Chapter 6: Advanced Production Techniques

Creating Movement with Automation

Automation is a critical technique in music production that allows you to dynamically change various parameters over time, adding movement and life to your tracks. In Deep Wave music, automation can significantly enhance the emotional impact and engagement of your compositions. This chapter explores how to effectively use automation across different elements in your production to create compelling movement.

1. Understanding Automation

a. What is Automation?

  • Definition: Automation in music production involves recording the changes to device parameters (such as volume, panning, effects, etc.) over time, allowing for a dynamic adjustment of those settings automatically during playback.
  • Purpose: By utilizing automation, you have the ability to create intricate movements that can transform static compositions into evolving and engaging soundscapes.

b. Automation vs. Manual Adjustment

  • Precision Control: Automation provides more precise control over changes than manual adjustments. It can achieve more nuanced transitions, ensuring the adjustments happen smoothly and musically.
  • Consistent Performance: Unlike manual changes made during a performance, which may vary in timing and intensity, automation allows for consistent and repeatable adjustments.

2. Common Parameters to Automate

a. Volume Automation

  • Fading Elements In and Out: Use volume automation to create fades for elements entering or exiting the mix, enhancing transitions or building anticipation.
  • Creating Swells: Swell dynamics in pads or synth lines can be achieved using gradual volume automation, adding a sonic crescendo effect that enhances emotional impact.

b. Panning Automation

  • Dynamic Movement: Automate panning to create a sense of motion within your mix. For instance, moving an element from left to right can engage listeners aurally and spatially.
  • Complementary Effects: Use panning in conjunction with reverb or delay automation to create immersive soundscapes that shift and evolve.

c. Effect Parameters

  • Modulation Depth: Automate effects such as chorus, flanger, or phaser depth to give elements a sense of rhythm and periodic movement. This can enhance elements like pads and leads, making them feel more organic.
  • Filter Cutoff: Use low-pass filter cutoff automation to create tension and release. Automate the filter to open up during drops or climaxes, adding a sense of lift.

3. Techniques for Effective Automation

a. Visualizing Automation in Your DAW

  • Graphical Representation: Most DAWs provide visual automation lanes, allowing you to see and edit the curves of your automation easily. Take advantage of this feature to sculpt your automation smoothly.
  • Nodes and Curves: Create automation points (nodes) at crucial moments, and adjust the curves between them to create smooth transitions rather than abrupt changes.

b. Creative Expressions

  • Unexpected Changes: Use automation to add surprise elements within your tracks. Automating sudden drops in volume or quick changes in effect can keep listeners on their toes.
  • Building Tension: Use automation to change parameters gradually, building tension before a drop. For instance, use increasing reverb or delay to create an expansive sound leading into a climax.

4. Practical Examples of Automation in Deep Wave

a. Automating Synth Pads

  • Creating Emotion: Automate the filter cutoff on your synth pads to swell during the chorus while dropping back to a muffled tone during verses. This approach enhances emotional impact and builds atmosphere.
  • Dynamic Backgrounds: Implement volume automation to swell background pads in and out throughout the track, providing a more dynamic environment.

b. Vocal Processing

  • Dramatic Effects: Automate the reverb and delay levels on vocal phrases to create a sense of space during key moments, allowing the vocals to soar without getting lost in the mix.
  • Emphasis on Lyrics: Use volume automation on specific phrases to highlight lyrical content, ensuring that important lines stand out to the listener.

5. Advanced Automation Techniques

a. LFO Automation

  • Dynamic Movement: Instead of automating parameters manually, use an LFO (Low-Frequency Oscillator) to create cyclic changes to parameters like pitch, amplitude, or filter cutoff. This can add rhythmic movement without constant adjustments.
  • Custom Shaping: Many DAWs allow customizing LFO shapes, offering further creative potential. Experiment with different waveforms for unique movement effects.

b. Step Automation

  • Automation in Steps: Instead of continuous changes, use step automation to create distinct jumps in parameters. This can be especially effective in genres like Deep Wave to craft polished, punchy transitions.
  • Combining Techniques: Use step automation for rhythmic effects combined with smooth automation for other parameters to achieve complex, interesting movements.

6. Practical Exercises for Automation

  • Volume Dynamics: Create a simple track and practice automated volume fades across different elements, paying attention to how it affects the overall dynamics.
  • Panning Movement: Experiment with panning automation to create a flowing rhythm. Move instruments across the stereo field to enhance the track's width over time.
  • Creative Moderation: Take a complete piece and apply automation to effects like filter cutoff, reverb, or delay. Explore how these adjustments affect the emotional landscape and texture.

Conclusion

Creating movement with automation is essential for crafting engaging Deep Wave productions. By mastering the various forms of automation and understanding their applications, you can elevate your music, providing depth and emotive qualities that resonate with listeners. In the next chapter, we will explore the art of arrangement, focusing on how to flawlessly integrate all elements of your composition into a cohesive and compelling musical journey.