Author: jens

Distortion is a term much used in music production. It’s a comprehensive term that could mean something in terms of mixing techniques, a sound effect or signal flow.

But what is it? How can you use it and when should you avoid it? Which tools do you need and how will it fit your workflow?

Distortion can mean a great number of things, but everything boils down to the same concept. And as soon as you understand that, you will know how to apply that to your productions.

What is distortion?

Distortion means the distortion deforming of an audio signal. The most well known principle of distortion is clipping. Clipping occurs when a signal is louder than a system can handle.

The term clipping comes from -you have probably guessed it- the peaks of the sound waves being clipped when they exceed that maximum.

The most well known form of clipping is when your mic or line signal is to loud for your preamp or interface. This produces an ugly noise. This is a form of distortion you will try to prevent from happing, as the noise it produces is undesirable.

Yet producers and mixing engineers will often turn to distortion’s classy little brother: saturation.

Don’t be misled by all the different names: fuzz, overdrive, saturation, it all comes from the same thing: a sound wave clipping.

When do you want it when should you avoid?

Audio engineers quickly discovered that distortion can have a positive effect. You could drive the gain into preamps and high quality analog outboard gear, which produced a nice warm sound.

This form of distortion is difficult to recreate with digital equipment. Nowadays there a plethora of plugins that do this completely in the box.

Clipping can sound nice in the analog domain. In the digital domain you have to be careful what you’re doing. When a signal enters your interface too hot you will clip your ADC (Analog-to-Digital-Converter). This is a form of distortion that doesn’t sound nice. The other way round happens the same thing. When you let your master bus peak above 0dB, you will clip your DAC (Digital-to-Analog-Converter) when leaving your interface. This sound bad as well.

Within modern DAWs it’s virtually impossible to clip with 32 or 64 bit internal processing. That is to say, as soon as the signal goes from the digital to the analog domain the signal will clip. But within your DAW you can raise the gain infinite amounts, as long as you pull it back down at the very end of the chain.

A lot of plugins do have an optimal gain to process audio (see also the article about Gain staging). Exceeding that volume might create unwanted noise.

What does saturation do?

Saturation has a number of effects: it adds extra harmonics, which will change the sound, and it will slightly compress a signal.

When a signal will begin to clip, the peaks of the sound wave will be clipped off.

Example: if you clip a sine wave (a pure wave without harmonics) harder and harder you will eventually end up with something that looks like a square wave. Because the peaks are cut off. The more angular a sound wave is (think of sawtooth and triangle waves, but also more complex wave forms), the more harmonics a signal will have.

How do you use it?

EQ vs saturation

The most important effect of saturation are the harmonics that occur in the mid and high frequencies. By saturating a sound you can give it more presence in a mix. Sometimes it is even better to use saturation in stead of EQ, because you will also boost (or even create) higher frequencies.

Lofi and analog warmth

Depending on the amount saturation can distort a signal in such a way that it will remind you of the coloration that occurs with older audio equipment (such as tape, vinyl, you name it).

Compression

If peaks of a waveform will be clipped, you can probably imagine this has a consequence for the dynamics of this waveform.

You can use this as a form of limiting. Here the point at which the signal is clipped is similar to the threshold of a limiter. With the difference being that clipping has a more audible effect than a limiter.

Colour

Saturation as a huge influence on the sound an colour of a source. It will add harmonics in the mid and high frequencies and it will create a softer roll-off in the higher and lower frequencies.

A mastering engineer might even use saturation (albeit in very slight moves) to make a track louder and warmer.

Let’s get to work

Don’t be afraid to get your hands and your track dirty by adding saturation. There is a massive world of colour you can add to your productions. Experiment and try to apply it everywhere you think of.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

Get rid of your distractions

Today, there are many ways to get distracted. Phones, televisions, tablets, all too much of course. But while writing, this can be disastrous if you’re constantly checking your notifications. Sometimes full focus is needed to fully immerse yourself in a story. Something that is very much needed for songwriting. If you know that you get distracted easily, be very hard on yourself for an afternoon or evening. If necessary, go to a cabin on the moor where there is no WIFI and leave all your potential distractions at home for a while. See what comes of it!

Fake lyrics

Sometimes it is difficult to come up with a good hook or text ‘from scratch’. For example, if you have already come up with a good melody, you could already record it or record it to your production in your DAW, but without lyrics. You can start humming, of course, but you can also sing ‘fake lyrics’, a kind of babble. You may now think, what a total nonsense. Right, that’s exactly the point. Just pay attention, because you will certainly encounter sounds and words when you listen back that will give you ideas for new lyrics.

Different environment

Most songwriters and producers work in the same environment nine times out of ten. They have their own studio or work in the same (rented) writing or rehearsal space. It feels very familiar, of course, but it can also have its drawbacks over time. You no longer get new and unknown stimuli from your environment because you already know them, which can affect your creative process. So, give yourself the new stimulus that your head needs every now and then. Find another studio, start writing with someone else or, if necessary, rent a house for a few days in a place that is still unknown to you. You will be amazed at how much a new environment can bring and add to your creative process.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

To collaborate

Everyone has their own set rhythm, mannerisms, and routine. The same goes for songwriting and producing. It can help you with your work, but sometimes you get to a phase where it suddenly stagnates your creative progress. It can then be interesting to look and work with someone else. Ask another songwriter or producer if you can walk with him or her for a day and collaborate. Let them do their own thing and observe the creative workflow. Of course, you can cooperate, but don’t try to force your own mannerisms or workflow that day. The idea is that you end up in a different setting and see if you can get something out of it that you can use as an advantage for yourself in your own creative process. Even if it’s just a small detail you pick up on, every little thing can make a huge difference!

Make a remake

It can also provide a lot of inspiration to get started with a favorite song of yours or an old song of your own! For example, take your favorite song of the moment and choose a different genre at random. You are supposed to completely recreate that song in that style. You will see that this will lead to very interesting things!

Recreating your own song also has its advantages. Let’s say you’ve been into songwriting and producing for several years. You’ve probably gotten better over the years and made some progress in your accomplishments as a songwriter and/or producer. If you now look back at the songs you created a few years ago, your first thought is probably; that’s not good. But often there are still interesting ideas to work out again. Pull it to your level of now and who knows, a hit will roll out.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

Use unknown instrumentals

If you often play an instrument yourself while writing new songs, you can get stuck. Especially if you often use the same kind of instrument. You soon start writing in the same key, the same chord progressions, and the same rhythms. That feels familiar, not crazy. You can then see if you can play another instrument, but you can also look up instrumentals of songs you don’t know. Perhaps even from genres that are unknown to your writing.

Put on such an instrumental and try to write a topline (vocal melody and lyrics) on it. Often you will find yourself in new chord progressions and rhythms, which you will probably subconsciously adjust your writing to. That way you end up with new and unknown melodies. New inspiration, new techniques. Win – win!

A different genre

Try writing a song in a different genre than you’re used to. Rest assured, you don’t have to expect yourself to nail this 100% right away or that a hit will roll out right away. It is even more likely that it is not even that good within that genre, but that is not necessarily the goal. Because you suddenly step out of your comfort zone, you end up with new techniques and there you can get small pieces of inspiration and experience that you can use in your ‘real’ songwriting!

The 10-minute challenge

The creative process of writing a song is one without limits. It has its advantages, but also its disadvantages. You can and may write about anything and nothing is too crazy, but that can also be extremely overwhelming. With all the limitless options in front of you, it can be very difficult to make choices and make decisions. In principle, you can take years to finish that one song, but you can also ask yourself whether that will benefit the song and your creative process. So, try the 10-minute challenge. Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes and set yourself a goal. For example, writing a verse and a chorus. Because you only have such a short time, you will have to make choices quickly. In practice that is very short, and it will not always produce the best songs, but it does train you in one thing; make a decision. And that can be very important in a writing session to prevent you from getting stuck on something and eventually throwing the entire song into the trash in advance.

Especially if you often write a lot of songs, it can be difficult to start a new song from scratch. But that is also possible if you don’t write that often and have become a bit rusty. There are many ways to start writing a new song. At the songwriting lessons at the Wisseloord Academy you will learn ways to get rid of this problem from many experienced songwriters.

We will present you with a few ideas so that you can already benefit from them!

First make a whole instrumental

If you normally work from songwriting as a songwriter before you start arranging, it can be interesting to work the other way too. Let go of the principle of the text, the story, and the vocal melodies. Open your DAW and start experimenting with creating an instrumental piece of music. In the beginning you don’t have to focus at all on applying a real song structure. It is important that you first let yourself go completely in arranging the music, let go of all your ideas and try everything that comes to mind. Once you’ve done that, you can take ingredients from all of this to create a song structure. Make sure you leave enough space in the verses, for example, to get creative with your songwriting for the lead vocals. Perhaps the newly created music will bring you new lyrics and melody ideas.

Painting

You can not only hear a well-written song, but also see it as soon as you close your eyes. Just listen to your favorite song in terms of lyrics. Probably the situation, the story is described so well and beautifully that you can just see it in your mind.

What if we did it the other way around? If you start looking at a random painting, you can start thinking about the story behind it. In fact, you can come up with your own story behind the painting. One image or painting can tell a whole story.

You come up with very nice stories and lyrics if you convert this into a song yourself. Find any painting, artwork, or image, write down the story you think is behind your chosen subject and later turn it into a song. An interesting story guaranteed, give it a try!

Movie or series

Almost every movie or series often has one specific song that functions as the title song or theme track. This song often conveys the essence of the play’s story. If you sometimes have trouble coming up with inspiration for a certain concept or story for your song, you could of course get the inspiration from a movie or series. The story is, of course, there for the taking. Take in the story, but also listen to the music that can already be found in it. That way you taste the atmosphere, and you know what fits well with such a storyline. Turn this into your own words and music, and there you go!

Backing vocals are often indispensable in productions and live performances. Many people often say about backing vocalists; those are the failed singers. But that is of course a total misconception. Being a backing vocalist is harder than you think and requires total control over your voice.

Backing vocals are a common part of arrangements and productions and can really enhance a song if they’re done right. At the Wisseloord Academy we will also pay a lot of attention to this subject while writing and producing songs during this music course.

Learn to dose

The biggest tip when using backing vocals is; learn to dose. Playing with backing vocals can be a lot of fun and really help take a song to a new level, but you can also quickly go too far. The rule often applies here; less is more. The focus is of course still on the lead vocal, not the background vocals. So, carefully choose the places where you will use backing vocals. For example, only briefly touch on certain words or melodies, instead of singing along the entire vocal lines.

Harmonize

If you are going to sing backing vocals, you will often have to deal with harmonizing. You can most easily think of this as singing an alternate melody from the lead vocalist, who sings different notes than the lead vocalist. Please note that you do not occasionally hit the same vocal lines or notes. Harmonizing comes very naturally to some vocalists; some have more difficulty with it. This is a matter of getting used to and practicing layering notes within a chord.

Choice of voices

In addition to dosing and harmonizing, there is another choice involved when recording backing vocals. Who’s going to sing it? You have the choice between the lead vocalist singing his own backing vocals to match his own sound, but you can also choose to add different colors for other voices to make the sound richer overall. Of course, it also depends very much on the genre, the song, and the production, but it is certainly worth the time and effort to think about and try it out.

Recording and production of backing vocals

A rule of thumb when it comes to producing backing vocals is to record a minimum of two takes per harmony. This way you can pan one to the left and one to the right to get a larger stereo image. You can also choose to process one slightly softer in the middle.

If you also want your lead vocals to sound bigger in the chorus than in the rest of the song, you can choose to double the lead vocal twice and pan to both sides of the stereo image.

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy we look at many different instruments and what we can do with them. What types and variations are there? And how can we combine and use them? For now, let’s look at wind instruments!

Two categories

Wind instruments can be divided into two categories. Namely the woodwinds and the brass. However, categorizing them is not about the material the instrument is made of. It’s all about the way you play.

The wind instruments in which the tone is produced by the vibration of a reed are counted as woodwinds. If the tone is produced by the vibration of the player’s lips, the instrument is classified as a brass instrument.

Woodwinds

There are several wind instruments that fall under the woodwind category. Think for example of the recorder, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone. A standard instrumentation of woodwinds within a symphony orchestra consists of two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons and two oboes.

Brass instruments

Instruments such as the trumpet, trombone, tuba, and horn are counted among the brass instruments. Within a symphony orchestra you see the most common horns, trumpets, tubas, and trombones.

Arranging wind instruments

A wind section consists of a group of musicians playing different wind instruments. This gives you a lot of choice and possibility for variation in arranging the horn section. It is obvious to play a lot of polyphony. However, be careful with this. If everything is played in multiple moods, this can get boring. Therefore, look for a combination between polyphonic and monophonic playing to keep it interesting. In the part of the arrangement where you want the horns to come forward more or give more impact, you can choose to apply polyphony.

Technic

Playing a wind instrument is more difficult than people think in advance. Firstly, it is music theory that you must master to function well as a wind player in a section, orchestra or as a session musician. But the technique of getting a stable and pure tone from a wind instrument at all is an achievement. These musicians spend a lot of time getting and keeping their blowing technique up to standard. Make no mistake about this if you are a beginner blower.

Now that you have the basic knowledge about wind instruments, you can start using them in your arrangement or even practice as a wind player yourself!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the drums, for example.

But if playing the drums is something completely new to you, it is nice to first know the ins and outs of this instrument.

Drum kit parts

There are so many different parts that you can use for your own drum kit. Every drummer has his own preferences. This also depends on the type of song and genre you will be playing. In this article we will zoom in on the most common parts of a common drum set.

Bass drum

The bass drum is also called ‘kick drum’ and is seen as the basis of a drum set. It is the largest drum, often positioned in the middle on its side in the center of the entire drum kit.

The bass drum owes its name to its sound, as it is the lowest pitched drum of the bunch and is played with the foot using a beater. The beater hits the head of the bass drum as soon as the drummer moves the beater with his foot via the corresponding pedal.

Snare drum

The snare drum is played with the hands by striking the head with a drumstick. The snare drum, also known as snare drum, consists of a resonance box, a striking head, and a resonance head. The batter head is at the top of the drum and the resonance head at the bottom, where a snare mat is often pressed against. The snare drum usually produces a loud, sharp, and short-lasting sound.

Toms

Toms are drums without a string, which makes the sound duller and (often) fuller when struck. The heads of a tom are attached by a hoop and tuning pegs. This allows you to tighten or loosen the heads and change the pitch of the tone. Toms are often used in so-called ‘fills’, often acting as a kind of transition in the game.

Hihat

The hi-hat consists of a stand with two cymbals mounted on top of each other. The upper pelvis is moved by means of a linked pedal that is controlled by the foot. As soon as the pedal is pressed, the upper cymbal is lifted away from the lower cymbal, resulting in an open hi-hat.

When you hit a closed hi-hat with a drumstick you hear high short sounds, where when you hit an open hi-hat you hear a longer open sound. This sound can then be cut off again by dropping the upper cymbal back onto the lower cymbal.

The hi-hat is often used to indicate the rhythm and play along in a song.

Crash cymbals

The crash cymbal is a thin metal disc that when struck with a drumstick gives a high, sharp, and long-lasting tone. This is often used to act as an accent, for example when the chorus “enters”.

Of course, there are many more different parts that you can add to your drum kit and there are countless variants of the parts already discussed. However, the above parts form the usual basic equipment of a drum set.

Now that you have the basic knowledge of how a drum kit is put together, you can start practicing!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the piano, for example.

But if playing a piano is something completely new to you, it is nice to first know the ins and outs of this instrument.

Types of Pianos

Pianos come in many different shapes, sizes, and brands. The most common variations are the grand piano, the upright piano, and the electric piano.

When people think of a piano, most people immediately think of the grand piano. What characterizes this piano is that the top can be folded open at an angle. The grand piano has its strings stretched horizontally in its case. It is also usually the largest piano there is out there.

A smaller variant of piano is the upright piano. Unlike the grand piano, the upright piano has its strings positioned vertically, so that the piano takes up less space than its bigger brother.

The grand piano and upright piano are acoustic instruments that can be heard without amplification when played, unlike the electric piano. As its name suggests, it is fully electric, and the sound must be amplified to be heard. The advantage of this instrument is that you can often give many different types of sounds to the piano, so that you can vary a lot with it. They are also often much smaller than the ‘regular’ pianos.

The construction of a piano

The construction of a piano roughly consists of the keyboard, the strings, the hammers, the cabinet, and the pedals.

The skeleton of the piano is the cabinet. Inside you will find the strings and the hammers that ensure that you can hear the well-known piano sounds. The pianist plays the piano through the keyboard. The keyboard consists of the well-known white and black keys. As soon as a key is struck, the corresponding string in the cabinet is struck by a hammer. This causes the string to vibrate, eventually creating the piano sound.

The grand piano also has three pedals at the feet, each with a different function.

The right pedal ensures that the sound of a note sustains as soon as you hold down the pedal. When you press it, you lift the dampers of the strings, and the strings continue to vibrate.

The middle pedal has the same function as the right pedal, but you can use this pedal to make individual keys sound.

The left pedal shifts the hammers slightly to a different place when pressed, which changes the sound of the strings and the volume of the sound.

Now that you have the basics of how a piano works, feel free to start practicing!

As a songwriter, but also as a producer, it can be useful to be able to play an instrument. This gives you extra freedom within the creative process that is songwriting and music production. At the Wisseloord Academy there is also the possibility to improve your skills on the guitar, for example.
But if playing a guitar is something completely new to you, it is nice to know the ins and outs of this instrument first.

Types of guitars

First, there are many types of guitars. To keep it easy for now, we distinguish these into three different types: acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars.

Acoustic guitars have a sound box through which, after striking the strings, the sound, as it were, reverberates inside the wooden ‘body’ of the guitar and then comes out ‘amplified’ through the sound hole. If you play these guitars without amplifying them through a sound system, you can still hear them quite well.

In general, most electric guitars do not have a sound box, unlike acoustic guitars. We call electric guitars without a sound box solid body guitar. There are several exceptions, which we call hollow body guitars. But hollow-body guitars, if they are not amplified with a sound system, are almost impossible to hear when played, just like solid-body guitars.
Electric guitars are therefore often amplified via an amplifier to which the guitar is connected. Many guitarists also use a pedal board, which contains various effects that they can apply to the sound of their guitar. Most bass guitars also work according to this principle.

The construction of a guitar

The construction of an acoustic guitar roughly consists of 3 parts: the body, the neck, and the headstock. The resonance box is the large, shaped piece of wood to which the long piece of wood (the neck) is attached with the headstock at the end. From the headstock of the guitar, the strings are stretched all the way to ‘the bridge’ of the guitar. You can find this on top of the sound box just next to the sound hole.
As soon as you strike the strings, a vibration is created that is amplified in the sound box and the amplified sound escapes through the sound hole.
There is a tuner on the headstock of the guitar. Those are the six knobs to which the strings are tightened. With these knobs you can make sure that each string is tuned to the right note. By turning those knobs, you change the tension on the strings; the higher the voltage, the higher the pitch.

The six strings float above the long neck of the guitar. On this neck are frets, small iron bars. The spaces between these frets are called keys. Pressing a string on one of these keys temporarily shortens the length of a string, making the pitch of a string higher when you strike it. This way you can get different tones from the guitar.

When you hit the right strings in the right places, you can start forming chords. The most common tuning of a guitar is E – A – D – G – B – E. Easy to remember via the mnemonic: Eat All Dag Get Big Easy.

Now that you have the basic knowledge of how a guitar is put together, you can start practicing!