Creating music and conquering creative challenges together.
Hi, I'm Brian. I'm a musician, producer, and curious sound designer who loves imperfections and personality in music.
I host the Music Production Podcast and I wrote the 5-Minute Music Producer: 365 Music-Making Activities to help myself and other musicians create more music. I love exploring the philosophical side of art and creativity. I'm an Ableton Certified Trainer and teach at Berklee Online.
I'm happy we can share this journey together!
Check out my downloads, podcast, and teachings at: brianfunk.com
yep, its not explained well by Ableton but using the Ableton file manger is key. Just collect and save all doesn't work when sharing a project to Collab..
It's changed slightly in Live 12. This short article from Ableton shows how to do it: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/5595081962524-Scene-Tempo-and-Time-Signature
@@TheUkuleleXD That's a little tricky. It requires either Max for Live or other techniques. This video discusses it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1aexb_YtVR0.html
I know I had to learn the hard way with moving files, and or trying to archive. ALWAYS COLLECT ALL AND SAVE! Now does that always copy the samples onto the harddrive? I believe it does. Which you have to consider if you dont want to use too much space, but thats where saving to a external harddrive seems to be the best idea. Im happy Ableton 12 has "freeze and flatten" now. Convenient, but cant wait to freeze groups.
If you Collect All and Save, and select all of the boxes, Live will copy all associated files with the Session into the Project Folder, wherever that Project Folder is located. Freeze and Flatten is great. Groups would be a great addition too!
@@BrianFunkMusic To be honest, I don't know any other plugins that currently profit from it, but man, the time saved for Melodyne alone would quickly add up.
What I wish Ableton engineers to now focus on since am guessing they were busy with push 3 and A12 is to optimize ableton's efficiency in cpu usage. With new macs and pc chips like 14900k going for less power cores and more efficiency cores I hope they impliment scheduling of ableton to efficency cores which are unused to take advantage of the full chips cores soon. I don't want to compromise on chip selection based on cores since newer chips come with benefits like thunderbolt 5 on new razers and higher pcie connections, higher ram mghz, cache etc. There is no excuse that it runs on old code because Cubase is ancient as f*ck and them and reaper have effectively implemented this. This would solidify ableton for not only production but heavy mixing and mastering which will be really sweet and just a go to for all matters audio because with modern plugins and AI features it's starting to take a toll on good old ableton and not everyone especially beginners don't have the budget to blow on a highend pc or Mac. Plus I would also like to see how Ableton will take advantage of NPU's in new chip to its advantage since now it has the similarity feature which I'm guessing uses neural networks and if such and likes of ozone master assistant could be scheduled there. Also Ableton live for windows arm early on would be nice. Overall I just want them to do better and remain competitive cause it is a great software
It's amazing how far the tech has come. I rarely worry about CPU anymore on a Macbook Pro M1 from 2021. And to think there is more power to be harnessed... It's a good time to be making music!! Thanks for your thoughts!
I needed this today. I have a song in front of me that's busting the buffer, and I don't even know why. I hope it's done by Thursday. Tomorrow's the day!
option paralysis drives me crazy, this is the reason why almost all my equipment is stored in the attic. The choice of guitar amp plugins alone is stealing hours I could have spent recording but you sit around forever comparing plugins and their options and suddenly the day has passed without really working on a song. I'm at my most creative and productive when I have the least options. 1 guitar, 1 DAW, 1 guitar plugin, 1 drumset, 1 electric bass.
This is fascinating. As a musician WITHOUT kids, I'm always being asked about how to get kids and keep kids interested in music by my friends with kids. And I have nieces, so I'm also always thinking about how to keep them interested in music. These guys are doing GREAT stuff.
This was very cool!! This is what it is all about!! Thanks Brian, Tyler and Jordan and the entire Boredom Fighters team for creating a wonderful organization! It is definitely needed. 🎧🎤🎚🎶💜
I once had an Akai Dps12 I barely knew how to run when I wrote three songs I wanted to record. My choices were so limited I had no edits and no fussing around. Mixed levels and panning and was done…..
Its really crazy how much you remind me of my high school music teacher (in the best way possible) I was really blessed to have had him as my teacher for 4 years as he was a super experimental and interesting guy.. Thanks again for the vids, been watching you for years now! really seeing you improve as of recently.. this one was really great!
Thanks for keeping up with my work! I'm glad you are enjoying it! It sounds like you are putting me in great company, thanks and hats off to your teacher!
i think it the future (very soon) it will be important to show the human factor behind your music to the audience (live videos).. otherwise they won't believe you anymore that it is made by you. and there will be a lot of ppl that dont care.
I think you might be right! Maybe we are already there. Even with the shear amount of human-made music out there, having a good story can help you stand out from the crowd.
Hello and thank you for this video. There is a problem for me. I’ve got one PC and one MacBook Air M2 installed my Ableton with the latest version at both of them. At my PC it works fine, but at my MacBook, it doesn’t do anything. It’s the same thing if I put it or not. Is something that I have to take notice please? Thank you
It shouldn't matter. I created it on a Mac, so it works on mine. It might be the instruments you are using? Make sure whatever device you use is MPE compatible.
@@BrianFunkMusic I just use a simple vst3 like diva at both of them. I think it doesn’t matter what components you use, but the tuning system affect the output of the sound cards! It’s really strange, and I want to use it at my laptop for live performances at 432! I was so happy when I saw your video because I searched for it, but now I’m really confused
@@Metaxasofc There shouldn't be anything you need to do. I demonstrate them in this video, cued up to the right time: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-roME812dq18.htmlsi=M1otZjoViUhRJd6e&t=317 Try testing the tunings with one of Ableton's native instruments (Meld, Wavetable, Drift, etc), does it work then?
@@BrianFunkMusic thank you very much! As I see there is a bypass tuning option on the channel. Maybe is enabled on my laptop. Can you tuning wavs or only midi channels?
there are gems in this discussion. one of them is @57min Brian talks about needing to do the work. 'i'm only a music producer when i'm doing it when i'm producing music this is a powerful perspective and inspiration for the need to keep doing the work. @91min Liina introduces 'a very interesting concept called divergent and convergent thinking are this is a powerful way to contain our inner critic. what a terrific interview with you two Open, Honest, Genuine folks
seems like you haven't played enough with current AI services, much of what you have shown is done in suno and udio just by adding 1-2 tags. I agree that a neural network doesn't make an artistic case for why it did this or that, and can't give its music extra backstory, but that doesn't stop it from sounding almost exactly like the things you showed (randomly overloaded elements, vsh/tape processing, etc). Speaking of imperfections, just at the current stage there are just so many of them in the results of AI music services, and some random things sound actually WOW, I've been amazed a couple times. I don't mean to say by this that a neural network makes better music or even as well as a human, but I just don't find your arguments the most convincing
I could imagine a desire to capture some AI "mistakes" in music, like artifacts or strange misinterpretations. You have a good point. I just heard a song that sounded like a 70s funk band. It had the groove, interesting sounds, and a vintage recording sound. I was a bit shocked lol! One point I'm trying to make is taking the time to make the process interesting. How do you feel about all this? Any thoughts or ideas on how to "survive" as a musician?
not " making " lol , when no tools are involved , just simple text ... it would be less comical to use " I have been generating " instead . It is important to remember that " making " requires actual talent and actual work
Me as a musician i can see no problem. My calculator count better than me and Google translate thing better than i do, If AI makes better music that i do .... thank goodness! I want to hear best music possible and if computers can produce it i'm all for it
as long as you don't fool yourself into believing that you made what has been generated by an AI . as long as it just devalues music making and art ... by allowing the average imbecile to produce finished results within seconds with no work and no talent . I am all for it
I have a big problem with the weather implementing AI music! It's actually set up to steal parts, phrasing, grooves, instruments... Morphing two or more voices together... Directly copying them... And just changing things enough to avoid obvious copyright infringement! It's horrible what they're doing! There needs to be a lot more transparency! It's literally sucking the soul out of people's performances and regurgitating it with enough changes to possibly sneak past copyright laws! It's big problem
They changed it slightly in Live 12, here's an article from Ableton on it: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/5595081962524-Scene-Tempo-and-Time-Signature
Its a common issue, apparently. When I used a fostex 8 track, linn9000 and some synths, I could knock out songs in a few hrs. Unfortunately, rearranging the section would require reperforming the analog tracks . Since trying digital, I miss the linn sequencer . I tried the roland vs recording. Too many menus and missed using the analog mixer. Using a DAW have further daunted me. The milliseconds of delay when playing rhythms, guitar making me throw my hands up. I see so many playing guitar and doing parts with interfaces and they seem to go right along with ease. Not sure if I’ll be productive again but the suggestion you present may help some. Thank you for a different perspective.
I think you can be! We just have to discipline ourselves a little more now. Before limitations were imposed upon us, now we have to put them on ourselves. Thanks for watching and your feedback!
It's a way to help communicate the story. But we can also do it for the sake of doing it. Also, I think we can look at the sharing of the story as part of the creative process.
@@BrianFunkMusic There is nothing new here. Music media used to do this before, but now the musician has to do it himself. As well as doing many other things like promotion, music videos, organizing live shows and so on.
Thanks for the thoughts, Brian. I totally agree, making music is like surfing: the only purpose is for the fun of it. Once you drop the ego, you can focus on the enjoyment of the process alone. Karma Yoga, process thinking, cultivating the Now.
Great analogy! That's one of the reasons I love to surf! You just kind of go with what is given and enjoy it for its own sake. And when you talk about yoga, people call it a practice. The point is the thing itself! It's only when I start hoping for outcomes that I lose the enjoyment!
I love that old piano pack of yours. In fact it appears in a release of mine. It's been long overdue to notify you, I know, but I still thought it's the nice thing to do. In case I want to share this track with you, how do you want to go about this? Don't want to leave a shameless plug here. Keep up the good content, long time follower here, at least 12 years. All the best
That's great to hear! I'd love for you to post it. Please plug away! If you don't plug your music, who will!? If you aren't comfortable with that though, email me: brian@brianfunk.com... But I'm ok with you putting it here!
@@BrianFunkMusic will do. I just saw this video about Prince work ethic and realize I've been slacking. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ECGcTM_gk4s.htmlsi=UOQW1Bx_G-O2QkIZ
Can AI perform onstage? Nope. Me personally I make music because I like to. It is not a living and most likely never will be. Ghost, KISS, Ozzy, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, they all have a great stage performance. Music is entertainment but made better by the show and atmosphere created by these bands. We may end up with musicians doing live on stage covers of AI music but the stage presence will always be there I think. Or the AI music will be created in conjunction with real life musicians/performers directing the AI programming and outcome.
Yes, it will be hard to replicate those experiences. And while collaborating with AI is pretty interesting, it still doesn't compare to working with another human!
If you know music, you have nothing to worry about. If you were always looking for an easy way to the top (dragging and dropping samples, for example) then you should worry. Learn music folks.
This is especially noticeable when you are working with others. There's nothing quite like that interaction and exchanging creative ideas and energies!
much like what Neatfreak said in another comment, AI's impact will likely be with stock music and background music. Stuff that needs to convey a mood without being too distracting to what is going on visually. Things that don't need to be licensed. I always love creating story with my music. I tend to start a song and then try to visualize what situation that this song would be played in, and then expand in that direction. Sometimes it's a big punchy action scene, or other times it's depicting a still life. Either way, having that story in mind takes you directions that you wouldn't go normally and that's so important.
Hey Ben!! Maybe AI music will clear out generic music in general! Your approach is awesome. I think that's when I'm most productive too. Just imagining a time, place, and purpose for my music helps a lot.
@@Dystopian84 One thing Ben does that is very interesting and exciting is stream a lot of his process. That part of his process is intriguing and draws people in. So far, that seems like something computers can't do. But you aren't wrong; with so much music, even as it is before AI generated stuff, it's really tough to stand out from the noise.
A.I. music is for the NPC's and the sheeple. The real musicians, artists and fans will not listen to A.I. However, platforms like Spotify are being very deceitful with A.I. musicians. This way they get all of the proceeds and do not have to pay real persons, real creators and artists. It's not cool at all 🤨
The part about streaming platforms flooding the services with AI music is scary. So many of us listen to playlists around certain moods or activities. To think that those types of playlists will be generated is a little frightening. But hopefully, people will start to yearn for some authenticity. Hopefully!
Well, now that whatever we do with it belongs to the model owner we need at least to use our protected lyrics. With about 800 k + generated songs per day, Udio will receive a lot of royalties in the near future
Playing live music is definetally something that will never die and also being a good if not great DJ is something an AI will never be able to replicate...In the electronic music underground there is some insane DJ's out there that really know how to inspire with sound and I dont see that ever being possible with AI... maybe in many many years but never possible to replicate the power of a human being controlling an entire room!
