Welcome
Arranging music in a DAW is a somewhat unintuitive skill that takes years to master. ‘Proper’ bands jam together with feeling, but us computer musicians are forced to drag blocks around on a screen in the hope that a short sketch will extend itself into a fully-fledged song. With such a technical process driving such an emotional art form, it’s no wonder that so many producers crank out 16-bar loops without really finishing anything worthwhile.
It takes focus and effort to escape this common trap of ‘loopitis’. But it can be done. Arm yourself with the knowledge, tools and techniques required, and your forced attempts at finishing tracks will evolve into flowing floods of inspiration, to the point where your music will almost write itself. Sound good? Then head to p22 and find out how to Arrange Tracks Like A Pro!
Once you’re done, congratulations! Now comes the even harder task of making the whole thing sound cohesive, punchy, dynamic and weighty, just like all those records you like. And guess what? With this mag, you get a worldclass mixing plugin that’s guaranteed to help you achieve that warmth and fatness. So skip to p54, install and authorise IK Multimedia’s mindblowing White 2A on your computer, then treat your latest mix session to its expensive, smooth sound. ENJOY THE ISSUE
“So many producers crank out 16-bar loops without finishing…”