The Lazy Producer - Starter ideas for making ambient and generative music
Tips and tricks about creating ambient sounds based on my experience
What do you mean, "Lazy Producer"?
Most professional musicians, music creators and producers I know are very hard working. They spend a LOT of time crafting a tune, song or mix with care and attention to making the final track as good as it can be. These individuals are most definitely, categorically NOT lazy.
The typical Ableton Live set I see from most electronic music producers has a huge number of tracks, precision edits, detailed automation, fills, transitions, risers, "ear-candy". It's a technicolor riot of clips. In stark contrast, my typical Live set for a track may have around 12 tracks. I use randomness, probability and automation to make things change from one bar or section to another. I start tracks largely by letting the computer make choices by finding the "best" settings in the randomness and probability parameters or "garden" the generated random MIDI and audio to create a little more order. I am a Lazy Producer.
I will use the shorthand "Lazy Producer" in this book meaning that the techniques described will get you started on tracks, but are probably not finished tracks in themselves. However, if you're a REALLY Lazy Producer, they might be. I have been known to do this. Am I implying that you are, or should also be a lazy producer? No. Will my lazy production tips work in other genres? Also, no.
How to contribute
If you would like to contribute, make a suggestion or correct something, please first open an Issue on the Github Issues page for the book so we can discuss further, then follow the process outlined here: https://github.com/MarcDiethelm/contributing/blob/master/README.md Book chapters are written in the markdown format. Each chapter file should start with a unique number. The markdown files are rendered into an eBook via the R language package {bookdown} - more information here: https://bookdown.org/yihui/bookdown/. R and the {bookdown} package are freely available. If you would like to actively contribute I suggest also using the RStudio Interactive Development Environment (IDE) available here: https://www.rstudio.com.
Structure of this book
I aim to write each idea in three parts:
Recipes
Recipes chapters introduce a set of instructions that you can follow to create your own generative, ambient music. If you're a Lazy Producer like me then you can use these recipes to generate ideas and sounds that you can then use to start your own process of creating a track. If you're a lazy reader too, then you can skip straight to these chapters and follow the recipe. If you're a creatively Lazy Producer then you can tweak the recipes or combine them with other recipes to make your own creations. That's OK.
Process
Process chapters talk about general ideas and concepts that can be applied within Ableton Live or potentially to other DAWs or music making processes. I'll try to steer clear of specific discussion of tools or plugins in these chapters.
Tools and plugins
The chapters for geeks and musicians with Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). If you want to get really nerdy or think about acquiring new plugins then these are the chapters for you. If you have already purchased Ableton Live then you have already invested a large amount on music making equipment. My goal here is not to persuade you to part with significant additional amounts of cash, but some of the plugins have an associated, although modest, cost.
Who am I?
"This is not a game of 'Who the fuck are YOU?'" - Eddie Izzard (Death Star Canteen sketch)
My name is Mike K Smith. I trained as a statistician and work as a data scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. I identify as a professional geek. Since making ambient music is a passion for me and doesn't have to pay the bills, I have the luxury of being a "Lazy Producer". Please bear in mind that I am an enthusiastic amateur. My aim here is provide some useful tips to others who might be interested in dabbling in ambient and generative music and who want some "Getting started" tips.
I make ambient, textural and sometimes generative music mostly using Ableton Live. I have released 2 albums collaborating with other musicians - where they prepared starter audio "stems" of tracks which I then augmented and created finished tracks. I have also produced an album of drone and textural music under my own name.
You can find my music here: