Hey, aspiring remix artists, are you ready to release your House Music remix, but you want to make sure you sound like a pro? This tutorial is your roadmap to pumping out infectious beats and building drops that ignite the dance floor. Let's dive into the world of Future House Music and EDM remixing with this easy How To Guide:
Studio Monitors or Headphones: Accurate sound representation is crucial. Headphones can work while on-the-go, but proper monitors will reveal all the nuances of your mix. When you think you're done with the mix, be sure to give it the car–audio test to make sure all your sounds are properly balanced. I personally like to use the SteelSeries Arctis Nova headphones when mixing, because they have the best ear cushions designed for prolonged use that offer the most comfort and breathability that a headphone can possibly give you. Yes, they are even comfortable to wear if you have glasses. The quality could be imporoved, but these headphone are the all–around best that I could possibly find to date.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): Your sonic playground. Popular choices include Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro X, or Reason. I personally use Logic and Reason to make all my beats and to produce sounds. Pick one and let's get going!
Samples, VSTs, AUs, Sounbanks, Synths, Drummers: Build your sonic arsenal with drum kits, synths, and samples specifically tailored for Future House and EDM songs. If you're just looking for loops, there are plenty of free resources, check out Splice, Loopcloud, or sample libraries from your favorite labels, and even Logic has a great standard set of free loops to use, so be sure to grab some killer loops and samples to use on your new remix, especially if you're a beginner, it's the easiest way to hurry up and loop a beat and get started working on the rest of the song, like the vocals and stuff. Downloadable VSTs and Synths are the most intense way to produce those ultimate dance floor hopping–hits. VSTs or AUs are Synth Instrument presets. To understand VSTs, AUs and SoundBanks, just imagine that it's a Virtual Keyboard Instrument with all of the various instrument presets that you can flip through. You can download or purchase Synth Instruments such as Serum, Vital, RaveGenerator, and Korg M1. Check them out when you have some time to see what you do and don't like, and be sure to also do your own reseach because you might find some hidden gems at the bottom of a rabbit hole, and you'll become known for working with unique or experimental sounds that hardly anyone has ever heard. I know what you're thinking, "Okay, sure. But, what about those banger beats?" Well, another way that you can get a beat going is with an AI Drummer to really dig in and program those "Boots–and–Pants–and–Boots–and–Pants" beats. You may need to Convert the Drum Region to Midi if you can't place or edit the notes of the "piano roll" region of the Drum Beats. You should be able to see each of the Drum Set Pieces, and deck out your kit by switching each piece of your drum kit that you're using with the available plethora of instrument pieces. Don't forget to drop the beat every now and then on 'em and build the song back up for the next big drop.
Sift Through The Crates: Immerse yourself in popular Future House and EDM tracks. Discover new artists, playlists, and remixes to expand your sonic palette. A great place to find awesome House Remixes is on YouTube. You have to pick the right one. Take this one for example: Robin S - Show Me Love (KEVU Bootleg). Now listen to the original: Robin S. - Show Me Love. Huge difference, right?
The reason that you want to listen to current remixes is so that you can really get a feel for what Future House Music is supposed to sound like, or if you just need inspiration, then this is a great way to get started. Another reason is because, you want to make sure that if you're going to remix something, then it has to be the best one out there so DJs will actually spin it. If it's trash, no one is touching it. This is why you need to be the best one out there, so you gets play.
Your Target: Choose a song that you love that you feel the world needs a House Music remix of, and then get started adding your unique twist to your approach. Analyze the original structure of the song you want to remix, the key elements, and all of the energy levels. Some people try to match the energy of a song when they make remixes, but great artists try to blow the listener's mind when they hear how insane the beat and vocal patterns of their favorite song is now. Make sure that you don't choose a song that already has an epic remix of it, you want to dare to be different. Do a song that would make a great Future House Remix, like, maybe the vocals are awesome, but it needs a new beat.
Let's Get To Work: Drop your chosen track into your DAW. Use tempo detection tools to match the BPM and ensure seamless blending. Some DAWs automatically do this step for you, as long as you have your BPM already set before you drop the clips into your workstation. Identify and extract key components like drums, vocals, basslines, synths, and melodic hooks. You can use audio editors, phase cancellation, or dedicated stem separation tools to do this for you. Just look around online for apps that can help you isolate tracks, unless you have a Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 DJ Controller that comes with stem building built into the controller.
Drums: Lay down your track's foundation with punchy kicks, snappy snares, and grooving hi-hats. Experiment with layering and processing to create a driving rhythm. But, make sure it has a consistent beat. No one wants to have to stop dancing and start looking around the room while wondering if the beat is ever going to drop. Try to use one kick on the first measure of every 1/4 bar. A steady kick-kick-kick-kick the whole measure is what the club DJs are looking for. Next, is the high hat and crash. Never start your song out with a crash. The DJ won't like having to look for a clean loop to let the two songs mash up without a hitch, that alone could get your song skipped in the playlist. So, make sure your beats can easily match up by providing a basic 808 kick and some high hat work combinations going on, less is more for your first few measures of the song. Most of your wow–factor in your remix is going to come from your drops and your synths, not necessarily from fancy kicks and funky rhythms. This is a remix for dancing, which means that you want to remix this with the focus on consistent dancing and how well you can blend the track in and out.
Bassline: Craft a catchy bassline that complements the drums and adds low-end swagger. Play with notes, rhythms, and sound design to find your sweet spot. Make sure you don't flood the track with too much overwhelming bass that will destroy the mix.
Vox: Remixing a song can be incredibly tricky when it comes to vocals. First off, do not add any in the intro or the outro of your song, because then the DJ is extremely limited when trying to mix your song into groove of the other song. If you chop the voice, make sure you still use the full vocal stem instead of just chopping it the whole time. These are people's favorite songs and they want to hear their favorite lines from these songs, but they don't want to hear them on repeat the entire time, they want to actually hear the song. But, sometimes a verse will ruin the whole vibe of the song, especially if it's somehow off-key to the beat (but you can always try to give it a slight bit of autotune), so, it's understandable if you have to leave a part out, and please do. But try your best to save what you can, so that way you don't make the song too unrecognizable, but do give it your own flair, and always make sure that the vibe is consistent and flows.
Timing & BPM: This is the toughest part of remixing a song. But, if you're creative, you can get it done. I like to use Logic's tools for this, but keep in mind that they don't always work right out of the box. On Logic you Right Click the audio in your project > Tempo > Apply Project Tempo To Region And Downbeat. If this garbles up your vocal timing by speeding the vocals up too much and slowing it down perfectly in others, just scrap it and start over again by pressing Command (Ctrl) + Z until you have the original audio again (Shift + Command + Z redoes what you undid). Then, try the Monophonic Flex Timing, enable it for your audio file, and check to see what it does. If that still doesn't work, take the Acapella to your DJ software (without plugging in your DJ Controller), setup your DAW to capture the audio, and then manually set your song to the BPM of the remix. Once you have the DAW ready to record your DJ Software, press record, then press play on your DJ Software. The audio of your recording is going to be at a much higher pitch that sounds like a chipmunk singing, but you're not going to use this file, so don't worry about it, because you're just using it to get the correct BPM timing. Just use Flex Timing to squeeze down the original audio file's length to match the timing of the chipmunk sounding file. Once you have the complete recording of the vocals at the correct BPM, enable Flex Timing on your audio file, and it should show you all of the flex marker positions (dotted lines) without any actual flex markers set at all (If it looks light blue instead of dark blue with no Flex Markers at all, just click the audio file and then hit CMD + F). If it does set flex markers, then just Right Click to delete them. Hover your mouse at the ends of the file until it shows you the Flex Squeeze lines, and then drag your file to match the timing of the other file. Now you can split the audio up at each phrase that falls out of time, and manually correct them. Once you have the timing down and some of the vocal phrases clipped and moved to the correct starting points, then you can use Flex Markers to fine tune the vocal patterns to the timing. This is an advanced method that takes a lot of patience to make it all work, but it's worth mentioning just in case you still needed help to get the vocal timing just right.
Melodics: Introduce synths, leads, arpeggios, or chopped-up vocal samples to add melodic layers and hooks. Use sidechain compression to make them duck under the kick for extra punch. You can use effects to spice things up on your track like risers, filters, sweeps, chorus, delay, and reverb. But be careful what you use (especially risers), because DJs won't necessarily be super excited to spin your song just because it is filled with constant risers every other measure and other out of place effects that are just muddying up the actual song and mixability. It's best to just stick to using limited instruments and effects in order to mimic a band that has only 1 Drummer, 2 Guitars, 1 Bass, and 1 Vocalist. But, if you're dead set on using things like risers, then just use the transitions to build tension and anticipation sparingly before dropping the bomb. Think of the phrase: Sometimes less is more.
Resample & Repitch: Don't be afraid to chop, loop, and manipulate vocal snippets, synth phrases, or drum hits to create new textures and rhythms. Play with pitch and speed to add unexpected flavors. Inject your own personality! Experiment with sound design, creative processing, and unconventional sampling to set your remix apart.
Choose Wisely: If you're going to use samples, make sure they're not annoying. I'm talking alarm clocks, cop sirens, or anything that potentially turns people off. This is a rework of your favorite song, so don't ruin it with basic goofiness, go pro. You've really got to hone–in on the synths, because they're going to lead your entire track, they're the star of the track. The more wilder the synth, the more shocking it will be to the listener for them to hear their favorite song remixed this way.
Balance & Clarity: Use EQ, compression, and panning to ensure all elements sit well in the mix, with clarity and separation. Don't overcook it, maintain the dynamic range! Make sure that you give your track the car test. This step is super important! Everything must be balanced, and a car stereo will tell you where you're off.
Mastering Polish: Subtle mastering can give your track that professional sheen. Use EQ, compression, and limiters to enhance loudness and overall sonic character. When you add compression, it helps to raise the volume without peaking the audio. Look into these tools, play around with them, and remember that they're at your disposal.
Listen Back: Take breaks and come back to your remix with fresh ears. Fix anything that sticks out, refine the arrangement, and polish the mix until it shines.
Get Feedback: Share your work with trusted friends, online communities, or producers for constructive criticism. Learn from their feedback and keep refining your craft.
Learn Music Theory: Understanding basic chords, scales, and key signatures can unlock further creative possibilities.
Collaboration is Key: Team up with other producers, singers, or musicians to add new dimensions to your sound.
Don't Stop Learning: Explore tutorials, online courses, and workshops to hone your skills and discover new techniques.
Remember: The journey is just as important as the destination. Embrace the experimentation, let your creativity flow, and most importantly, have fun! The dance floor awaits your sonic boom!
*EDM Tips on YouTube is a great way to learn even more about everything I just said!
Now Go Forth, Young Grasshopper, and Make Those Speakers Jump!