Yo what's up guys it's yo boy Harmy and I'm back to the guide game. For today, let's talk about something fun!
Song stems, if you don't already know, are isolated tracks of instruments or instrument groups of a song, that make the full song when all of them are put together. A result of recording things like drums, bass, piano and vocals separately, they are usually sent to remixers so that they can play with each individual part.
You can come across them through entering remix contests found in websites like Metapop or Indaba, or through project file sharing websites like Splice or Blend.io. You can also search the web or helpful subreddits like r/songstems. But don't get too greedy. Most popular songs will have their stems safe from prying Internet hands.
If a song doesn't have their files released/leaked, people resort to performing DIY cuts (like isolating the frequency band with just the bass) or even doing DIY remakes/acapellas to satisfy the hungry creative masses. Rarer and more "treasured" popular song stems are even traded, a controversial but common practice among the community, so treasure whatever you can get your hands on and share your own if people ask.
Of course, creating work from song stems without the permission from the creator is technically illegal, but as many have seen, many great artists have emerged from making bootlegs. I go into more detail in copyright in another guide I made for this sub, so if you're interested, check that out.
With song stems, you can play around to see just what ungodly sounds will work together or for serious remixes, but it's also an amazing tool for referencing. Instead of having just a single mastered reference track, you can break each individual track down and listen to how each element sounds isolated and in the mix. If you are aiming to learn how these sound in popular songs, you can take notes and match the tone, character and mixing in your own songs.
Song stems are also useful in helping you learn song structure! As every single element is laid in front of you, you'll be able to see without a doubt when the artist uses (and reuses) each element during the duration of the song. You may be surprised at how often something can repeat through the whole song, or how different instruments playing the same musical line can generate a whole different feel, and exactly where your fills and FX go.
To take just a small example from the drums in Clean Bandit and Jess Glyne's Rather Be as highlighted here, the beginning of the drums is just a simple 4 to the floor pattern, but it switches to a classic house kick-snare with added percussion for the bridge, and a different groove for the chorus utilising closed and open hi-hats. That's something to take inspiration from!
What's interesting to note is how the choice of kick and snare samples change, and the drums get softer for the chorus instead of louder (the extras at the bottom is a bass synth which is super subtle in the final mix). It makes more sense when you notice how the piano is introduced and becomes the main theme of the chorus. Listening to the song again, it's clear which element they wanted to highlight in the chorus for listeners to remember. More inspiration!
Lastly, the naughtiest but most fun thing you can try is directly sampling from a stem. Instead of choosing from a mixed pack, picking out an unrecognisable part from a stem that is not central to the song cam prove amazing in your personal sample arsenal, and none will be the wiser! This works great for small cool things like vocal wahs, or you can straight up steal someone's signature kick. It's your decision, not mine. wink Call it the modernisation of turntable sampling, why not.
So hopefully this guide has inspired you to go look for stems and given you more creative ways to approach your favourite songs. Thanks for reading! :)
Submitted December 17, 2017 at 01:12PM by HarmyDoesReddit https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/7keknu/song_stems_boosting_your_creativity_and_more_a/?utm_source=ifttt