Music Production Collective

Computer-based music producers are really in a league of their own in the music industry, but they're not totally alone. Unlike vocalists and instrument players, computer-based producers use programs such as Ableton, FL Studio, ProTools, Logic, and more to create songs using samples, effects, plugins, sound design, and plenty of creativity. The activity can be incredibly rewarding, even while in early learning stages, but it has a steep learning curve. Having a social platform for fellow producers to share ideas and methods can lead to great things. Computer-based producers have a set of concepts which they need to understand beyond what most other musicians need. In order to see a track through to it’s highest possible quality, a producer might aim to: 1. Create a sounds like trap leads or dubstep growls through the use of plugins or FM synthesis. 2. Create drum patterns, accompanying melodies, or rising effects, to carry a song to a climax / drop through sampling and wave combination. 3. 'Mix' the various parts of the song together, using EQ'ing and compression plugins such as FabFilter Pro-Q 2 and Pro-C to reduce muddiness and improve clarity throughout the whole track. 4. ‘Saturate’ a sound, adding color and character in sounds using plugins such as Trash and Saturn. 5. 'Master' a completed song so that things sound bright and loud through multiband compression, eq, and limiting. Recording artists will pay thousands of dollars to have these last three parts done for them by specialists, in fact there are trained positions just for such jobs (sound designer, mixing artist, sound engineer). Ultimately, people who produce music on a computer have a lot to learn from each other and have an incredible opportunity to do it here at UCLA. A problem posed for computer-based producers at UCLA is that they’re few and far between, and thus, hard to find. MPC hopes to end that problem and support group collaboration. During meetings, we plan to discuss collaborative projects between members, teach concepts, host events, and much more. Each meeting, we will also try to focus on one aspect of production (be it reverb, saturation, composition, mixing instrument groups...). We will plan a brief lecture and discussion around this topic and look for examples of where and how to apply this knowledge. We hope to have this club collaborate with other music clubs on campus (such as Music Club or UCLA Radio), because producers are usually looking to work with vocalists, rappers, drummers, guitarists, and people who can play live pieces on their songs. Conversely, music writers and rappers often struggle with producing professional-quality sounding files, suitable for replay on spotify or other websites. Computer-based producers are equipped with the skills to assist and work with them. It really is hard for producers at this school to meet each other, but when they do connect and share ideas, it always results in both parties learning a little -- or a lot. Producers are independent DIY kind of artists with patience and a passion for music, and we can guarantee that this club will foster the energy to drive self-improvement and learning for computer-based music producers here at UCLA.

mpcatucla@gmail.com

Signatories: Alex Blair, Ascanio Branca`, and Nate Jahiel

Advisor: Cornelius Jake Gildea