When I was 14, I wanted a synthesizer. The one I wanted was a KORG POLY 61. At the time, this was the top of the line synthesizer, and didn’t cost as much as it does now. My mom promised to buy it if I joined a band (the real garage bands in those days). So I made that promise and the rest is history. This first keyboard was the launch of my music production career. I will use my experience through the years to show you how to produce music the old school way.
How I Started Producing Music
After the band didn’t quite work out, I decided that I could just make music by myself. As a 15 year old, I didn’t have access to multi track recorders. Any type of recording equipment in those days were reserved for the professional and the recording industry. The Tascam 4 track recorder came out in 1982, but without a job or knowledge in 1985, I just didn’t have the money or resources to get one until a couple of years later. So, my method of recording was to connect my keyboard and microphone to the stereo, record what I was doing, then play along with this recording onto a second cassette recorder. I would do this several times until I had a hiss filled song. This is basically what the Tascam Portastudio did, but with a slightly better quality input, dividing the ribbon up into 4 recording layers, instead of the stereo two. Now, I’m not saying this is what you should do. This is just an introduction to the struggles we had as producers back in the 80s :). You can still purchase a multi track recorder if you want the experience of physically laying tracks. It’s a nice feeling to know that you have to get it right since there’s no quantizing an actual recording. The human feel gives way to organic tracks that hip hop and other alternative music provides, that you lose through digital recording. There are also plenty of digital multi track recorders out there, if you want to forgo your computer. I’ll get to how to produce music the old school way once I’ve gotten through my initial overview.
I used the Korg Poly 61 and my first drum machine, the Mattel Synsonic Drums which came out in 1981. They still sell those things on ebay! I can’t believe it! If you ever want to create an old 70s hip hop song with little trashy sounds, get a cheap synsonic drum machine lol.
I also used an Ensoniq ASR 10 as my first sampler. If you want an actual 80s hip hop sampler, this is the keyboard to buy. It doesn’t have long sample times, but the sample quality will be authentically 80s. I’ve still got tons of disks that were used to save the samples.
My Current Set-up to Produce Music The Old School Way
These days, I’m using a PC and a Mac. My Macbook Pro is convenient to take on the road. I use my desktop PC for home use. It’s getting old, so I’ll need to upgrade soon, but it works for what I need it to do for now. Make sure you get at least 8GB Ram, if not more if you want it to run fast, and play back your music without any glitches.
I use to use Cubase for music production, but now I use it mostly for recording vocals. I’m on Cubase 5, but I believe it’s at 9.5 now. I hear a lot about Logic (not sure if it’s still supported. Might have been replaced with FL studio or something), Reason, Ableton, Protools, and other software, but I’ve grown to love the MPC Studio. It mimics the early MPC 60 which we could lug to the studio when we want to lay down the drums and samples. The pads and the quantizing function provide a more natural groove that is missing in the Cubase environment. Perhaps Cubase has gotten better, but I just can’t get myself to fork out the money each time they have an update. Protools is what the pros use, and if you know Logic and Cubase, Protools is quite easy to navigate. Here’s a light version of Protools if you’d like to learn it for the future. Always good to know.
To get my vocals or other instruments into my computer recorder, I use a computer interface. I’ve had good experience with the Focusrite brands. I have one for recording and one for live performances. This is connected by USB to the computer, and runs through the recording software to pick up vocals or whatever live instrument you want to record through a microphone, or direct connection into the interface. It’s a good idea to have the microphone go through a tube preamp first if you want a rich organic and warm sound in the recorded vocals.
How To Get Started Producing Music The Old School Way
Now, I’ve heard a lot from fellow producers, who don’t play any instruments, about how they purchase these sound packages from Sounds.com or Splice.com or other online store. They’ll take the stems of already produced songs, and pretty much stack them together, virtually calling it a new song. Back in the day, we had crates of records that we’d browse through to find and collect a library of samples, drum sounds and loops to create new songs, but the effort to find these sounds was more than clicking on a menu and filtering by instrument, BPM, key or genre. I’d like to challenge you to walk into a mom and pop record store, if one still exists, and make a few purchases, get a cheap record player, and start listening to old records, the old school way. There’s something about taking the time to actually listen to songs that had some magic when putting a library together. You can spin it to an exact location, play it forward or backward, scratch it, or however you want to manipulate the record, to catch that unique sound that you just won’t find by filtering through digital media.
Another challenge I’d like to present is to find some friends who play instruments, if you don’t, and even if you do. Find a flute, guitar, horn, piano player, or other, treat him or her to lunch, and ask him or her to play a few things that you can record. The ideas that will spark just from each of their styles will excite you. Remember to give them a percentage of the publishing when you finish and start marketing your songs. Publishing is another story, for another day.
Drum Track
Drums are the foundation to most hip hop, pop, rock, R&B indi or other radio song. The art of music can incorporate drums in many forms. I’ve heard from fellow producers, again, that they like to use drum loops or they purchase drum packages. I’m guilty of it too. There are a vast number of drum sounds and loops out there that help in inspiring music. The challenge is to break away from these loops and create our own piece of art, or should I say “peace” of art. On rare occasion, I will use drum loops. I recently used a drum loop to recreate a song by Arin Ray. I took the drums from the original song We Ain’t Homies, and created an instrumental version. Since then, I’ve heard so many things I need to change to meet the original, but here it is for now:
But back to drum making- If you want to learn the details of putting a drum beat together from scratch, I will create a video for it. For now, I challenge you to listen to a song you like, and attempt to recreate the beat using each sound in the beat, and not loops. Listen to the bass drum pattern, snares and high hats. Use percussions to fill it in, and even some old record noise to give it that organic feel. You might even want to add some sounds using your voice, or a pot in the kitchen. The possibilities are endless and give rise to more inspiration.
I’ve also had fellow music producers brag about how they have never once used a controller to make a song, and have just used the keypad on their laptop. I’m sure this may be remarkable to some, but I fail to see the bragging rights for this. In my opinion, it means that they have never laid hands on an instrument, nor have they had the experience of tapping the kick or snare using pads that provide touch sensitivity. How can you create a naturally sounding drum beat without having the ability to use your natural senses? To manipulate the velocity digitally just doesn’t seem earthy enough. Pretty soon, the entire production process will be automated, allowing AI to control our music production abilities.
Anyway, back to the controller- I have been using the Panorama P6 controller. I have to say I’m not completely happy with it, for such a pricey piece of equipment. The knobs have gotten very sticky, the keys have yellowed, and the software never syncs to my midi. The screen always glitches, and moving from one track to another using the controller never works properly. I would recommend sticking to something simple and basic like the M-Audio midi keyboard. You can buy a full keyboard version, or a mini one that you can take with you on the road. Even if you were never trained to play, I’d say experiment with the keys and learn what sounds good to you. Use the notes to bring your sound to your piece. When I listen to a song on the radio, it’s not difficult to figure out who produced it.. Pharrell (Neptunes) has his sound, Timbaland has his sound, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Calvin Harris has a particular sound at times, and I believe I have my own sound too.
Save Music and Save the Planet
Saving music is akin to saving the planet. If we don’t do something to change the way we do things, the natural ways will die. Luckily, we still have children learning to play instruments, and bands coming together to create. If we can hold on to some of these old ways of creation within the music production processes, we can preserve the art of music and the art of creating music. Whether you’re a brand new producer getting into the world of music, or a DJ who has been spinning your digital turntables, challenge yourself to learn the old school ways of producing music, and become an expert in the craft of music production, by being an expert in the history of music as well.
If you enjoyed this article, please read my other posts and articles as I contribute and share more of my life and experiences at Design My Peace.