Transitions/Build ups

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
GLJdrew
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:57 am

Transitions/Build ups

Post by GLJdrew » Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:02 am

What are you all doing to create build ups/transitions??

What effects/instruments/sounds are most common and useful?

Thanks!
MacPro 2.7 Ghz i7. 4GB Ram. Ableton 8.2.6. Axiom 49 Pro. M-Audio O2, APC 40, Komplete 8

cotdagoo
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Location: canuhduh

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by cotdagoo » Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:37 am

This is a discussion board.

We're not here to spoon feed you..

What are YOU doing to create build ups/transitions??

What effects/instruments/sounds are the most common and useful to YOU?

jestermgee
Posts: 4500
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by jestermgee » Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:51 am

This dude :D

- How do I make dubstep?
- How do I create a buildup?

Just give me your idea and i'll build it for you man....

Here is a trick I learnt many, many moons ago... Google is a great tool:

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=youtu ... 52&bih=684

That will list a heap of youtube links for your question. Now, what will you do for me to give me my 6 seconds of research back?

GLJdrew
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:57 am

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by GLJdrew » Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:57 pm

cotdagoo wrote:This is a discussion board.

We're not here to spoon feed you..

What are YOU doing to create build ups/transitions??

What effects/instruments/sounds are the most common and useful to YOU?
so far...drum fills, taking drums out for a bar, removing other instruments for a bar, filters, idk,,after all the filtering/effecting/resampling it's hard to distinguish sometimes. thats all i was getting at. and after scoping out youtube it seems one of the best ways to do it would be with white noise--i dont see why that question was so out of place for a discussion board...when people ask me what effects i use on my guitar for a certain sound i dont ask them what effects THEY use..its ok to want to expand upon what you are already doing. nobody gets better at anything by just thinking about what they are doing
MacPro 2.7 Ghz i7. 4GB Ram. Ableton 8.2.6. Axiom 49 Pro. M-Audio O2, APC 40, Komplete 8

simonlb
Posts: 261
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:48 pm

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by simonlb » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:00 pm

cotdagoo wrote:This is a discussion board.

We're not here to spoon feed you..

What are YOU doing to create build ups/transitions??

What effects/instruments/sounds are the most common and useful to YOU?
Classic music-tech-forum standard issue needlessly hostile and unforthcoming reply.

Buildups/transitions can be a bit elusive to beginners or even people who've been at it a bit longer, especially once you want to get past the cliched white-noise/removing the kick for a bar/rising frequency sweep/whatever.

simmerdown
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Location: Northwest Nowhere

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by simmerdown » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:07 pm

(been meaning to ask this, but aside from what has been said already i do not have squat to contribute...)

rpc9943
Posts: 225
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:33 am

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by rpc9943 » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:10 pm

how about this. Put in a delay in, bring up the intensity 100%, then turn up the wet 100% slowly. That's a buildup.

How about doing the same with reverb/distortion?

There are almost limitless options. Try anything!

Better yet, make you own new way of building things up, instead of finding the cookie cutter way!
http://theconsolationproject.bandcamp.com
Influenced by The Cure, Smiths, early Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, Red House Painters, Cocteau Twins, The Church.

hacktheplanet
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Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by hacktheplanet » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:15 pm

GLJdrew go listen to Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites or whatever your favorite track is right now (post a clip if you pick something else). Listen to it very carefully. If you have the ears of a musician, you should be able to pick out the individual elements of a track. They will "solo" out in your brain as you focus only on certain elements.

Pay attention to three things:
1. What sounds you hear a few bars before the drop
2. What happens to the sounds during the drop
3. What sounds you hear a few bars after the drop

Reply to this thread with detailed answers to those three things above, and we will tell you if you are ready for the next part of the assignment.
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simmerdown
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Location: Northwest Nowhere

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by simmerdown » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:26 pm

"Classic music-tech-forum standard issue needlessly hostile and unforthcoming reply."....well said! add to that, Snarky!

note to self:...only ask a question if you already know the answer

regretfullySaid
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Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by regretfullySaid » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:29 pm

nobody gets better at anything by just thinking about what they are doing
How do you get better at anything by not thinking about what you're doing?
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Warrior Bob
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Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by Warrior Bob » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:30 pm

The music I write doesn't have a lot of buildups or transitions, largely because I have no idea how to make them sound really good. I know one common trick in dancey music is to create a long swell of white noise, and move up the filter cutoff and volume as it goes along. Sometimes you put a compressor on it and sidechain it against the kick drum.

Is there any common trick to making these sound really interesting? Every time I've tried it it just feels boring and hackneyed, like it's the most obvious effect in the world. What do you guys do for these? I've tried a few other effects (distortion, phaser) but it just seems to make it even more annoying.
simmerdown wrote:(been meaning to ask this, but aside from what has been said already i do not have squat to contribute...)
Asking a really good question is the same as contributing IMHO. If you've got good, well-contextualized questions, I say fire away.

regretfullySaid
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Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by regretfullySaid » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:40 pm

Like a bridge in between the verse and chorus, you can change the key and the last note or chord you're holding down and repeat it for an extra bar or 2, with it getting louder, this comes to mind @ 1:25...

The point of the *build up* is to get to an emotional apex so the *release* is that much more satisfying, ie orgasm, so you're transforming what you already have into maturity like caterpillar to butterfly danielson.

So it'd be a good idea to have your Before and After, the music Before the buildup and the After is the release, then you can do something with the Before and give it some tension, taking away the sound can be just as effective, like the sound is slowly dying, like a heartbeat slowing down (ie take away drum sounds more over time).

White noise is effective to use, but it's a generic standard thing now, so it isn't creative. If you care about your music then you'll *think* about what you can do specifically with the sounds you have and how you want it to transform into the release.

Tension / Release ; Chaos /Order

You could do something simple as increasing a delay and it's feedback to build up and then turn it off at the release. Or mix different effects together and tweak their settings over 4 bars so it gets really weird. But make it special, in that it's tailored in context to the sounds that are going on and not just "derp here's some white noise and a siren derp derp", (although it's not like half the audience will care)
Last edited by regretfullySaid on Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cotdagoo
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Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by cotdagoo » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:47 pm

simonlb wrote:
cotdagoo wrote:This is a discussion board.

We're not here to spoon feed you..

What are YOU doing to create build ups/transitions??

What effects/instruments/sounds are the most common and useful to YOU?
Classic music-tech-forum standard issue needlessly hostile and unforthcoming reply.
More like classic noticed OP asking very vague questions about general music making in multiple posts without anything other than trying to leech information from those more experienced who have taken the time to actually learn the tools they have, and who've spent considerable time learning about music making..

These posts pop up all the time, and it's just lazy.

If you look at my posts, I'd say about 99% are me helping others.. The amount of questions I've asked might amount to 2-3.. because for the most part the information is already available with a tiny amount of research done. Sorry if I'm not into helping those who cannot help themselves. I was trying to evoke a discussion where the OP could contribute 'something' by explaining his process, which would then allow people to see what his skill set, and recommend as necessary. If you jump in without knowing anything, you're more likely to waste time explaining basic terms that aren't understood.. I've seen posts by the OP asking about envelopes.. That's a google search away, but instead he's asking here..

There's TONS of information about everything the OP asked widely available on this very forum with some simple searching, or the multitude of resources available via google, youtube, online courses.. Its never been easier and more accessible to learn this stuff.. EVER!

Tone Deft
Posts: 24152
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:19 pm

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by Tone Deft » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:56 pm

^ you can say that about any question. NO MORE QUESTIONS CAN EVER BE ASKED ON THE ABLETON FORUM!!
EVER!!!

do we need a "Tarekith's Guide To What's Allowed To Be Asked On The Boring Ableton Forum"?

I do think you guys are being dicks. I did click on the link and watched some of the videos. dickishness aside I thought it was a great post, I learned some new tricks watching those videos. I don't try to make songs that have buildups like those but now that I know how to roll my own maybe they'll be more useful.

I hear what you're saying though. when posters write "don't tell me to rtfm" or clearly show they won't help themselves, that's bad.

this thread needs to lighten up.
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz

cotdagoo
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Location: canuhduh

Re: Transitions/Build ups

Post by cotdagoo » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:58 pm

Tone Deft wrote: I do think you guys are being dicks.
In all fairness, I learned from the best ;)

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