Started 8/28/19
Finished 9/5/19

I finished this in under 2 weeks and hit my 2-week/song goal twice in a row!!! hell yes!

Realized I did not really focus on the things I'd focus on the last track though...

Biggest issue:
(1) how to make chorus/drop bigger and hit bigger (but this track doesn't really need that because of the vibes)
(2) Filling up all the frequencies equally throughout the song (ok this is just mixing)
(3) Mastering - wtf is this still?

Things I am happy about
(1) The mixing on this does sound BETTER. definitely better than blackbear
(2) I'm happy with the songwriting and was very experimental on this, didn't really reference anything just kinda whatever was in my head
(3) focused a lot more on stereo width thanks to friends
(4) Made percussion groove better, added more saturation there...
(5) just happy to hit my deadline! more to come!

Things to focus on next track
(1) Kick / bass relationship
(2) Low mids - make sure I know what's important here, cutting out pads for piano, etc.
(3) Percussion, groovy, make this groovy af. This needs to be groovy stand alone...
(4) Drop needs to stand out... this means kill frequencies right before, HP, and then when the drop comes all frequencies are filled

20190905 clairo x 5sos v8 master vF

Started 9/7/19
Finished 9/19/19

Third track finished in 2-weeks, so happy about that
Also first track I've ever recorded/songwriting so huge milestones

Things I focused on this track that needed a lot of fixing:
(1) Vocals need to be louder and more reverb
(2) Low mids - really need to clean this space 200-500 hz, pads, mid-bass, and sub-bass conflicting here
(3) Sub and kick relationship, sub, saturate the highs and leave the highs out, instead of LP them
(4) Wash-out bass Kleph
(5) reduce the pads...
(6) Mastering - reductive EQ, m/s mode, with a shelf at the 10K+, then compression slightly, 30ms attack, fast release, and then multi band compression is huge here, then reductive EQ more... add saturation, then keep on doing subtle things, match the -6.5 LUFS

Things to focus on next track:
(1) Actually record doubles, harmonies, ad libs for vocals and really focus on vocal processing
(2) Kick/Sub relationship again
(3) Low-mids relationship between pads, mid-bass, and sub again
(4) Reference during mixing more... and bounce...

20190919 alina baraz chill track v12 master_vF

Started 9/14/19
Finished 9/26/19

Starting to move to finishing one song a week by working on two tracks at a time... this is definitely my best song yet, so super excited about that

Few things added based on feedback
1. hihats-shakers should be louder
2. ambiance/background, need to treat this like a synth, very important
3. kick louder, clap softer
4. reverb-- throw some of the stuff into the hall reverb
5. don't side chain sub to the kick and snare if it's a house track
6. MID-LOWS these are super key, usually have a sub, and then like 3 layered mid bass
7. if the vocals aint working find new ones-- vocals are so important...
8. you pushed through this song on Wednesday when you didn't feel like producing and it showed, now gunna have a chill weekend-- make sure to not fall out of love

Next things to focus on next track
1. Referencing better during the mixing and mastering stages... 
2. How to master? Really... for realz.
3. KICK!!!!!

20190926 warm vibes v7_master

Started 9/21/19
Finished 10/3/19

Another track another week! YES YES YES. Momentum building.

My biggest learning from this track are:
(1) reductive EQ, saturation, and compression are the three things to master, to make your mix all fit together... focus more on doing these things on individual tracks, and do less on groups, etc.
(2) Limit, apply limiters to the busses before the master
(3) Apply multiple rounds of compression as well before the master
(4) I think I got this whole sample selection down now... or much better, and SIDECHAIN better


Biggest focuses on next tracks:
(1) Parallel processing -- reverbs, and NY compression, and compression
(2) How to reduce the gap between loudest peaks and RMS without losing dynamic range? my max peak is at -3db but my LUFs are at -18db.., how do I add another 10db of gain without clipping like crazy?
(3) Songwriting --- write lyrics and melodies by myself that I am happy with
(4) Rides/crashes
(5) High FX need that drone stuff in the background
(6) Pick better KICK!!!

20191003 CXLOE songwriting v7_mix2

Start 9/27/19
Finish 10/10/19

Another week another track! 

Big learning lessons here:
1. 100-300 Range between the sub and the mid bass is crucial... 
2. 2K-6K is the most important part of the human ear... this is what matters the most don't muddy it
3. don't leave your high bass in the same bus as the rest of your basses and get it destroyed by the sidechain
4. VARIATION. THIS SONG NEEDS VARIATION. ADD VARIATION. TOO BORING unless there's vocals
5. Watch out for the side frequencies between pads / strings / brass
6. Figure out how to master plz... it's ok to go back and forth between mixing and mastering... but be less random...
7. Add more movement with auto panning, delays, and cool ass drones like the little bells with lots of reverb


Things to focus on next... 
1. Composition... add a lot of variation in your next track that it's exciting
2. Sound selection, your samples and your FX suck need to upgrade these and change them
3. Mastering, figure out how to do this

dillie yilish whitebear