How to Make Great Music Mashups: The Start-to-Finish Guide to Making Mashups with Ableton Live

Description

Written for the beginner DJ, this accessible book presents everything you need to know in order to create great dance floor moments that will take your sets to the next level and get you noticed as a DJ. Using Ableton’s industry-leading digital audio workstation, the reader will learn to achieve a professional sound by expertly manipulating Warping, pitching, editing, automation and plugin effects processing; also, avoiding mistakes such as key-clashing, jarring transitions, mismatched energies and more. The book’s companion website includes key-charts, musical scale diagrams, organisational templates for live sessions, and follow-along video demonstrations. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents About The Author Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Why Mashups? What Is a Mashup? Why Would You Use One? Is It Difficult to Put a Mashup Together? An Important Concept about the Dance Music Audience How to Use This Book 2 The Components of a Mashup The Main Track Breakdown Tracks, Classics and Non-dance Songs Vocals Musical Riffs/Sections Added Drums and Effects 3 The Right Mix of Elements 4 Mashup Theory Key Figuring Out the Key of an Element Mixed In Key Finding the Key of a Song without Mixed In Key Deciding the Key of Your Mashup Tempo and Rhythm Time Signatures Music Loves Hanging Out in Bars Choosing the Tempo of Your Mashup Mashups that Change Tempo One More Note on Major/Minor Keys 5 What Will You Need? A Decent Listening Space Equipment 6 Ableton Live Audio Terminology Equalisation Getting Familiar with Live Importing Tracks Using Warp to Change the Tempo of a Clip Using Warp to Change the Pitch of a Clip Effects Automation 7 Preparing for Mashups Creating a Folder Structure to Keep Things Organised Creating a Mashup Key List Creating and Organising a Samples Folder Finding Pre-created Effects and Builds Creating an Ableton Live Template Label Your Current Tracks with Key Information Write Out a List and Find Your Best Mashup Combinations 8 Making Mashups—Part 1: Arrangement and Sourcing Audio Arrangement Laying Elements Together Basic Mashup Arrangements When Should I Bring This Bit in? Making Sure You Have All the Audio You Need ‘DIY’ Acapellas General Tips on Arrangement Editing Intros 9 Making Mashups—Part 2: Techniques Transitions Bringing in an Element High-pass Filtering during Transitions Added Effects, Sweeps and Drum Builds Treating Vocals Using Low-shelf EQ to Balance Bass Reverse Reverbs ‘Hinting’ and ‘Linking’ Sections Vocal Loops and Chops Side-chain Compression (or LFO Tool) Added Drum Loops Using Your Own Instruments Pitch Effects Arranging Tempo Changes Transitioning between 4/4 and 6/8 Time Signatures Using Multiband Compression to Make Room for Vocals General Ideas on Working Effectively Is It Finished? Exporting 10 House-Keeping Becoming Faster and More Efficient Quick Re-cap on Organisation Using Your Old Mashups as Inspiration Coming Back to Your Previous Ideas Intros and Set-breakers 11 Final Thoughts Keep Your Ears Open for Great Ideas Don’t Overdo It Legal Ramifications of Distributing Mashups More Resources Thank You Resources and Links Keyboard Shortcuts Glossary Index