Songwriting Secrets - Create a Music Mockup

1. Introduction to Music Mockups: Hello and welcome my friends. In this class, you will learn how we can create complete sketches, also called Music mock-ups. Before you start making the full music production, you will learn about the key elements of music using a mock-up folder, adding track details, etc. The goal is to make you a much more efficient music creator by using these sketching and mock-up techniques that you will learn in this class. Are you ready? Let's start learning. 2. The Key Elements of Music: The key elements of music when sketching and creating a mock-up of a new track, you should always make sure to only focus on the key elements of music, because this way, you will not only avoid distractions and time waster is like searching for sounds and presets, missing with effect plugins, adding equalizers, compressors, and so on. You will also automatically get super focused on the essence of your music. So keep it simple, keep it minimal. The key elements of music or rhythm, harmony and the melody. The rhythmic element will create the energy, drive and piles of your music. The harmony element will add complexity, very east and depth. And the melodic element will be the spotlight and it tension for the listener. Now, when you think about it, basically everything has rhythm in music, not only the drums. For example, a baseline, can have a very interesting rhythmic groove, energy and pulse hormone. It can be a simple accompaniment played by a strumming guitar or rhythm piano part. And that way you get the courts and rhythm into that element of music. And the melody can basically any lead instrument, vocals. In most styles of music, the drums would also be considered one of the key elements. To sum it up, here are the four key elements of music you should focus on when sketching new music and creating your music. Mock-up, percussion, for example, a drum kit, rhythm, which could be, for example, a baseline harmony, for example, a strumming guitar or piano melody, which could be your leading vocals. 3. Using a Mockup Folder: Mock-up folder. Now that you have learned about the key elements of music and the importance of focusing on only those elements when you sketch new songs. The next step is to create a mockup folder in your music recording software. This is basically a group of tracks that together will represent those key elements of music. Simply put, your entire music track represented in the most minimal way possible. Here's what I recommend you to do. First, create a folder or group in your music software. Add one track for each element. So melody, harmony, rhythm, and percussion. Structure, the mockup folders, so labels, icons, colors, etc, to keep it organized and visually structured. And then start sketching your music mock-up. Alright, so now let me demonstrate my music mock-up folder and the actual music mock-up inside. So if I open up this folder, which I've labeled mockup, you can label it, sketch if you want to, or anything like that. I have it at the top of my sequence over here because you create your mockup to use as the seed, the key elements for your entire arrangement. You'll complete music production. Okay, So opening this up and you can see I have four tracks inside one per key element of music. So percussion, rhythm, harmony, and the melody. I have them colored independently because that way you can, for example, open two of them up and see them both together. So you can see the course here, the base here, and so on, visually. Very good to have, I have them with icons for clarity and of course the names, and so on. Now, regarding the instrument I have on each track, so I'm using, in most cases for the percussion, standard drum kit, sometimes an electronic drum kit, depending on the track, I'm going to create a drum kit in most cases. So for the rhythm, I like to use a baseline for this base. In this case, I'm using an acoustic bass. You can use an electric bass or suitable base if you prefer, depending on the track, you will create. The harmony I'm using. In most cases, a classical grand piano. In some cases, I actually layer it. In this case is only piano, so simply soft sound here, so that takes care of the cords and harmony and the melody. I usually lay your the melody with different instruments because I really wanted to stick out and be the main focus. So in this case, I'm using a piano, strings plus a nylon guitar layered in this plug-in. You can use a group inside the group or a track stack in logic as it's called, to have them layered. I'm simply using this plug-in where I can lay several, several different presets. So if I play it like this, it's the piano with the strings plus the guitar, which I set to be an octave higher. And that way, if I play something now, you get a much more focused and a bigger sound. And all in context creates this music mockup. Right? So that's it. It sounds simple and that's because it should be, it should be the key elements of your production, your track. And you can continue this with creating the mockup. For example, the verse, the core is all the sections of your songs, of your music production so that you at the top of your music software always have the key element this see the essence of your track in four simple track. So percussion, rhythm, harmony, and melody, if you like, you can add another element, but those are the key elements of music. So keep it as simple and minimal as you can. And your entire arrangement for your production will be much easier because you have the visual clarity, the overview, the perspective of your track is much better. The audio reference when you check different tracks, checking midi against for example, the chord progression, the baseline, and so on. So this is the music mock-up folder for brainstorming and creating your overall sketch for your new track. 4. Adding Track Details: Frack details when making a music sketch or a mockup for a new track. You will most likely come back to your track later. Or perhaps you will collaborate with another musician or a singer. In any case, having a nice summary of notes for your project is very nice. In fact, you can even create those nodes before you even started sketching your music at all. Because you could steal the right notes for what you want to achieve with your music. And as soon as you got your first ideas recorded, I recommend adding in all the details about the composition itself. Here are the track details I recommend you to add inside your project. First, key and time signature, then the tempo, BPM of your song, the main chords you used in the song. And then very importantly, adding nodes for the overall atmosphere and emotion of the track. And finally, I like to add sometimes music lookalikes, meaning just name a couple of examples of similar music and similar tracks to your truck. Okay, so let me demonstrate how I do this. Adding all the details for every project I work on. First, the main thing is to add the key and time signature, which is different depending on your music. Sulfur in Logic Pro, which are used, you add it here, up here. So F minor in this case, you have to of course check and know what key your track will be in checking the course you use and so on. Then for four in this case is the time signature. Then of course the tempo, meaning the BPM 110. So those are the main aspects of the track. Now, regarding the main chords, I like to use a global core track since logic doesn't have it, I'm using the arrangement track as you can see, add the cold as different blocks here. So these are just arrangement that I suspend that. I'm not using it as an arrangement of track. And then just adding in the course here, you can, if you prefer, used, for example, the marker track and then simply label the marker, the actual chord progression. So the courts for this, Let's say this is diverse. You label that marker. Let's say if minor, C minor, whatever the progression is, so the main chords. Now regarding more notes about the track, if you have a project set shown here to add notes on basically a notepad for your track. I want you to use it. So in this case, you just go in and then you write, for example, in this case, let's say it's an error, genetic and up lifting. If you want to, you can even add to, add the main chords used here. So F minor, C minor, either the chord progression or just simply state all the main corridors in a list like this, like a chord overview or core is used. And also finally, except that this energetic and uplifting that's takes care of the atmosphere and emotion for the track you can, you can write in more of a sentence like this. The music should create a feeling of intimate and lonely atmosphere with a hint of danger. Let's say whatever. You just describe the overall mood of the track so that you can add if you want to. More complete sentence like this, or description or the main cores used here if you want to. Finally, sometimes I'll add music lookalikes. So basically just music look likes. So basically you can just name a couple of tracks that your music will be kind of similar to like in terms of mood, overall style, and so on. So what people would compare it with? So let's say this tract should be solo piano with voice. So let's say John Lennon, Imagine for just as an example. So now you have all the main track details inside your projects. So when you come back, it will be much easier to continue to track or if you want to collaborate with others, musicians and so on. If they have the key, the BPM, of course, the time signature. And if you make any changes, of course, during the track, like changing the key, changing the time, things are changing in the temple. You want to have those as well. And those who could add here in the project note pad as well. The main chords used as a list at the top, as I showed you with the Global Core track showing the chord progression like this. And you can include a core real chord chart if you want in notation form. Like I have here, like adding the course like this. For each borrow music. Describing the overall atmosphere and emotion. Either ingest some birds or complete sentence or description like this. And adding music lookalikes. If you can come up with any artists and tracks that are kind of similar to what people would use to describe a similarity with your track. So that is it adding track details super clear for yourself and for collaborating with others. 5. Live Demo Music Mockup: Now, in this lesson, I will show you live how you can create a music mock-up for one section of induced song you will create. So first of course, you need to do some brainstorming, a brainstorming session, then create the mockup folder, add the tracks for each key element of music, percussion, rhythm, hormone, and melody, the actual instrument you are going to use for each track and so on. Then the great thing about music and mockup is that it can sketch and brainstorm using different elements of music. If you have an idea for a B2 can start with the percussion, and so on. If you have a cool baseline that you came up with, you can start sketching with that. Or perhaps you want to sketch using chords and harmonies, some backing accompaniment. Like that's a chord progression perhaps. Or if you have a melody in your head, you want to get that out first. That's the great thing. You have it all inside the mockup folder and you don't have to go search for instruments, presets, adding effects, and so on. You want to keep it simple, keep it minimal. Only these key elements of music. Use one of them to start your sketch and then fill in the others. So in this case, just for the live demo, I'm going to start with a baseline. Okay, so let's start here on G, then record some things. So I'm going to, let's start with G, B flat. So we have a G in binary code, a harmony. Let's do something like that. So let's record that now. Okay, so let's see what we have here. Inside this. We have this baseline. I'm going to quantize H 2 eighth notes in this case. Now let's listen. Okay. So we have that as a starting point. If I just say play with the piano here. Okay, so that was the baselines. We probably have a G minor chord in the beginning. Then perhaps in E-flat major, D minor, E-flat major, reps, and then, and back to G minor. Let's try that. And the great thing is when you have it in your mock-up folder, you can always Record while watching what you did here. With the base, for example. Or if you check against the chord progression, whatever you start with. Let's try to record something now and see what we come up with. So I went with that G minor. Let's see, let's quantize it and see I, of course use the sustain pedal so you can't see the full length here of each nodes, but then you can continue with either the melody or the percussion. So let's actually start some percussion here, and let's see what we come up with. A can, of course, loop this if I want to see, let's cut that end there. So we have this and then just play. You can start, let's say with the owner, the kick and snare. Let's talk something. Okay, something like that. Of course you need to record it as well. So 1234. What's the kick and snare? And then you can continue with some hi-hats perhaps. And there at the end, perhaps some cymbal crash. Let's record from here. We can recall the beginning. Right? Symbols indicate you need to record, Of course. Then you have percussion, rhythm and harmony. Let's continue with the melody. Let's remember to record something. Let's, let's first get something and brainstorm about recording. Let's start with the B flat, perhaps. Something like that. Okay, I'll, I'll try to record something here. We need to go down to D here. Of course you see all the mistakes. This is part of the actual songwriting brainstorming session. I'm no different from you. In this case. We all do these experimentations. Let's quantize that too. Let's quantize it to 16th notes and see what we have here. So this is, these are all four key elements music just, hey, let's see, we have a five bar section here. How easy it should be to do this brainstorming and create the music mockup with bike focusing on their minimal this seed, the essence of a new track using the four key elements of music and a simple instrument for each track. So Percussion, a drum kit, rhythm. I like to use a baseline harmony piano, perhaps layered with pads. Strings could be an acoustic strumming guitar. Melody could be your vocals. In this case, I'm just layering some different instruments here in my music software. You can use your voice, you can use a guitar if you can play as the one. I prefer to have it as midi in this case, because it, It's a better reference to use. You can go in and check the nodes, right? So the great thing is now that you have it here and you do this for each section of your song. You just need to close it up and start to produce your actual track with all the instruments and sounds you're going to use, even if they are audio, recording your guitar, vocals and so on. You always can fall back on the essence created by your music mockup. 6. Action - Create a Music Mockup: Congratulations, you have now learned the great flow and speed you will get in your music-making process if you do a music mock-up to serve as the overall sketch and the reference for your music production. Now it is time for you to learn by doing so startup your music software, do a brainstorming session first to come up with this seed of a new track. Then you write and record a music mockup using only the key elements of music, percussion, rhythm, harmony, and melody. And remember, it is only one instrumental track per element. I recommend that you do this exercise. One single section of a song to get used to the music mouth mock-up method. So start by doing a mock-up, or for example, a verse or a chorus. 16 bars of music is a good start. Good luck, and have fun using the music mock-up method in your songwriting and music composition workflow.