Composing and Producing Electronic Music

Having been inspired by Acid basslines, we explore how to create them in Live using the Analog device.

Start with an init patch and put it in sawtooth mode. I will be using only the first oscillator and first filter so the F1/F2 parameter should read F1, meaning the first oscillator is running through the first filter. Move over to the Amp1 tab and set the sustain parameter to 1.00 and the Release to 0.

It is best to have a loop playing while tweaking synth parameters; changes can be heard in real-time without having to touch the keyboard. Create a new MIDI clip. Add a single 16th note on a low note and set its velocity to zero. Create a second 16th note directly after that one and raise its velocity all the way up. Select both and duplicate them till you fill the clip. On a TB-303 Accent is either on or off, like a one bit velocity control, 1 or 0.  It raises the volume of a note and changes its timbre. Acid lines are highly syncopated, accented off the beat, making this clip a great starting point.

Parameters with “<Vel” indicate that velocity is controlling something else. Still in the Amp tab, the Env<Vel parameter indicates how much velocity controls the amplitude envelope. When raised, higher velocities will result in a louder note. In this example it is set around 1.39, adding a nice accent.

Some timbre variation is needed, so make a similar change in the Filter 1 section. This one is a little more complicate because the Filter envelope controls both Cutoff Frequency(Freq mod, Env) and Resonance(Env<Vel). Start with both of these set to 2.00, but adjust them to taste as you go. Oh, don’t forget to Enable the first Filter and adjust the Freq and Resonance to taste.

The 303 is a monosynth; it has only one voice; it can’t play two notes at once.  To make a 303 style line, with the signature slides, put your synth in mono mode by bringing the voices parameter down to 1, “mono” in Analog’s case.

Glide is perhaps the defining characteristic of Acid lines. Enable Legato and Glide; adjust the Time parameter to taste.

Back to the sequence to create the line.  With the loop playing, shorten all the notes till you get a simple click. Then lengthen just a couple.  Acid lines are characterized by strange rhythms so change some of the velocities. When a note is long enough to overlap the next note you will hear the slide, make sure some of these are in your line. Finally, create space by deleting some of the notes.
Here is a video of one possibility:

Finished Performance

And here is the clip including the line and the Analog preset so you can download and check it out:

Acid Clip

In a tune the line would need to evolve, changing timbre and varying notes. Next time we will look at the “global” controls of the 303 and how to incorporate those, and some creative clip variations, into a performance.

Have Fun. Make Music.
-L-Don

Hello and welcome,

The initial inspiration for the L-DonBlogOne project came from a student.  He had a very cool bassline, so I asked him how he went about creating a line like that.  He approached it by thinking of the old Acid TB-303 basslines.  Now, I am not a fan of Acid as a genera, but after that comment I went back and listened with an open mind.
Here is an example of classic Acid for ya:

Classic Acid

If you want to get right to the bassline skip to 1:00. There are some great lines there. Can I do that with Live?

The Roland TB(Transistor Bass)-303, a “computer controlled bass line,” had a short production run in the early 80′s. It was a flop commercially, but it became an iconic piece of gear in electronic music, defining the Acid genre.

Never having held one in my hands, I am approaching the 303 like an archeologist.. I can listen to the results and I can read the TB-303 manual.

From those bits of evidence I will guess what the controls do and try to figure out the essence of the 303. Sounds like a fun puzzle to me, flex the ears and the tech chops.

Burbling, strange, squelchy and insistent. It is a simple monophonic synth and can be set in either sawtooth or square wave mode. It is paired with a unique step sequencer. The unusual and almost random lines created with the 303 sequencer span a maximum range of 5 octaves, starting at 32Hz.

Sounds demand a specific performance. It is the same as writing for acoustic instruments.  There are specific gestures strings can do that brass cannot. In some ways, it is easier to write for acoustic instruments because there are established methods.

Figuring out how to play a specific synth sound, or conversely how to edit a synth patch for your performance, is one of the hardest aspects of synthesis. With the 303, that connection has been made for you, and I think that is what lead to its success. So much so that fatboy slim had to proclaim “Everybody needs a 303.”

We will look at making 303 type lines and sounds in Live using the Analog synth.  But, first I want to leave you with something, as I was exploring the 303 and creating it in live, I came up with this live set, just a bassline and simple drum pattern.
First the audio,303Clone Audio

Then the live set. 303 Clone Project File

Can you do better? Feel free to post an mp3 response here.

Have fun. Make music.
-L-Don

I created the song L-DonBlog0ne on a Wednesday.  I gave myself 2 rules when I start out creating the piece:

Must be done by the time I go to bed.
Must use only things in the Live library.

I broke the second rule, but only a little.

Here is the mp3:

L-DonBlogOne audio

Over the next couple weeks I will be breaking down my compositional process, the techniques used to create each of the elements, and how I went about performing and mixing the piece. You are free to download it, the best way to learn is to explore and experiment.

I had a blast creating this piece.  I used keymappping, follow actions, multiband compressors, sidechaining, and a vocoder. I recorded the basic bassline and groove,  then created a series of variations. I improvised brass licks to separate clips to be launched at will. The piece was played into the arrange view as one improvisation, using only keymappings. Then the mixing and sweetening, and finally the strange vocal at the beginning, I got caught up in the moment and couldn’t help myself!

L-DonBlog0ne is my gift to you. It is yours to do whatever you like with and I am providing  a live pack of the project, You will need Live 8 suite to open it.

L-DonBlogOneALP

I’ll see you next time to break down the bass part in L-DonBlog0ne and talk a little about the famous TB-303.

Make music.  Have fun.
-L-Don