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A New Start (Production Music Album Starter)

Paul@Sydney

Paul@Sydney

Senior Member
Hi All,

My latest share-worthy work here. I recently undertook the Mixing With Mike mixing course, and it's really helped me understand a lot about the intent of EQ, Compression etc, and I've tried to apply the learnings here. Also had a bit of soul searching on the "why am I doing this music stuff" and realised that whilst doing it as a hobby is fun, I really do want to do more than that. Assessing options and where I am in life, with a full time job that I'm very happy in, family etc, I came to realisation that Production Music is the best path forward if I want to do anything other than a hobby. Spent some time researching production music libraries, and came up with a concept for an Album, to give me some focus and a near term goal: Softly Epic - a collection of 12 tracks, with Chordal (non-melodic) structures and a softly epic sound-scape.

This is the first candidate piece. So my questions to listeners are:

1. How's the mix? What do you hear as not being production music library worthy?
2. Hows the composition - am I meeting the target goal here, where am I potentially falling short?

Thanks in advance for listening, I really appreciate it.

View attachment Softly Epic 1 - A New Start.8.mp3

Libraries Used:
- CSS (Strings)
- OAE (Strings Evolutions)
- BHCT (Winds)
- Pigments (Pad, Bass)
- StormDrum3 (Taiko Drums)
- Falcon (Riser, Braam-type synth brass)
- Shimmer Shake Strike
- Various samples from Black Octopus, KSHMR etc for impacts, booms
Click to read more...
 
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I don't do "Epic" type music so you may want to take these comments with a grain of salt, but my initial observations were:
  1. I'd remove the synth arp pattern at the start so it simplifies the theme and doesn't fight with the strings (maybe bring it in at the 5th bar @ 00:14)
  2. I'd like to hear the strings panned and not lost so much in the centre, to give some separation
  3. From 00:44 onwards, the arrangement flattens out, which for production music is probably a good thing, but maybe adding the "clap" percussion sound you have at 01:07 at every second bar could work well for texture, and provide an edit point/marker for visuals.
Sound-wise I have no complaints. The lack of harshness and sizzle is probably a wise choice given it's intended purpose & style.
 
The mix isn't bad. It could use some polishing, but for typical use as background music, in say a nature doc or reality show it'd probably be fine.

Arrangement-wise though here are some things you really might consider:

  • The 1st rule of Fight Club is: Always think of the editor as your primary consumer/client. What do editors want? Editable cues...

  • What does that entail? Gaps and/or transitions between sections. An arc with a clear intro, build, and climax. Risers to build into gaps and endings (Risers don't have to be big, they can be subtle and simply signal that you're approaching the ending...) Even a soft cue will benefit from an arc, and an ending with some subtle excitement. Basically track shouldn't feel like it just begins, plays, then ends, it should feel like it grows, and builds to an ending, even if soft/gentle/simple.
  • Ultimately - Production music is exactly as the name implies... So production cliches like risers and transitions fx tend to work in your favor. At the end of the day it's about creating a piece of music that you want to license as frequently as possible. Even if a cliche feels like a cheap parlor trick, the point is to produce a successful track; a track succeeds when it appeals to the cliches of film/video/music editors.


  • In regards to your track the energy when the percussion starts should kick up a notch. I'm not saying it should be epic, or anything approaching that, I'm just saying that there doesn't seem to be any contrast between the ambient intro and when the percussion starts... (Pretty sure this is what he comment above is more or less saying when describing it as flattening out)...

  • A transition before the percussion starts would be beneficial. this is the kind of spot where an editor may very well cut it. They might only want the intro, only want to mid section (midway point), and ending, or might need to add a pause for dialogue... So a short 1 bar pause before the percussion kicks in would be smart. It'll also create the illusion of more excitement...

  • Agree the arp gets lost. It could work, but currently it's hard to distinguish between the arp and orch... There are all kinds of things you could try... Adding synched autopan to the arp, processing it so it sits in its own range, panning it or widening it, reverb to push it back, a combination of these, etc. Basically it needs something to distinguish it or it just winds up cluttering the mix.

  • The intro really should build. Again, could be subtle, but it should pull you toward your mid section where the percussion starts.... You could open the modwheel slowly. You might stop the dynamic automation around 60%, then let the rest of the dynamic range build toward the end of the cue... You might also add a high string line, cello, or something else orchestral halfway through the intro to pull you toward the beginning of the percussion...

  • Like the strings, the percussion should build toward the end. It can be subtle, but it should pull you toward the ending... Some sub booms here every 4 measures would probably add a sense of intensity while still remaining soft/subtle. The 1st sub boom should really lift off though so the percussion section feels like a new chapter...

  • Like the intro some evolving percussion would really benefit the build toward the ending... Some subtle ethnic percussion would be nice... Maybe a doumbek, or single ethnic midrange drum that subtley adds a layer to the percussion...

  • The closing hit should feel like it punctuates the entire piece. Think of it like closing a book... This is where building toward a climx is important... With that final hit closing the story. Ironically it does't have to be big or huge, just in proportion to however you were to built the dynamics toward the end...

  • The mid section build toward the end could use some kind of lyrical instrument to carry it toward the ending. Could be a cello, a solo female voice, something that furthers the evolution and buildup toward an ending...

Other things to keep in mind in the context of production music...

  • Aim for at least 90 seconds of music before the cue ends, not including the end hit... (It's not required per se, but anywhere between 1:30 and 2:30 tends to to be the sweet spot. One library I've written for requests tracks between 1:30 & 2:00... Plus cut-downs are a thing...)

  • As mentioned above cut downs are standard... :30, :60, :15 minimum. Bumpers/stingers, etc always help, and are often required/requested. The more meat you have to work with the easier it is to cut down.

  • If you wound up adding some solo/lyrical elements you'd often also deliver a version without solos. Again, it's all about serving the needs of the editor by giving them options...
 
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Wow, thanks!!!! So much incredible, actionable feedback and advice here... I'm going to go away and digest it all and give the track another thorough edit.

Funny thing about the stereo auto panning - the synth had that! And I was worried it was too distracting, so I dialled it right back to a narrow pan.
 
The balance and the mix sound alright. The levels are good.

The first opening 30 seconds are probably not what's wanted there. Please accept I'm a finicky person.

The first opening 30 seconds leading up to the ostinato, I would want quieter and building in this type of track. The sounds of the first 30 secs are a bit harsh (it's not because it's overloading) it's a bit grating for what then comes in after 30 secs. So for me, first 30 secs - build up and softer sounds.

There's some harsh kind of sound from 30 secs (like a brassy sound) going on. To about 42 secs. You don't need that sound. Remember, visuals and dialogue are king in production music.

From about 44 secs. I would have probably toned that down and put it at the start. Bring it back in at the same point only building.

It moves along quite well but needs some kind of motive or rhythm thing on top. It's probably a little short. That said one of my best paying tracks of all time is 1:24.

I hear a lot of library music and most of it I don't want to hear. Like 99% of it.

For someone that's giving it a go it's not a bad effort at all. As this track is atm, it would not be accepted where I work. But with work and getting to understand what production music is meant to do, as pointed out above, you could get in somewhere eventually. I was asked to do an album years ago and my first 4 tracks were rejected. I kept going out of sheer annoyance and through good advice finally got that aha moment.

I am talking about so called exclusive libraries as opposed to RF libraries btw.
 
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BTW there's nothing at all wrong with doing production music as a hobby. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the music publishers and the programme makers don't do it as a hobby.
 
Hi All,

So, I printed out all the feedback above, and went through and methodically ticked off each and every bit of advice. I can't tell you how much I appreciate folk of your calibre giving me in depth feedback and advice like this, it's mind-blowing, so generous and kind of you. Brief summary of changes below:

1. Added gaps between sections
2. Added more "cliched" transitions (sweeps etc)
3. Made the track longer (it's now 1:40 exactly at the final hit)
4. Softened the intro, made each section have an arc towards a climax of each section
5. Added a female soloist (and there's a version without the soloist below too)
6. Raised the energy of the final section (added ostinatos/tremolo, rebalanced the synths etc)
7. Got the synth arp autopanning more
8. Added a harmonics/tremolo long transition between the build section and the backend section
9. Added more percussion to the final section
10. Added sub-booms every four measures to the final section
11. Made the first boom of each section hit harder
12. Closing hit much more climactic and book-endish

Some self criticism at this point:

1. The mix could definitely still get better. I'm worried it's a bit muddy/dark. But each time I try to clean it up it starts to lose body. A delicate balancing act.
2. I wasn't able to find a nice ethnic mid-range perc to add and make it work. Spent about 45 minutes auditioning different perc in StormDrum3 and all my loop packs, but gave up in the end. It could probably do with it though, as the perc doesn't build or vary much in the final section
3. I've drifted a bit from my own original brief/concept of "Softly Epic" as it's now verging on regular epic. I can live with this.

Anyway, how's this sounding now?

Full Mix:
View attachment Softly Epic 1 - A New Start - Redraft A.2.mp3

Without Soloist:

View attachment Softly Epic 1 - A New Start - Redraft A.2 NoSoloist.mp3
 
Yes it's a lot better now. The mix isn't great, but mixing is a bit of an art that takes quite while to come to grips with. The levels are OK.
The main thing to get to grips with on mixing as you're starting is EQ. That's your best friend initially and you might want to study a bit of that.

Good luck with it all and I hope it works out well.
 
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