Method of tracking instruments for song – Forum Post & Discussion Thread : macProVideo.com

Posts: 158

Joined: Jun 17th, 2008, 04:11

Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 27th, 2011, 04:35

Hullo. I have learned loads from MPV and the forums and I am thankful. My question now is more about workflow and taste. I am working on a couple of songs that are Indie-Ballad in tone. The content may change later the more of Logic's tricks I may apply. My problem is I play and sing all the stuff. Then program etc. I cannot seem to have the full confidence to lay the track down even though it is fully formed and arranged in my head. When I try to start with the drums...it feels sterile.The groove is stiff. I could use loops or templates and the riches that we have.But it felt wrong trying drums first. ( Addictive drums ) I was thinking of recording an acoustic guitar rhythm to click track and use that as the main track to follow.Implement the markers section by section. Writing drums around it. Then using Flex time to tweak here and there to give it a more human feel.Then let the bass meld around it. Find out points where to speed up or slow down and mark that out on tempo track.Hopefully a nice foundation for the vocals to sit into. Is this a silly idea.?..As others swear by drums starting first.I want to strum the track for drums to program to. But surely by knowing all the tricks and tools available there's a way to construct this song by approaching it more organically.Much like the intuitive editors. Any thoughts would be respectfully appreciated.Thanks

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Peter Schwartz

Posts: 545

Joined: Sep 15th, 2007, 06:04

Re: Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 27th, 2011, 06:33

Quickie advice... Forget about using flex to create "human feel". You're the human, get your feel from yourself. If you're unhappy with the feel afterwards, THEN use flex to change things. But I think it's a mistake to try and use the machine to create your feel when you probably already have a feel. You said you play/sing all the time. And no one's judging you in the confines of your home studio.

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Hamish H

Posts: 307

Joined: May 4th, 2009, 02:29

Re: Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 27th, 2011, 06:38

Hi what a great question! for what its worth I would suggest ignoring what others 'swear by' and do what you feel most confident about. If your guitar playing gives you the best feel for the song, then start with that. Definitely. And don't even get too hung up about a click track - as you say you can use beat mapping and flex time and all Logics tricks to make whatever ypu record next fit your guitar playing. As aside, if you do want to use a click track, you could experimnet with something other than a metronome- maybe a percussion loop with a good groove that you like. it doesn't have to be a rigid metronome. Thats just my 2 cents, everyone else will have more ideas, so just go with what you feel is best. You're actually in a really good position - you have the freedom to try out many different ways to get your tune started. It will always end up different than how it sounds in your head, so if you accept that and just go for it you'll end up with a great track for sure. H

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logicluvva

Posts: 158

Joined: Jun 17th, 2008, 04:11

Re: Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 28th, 2011, 12:26

Thank you Ski and Hamish for the guidance and support. It's true,having learned what people will say 'must be used as a rule' it can appear to choke the process somewhat. But only once I realised how much choice there is within Logic to lay a track down.It can be quite daunting until one sees that it's all to do with delivering the best feel for the song.The route to it can involve all sorts of things. I haven't seen much about how the best 'feel' can be laid down till now. So thanks for the advice. It was just that I had never heard people talk about laying down an instrument and then recording the drum track..maybe region by region...using region parameters..delay etc...or splitting the midi to separate tracks..and getting the best-fit ' performance'. It's usually from drum foundation up.Since that's how most bands approach it in a full band line-up.I suppose I'm trying to mimic that as best as I can...WITHOUT ignoring Logic's vast array of tools and tricks. It is all fun though and very satisfying learning what method best suits. It just shows how malleable Logic is. Thanks for the support and not thinking it was a weird question too ! Cheers

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Peter Schwartz

Posts: 545

Joined: Sep 15th, 2007, 06:04

Re: Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 28th, 2011, 01:36

Maybe you're not seeing the kind of advice you're looking for because there is no one agreed-upon (or even standard) way of working. Just this evening I had a conversation with singer/songwriter friend. He's going into the studio with just his voice and his guitar. How many options can there be? Tons, as it turns out... - record guitar first and overdub vocals afterward? - record guitar and vocal scratch track, maybe comp a few takes, and then play on top for the "real take"? - record guitar and vocal to one stereo track or try for separation between the two on two mono tracks? - record whatever decision is made with respect to the above with or without click? Just guitar and vocal. A lot of choices! So let's look at your situation. What's the **simplest possible approach?** I'd say it's to set up your vocal and guitar mics, record them to separate tracks. Then hit record and don't listen to a click. Don't even set Logic's tempo to any particular value. JUST RECORD! :-) Then listen back. If you don't like it, do another take. Do another one after that if necessary. Do as many takes as you need to to get comfortable doing what? Telling a story with music. That is THE MOST important thing, right? Right! Now... how to ensure the best possible performance? Put up the mics, hit record on Logic (again, no tempo, no click). Close your eyes and pretend you're playing in front of 10,000 people and you have to get them to feel what you're saying musically. And do as many takes as you need to until you feel like you've done the song justice. You don't even ever have to stop Logic. Just let it roll. This isn't tape we're talking about here. Start with that approach and forget about all of Logic's bells and whistles. They're not going to help you unless you can deliver the main thing: the song! HTH, Ski

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logicluvva

Posts: 158

Joined: Jun 17th, 2008, 04:11

Re: Method of tracking instruments for song

Jun 28th, 2011, 03:34

Thanks , Ski for the 'Just Do It' pep talk. It's good to hear it's what suits me best. It feels much better knowing that it's been encouraged here. It's about having the positive Producer voice in me take over and just drive the 'artist' forward.Which can be daunting at times. Really valuable advice this was. Thanks again Cheers !

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