Thursday, January 28, 2016

Learn to Produce Music - "Courage" Progressive House Tutorial Series (Ableton Live)

I recently did a collaboration with Urban Francis to create a comprehensive video tutorial series about the production of a progressive house track. The track is called "Courage." We've made the entire project file available for everyone as a free download! We're encouraging producers to remix and share our track freely. To find more information about the music production in Ableton, go to this link:



For the "Courage" track, I'm going to start by providing an index of clickable links to all of the content in the five videos, so you can find certain sections faster if you're referring back to the videos for additional review.
 
 



Here is the clickable index. Click on the timing numbers down the left side, and it will open the relevant video at the correct starting time.


Part 1 of 5 - General Overview of the "Courage" Progressive House Track

00:00 - Introduction. What's this about?
04:13 - Overview of the scope of the project.
10:40 - Introduction to Urban Francis.
14:58 - Permission to remix and share the track.
21:59 - Technical notes: OS, DAW, plug-ins.
26:43 - Making elements stand out within your mix.
34:26 - Overview of the track in Ableton's arrangement view.


Part 2 of 5 - The Rhythm Section: Kicks, Snares/Claps, Hi Hats

00:00 - Introduction.
02:02 - Play through of full track.
09:54 - Overall overview of all drum instruments.
18:47 - The importance of variety in your track. Make it evolve.
21:25 - Overview of kick drum group.
26:00 - Effects chains and processing of kicks.
38:32 - Overview of snares/claps group.
41:32 - Effects chains and processing of snares/claps.
43:12 - Overview of hi hats group.
49:51 - Effects chains and processing of hi hats.


Part 3 of 5 - The Bass Tracks, Pianos, and Guitars

00:00 - Introduction.
01:46 - Overview of the bass lines.
08:55 - Effects chains and processing of the bass.
17:58 - How to resample a part.
32:51 - Examination of the piano/keys.
39:36 - Overview of the guitars.
43:45 - Effects chains and processing of the guitars.
46:50 - Audio effect racks and key mapping.
49:36 - Recording automation in real time.
50:55 - Editing automation by hand.


Part 4 of 5 - Chords, Melody, Pads, Vocals, and Effects

00:00 - Introduction.
01:45 - Overview of the chords/melody group.
09:14 - Effects chains and processing of the chords/melody.
12:33 - Adding a "track delay" timing offset.
17:26 - Overview of the pads and effects.
23:06 - Effects chains and processing of the chords/melody.
30:11 - Overview of the vocals.
38:55 - Automation inside a clip vs. on a track/channel.
40:16 - Slicing a sample to MIDI notes.


Part 5 of 5 - The Send/Returns, Master Track, and Tips for Producers

00:00 - Introduction.
01:35 - Details about all of the sends/returns.
17:58 - Overview of the master track.
23:22 - Exporting a final mixed-down audio track.
27:25 - Tips for producers.
32:52 - Using group folders for project volume control.
38:47 - Five subjects that upcoming producers must understand.
46:52 - Final thoughts.
49:14 - Contacting Urban Francis about collaborations.



Here are links to various versions of the track on SoundCloud. All may be downloaded and shared freely:








The full project files for this track, along with a comprehensive stems & samples folder and other material for producers/remixers, can be downloaded from my DropBox account at: djbolivia.ca/dropbox

If you remix a version of this track, we hereby give you permission to share it freely (in a non-commercial sense) on all of your social media and other websites, with no restrictions, as long as you name and share the track using the following filename format:

Bolivia & Urban Francis - Courage (YOUR NAME remix)


For commercial applications (ie. release on commercial CD compilations, placement in television/film), please contact us to arrange licensing. For release of your remixes on paid sites such as Beatport, Amazon, we'll probably allow you to earn the money off your remixes, but we'd like to be contacted about it first to confirm this, so we know which labels are distributing remixes and what the remixes sound like.



If you find these tutorials to be useful, we'd really appreciate if you could please share this post with other producers, or share my full list of tutorial and other music-related videos from djbolivia.ca/videos. Thanks for watching!











I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia.  Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production?  If so, visit:



If you happen to enjoy techno tracks, most of my tracks are available as free downloads from this link:



Thanks so much for visit, and for your support!  I really appreciate the fan base that I've been able to build up over the years.

Also, if you want to visit any of my other sites, here are a few links:
    YouTube:  youtube.com/djbolivia
    SoundCloud:  soundcloud.com/djbolivia
    Blogger:  djbolivia.blogspot.com
    Main Site:  www.djbolivia.ca

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

SHG Radio Show, Episode 293

Welcome to this week's edition of Subterranean Homesick Grooves™, a weekly electronica-based radio show presented originally on CHMA FM 106.9 at Mount Allison University in Atlantic Canada (but expanded to distribution on other terrestrial and internet-based radio stations), and also distributed as a global podcast through iTunes. The show is normally programmed and mixed by Jonathan Clark (as DJ Bolivia), although some weeks very occasionally feature guest mixes by other Canadian DJ's. The show encompasses many sub-genres within the realm of electronic dance music, but the main focus is definitely on tech-house and techno, and a small amount of progressive, trance, & minimal. Due to the mix of styles, you may hear combinations of tracks that wouldn't normally be featured together in a DJ's live set, but this show is intended to feature various styles of electronic/dance music. Liner notes for this episode (SHG 293) can be seen below.

Para la información en español, vaya aquí.




Here’s a link so you can listen to the show or download it from SoundCloud:



In addition to being able to download each episode from SoundCloud, you can also visit our DJ Mixes folder on Dropbox (which allows for bulk downloads).  That folder hosts hundreds of episodes and other DJ mixes.  Here's the link:


And of course, you can download Bolivia's individual tracks from this link:




Here are Track Listings for episode 293:

01. Marx P - My Transition (Original Mix).
02. Bellville - Hanoi (Original Mix).
03. Danniel Selfmade - Lecacius (Original Mix).
04. Dr Berger - Hamburch liebt Dich (Original Mix).
05. Larry Cadge - Walking (Original Mix).
06. DJ HiShock - Red Acid (909 Mix).
07. Gokhan Ekinci - Thinkin (Original Mix).
08. Sergio Pardo, Joze, & Angelo Raguso - Malfoy (Original Mix).
09. Russ - Save From Me (Original Mix).
10. Joe Red - Freeway (Alan Hash Remix).
11. QMore - Black Code (Original Mix).
12. DJ Wope - Kome On (Original Mix).


Here are links to either personal websites, Facebook pages, or [usually] the SoundCloud pages for a few of the original artists and remixers/producers listed above.



Marx P (Austria)
Bellville (Germany)
Danniel Selfmade (Spain)
Dr Berger (Germany)
Larry Cadge (United Kingdom)
DJ HiShock (Australia)
Gokhan Ekinci (Turkey)
Sergio Pardo (Spain)
Angelo Raguso (Italy)
Joe Red (Spain)
DJ Wope (Venezuela)


Subterranean Homesick Grooves is a weekly specialty EDM music show with a basic weekly audience base of about 1500 listeners per week through podcasting, direct downloads, and distribution on a small number of internet-based radio networks, plus another hundred or so listeners through SoundCloud, and an unknown number of listeners through terrestrial FM broadcast. If you're a radio station programming director, and would like to add Subterranean Homesick Grooves to your regular programming lineup, contact djbolivia@gmail.com for details. We currently release SHG as an advance download to a number of stations globally on a weekly basis (at no charge), and we welcome inquiries from additional outlets.


We also have a file containing complete track listings from all of DJ Bolivia's radio shows, studio mixes, and live sets. The PDF version can be viewed from within your browser by clicking directly. Both the PDF and the Excel versions can be downloaded by right-clicking and choosing the "save link as" option:

View as PDF file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.pdf
Download Excel file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.xlsx






Follow Jonathan Clark on other sites:
        SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
        YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
        Facebook: facebook.com/djbolivia
        Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
        Music Blog: djbolivia.blogspot.ca

Thursday, January 21, 2016

SHG Radio Show, Episode 292

Welcome to this week's edition of Subterranean Homesick Grooves™, a weekly electronica-based radio show presented originally on CHMA FM 106.9 at Mount Allison University in Atlantic Canada (but expanded to distribution on other terrestrial and internet-based radio stations), and also distributed as a global podcast through iTunes. The show is normally programmed and mixed by Jonathan Clark (as DJ Bolivia), although some weeks very occasionally feature guest mixes by other Canadian DJ's. The show encompasses many sub-genres within the realm of electronic dance music, but the main focus is definitely on tech-house and techno, and a small amount of progressive, trance, & minimal. Due to the mix of styles, you may hear combinations of tracks that wouldn't normally be featured together in a DJ's live set, but this show is intended to feature various styles of electronic/dance music. Liner notes for this episode (SHG 292) can be seen below.

Para la información en español, vaya aquí.




Here’s a link so you can listen to the show or download it from SoundCloud:



In addition to being able to download each episode from SoundCloud, you can also visit our DJ Mixes folder on Dropbox (which allows for bulk downloads).  That folder hosts hundreds of episodes and other DJ mixes.  Here's the link:


And of course, you can download Bolivia's individual tracks from this link:




Here are Track Listings for episode 292:

01. Namatjira - Sequoia (LiPolymer Remix).
02. Joseph Gaex - La Luna (Original Mix).
03. Juan Astudillo - The Drum (Original Mix).
04. Terranova - Kepler186F (Hell Mix).
05. Citlali Rojas & Rhixon - Hanz (Original Mix).
06. Alaan H & Eder Tobes - La Espanola (Original Mix).
07. MoonDark - La Nueva Vida (Original Mix).
08. Sergio Fernandez - Back To Roots (Original Mix).
09. DoubleMind - Y0Y (Original Mix).
10. Edwar Vegas - Logical Music (Original Mix).
11. Luca Morris - Play By Play (Original Mix).



Here are links to either personal websites, Facebook pages, or [usually] the SoundCloud pages for a few of the original artists and remixers/producers listed above.



Namatjira (Netherlands)
Joseph Gaex (Nicaragua)
Juan Astudillo (Argentina)
Terranova (Germany)
Citlali Rojas (Mexico)
Alaan H (Mexico)
Eder Tobes (Spain)
MoonDark (Sweden)
Sergio Fernandez (Spain)
DoubleMind (Brazil)
Edwar Vegas (Spain)
Luca Morris (Italy)
LiPolymer (Portugal)


Subterranean Homesick Grooves is a weekly specialty EDM music show with a basic weekly audience base of about 1500 listeners per week through podcasting, direct downloads, and distribution on a small number of internet-based radio networks, plus another hundred or so listeners through SoundCloud, and an unknown number of listeners through terrestrial FM broadcast. If you're a radio station programming director, and would like to add Subterranean Homesick Grooves to your regular programming lineup, contact djbolivia@gmail.com for details. We currently release SHG as an advance download to a number of stations globally on a weekly basis (at no charge), and we welcome inquiries from additional outlets.


We also have a file containing complete track listings from all of DJ Bolivia's radio shows, studio mixes, and live sets. The PDF version can be viewed from within your browser by clicking directly. Both the PDF and the Excel versions can be downloaded by right-clicking and choosing the "save link as" option:

View as PDF file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.pdf
Download Excel file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.xlsx






Follow Jonathan Clark on other sites:
        SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
        YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
        Facebook: facebook.com/djbolivia
        Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
        Music Blog: djbolivia.blogspot.ca

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Collaborating with Remote Artists

In today's world of bedroom studios and global collaboration, it's not uncommon to find musicians working with friends who are based in other towns or cities, or even in distant countries.

If you're a producer who has a friend in another location, and you'd like them to record some instrument or vocal tracks for one of your projects, the process is not that difficult.  However, it can be intimidating for a musician who has never tried it before.  This video should help.

In the video, I've tried to explain how a musician with a basic (but good quality) portable audio recorder can lay down some tracks for a producer, check on a laptop that the recording levels were appropriate (using free software called Audacity), and then share the audio files with a producer using Dropbox or a similar service.

The target audience for this video is producers who need to coach musicians through the process of creating and sharing such a recording, and for musicians who want to record their instrumental or vocal performances to be used in professional-sounding music.  Total run-time on the video is about forty minutes.








I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia.  To see the rest of the tutorials in my Audio Recording series, visit:




Thanks so much for visit, and for your support!  I really appreciate the fan base that I've been able to build up over the years.

Also, if you want to visit any of my other sites, here are a few links:
    YouTube:  youtube.com/djbolivia
    SoundCloud:  soundcloud.com/djbolivia
    Blogger:  djbolivia.blogspot.com
    Main Site:  www.djbolivia.ca

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

SHG Radio Show, Episode 291

Welcome to this week's edition of Subterranean Homesick Grooves™, a weekly electronica-based radio show presented originally on CHMA FM 106.9 at Mount Allison University in Atlantic Canada (but expanded to distribution on other terrestrial and internet-based radio stations), and also distributed as a global podcast through iTunes. The show is normally programmed and mixed by Jonathan Clark (as DJ Bolivia), although some weeks very occasionally feature guest mixes by other Canadian DJ's. The show encompasses many sub-genres within the realm of electronic dance music, but the main focus is definitely on tech-house and techno, and a small amount of progressive, trance, & minimal. Due to the mix of styles, you may hear combinations of tracks that wouldn't normally be featured together in a DJ's live set, but this show is intended to feature various styles of electronic/dance music. Liner notes for this episode (SHG 291) can be seen below.

Para la información en español, vaya aquí.




Here’s a link so you can listen to the show or download it from SoundCloud:



In addition to being able to download each episode from SoundCloud, you can also visit our DJ Mixes folder on Dropbox (which allows for bulk downloads).  That folder hosts hundreds of episodes and other DJ mixes.  Here's the link:


And of course, you can download Bolivia's individual tracks from this link:




Here are Track Listings for episode 291:

01. Dualton - Cidade (Original Mix).
02. Miki Leris - Some Cents (Original Mix).
03. Sergio Pardo & Wayne Madiedo - Before The Party (Original Mix).
04. Leonardo Gonnelli - Tonada (Original Mix).
05. Bodzza - Shipment (Original Mix).
06. Uvo - Until The End (Navid Mehr Remix).
07. David Sainz - The Cavern Tribal (Original Mix).
08. Imanol Molina - Size Form (Original Mix).
09. Kintar & Brigado Crew - Talk To Me Dirty (Original Mix).
10. Sunrose - Charles (Original Mix).
11. QMore - That Funky (Original Mix).


Here are links to either personal websites, Facebook pages, or [usually] the SoundCloud pages for a few of the original artists and remixers/producers listed above.



Miki Leris (Spain)
Sergio Pardo (Spain)
Wayne Madiedo (Mexico)
Leonardo Gonnelli (Italy)
Bodzza (Spain)
Uvo (Mexico)
David Sainz (Spain)
Imanol Molina (Spain)
Kintar (Spain)
Brigado Crew (Argentina)
Sunrose (Switzerland)
Navid Mehr (Canada)


Subterranean Homesick Grooves is a weekly specialty EDM music show with a basic weekly audience base of about 1500 listeners per week through podcasting, direct downloads, and distribution on a small number of internet-based radio networks, plus another hundred or so listeners through SoundCloud, and an unknown number of listeners through terrestrial FM broadcast. If you're a radio station programming director, and would like to add Subterranean Homesick Grooves to your regular programming lineup, contact djbolivia@gmail.com for details. We currently release SHG as an advance download to a number of stations globally on a weekly basis (at no charge), and we welcome inquiries from additional outlets.


We also have a file containing complete track listings from all of DJ Bolivia's radio shows, studio mixes, and live sets. The PDF version can be viewed from within your browser by clicking directly. Both the PDF and the Excel versions can be downloaded by right-clicking and choosing the "save link as" option:

View as PDF file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.pdf
Download Excel file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.xlsx






Follow Jonathan Clark on other sites:
        SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
        YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
        Facebook: facebook.com/djbolivia
        Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
        Music Blog: djbolivia.blogspot.ca

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Detailed Clickable Index for Jamstix Drum Software Tutorials

About a year ago, I put together a series of four videos teaching people the basics and some moderately in-depth tricks about using the Jamstix drum production software, produced by Rayzoon. I had a request in the Jamstix forums to create a clickable index, so I went through the four videos this evening and created an index.

If you're looking for all of the Jamstix videos and my notes, visit:  djbolivia.ca/jamstix

 
Part 1 of 4 - Jamstix, an Easy Way to Create Drum Tracks

00:00 - Introduction to myself and to my tutorial channel.
02:45 - Who is Jamstix for? What does it do?
10:38 - A simple demo, and a basic sample song.
14:57 - Intended uses. Why use Jamstix instead of a different drum production package?
21:09 - Slightly technical stuff, plus DAW's and plug-ins.
24:10 - How it works. General concepts, the brain, drum modules, more DAW stuff.
34:25 - Controlling the brain. And overview of styles and drummers.
39:46 - Understanding songs, parts, and bars.
42:58 - How does Jamstix compose? The groove layer, the aspect layer, and the fill layer.
50:31 - Three ways to approach composition.
52:38 - A quick overview of the Jamstix User Interface, plus a basic screen tour.


Part 2 of 4 - Covering All the Basic Operations

00:00 - Introduction, topics in this part of the series.
02:41 - A few quick notes about Cubase.
07:23 - Using the Song Builder: Presets, or build your own. Picking the style, drummer, kit, and song layout.
22:38 - Simple routing to an external drum module (ie. Addictive, BFD, EZDrummer).
25:34 - Song Sheet, part 1: An in-depth examination.
33:48 - Drum Kits: An in-depth examination.
42:08 - Setting output routings (this is in the middle of the drum kits section).
42:57 - Back to the drum kit in-depth examination.
46:50 - Editing a piece of your drum kit.
48:50 - The Mixer: An in-depth examination.
52:55 - Using an external MIDI controller.


Part 3 of 4 - Intermediate and Advanced Editing

00:00 - Introduction, topics in this part of the series.
05:43 - A few quick notes about the using Reaper as a DAW or Audio Editor.
08:15 - Reaper set-up and technical notes.
11:51 - The Transport: An in-depth examination.
21:54 - Dragging and dropping MIDI data from a previous performance into your DAW.
25:29 - Using live loops while performing in real-time.
28:08 - Song Sheet, part 2: More stuff that I missed earlier, including bars and parts.
35:56 - The Brain, part 1: An in-depth examination.


Part 4 of 4 - Options, the Bar Editor, and Final Thoughts

00:00 - Introduction, topics in this part of the series.
01:07 - A few notes about using Ableton Live, and a few cool tricks.
09:28 - Brain Controls, part 2: More in-depth stuff.
12:48 - Bar Editor: An in-depth examination.
27:23 - Style and Drummer models, and the Brain's approach to composition.
30:55 - The Options Menu.
36:20 - Time Signature changes.
37:51 - Jamming along with audio.
38:57 - Using Restore Points.
39:40 - My final thoughts and comments.


Alright, that should help some people out. 






I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia.  Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production?  If so, visit:



If you happen to enjoy techno tracks, most of my tracks are available as free downloads from this link:



Thanks so much for visit, and for your support!  I really appreciate the fan base that I've been able to build up over the years.

Also, if you want to visit any of my other sites, here are a few links:
    YouTube:  youtube.com/djbolivia
    SoundCloud:  soundcloud.com/djbolivia
    Blogger:  djbolivia.blogspot.com
    Main Site:  www.djbolivia.ca

Friday, January 8, 2016

SHG Radio Show, Episode 290

Welcome to this week's edition of Subterranean Homesick Grooves™, a weekly electronica-based radio show presented originally on CHMA FM 106.9 at Mount Allison University in Atlantic Canada (but expanded to distribution on other terrestrial and internet-based radio stations), and also distributed as a global podcast through iTunes. The show is normally programmed and mixed by Jonathan Clark (as DJ Bolivia), although some weeks very occasionally feature guest mixes by other Canadian DJ's. The show encompasses many sub-genres within the realm of electronic dance music, but the main focus is definitely on tech-house and techno, and a small amount of progressive, trance, & minimal. Due to the mix of styles, you may hear combinations of tracks that wouldn't normally be featured together in a DJ's live set, but this show is intended to feature various styles of electronic/dance music. Liner notes for this episode (SHG 290) can be seen below.

Para la información en español, vaya aquí.




Here’s a link so you can listen to the show or download it from SoundCloud:



In addition to being able to download each episode from SoundCloud, you can also visit our DJ Mixes folder on Dropbox (which allows for bulk downloads).  That folder hosts hundreds of episodes and other DJ mixes.  Here's the link:


And of course, you can download Bolivia's individual tracks from this link:




Here are Track Listings for episode 290:

01. Progress Inn - Veterans (Dmitry Molosh Remix).
02. Kastis Torrau & Arnas D - Eye (Desaturate Tunnel Vision Remix).
03. Rene Amesz - Systematic (Original Mix).
04. Luca M, The Deepshakerz, & JUST2 - Hip Loverz (Alessan Main Remix).
05. Milos Pesovic - Happy Dancer (Original Mix).
06. Skylab - Step The Funk Back (Original Mix).
07. Irregular Synth - Bonanza (Original Mix).
08. DJ Wady - Iron Fist (Original Mix).
09. Earth Deuley & Kriece - Colombian Chef (Fontanelle Boiler Room Remix).
10. Ander Luna - Ritmo (Original Mix).
11. Daniele Sorrenti - Rubeola (Cesar D Constanzzo Remix).
12. Victor Rogonza - Ron & Nag (Original Mix).



Here are links to either personal websites, Facebook pages, or [usually] the SoundCloud pages for a few of the original artists and remixers/producers listed above.



Progress Inn (Serbia)
Kastis Torrau (Lithuania)
Arnas D (Lithuania)
Rene Amesz (Netherlands)
Luca M (Romania)
Milos Pesovic (Serbia)
Skylab (France)
Irregular Synth (Italy)
DJ Wady (United States)
Kriece (Australia)
Ander Luna (Spain)
Daniele Sorrenti (Italy)
Victor Rogonza (Spain)
Cesar D Constanzzo (Mexico)
Dmitry Molosh (Belarus)


Subterranean Homesick Grooves is a weekly specialty EDM music show with a basic weekly audience base of about 1500 listeners per week through podcasting, direct downloads, and distribution on a small number of internet-based radio networks, plus another hundred or so listeners through SoundCloud, and an unknown number of listeners through terrestrial FM broadcast. If you're a radio station programming director, and would like to add Subterranean Homesick Grooves to your regular programming lineup, contact djbolivia@gmail.com for details. We currently release SHG as an advance download to a number of stations globally on a weekly basis (at no charge), and we welcome inquiries from additional outlets.


We also have a file containing complete track listings from all of DJ Bolivia's radio shows, studio mixes, and live sets. The PDF version can be viewed from within your browser by clicking directly. Both the PDF and the Excel versions can be downloaded by right-clicking and choosing the "save link as" option:

View as PDF file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.pdf
Download Excel file: http://www.djbolivia.ca/complete_track_history_djbolivia.xlsx






Follow Jonathan Clark on other sites:
        SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
        YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
        Facebook: facebook.com/djbolivia
        Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
        Music Blog: djbolivia.blogspot.ca