HOW TO

MAKEHI
TS
37TipsFr
om AGr ammy
WinningProducer

Symbol
ycOne|Pr
odSecr
ets
Sample
Techni
ques

Sampli
ngi
sthecoreofal
lpr
oduct
ionandther
earetonsoftechni
quesyoucan
uset
obuil
datracko of.Whet
heryouaresampl
ingfrom arecor
d,voi
cememo,
samplepack,orMIDIthr
oughaVST… Youal
wayswantt
obesureyouar
est
art
ing
withacleansi
gnalsoyoucandoal
lofthecr
eat
ivet
weaki
ngl
ateron.

Layer
inginsampleddrum breakscanaddat
onofchar act
ertoyourt
racks
,try
choppingthem upand l
teri
ngouts omeoft
helow ends oyoucanst
ackyourown
ki
cks/dr um s
amplesontopoft hem.I
tcanmakeeverythi
ngsoundmuchbi gger
andsonical
lyalotmoref
ull.

Trydivingintounusualresour
ceslikemovi
es oundtracksto nds omereal
lyunique
soundings amplesto ip.Forexample,whenIpr oduced“ Mur derToExcel
lence”by
Kanye,Iov erhear
damus i
calpieceinamovieIwaswat chi
ng.Iwentandgr abbed
theOSTf orthe lm andchoppedupt hemus icfrom thatscene,whichmadei tint
o
the nalbeat .

Layerontopofyourchoppedsampleswithyourownmel odysoundst oaddmor e

text
ure/colort
othem.Addinginaddit
ionalmelodytopli
nes,bassl
ines,accent
vocal
s,et
ccant akeabasi
csamplealongwayandr eal
lymakeityourown.

Don’
tovercompli
catethi
ngswhenyou’
rei
nt hecreat
ivepr
oces
sbyaddingt
oomany
l
ayer
s,leaveroom i
nyourtr
acksf
oranart
istsotheyhavesomespacet
odothei
rpar
t
whenthetimecomes .

Don’
tbeaf
rai
dtoex
per
imentwi
thyours
ampl
es,t
rys
tu l
iket
rans
pos
ingt
hepi
tch,
war
ping,us
inge ect l
ter
s,et
c.Whil
eit'
sgr
eatt
o ndas ampl
ethati
sal
readydope
asi
s,i
t'
simport
anttot
ryandgivei
tyourown ai
rsomet
imes.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Net
wor
king

Al
waysworktowardmakingsomethinghappen,nev
erwaitfori
ttohappen.
Pr
epar
ati
onisever
ythi
ng,especi
all
ywheni tcomestoget
tingaplacementoppor
tuni
ty.
Someti
mesthos
eopport
uniti
escomeoutofnowher
e,s
oiti
sal
waysi
mpor
tantt
obe
readywhent
heydoshow up.

Pl
ants
eedsev er
yday ,i
t’
simpor t
anttoalwaysr
eachoutt onew ar
ti
stsandstayconsi
stent
wit
hyouratt
empt sateithersendingoutemail
s,havi
ngmeet i
ngs,doingpr
omof oryoursel
f,
et
c.Al
lofthesethingscant akeyoualongwaydownt heroad.

Bes ur
etodel
iveronyourpromi
seswi t
har t
ist
sandproducers
,ifyout
ells
omeoneyou
planonsendi
ngthem apackofbeat
s ,etc,keept
hatpromisesotheyknow youar
eser
ious
aboutyourcr
aftandthatyouar
erel
iable.

Don’
tbeaf
rai
dtot
aker
isksands
endoutf
reebeat
s.Bef
oremeet
ingKanye,Is
entouts
ome
f
reebeat
stoaf
ri
endofmi
neandt
heyendedupget
ti
ngpl
ayedi
nas
ess
ionf
orKanye.
Younev
erknow whot
hatbeatcoul
dendupwi
thandwhatoppor
tuni
tymaycomef
rom i
t.

Don’tbeaf
raidtoputyoursel
foutthere.Got
obeatbat
tleev
ents
,networkingevents
,
shows,et
c.Intr
oduceyourselft
oasmanypeopleasyoucansoyoucanreallymaximize
t
hoseopportuniti
es,youneverknow whoyouwi
llmeetandwherei
tcant akeyou.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Sound
Desi
gn

Si
mil
artosampli
ng,sounddesi
gni
sals
oaver ykeypar
ttothecreati
veproces
s..
Whetheri
tiscr
eati
ngpatchesf
orVSTs
,new drum s
amples
,etc.Learni
ngsounddes
ign
gi
vesyousomuchcr eati
vecont
roloveryourproces
sandmakesr
oom f
oratonof
poss
ibi
li
ti
es.Thi
sisals
ok eyi
fyouareapr oducerl
ooki
ngt
ocreat
eyourownsampl
e
packsandt
hingsoft
hisnat
ureaswel
l.

Star
toutwithsomet hingbas i
cli
kedes i
gni
ngaki ck,snaredrum,sinewav e,andthen
expandfr
om there.Divei nt
odier ente ectparamet er
sandl ear
nt hem t
opt obottom,
asthepossi
bil
it
iesfors ounddesigncanbeendles s.Therei
ss omuchyoucandot oa
basi
csoundtocompl etel
ytransf
ormi ti
ntoyourown.

Layer
ingiseveryt
hingwheni tcomest odesigningyourownsound.Especial
lywi
thdrums,
Iusebreakbeatsalltheti
met oaddcol ori
ntomydr um game.Layeri
nginmyownki cks,
cl
aps,snares
,etc.Thishelpsyoutransfor
m abas i
cdrum pat
ter
ni nt
os omethi
ngcol
orful
andmuchmor esonical
lypowerfulthatwil
ldriv
eyourt r
ack.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Learni
ng&
ExpandingYourSki
ll
set
Lear
ningandgrowi
ngyourskil
lsi
sjus
tasimportantaspract
ici
ngy ourcraft
.Whether
you’
rewatchi
ngyout
ubevideos,r
eadingar
ti
cles/books,watchinginter
views,et
c,
al
wayss
etas
ides
par
eti
met
olear
nnew as
pect
sthatwi
llhel
pyoul
ateron.

I
t’
simport
anttoalwayskeept
hatbegi
nnermi
ndsetregar
dlessofyours
kil
llev
el,ast
her
e
i
salwayssomethi
ngnew youcanl
earnwit
hproduct
ion.Alwayskeepanopenmi ndasa
s
tudentoft
hegame.

Doingtoomuchoft hesamet hi
ngcanburny ouout,makesuretosetasi
detimeto
experi
encel
ifeaswell,i
twil
lbene tyourmus i
candcreati
vit
yinthelongrun.Take
i
nspir
ationf
rom allt
ypesofdier entmusi
c,cult
uresaswell
,neverkeepyoursel
fstuck
i
naboxwheni tcomestothistypeofst
u.

Trytolear
nmorethanoneDAW soyoucans tayvers
ati
lei
ny ourappr
oach,i
twil
lals
o
prepar
ey ouf
orcol
labor
ati
onswi
thotherproducersi
nsessi
ons.Ofcourseyouwil
l
haveyourmainDAW thatyouwi
llmast
er,butkeepyouropti
onsopen.

Show upev
erydayandpr
ior
it
izet
het
hingst
hatwi
llgetyoucl
osert
owher
eyouneedt
o
be,andel
imi
nat
eanyt
hingthatwon’
thel
pyougett
her
e.Recogni
zet
hedier
encebet
ween
bei
ngbusyandbei
ngproducti
ve.

Putinyour10,
000hourst
owardsmast
eri
ngyourcr
aft
.Ever
ydayyoushoul
dbegrindi
ngand
l
earningtowar
dyourendgoal
,thr
oughtr
ial
anderr
oryouwill
seewhatworksandwhatdoesn’
t.

Pav
eyourownl
anesoundwi
se,takei
nspi
rati
onfrom ot
hersourcesofcour
sebutatt
heend
oft
hedayal
wayst
rytomakeyourownlane.Createasoundforyours
elf
,butal
sobesur
eyou
areabl
etoex ecut
eonav ar
iet
yofmus i
cstyl
es,sowheny ou ndyour
sel
finachal
lengi
ng
spotoutofyourusualcomf
ortzoneyoucansti
lldel
iv
er.

Wheny ouhavedis
couragi
ngmoment s,baskinthos
esoy oucanl
earnfrom t
hem inthel
ong
run.Butbesur
etopickyours
elfbackupandk eepmov i
ng.Pr
oduct
ionislear
nedthroughtr
ial
anderrorandi
fyouwanttomas teryourcraftyouwil
lneedtoworkthr
ought hes
emoment s
andlearnfr
om t
hem.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Or
gani
zat
ion

Organi
zat
ioniskeywhenitcomest
obei
ngsucces
sfulasaproducer
.Youneverwant
t
or uni
ntotheis
sueofhavingt
odeepdi
vei
ntoyourharddri
veto ndat r
ack,st
ems,
r
ecor
dings
,younamei
t.

Keepev er
ythingsect
ionedi
nawayt hatyou ndi seas
iestt
oacces s
.Forexample,
creati
ngsubfolder
sbydatecreated,genres,et
c.Youalwayswanttobeabletoeas i
lypul
l
somethingupwhenyouneedi tanditisi
mpor t
anttoknow exactl
ywheretolook.This
alsoappli
estoyoursamplel
ibrary,l
ayeverythi
ngoutinthemos te cientwaypossibl
e.

Alwaysr emembertonameyour lesinaformatt

hatwillhel
pyououtl at
er.“Pr
oducer
Name-Tr ackName(BPM /Key)”i
sagoodf or
mattosti
ckby.Thi
swayyouwi l
lal
ways
easi
lyknow t heBPM andkeyofev
erythi
ngyoumake,andwhoev eryous endyourbeat
s
towillknow whoproduceditandwheretogowitht
heirpartoft
hepr ocess.

I
nadditi
onto leorgani
zat
ion,i
t’
sal
soex
tremel
yimpor
tantt
oplanandmapoutyour
goal
sinproduct
ion.Mapoutyourpl
ansf
orever
ythi
ngsoyoucanvi
sual
iz
eexact
lywhat
youwanttoachi
eve,thi
shelpsprepar
eyouf
orwhent
hos
ebi
gmoment
s nal
lycome
arounds
oyoucanex ecuteonthem.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Mi
xing

Theconceptofmix
ingcanbeovercompli
catedsometimesi
nyourhead,butov
eral
lit
real
lyi
sasimplepr
ocess,youj
ustneedt
otrustyourears
.Dowhatsoundsri
ghttoyour
ear
s,ands omet
imesi
tcanbegoodtodragi
na nis
hedmixfrom anot
hers
ongsoyou
cansortofcompar
eyourmixt
oittoseewher
eyou’
reatorwhereyouwanttogowit
hit
.

Someofthemos ti
mport
antthi
ngstokeepinmindwhenmixi
ngatrack,isr s
ttost
art
wit
hgoodqualit
ysounds
.Ifyoubegi
nwi t
hsoundst
hatar
elow i
nquali
ty,yourmixi
n
tur
nwil
lfol
low s
uit
.

Yournumber1focuswhenmi xi
ngatrackshouldalwaysstar
twithl
evel
ing.Byleveli
ng,
Imeanyourvol
umesf oreachsoundinyourtrack.Lev
eli
ngyourbeatoutbyindividual
vol
umesishal
foft hebat
tle,al
waysbesurethatyoursoundsaremeshi
ngt ogetherwell
vol
umewi s
e,youdon’twantanythi
ng ghtingt opopoutinthemix.

From her
eyouwil
lwantt
ofocusonyourbasi
cEQ.Mak esuretocutanyfr
equenci
es
outthateachs
oundi
sn’
tusi
ng.Forex
ample,t
helow endofyourmelodycoul
dbe l t
ered
withahighpassltert
omakeroom f
oryourbassl
ine/808.Thesameappliesfortheres
t
ofyourdrumsandothermel
odi
csoundsinthemix,al
waysbeawar eofthefrequency
rangeforeachs
oundsoyoucanmakeroom forev
erythi
ngtositt
ogethernicel
y.

Onceyouhaveachi
evedyourEQ andl
evel
ing,youcanmoveontomoreindepthmixi
ng
t
echni
quessuchascompress
ionande ect
s ,addthes
etoyourownt
astefort
hesound
youar
elooki
ngt
ogof
or.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
St
udio
Work ow

St
udiowor
k ow i
soneofthemostimportantas
pect
sofproducti
on.Whenyouare
worki
ngwi
thar
tis
tsorot
herproducer
s,youalwayswantt
ohav ethemoste ci
ent
work ow pos
sibl
esoyoucanf
ocusonal
loft
hecr
eat
ivepar
tsoft
hepr
oces
swi
thout
di
str
acti
on.

Av eryusefulti
pistohav ecer t
ainpr ojectt emplatessavedthatyoucanopenupand
buil
do off rom s
crat ch.Thiscans aveyouat onoft imewheni tcomestoas t
udio
sessi
on.Youcans av eabl ankpr ojectthati sequi ppedwithcertaint
oolst
hatareready
foryououtoft hegat e.Forex ampl e,youcans avemixingchannelst
hatalr
eadyhave
e ectsloadedup,t hatyouknow youwi llus eforeveryproj
ect.(Compres
sors,EQ’s
,etc.
)
Ofcour s
eyouwi l
ltweakt hesedier entlyf oreacht r
ackyouar eworki
ngon,butitwil
l
saveyous omet i
mewheni tcomest osettingev eryt
hingupinas essi
on.

Layoutal
lofyourf
avor
it
esampl
epacks/VSTsi
napl
acet
hatyoucaneas
il
yacces
s,
cr
eat
ingf
older
ssoyoudon’
thav
etodi
gands
ear
chf
ort
ool
ongt
o ndwhatyouar
e
l
ooki
ngf
ori
nyours
ess
ion.

Lear
nands
tudyyourDAW’
sfeat
uresf
rom t
opt
obot
tom.Oneoft
hemos
tus
efult
hings
youcanus
einasessi
onar
eyourkeyboardshortcut
s,ev
eryDAW hast
hem andt
heywi
ll
sav
eyouatonofti
mewhenyou’r
emaki ngatrack.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
Bounci
ngand
Sendi
ngOutBeat
s

Whenbouncingoutyourpr
ojects,i
t’
simpor
tantt
oexpor
tthem i
nmult
ipl
eways.
Bounceyourst
andar
d.mp3v ers
ion,al
ongwitha.wav l
e,andi
fneces
sar
ybounceout
alli
ndivi
dualstem lesincas eanart
ist
,producer,orengineerneedst hem forthe nal
stages.Mp3’saregoodt osendforeasyaccessfortheini
tiall
isteni
ngpr ocess,WAV les
areanat ur
all
yhigherqualit
yformatsoyouwi l
lwantt osendt heseaswel li
fthearti
st
woul dli
ketorecordont hem.Andofcourses t
em l eslat
eron,i ftheywi l
lreques
tthem
forthe nalmix i
ngstages.

Whenbounci ngyourstem les,besuret

hatyoul eavemostofeverythi
ngunprocessed
toacertai
ndegr ee(
nocompr essi
on,l
imi
ting,etc.
)Youcanbouncev ersi
onswithyour
e ectsonthem s ot
heengi
neercans eethedirect
ionofthemix,butals
opr ovi
detheraw
unal
teredversi
onssotheycandot hei
rpart.

HowT
oMakeHi
ts|37Ti
psFr
om S1
 Pr
ojectI
mpact
6WeekMus
icProduct
ionBootcampTaughtBy
GrammyWinni
ngProducerSymbolycOne

Lear
nMor
e