Dan Thompson – Critical Analysis of Music Production Techniques
Improving the quality of your own music production projects necessitates strong listening skills. In much the same way that traveling to another country teaches you about yourself, listening to and analyzing other songs across genres opens you to different techniques and perspectives on how to achieve the best results for conveying the vision or emotional intent of a project and connecting with listeners. This course presents a framework and vocabulary for analyzing music that will support your work in the program, in addition to your professional career. Throughout the course, you will dissect music for its use of various production techniques, including arrangement, instrumentation, performance, and mix considerations. The underlying goal of engaging in such analysis is to strengthen your analytical abilities, increase your versatility as a producer, and enhance the overall quality of your work.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Evaluate musical, emotional, performance, and arrangement techniques in top-charting music, in addition to music in diverse styles
- Analyze key vocal production techniques, such as doubling, layering, distressing, tuning, compression, echo, and reverb
- Perform high-level analysis of production elements used in songs across genres
- Apply a professional-level framework and vocabulary for analyzing music production techniques
- Apply findings from analysis to enhance their own music projects
Syllabus
Lesson 1 What Makes a Great Record?
- Production
- Song
- Arrangement
- Vocals
- Space
- Sonics
- Assignment 1: Commercial Sound Recordings Analysis
Lesson 2 The Song
- Song Structure
- Rhyme Scheme
- The Story: Language and Lyrics
- Drama, Arc
- Melody and Hooks
- Assignment 2: Song Forms
Lesson 3 Arrangement
- Song Structure Revisited
- Parts/Counterpoint
- Hooks
- Arc
- Assignment 3: Arrangement Options
Lesson 4 Vocals
- Great Vocalists
- Vocal Sound/Timbre: 1930s-1940s
- Vocal Sound/Timbre: 1950s-1960s
- Vocal Sound/Timbre: 1970s-1980s
- Vocal Sound/Timbre: 1990s-2000s+
- Key/Tempo
- Age/Gravitas
- Assignment 4: Vocal Performance
Lesson 5 Performance
- Communication and Interplay
- Musicianship: Virtuosity vs. Sparsity
- Groove: Timing, Tempo, Pocket
- Construction vs. Ensemble
- Assignment 5: The Performance on the Record
Lesson 6 Space
- Sense of Space
- Invoking an Era and Vibe
- Natural Recording Spaces vs. Invented Spaces
- Recording vs. Mix
- Assignment 6: Hearing the Room
Lesson 7 Sonics
- Recording: Individual Instruments
- Recording: Context
- Compression/Distortion/Other
- Ensemble vs. Construction
- Assignment 7: Sonics Analysis
Lesson 8 Mix
- Balance
- Imaging
- Sonics/Frequencies/Envelopes
- Arc, Managing Energy
- Goodies
- Assignment 8: Mix Choices
Lesson 9 Classic Labels/Sounds/Production Teams
- Motown
- Atlantic
- Gamble & Huff/Sigma Sound (PRI)
- CTI (Creed Taylor Incorporated)/Van Gelder Studios
- ECM
- Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Flyte Tyme Records)
- Antonio “L.A.” Reid & Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds (LaFace Records)
- Max Martin/Dr. Luke/Serban Ghenea
- Stargate
- Daptone Records
- Choosing a Sound/Approach/Identity
- Assignment 9: Overall Sound: Label and Production Team
Lesson 10 Under the Hood: Demos to Masters
- The Demo
- Colin Hay/Men at Work: “Overkill”
- Beatles: “Come Together”
- Producer Approach: Ross Hogarth
- Producer Approach: Larry Klein
- Final Project Preparation
Lesson 11 Pop Record Deconstruction
- Song Choices
- Dore Straits: “Brothers in Arms”
- Song
- Arrangement
- Performance
- Space
- Sonics
- Mix
- Billy Joel: “Goodnight Saigon”
- Assignment 11: Final Project: Analysis Project
Lesson 12 Role of the Independent Producer
- The Independent Producer: Where Do I Go from Here?
- Know Your History
- Los Angeles
- NYC
- Nashville
- Other Noteworthy Studios
- Producers, Engineers, Mixers
- Know Your Community
- Non-Song-Driven Genres
- Song or Music as Vehicle/Backdrop
- Collaboration
- Your Next Steps
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