reverse engineering a song.

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jokerone

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Can someone point me to a youtube tutorial or something that gives you the steps to analyze (in a DAW) and existing song and break down the parts (drums, bass, rhythm, tempo, etc) so you can study the individual parts and reconstruct the song yourself (for a cover) or modify the song and have it morph into something completely different.


thanks.
 
jokerone said:
Can someone point me to a youtube tutorial or something that gives you the steps to analyze (in a DAW) and existing song and break down the parts (drums, bass, rhythm, tempo, etc) so you can study the individual parts and reconstruct the song yourself (for a cover) or modify the song and have it morph into something completely different.


thanks.
Click to expand...

I can see how automating the "deconstruct" process with a DAW app/plug might be the easy way....but how complicaterd are the covers you want to do?
I'm sure you are capable enough to just use your ears, and "deconstruct" all the necessary parts of most Pop/Rock tunes...and then record them yourself to do the cover.

Now...if you're talking about just vocal removing, and then using the existing bed tracks...well, that's something different, and that's what the guy in the video is basically doing....that's pretty much Karaoke kind of stuff.
 
miroslav said:
I can see how automating the "deconstruct" process with a DAW app/plug might be the easy way....but how complicaterd are the covers you want to do?
I'm sure you are capable enough to just use your ears, and "deconstruct" all the necessary parts of most Pop/Rock tunes...and then record them yourself to do the cover.

Now...if you're talking about just vocal removing, and then using the existing bed tracks...well, that's something different, and that's what the guy in the video is basically doing....that's pretty much Karaoke kind of stuff.
Click to expand...

actually I'm not.;)

So lets take this song and say all I want is the drums (including the hi-hats), or just the rhythm guitar or piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r5icJOiIJE

there is a lot going on.

I assume I would have to do it the same way they took the voice out of the previous video?

if deconstructing is the proper term for this, I can google it in youtube. I was looking up sampling a CD, and a lot of other terms, but wasn't having much luck.

My goal would be to be able to identify the various drum parts / rhythm instruments and then replace each piece with my own stuff, then change the tempo,
and other parts and instruments so it sounds completely different, or the same depending on what I'm after. Sort of like taking a MIDI song and dissecting each track and changing it up. I'm trying break apart the mix into separate pieces.

thanks.
 
Miro's advice above is probably the best. Use your ears.

You need to develop critical and analytical listening skills. But you need these for recording anyway
 
jokerone said:
actually I'm not.;)

So lets take this song and say all I want is the drums (including the hi-hats), or just the rhythm guitar or piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r5icJOiIJE

there is a lot going on.

I assume I would have to do it the same way they took the voice out of the previous video?

if deconstructing is the proper term for this, I can google it in youtube. I was looking up sampling a CD, and a lot of other terms, but wasn't having much luck.

My goal would be to be able to identify the various drum parts / rhythm instruments and then replace each piece with my own stuff, then change the tempo,
and other parts and instruments so it sounds completely different, or the same depending on what I'm after. Sort of like taking a MIDI song and dissecting each track and changing it up. I'm trying break apart the mix into separate pieces.

thanks.
Click to expand...

So there really is no way to segregate certain instruments in a mix. Yeah, you can get a tempo from a drum beat, but nothing you would really need other than that.

I suppose I am confused as to what you are asking for. You cannot extract individual instruments from a mix.
 
jimmys69 said:
So there really is no way to segregate certain instruments in a mix. Yeah, you can get a tempo from a drum beat, but nothing you would really need other than that.

I suppose I am confused as to what you are asking for. You cannot extract individual instruments from a mix.
Click to expand...

I don't want to extract them in the the sense of using them. I want to isolate them to know when they are being played.

I actually made some progress by just EQing and listening. I could bring out the bass line in one song, which wasn't as complicated as I thought. I could hear the kick, and hi-hats which were more complicated than I thought.

So I'm satisfied so far.

thanks.
 
gecko zzed said:
Miro's advice above is probably the best. Use your ears.

You need to develop critical and analytical listening skills. But you need these for recording anyway
Click to expand...

thanks, and I'm sure you are correct, but some of that genre has a lot of things going on and it can be difficult to isolate things (at least for me). EQing seems to work for me.
 
Isolating different instruments in a mix is kind of like taking a cake and trying to isolate the flour, butter, milk, sugar, etc... Once you mix it together, it turns into something else.
 
Farview said:
Isolating different instruments in a mix is kind of like taking a cake and trying to isolate the flour, butter, milk, sugar, etc... Once you mix it together, it turns into something else.
Click to expand...

I agree, that's why I'm trying to figure out the ingredients, and it isn't easy (for me anyway)
I believe the EQing works well enough for my needs.

thanks.
 
My tip was try to EQ the songs. To me the best thing to do is keep listening to that song in a room seperated from the world. Have a pen and paper (or a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LOL) and take notes on all the things I hear. This is the best way to go imo
 
Phami said:
My tip was try to EQ the songs. To me the best thing to do is keep listening to that song in a room seperated from the world. Have a pen and paper (or a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LOL) and take notes on all the things I hear. This is the best way to go imo
Click to expand...

Umm, what? Did even you read the thread?
 
the best way to reverse engineer any music is to learn how to transcribe using musical notation, whilst this might sound extreme in 2015, it actually works, getting real paper and a pen and writing it out...if you can't write musical notation then at least write out chord charts.
 
Btyre2013 said:
the best way to reverse engineer any music is to learn how to transcribe using musical notation, whilst this might sound extreme in 2015, it actually works, getting real paper and a pen and writing it out...if you can't write musical notation then at least write out chord charts.
Click to expand...

I was told there would be no math! :D

I got into amateur (Ham) radio because they dropped the Morse code requirement. I managed to get a BS in Computer Science without learning much Assembler, and now you want me to learn to read sheet music?? :laughings:

Seriously, you are probably right, but I have a hard enough time figuring out how to read drum scores and thats pretty simple. :D

thanks.
 
You know, sometimes you have to work hard and actually learn things that take time, use energy and give you headaches. I hated learning Morse - and back when I did it, there was no internet, no help systems, you had to find somebody to teach you, and it was hard. Learning to read music is hard - I can't see the point of doing things if you only want to take the easy routes. What did Queen say? I want it all, I want it now! Life sucks, doesn't it!
 
rob aylestone said:
You know, sometimes you have to work hard and actually learn things that take time, use energy and give you headaches. I hated learning Morse - and back when I did it, there was no internet, no help systems, you had to find somebody to teach you, and it was hard. Learning to read music is hard - I can't see the point of doing things if you only want to take the easy routes. What did Queen say? I want it all, I want it now! Life sucks, doesn't it!
Click to expand...

Mrs. Duffy tried to teach me sheet music in 8th grade. It didn't stick.. :listeningmusic:
 
I deconstruct and rebuild songs all the time. I love doing it and I'm not bad at it. The thing is, it's taken a lifetime of critical listening on my part, and the natural desire to analyse songs that I hear. When I listen to a song I listen to everything together AND in isolation. I think I must be weird. :D What I'm saying is, I don't think there's a shortcut; the brain is incredible at pattern-finding and isolating those patterns out of a maelstrom of noise. For instance, overhearing conversations in a general hubbub of human speech in a public area is quite easy for most people. We don't realise we're doing it.

I think people have forgotten how to listen. I see videos on youtube of people playing something quite simple on guitar, then in the comments some complete waste of space says "cool, man... do you have the tab for that?" Aargh!! :D
 
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