Why did I choose this piece?
I chose this piece because it is one of my biggest projects to date. From start to finish the track has new instruments, samples, and effects coming in to keep the track interesting. The song structure, melody, rhythm, and tempo were thought about carefully to create a professional-sounding track that is enjoyable to listen to, for both avid listeners of house music and people who prefer other types of music. The track has clear distinctions between the breakdowns and the drops to build excitement, energy, and suspense in the sections of the track where it was needed. All of this, plus carefully chosen samples, a nice equal mix, a decent mastering job, and high-quality plugins created one of my best-sounding tracks.
Why was it Successful?
The track was successful because of all of the things I mentioned previously. I started with a nice catchy chord progression to catch the attention of the audience. This was the first building block for the rest of the track. The next step was to get some catchy vocals that would remain in the listener’s heads. Three vocal samples were chosen. The verse, buildup vocal, and the chorus. Each sample was mixed carefully using compression, EQ, reverb, and delay to make the samples fit into the track nicely. Carefully chosen drum samples were placed in the project, making sure they followed the typical 4-4 house beat. Careful sequencing and precise EQing each give the drum samples their own place in the mix, which resulted in some energetic-sounding drums. A bass layer followed, along with a sub, top bass, and organ bass. Bass is a vital part of nearly all house music so this had to be right. After mixing each layer of the bass and sidechaining them to the kick drum, a nice, full bass sound was made. All of the important elements of a good house track were featured in this project. This is why the track was successful.
Why wasn’t it successful?
Although I am fairly confident with producing, the one thing that usually lets me down is the final master of the song. I am self-taught at producing, mixing, and mastering, but mastering the final mix has always been the thing I have found the hardest. This song is no different. The song would have benefited massively by having a professional engineer master the track. It would have taken it to the next level and created an all-around more professional sound. Although the mastering job isn’t bad and the song is still at a good level, the final master is something that definitely needs work. The use of different plugins could have benefited the track as well. I don’t have access to a lot of the plugins I would like to use. This is purely a financial issue as the top plugins can be quite costly. Over the years I will pick up more plugins and can then incorporate them into my tracks. New plugins and new presets will bring a new sound to my music. I’m still learning so I’m sure there are many different things I could have done to the track to make it that little bit better, such as more automation, different effects plugins, and vocals I have recorded myself. These are some of the reasons why the track might not have been as successful as I would have hoped.
How could I improve next time?
The two main ways I aim to improve my tracks are via the final mix and master of the track and also promotion. Although it is not directly linked to the track I have shown you, bigger promotions, animations, better promotional videos, and an all-around stronger promotional campaign for the song would not only help the song and its stream count but also increase my average monthly listeners on all streaming platforms. This is definitely something I need to improve on. Back to the track, the mix and master of the track would help it reach a different level. Investing in new plugins and also spending more time carefully looking at the master should hopefully improve the final product. It’s not the most exciting job, but it is one of the most important steps in creating a good well-rounded song, and it can’t be overlooked. There are many things that could be done to improve my next project, but these are the main things I picked up on.
Here is a link to the full song on Spotify, as well as my Spotify and SoundCloud page, with all of the songs that I have made over my last few years of producing.
SMART Targets
-By the end of the calendar year I will have a better understanding of the mixing process. I will aim to get better more clear mixes to make my tracks sound more professional.
-I will aim to go into more detail when doing my evaluation the next time I do one. I will speak formally about improvements in my work and also what went well with it.
-By the end of the year I would like to add some form of live instruments into my track, this could be vocals or a recorded instrument like a trumpet or piano. This will take my music to the next level.