obvious.
Yup, dipping the EQ right there made it move better, even on my crap desktop speakers.
Yep. Even on my laptop speakers it was night and day better. Crazy how these things work sometimes.
Well that's awkward. One of the few times I've dabbled in electronic music, I specifically aimed to mislead the listener on where the 1 was until the beat dropped.
Nothing wrong with that! There are times when it works for me and times when it doesn't, this one felt strongly like the latter to me. But as with all things, YMMV and grain of salt yada yada! ☮️
Not the best move on a dance track to mislead where the 1 is. Establish that asap to get the butts moving on the dance floor.
@@hazelelcamino7453 Very true for dance tracks. I should specified it wasn't one.
Dude is blessed to get this feedback. Best new series
I don’t mind the downbeat being revealed after the intro.
Me neither! That said, I do mind getting confused _before_ the big reveal, and in this case it didn't seem like a deliberate artistic choice to make things ambiguous, hence my suggestion to define the 1. But you're right, surprise is a lovely device, and I do wish I'd offered the alternative suggestion to make the ambiguity stronger so we get a true 'wow!' moment. 💪🏼
@@TheHouseofKushTV This intentional uncertainty about "where's the thesis/downbeat?" happens in a characteristic variety of Brazilian music, "Sina" by Djavan being an example that rendered a paper by a professor of mine about the topic. But you're right, not sounding intentional leads to sound confusing, and this is always a good point to review =)
@@TheHouseofKushTV Agreed for sure. If anything I felt like they should have gone stronger into the ambiguity
awesome critique!
about music:
poor drums
fail breakbeat, 4/4 kick much more better with this theme
too loopy arrangement
no transition
need vox
need some character element (sounddesign or someting else)
now its sounds like loop library set
Yet again, another great video reminding me how much all these flashy visual plugin gizmo's have killed my perspective on what actually makes my tracks sound great. Just went back to a track I "overproduced" , shortened all the Bass MIDI and magically Made My Track Great Again. Thank's Mix Jesus
Brandons song. I felt the One because of the chords. So I disagree there
That's great feedback. Digging the channel! Brandon is a lucky man, nothing more valuable than high quality feedback.
YOU ARE A LEGEND. I LOVE YOU AND I THANKKKKKK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO!!!!
This was outstanding. We need more videos like this it’s dope
Very helpful video! I would appreciate more of that
i like the tension in the song set up by the ambiguity ... rather than ‘tension and release’
i felt that too. infinite tension adds a lot of hype to a piece of music. but it can also reduce its longlivety imo
I agree with most feedback. The only thing I don't is in the defining of the 'one'. I guess it's how you execute it. The Jackson 5 "ABC" is a great example that comes to mind - I love the fact that it lulls me into a false sense of where the song started, then it's like "whoa!!!". It's a nice surprise.
I love the disagreements in the comments. Just shows you there is no right or wrong way to make music, just kinda suggestions.
By the way, could someone tell me what the UBK stands for?
Great vid, great advice. At 7:56 The fact that you recognize it's a finished production and you give advice on future productions is a pro move. Nothing worse than showing someone a finished product and they start suggesting you go back and change everything...
i still hope my song made it through somehow
love the video and the song as well
if you ever wanna hear the most intense "i can't feel the downbeat even if i tried" track, check out "Yoshimitsu vs SANODG" from the tekken tag tournament soundtrack. the entire foundation of the track is built around these super beefy synth chords happening on the *last* offbeat of the bar. it has a crazy swagger about it and imo the accented offbeats is groovy as hell but i'll never hear it the way i'm supposed to. the dude is a seriously accomplished musician and producer so i'm sure he was entirely aware of what he was doing.
hey Gregory, any plans for Kush merch? I'd love to see some brown T shirts 😃
As James Brown said, "You gotta give me the one!"
"But Mr. Brown, what about metric ambiguity!?"
"Get this asshole out of my sight."
🕺🏻
Perhaps some music is just meant for soft background...not any particular meaning...
You're talking to a man with 3 separate o.g. Muzak playlists, each one 3 hours long 😛
we don't get this kind of advice very often. i'm really enjoying this.
This is awesome! I’m working on a similar track and I have new information to apply!
It's not dark here, yet it's time for after hours...
This was dropped at 11am Thursday morning my time.
That's because this channel is illuminating.
Love the channel, I learn a lot from it. Please create a better quality logo i think it'll go a long way!
About defining the 1, check out Charlie Puth's BOY. He plays with not defining it intentionally so maybe it's not that bad of a crime haha
Ha! Truly, I got no problem with metric ambiguity, I just didn't get a good feeling from it in this particular song, it felt accidental and awkward, and my instinct told me the tune would be stronger with a clearer 1. It's always case-dependent.
Oh, and that 480p 6fps logo is there for a reason, and that reason is "to drive my 3D guy nuts." 😛
I could watch Gregory's videos like this for literally hours.... keep 'em coming chief!
Never overuse mayor or minor7 chords . They are too ethereal. Even in the 70s it was daunting.. they used way too many Mayor minor 7th and it makes music really flat jaja just my humble point if view.
I'll agree to disagree 😛
I like the fact that when the drums come in you learn that what you thought was the one isn't the one. I love those kinds of intros. They make it so much more satisfying when the beat comes in.
exactly
How do you bring movement into those Low Mids? Or is it just taking away the droning, and cleaning up the mix?
Good question! Fundamentally it all starts with the arrangement and the performance: what sounds live there, and what are they doing? On the engineering side, your guesses are right, you clear out the muck and balance the rest. We also have fx like tremolo, phasers, and other modulators which can get things moving in amplitude and/or space. Side chaining eq c and compression can also help a stagnant thing come to life. Sometimes you want drama, sometimes you just want a little flickering or washing, let your taste be the guide!
I love when songs leave me guessing about the rhythm. My Girl is my favourite example, where Jamerson's bassline is joined by the guitar, throwing out where you thought the one was, and it sounds like he changes rhythm and emphasis in his bassline but he actually doesn't change at all.
That intro where it is easy to lose the 1.... that describes about 1/2 of AC/DC's catalog.
Indeed, and if AC/DC submitted Back in Black to me for feedback it would be a 10 second video with me saying “please tell me how you did this“.
Gregory Wan Kenobi heavily appreciates your musicality and mixing knowledge.
Can you do a video on what it means to 'clean it up'? Do you mean carving out space in the frequency range on one instrument to make room for a different instrument in that same frequency range?
Good question! It means "whatever it takes". I try to address buildup at the source, finding the sound(s) that are piling up and in this order: adjusting volume, eq'ing, panning. Maybe on one, maybe on two or more. I see now that, yes, this does need to be its own video, because there are so many ways to do it but some are way more helpful and efficient than others. But at the end of the day, you do whatever you have to to get the sound happening, nothing is off the table!
With band pass filtering and quieter drums, there are contemporary spaces for this track. Nostalgiacore, dreamcore, weirdcore- these kids come up with all kinds of niche “aesthetics”. Hell, I bet vaporwave’s still got fans. Might be worth considering what your peers are doing come mix time
Shit, that's AWESOME feedback, if I could append it to this episode I would!
Oh man is every style literally a 'genre' nowadays
I think that's been true since around 1997 😛
@@TheHouseofKushTV true true although before my time, when "alternative" or "dance" was about as far as you had to go., its worse in 'dance' especially now i think probably to do with spotify playlisting and subreddits. We used to have techno, house,trance, ambient and that but not too many and 'EDM' makes no sense because of all the other genres that are 'electronic' and 'dance' and 'music'
3:14 you could also add in a side chain effect early on
Great video, this is the kind of music production knowledge I need and want to learn, thanks for this
Glad you enjoyed it!
Ahahahah, I Always laugh with your Intros.
You’re my teacher, please accept my greetings ❤️ love you loads Gregory ⚡️
i knew the "one" from the moment u pressed play .. I don't understand how u didn't hear it immediately
The moment you begin to understand that other people can (and will) experience things differently than you, that in fact we're *supposed* to... that's when you begin to glimpse what freedom actually feels like. ☮️
Very helpful and educational.
What plug in were you using to separate the frequencies towards the end of the video?
It's called 'reference'. Most multiband compressors have similar functionality (solo'ing the bands), so check to see what's in your arsenal before plonking down money. There may also be free or cheaper options if you don't need all the bells and whistles reference has
The intro wasn't confusing, the riff was obviously starting on the offbeat
I was thinking the same, but we have to remember that we are music people. Non-music people get confused with stuff like this. I have heard from a non-music person that it's distracting if vocals start after the one. While I think it's good to do unexpected things, the consumer probably just gets confused and switches to another song.
@@djentlover Yes, I agree, but it depends how much one wants to conform to please / make money. Making it simple and predictable is a mixed blessing - can become mundane and too common - just conforming to the masses doesn't always equate with income either. Depends on the situation. But clever simplicity can be a gem.
@@spiral-m Of course you can make music for musicians, we need music too! 😄
@@djentlover defo!
I agree, but even if it had been I wouldn't see it as a problem. I've actually always loved song beginnings where you don't know where the one is until the beat kicks in. I think they make the song more interesting by presenting that twist. So, in that way I didn't understand the critique about that eventhough I liked all the other great advices. Let down by Radiohead is one of my all time favorite songs and it's not clear from the intro at all where the kick will come until it comes and then you learn it quickly. Actually when I've listened to some live versions of the song they tend to start the kick live whenever which is a bit irritating because I've learned to appreaciate so much the album version of how the guitar pattern goes together with all the other elements.
Everybody... The Matthew McConaughey of music production!
Quality of the feedback is nearly outshined by the quality of the hair
NEARLY???
Let's not get carried away
0:19
"Oooooooooooh
Baby baby I tried
Baby baby I died
Making loooooooooooove
To yooooou."
I actually like this a lot - to be sure, I agree that the pads are a bit static, and don't do anything to drive the harmonic motion forward at all, but it reminds me a bit of Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You", and it has a certain feel to it. I also like the kinda drone returning to the F bass all the time, it leaves a sense of unresolvedness. I do like what Gregory does with the EQing, it does clean it up a lot. And it's always great to hear a critique that differs from your own view - I always love some food for thought. Great track, Brandon!
Though there is a point in a "static composition" that doesn't necessarily go anywhere, Music Sounds Better With You has a memorable melody that is full of emotion with the way the vocals are delivered and what the lyrics are saying.
So yes, you can do it, but unless you want to create pure background music (which can be fine), you still need _some_ motion or some hook to latch on to.
Thanks for a great video. Be safe and skilful. Pinge
About the first issue you had with the beginning of the song, this is probably the first time I disagree with you. To me it was totally clear where the 1 sat and the arpeggios didn’t confuse me it all, it all made perfect sense to me even when I played it back and payed attention to what confused you. I had simular confusion to what you have with other songs, I know the idea of being thrown off but in this song it all flowed well in my opinion and the drumloop started exactly where I expected it would. So I think the perception of it ‘making sense’ really differs from person to person. Other than that, Kushy kudos for all the great videos you make! 🙌
Absolutely, no arguments with any of that! When I call something out, it isn't to say "this absolutely doesn't work" or "no one will like this", I just notice things where I can sense some percentage of new listeners will 'peel away' because something broke the spell. And even that isn't necessarily a reason to change it, everyone's got their own priorities and sacred cows! 🐄
@@TheHouseofKushTV And I totally agree with what you are saying here too! 💚 What might helped for me was that it sounded super familiar, not like simular to a specific song but am very familiar with this type of music so maybe that helped subconsiously. But I’m definitely familiar with being thrown off about where the 1 sits in some songs. And that’s why feedback really helps, if more people experience the bit of confusion then it’s probably a good idea to at least consider it.
Just to add on this, sometimes I like the subversive down beat. Thinking I know what's happening then having things getting turned on their head is neat
@@PainFullyUNcool14 Yup I love a song that can bring me somewhere unexpected. And this wasn't the case for me either haha
@@TheHouseofKushTV This is an example of something that always confused me, and although I’ve heard it a million times it still manages to throw me off lol. th-cam.com/video/i9ZykEJuFrI/w-d-xo.html But in this one I feel iit’s probably done on purpose and therefore doesn’t break to spell imo. Always wondered if it’s just me or something others experience as well. So I totally get what you were saying. And it’s funny how much people’s opinions differ in the comments, it’s very interesting to see. So although the song you’re reviewing did not throw me off I totally get what you’re saying. And just maybe having a simple fx sound with for instance a delay on it- only at the very beginning of the intro just playing once would already give you more of a clear sense of where the 1 sits. I love your videos/seen a lot of them...always inspirational and super interesting angles!
Come on, the one in the first track was so so so obvious! 😅
The track sounds like something you hear when the operator puts you on hold lol
Lol
It’s the type of song you have in a game menu, or while something is loading.
What I learned is that it's also a solid representation of a well-loved genre, Vaporwave.
I actually like songs with an ambiguous 1 in the intro, such as Radiohead's Let Down
If someone submitted a song like Let Down for feedback, the episode would simply be me saying "Please teach me how you did this?" followed by the end credits 😛
@@TheHouseofKushTV haha!
I love that you’re playing the guy’s song as your outro haha
One of my heroes in the business of the elusive downbeat is Trent Reznor, but for this track, I think I'd agree with Mr. Scott. Since trickery or abstraction doesn't seem to be the overall goal with the track, the idea feels a little abandoned or out of place.
Definitely agreed. It's all about context.
Tension and release..... would that work as background music on "How it's Made"?
A joke, really, but also a curious question. If this music was background music it could be good for that (library music). Your thoughts?
I think if you want music to inoffensively blend into a commercial backdrop, you probably shouldn't get production feedback from a guy who's obsessed with drama and emotional impact 😛
@@TheHouseofKushTV Good tip. :)
Finally 🔥🔥🔥
Brandon's song had a nice feel to it. Regarding tension, I was really hoping to hear the melody go up to an G at the end of the 4th time. And the bass could sometimes go down to a D (creating a Dm7 or Dm9 chord - YUM). Also, cleaning up that bass EQ would really be nice. I also felt like this was a cool sounding backing track to something bigger, maybe needing a female vocal part - dunno. I concede that not all music needs a song melody.
Man, what are you talking about on that first song? To start a song with a pause in a melody is a valid music choice. Nothing wrong here. Maybe it was a composer intention to trick you to make a composition more exciting. Nothing to do with the production, really.
That’s the thing, although that might be true I wasn’t even feeling tricked or confused at all. I knew right away where the 1 sat and the drumloop started exactly where I expected it would. In my head I was clapping along and no confusion whatsoever, even when I played it back and paying attention to it, it made perfect sense to me. I just think how one percieves the (rythmic) construction differs from person to person. I do know what he’s talking about because there are songs that were throwing me off and confusing me where the 1 sat/ where the bar starts and all but this song just didn’t confuse me for a sec.
@@oilslick7372 I agree, that can often be done on purpose but in this specific song nothing felt unexpected to me at all. It flowed very nicely and had a great construction imo.
I get what you are saying 💯 breaking the rules is where it’s at . But it can be difficult when submitting to writers or placing you gotta conform 1st to know what it means to be a non conformists I love the track but as a writer I too would have been thrown off by the drop and I would’ve told my engineer to play the next one .
@@oilslick7372 I think because the lead melody didn’t start on the 1. I’ve been thrown off by some songs so I know how that works, just didn’t experience that with this song. I think there is no right or wrong here, think it’s totally subjective. But yes to me it also feels pretty conventional.
great critique! thank you
First mix=elevator music
LOL was asking me yesterday where you have been so long :)
Gregory, I cant tell you how much you have helped me on my journey. Your experience and perspective are priceless. TY
Yeah, you are definitely the only person that could see that timing on the first song...it was CLEARLY obvious
CLEARLY!
@@TheHouseofKushTV Oh dear is this what critiquing the critiquer looks like. Ew not nice. Ha... Ha... sorry couldnt help finding it funny. ps. i think i made up a word there. Stay strong Greg they know not what they do. :D
The Dooode has listened and spoken...... Great "road trip" track btw...
Insightful vid.. keep it up , Kush it,. Kush it good!
I really love this channel!
Something you said about producing by stacking melodies really caught my ear. What would some other methods be, like making a beat and building off of accents and rhythm? Can you maybe make a video describing different production techniques?
Paul McCartney would probably be a classic example of a writer who starts with melodies, and works from there. Macca's chord sequences are usually designed to carry or support a pre-written melody. His old partner John tended to write lyrics first, then find the chords, and from that he would come up with a melody. But Macca tends to go with melody first (admittedly he's very good at it), and then build the song from there. :)
oh, interesting question! There are as many answers as there are songwriters, and my guess is you can find tons of info here on YT and in forums via Google. My routine is extremely specific, but thanks to you I will actually make a video on it because if nothing else it seems unique and might inspire others to find their own unique approach, so thank you!