Snoman R. Dance Music Manual: Tools, Toys, and Techniques

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Generally speaking, if the bass line is quite heavy, the drums are tighter and more

controlled whereas if the bass is quite bright and breezy the drums are more

‘sloppy’ with less space between hits (i.e. by increasing the decay).

This can be accomplished by reducing the decay of the less important percus-

sion (such as toms, claves, tambourines, etc.) and then moving onto the more

important elements such as the kick, snare and hi-hats. It’s also worthwhile

sampling/bouncing down the loop and then run a noise gate across the loop.

By setting the threshold so that most of the percussive elements lie above it

and experimenting with the hold and decay times it’s possible to introduce

character to loops that were initially quite superﬁ cial. Heavier beats or rhythms

can also be made by applying light reverb over the loop as a whole and then

employing a noise gate to remove the reverbs tail. The gate can also be used as

a distortion tool for drums provided that it’s set up correctly.

If you play back a loop into a noise gate and set the attack, hold and release

parameters to zero the gate will open and close in quick succession often result-

ing in the gate following the individual cycles of the low-frequency kick. As a

result, the waveforms that fall below the threshold become a series of square

waves while the peaks remain unmolested, resulting in a distorted loop. The

amount of distortion can then be controlled by lowering or raising the threshold.

Compression can also be used to produce a crunchy distortion that is particularly

suited towards big beat, hip-hop and techno drum loops. For this, two compres-

sors are used in serial with the drum loop fed into the ﬁ rst compressor set to a

high ratio and low threshold mixed with a fast attack and release. If the output

gain of this compressor is pushed high enough it results in distortion of the mid-

range which adds the typical vintage character of these genres. By feeding this out-

put into a second compressor, the distortion can be controlled to prevent it from

clipping the inputs of the recording device (or the outputs of a wave editor).

Generally, an opto compressor, such as the Waves Renaissance Compressor

or the Sonalksis TBK3, produces the best results but it is worth experimenting

with other vintage-style compressors. It’s also worth noting that hip-hop, lo-ﬁ

and big beat will also often use ‘crunchy’, dirty timbres which is best accom-

plished by lowering the bit rate to 12-bit or the sample rate to 22 kHz prior to

compression or distortion. This replicates the ‘feel’ of these rhythms as many

are commonly sampled from other records.

On that point, although I can’t condone lifting samples from previous records

because of the legal consequences, it would be incredibly naive to suggest that

some house and hip-hop artists, in particular, do not sample drum loops and

sometimes entire grooves from other vinyl records. In fact, in many instances

this sampling is absolutely paramount in attaining the ‘feel’ of the music.

Although there are plenty of sample CDs dedicated to both these genres, they

are generally best avoided as everyone will have access to the very same CDs.

The trick is to ﬁ nd old records that have preferably only been pressed in a

small amount due to their obscurity. Indeed, the more obscure the better as

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it’s unlikely that any other producers will have access to the same records and

if required, you’ll be able to get copyright permission much more easily. These

records can be sourced in the majority second-hand and charity shops but try

to ensure that the records are over 20 years old as it’s the character of the sound

that matters the most.

Once you have a good collection (over 100 records is often classed as an average

collection) you’ll need to listen to each for an exposed segment of the drums to

sample. Although you can sample these straight off the record and use them as it

is, it’s much better to be a little more creative and drop the loop into a sequencer

to comp the parts together. Once this is accomplished the rhythm can be shifted

around and the timing can be adjusted to produce new variations.

Of course, comping loops in this fashion can be incredibly time-consuming

and, in some instances, may not be possible if the loop is quite complex or

played live as it’s likely that hi-hats may occur partway through a snare or kick.

If you were to cut these and move them the rhythm may lose its cohesion and

sound dreadful so as an alternative it may be worthwhile layering other hits

over the top of the original loop or write a new pattern to sit over the original.

If you take this latter approach, however, you need to exercise caution as it’s

a ﬁ ne line between a great loop and a poor one. The most common problem

experienced is that the loop becomes too complex and if this is the case it’s

prudent to place the loop in a wave editor or sequencer and reduce the volume

of the offending parts.

CREATIVE SAMPLING AND EFFECTS

The main key with sampling is to be creative. While many musicians simply

rely on the sampler to record a drum loop (which can be accomplished with

any sequencer) they are not using them to their full extent and experimenta-

tion is the real key to any sampler. Therefore, what follows are some general

ideas to get you started in experimental sampling.

Creative Sampling

Although cheap microphones are worth avoiding if you want to record good

vocals they do have other creative uses. Simply plugging one into a sampler and

striking the top of the mic with a newspaper or your hand can be used as the

starting point of kick drums. Additionally scratching the top of the microphone

can be used as the starting point to Guiro’s. You should also listen for sounds

in the real world to sample and contort – FSOL have made most of their music

using only samples of the real world. Todd Terry acquired snare samples by

bouncing a golf ball off a wall, and Mark Moore used an aerosol as an open

hi-hat sound. Hitting a plastic bin with a wet newspaper can be used as a thick

slurring kick drum, and scraping a key down the strings of a piano or guitar can

be used as the basis for whirring string effects (it worked for Dr Who’s TARDIS

anyway). Once sampled these sounds can be pitched up or down, or effected as

you see ﬁ t. Even subtle pitch changes can produce effective results. For example,

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pitching up an analogue snare by just a few semitones results in the snare used

on drum ‘n’ bass, while pitching it down gives you the snare typical of lo-ﬁ .

Sample Reversing

This is probably the most immediate effect to try but while it’s incredibly sim-

ple to implement it can produce great results. The simplest use of this is to

sample a cymbal hit and then reverse it in the sampler (or wave editor) to pro-

duce a reverse cymbal that can be used to signify the introduction of a new

instrument. More creative options appear when you consider that reversing any

sound with a fast attack but long decay or release will create a sound with long

attack and an immediate release.

For example, a guitar pluck can be reversed and mixed with a lead that isn’t.

The two attack stages will meet if they’re placed together and these can be

cross-faded together. Alternatively, the attack of the guitar could be removed so

that the timbre begins with a reverse guitar which then moves into the sharp

attack phase of a lead sound or pad. On the other hand, if a timbre is recorded

in stereo, the left channel could be reversed while the right channels stays as is

to produce a mix of the two timbres. You could then sum these to mono and

apply EQ, ﬁ lters or effects to shape the sound further.

Pitch Shifting

A popular method used by dance producers is to pitch-shift a vocal phrase, pad

or lead sound by a ﬁ fth as this can often create impressive harmonies. If pads

or leads are shifted further than this and mixed in with the original it can intro-

duce a pleasant phasing effect. Despite the advice from some, however, this will

not work well on drum loops. Keep in mind that these form a crucial part of

the track and should be as dynamic as possible.

Time Stretching

Time stretching adjusts the length of a sample while also leaving the pitch

unchanged. It does this by cutting or adding samples at various intervals during

the course of the sample so that it reaches the desired length, while, to a certain

extent, smoothing out the side-effects of this process on the quality and timbre of

the sound. This is a complex, processor-intensive, process and is not usually suit-

able for extreme stretching. For instance, stretching a 67 BPM loop into 150 BPM

introduces unpleasant digital noise into sounds but this isn’t something that

you should always want to avoid. Continually stretching and shortening loops,

vocals, motifs or even single notes will introduce more and more digital noise

which is great for dirtying up sounds for use in hip-hop, lo-ﬁ and big beat. If a

timbre is programmed on a synthesizer, sampled and stretched numerous times

the resulting noisy timbre can be sampled and used to play the motif.

Perceptual Encoding

Similarly, any perceptual encoding devices (such as minidisk) can be used to

compress and mangle loops further. Fundamentally, these work by analysing

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the incoming data and removing anything that the device deems irrelevant. In

other words, data representing sounds that are considered to be inaudible in

the presence of the other elements are removed, which can sometimes be ben-

eﬁ cial on loops.

Physical Flanging

Most ﬂ anger effects are designed to have a low noise ﬂ oor which isn’t of much

use if you need a dirty ﬂ anging effect for use in some genres of dance. This can,

however, be created if you own an old analogue cassette recorder. If you record

the sound to cassette and applying a small amount of pressure on the drive

spool the sound will begin to ﬂ ange in a dirty uncontrollable manner, this can

then be re-recorded into the sampler.

Gritty Sounds

Most dance musicians will not only use the latest samplers but also own a

couple of old samplers. Due to the low bit and sample rate quality of these

samples, any sounds that are recorded using them take on a gritty, dirty nature.

This same effect can be accomplished in most of today’s samplers and wave

editors by reducing the bit and sample rates of the audio. This type of effect is

especially used in hip-hop and lo-ﬁ to create the gritty drum loops.

Transient Slicing

A popular technique for house tracks is to design a pad with a slow resonant

ﬁ lter sweep and then sample the results. Once in a sampler, the slow attack

phase of the pad is cut-off so that the sound begins suddenly and sharply. As

the transient is the most important part of the timbre, this creates an interest-

ing side-effect that can be particularly striking when placed in a mix.

In the end creative use of samplers comes from a mix of experience, experimen-

tation and serendipity. What’s more, all of the preceding examples are just that –

examples to start you on the path towards creative sampling and you should

be willing to push the envelope much further. The more time you set aside to

experiment, the more you’ll learn and the better results you’ll achieve.

SAMPLES AND CLEARANCE

I couldn’t possibly end a chapter on sampling without mentioning copyright

law. Ever since dance music broke onto the scene, motifs, vocal hooks, drum

loops, basses and even entire sections of music from countless records have been

sampled, manipulated and otherwise mangled in the name of art. Hits by James

Brown, Chicago, Donna Summer, Chic, Chaka Khan, Sylvester, Lolita Holloway,

Locksmith and Michael Jackson along with innumerable others have come under

the dance musicians’ sample knife and been remodelled for the dance ﬂ oor.

Although in the earlier years of dance artists managed to get away with releasing

records without clearing the samples, this was because it was a new trend and

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neither the original artists nor record companies were aware of a way that they

could prevent it. This changed in the early 1990s, when the sampling of origi-

nal records proved it was more than just a passing fad. Today, companies know

exactly what to do if they hear that one of their artists’ hits has been sampled

and, in most cases, they come down particularly hard on those responsible.

In other words, before you begin sampling another artist’s motif, drum, vocals

or entire verse/chorus consider that by law you cannot sample anything from

anybody else and use it commercially without clearance.

To help clear up some of the myths that still circulate – about how small initial

pressings or samples under a certain length are not covered by law – I spoke

to John Mitchell, a music solicitor who has successfully cleared innumerable

samples for me and many other artists.

What is copyright?

’Copyright exists in numerous forms and if I were to explain the entire copyright law

it would probably use up most of your publication. To summarise, it belongs to the cre-

ator and is protected from the moment of conception, exists for the lifetime of the cre-

ator and another 70 years after their death. Once out of copyright, the work becomes

‘public domain’ and any new versions of that work can be copyrighted again.’

So it would be okay to sample Beethoven or another classical composer?

’In theory Yes, but most probably No. The question arises as to where did you sample

the recording from because it certainly wouldn’t have been from the original composer.

Although copyright belongs to the creator, the performance is also copyrighted. When

a company releases a compilation of classical records they will have been re-recorded

and the company will own the copyright to that particular performance. If you sample

it you’re breaching the performance copyright.’

What if you’ve transcribed it and recorded your own performance?

’This is a legal wrangle that is far too complex to discuss here as it depends on the

original composer and the piece of music. When the original copyright expires and it’s

re-recorded the subsequent company may own the copyright to both the performance

and the creation. My advice is to check ﬁ rst before you attempt to sample or transcribe

anything.’

So what can you get away with when sampling copyright music or speech?

’Nothing, there seems to be a rumour circulating that if the sample is less than 30 s in

length you don’t need any clearance but this simply isn’t true. If the sample is only a

second in length and its copyright protected you are breaking the law if you commer-

cially release your music containing it.’

What if the sample were heavily disguised with effects and EQ?

’You do stand a better chance of getting way with it but that’s not to say you will.

Many artists spend a surmountable amount of time creating their sounds and

melodies and it isn’t too difﬁ cult to spot them if they’re used on other tracks. It really

isn’t worth the risk!’

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Does this same copyright law apply to sampling snippets of vocals from TV,

radio, DVD, etc.?

’Yes, sampling vocal snippets or music from ﬁ lms breaches a number of copyrights, includ-

ing the script writer (the creator) and the actor who performed the words (the performer).’

Is there an organization that monitors all the releases?

’Not as far as I’m aware but I do know that the Mechanical Copyright Protection

Society employs a number of DJs who actively listen out for records containing illegal

samples. Plus, if the record becomes a big hit more people will hear it and the chances

are that someone will recognise it eventually.’

So what action can be taken if clearance hasn’t been obtained?

’It all depends on the artist and the record company who own the recording. If the

record is selling well then they may approach you and work a deal, but be forewarned

that the record company and artist will have the upper hand when negotiating monies.

Alternatively, they can take out an injunction to have all copies of the record destroyed.

They also have the right to sue the samplist.’

Does it make any difference how many pressings are being produced for

retail with the uncleared samples on them?

’This reminds me of another urban myth: if you produce and sell fewer than 5000

copies then there is no need to obtain sample clearance. This couldn’t be further from

the truth. If just one record were released commercially containing an illegal sample

the original artist has the legal rights to prevent any more pressings being released.’

What if the record were released to DJs only?

’It makes no difference. The recording is being aired to a public audience.’

Can you go to prison for illegal use of samples?

’It hasn’t happened yet but that’s not to say that it never will. At the moment, breach-

ing copyright law is viewed as a civil, not criminal offence, but times change and I

would fully recommend acquiring the clearance before using any samples. You don’t

want to be the ﬁ rst exception to the rule.’

How much does it cost to get sample clearance?

’It depends on a number of factors. How well known the original artist is, the sampled

record’s previous chart history, how much of the sample you’ve used in your track and how

many pressings you’re planning to make. Some artists are all too willing to give sample

clearance because it earns them royalties while other will want ridiculous sums of money.’

How do you clear a sample?

’Due to the popularity of sampling from other records there are companies appear-

ing every week who will work on your behalf to clear a sample. However, my per-

sonal advice would be to talk to the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society. These

guys handle the licensing for the recording of musical works and started a Sample

Clearance Department in 1994. Although they will not personally handle the clear-

ance itself – for that you need someone like myself – they can certainly put you in

touch with the artist or record company involved.’

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Recording Vocals

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Although originally vocals played a particularly small role in the dance music

scene, over the years the vocal content has grown signiﬁ cantly to the point that,

unless you can gain permission to use another artist’s vocal performance, you

need to be proﬁ cient at recording them.

This is much more difﬁ cult than it ﬁ rst appears and there’s certainly much

more to it than simply plugging in a microphone, pressing record and hoping

for the best. In fact, if you take this approach hope is about the closest you’ll

get because you certainly won’t record a good performance.

We’ve been exposed to the human voice since the day we were born so we

instinctively know how it’s supposed to sound. As a result, any poor recording

equipment or technique will be immediately noticeable and as the vocals can

form the centrepiece of a track, if they’re wrong, the rest of the track, no matter

how well produced, will appear just as bad.

To record vocals proﬁ ciently requires not only a good vocalist but a good

understanding of the effects the surrounding environment can have on a

recording, and more importantly, the technology used to record them. This

latter knowledge can be particularly signiﬁ cant since it would be easy to sim-

ply say which microphone you should use and where to place it; with a good

understanding of the equipment involved you can make an informed decision

yourself as to which microphone and positioning is best suited for the current

project.

Recording Vocals

CHAPTER 7

’ I recorded one girl down the phone from America

straight to my Walkman and we used it on the album.

If we’d taken her into the studio it would have

sounded

too clean … ’

Mark Moore

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MICROPHONE TECHNOLOGY

Starting with the basics, a microphone simply converts sound into

an electrical current that is then transformed into an audio signal

at the end of the chain. As straightforward as this appears, though,

there are different ways of accomplishing it and the way sound is

captured determines the quality of the overall results. Of course,

all quality microphones will invariably produce a good sound, but

the tonal quality between each is very different, so it is important

to choose the right microphone for the vocalist and genre of music

you produce.

Despite the number of different microphones available, ultimately

for vocals, there are only two real choices: electromagnetic and elec-

trostatic. Both of these use the principle of a moving diaphragm to

capture sound, but they use different methods for converting it into

an electrical signal and so provide entirely different tonality from

one another.

Possibly the most instantly recognizable of these is the electromag-

netic which is also referred to as a dynamic microphone. They’re

always used in live situations and music TV programmes and are best

described as a small stick with a gauze ball sitting on top ( Figure 7.1 ).

Dynamic microphones work under the principle of a moving

coil which is very similar to how a typical loudspeaker operates

(although loudspeakers operate in reverse). The microphones con-

sist of a very thin plastic ﬁ lm, known as the diaphragm, which is

coupled to a coil of wire that’s suspended in a magnetic ﬁ eld. When

any sound strikes this diaphragm, it begins to vibrate sympatheti-

cally, which causes the coil to vibrate too. As this coil vibrates in

the magnetic ﬁ eld, it creates an alternating current which the micro-

phone then outputs and is subsequently converted into sound.

Generally speaking, this type of assembly is particularly hard wear-

ing and is the reason why it’s so often used in live performances.

If you drop the microphone, there’s a good chance that it will still work. On

the downside, though, since the vibrations have to move a relatively heavy

coil assembly to produce the sound, they’re not very sensitive to changes in

air pressure and so are relatively slow to respond to transients. Consequently,

the higher frequencies are not captured reliably so sounds recorded using them

will often exhibit a ‘nasal’ quality. While this generally makes them unsuitable

for recording the delicate vocals that are required for trip-hop and trance, they

are perfectly suited towards rap as the ‘nasal’ sound provides more mid-range

frequencies helping the sound to remain up front and ‘in your face ’, an effect

that can sometimes be vital for the genre .

It’s because of this nasal quality that many artists prefer to use electrostatic

(otherwise known as capacitor or condenser) microphones. These can be seen

FIGURE 7.1

A dynamic microphone

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in use in all professional studios and are best described as ‘ﬂ at look-

ing’ with angled gauze at either side. These are much more sensi-

tive than electromagnetic microphones as the design doesn’t rely on

generating a signal by moving a coil in a magnetic ﬁ eld but is based

on capturing sound using a varying capacitance. This means that

the diaphragm can be much lighter and thus captures sound much

more accurately ( Figure 7.2 ).

Typically in these microphones the diaphragm consists of a gold-

plated light Mylar plastic which is separated from a back plate by a

gap of a few microns. A small electrical charge is imposed onto the

back plate or the diaphragm or both (depending on the model)

which creates a capacitance charge between the two. When sound

strikes the diaphragm, the distance between the mylar plastic and the

back plate varies, which in turn creates a ﬂ uctuation in the capacitance

resulting in small changes in the electrical current. These changes in

the current produce the audio signal at the end of the chain. While

this means that less air pressure is required to create the signal (and

so produces a more accurate response), it is important to note that

different capacitor microphones will use differently sized diaphragms,

and this also has a direct effect on the frequency response.

A larger diaphragm will obviously have a heavier mass and therefore

will react relatively slowly to changes in air pressure when compared

to a smaller diaphragm. Indeed, due to the smaller overall mass of

these, they respond faster to changes in air pressure which results in

a sharper and more deﬁ ned sound. From a theoretical point of view,

this would mean that to capture a perfect performance you would be

better using a small diaphragm microphone since it would produce

more accurate results, but in practice this isn’t always required. To bet-

ter understand this, we need to examine the relationship between the

wavelength of a sound and the size of the diaphragm.

Typically, large diaphragm microphones will have a diameter of

approximately 25 mm and if this is exposed to a wavelength of

equal size (10 kHz is circa 34 mm, wavelength of 344 ms), there is a

culmination of frequencies at this point. Effectively, this results in more direc-

tional sensitivity at higher frequencies. If we compare this reaction to a smaller

diaphragm microphone that has a 12 mm diameter, this build-up would occur

much higher in the frequency range (20 kHz is circa 17 mm, wavelength of

344 ms) and is therefore not noticeable to the human ear.

While this means that a larger diaphragm microphone doesn’t have a frequency

response as accurate or as ﬂ at as a smaller diaphragm, the subsequent coloura-

tion results in a rounder smoother timbre that pulls through a mix much more

readily. What’s more, a large diaphragm microphone will also have a lower

noise ﬂ oor than a smaller diaphragm because it has a larger surface area to con-

duct so the electrons can distribute more readily.

FIGURE 7.2

A condenser

microphone