Computer Music (May 2023)

July 2023 / CM322 MODALICS EONARPEGGIATOR FREE PLUS Exclusive Beat Scholar discount LIKE A PRO ARRANGE TRACKS Expert advice on shaping your tracks to deliver maximum impact STRUCTURE SONGS GENERATE ENERGY ENHANCE MOTION BUILD TO THE DROP UNDERLINE YOUR HOOK 1052 SAMPLES PLUS CLASSIC TRANSITIONS GORILLAZ SYNTH STRINGS Capture their bright and breezy synth sound MANON GRANDJEAN The award-winning mix engineer speaks SUKI SOU On the art of studio rule-breaking REVIEWED JMG SOUND RETRONAUT, FL STUDIO 21 + MORE

SCAN TO GET OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER welcome When you really think about it, all music-making is essentially about storytelling. Yet, as both creatives and producers, we can frequently find ourselves getting bogged down in the minutiae; questing for that perfect snare sound or fastidiously EQing our mix. While we might be enthralled by the production process, we want people to hear our tracks, right? Making music that the crowd beyond the door of your studio will love forces you to think what your music is saying – and how it’s saying it. Arranging is really about making your track communicate its intentions. If you’ve written a blinding hook or earth-shaking drop, you’re going to want to signpost their arrival by building suspense and teasing the ears of the listener. It’s these type of choices that come under big focus in this month’s cover feature, serving fresh insight and tested wisdom on the often confusing decision-making required. Head to p16 to make a start. Elsewhere this issue, the MPG Award-winning engineer Manon Grandjean speaks to us about her ever-evolving career, as well as detailing some choice software mixing tools. Then there’s electronic soundsmith Suki Sou, who shares why she’s all set to embrace the AI revolution. On a similar track, videogame soundtracker Tom Salta launches his brand new automation plugin, Auto-Bounce and explains why it’s the ultimate Logic time-saver on p32. On the test-bench, we’ve got a pile of divine synths, a shimmering reverb and a retro-leaning method to control your MIDI via a joystick. Your free plugin this month, Modalics EON-Arp, offers up a new way to get rippling movement. Download it and use it to spin a new sonic yarn… Andy Price Editor [email protected] DOWNLOAD See page 81 to find out how to download this issue’s exclusive content Where to get PRINT in stores and online magazinesdirect.com ZINIO for PC, Mac, Android, iPad & more zinio.com GOOGLE PLAY for Android & Chrome for PC/Mac play.google.com iOS APP STORE for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch computermusic.co.uk/cmdigital DOWNLOAD ALL NEW SYSTEM welcome / computer music < Subscribe to Computer Music! See p94 HOW TO USE  [email protected] facebook.com/computer.music.mag youtube.com/computermusicmag instagram.com/computermusicmag twitter.com/computermusicuk WWW musicradar.com/computermusic There’s extra video content wherever you see this icon This icon means there are extra files to help you follow a tutorial feature: project files, audio examples, etc Whenever you see this icon, you can grab the files on your PC or Mac by going to bit.ly/cm322downloads Tutorials featuring this icon make use of our own Plugins – find out more at bit.ly/cm322downloads FILES

Essentials 4  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 ISSUE 322 JULY 2023 Reviews 58 CHERRY AUDIO MERCURY-6 60 JMG SOUND RETRONAUT 62 DIGIT MUSIC CMPSR 64 IMAGE-LINE FL STUDIO 21 66 TOONTRACK EZKEYS SYNTHWAVE 68 SONORA CINEMATIC HARMONIC BLOOM 70 POLYVERSE SUPERMODAL 72 W.A. PRODUCTION KSHMR REVERB 74 SPECTRASONICS TWISTED TREES 76 SOUNDWARE 6   -NEWS 944   SUBSCRIBE 96 -BACK ISSUES 98    -NEXT MONTH contents 40 16 ARRANGE LIKE A PRO Our main feature goes deep on arrangement, with tutorials and pro advice on structuring your tracks contents Cover feature /expert guides 40 SYNTH MASTERCLASS Dave Gale presents a guide to making retro strings 48 MANON GRANDJEAN The award-winning engineer tells all on her work with Stormzy Interview Expert advice to make your tracks have maximum impact 44 MIX MASTERCLASS Jon Musgrave on gain staging when mixing 32 48 30 -14 ARRANGEMENT TIPS A cherry-picked selection of some of CM’s tried-andtested methods for quickfire arrangement building 60 12 SUKI SOU The musician, sound designer and radio presenter lets us into her studio, where she likes to bend the rules! /15 Questions with… 12 32 -TOM SALTA Video game composer turned plugin developer Tom Salta bigs up his new plugin, Auto-Bounce LIKE A PRO ARRANGE TRACKS

TRANSITION TOOLS plugin suite YOUR SUITE IN DETAIL More than 80 plugins for free. All you need to get started in music production! Learn more about the suite in this PDF downloads Download this from bit.ly/cm322downloads – see p81 free software MODALICS EON-ARP Your free software this month is Modalics EON-Arp. Learn how to use this remarkable 82 plugin with our tutorial and video free videos MASTERCLASSES Follow along with our in-house experts as they guide you through their top tips for 92 mixing and synthesis 88 free samples DISTORTED AND MANGLED This month, our in-house sample makers bring distorted and mangled sounds, plus our classic Transition Tools pack DOWNLOAD July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  5 downloads / contents <

NEW RELEASES • COMMENT • INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS This year’s NAMM may have been in April, and lacked some of the big kahunas on which the industry pivots, but in all other aspects, the magic of the show remained. What we’re always hungry for is, of course, new stuff, and NAMM 2023 was full of surprise announcements, hastily covered by a flock of journalists pretending to work for three days, while really just seizing the chance to grab a bit of sun. In terms of what we were most excited by, one of our favourite plugin developers, Soundtoys, dropped SuperPlate, a new reverb plugin that features emulations of an EMT 140, 240, an Audicon, EcoPlate III and Stocktronics RX 4000, alongside some classic analogue saturation. Couple this with modern bells and whistles, such as modulation, infinite decay time and ducking and you’ve got the shape of another Soundtoys gem. The plugin is priced at $149. Find out more at www.soundtoys.com. Elsewhere, Polyend’s Tracker Mini reduces the size of the original Polyend Tracker: a device that enables you to make complete tunes using its onboard sampling and granular synthesis engine. The Mini version is aimed even more at the mobile producer, yet amazingly boasts a better spec than its bigger sibling. It includes allstereo sample playback, a built-in mic, USB audio and onboard battery. Tracker Mini comes in at $699. Find out more at www.polyend.com. Bitwig Studio revealed a big update. The new fifth version of the hyper-cool DAW brings way more modulation to the table, as well as an all-new browser, Remote Controls on tracks and projects, a new clip-launcher and MSEGs (Multi-Stage Envelope 6  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > news Polyend Tracker Mini: small form factor, big spec Neumann’s KH 120 II monitors Soundtoys SuperPlate offers flavoursome reverb via a range of classic emulations The world famous music tech show went low key but still saw some highs NAMMaste

news < Slava Ukraini Pulsar is a longforgotten Ukrainian preset drum machine that was produced at the Elektrovimiruvach military plant. Now, thanks to TripleTech, you can have it on your iOS device. Said to be “95% identical” to the 30-yearold hardware, Pulsar-ES has eight pads for the eight included drum sounds. You can use these to improvise over the included presets, of which there are 64. These cover not only pop, rock and dance styles, but also the likes of hopak, polka, kazachok and rasputin. If you need any further incentive to pay the £5 that Pulsar-ES costs, 20% of all sales will be donated to Ukrainian support. www.tripletechaudio.com Utterly butterly ButterSynth is a new six-oscillator synth from Kirnu Interactive. Choices comprise two wavetable oscillators, a sampler, 4-operator FM and a granular sampler, and you can mix and match these engines at will. Further toneshaping can be carried out via the modulation matrix; control sources include four MSEGstyle looping curve envelopes, four LFOs, four step sequencers, an X/Y pad with motion recording, eight Macro dials and an arpeggiator that draws inspiration from Cream, another of Kirnu Interactive’s products. There’s a tasty effects rack, too. www.kirnuarp.com Like the clappers… Finally, a big round of applause for Hand Clapper, an iOS port of this emulation of the Boss HC-2 handclap module. There are actually three round-robin sample sets in play: these emulate the Roland TR-808 and 909, plus the HC-2 itself. You can also load in a sample of your own. Further options include a band-pass filter with Frequency and Gain controls, a Repetitions section for thickening things up (twist the Amount knob to trigger up to seven clips quickly) and a dial for introducing randomness. Hand Clapper is yours for £6/$6. www.audiothing.net We report on the latest developments in phone and tablet music making App watch July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  7 Bitwig announced a big update in the form of Bitwig Studio version 5 IK Multimedia AXE I/O interface Generators). Find out more at www.bitwig. com. The software is currently in beta, and can be tested by anyone with a Bitwig Studio licence and an active Upgrade Plan. The official release is planned for Q2 this year, and will be a free upgrade for all licence holders with an active Upgrade Plan. Check next issue for more on this… We all need a good pair of monitors, and Neumann’s latest entry builds on its cemented monitoring prowess, with the KH 120 II improving on the 2010 classic range. A new woofer brings better SPL and less distortion to the low end, while onboard DSP can speedily reduce phase issues caused by analogue filters, cementing the mids and boosting transparency. The calibration aspect is a big one, meaning the monitors can work in tandem with the company’s MA1 software to fine-tune your pair for the acoustic properties of your room. The prices are between $999 and $1250 a unit depending on your connectivity requirements. There’s more about the KH 120 IIs at www.neumann.com. Finally, the AXE I/O One interface from IK Multimedia brings the larger unit’s guitar and bass tone-shaping abilities to a smaller hardware interface, and comes bundled with the company’s delicious AmpliTube 5 and TONEX SE, alongside 6,000 AmpliTube presets and 10,000 TONEX virtual rig/tone models. If you’re a guitarist who leans into software, then you’ll be in absolute heaven. The unit is priced at €129.99. More info can be found at www.ikmultimedia.com. The sky’s not the limit Also unveiled at this year’s NAMM was an absorbing new softsynth: Sound Particles’ SkyDust 3D. Its developers claim that it’s the first 3D synthesiser in the world. It’s designed to answer the prayers of those working in spatial audio formats, letting artists play a note and then get immediate 3D audio responsiveness as the synth’s elements pan the spherical field. Though generated from traditional subtractive and FM oscillators, the integrated 3D engine moves envelopes, arpeggios, LFOs and randomised ‘Divergence’ notes around the landscape. Compatible with 30 immersive audio formats, SkyDust 3D might just usher in a new swathe of spatially tailored tools. The mouthwatering 3D version of SkyDust is priced at £249. www.soundparticles.com

Ins & outs ‘FAKE DRAKE’ The mysterious artist known as ‘Ghostwriter’ may have thought they were being clever when they made a track that sounded like it was being sung by Drake and The Weeknd, but Universal Music was unimpressed, and the song quickly disappeared… I’LL BE PAYING YOU We knew Diddy would still be paying Sting royalties for the Every Breath You Take sample in 1997 hit I’ll Be Missing You. But when Diddy revealed the sum was $5k a day (up from the previously quoted $2k) we had to stifle a gasp. Now that’s inflation! RIP RYUICHI SAKAMOTO We were sad to hear of the passing of Oscar-winning soundtrack and synth pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto. His solo albums influenced electro and hip-hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, and many modern musicians owe him a debt, too. The baby with the power Softsynths are landing thick and fast this month, and one of our most beloved engineers of sound-shaping effects plugins, Baby Audio, is now bringing its first synth to market. The BA-1 is modelled after an ’80s legend, the Yamaha CS01. Sporting twin oscillators (something the original didn’t have), the BA-1 is soaked in nostalgia, with retro effects chains modelled after cheaper rack-mounted units that were all the rage in the pre-software world. The Re-Gen button enables the sudden development of spontaneous new patches from thin air. This fresh spin on a dusty classic comes in at a cost of $99. www.babyaudio.io JON’S HOPS We’re fans of both Jon Hopkins and beer, so we’re pretty sure that we’ll enjoy Light Through My Veins, the new ale that the producer has created. Inspired by the number nine, it clocks in at 9% ABV, so you’ll need significantly fewer than nine cans of it to make you merry. GRIMES OR REASON AI music might be causing panic in much of the music industry but Grimes is happy to let people impersonate her voice “without penalty”, tweeting that she’d be happy to split the royalties of any successful ‘AI Grimes’ track 50/50 with the person behind it. years back We modulated our way into July 2013’s issue, with a whopping guide to LFOs, envelopes, and mod matrixes. A very moving article, we think you’ll agree. Image-Line’s Jean-Marie Cannie seemed to confirm that the company was working on a native macOS version of FL Studio, though it would be another five years before this got an official release. We also spoke to renowned FL Studio lover Madeon, who described the software’s original creator, Didier Dambrin, as “like this evil genius in a good, weird and creative way”. We think that was a compliment. Back to long development times, we had a bit of a moan about the fact that, despite it being 18 months since the announcement of Bitwig Studio, it was nowhere to be seen. We still had to wait almost another year for it, though, suggesting that the developer didn’t really take much notice. And on a third and final ‘long development’ tip, six years after NI released Battery 3 we finally got v4. Would this kickstart an era of frenzied development for the drum sampler? Well, 10 years on it’s still at version 4, so no. Our monthly shake-of-thehead at our earlier selves’ news choices… We had a moan about the delay but the developer didn’t really take much notice WIKIBLEEPS How do you define Wikipedia in an ‘audio logo’? With a sound that features turning book pages, keyboard clicks and a chiming synth, apparently. Thaddeus Osborne won Wikipedia’s ‘The Sound of All Human Knowledge’ contest to make the sound logo. Hate to let sleeping patches lie? 192 was for you > news 8  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

Suki Sou Musician, sound designer and radio presenter Suki Sou may have a studio full of bespoke hardware and software that denotes a precision-based mindset, but she’s also big on adaptability. And her music – influenced by everyone from Raymond Scott to Joanna Brouk, Aphex Twin to Teresa Teng – puts that multifaceted approach on show 15 questions with… 12  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

Suki Sou was born in Macau, to a Burmese father and half-Japanese, half-Chinese mother whose philosophy when bringing Suki up was very much to throw her in at the deep end: “My parents sent me to a Catholic boarding school in Berkshire to study when I was eight years old. I travelled to the UK on my own with just a dictionary; my mother’s theory was that I needed to learn the language by myself, without anyone’s help.” This DIY attitude stuck, and with some influence from her electronics engineer father, Sou developed a fascination with synths and software. She has now married some of the best of both into a jaw-dropping studio in which she composes an eclectic mix. It’s music that she describes as ‘neo-morning electronica, kosmische and proto-techno’. She has a refreshing ‘no rules’ philosophy, doesn’t strive for perfection (“it can blind the bigger picture”) and has some of the best advice in her replies to the 15 Questions that we’ve seen. Read on for advice on the ‘minefield’ that is Pure Data, and recording the thud of soft jelly… 1 How did you start out in music in the first place? Suki Sou: “It all started with my mother’s encouragement to learn the piano for its cognitive benefits [laughs]. But once I got into music, I got really into sound and how it could take me places. I started messing around with field recordings, foley and electronic instruments to create a sonic palette that puts the listener right in the middle of the action. “Through my music, I aim to capture the often-overlooked sounds of our world, such as the soft thud of jelly falling on the floor or the space echo in an empty bowl. I want to create a world that encourages people to tap into a realm of sensory experience that they may have previously overlooked, and to provide a listening experience that they may have never encountered before.” 2 When and how would you say you became successful, or at least able to make a living from music? SS: “Making a living from music is like trying to compose a symphony on a calculator – it’s a delicate balance that requires patience, persistence and a willingness to take risks. I am grateful for the opportunities that have come my way through my sound design work. The key to a sustainable career is being adaptable, taking on new challenges, and staying true to your vision. It’s a bumpy road but the reward of having the freedom to experiment and ultimately be able to share what you do with others is priceless.” 3 What is your overall philosophy or approach when it comes to music? SS: “I try my best to balance precision and intuition, fuelled by curiosity. I know that chasing perfection can blind the bigger picture, so, I trust my gut and let the music do the talking. Attention to detail is key, but less can also be more.” 4 When and how did you discover the route to computer music-making and how has it changed the way you work? SS: “I was determined to break free from the constraints of relying on others to create the music I wanted. It all started with a group of Japanese friends who introduced me to the innovative sounds of Aphex Twin, Broadcast, Prefuse 73, Four Tet and all the artists on Warp Records back in the early 2000s. Inspired by their creative process, I dove headfirst into learning and experimenting on my own with a Korg EM-1, and the rest is history.” 5 Tell us about some of the gear that you have in your studio… SS: “I have a few synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines that I use frequently, including a Korg EM-1 drum machine, Buchla Easel, Knas Ekdhal Moisturizer, Moog Mother 32, Korg Minilogue and SQ1, Casio 403 drum machine and Bastl Softpop 2. To manage everything, I’ve hooked it all up through my Soundcraft 16 Channel mixer, Focusrite interface and my MacBook. I also have an array of plugins, pedals and MIDI controllers.” suki sou / 15 questions with < July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  13 “I want to provide a listening experience that you may never have encountered”

6 Can you tell us a bit more about these plugins? SS: “When it comes to my favourite plugins, there are so many amazing options out there that it’s hard to choose just a few. However, here are five that I find myself returning to time and time again, each with their own unique features and capabilities. “Arturia V Collection. This bundle is an absolute powerhouse, packed full of amazing synthesizers, effects and more. I love the versatility of the instruments, from the classic sounds of the Synthi V and the Modular V to the modern capabilities of Pigments and the Analog Lab. With so many amazing options at my fingertips, I can easily create the perfect sound for any track. “Cherry Audio ARP 2500. This is a virtual emulation of the classic analogue synth, and it sounds absolutely incredible. The attention to detail is truly remarkable, with every knob and switch accurately modelled to recreate the sound and feel of the original instrument. Whether I’m creating evolving pads, gritty basslines or otherworldly soundscapes, the ARP 2500 is an essential tool in my arsenal. “Pure Data. I’m still learning a lot, but I’m excited to say that this has made it onto my list of go-to tools. It’s an open-source visual programming language for audio and video processing that lets me create my own custom patches and algorithms. I’m amazed by how complex it is and how much control it gives me over the sound and the signal flow. It’s been a great resource for designing new sounds and experimenting with different processing techniques. “Spitfire Audio LABS. This series is an absolute gem. It is a free collection of high-quality virtual instruments, featuring everything from strings and pianos to experimental soundscapes and beyond, with every sample carefully recorded and processed to create a truly immersive and expressive playing experience. And did I mention that it’s free?! “Puremagnetik plugins. These are also some of my favourites. Their offerings range from classic analogue emulations to cutting-edge granular synthesizers, and each one has been packed full of unique features and capabilities. I also love the versatility and the fact that they’re constantly releasing new and innovative tools for musicians and producers to explore with.” 7 Do you ever collaborate with other producers? SS: “I haven’t collaborated with anyone on this project, but I’ve worked with a number of other musicians over the years. Collaborating can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It requires a lot of communication and compromise, but it can also lead to unexpected and exciting results.” 8 How do you tend to start a track? SS: “I often begin by experimenting with a variety of sounds and textures using my collection of synthesizers and effects pedals. Once I find a combination that speaks to me, I build upon it with different arpeggios in MIDI and custom patches created through Logic Pro X or software like Max/MSP and Pure Data for intricate control. I then layer in additional sounds using hardware like the Buchla Easel or Moog Mother 32 to add warmth and depth, and incorporate field or foley recordings for added motion, and of course, lots of VSTs! Through the use of EQ and compression, I carefully sculpt and refine each individual element to create a cohesive and polished final product.” 9 How do you know when a track is done? SS: “Oh my… Finishing a track can be a daunting task, but it’s all about learning to trust your instincts and embracing the process. I draw inspiration from Pauline Oliveros’ deep listening practice, taking time to fully immerse myself in the music and allowing it to speak to me on a deeper level. Sounds so serious! Sometimes, this means taking a step back and coming back to it with fresh ears or taking a break from music altogether. “I firmly believe that simplicity is key when it comes to completing a track. Rather than overproducing, less is often more, and knowing when to stop tweaking and refining is crucial. Follow your intuition to experiment but also know when it’s time to let go and move on to the next project. And above all, acknowledging that music is a journey. We’re all gonna die anyway, enjoy the process and let the sound take you where it wants to go.” 10 Can you talk us through at least one of your production tricks or processes? SS: “One of my favourite tricks would be to use repetition and variation to create a sense of movement and progression. I’ll often start with a simple pattern or motif, and then gradually introduce new elements or variations on that theme. I find that this approach really allows me to create an environment that is both hypnotic and engaging.” “Try not to feel limited by the rules and expectations set by others. Carve your own path” Suki patiently awaiting the AI music production revolution 14  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > 15 questions with / suki sou

www.instagram.com/_sukisou Petrichor bit.ly/cm_suki Suki’s Vlog www.youtube.com/@SukiSou HEAR MORE www.sukisou.bandcamp.com WWW 11 What’s on your gear wishlist? SS: “I’m currently on a mission to build my own Buchla 200e system. I’ve also got my eye on an ARP 2600 FS, and if I ever have the opportunity, I’d love to add the EMS VC3S to my collection. In the meantime, I’m scouring Reverb and eBay for a tape recorder and a vintage Tascam M-208 or a SoundCraft 32-Channel mixer.” 12 What would you like to see developed in terms of production technology? SS: “One thing that really gets me excited is the use of AI in music production. With new machine-learning algorithms, we’re able to create models that can analyse and learn from huge amounts of music data, generating completely unique and original ideas, and performing alongside human musicians in realtime. Take Google’s NSynth, for example. It lets you create entirely new sounds by combining elements from existing ones in innovative ways. And then there’s Amper Music, which is an AI-driven platform that can produce custom music tracks in a matter of seconds. I think that as AI technology continues to develop, we’ll discover even more creative possibilities for music production, including automated arrangement, real-time performance, and new forms of sound synthesis. “Another area that really interests me is haptic feedback technology. This type of technology provides physical feedback in response to digital inputs, making it easier and more intuitive to manipulate sound. It’s already being used in things like video game controllers and iPhones, but I believe it has huge potential for music production, too. Haptic feedback could provide a more responsive way to control things like filter cutoff, LFO rate, and envelope decay, making performances more expressive and enhancing the creative process. When it comes to software and hardware integration, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. We’ve made some progress, such as being able to switch between different DAWs or control different synthesizers and effects pedals from a single interface. But I think there’s so much more that can be done to make the workflow more seamless and enhance creativity.” 13 Which track do you wish you’d produced and why? SS: “Patchwork by Laurie Spiegel is a track that truly exemplifies how innovation can drive emotive and expressive music. The composition’s four-voice structure is woven together through the intricate interplay of melodic motifs, rhythmic patterns, and compositional techniques. Blows my mind!” 14 What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given by anyone? SS: “I’ve learned a lot about the technical aspects of both playing live and working in the studio: invest in quality gear and software that you feel comfortable with! A reliable laptop or just simply a MIDI controller, along with a solid DAW and plugins, can make a huge difference in your ability to deliver a polished and engaging live performance. “In terms of working in the studio, my advice would be to stay organised and efficient. Develop a system for organising your samples, presets, and project files, and make sure to back everything up regularly. Additionally, be willing to experiment with different software and hardware, and don’t be afraid to try out new techniques and workflows. The more tools you have at your disposal, the more creative and versatile you can be in the studio. “From the music industry: definitely try not to feel limited by the conventional rules and expectations set by others. It’s important to carve your own path and not rely solely on Suki on tweaking her music: “Knowing when to stop is essential” others to make things happen for you. In today’s industry, with so many tools and resources available, it’s easier than ever to take matters into your own hands and create your own opportunities. Don’t be afraid to take risks.” 15 What else do you have planned for the future? SS: “My latest release is a deep listening-focused mini-album called Notes On Listening. It’s a blend of neo-morning electronica, kosmische and proto-techno, with purified synthesized babble and hydrated loops. I hope that listeners will find it to be both nostalgic and forward-thinking. I am also currently focused on writing the next record, but would love to do some residencies in Europe this year to challenge myself in new ways.” Notes On Listening is out now on Iowa label, Curious Music twitter.com/sukisou July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  15 suki sou / 15 questions with <

LIKE A PRO Taking the time to work up your sketches into fullyfledged tracks can be a tricky process. That’s why it’s important to understand how an effective arrangement works to take listeners on a journey… > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro 16  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

In 2023, computers, phones, and tablets are readily accessible conduits to the music-production process, and all of them can host some kind of DAW (digital audio workstation) within which all manner of tracks can be crafted. However, having access to the right software is only the beginning; if you want to end up with a piece of music that might change someone’s life, we need to really focus on building our track’s arrangement. Learning how to bring out the key areas of the song is often what’s needed to imbue our compositions with the maximum, lasting impact that most of us aspire toward. In this feature, when we refer to arrangement we mean the process of creating a song structure that effectively supports a melody and chord sequence, and assembling a finished piece with a beginning, middle and end. The raw material that you’re working with can be quite diverse – a song with vocals and lyrics or just an instrumental that came from an improvisation. Arranging music, like mixing, combines both a technical mindset with an artistic drive. We should also recognise that rules are sometimes made to be broken (but maybe not all in the same song)! In times of old, the entire professional music production process was divided between several different roles. The composer would write the melody and lyrics, while the arranger had the job of adding chords, rhythms, and different combinations of instrument parts. Ultimately, they would shape the song to suit their briefed style, making it ready to be tracked or performed. Today, we’re all fully equipped to take on every aspect ourselves, but we should find time to appreciate the pivotal value of really considering how our arrangement is working, and not just tack it on to the writing or mixing process. Ultimately, an effective arrangement takes the listener on a journey, and each section should work together. arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature < July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  17

What’s your goal? Writing an effective arrangement starts with determining just where you’re aiming your track One of the great thrills of music-making is seizing on those flashes of inspiration, and jotting down a quick sketch demo of something that one day could become a chart-busting masterpiece. Getting round to finishing it however, requires investment of time, careful editing and consideration, as well as detailed listening – pretty much the opposite of the instantaneous buzz of coming up with a killer hook out of thin air. One of the main culprits to blame for us not being able to finish (or even make further sections) of a track is knowing how to build an effective arrangement. Ableton Live Session View users might have eight tracks of one-bar loops turning on and off, while users of more linear DAWs such as Logic Pro or Cubase might have eight bars of the same verse staring back at them. There might be powerful melodies in there and infectious little hooks, but unless you can organise it all into a structure, it’ll be hard to present it as a serious piece of music. And you can forget about releasing it. You can begin the clean-up process by loading one of these unfinished projects. If you’ve got something with a beat and a melody, then that’s perfect. To successfully create an arrangement you need to set yourself a goal. Often this can be spurred by practical > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro 18  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

requirements, like somebody has asked you to arrange their tune, or maybe you’re soundtracking a video piece, where you have a certain fixed running time. Then there are the more artistic factors. More often than not, the practical and the artistic have to exist side-by-side. Even a more freeform arrangement is hit upon by making a conscious decision about (a lack of) structure. The most important thing you can do when it comes to arranging is to listen around your track. If you decide to work in a certain genre, absorb as many examples of that style as possible, and think objectively about what you’re hearing, by which we mean listen closely without other distractions, and try to unpick how the arrangement is working to emphasise the major hooks, and underscore the core drama of the track. It pays to consider the typical length of songs that you’d find in your chosen genre, as well. You might be looking at 3-4 minutes for a commercial song with vocals, or 5-10 minutes for ambient and IDM-adjacent pieces. While your motivation for approaching arrangements might differ, taking that time to consider the norms that your chosen genre typically adheres to can help you to shape your track in the right way, and prevent hours of staring at your project in abject terror! KEEP ’EM SEPARATED If your Ableton Live project contains loads of tracks, create a blank track and place it between two distinct groups of tracks as a visual separator. This keeps things tidy and lets you home in on specific areas of your arrangement more quickly. COPY THAT Live’s Duplicate command (Cmd-D on Mac, Ctrl-D on PC) is a handy tool for knocking out arrangements quickly. It essentially duplicates the selected area directly after the selection. This is really useful for making repeated sections. FOLD IT UP For a quick tidy-up of the Arrangement View, Alt/Option-click one track’s fold button to fold all of the tracks in your set. Find it next to the track name in the track header column on the right of the screen. MARKER RESPECT Put memorable section markers where specific song sections occur. Create them by clicking a track, hitting Set above the track headers, moving the marker flag to the desired position, and renaming it. TIME TRAVEL The Duplicate and Delete Time commands not only work on the region highlighted by the loop bracket, but move subsequent regions earlier or later, extending the track or closing gaps, depending on which command is used. Ableton Live arrangement tips July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  19 arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature <

Although the default for arrangement might be DAW-based, other alternative routes can stimulate fresh angles… Ways of working Let’s take a look at a few techniques we can use when thinking about our arrangement. If you’re literate in music theory to the point of reading and writing music, then there’s nothing else that will do a better job of helping you visualise the relationships between instrument parts over time. This goes hand in hand with learning to play an instrument. There’s a serious time investment up front, but time is saved when it comes to the creative process; you don’t need to carefully find each chord every time you try and work out a new section. Just as we can write our score with pen and paper, we can also use software, ranging from score editors within DAWs such as Logic Pro X, to standalone applications like Sibelius, and iPad apps such as Notion, which will even let us use an Apple Pencil to draw in notes. There is one drawback though: writing a score doesn’t really cover the range of what is done with electronic music composition, though there are artists who have tried to make their own scoring systems for electronic music. For a lot of us computer-based electronic musicians, we’ll likely sketch a rough framework of an arrangement at the same time as our initial idea. Arrangements are typically displayed in a linear view in our chosen DAW. This a logical way to work, as we can get a clear overview of all of the elements within our music, and take 20  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro

Avid’s Sibelius music notation software is there if you want to take the traditional approach… …whereas Ableton Live’s Session View caters for recording in the moment our time evaluating and editing. We’re not concerned with scoring music, as our work takes place in a world of clips, regions, and automation. However, simply copying and pasting blocks can feel uninspired; instead, we need to consider breaking and transitioning between sections, which makes our track feel like it’s moving organically. One of the main advantages of being entirely standalone is that today’s music producers can jump between each of the core processes, whether that’s writing, arranging, and mixing, at will, at any stage in the production process. If we encounter a mixing problem, for example, where one instrument just isn’t coming through, or is conversely too dominant, it can be solved by editing the MIDI part, or tweaking the instrument sound. This is a luxury that we just wouldn’t have had in days gone by. The ‘hybrid’ option (which is seen most markedly in Ableton Live’s Session View), means that you compose and create using a performance-angled interface. This provides a way of arranging our musical elements in real time. This approach is particularly beneficial if we’re more comfortable performing and getting expressive when forming our music ideas. Using a hardware controller such as Ableton’s Push or a Novation Launchpad is a tried and tested route for assembling arrangements on the fly. With the aforementioned Session View, once you enter global record mode, Ableton Live will capture your live reponses and automatically sequence it into the adjoining Arrangement View. Everything is captured as editable automation, from clip launching to mixer functions, to effect parameters. You could even set up at home as if you’re playing a gig, and create a feel akin to a live performance atmosphere. This method encompasses the best of both worlds and is a true microcosm of the creative experience – working spontaneously and intuitively first, then reviewing the arrangement more rationally afterward, polishing to a finished result. With a handful of initial ideas lined up, it’s time to start arranging. But it’s not all about just organising loops… July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  21 arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature <

Elements So, what is arranging exactly? It’s not just about what elements are in play, but also the relationships between the constituent parts. You could also think of it as being the bridge between composition and mixing. While different genres have different sonic tropes and arrangement norms, there are numerous universal constants that are beneficial to get your head around. The most common problem that we tend to face comes when we’re so far into the writing or production of a track is that we can’t hear how jarring many of the elements might be upon another listener’s first listen. We’ve heard our mix constantly already, and we’re too comfortable with it. Often we just can’t resist the impulse to add more. It’s a solid idea to hold off on the arrangement process until after you’ve had your initial writing sessions (something which was standard practice back in the heyday of studio-based recording). Genre dictates many of the arrangement norms, and here are some typical approaches to avoid getting stuck. Rhythm section In dance music, the beat is core. In upbeat, clubangled fare, the kick drum should form a central underpinning throb to the arrangement, while the beat should be augmented at various intervals with further rhythmic information that builds energy as the track progresses. If you’re writing to get people moving as an objective, the tempo and energy of the kit should be the primary section to focus on. The low end should work in tandem with this pulse of the kick, and not wander too far off on its own flight of fancy. In contrast, the writing of rock, pop and more melodically-oriented music usually begins with a harmonic or melodic part first, with the rhythm coming later. Some electronic genres, such as those on the more ambient end of things, like microhouse or glitch-pop, strip away the character of the drum elements and replace them with clicks, glitches or other rhythmically-arranged information that serves the same purpose as a traditional beat, albeit in a wonkier flavour. These types of decisions can subtly say a great deal to the listener about what type of artist you are, what Often we can’t resist the impulse to add more Use your DAW’s available labelling tools to really get a handle on what’s going on in your song The vast majority of arrangements orient around the same key structure… carve out the tonal parameters of your song, you’ll frequently find that’s all you need. However, think about those big choruses from your favourite bangers. What is it that makes them appear big? It’s often not just the hook, or the rhythm, but the sense of release that comes after often quite constricted verses. A nice way of illustrating this is by unleashing those warmer elements during those moments. Often, it makes sense to hold back the pads, strings, ringing chords and zippy synths until the track’s big moment, panning them across a broad soundstage and using reverb and voicethickening effects like chorus to give them extra volume and scope. Melody/hook and the ‘focus’ element Typically there should be a focus element that manages the top line of your track. In nonelectronic genres, this is usually a lead vocal. The lead vocal is the most conspicuous element in any pop song, delivering both lyrics and the primary melody of the song (ie the part that people whistle). While vocals are typical in a variety of genres, synth leads, guitar riffs and string parts can absolutely serve the same purpose. Simultaneously, counter-melodies should feed off and support the main melody, and not jostle for position (or interlock to the point of dissonance). Getting the balance of melody and counter-melody is crucially important; you don’t want to leave your listener confused as to which element to devote their attention to. genre the track is operating in and what the listener can expect as the track progresses. Harmonic and tonal information The primary harmonic movement of your song is usually determined by a chord sequence, a shifting sequence of pads, or by the resonant hum of a bass’s root notes, which dictate the structure that other musical elements operate within. Quite often, a simple chord sequence forms the groundwork for the rest of the track’s development, but is regularly removed entirely from the final track. Sometimes, less is more, as they say. That’s a choice that you’ll have to make for yourself of course, based on what the song in question needs. The chords you choose are also entirely up to you, yet a basic swing between, say, four chords can get quite dull quite quick. Often when used in conjunction with a beat, the bassline (which should be snapped quite rigidly to the kick, particularly in dance music) serves more of a rhythmic function, but can simultaneously 22  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

Zedd’s 2017 hit, Stay, is a good example of a traditional song structure with an EDMinspired twist, adding an additional instrumental drop chorus after what would ordinarily be a standard chorus, but which in this case is almost completely made up of acappella vocals. This would have been an unusual step at the start of the decade, but producers are continually experimenting and pushing the boundaries of the traditional song form. The three-minute pop song format currently offers a wider canvas for dynamic exploration than ever. Pounding drums now yield to atmospheric breakdowns more frequently than just once in the middle of the song, and innovative use of technology such as pitch warping, Auto-Tune and Melodyne, together with instruments like iZotope’s VocalSynth 2, are making it possible to craft new song sections that don’t rely on conventional vocals – of which this tune is a perfect example. Here’s a breakdown of the arrangement. 0:00 INTRO A looped and pitched-up sample of a male voice humming an intricate lick serves as the introduction to the song, cycled over four bars and backed with the two main chords that go on to provide the backdrop to the verse, pre-chorus and bridge. sections. 0:09 VERSE 1 The delicate verse vocal melody enters over a synth pad and that continually looping hum. All the main sections from this point in the song onwards are eight bars long. 0:28 PRECHORUS 1 After a percussion fill, things start to build over a backdrop of minimal percussion: mainly reverbed finger snaps and clattering, low-pass filtered, high-pitched snares. 0:47 CHORUS 1 Here’s where it gets interesting. We’re expecting a full-on chorus, but the track falls away completely, leaving us with just the acapella vocal chorus hook, backed by computergenerated BVs. The only other musical element is the bass that punctuates a single root note with every chord change. Machine-gun snare fills prolong the second four bars to lead us to… 1:05 DROP 1 In come the drums and the rest of the track, expertly arranged swooping synths taking over from the vocals. Intricate fills keep us interested from the rhythmic point of view. A sampled ‘uh’ and one line of lead vocal half way through seem to be all that’s needed vocally at this point. 1:24 TAG A one-bar rest, over which the reverb and delay overhanging from the drop die away, helps us reset in readiness for the reintroduction of that looped sample and verse two. 1:27 VERSE 2 Gradually opening filtered percussion and a subtle vocal countermelody are all that really set the second verse apart from the first, but the development in terms of the progression of the song is still noticeable. 1:45 PRECHORUS 2 The development continues. This prechorus is discernible from its predecessor by the addition of a fuller drum track with kicks and offbeat tambourine, together with big piano chords filling out the musical side of things. 2:04 CHORUS 2 This chorus, too, comes across as a breakdown, sounding almost the same as the first but with the addition of the ticking clock sample throughout, and a fuller synth pad part that appears earlier in the section. 2:23 DROP 2 Other than some additional high-end percussion in this second version, the two drop sections are pretty much identical. 2:42 BRIDGE Musically the same as the intro, verse and prechorus sections, the bridge is mainly synth pad, vocal and picky guitar line, until the kick drum reappears again four bars in, ushering in a short build-up to the final drop chorus. 3:01 DROP CHORUS The full-instrumentation, sing-along chorus section that the whole song has been building to. To keep it to a radio-friendly length, there’s no double-length outro chorus, merely a single eight-bar section that fuses the vocal hook from the chorus with the music of the drop. 3:19 OUTRO Practically a musical mirror image of the intro, the identical four-bar outro brings us back to earth with a downward-facing vocal adlib, ready for the anticipated hit of the repeat button. Zedd’s Stay combines EDM-style and traditional arrangement approaches to great effect CLASSIC ANALYSIS Stay – Zedd feat. Alessia Cara Looking at how other songs work can reap rewards You can use your DAW’s locators to map out somebody else’s song and borrow their structure. You could do this with any DAW that shows you a timeline. In Logic, you have the option of adding an Arrangement View which allows you to sequence your tracks in a segmented way that corresponds to individually named sections. In Ableton Live, it’s a little different. Open a new project and load the song into the your timeline. Expand the horizontal and vertical views until you can see the waveform properly. If you know the song tempo, set that as the project BPM, but make sure warping is off, so the file’s timing doesn’t change. With the playhead at the beginning of the song, use the ‘Set’ button to insert a locator. Use Cmd+R to rename this: ‘Intro’ for example. As you continue through the song, add locators at whatever you think are relevant points in the song structure, it doesn’t have to be every little thing. When you’re done adding and naming locators, delete that original song file, and start building a new piece using that structure as a guide. Try not to recreate the track you’ve used though, but work within its structure. Borrow a song structure arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature < July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  23

The song’s structure – writing drama Mixing with an arranger’s hat Considering how the different instruments and elements of your track interact with each other is all well and good, but now we need to focus on the cental philosophy that you should take when arranging. It’s not all about finding a position for your instruments within a frequency range (that comes with the mix stage); instead, it’s about how we choose to sit our track elements in service of the drama and impact of the track. This is where the arrangement process bridges both the writer’s intent and the mix process. How we section and structure our song ultimately determines how successful it is. There’s absolutely no point in writing a killer hook, a kinetic bassline or heart-stopping beat if you’re not placing it into a context. With the arrangement stage, you’re guiding the listener through dynamic peaks and troughs, directing them to those big moments, and generating anticipation by what you do. Verses (or ‘A’ sections) should lead us toward the chorus/drop (or ‘B’ section). Intros and outros aren’t usually labelled in this way, but are often essential for bringing the listener into the song, and allowing them to find a sense of resolution. These two main sections, the ‘A’ and ‘B’, can be thought of independently but ultimately rely on each other. The chorus/drop section is the moment when peak attention is sought. But to really make it work, you’re going to need to provoke the listener’s sense of anticipation for that moment of release. In the pre-chorus (or pre-drop) section, you might choose to restrict or tightly filter the elements leading up to the big explosion of colour. Think of your track as constricting almost to breaking point, before expanding bigger than the sun. Limit those bass frequencies if you’re heading for a subby drop, and restrict melodic movement if you’re aiming to land that hook. Your instrumental choices should be bolstered by your effects and production choices too. Think big chorus, stereo-widening, automated movements across the soundstage and expansive reverb. How long you let your chorus/drop run for is down to you, but a 16-bar section is typical. The listener should know that this is the key section of the track, and it should feel like the result of an earned journey. Your mix considerations will naturally feed out of the arrangement process. After all, making your chorus or drop stand out isn’t solely down to how many instruments are in play, but also how you choose to colour and sit each element in the mix. Automation of volume to increase (slightly) during the big drop/chorus is something that many producers swear by. The jolt in decibel level makes the section appear to leap forward, garnering more attention and crying out for focus. This section is not just about the potency of the hook, but the energy of the instrumentation. Similarly, you might want to consider EQing out low end (particularly sub-bass frequencies) during the buildup, then automating its return during the drop/chorus; you’re keeping that anticipation building, by presenting the sonic illusion that something is missing, which the drop will ultimately provide. Consider this type of frequencyfiltering for other elements, too. This leads us to selective muting; removing instruments entirely from the mix at certain points to contrast moments of extreme vibrancy. Taking out everything but an element or two of the drum kit, or an isolated vocal, can give a moment of respite, and allow the listener to process the action. Not only should you make space for the instrumentation, but also for the parts of the song’s narrative where a breather is needed! While the A/B section relationship is the most fundamental and basic example of how arrangement works, the principle of sections feeding off of other sections runs through the entire arrangement process. Don’t be constricted by conventional ABAB. Even if you write more offthe-wall arrangements, such as ABC-DAC, you need to make sure that you’re considering the ears of the listener section-to-section. Again, it’s well worth approaching the arrangement process with a separate hat on to the one you’ve worn while coming up with initial ideas, and not with a distinctly mix-angled perspective. It’s inevitable that these processes bleed together. But the core objective with any good arrangement is to service the listener’s journey, and make a track that delivers on the promise. There’s no point in a killer hook without a context Treating your track like a narrative journey is key to holding attention 24  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro

If you have to stop midway through arranging to design a breadand-butter sound such as an FX sweep or riser, then you’re not working efficiently. Stock up your favourite banks of go-to effects and incidental sounds that can easily be thrown onto your DAW’s timeline with minimal effort. 1 Following the previous point, the sooner you can get ‘placeholder’ elements in the track (such as crash cymbals, reverse cymbals, stock white noise sweeps, etc), the better. These make a standard, cyclical loop sound a lot more interesting and polished, even if you end up swapping the sounds out later. 2 > Step by step 1. Six ways to extend a short sketch into a full arrangement When stock FX sounds won’t cut it, spend 5-10 minutes firing your existing elements into creative effects such as eccentric delay returns or weird reverb algorithms. Render the results and weave them 3 into your track for FX that are sonically similar to the rest of the parts. Bust out of the loop immediately by duplicating your initial ‘A’ section, then creating a ‘B’ and ‘C’ section that flow into and out of your initial idea. Spend time getting the transitions just right, and you’ll 4 have plenty of inspiration to finish the track. Once you have a core loop, spend time creating an exciting buildup or edit section that’s designed to flow perfectly into your main loop. This will quickly help turn a monotonous, ever-repeating loop 5 into something that sounds more like an actual song. Give the tried and tested ‘subtractive arrangement’ technique a go: duplicate your parts out for several minutes, then mute or delete MIDI and audio regions to form the bare bones of the arrangement. Be careful, though: it’s easy to create boring-sounding tracks if you don’t spend enough time on transitions. 6 July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  25 arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature <

> Step by step 2. Enhance your instrument parts Arrangement is about the big picture of musical structure, but it also happens on a macro level, with how 1 separate tracks and parts fit together. Let’s assume we’re working on a track with vocals, piano, bass, and drums. Piano chords can be enhanced by use of 2 different voicings and inversions. If you spread a chord’s notes over different octaves, that’s called voicing – this gives a more varied sound to your 3 chords while keeping the root. A chord inversion is when the default root note is replaced by another note in the chord. Both voicings and inversions are beneficial to explore to make your track’s core elements more interesting. 4 Similarly, the bass can add musical interest by choosing different notes to play from each chord, like above with 5 voicing, instead of playing the root note. Choosing the appropriate octave for each part helps your arrangement and mix. It’s almost like pre-EQing, and helps if you’re trying to recreate authentic instrument ranges. 6 Rather than playing a straight machine-like beat, the kit should use evolving rhythms and percussion to add texture and variety. Listen to what real drummers do. 7 With electronic music, we have more decisions to make about which instrument occupies which space, but the principles of working with traditional instruments can still apply. 8 In electronic music, repetition can be a curse or a blessing. Be sure that you’re not overkilling a section by making it run 9 too long. Leave them wanting more! 26  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro

Excitement-building plugins Boom LiftFX £100 Mac/PC Specifically designed to inject your arrangement with maximum excitement, LiftFX can handle risers, build-ups, sweeps, falls and other elements of dynamic interest. With a time-oriented interface that lends itself to thinking in tension-building terms, LiftFX is a highly versatile tool. www.boomlibrary.com Cableguys VolumeShaper $29 Mac/PC The sidechain-ducking VolumeShaper automatically takes control of your kit to modulate the intensity and loudness of each section over time. It’s also easy to shape decay and noise-gates for the kit too. VolumeShaper can also automatically create pulsing rhythms on the fly with its inspired gated-pattern generator. www.cableguys.com AIR Music Tech The Riser $129/£96 Mac/PC As we’ve stressed in the feature, it’s those transitions between sections that need the most consideration when arranging, and The Riser is a perfect tool to craft those hairon-end rising sonic shifts between your track’s core moments. A synth-based instrument that also includes over 300 presets. www.airmusictech.com Oeksound Soothe 2 £175 Mac/PC Something we recommend on a daily basis. Soothe 2 has great applications when it comes to bringing the vibrancy of your track to the fore, even at a pre-mixing stage. Taking out some of the harsher resonances on the fly can help smoothen out your track prior to your big drop. It’s hugely useful for managing any untoward energy build-up on a sonic level. www.oeksound.com Valhalla Vintage Verb $50 Mac/PC We’ve talked about making things appear bigger and more epically scaled, so what better than a reverb plugin that goes beyond what most are typically capable of. Vintage Verb has been around for a decade now, but is revered by many producers for its natural sounding flavour, and the huge array of space-tweaking you can employ to get the right sound. www.valhalladsp.com Native Instruments Massive £129 Mac/PC A soft-synth classic, Native Instruments’ Massive is also a limitless tool for generating the types of white noise which some EDM producers swear by when hand-carving their own risers and sweeps. Any synth with intricate LFO-shaping ability can be used, but Massive remains the MVP for many producers. www.native-instruments.com Are your track’s energy levels low? These tools can help… 28  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro

Presonus Notion $150 Mac/PC Notion is a piece of notation software in which you can record directly in from a MIDI keyboard, or enter the notes manually (with optional Apple Pencil support). It helpfully includes a full set of drum, bass, guitar, and orchestra samples, so no other add-ons are required. www.presonus.com 4Pockets Progressions £8.99 iOS Progressions is an AUv3 plugin which will generate not just chords, but entire chord sequences, randomly, or according to user-defined parameters. It’s got very detailed controls for those who want them, and can provide some remarkable results, which might inspire whole new movements for your arrangement. www.apple.com/app-store/ Apple Logic Pro X From £199 Mac/PC Similar to Live, Logic Pro X has its own MIDI effects, with a convenient shortcut built into every MIDI track, including Arpeggiator, scale, and others. It also features project key settings, and more sophisticated song-section organisation courtesy of the Arrangement track which is able to be activated within the Global Tracks section. www.apple.com A web-based DAW that contains the useful Song Starter feature, that creates four tracks of instrumentation, including drums, bass, and chords. If you don’t like the result, try again until you do. This won’t produce a finished song, but it does what the name suggests, it starts one off. www.ampedstudio.com Amptrack Amped Studio £FREE Presonus Studio One From £89 Mac/PC Studio One has its own Arranger tool, where song sections can be identified, renamed, and reorganised. Interestingly, it also features a Scratch Pad, where the arrangement can be reconfigured without ruining the original one, and any successful changes can be added to the main timeline. www.presonus.com Ableton Live From $79 Mac/PC As well as its bespoke Arrangement View, tools like Arpeggiator, Chord, and Scale, are hugely beneficial. Of course it has locators for song sections, and the Session View, where you can build a structure through jamming and recording. www.ableton.com Software arrangement hubs July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  29 arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature <

INVERSION THERAPY Chord inversions are your friends. You can fashion a decent prechorus by inverting the verse chords so that they play higher up the keyboard as the section progresses. Simply playing the same chords in different positions on the keyboard provides variety without actually changing the chords themselves. Subtractive arrangement might make your track look like Breakout, but it’s a reliable, easy technique 14 tried and tested CM arrangement tips 01 REMIX YOURSELF Get some self-induced inspiration by taking one of your own songs, stripping away the music, then coming back after a day or two and remixing it. Listening to the vocal acapella after a while may help distance you from the original version enough to come up with something new. As it’s your own song, you can then choose to either keep the original vocal or replace it, then write a completely new song over the top of the new backing track. 02JAM SESSION Your computer is a powerful recording device with acres of hard-disk space, so why not make the most of it and record long synth ‘jams’ to audio? If you’re lucky, this can capture some great moments, creating a wealth of inspiring material that can organically influence arrangement decisions. Chop these nuggets out and use them as one-off ear-candy moments to keep your arrangement fresh. 04 BUILDING BRIDGES Make a whole new section for your song by copying an existing section, dropping out the drums and just changing one chord. This worked well for the Chainsmokers in their 2018 hit, Side Effects. They took the prechorus chords, swapped a Cm7 for an Fm7, and hey presto! – a bridge section was made! When the chorus re-enters, a new vocal melody over the existing chorus track keeps things fresh. 05 SOUND ADVICE As well as the structural side of things, there’s a lot that can be done with the instrumental parts you use (or don’t use) in your track to keep things interesting, and new sounds are always inspiring. Copy and paste the drums from your solitary eight-bar loop, dial up a new synth or a set of presets that you rarely use on one of your existing synths, or strap a seldom-used plugin over the channel and use the new sound to inspire a fresh part. 06 RISER ABOVE IT When it comes to getting hold of risers and transition effects to keep your arrangement moving, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with plundering sample libraries (try our classic Transition Tools this issue) You don’t have to use straight-up risers as-is – instead, try using a sample of a long cymbal crash or noise ‘downlifter’, flip the audio back to front with your DAW’s reverse function, then nudge the reversed audio into place on the timeline. Shape the swell’s volume for instant ‘whipping’ effects. 07 TAKE IT AWAY The subtractive arrangement method dates from the very earliest versions of Cubase and other linear-based DAWs, and it still works just as well today. Start with a looping section of four or eight bars that represents the busiest section of your song – usually the chorus. Duplicate this region along the timeline to form a grid of regions lasting the length of the song. Work through from the intro section, removing or muting unwanted parts. A shape should start to Believe it or not, all of these are C minor chords; they’re just inversions going up the keyboard appear, then refine your transitions. Using samples – like the ones given away each month with Computer Music – can prove inspirational 30  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > cover feature / arrange tracks like a pro

Overdubbing passes of fills, synth edits or other sonic effects can liven up grid-based arrangements 08 MAKE A PASS If you’re using eight- or four-bar sections as building blocks to sketch out the foundations of your arrangement, run a few single-pass overdubs all the way down to ‘cement’ them together. These could be things like drum fills and cymbal crashes, vocal adlibs, keyboard riffs, live knob twiddling on an analogue synth or MIDI controller, etc – basically, any track recorded as a continuous performance that infuses your song with unique, one-off moments, contributes to the development of the track and makes it evolve as it plays. This will keep the listener interested and reduce the repetitiveness that block-based arrangements can sometimes suffer from. 09 GET HANDS-ON If all you’ve got is a repeating eight-bar loop that you can’t break out of, try using automation as a performance tool. Copy and paste your loop into a three- or four-minute long block of repeats, then assign the volume levels of eight of the most prominent tracks to eight sliders on a hardware MIDI controller. You could also assign the channel mute switches to appropriate buttons if your controller has them. Then set your DAW’s automation system into Write or Touch mode, start the track playing and hit those faders. Often the live performance element of having physical controls beneath your fingers as the track plays will spark some latent creativity, and give you organic motion. 10 PARE IT DOWN Writing a seven-minute song isn’t necessarily a bad move, but there’s often no need to go to great lengths – literally – to pepper your track with loads of different sections if it doesn’t need them. Many current chart hits are edited down to the bare minimum, coming in at under three minutes long. Don’t need that intro? Bin it and just start the track with a synth noise leading straight into the first verse. And having only one singalong DYNAMIC IMPACT If your drop is lacking in impact, try varying the dynamics of the track subtly between the drop and preceding build. Use automation to drop the overall level of the track by 1-3dB at the start of the build, maybe increasing the volume of the impact effect on the first beat to compensate for the sudden change in level. Then ramp the level back up by a dB or so during the build, before snapping back to the original level on the downbeat of the drop. Boom! version of this. For example, in Logic Pro, just hold down the Cmd key while dragging to set the range; or in Cubase, just swap the left and right loop locators around. 14 LISTEN AND LEARN Finally, analyse the arrangements of some of your favourite tracks. Listen to what other producers have done and try to figure out the mechanics of the track and why it works the way it does. The more you do this, the better you’ll get at pinpointing the minor details that, when added together, make a big difference. To get superanalytical, import an audio file of the track into your DAW, and use markers to mark out the sections. Then you can flick between them to see how the song develops and which extra elements appear in which section. chorus at the end has the effect of making your listeners want to play the whole thing again just to get to that bit – and that can’t be bad, can it? 12 KITTED OUT If you’re constructing song sections by copying and deleting MIDI regions, it makes sense to have a separate track for each individual drum kit sound if possible, as that not only gives you flexibility for processing during mixing, but also lets you mute and bring back in individual elements of your track more easily when arranging. If you have regions containing multiple drum events (kicks, snares and so on) on single tracks, most DAWs have the ability to separate them out onto individual tracks such as Logic’s Separate by Note Pitch command. 13 SKIP CYCLE A quick way to check out an arrangement idea without actually changing anything is to use your DAW’s ‘skip cycle’ mode. This is where, instead of looping the cycle range, the playhead jumps over it, missing it out entirely; a good move if you want to see how the chorus sounds coming in straight after the verse, skipping the prechorus, for instance. Most DAWs have a Separating multiple drum kit elements out to individual tracks will give you added arrangement flexibility Subtle variations in dynamics can help balance the relative levels of builds and drops Skip cycle does what it says on the tin: it misses out the cycled section and skips to the next bit July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  31 arrange tracks like a pro / cover feature <

Tom Salta Not content with being one of the video game industry’s most acclaimed composers, Tom Salta has turned his attention to plugin development, with the wonderful Auto-Bounce taking the sting out of finalising Logic productions. We spoke to Tom about this life-saving new tool and what motivates his creativity… 15 questions with… 32  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

An acclaimed figure in the world of video game soundtracks, Tom Salta knows alltoo well the time-swallowing pain of bouncing numerous different versions of his mix for different purposes. Frustrated by the creative time this was taking away from him, Tom developed the new Logic-bespoke plugin, Auto-Bounce, to take the process off his hands. We were keen to find out more about what motivated his leap from composer to plugin developer, as well as learning about a prestigious career as a video game soundtracking luminary. Also, we wondered whether Auto-Bounce might soon span across other DAWs… 1 Auto-Bounce sounds like it takes the stress out of stem bouncing. Firstly can you give us an overview of just what Auto-Bounce provides? Tom Salta: “Absolutely, Auto-Bounce is the only thing available that allows Logic users to fully automate the process of running stems, multitracks and mixes. Not only does it take the stress out of it, but you don’t even need to be there! It does something that human beings don’t need to do. One of the big missions with Auto-Bounce is to give people their life back. It’s really about giving us free time, and not having to sit in front of a screen to do mindless, repetitive tasks. That’s really what the mission was. As a Logic user, this is a dream come true. I was hoping this kind of thing would one day show up as a feature but it didn’t, so I decided to do it!” 2 So would you say Auto-Bounce is primarily a workflow speeder, or can it achieve things that you’d be unable to do manually? TS: “It is definitely something that speeds the process up, and it can do that process quicker than a human being can. It wasn’t even about that. It was about the scenario where a composer, a producer, or a songwriter has spent all day in the studio and is tired. Then, they have to be late to dinner because they have to sit for another hour running stems. Going one at a time, naming it, hitting Bounce. Human beings shouldn’t have to do that. Auto-Bounce does it better and faster than a human being can do. ” 3 How long has Auto-Bounce been in development, and what first spurred you to make it? TS: “It’s been two years since we started to work on it. It was probably at least two or three years prior to that where I was proactively talking to companies about this. I didn’t do this because I wanted to get into software development. I’m a composer – that’s my thing. I did it because there was a great need. I had been talking with Apple about this, and Steinberg too prior to them automating stem bouncing themselves. Finally, two years ago I decided to just do it myself and make it happen. There’s countless Logic users around the world and I’m tired of it. I don’t want to sit here anymore doing this stuff. It’s not necessary. ” 4 Could Auto-Bounce also be used with other DAWs like Ableton Live or Cubase, or is it exclusively Logic atthis stage? TS: “At this stage it’s exclusively Logic. We haven’t announced any plans to port it over to other platforms but we started where there was the greatest need and where I have the most familiarity. I’ve been using Logic since 1990, when it was called ‘Notator’ and was on an Atari ST. I’m a hardcore, die-hard Logic user, and that’s where the need was. But never say never on versions for other DAWs.” 5 While we’ve got you, we must ask you about your career. Going back to the beginning, when did you decide that a career path in music was for you? TS: “Back in the dark ages. I’d say I made the transition into a professional music career in about 1990. Right out of high school. My original intent was to be a record producer, in the vein of Mutt Lange, Quincy Jones and Trevor Horn. They were my heroes and idols. I started professionally going on tour with the biggest R&B music star in the world at that time, Bobby Brown. That led me to tour with other acts like Mary J Blige and early ’90s R&B artists, people like TLC.” “Eventually I came back and wanted to pursue my career as a producer so I got in the The time-twisting Deathloop boasts one of Tom’s most colourful scores tom salta / 15 questions with < July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  33 “Every score that I do, I look for ways to go into the toy box and pull out certain gear. I try to set limitations for myself…”

studio and stayed there. Throughout the ’90s, I worked on a myriad of different kinds of projects. From dance remixes, to working with people like Whitney Houston and Peter Gabriel. A nice array of artists. I produced loads of different genres. Then, 2001 happened. A lot of changes happened that year. One of the main ones was the introduction of high-speed internet. Along with that came music piracy. The whole Napster and Limewire effect had big ripples. Around that same time I began to realise that my aspiring career to be a record producer might be affected.” 6 So what then led you into the realm of video game composing? TS: “Right when the rollercoaster started going over the hill I got this sense that it was time to switch gear. That’s when I simultaneously had the epiphany of writing music for video games. I’d loved both since the 1970s, so combining the two loves would be a great profession. I entered that industry as an artist, rather than as a wannabe composer. The artist name I came up with was Atlas Plug, and I created this brand-new, cutting edge, electronica big-beat album [released in 2003]. “Shortly after that, it started getting placements in video games. The music started appearing in games like Crackdown and Project Gotham Racing and Need For Speed. Then I took off the mask and got myself an agent. I then started pitching to score video games. That led me to score Need For Speed: Underground and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, and then ten years later I was scoring the Halo series and here I am today, still in love with video game music. I’ve never lost my roots and my love of electronic music, though.” 7 So is Atlas Plug a dormant creative outlet for you now, or might it resurface in the future? TS: “It’s one of those things that’s constantly been on my mind. I probably set a world record for an artist that had a record that did really well – every song of it was licensed and is still getting licensed today. That says a lot for an electronica record. So, you’d think I would follow up on it but my focus has really been on what’s next, what are my passions and how much time have I got. But, I’m not closing that door completely. I’d love to come back and slip the mask back on once again!” 8 Your recent Deathloop soundtrack seems to have been universally loved. How was the process of making that soundtrack and reflecting that continually repeating game world? Tom’s never had more time for pondering, now he’s made Auto-Bounce 34  /  COMPUTER MUSIC  / July 2023 > 15 questions with / tom salta

TS: “That was a really wonderful project to work on. I finished that soundtrack nearly two years ago now. It was a really interesting process. Games have this notorious issue of dealing with monotony and dealing with repetition. It’s music that tends to be heard for hours and hours, unlike a movie which is just a two-hour experience and then you’re done. With video games, you’re often dealing with 40 to 100 hours. Throw into that the idea that the game itself is based on repetition, it’s based on living the same day over-and-over. If there was any danger of repetition it would be in a game like this. Fortunately we were able to handle that and it became this experience that a lot of people really loved. They enjoyed listening to it over and over. “The other thing that made Deathloop very challenging and unique in a way that I loved was that it was an unusual premise. Not only storywise, but musically. I’ll be honest, the late ’60s is not really my vibe. Most of the late ’60s is not known for music that is aggressive and dark and cool. It’s kind of like flower-child and freelove. Fortunately there was a happy ending to the story, I tried to turn it into something that was a really enjoyable experience by kind of exploring instruments from that time-frame, but approaching them in ways that sounded like the equivalent of someone from 2020 opening a room with these things, then scoring it today. I wanted to do it in a way that had a modern sensibility.” 9 How has your career changed over the last few decades, and how has technology changed the way you write and compose? TS: “Faster for sure, and the biggest paradigm shift is definitely the studio-in-a-box world in which we now live. The freedom to do what you want. There’s gear that I coveted. I had posters of Neve 1073 consoles and Synclaviers or “Ask yourself why you want a career in this. If it’s about fame, money or glory, then don’t do it” The bespoke Logic plugin Auto-Bounce is a stroke of time-saving brilliance by Tom CS-80s. Now with VIs, I have all of it but virtual. Most of the stuff I use every day is virtualised plugins of those things. I still try and remind myself of this and channel that inner child. Throwing all these amazing pieces of tech together and seeing what happens. Every score that I do, I look for ways to kind of go into the toy box and pull out certain gear. I try to set limitations for myself. ” 10 If you could choose one, which of your scores are you most proud of? TS: “Argh, that’s like asking which of my kids I’m most proud of. Well, it’s tough because we look back with rose-tinted glasses. That first one is a very special one, but you compare it against today. I’m not sure. To be honest, I’m really proud of my new score for Outlast Trials which nobody has heard yet. It is a terrifyingly scary score, that not only sounds scary but also melodically it’s creepy. Not just the tone and texture of it. Everything about it is really scary.” 11 Favourite software synth? TS: “If we’re talking about a desert island synth… For me, it’s probably Spectrasonics Omnisphere. I think a big reason is that it can do so many different things. It’s July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  35 tom salta / 15 questions with <

open-ended. Not only can it do real piano sounds and darn good string sounds, but I can get into the full spectrum of sound design and workstation stuff. It has endless libraries and is very approachable. It’s loaded with numerous crazy effects and you can load your own samples into it. It does it all. “There are personalities to synths, but this one can go way beyond its core personality and become anything. So they’re the reasons why I’d gladly take Omnisphere.” 12 So, besides Logic and of course AutoBounce, what software would you say has saved you the most time when mixing and preparing mixes? TS: “Besides Auto-Bounce? Nothing! Off-line bouncing has saved me a lot of time to be fair. Next to that, nothing comes close to AutoBounce. There’s a difference between saving time versus giving me my life back – giving me time. That’s different and way more valuable. That’s what it’s all about. I’m a big advocate for mental health in the studio, and that’s one of the big reasons behind Auto-Bounce. We spend too much time alone in front of a screen, there’s no reason to spend any more time than you need to create. There’s also a financial saving, as some people pay to outsource their stem bouncing.” 13 Might we see any more applications or plugins in the ‘By Tom Salta’ range? TS: “Yes, I do have a list, but I won’t tell 36  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > 15 questions with / tom salta

www.instagram.com/tomsalta www.facebook.com/tomsaltamusic Atlas Plug –Truth Be Known bit.ly/cm_atlas Welcome To My Battlegrounds (PUBG: Battlegrounds OST) bit.ly/cm_battlegrounds HEAR MORE WWW www.tomsalta.com you what they are. We’re going to go public with this soon, but we did quietly release it in January. I wanted to play it safe, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing I overlooked. Sure enough, I’ve ironed out some things and we’re adding some feature sets. People are thrilled about some of this stuff. It’s a game-changer.” 14 What advice would you give to anyone out there who might want to have a career like yours? TS: “I’d say be very, very honest with yourself and ask yourself why you want a career in this. If it’s about fame, money or glory, then don’t do it. If you’re fortunate enough to get those accolades then that grows old really fast. It will not give you the joy and satisfaction that you are meant to have in your life. When I was in high school they just opened this very small recording studio facility which nobody knew how to use. I basically owned that room. I love it. I did that because it excited me. It’s about what you love. I tried to use that as my guidance. Too many people climb the ladder of life only to get to the top and realise the ladder is on the wrong wall! ” 15 So what’s next on your agenda, Tom? TS: “I’m deep into Outlast Trials scoring. I’m almost finished and we’re kind of wrapping it up. We might playtest a little more and try some things out.” Tom’s desert island synth… Omnisphere by Spectrasonics July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  37 tom salta / 15 questions with <

Mix Masterclass with Jon Musgrave Gain 44staging Jon Musgrave continues his masterly mix series with a vital lesson in controlling your levels Synth Masterclass with Dave Gale Make a Gorillaz- 40style string patch No monkey business here, as Dave Gale teaches us how to use a retro sound in an über-contemporary way July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  39 tutorials < Become a better producer now with pro advice, expert videos and audio examples from our gurus

with Dave Gale masterclass Synth Download the accompanying video and the MIDI/audio files at bit.ly/cm322downloads We have always loved the connection between the development of technology and the way it is harnessed by artists. The early electronic music pioneers had to develop all sorts of clever techniques to create the music they wanted to produce, often improvising with cheaper technology. In a similar vein, products were sometimes produced to be more cost-effective. One such example emanates from the synthesiser replication of string sounds. In the early days, good polysynths were very expensive. Consequently, companies invented a type of synthesiser generically known as the string machine, offering more than a passing resemblance to the sounds of the same name. String machines were cheaper by quite some margin, while remaining polyphonic, albeit in a slightly different guise, known as paraphonic (a cheaper and less flexible version of polyphonic). These string machine sounds adopted a whole class of sound all of their own, and while their place in history is decidedly vintage, there are no shortages of contemporary settings and artists wishing to use these sounds, either to pad out their productions or provide lead-line colour. This is where we draw inspiration for this month’s Synth Masterclass, as our house ZebraCM synth gets a Gorillaz-leaning makeover. This sound is perfect for melodies or counter-melodies, pads and more. Grab a free copy of ZebraCM, and let’s create a string patch! Make a Gorillaz‑style synth string patch This month, we use a retro sound in an über-contemporary setting, as our synth strings get the Gorillaz treatment #27 with Dave Gale masterclass Synth Dave Gale is an Emmy award-winning media composer, producer and orchestrator, with an enormous passion for synthesisers, in all their forms. His varied composing style embraces everything from full orchestral and hybrid scoring, to fully electronic scores, employing synths wherever possible. He also happens to own some of the finest synths in existence but we’re not jealous, OK? Dave Gale 40  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

Let’s begin by initialising a patch on the ZebraCM. Open up your DAW and load up the plugin. Once the plugin window is open, move to the central display at the top of the window, click to reveal the drop-down menu, and select ‘init’ from the bottom. This will initialise the patch. 1 Our patch creation begins with a sawtooth, which should be the default Wave setting on OSC1. Ensure that the volume is set to 100. String machine sounds often need a bright waveform, so the classic 3 Saw is the ideal choice. This patch is going to be a relatively loud one, so now would be a great time to reduce your master volume to a level of 50. Just as a reminder, every time you tweak a pot or setting on the ZebraCM 2 plugin, you will see an accurate value/numeric in the upper display. Staying within the OSC1 section, set the wave aliasing button to a value of 2. This should become highlighted in turquoise. We can then detune the aliased waves, by adjusting the detune pot to 4 a value of -5. The detuning will thicken the texture immediately. > Step by step 1. Make a Gorillaz‑style synth string patch Now we can turn our attentions to OSC2, where we will be using a very similar set of values. Beginning with the waveform, leave this set to the default Sawtooth. Next, turn up the OSC2 volume, to 5 a value of 100, which matches OSC1. By a similar token, we will want to activate a second aliased waveform, by clicking on the number 2 in turquoise. Moving to the Detune pot, adjust this to a value of +5, which will nicely counteract the detuning on OSC1. By tuning in the opposite direction, it creates an even thicker texture. 6 July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  41 make a gorillaz-style synth string patch / synth masterclass <

with Dave Gale masterclass Synth Download the accompanying video and the MIDI/audio files at with Dave Gale bit.ly/cm322downloads masterclass Synth One of the particular traits of synth-string sounds, is their overt brightness. We can replicate this, via the use of a high-pass filter. Select the HP24dB filter, from the filter section drop-down menu, before adjusting the Cutoff pot to a value of 73. You won’t hear a sound until you make this pot adjustment. 7 We’re now going to briefly turn our attention back to OSC1. It would be useful to apply some pitch modulation, just to the first oscillator. We can do this by adjusting the Vibrato pot, to a value of 37. The rate of the vibrato is adjusted within the LFO section. Feel free to vary the speed to suit your sound, but something mid-to-slow will be most effective. 9 We only require the use of ENV1 for this patch, as we only need to control the amplitude, or volume of our sound. Set the Attack pot to a value of 15, Decay to a value of 50, the Sustain to 80, and finally the Release to 22. This will provide a quick fade-in, at the beginning of each note, and a similarly quick fade-out, on the back end of each note. 8 To thicken our texture even further, we can utilise the effects, onboard ZebraCM. Activate the ModFX button, on the bottom right-hand side of the plugin, by double-clicking on it, so that it highlights in turquoise. Now move to the ModFX section on the left, and select Chorus from the drop-down Mode menu. 10 > Step by step 1. Make a Gorillaz‑style synth string patch (continued) The Chorus acts as Sonic Cornflour for our sound, and you can adjust the settings to suit your production. Try setting the Mix pot to a value of 66, and the Depth pot to a value of 78. We quite like this more generous chorussed sound, but you can tone it down by backing off the Mix pot. 11 Finally, try applying some reverb, either from within the ZebraCM plugin, or as a secondary plugin from within your DAW. As the timbre is relatively bright, a reverb will help the patch shimmer, once 12 you release notes while playing. 42  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

Anyone who has ever delved down the rabbit hole of vintage synthesisers may well have noticed that many of the early machines didn’t sound as huge as you might expect. In an attempt to bring the price down to something affordable, manufacturers took to removing components from the signal path. A case in point for synths such as the Roland Juno-6 or string machines, was that their primary oscillators might not be so much primary, as the only oscillators available! This meant that modulation effects, such as chorus or phaser, would often be added as standard, in order to thicken up the texture. This quickly became a standard practice for any string-like sound, with several favourites remaining sought after vintage classics. The EHX Small Stone phaser is a case in point; still available today, the current models adopt the same name and fine sounds, but they are a far cry from the original deteriorating signal flow of an original from 1974. Thankfully, many of these classic effects have been remodelled in software, so you don’t have to go full vintage to get something very similar in tone and sound. STRINGS AND MODULATIONS PRO TIP Gorillaz: cartoon band, appropriately synthetic tones A much sought-after vintage Small Stone pedal by ElectroHarmonix July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  43 make a gorillaz-style synth string patch / synth masterclass < RECOMMENDED LISTENING GORILLAZ SILENT RUNNING Even in the most contemporary setting, the classic string synth sound provides the perfect tone for countermelody and hooks. bit.ly/cm_silent RADIOHEAD NO SURPRISES This modern-day classic, from the album OK Computer, utilises a Solina string machine, to provide a beautiful texture. bit.ly/cm_surprises

with Jon Musgrave masterclass Mix Download the accompanying video and the MIDI/audio files at bit.ly/cm322downloads If you want to be certain that your DAW and plugins are processing the way they should be, then you need some control and understanding of signal levels. We often refer to this overall concept as gain staging. The term originated in the analogue realm and refers to setting your gain in order to maximise the signal to noise ratio. The idea is you keep your signals loud enough throughout the signal path so that the system noise is less significant, but also not so loud that they lead to distortion. This is still an important concept when setting the preamp gain on your interface to record signals into your DAW. However, once your signals are inside your DAW and you’re mixing, there’s no analogue noise floor to worry about. But what about signal level? In theory (check out the Pro Tip), the 32-bit floating point audio used by modern DAWs delivers massive dynamic range. However, making use of this in a plugin-rich session, and bearing in mind we still need to end up below zero full scale at the output, is less clear-cut. For example, many plugins use internal level thresholds for processing, and this is particularly true for analogue emulations. In this masterclass we’ll look at various techniques we can use to stay in control of levels, hopefully leaving you free to focus on the important task of balancing your mix. Right, let’s get to it. Gain staging Being in control of your levels is a vital aspect of mixing, but how should we approach this when mixing in the box? #07 masterclass Jon is a London-based producer, mixer, composer and club remixer with a diverse CV that spans dance, pop, rock and music for media. He’s also a long term contributor to Computer Music. Whether working alone or collaborating he usually handles final mixdowns, which is why we’ve got him to share some pearls of mixing wisdom Jon Musgrave 44  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

With any technique involving levels it’s important to know what your level meters are actually indicating. Many DAWs provide a before fader or after fader metering option. Here we’ve selected Pre-Fader Metering so we can see the level after any plugin inserts, and ensure our fader side meters aren’t influenced by the fader level. 1 Of course, the simple solution is to turn the faders down. However, what you’ll find is that the faders have better precision at or around the 0dB point. So yes, turning down the faders works but once you have lots of tracks you’ll find yourself trying to balance your mix using a less precise section of the fader travel. 3 If you have a simple session with a handful of tracks then you may be able to balance them to taste without the master output overloading. However, if those tracks contain normalised audio (see grab) then you immediately need to turn things down. Here we have loops on four tracks and already the master is close to +9dB overload. 2 So what happens if we then add plugin inserts? To demonstrate, we’ve added a stock compressor to the beats track and set the threshold to its maximum (0dB). The compressor is still applying gain reduction because the audio signal is so high. If this happens across many tracks our problems will multiply and already levels are causing us potentially undesirable outcomes. 4 > Step by step 1. Mixing level management This level problem is pre-fader, so turning the fader down won’t help. If we now use an analogue emulation instead, then that plugin will probably have an operating level. Here, our tape emulation even lets us adjust it. By moving the calibration slider we’re changing how much processing the plugin does for a given level. 5 Obviously we can adjust plugins individually and where available use their calibrations or input trims accordingly. However, this isn’t the only option. A basic volume plugin inserted as the first track insert is a simple universal solution. What’s more you can adjust in both directions, cutting or boosting as required. 6 July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  45 gain staging / mix masterclass <

with Jon Musgrave masterclass Mix masterclass For audio tracks, many DAWs include clip or region trim. Here, we’ve drastically reduced the level of our normalised loop. Equally, for virtual instrument tracks you could simply reduce the overall output level of the instrument. All three solutions are ‘at source’, leaving you better placed to manage the levels within your plugin inserts. 7 Roll out this technique across all your tracks. Also, if you have multiple level sensitive plugins in series, be mindful of their relative levels. Adjust the output level on the previous plugin in the chain to hit the required input level for the next. If you have no plugin output level (admittedly this is rare), insert another gain plugin between the two. 9 Unfortunately there’s no operating level standard for plugins, and developer recommendations vary from about -10dBFS to about -20dBFS. It’s important to do some homework and check the suggested levels. Using the gain options above, adjust your track sources accordingly, and if the plugins have no meters use your fader side meters so that peak levels match the suggested levels. 8 Using this technique should achieve reliable operating levels across your plugins. However, if your mix has many tracks you may find as your mix progresses you still end up with an overloaded master output. One solution is to add identical gain cutting plugins to all tracks, or if available, group all faders to a VCA and turn that down. 10 > Step by step 1. Mixing level management (continued) In both cases, be mindful of your auxiliaries or sub groups, particularly if they include level dependent processing. This can get quite fiddly, but one example would be on a bussed subgroup. Here, if you add an additional gain stage, you only need to add a plugin on the bus, not on the channels sending to it. 11 Finally, use a gain plugin in the master output chain. If your track faders are already a bit hot, a gain cut as first insert on the master output provides a quick fix and can help set up levels for further master output plugins, which may of course include level-sensitive analogue emulations. 12 46  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023

TESTING THE THEORY If you have experience with analogue mixing or fixed-point audio DAWs such as older Pro Tools systems, then the idea that you can overload channel levels and it not have any effect on the audio may seem very odd, or unbelievable, even. If you need convincing, why not test the theory. The best way to do this is use a completely fresh DAW session with no plugins. On a regular track, load up a tone generator plugin or sound source that can play a sine wave. Also add some gain plugins to the same track so you can excessively boost the channel level. On the master output load up an analyser (an oscilloscope is best) and turn the master fader right down. Now, gradually add gain using the gain plugins. The channel meters should look overloaded but you’ll see a clean sine wave on the master output oscilloscope. Carefully turn up the master fader and you’ll soon get output clipping, but the signal prior to this in the master bus will still be fine. In our tests using both Logic Pro and Studio One it took an overload of a whopping 100dB to finally get internal channel clipping, but remember this is without levelsensitive plugins. PRO TIPS Skrillex: proud proponent of adding distortion for energy Josh Brasted/FilmMagic/ Getty July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  47 gain staging / mix masterclass < RECOMMENDED LISTENING SKRILLEX RAGGA BOMB Distortion can enhance track energy, and with good gain structure you can add it to taste rather than by mistake bit.ly/cm_ragga GREEN DAY BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS Focus on good mix level management, leaving the loudness related distortion to mastering, where it can be revisited if necessary bit.ly/cm_boulevard

“I never expected this. I still feel that I have so much to learn and to prove,” Manon Grandjean tells us, when asked how it feels to be on the receiving end of her fourth MPGAward nomination. Scooping the Breakthrough Engineer of the Year win in 2017, Manon picked up a further plaudit in 2018, adding the Engineer of the Year award to her trophy cabinet. Last year, Grandjean clocked her third win, taking home the coveted Mix Engineer of the Year prize. Grandjean, though, remains humble about this level of recognition: “Every year the other two nominees are people that I look up to and aspire to be as good as. Sometimes it’s really hard for me to think of myself as being in the same category.” Eyes and ears first fell upon Manon Grandjean’s engineering flair with the release of Stormzy’s Gang Signs & Prayer, made in tandem with illustrious producer Fraser T Smith. It was a process that Manon still reflects upon as being instrumental in shaping how she views her role in the studio: “At the time I was in-house engineer for Fraser T Smith, in his studio in Parsons Green. Stormzy would come up to the studio and usually it’d be only us three – Fraser, me and Stormzy.” “Fraser would put some ideas down on piano, guitar or create a beat on Ableton Live,” Manon adds. “Stormzy would put a rough guide vocal down with just a handheld mic in the control room. Then they’d switch it up and start something else. Because I was in the room engineering for the writing, I’d see the process from the beginning of the idea until the song was fully finished and mixed. That was a great process to see. That synergy between us three From working to bring Stormzy’s decade-defining debut to life to switching tracks from studio engineer to mixing specialist, Manon Grandjean’s expertise has been widely acclaimed by the industry. Following a trio of MPG Award wins, Manon is now keen to expand her career into new areas. We caught up with Manon to learn more about her studio work, and glean some insight on how to make it as a mix engineer… 48  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023 > interview / manon grandjean

July 2023 / COMPUTER MUSIC /  49 manon grandjean / interview <

was quite special. We all look back on those sessions with good memories. I think Stormzy felt comfortable with us to be open. That’s, I think, why it was so successful; there were no limitations and he felt able to express himself fully.” Sound learning Manon’s discovery of production came by way of a childhood immersed in musical education. “I was classically trained when I was a teenager and could play guitar, piano and had quite a musical background. I didn’t really know what a sound engineer was, but I did an internship in a studio down in the south of France where I’m from when I was about 18. I did a couple of months there and that’s where I learned all of the technical aspects of the job – microphones, signal paths etc. After that, it was really what I wanted to do.” After three years studying engineering at university in France, Manon sought a foothold in the studio world. She headed over to London for an internship at Livingston Studios in North London. “At the end of the internship they offered me a job, which was a freelance assisting position. I came here for that internship in 2009 and stayed here ever since, so quite a long time ago!” With a position in a studio now established, Manon devoted all of her time to learning as much as she could from the other engineers. But, the hot-seat of the producer’s chair held little appeal. “I didn’t really want to be a producer. I loved being a recording engineer and a mixer. I am a bit of an introvert. I think as a producer you have to be quite emotionally open and put yourself out there creatively. I like to be just in my little corner doing things within Pro Tools. I knew I wanted to be a bit more in the background. I didn’t want to be in the forefront.” Back in the box The rest, as they say, is history. Meeting acclaimed songwriter and production guru Fraser T Smith, Manon signed up to be his fulltime engineer at The Matrix Studio in Parsons Green. Developing projects from the initial stages into titanic, award-winning records. “I’d be there engineering for all the writing not just with Stormzy but with Dave and the other artists that were coming in to work with Fraser. I’d never done writing sessions before that in the studio.” Manon remembers, “He’s very skilled at engineering as well so when we had time we’d talk about what recording chains we wanted to use and experiment with equipment. It was quite creative in that way. When artists would come in, everything would be plugged in, tested and ready to go. I tried to capture everything in the studio; ideas, conversations. Everything. Fraser likes to work that way as well. That allowed Fraser and the artists to be really free [whilst] creating.” The success of Stormzy’s musically expansive 2017 debut Gang Signs & Prayer was followedup by 2019’s colossal Heavy Is The Head, which also involved Smith and Grandjean, while the aforementioned Dave’s number one smash Psychodrama continued to mark out Manon as an engineer of extreme note. Despite her love of the recording studio, Manon opted to switch her focus to mixing in recent years. “I’m mainly in-the-box these days. I used to have a couple of outboard bits, but I found that it didn’t really suit the way I was working anymore. I still have the McDSP APB. It’s analogue but hybrid so you can control it within your DAW. It’s a bit like UAD yet it’s real analogue. It’s all in real-time and really seamless. So that really integrated well into my workflow. That allowed me to keep a little bit of analogue in my mixes.” We ask Manon to give us the rundown of those plugins that she favours most for mixing duties. She happily obliges: “The typical plugins you’ll be familiar with. FabFilter Pro-Q 3 is my go-to for EQ. I think it’s what they call a workhorse. It works, you can do a lot of things with it. But that’s to address issues if there are any. On the colouration side I use Spectre which has nice EQ with saturation. I use a lot of Soundtoys plugins. I use Radiator a great deal. EchoBoy, too. I know the Waves CLA plugins have mixed reviews within the engineering community, but I personally love the CLA plugins, I use them on vocals all the time. CLA Effects is good as well. For vocals I also regularly use Waves’ R-Vox quite a bit.” Manon sticks with the industry standard Pro Tools as her main DAW, and its Lo Fi plugin is “I didn’t want to be a producer. I like to be in my little corner doing things within Pro Tools” > interview / manon grandjean 50  / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2023