I don't know if anyone will find this useful but I'm sharing it anyway.
I see a lot of questions being asked all over the web on how to make tracks like Kaytranada, Tyler The Creator, GoldLink etc.
I asked myself this question about 8 months ago. I couldn't understand how so many artists were appearing with this smooth Neo Soul/Trap/House type music. I thought they must be amazing musicians. I've no doubt some are.
It took me years to understand music theory. I still don't understand it all completely. I couldn't understand where all these artists were coming from. Many are young, and I didn't believe they all knew theory enough to make Jazz/Neo Soul type melodies and progressions. Or, understand enough different styles of music to infuse them into eargasmic music.
Then I learn't Tyler The Creator doesn't know any theory and steals chords. That sort of put it into perspective for me. I'm thinking to myself "This dude can produce better chords than me, and he doesn't even know theory!".
So I hunted for some ways to create this sort of music, whilst keeping things different.
I can't say if they all do this. I'm willing to bet some do. The method is sampling. But, it's not audio you sample ... it's the MIDI. And that's thanks to Melodyne (there may be others, but Melodyne is easily one of the best).
Melodyne allows you to take an audio track, and analyse it. You can extract melody, and chords. It's pretty accurate when it comes to finding the keys. You can then export that as a MIDI file and use it as a base to create your own music. I managed to snag a copy for cheap that a friend sold (not sure if it's even legal for him to sell it, but hey).
How it works is you take a track that sounds nice to your ears. For me it's gospel neo soul. Take an 8 or 16 bar loop of a section you like and drop it onto a seperate track. Put Melodyne on that track and analyse it. Make sure the algorithm is set to polyphonic sustain.
The result will be the notes/chords Melodyne has picked out. Delete what parts you don't like. When finished export as MIDI and drop into Ableton.
The resulting MIDI file from Melodyne is a bit of a mess. It takes a few minutes to fix it up. The keys are in the right notes, but just not in the right place all of the time. Sometimes you get addition keys in a chord and you have to delete the offending notes (knowing theory helps here). Sometimes leaving an offending note in makes for a happy accident.
This "fixing" process of the MIDI file usually means you get a different groove and sound compared to the original. Nobody is going to know you sampled that unless you straight rip.
You can do the same thing to extract the groove from samples too. Use that groove for your drums/rhythm.
Once you have your base to work from the rest of the track/section is easy. The notes are there to create your melody, bass etc. The key of the track is already determined (although, change the key, you'll be surprised).
If you use evolving sounds that have character you'll get a nice sound that sounds interesting to the ears.
Oh also use inversions on the resulting chords for more flavour ;)
Get creative :)
I threw up a quick example. It took me about 10 minutes. I took the intro from this track and threw together this quick loop. The first 8 bars is the original, second 8 bars is the MIDI flip.
I can't say for certain whether any of the artists mentioned do this, but it seems reasonable to assume that some do.
Also, during this "sampling" process you acquire a huge number of drum loops, instrument solos etc that are perfectly usable. When ever you find little gems whilst sampling, snag them and save them for later use.
Is this stealing?
I wouldn't class this as stealing. People sample audio, and that's perfectly acceptable. A wise man once told me do whatever you need to in order to make your music. So long as it sounds good nobody cares.
In 2017 we have a whole host of software at our disposal to get "creative". I think it's acceptable to say that one doesn't need to know how to play a traditional instrument in order to be a musician. Software is your instrument.
Disclaimer
This is in now way a substitute for learning theory. In fact, if you don't understand a little theory you will struggle to get things right. This method isn't "easy" unless your straight ripping, and without understanding theory you'll never be able to extract complex chords from Jazz tracks that contains multiple instruments.
I can do a video if people want one.
Submitted February 19, 2017 at 05:53PM by Base2Music https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5v0dhv/how_to_make_music_like_kaytranada_tyler_the/?utm_source=ifttt