Top Dance Music Production Mistakes
Join dance music guru Larry Holcombe for a can’t-miss video course on common mistakes in dance music production. If you're struggling with your dance tracks, it's a good chance one or more of these topics is the culprit. You'll discover all kinds of pitfalls to avoid when it comes to arrangement, sound selection, effects, sample pitch, rhythmic feel, and much more. By the end of this dance music production course, you'll be ready to implement all of these ideas right away, and your tracks will begin to improve immediately. These music production videos are designed for those that have a basic understanding of their DAW and would like to improve the quality of their songs and beats.
Videos
• Ignoring Sound Selection (09:45) - Choosing weak or incompatible sounds leads to poor mixes. High-quality samples and synth presets are essential for a professional sound. This video includes examples of weak and strong sounds using meters to demonstrate how to spot problems.
• Overcrowding the Mix (06:07) - Too many layers can muddy the track. Each sound should have space in the frequency spectrum and stereo field. This video demonstrates using effects to fit a sound in rather than adding extra loops.
• Kick & Bass Pt. 1 (10:11) - We discuss kick sound choices for different genres in this video while also outlining the importance of kick tail length and pitch.
• Kick & Bass Pt. 2 (08:52) - This video focuses on using sidechain compression to create space for the kick and bass in the mix.
• Poor Arrangement & Structure (05:33) - A track that lacks a clear build-up, tension, and release will fail to keep listeners engaged. Many producers get stuck in an 8-bar loop instead of developing a full track. This video discusses using existing tracks as arrangement inspiration.
• Overusing Effects Pt. 1 (14:16) - Discover how using early reflections and slap delay can create a 3d space without clouding the track with huge amounts of reverb. We also add some reverb to a clap to show the contrast between reverb, early reflections, and slap delay.
• Overusing Effects Pt. 2 (12:48) - Next up, we add modulation effects to create width and depth again without using reverb.
• Over-compressing the Mix (14:56) - This video outlines the way compression sucks the life out of tracks if overused, especially killing transients. We continue to demonstrate how to use compression in different scenarios to create front/back perspective.
• Lack of Groove & Swing (10:06) - Here, we examine the difference between lifeless, dull drums and drums injected with groove through offsetting the timing of different drum parts and changing velocity levels. We also discuss groove extraction from a vintage drum loop, applying the groove to other elements within the track.
• Ignoring Pitch of Samples (08:06) - Last up, we demonstrate how to identify the key of a track using Mixed In Key Studio Edition and how using that knowledge alongside Splice Bridge allows us to add sample elements in the key of the track. We then continue to demonstrate using a transposer midi effect to play melodies locked in to the track?s key.