Help with urban/hip hop dramedy!

[BrentI]

Hi everyone! This isn't for a TAXI listing, but something I sent to a library directly along with three other similar tracks. They were returned with several notes, such as:

Drum sounds could be tighter
808 bass needs new patches
Orchestral elements need more development

Here's a link to the track: https://www.taxi.com/members/KWQ2l_pFSJ ... asm-soiree

I confess this is not really my style, but it's one I'd like to get better at. I see a lot of TAXI listings for this genre mentioning "slick beats." What does that mean? What makes drum sounds "tighter"? What would I listen for to determine if the 808s sound good?

I appreciate any feedback/direction with this style. Thanks so much!

[jefflaplante]

Hi Brent,
This is pretty good for someone who is brand new to the genre. Keep at it and you'll improve your production chops gradually throughout the attempts. The more you listen to the genre you are writing in, the more trained your ears will become. Best way for me was to find public music library websites and listen to as much signed material as you can. You will begin to hear the differences in the current sounds and where you are falling short. Here is one of my Urban Dramedy cues that I did this week. It's still not quite there yet, but you will hear the tightness of the drums and especially the power of the 808 bass. Also, you will hear development with my string sounds (different elements coming in and out, to create dynamic interest). Hope this helps.

Jeff


https://soundcloud.com/jeff303/whos-in- ... al_sharing

[BrentI]

Hi Brent,
This is pretty good for someone who is brand new to the genre. Keep at it and you'll improve your production chops gradually throughout the attempts. The more you listen to the genre you are writing in, the more trained your ears will become. Best way for me was to find public music library websites and listen to as much signed material as you can. You will begin to hear the differences in the current sounds and where you are falling short. Here is one of my Urban Dramedy cues that I did this week. It's still not quite there yet, but you will hear the tightness of the drums and especially the power of the 808 bass. Also, you will hear development with my string sounds (different elements coming in and out, to create dynamic interest). Hope this helps.

Jeff


https://soundcloud.com/jeff303/whos-in- ... al_sharing

Thank you Jeff! This was super helpful. I made a few edits and posted a new version on my SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/brentisom/sarcas ... al_sharing

Hopefully this is an improvement. I appreciate it!

[DouglasKnight]

Hey Brent! Really nice work on this - sounds great, and a nice improvement on the prior version. Best of luck with it!

[BrentI]

Hey Brent! Really nice work on this - sounds great, and a nice improvement on the prior version. Best of luck with it!

Thanks Doug! Always appreciate your input and encouragement!