Music Production Tricks - Making Your Song Sound Professional.

I was asked by a student the other day what my favourite tips were for making 'Ear Candy' in music production. By Ear Candy he meant those final music production tricks that make your song sound professional and like a finished song.

Ear Candy in production are those sprinkles of extra music production moments that we can put in our song to make it unique and more interesting. Here are a few of the examples I gave: 

1. Reversing Audio - this always sounds interesting and is great for creating unique, fresh sounds that pull you in. Here is a Youtube video I made on this topic.  

2. Pitch-Shifted Vocals - You can quickly create some artificial harmonies and vocal layers by pitch shifting vocals up/down an octave/perfect 5th creating richness.

3. Drum Fills - As a drummer it pains me to hear the same loop running an entire song without a single fill. Drum fills add excitement before key moments in songs and are quite easy to do with just a snare or tom.

4. Sweeps - If you're building up to a drop in EDM, a white noise sweep can really excite the ear before the drop. They really add to the 'tension and release' dynamic creating expectation and interest. Here are some FREE transitions I made that you can download and add to your productions.

5. Imperfections - It doesn't have to be perfect, that's where the character is. Beatles tracks speed up and slow down all over the place. Modern digital recording encourages precision, but sometimes the magic is in the tape hiss or the piano pedal squeaking.  

I try to do one new audio experiment per project I make or mix. Trying to create these unique audio moments. It could be running a part of the track through a sampler, putting a vocal through a guitar amp simulator, or chopping up and re-arranging a bar of drums. 

I encourage you to give these a try to add finishing touches to your music. This is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

Take care,

Adam.