Cloud-Based Music Production Cloud-Based Music Production: Sampling, Synthesis, and Hip-Hop presents a discussion on cloud-based music-making procedures and the musical competencies required to make hip-hop beats. By investigating how hip-hop producers make music using cloud-based music production libraries, this book reveals how those services impact music production en masse. Cloud-Based Music Production takes the reader through the creation of hip-hop beats from start to finish—from selecting samples and synthesizer presets to foundational mixing practices—and includes analysis and discussion of how various samples and synthesizers work together within an arrangement. Through case studies and online audio examples, Shelvock explains how music producers directly modify the sonic characteristics of hip-hop sounds to suit their tastes and elucidates the psychoacoustic and perceptual impact of these aesthetically nuanced music production tasks. Cloud-Based Music Production will be of interest to musicians, producers, mixers, and engineers and also provides essential supplementary reading for music technology courses. Matthew T. Shelvock teaches at Western University in Ontario, Canada. Matthew currently works in the music industry in Legal and Business Affairs and also has professional experience as a session musician, engineer, and producer. Perspectives on Music Production Series Series Editors Russ Hepworth-Sawyer Jay Hodgson Mark Marrington Titles in the Series Mixing Music Edited by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer and Jay Hodgson Audio Mastering: The Artists Discussions from Pre-Production to Mastering Edited by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer and Jay Hodgson Producing Music Edited by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Jay Hodgson, and Mark Marrington Innovation in Music Performance, Production, Technology, and Business Edited by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Jay Hodgson, Justin Paterson, and Rob Toulson Cloud-Based Music Production Sampling, Synthesis, and Hip-Hop Matthew T. Shelvock Cloud-Based Music Production Sampling, Synthesis, and Hip-Hop Matthew T. Shelvock First published 2020 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Taylor & Francis The right of Matthew T. Shelvock to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Shelvock, Matthew T., author. Title: Cloud-based music production : sampling, synthesis, and hip-hop / Matthew T. Shelvock. Description: New York : Routledge, 2020. | Series: Perspectives on music production | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019045303 (print) | LCCN 2019045304 (ebook) | ISBN 9780815353195 (paperback) | ISBN 9780815353188 (hardback) | ISBN 9781351137102 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351137096 (adobe pdf ) | ISBN 9781351137072 (mobi) | ISBN 9781351137089 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Rap (Music)—Production and direction. | Cloud computing. | Software synthesizers. Classification: LCC ML3531 .S46 2020 (print) | LCC ML3531 (ebook) | DDC 781.64/9134—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045303 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045304 ISBN: 978-0-8153-5318-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-8153-5319-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-13710-2 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9780815353195 Contents Introduction: Cloud-Based Music Production (CBMP) 1 0.1 Defining Music Production 2 0.2 CBMP Services 6 0.3 Sound-Tagging and Search Filters 8 0.4 Project Backup and Sharing 9 0.5 Access to Professional Sounds 11 0.6 Free Tools/Rent-to-Own 12 0.7 Community, Contests, and Collaboration 13 0.8 Chapter Outline 15 1 Understanding Samples, Synthesis, Editing, and Mixing 17 1.1 Virtual Performance: Performing Samples, Performing Synthesis 18 1.1.1 Performance Inputs: Sample-Triggering, Synthesis, and MIDI 18 1.1.2 Point-and-Click Editing 22 1.2 Creating Hip-Hop Sounds: Sampling 23 1.2.1 Technological Constraints, Sample Arrangement, and Sample Phrasing 25 1.2.2 Types of Samples: One-Shots and Continuous Samples 27 1.2.3 Timbre and Arrangement 30 1.2.4 Categorizing Samples: Instrument Families as Conceptual Groups in Sample Arrangement 35 1.3 Synthesizers 36 1.3.1 Synthesizer Types 44 1.3.2 Synths in Modern Hip-Hop 45 1.3.3 Hearing and Creating 808-Style Sounds 46 2 Making Music Using CBMP Resources 50 2.1 Making Music From Samples 50 2.1.1 Sample Phrasing Charts and Audio Demonstrations 51 2.2 Drums, Percussion, Bass 52 2.2.1 Creating Drum and Percussion Tracks With One-Shots: Timbral Selection and Arrangement 52 v vi Contents 2.2.2 Rhythmic Congruence in Sampling: Using Continuous Samples for Additional Percussion 59 2.2.3 Hip-Hop Micro Rhythm: Creating Intentional Rhythmic Incongruence 63 2.3 Bass 66 2.4 Melodic Sounds 70 2.4.1 Categorizing Short-to-Medium Length Melodic Samples: ADSR Profiles 71 2.4.2 Arranging Long Duration Melodic Samples 74 2.4.3 Arranging Commonly Used Short-to-Medium Duration Melodic Sounds 76 2.5 Textures, Atmosphere, and Harmony 88 2.5.1 Ready-Made and Cloud-Based Textures and Atmospheric Samples 91 2.5.2 Custom Atmospheres and Textures 92 3 The Mix—Conditioning Musical Materials on Records 96 3.1 What Is Mixing? 97 3.2 Establishing Genre Through Material Means 99 3.3 Spectral Distribution 101 3.4 Dynamic Contours 104 3.5 Stereo Configuration 110 3.6 Ambient Design 113 3.7 Noise, Distortion, Saturation, and Enhancement 117 4 Hearing for Your Audience—Beat Production as a Psychoacoustic Art 124 4.1 Sonic Realism and the Canvas of Psychophysiology 125 4.2 Mixing Beats: Constructing Past Tense Aural Narratives 129 4.3 Painting on the Psychoacoustic Canvas: Applying Gestalt Theory to Mixing Technique 131 4.4 What Is Gestalt Theory? 132 4.5 Auditory Stream Segregation and the Law of Disjoint Allocation 133 4.6 Laws of Similarity and Common Fate: Location, Timbre, and Signal Routing 134 4.7 The Figure-Ground Phenomenon: More Applications for Mix Buses 141 4.8 The Rule of Good Continuation: Parameter Automation and Low Frequency Oscillators 143 4.9 Chapter Summary 147 Contents vii 5 Case Studies in CBMP 149 Case Study 1: “melancholy” by kingmobb (2019) 149 Case Study 2: “fayth” by kingmobb (2019) 152 Case Study 3: “Dxn’t Want U” by kingmobb, from KNGMXBB II (2017) 154 Conclusions 157 Bibliography 160 Index 164 Introduction Cloud-Based Music Production (CBMP) This book covers the topic of cloud-based music production (CBMP) tools as they are used within today’s hip-hop beat-making scene. A host of these CBMP services, which support the creation of sample-based and synthe- sizer-based music, have recently become widespread in the music produc- tion community. As a result, this book focuses on key CBMP features which shape the way that music producers work. Some of these features include easily searchable sample libraries, which contain sounds made by profes- sional producers; a host of Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) plugins, such as synthesizer VSTs and mixing plugins (as well as presets for these tools); and, in some cases, these services can offer free recording software (i.e., DAWs), collaboration tools, contests, and other forums for online com- munity engagement. Throughout this book, I explain CBMP music-making methods using both text and audio examples. Readers are encouraged to listen to these audio files, which can be found on this book’s webpage on the Routledge website (www.routledge.com/9780815353195). CBMP services are extremely popular in today’s music-making com- munities, and, at the time of writing, one platform known as Splice boasts over 2.5 million subscribers (King 2019). This means that over 2.5 million music makers are currently creating music using only one of the avail- able CBMP platforms. Several other well-known services exist, such as Loopcloud, Noiiz, and 99 sounds. Thus, the CBMP community accounts for a large portion of the current music-making population, and, in fact, CBMP skills have become a new standard competency for many con- temporary producers. Although creatives working in numerous genres use CBMP tools, these technologies have been particularly appealing for hip-hop producers who, historically, were known to sift through crates of vinyl records in order to find audio samples from which they could create beats. Contemporary beat makers have since added a number of new techniques to their repertoire because of advances in digital recording tools and cloud-computing. This book clarifies the ways that CBMP tools support the creation of hip-hop beats in more current studio settings, such as modern project studios. The topic of hip-hop production also has a special relevance at the moment since hip-hop is extremely popular for music fans. One out of 1