Posted
A recent Synfire Project:
This is probably only the third project I've completed that prominently features Synfire in the production process. The genre is Electronic music, but on the Pop side. (I'm open to suggestions as to the genre or genres.) Aside from Synfire, I used Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Diva, and AAS Player, all within Cubase Pro 11.
This is most likely not the absolute final mix, because I just bought Slate VSX headphones and I plan to remix once I get up to speed with them. And anyway, there are a few minor changes I'd like to make.
I'm firmly in the "Throw crap against the wall and see what sticks" school of music production. I started out with a stock Synfire progression, and auditioned various simple bass phrases until I found something that worked with the Omnisphere patch I was using. Then I used that same phrase, copied to a second instrument, to trigger a second Omnisphere patch that worked well with the first one. That, plus Stylus RMX drums, is what you hear in the first 8 bars. I can't remember those patch names at the moment, and my DAW is down for the day while I move some files around...which is why I have time to post all of this.
The high double stops that start at bar 9 are a phrase played through an Omnisphere patch called Glorious Steel. It was far busier at first...I deleted most of the notes.
The main melodic theme, which starts at bar 17, is a piano phrase from my library, from which I deleted the low symbols, leaving only the melody. Amazing how well it works. At first I thought it took the project in a direction I didn't want it to go, but I quickly decided it was exactly what the project needed. The phrase was sounded by Diva. Again, I don't remember the patch name.
For the 16-bar breakdown that starts at bar 33, I lowered the tempo by 1 BPM, and lowered the main Cubase output fader by .5 dB. I also dropped the drums and added a shaker.
At bar 41 there's a second melodic theme, again pure Synfire, although most of the notes are actually generated by an AAS Player patch. Again, I don't recall the patch name offhand.
The tempo and volume come back up when the main melodic theme starts for a second time at bar 49. And the shaker changes to a tambourine for the rest of the project. This was all to give the project a subtle lift at that point. Of course, the re-entry of the drums provides the main lift.
Synfire seems to excel at using my library of phrases in ways that fit right into my projects with sometimes only minor (or no) changes. That opens a lot of doors for me. But the combination of Synfire and the synths is where the real magic happens. Most of my time devoted to this project was spent auditioning various synth patches, and then of course mixing.
Constructive criticsm is welcomed. Thanks for listening.
Wed, 2021-01-20 - 14:54 Permalink
Thanks for sharing your project!
One of the challenges with making music (if not THE challenge at all) is the longer you work on something, the more your brain gets tuned to all the subtleties and nuances, of which an unsuspecting new listener merely perceives a small fraction. A popular mixing technique is to point listeners to, for example, individual instruments or melodies, by introducing pauses (rather abruptly) where that instrument or melody stands out alone, while others are re-entering the scene in a staggered fashion. This adds a lot of contrast and structure to the mix (and is the main feature of most EDM tracks, by the way).
Adding containers with Pause parameters in them does the trick.
You have a well balanced sound spectrum and many lively elements. I think it would be interesting to see if this mixing technique can make them each have a special moment where they stand out.
Wed, 2021-01-20 - 16:24 Permalink
I appreciate your comments, which are relevant. Thanks. But I'm not sure I want to revisit this project...I'm more inclined to move on.
Coincidentally, I have been looking into the "container with pause" technique lately for another project.