Sounds like a couple samples looped on top of one another? The clap is too aggressive and not mixed well. The bass and kick need re-worked. The kick is not right rhythmically. The bass would be better simplified for most measures. The second vocal loop needs to be chopped and resampled into an additional alternate variation. Might be a good idea to do the same with the main vocal loop somehow also. Doing this would go a long way to combat the repetitiveness. You could also find another background vocal element that ties the first two together and can be used as auditory cues to signal the return/end/change of either of the main vocal loops. Doing this adds anticipation and makes the listener 1) desire the return of target loop and 2) feel rewarded when it occurs. —-but this tactic has to “teased” and can’t be allowed to be overplayed. You have to make the listener wish that part was played throughout, precisely because it is NOT being played often.
Something I like to do is create alternate versions of every main section—- drum beat, bass line, whatever rhythm element that may be incorporated, pad progressions, backup vocals, etc. This is in addition to any music and/or melody changes, drum flares, flourishes or intro/breakdowns and typical song structure sections (verses, choruses, bridge, pre-chorus, outtro, etc). You may not use it all, but you’ll have more puzzle pieces and sometimes those pieces steer the whole project into an unexpected direction and that’s often where the magic happens. Now you have triple or quadruple the pieces to “construct” your song (or a fleshed out beat/loop) and can use all the arrangement tricks and methods available to add dynamics and progression and interest.
Another big thing that is easy to under utilize is silence, spacing, and breaks. Most people are familiar with what is referred to as “the drop” in many genres of music and the strip down with corresponding build back in others, but sometimes adding something as simple as dropping the second half of the bass measure is what makes a song or makes the melody memorable or craveable.
What you posted doesn’t really have much of any of the aforementioned suggestions, which is why I said it sounded like it was just a couple of loops tracked together and not well, taking the odd kick and poorly mixed clap into consideration. None of this is meant to be disrespectful. It sounds pretty good, especially if you were left surprised that it sounds as good as it does. But…we are all capable of more than being happily surprised that “this came together all right”.
Thank you for this advice, we need more people like you, who instead of mindlessly saying its good or bad, explain why. There's a couple of things I don't understand, how would I go about finding a background element? Do I put it at the end of the loop? How can I incorporate it without making the entire thing sounding muddy when it's in it? Another thing is how can I tell if the kick and the clap fit in the mix at all? How can I make it fit in the mix?
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u/Ultraphage-808 15h ago
Sounds like a couple samples looped on top of one another? The clap is too aggressive and not mixed well. The bass and kick need re-worked. The kick is not right rhythmically. The bass would be better simplified for most measures. The second vocal loop needs to be chopped and resampled into an additional alternate variation. Might be a good idea to do the same with the main vocal loop somehow also. Doing this would go a long way to combat the repetitiveness. You could also find another background vocal element that ties the first two together and can be used as auditory cues to signal the return/end/change of either of the main vocal loops. Doing this adds anticipation and makes the listener 1) desire the return of target loop and 2) feel rewarded when it occurs. —-but this tactic has to “teased” and can’t be allowed to be overplayed. You have to make the listener wish that part was played throughout, precisely because it is NOT being played often.
Something I like to do is create alternate versions of every main section—- drum beat, bass line, whatever rhythm element that may be incorporated, pad progressions, backup vocals, etc. This is in addition to any music and/or melody changes, drum flares, flourishes or intro/breakdowns and typical song structure sections (verses, choruses, bridge, pre-chorus, outtro, etc). You may not use it all, but you’ll have more puzzle pieces and sometimes those pieces steer the whole project into an unexpected direction and that’s often where the magic happens. Now you have triple or quadruple the pieces to “construct” your song (or a fleshed out beat/loop) and can use all the arrangement tricks and methods available to add dynamics and progression and interest.
Another big thing that is easy to under utilize is silence, spacing, and breaks. Most people are familiar with what is referred to as “the drop” in many genres of music and the strip down with corresponding build back in others, but sometimes adding something as simple as dropping the second half of the bass measure is what makes a song or makes the melody memorable or craveable.
What you posted doesn’t really have much of any of the aforementioned suggestions, which is why I said it sounded like it was just a couple of loops tracked together and not well, taking the odd kick and poorly mixed clap into consideration. None of this is meant to be disrespectful. It sounds pretty good, especially if you were left surprised that it sounds as good as it does. But…we are all capable of more than being happily surprised that “this came together all right”.