ARRANGE TRACKS LIKE A PRO – Computer Music issue 263 is out now!

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ARRANGE TRACKS LIKE A PRO!

How many times have you started a project and made it as far as creating a spectacular four- or eight-bar region, only to get stuck at the point where you have to start thinking about actually moulding it into a finished song? If you’re anything like us, you’ll most likely have a hard drive (or seven!) packed with unfinished ideas that started from flashes of inspiration but never got beyond that initial ‘cycle mode’ stage.

A lot of the time this comes down not to an overall lack of ideas, but to difficulty with the arrangement process – the sequence in which the different sections of your song are laid out. When it comes to engaging with your audience and provoking that essential ‘reach for the repeat’ response in your listeners, coming up with an effective arrangement is undoubtedly as important as the construction of the individual sections themselves.

Although today’s DAWs put endless instruments, effects and track counts at our fingertips, it’s all too easy to fall into a solely loop-based workflow that can actually stifle, rather than inspire, the ability to extend single regions out into a fully-arranged song. And that’s where this extra-special issue of Computer Music comes in! 

Our mammoth, 15-page ‘arrangement workout’ feature and accompanying tutorial videos will give you plenty of ideas for developing half-formed sketches into fully-fledged tracks. We’ll bring you loads of inspiring suggestions for getting out of that rut and finishing your songs, revealing a boatload of supplementary tips and techniques along the way.

Watch one of the videos from the feature below, and get the rest only with CM263.

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FREE IK Multimedia levelling amplifier plugin worth €99

Based upon a famous levelling amplifier, IK Multimedia’s White 2A brings world-class dynamics processing to your DAW. Usually costing €99, all readers of Computer Music issue 263 can register and use this studio legend for free.

Find out how to use White 2A in the video below, get the full lowdown on our dedicated White 2A page, and buy CM263 to download the plugin in VST, AU and AAX formats for PC and Mac. 

OFFER ENDS 23/01/19

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PRODUCER MASTERCLASS: ICARUS

As producers, DJs and live performers, brothers Tom and Ian Griffiths – aka Icarus – are responsible for a series of perfectly-crafted, genre-crossing electronic releases, including Don’t Cry Wolf, Love Has Come Around, October and – the subject of this issue’s Producer Masterclass – the sublime No Sleep.

Check out the first half of the video below, and access the full video and eight-page interview feature with CM263.

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FREE SAMPLE PACKS WITH CM263

This issue’s royalty-free sample packs are…

• TOP-LOOP GROOVES – an exclusive pack of BPM-categorised hi-hats, cymbals/rides, noise loops and more
• LOOPMASTERS CM263 – choice cuts from the respected brand

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

• An exclusive interview with bass/house superstar REDLIGHT
• Compare like a boss using today’s top tool in our A/B REFERENCING PLUGINS feature
• Get to grips with SPECTRAL SYNTHESIS
• Explore MINOR CHORD PROGRESSIONS with music theory expert Dave Clews
• Our in-house DR BEAT crunches up drums with digital distortion
• Pro producer Ed:it syntheses kicks
• 23 reviews of the latest music-making products including NI Komplete Kontrol A-Series, iZotope RX 7, ADPTR Metric A/B, UA Century Tube Channel Strip, Slate Digital FG-A, Mastering The Mix Animate and more

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Get this issue now

Print + DVD | | Android | | iOS | | Digital cross-platform

Digital editions include all extra content, now available via FileSilo (see page 5 in the mag)

Subscribe and Save

Never miss an issue with a CM subscription, print or digital!