Songwriting Secrets - Create a Project Template

1. Introduction to Project Templates: Welcome. In this class, you will learn how to create an amazing project template in your music production software, also called DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation. You can create different product templates for different styles of music. Or if you prefer, you can create one single master project template that you can use for any genre of music. You will learn about settings and preferences, sketch and mockup, tracks and groups, and mixing and effects. The goal is to have a perfect starting point in your music software so that you can avoid wasting time on searching for instruments and sounds, activating features and settings in your software, routing audio signals or any other technical frustrations. This way, you will be free to start focusing on the fun and creative parts of making music. As soon as you open up your project template in your music production software, are you're ready? Let's start learning. 2. Settings & Preferences: Settings and preferences. You don't want to set up all the preferences and settings inside your DAW every time you start a new track. Which is why I highly recommend that. The first thing you do when creating a project template is to make sure you have all the settings, preferences, and overall features and layout exactly as you want them. There are countless of settings you can choose, and they also differ depending on what music software you use. But here are some of the main parts I make sure to go through when creating a project template, project preferences. So the first thing I do when creating a new project template is set up the project settings and preferences the way I prefer them. I'm not talking about if you go up here to your DAW's, your softwares, general settings. I'm talking about here. In voltage, you go to File and then project settings because all of these are actually saved in the actual project. Since you don't want to repeat them every time, make sure you set them up as you want them. For a few examples here, I hate the only little plugin is needed for project playback. So I take that off. I like the reading automation takes priority over a track automation. Automation. So that is on. You set up your metronomes settings that you prefer. You can set up your recording settings, such as I prefer a one-bar count in and also the audio settings here, I'm always using 48 kilohertz as sample rate and all this stuff in the project settings and preferences, toolbar and tools. Then I set up the toolbar or the transport bar and all the buttons I want shown in the interface and save that in the project templates. So for example, he ever in logic you'd customized, right-click here, customer control bar and transport bar. And which thing is, do you want whistle visible here? If I click here, you can see I'm adding another button, basically customizing, customizing the interface for the toolbar. You can, if you prefer, had this secondary toolbar here in Logic. Whatever music DAW software you use, set up all these things, also the tools. So in logic, if you have a left-click and a command click tool and right-click to the third two bar here. So set up which tools you use the most there. And also in the piano roll, you can have a different set of three tools when working in the piano roll editor. So all these things regarding the menus, the toolbar and transport borrowers set them up as you prefer them, tracks and sequencer. So next to go through how you want your tracks to look visually and what features you want available in your project templates. So in logic, you can simply right-click here track header components and you can see what is added here. If you don't want track icons, you can remove that and it looks more clean. If you like it. For visual reference, just add that again, track icons, colors, and so on. Also, I like to have these settings setup for the sequence. So for example, the snap settings is also saved with the project. So you can go in here and set it to ball. For example, snap to beat, snap radians to absolute value, which I prefer the regions are snapped to the grid basically instead of relative when you move it. And also the drag option when you drag two regions together, I want them to cross fade as default. So all of these settings you want to sit up as that will be the default starting point. So go through the visual look of the tracks themselves and the sequencer settings up here, for example, view, if you wanted to have a background grid lines or not. If you want to have a, for example, secondary ruler up here, anything you want to add if you wanted to scroll in place so it moves the play head, the project when the play head moves, and so on. Piano rolls settings. Okay, so let's just open up the piano roll for one of these parts is harmony part here. So here you can actually customize how you want it. The default view and setting is for the piano roll. If I just click P here for Open the piano roll here, you can see that the automation lane is already open because it is saved with the project. So that means when I open it up, you can see the automation here and scroll quickly through. Instead of having to open automation with a denotes or a colored from. Now based on if you go up here to View node color repair velocity, perhaps you want to have a default at reading colors. So the chlorines will be the actual region here. So when you compare to the base, for example, you will see which ones, which nodes are the base, which ones are the courts and harmony. And again, you need to make sure these settings up here. So the tools as you already learned, also, the snap settings inside the piano roll. I have it too smart here. Relative value here. You might want to absolute value or whatever it will prefer there for snap automation and so on. All these settings here for how you want it set up, you do want it to auto stretch, perhaps, so that when you open it up, it stretches basically the horizontal view here to fit the window. So all these settings are saved with the project view mode here. These tools up here, the settings here, and whatever settings you can choose in your DAW, you want to make sure you go through them in the piano roll as well. Because that will be saved with your project template. 3. Sketch & Mockup: Sketch and mockup, the very top or my music project templates. I always create a sketch and mockup for the tracks representing the key elements of music. So melody, harmony, rhythm, and percussion. This way you can instantly start brainstorming, sketching ideas, and even create a quick mock-up of the essence of your new track. So here's what I include in my mock-up for the percussion. Or use a standard drum kit, either acoustic or electronic. For rhythm, I usually use a base to create a baseline for harmony or use it as simple piano track and the melody defer. It could be a vocal track. It could be strings, flute, whatever the track really needs. Alright, so here we can see I have created a folder in my project template called mock-up. If I open it up, I have percussion, rhythm, harmony, melody, all the main elements of music represented here. And you can hear I use acoustic drum kit here. We can use an electronic one if you prefer. For the rhythm, I'm using a baseline. Because that way you can play along nodes, you can play pulses, grooves and rhythm. And for harmony, in most cases, I'm using a piano to record a chord progression. Harmonic element of music and melody here I like to lay here in most places piano strings. In this case, I also added a third layer, enormous sphere within a picked guitar, acoustic guitar. I lay it is for the melody because I want that to be more focused and fat in the mix, even in the mockup to make sure that is the main focus of attention. So all in all, you can create your essence of your new track with only for single tracks like this using the mockup folder here in your project template. So it sounds like this. That is a mock-up folder which you can use in your project template at the top of your sequencer. And you can of course have other tracks and groups here. But the main thing is having this at the top to record the overall sketch or mock-up of your new production. If you want to use a simpler version, you can create a single music is sketching track at the top of your sequencer with, for example, a piano, where it can record ideas for melodies, chords, rhythm, baselines, et cetera, on one single track. Okay, so the difference here between the sketch and the mockups folder is that the mockup folder has all the main elements of music, percussion, rhythm, harmony, and melodies are for single tracks. But sketching, sketching track is only one single track. If I open it up, you'll see it's only one immediate rake in this case. So it's a piano and strings layered. And I really recommend piano and strings as the main sketching instruments. So this is just piano and strings in Bonn Pugin. One track. I'm using ominous be contacted if you prefer. The thing is with piano and strings. The advantages is that you can play melodies with your right hand and the baseline with the left hand to create a theme. Strings has that soft harmonic tone, whereas piano can play anything from long notes, sustained notes, to staccato, you can also create, create a chord progressions if you play soft. We'll hear more of this shrinks. But again, more focused for change with it from the piano. You can even play staccato to create rhythms and roofs with a piano plus strings track. So that is why I recommend piano, or in most cases, piano plastic strings layered. Now you see I actually have another track. So I put this as a folder because that way I can record audio ideas on top of whatever midi ideas I come up with. So here we can record your electric guitar, acoustic instrument, or even better, why not recall your voice humming, singing something as an idea? If you, for example, play a chord progression here on the midi sketching, drag the main sketching tracker. Then you can sing or harm or record any acoustic or electronic instrument as audio on top of that. And that way you have both easily available the midi and the audio in one single folder appear at the top of your sequence. Or I usually prefer the sketching method like this, one meter track, one audio track, because it's much quicker and easier compared to creating a full mock-up with all four main elements of music. But choose what you prefer, sketch or mockup and include it in your project templates if you prefer the sketch method, just delete this. And then you keep this sketching folder or sketching group at the top of your sequencer. The main point is to always have a way of brainstorming and sketching your ideas quickly and easily available right at the top of your music projects. 4. Tracks & Groups: Tracks and groups, adding tracks, groups and folders in a new project and organizing them with instruments, sounds, and presets is something that can take you a lot of time. So I like having some of these already prepared in my music project templates. Here are the things I like to start with, and perhaps you want to try them out too. So this is how I organize all my tracks in my project templates. So I have folders, separate folders. Here is one for percussion, Dr. backing tracks, base low instruments, mid-range instruments, high range instruments and effects. So these are groups. If I open up the folders here, or the folders here, I have a track stack here. This is a mixing or summing bus. So if I open up the mixer, you can see that the track here, midi percussion is sent to this bus. So I can have it bus inside the folder in logic. But if you cannot do that, just use folders to make sure you don't end up with a project that you have to scroll through hundreds of tracks. You can simply open up the folder for each track. You can also see that I have labeled all these folders with a color here. You can see blue here, dark blue, green, purple for backing tracks. Because this is great when you record in the sequencer, you will end up with that color. Now, if you prefer, you can use as add tracks inside the folders, your favorite tracks, for example, your favorite drum kit here and the percussion. Your favorite bass, synth or electric bass, perhaps in the base folder, I have a different method where I like to keep it clean and then simply open up the library where I've saved all my different presets for tracks. So I can open up base here. And then for example, let's say I'm using an acoustic bass. Let's use a synth bass. Then open up synth bass retro, and you see it opens up this. And that way I get this synth bass here. Okay? But if you prefer, you can leave that because that will be saved with your project template. So in most cases, the main things I go through with the tracks and groups or creating folders, creating summing buses. So mixing buses where each folder, each instrument in each folder is sent to a single bus representing that folder of tracks, that group of tracts. Then also the labels for the tracks if you save tracks. So for example, let's say for percussion, let's say you save a drum kit here, for example, let's say you use this acoustic drums, addictive rum, drum kit. Then you can have that in your project template and then make sure the track icon is also represented as well as the label for the track. So as you can see, when I loaded it up from the presets, I go to the icon. I didn't get the name per account sample here. If you label this acoustic drums, then you can save that. You can add more percussion instruments and have everything here and make sure it's routed to the proper mixing bus percussion. In this case, you want to have folders. You also have mixing buses. You want, perhaps if you've preferred to have all the tracks or your favorite instruments and presets already voted with the proper naming and icon. That will save a lot of time when you start a new production. 5. Mixing & Effects: Mixing and effects. Effects are essential in modern music production of any style of music. In a project template, I recommend you to have a chain of insert effects on each mixing group, as well as effects on audio tracks and perhaps even individual midi tracks. Then I like to have send effects prepared for different types of reverbs and delay effects. That way, everything is already routed and ready for use as soon as I start a new music production. Here are the effects are usually have in my project. Templates. Insert effects on group channels. Okay, So what I refer to when I say group channels is the mixing bus channels. So for each group of tracks, I recommend that you have a bus. You may have them to put together all your guitars or your vocals to a mixing bus channels as well. So if you open up the mixer in your DAW, the bus is basically each bus, all the tracks inside here, the folder here, the percussion folders or sent to because the output is not stereo out, it's the percussion bus. You can see I already added effects, but it also recommended to keep them deactivated in your product template to start with, because it will be much faster to start your template when you launch it. So let's just go through what I have. Of course, what you include in your group channels, your mixing bus as regarding the effects, is up to you. But let's have a look here. So the first effect I have is a channel strip plug-in, because the channel strip is basically mimicking a analog console mixing console where you have the filters, high-pass, low-pass. You can have it twice or compressor everything, every main aspect of mixing in one plug-in basically with an analog, really nice sound. I also like to have a master or a multiband compressor, which this one is here to team the bus and put his sudden sound on it. I also have a plugin called track spacer, which is basically a side chain dynamic EQ. But basically you can have a side chain compressor as well. And I have that as well as my final bargain as a overall compressor, which I can put on inside chain model mode if I want to use parallel compression, compression on the bus, or simply just a team, the overall sound on that. But these are some of the effects I like to have on my bus channels. You may want to include an overall EQ and polish plug-in as well. Insert effects on audio tracks, right, so let's open this folder up and you can see I already have an audio track. I like to have one midi track and one audio track at least for each group and each folder tracks. And then I have all the same here for all the audio tracks, I have the same channel strip, meaning all the insert effects. So if I open this up here, we can see deactivated. I have the first one I use is a noise suppression plugin. This is called RX by isotope. Basically it takes care of removing much of that background noise in your studio. It can be harming electrical interference. So it could be a fan in the background, anything like that, or just general electric noise. I also like to include a channel strip again here. Analog mixing console channels. I like to have at least one saturation plug-in. In this case, I actually have two image chain, one more analog, smooth saturation, and one more heavy distortion plug-in. And finally, I like to have an echo or delay plug-in as well. I don't like to have the reverb on the actual audio track. I prefer to have reverbs as sound effects, which I will show later. But that's basically some of the things I like to include in my audio. Insert effects. And you can of course, save that channel strip in your DAW as well so you can load it up on any audio track. Or you can start with this audio track and then just duplicate and then label this into whatever drum, cartoon, cartoon, drum, for example, if you have that and recall that any percussion you have and you want to record and you still have this channel strip, which is much faster than having to load everything up from scratch, insert effects on midi tracks. So if we move on to midi tracks, so sample libraries and plug-in synthesizers and so on. I like to also have a default channel strip voted here with all the insert effects. So the same thing here. I always like to have a channel strip plug-in and analog mixing console, any channel strip that you prefer to use. So you have all the main mixing elements here. The first insert effect, I don't have the noise suppression plugin because that's more for all your tracks, but I do have the same setup Other than that. So basically it's similar except for the noise suppressor OR gate. Sometimes on audio tracks, I like to include a DNS server as well, but you can use a multiband compressor for that as well. Send effects like reverbs and delays. So let's close this and open up the mixer here. And you will see that to the right here I have a bunch of channels that are not tracks or instrument channels or audio tracks, but these are actual auxiliary channels, which I then add effects on. That way you can send to them. That's why they call send effects. So if we have, for example, let's say this sketching track here. Then you can add sends and send to the auxiliary channels. You create an auxiliary channel in your DAW, create new auxiliary channel or send Effect Channel, and then you put whatever you want. I usually have three different types of reverbs. A small one, a mid-size won, a big reverb hall reverb, and to echo or delay plugins. So that way you can track here. Send if you use this no pair two small reverb, midsize reverb sends two big reverb, or two types of echo delays like that. And then you set him up over here in their actual plugins. What type of reverb and whatever you use for all these send effects. I also like to make sure that when you open everything up, that all the channels have the sense already in this chain. So if it will actually be clean for the sense you need to click here, send to bus, and send to the actual sound effect. As you can see now, all the tracks have these send in the channel chain. So every track you select or record something on, you can quickly the US dial any of these knobs, might want to have a reverb and delay, for example. Instead of having to do that at the start for each project, you have it in your project template. 6. Action - Create a Project Template: Congratulations, you have now learned the amazing efficiency of creating and using project templates for music production. And you have also learned my top tips and personal recommendations for things to include inside your project template. Now, what you choose to add will depend on what you prefer for your workflow. But in any case, it is time for you to learn by doing now. So create your own projects, template from scratch in your music production software does not have to be perfect. In fact, I always make changes and optimizations in my track, templates. But at least you will have a great starting point for whenever you want to make a new track. Good luck and have fun experimenting with creating project templates for music production.