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Hey guys! I'd love to share this little delay technique I started playing around with recently. May not be new to everyone else, but I am loving it.
I use FL Studio, and this technique is simply a matter of arrangement, where I place the notes, no use of effects.
First, here is an image to underpin the technique:
1.jpg
In FL Studio, Quarter Notes are called "Beats"; 8th Notes are called "1/2 Beats"; and 16th Notes are called "Steps".
Essentially, in a 4/4 Time Signature, there are 64 1/4's of a 16th Note, and 32 1/2's of a 16th Note in a whole bar of 4 beats.
Here's what I do:
1 - Open the Piano Roll
2 - set "Snap To Grid" as 1/2 step or 1/4 step (in other words, you can "shrink" notes down to 1/2 a 16th Note or 1/4 of a 16th Note).
3 - place the note for whatever instrument it is 1/2 or 1/4 AFTER (to the right) of where it "should" normally go, that is, so the instruments "hits"/plays a fraction of a second later.
Like so...
2.jpg
The above image is of ONE "beat" (one Quarter Note).
Divided into 4 16th's by the top BLUE squares.
Sometimes I place a note where the GREEN square is - 1/2 of a 16th later that what is "expected" by the listener.
More often, I place a note where the ORANGE square is - 1/4 of a 16th later than what is "expected" by the listener.
____________
WHY??
The delay is barely audible, especially to the untrained ear.
But it is felt. At least, that is what I experience. If you listen to my Bare Remix of "Georgina" that I posted - I use this delay technique primarily on the gentle piano notes that come in at 2:49.
See if you can sense the delay. I think what it gives to the tune is a feeling of.....laziness, really. Not laziness in terms of bad production, but laziness in terms of mood...it makes the tune even more chilled out, laidback.....LAZY. Which I think really works for ambient/chillout genres. (Note however that I do not use the delay on ALL the piano notes).
Of course, the reverse of this technique is to place notes 1/2 or 1/4 of a 16th note EARLY, to the left, "BEFORE" they would be expected by the listener. This would, as a result, create a feeling/sense of urgency...things arriving before they should.
What do you think?
These are all ideas that play around with listeners' expectations, which we as producers, I think, should manipulate by either satisfying the expectations, or violating/not meeting the expectations; in order to affect our listeners' moods and give them different experiences. These ideas are coming to me as I read This Is Your Brain On Music.
Cheers,
Rikki
I use FL Studio, and this technique is simply a matter of arrangement, where I place the notes, no use of effects.
First, here is an image to underpin the technique:
1.jpg
In FL Studio, Quarter Notes are called "Beats"; 8th Notes are called "1/2 Beats"; and 16th Notes are called "Steps".
Essentially, in a 4/4 Time Signature, there are 64 1/4's of a 16th Note, and 32 1/2's of a 16th Note in a whole bar of 4 beats.
Here's what I do:
1 - Open the Piano Roll
2 - set "Snap To Grid" as 1/2 step or 1/4 step (in other words, you can "shrink" notes down to 1/2 a 16th Note or 1/4 of a 16th Note).
3 - place the note for whatever instrument it is 1/2 or 1/4 AFTER (to the right) of where it "should" normally go, that is, so the instruments "hits"/plays a fraction of a second later.
Like so...
2.jpg
The above image is of ONE "beat" (one Quarter Note).
Divided into 4 16th's by the top BLUE squares.
Sometimes I place a note where the GREEN square is - 1/2 of a 16th later that what is "expected" by the listener.
More often, I place a note where the ORANGE square is - 1/4 of a 16th later than what is "expected" by the listener.
____________
WHY??
The delay is barely audible, especially to the untrained ear.
But it is felt. At least, that is what I experience. If you listen to my Bare Remix of "Georgina" that I posted - I use this delay technique primarily on the gentle piano notes that come in at 2:49.
See if you can sense the delay. I think what it gives to the tune is a feeling of.....laziness, really. Not laziness in terms of bad production, but laziness in terms of mood...it makes the tune even more chilled out, laidback.....LAZY. Which I think really works for ambient/chillout genres. (Note however that I do not use the delay on ALL the piano notes).
Of course, the reverse of this technique is to place notes 1/2 or 1/4 of a 16th note EARLY, to the left, "BEFORE" they would be expected by the listener. This would, as a result, create a feeling/sense of urgency...things arriving before they should.
What do you think?
These are all ideas that play around with listeners' expectations, which we as producers, I think, should manipulate by either satisfying the expectations, or violating/not meeting the expectations; in order to affect our listeners' moods and give them different experiences. These ideas are coming to me as I read This Is Your Brain On Music.
Cheers,
Rikki
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