MY TOP 5 YOUTUBE MUSIC CHANNELS

Youtube has become a great source for not only entertainment but also for learning about things you are interested in, with litteraly no cost. Even though it is a bast source of videos, not everything is on the internet and sometimes finding very specific information can be difficult.

I like to dig into music theory from a more cientific point of view, like how sound is processed by our brains, why a mayor chords sounds happy, relationship between sounds, psycological effects etc. Sometimes finding the type of knowledge you are interested in can take some time, that is why I am making this list of the 10 youtube channels I recommend to any music lover.

I will leave links to each channel bellow the review.


1.- ADAM NEELY 

Adam's cahnnel is one of the most intricate I have found when it comes to understanding the very core of music and sound. He is a Bassist, Composer and Educator with a bast and well fundamented knowledge. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where I am guessing he acquired a part of his taste and sensitivity towards jazz, music and theoreticall knowledge.

He talks about a variety of topics related to music and sound, such as: intervals, why major sounds happy, polyrhythms, techniques and music apreciation. Though it is a little bit technical sometimes it is definitly worth spending a couple of minutes to understand the topic.

Webiste: http://www.adamneely.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/havic5/featured
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamneelybass?lang=es


2.- RICK BEATO

A Musician, Teacher and Producer who has long experience with Rock and Country genres. His channel focuses on teaching music concepts and techniques. At the same time he makes videos called "What Makes This Song Great" where he strips down a song in order to explainits elements and how they play with each other in order to resonate with us.

What I like about this channel is that videos are well produced, awesome sound in general, technical but simple at the same time where understanding the point is clear (if you have at last a little bit of music knowledge). He also gives reviews about brands, products etc. that are very helpfull if you are staring out with your home studio.

Website: https://rickbeato.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/pegzch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickbeato?lang=es


3.- SPITFIRE AUDIO

A channel from the brand that makes VSTs, which are amazing by the way. They have their own Youtube channel where they share: Tips in general for músic production, interviews with Spitfires's library useres, creative cribs where they talk to artists and producers in their studio and more. The advantage of this channel is you have access to professionals points of views and opinions. Sure you will get something usefull for your music production flow.

Website: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/spitfireaudiollp


4.- JAIME ALTOZANO

A Pianist, Composer and Producer from Spain. Has an amazing set of videos that strips down Film Scores in a unique way. Being The Lord Of The Rings one if his most popular once, definetly leaves you with wanting more. He also shares techniques, equipment comparisons, business tips and general music analysis, from classical to pop.

His video production is very well done and he also has a nice sense of humor. He does not have all his videos with subtitles, so if you do not speak spanish you won't be taking advantage of this channel.

Website: https://jaimealtozano.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa3DVlGH2_QhvwuWlPa6MDQ


5.- MAURO DE MARIA

An Argentinian Pianist, Composer, Sound Technitian and Educator. His videos focus on music composition, holding a close relationship to emotions and how a piece of music can expand and contract those emotions. He has a system for Film Scorin which I found very interesting and a graet tool for my own workflow. His videos are easy to understand, well explained and entertaining because you can percieve his passion for music.

This channel is in spanish with no available subtitles as far as I know. So if you do not know spanish go learn some! you can learn some usefull tips from him.

Website: https://www.maurodemaria.com.ar
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LaPuertaDeKiev/videos

MY THOUGHTS ON WORKING FOR FREE... AFTER 2 YEARS OF DOING IT!

For the last 2 years I have been focusing part of my energy on finding projects where I can contribute with my music. It has been a learning experience and also a bit of struggle has come around every now and then.

I want to focus on the fact that as an upcomer to the game, most of the people I got to talk to share the same line "we have no/little budget". I do understand that some of them are in the same position as me and are starting to build his career as Directors, Producers, Animators, Game Developers etc. but that still not a reason to give away your work, time and skills away.

What I have been offered numerous times is credit for my work, meaning that my name will be on the ending credits. While this is a benefit towards us Composers because it kind of spread our name around the industry...if people reacts to the project of course. Still this is not payment for your time, I think credit is something the project must include you 100% of the times and is independent from payment. At the end of the day letters on a screen won't pay your bills.

Usually us Composers have a standard rate for hour or by project, in my case is 50 USD per minute of Sound Design and Music (low for the average in the industry. I am comparing myself with others on my same or similar level). But money is not the only negotiation tool available for music creators.

Other options of payments are: equipment, libraries, pay 50% now and 50% once the project generates revenue etc. whatever you may think your studio or your workspace needs... ask for it. Maybe you need a specific sound library for that project, and it turns out is the sound library you have been trying to get for months. Talk to the Director or Producers, they might be willing to spend a small bit of their budget on the library not only because it would be "cheap" (sometimes) but because this will make their project better. You get to meet a win- win situation and after you can use that library to generate more revenue with other projects.

In this days, getting music is as easy as getting a glass of water. This accessibility has opened many doors and closed others in the industry. It is easier to distribute your music using the internet but it is harder to find which market in the industry will react to your tunes, it is accessible to anyone who has a computer to make a brand-new song without any music studies and be successful, this is the reason why there are no more super big artists like The Beatles, Bob Marley, Madonna etc. The big chunk they got back then it is now distributed within a couple of bands and artist that stay famous for a couple of years and later on another buzz replace them, sometimes to make them disappear or they stay in a stable exposure with the fanbase they already got through past years.

Because music has become extremely accessible along with piracy of it, we have devalued it as a product. Why pay $12 USD for an album if you can listen to it "for free" on YouTube. It has acquired a bigger value in our everyday life but it has become extremely cheaper.

Still all these reasons are not an excuse to work for free. As creative people, we need to give value to our work, time, skills and professional development. There is at least something you can work out with Directors and Producers to create an EXCHANGE, this is where the key remains I believe. 

If you create an exchange it becomes a transaction where I give you something and you give me something else. It doesn't matter what it can be, they are giving something up to get what they need or want. When you work for free, you are giving them what they need or want but they are not giving anything up to get it.

Next time you find a project where they have low or no budget, try to figure something out with them. This way you will feel rewarded for your job and time invested, otherwise it kind of feels like if you worked for nothing (at least I have been in that position, have you?), and they are getting advantage of you. Give value to your skill and passion about creating music or sound, this will make others appreciate it the same way you do.

BUY OR CREATE

Today I wanted to talk about buying sample libraries or creating your own. When it comes to music production they can become very different worlds. This article is purely my opinion and I do not claim to have the ultimate truth about it. Everyone is entitled to have their opinion and that is why I wanted to talk about this, to start a discussion and see what people has to say about the topic.

There is a wide universe when it comes to Sample Libraries or VST's. Some of them are made by incredibly dedicated creatives, taking for them a deep understanding of sound engineering and microphone placement. We can find libraries for Electronic and Organic type of sounds, being each of them a different creation process. 

There are libraries made by LFO's (Synths) and libraries that come from recordings (Violins). There are great libraries such as CineSamples, Native Instruments Libraries or Independent ones that can provide us with the sonic tools that we need to achieve our goal. 

On the other hand we have DIY samples that can be made entirely from scratch. Though this process shares the same principles as the ones you can buy, we have to take into account that: a lot of this libraries are made in professional studios with HQ professional equipment, to which not all of us have easy access or even access at all. So we have to be creative in order to choose: a)what are we recording, b) where are we recording it, c) for what we are recording it. The equipment does not necessarily has to be the top of the top. I have had made samples from recordings on my phone but usually I tend to use a MXL condenser microphone. The difference would be in the amount of processing you will have to make after recording in order to take out the best frequencies of that sound.

Now, what is the difference in between Buying or Creating samples FOR ME. I believe the usage of both is a great combination to achieve big professional sounding and uniqueness to the project. 

Music now days is changing faster than ever and the possibilities of sound, textures, colours, rhythms is wider than ever and keeps expanding just like the universe. When buying samples we get access to the patches other people have, though we can edit them and change here or there the source keeps being the same. On the other hand when you create a sample from a recording YOU did, the sound is unique. Yes... the pan hit might sound like a Closed HH you can get from an 808 drum kit or whatever. But the source is not the 808 drum kit, is something that you had access to directly and not everybody has. By experimenting with it, we can achieve interesting sounds that when combining them... sometimes great results can come. 

It can be very tedious every now and then because after trying with many recordings no good sound can come out from them but, the satisfaction you get when something is working out and sounds rad... is priceless and guess what?... Only you have it. You can mimic Hanz Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Olafur Arnalds, Blink 182 etc but influencing people enough that your sound becomes a trend or with its unique stamp is something completely different... I believe.

In conclusion both roads are OK to follow but one adds something that the other doesn't. Give it a try to experiment with rare sounds and maybe you will find something interesting enough to include on  your projects.

Thanks for reading.

M. Pelayo

TOM DELONGE: THE PURSUIT OF TONE

Some of us know him as the high pitch voice and distorted guitar from "Blink 182", the creator of "Box Car Racer", Singer and creator of "Angels and Airwaves", the owner of "To The Stars" or for his creative projects such as "Dreamwalker" or "The Lonely Astronaut in Christmas Eve". Others know him as the crazy guy from Blink who started to do weird stuff and let down his own band.

  

This are the two sides of the coin I have heard from Tom Delonge, everyone has the right to have their opinion; I understand that. What I think is important here, is to know the reason behind actions.

I've always resonated with Tom's projects, since blink to his more recent ones. I even like that I'm still discovering new stuff he has done that I haven't heard or seen before. I think the mood, vibes and visuals from his projects are very deep, honest with deep symbolisms and meaning.

Some Tom Delonge projects:

I have had this POV until I saw "TOM DELONGE: THE PURSUIT OF TONE". If you haven't... go watch it. Where he talks about how Blink and its sound started to develop, how they found each other, the transition from Blink to Box Car Racer, Angels and Airwaves and what art and music means to him. This last part is the one I want to focus on, his POV comes from challenging himself towards new things that are completely unknown for him (get out of your comfort zone). I think this approach towards any work/life/experience is important in order to: keep our lives interesting, be motivated everyday, keep our curiosity alive, experience success when we accomplish something we challenge ourselves for.

On the other hand when he talks about his life, I found interesting habits that made me relate to him in a deeper way. His fascination for the universe, space, conspiracy theories, that he listen to scholars talks, interest in different religions, his addiction for physics and how things work. While watching this documentary it was like if I heard my self talk about things that I like, how I see life and what matters to me. I bet it must be deeply interesting to have a talk with Tom on other topics that are not necessarily music related. 

I believe that not knowing his life and each of his projects, is what takes out there a wrong image about Tom. (He even say something like this in the Documentary) When we enter the backstage about his work, is when it becomes more interesting than you think. 

I wanted to write about this Documentary because, it gave me the motivation and POV to start making my own sounds and pursuit my own tone (I still haven't found it... but I am working on it haha) On the other side, whenever I have a lack of motivation, feel down, lonely or any negative mindset. I watch this documentary or at least listen to it. This totally reminds me why I am doing what I am doing, it gives me motivation to challenge myself (not only in music, in everyday life) and it fills me with energy to go to my studio and get to work or explore new sounds if I have the chance.

I am not saying that this documentary or Tom's story should inspire everyone. What I am trying to say is go found that source of energy that change your mindset, makes you want to be better than yesterday and put a smile on your face. It can be going for a run, listening to scholars, look the sky, walk your dog, talk to a friend, watch a movie etc... everyone has their own "medicine" to cure down mindsets. For me in personal is making or listening to music, hearing my influences talk about their lives, their own music, their creative process, their believes and what music means to them. I take all this as a reminder of why I chose this path and keep it alive everyday.

Here is a link to Ernie Ball's website where you will find the trailer, info and videos of Tom Delonge: Pursuit of Tone". Thanks for reading and hope you like it!

Ernie Ball Website:

https://www.ernieball.com/thepursuitoftone/tom-delonge

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2GSnW5Fiw4

M. Pelayo

SAMPLE MAKING

I did it! or at least I think I did... if not I am sure I am one step closer to cracking the code towards sample making.

I decided to leave my Kontakt Sample libraries aside and start creating my own sounds from scratch. Kontakt libraries are awesome don't get me wrong, I just wanted to challenge myself and dig deeper into the art of writing music. My curiosity started to grow after I heard that "Music Making is an extension of one true self". I am not a big esoteric guy but I do believe that what we express in any art, is what we can not express in words.

I was amazed by the possibilities of sound, I mean... record a water bottle hit and turn it into a kick, a window being closed becomes your snare, pans and kitchen utensils become your cymbals and hi hats... and even better you can access unique melodic sounds. Record a small whistle and turn it into a synth, record a Aaaaah! like at the dentist and make a choir synth. I have done this in a very superficial level where I just tweaked a sample or use just one or two original sounds.

Besides being entertaining, you have to be creative to decide which sound sources you will use. Each one of them leads you to unique and different possibilities. I wont lie, tweaking each of the wave properties and processing the signal to achieve a sound you like... can be tedious and sometimes slow, but if you are patient enough... the satisfaction of achieving a unique sound texture is worth.

So if you had never tried it, get a mic, some toys and gadgets and start creating your own libraries. You will be amazed by the results you can achieve.

Here is a short video of what sound sources I used and the final sounds I created.

https://www.facebook.com/pelayo2/videos/vb.610250004/10157333064955005/?type=2&theater&notif_t=like&notif_id=1473744049950461

M. Pelayo

CREATIVE INTERACTION

For the last couple of days I have been getting together with a friend to jam and produce some tracks for a new project we are putting together. I have had the opportunity to jam some popular tracks with other musicians, but it is a completely different thing to get together to create something from scratch.

Music collaboration is an interesting thing when you have people with similar influences, different perspectives, backgrounds but share the same vision. It becomes a thriving thing that takes each one out of their comfort zone, What do I mean by that?

In my personal experience, I have been making music mainly on my own wearing headphones talking literally to my self. Though entertain a lot while doing it, it becomes quite lonely every now and then or frustrating cause you are stuck in the loop, using the same sounds, rhythms, mixing techniques etc... forcing yourself to try new things it is always a good idea, but the source of inspiration still the same... is YOU!.

I find a great learning experience when creating with other musicians. Sometimes they have skills you might not have, knowledge, understanding, likings or a sense of rhythm, melody and dynamics that it is different than yours. Have you ever heard someone play and say... man why does my tracks can't sound like that? Of course it all comes down to composition, voicing techniques, harmony, mixing, and musical concepts that can helps us achieve the desired sound. Now days with computers we can replicate a wide variety of music, still a virtual instrument is never going to replace an organic one (in my personal opinion).

What I am trying to say here is that: interaction of two or more creative minds thriving together, can bring interesting and unique results. They are not going to be good all the time but the experience and what you get out of that time is priceless. This interactions is what steals my attention, how two or more points of views can create something that lots of people can understand and relate to.

M. PELAYO - MONOMYTH THE HEROS JOURNEY

I wanted to share my first concept instrumental album with you. Download link and description bellow.

Download

About this album: 

Short instrumental pieces based on Christopher Vogler's 12 stages of The Hero's Journey. Monomyth expresses an introspective journey. It's concept starts in an post apocalyptical world where the Hero's mind being asleep in the dark, the unawareness, the “ordinary world”. Story develops as curiosity and questioning arrises in the Hero's mind, taking the initiative to “Do Something”, to wake up, to become... mindfulness. Trough out the journey the Hero faces mentors, challenges, temptations and finally its own transformation. Let your imagination be free while creating its own story. 

If this resonates with you. Please share! 

Cover Album by Cheche 

____________________________________________________________

Sobre el álbum:

Piezas instrumentales cortas basadas en las 12 etapas de Christophet Vogler de “El Viaje del Héroe”. Monomyth explora un viaje instrospectivo. La historia comienza en un mundo post apocalíptico donde la mente del Héroe esta dormida, ciega, en el “Mundo Ordinario”. La historia se desarrolla al Héroe sentir el llamado de la curiosidad y custionamientos que lo llevan a tomar iniciativa para “Hacer Algo”... para despertar. Durante su travesía el Héroe se encuentra con mentores, desafíos, aprendizajes y finalmente su propia transformación. Deja que tu imaginación forme parte de esta travesía creando su propia historia.

Artwork: Cheche

credits

Released January 1, 2016

Thanks for listening:
Composer: Manuel Pelayo / www.manuelpelayo.com
Cover Album by Cheche

M. Pelayo