How to Produce a Song From a Vocal Idea or Acapella! | Make Pop Music

In this video, Austin goes over his steps for producing an instrumental along to an initial vocal idea. Once a vocal idea is established, it can be overwhelming to tackle the task of producing a song that fits with the video, but in this video we dive into some easy steps to make the process as seamless and creative as possible!
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My Gear:
DAW: Cubase 11 Pro
Desk: AZ Studio Workstations
Monitors: Focal Shape 65s with Focal Sub6
Interface: UAD Apollo Twin USB
MIDI Keyboard: M-Audio Code 61
Keyboards: Roland Juno DS88, Roland Juno 106, Arturia PolyBrute
Guitars: Fender American Professional Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Taylor 214 CE Plus
Preamps: Heritage Audio HA81A & Audient ASP800
Microphones: Advanced Audio 251, Slate ML-1, Shure SM7B, JZ BH-1, JZ V67, Lauten Audio LA-320, Lauten Audio LA-220, Lauten Audio LA-120, AKG P170, Sterling ST59
Camera: Panasonic G7
Lens: Rokinon 12mm f2
Camera Lights: Neewer LED Light Panels
Timestamps:
Intro 0:00
Writing the Vocal Idea 0:58
Find the Tempo 2:00
Lay a Vocal Down In The Session 3:09
Find The Right Key 3:57
Experiment With Chord Progressions - Idea 1 4:58
Experiment With Chord Progressions - Idea 2 6:30
Decide on a Vibe 7:10
Writing Key / Guitar Melodies and Motifs - Idea 1 7:51
Writing Key / Guitar Melodies and Motifs - Idea 2 9:14
Trying Out Different Rhythms - Idea 1 10:00
Trying Out Different Rhythms - Idea 2 11:04
Creating the Song Structure 12:25
Diving Deep Into Production 13:57
Outro 15:10

[@LLusion]

from someone who does remixes constantly, this was such a well thought out video!

[@Remu-]

Kinda insane how you can get two different chords progressions with a completely different vibe to work with the same vocal melody.

[@hugoveliz1667]

this guy literally has to be the top producer here on KZbin ! much respect bro

[@goldenmonkey3830]

This video really demonstrates the power of reharmonization! Changing the chords can make such a difference in the way we hear the top line!

[@94fm]

Thank you for the quality content, Austin. Every single video you've put out seems to increase in quality. You are the absolute best.

[@ambrocado]

A big help to me. THANK YOUUUUU AUSTIN.

[@RhyceRecords]

this is wild. I love how you break down everything. Learn so much every time I check out a video of yours!! let's go!

[@virginlamo8202]

This is exactly what I needed cuz just a couple days ago I sat down and wrote a song and was thinking of starting with the vocal

[@practicallyparadise]

Been waiting on this for a while!!!

[@mphatic]

Always great info thanks Austin! & Team!

[@logigmusic6458]

Another genuinely brilliant video from such an expert producer .

[@calebthebarnes]

Thank you Austin 🤘🏽

[@tomsangiorgio]

Brilliant video man, haven’t seen this concept before on a tutorial. Top shelf stuff as usual

[@faisalmehmood3020]

excellent work. love it

[@KordTaylor]

Another great video Austin. So relevant in this world of starting sounds with apps like Voice Notes or the OffTop app. Thank you! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@jaredstanfield267]

Killer video as always Austin!!

[@kristinwalz8878]

Thanks Austin. Def like the datk pop vibe best

[@lemmonsAREyellow]

Austin , this was great !! So clear and simply explained by DOING and not as much talking. Perfect 👌🏼 Sounds great too !!! Thanks so much for sharing. ✌🏼

[@imtherealomg]

Finally what I've been looking for

[@OriginalRaveParty]

Cheers. I really appreciate your teaching 😁

[@RafaEspinoBeats]

Always learning with you!🔥

[@homayunelyasi5562]

Thank you so much for this

[@christopherkouri2317]

Really really great video. Thank you for droppin some knowledge!!

[@basscase78]

This is my favorite video of yours so far Austin (and you have incredible content already)! It was so practical to see how to begin with a completely blank soundscape and build around a vocal idea. Also I loved the speed at which you got the idea created. How long does it take you to complete a full demo of a song (with intro/v/pre/chorus/v2/chorus/bridge/chorus)? One of my goals for the next few months is to learn to make a kick ass demo in 6 hours!

[@ambrocado]

the bass line/ chord 1 is brutal

i love makepopmsuic. thank you austin

[@noctemsymph]

Thank you so much.. Was struck trying to figure out where to go after chord progressions!

[@ladka3750]

Great man

[@itskdn]

Wow, Thank you so much for this. I've always had Vocal Idea but due to me not using them, they just disappear. But Now I know how to make use of it in the Right way!

[@danecustance2734]

Helpful thanks.

[@alejandroluzuriaga180]

Awesome, like always.. Proud to be here since 20k suscribers xx

[@sunenergy9718]

Thank you! You are cool dude and great teacher

[@Tanner-James]

New subscriber. I really appreciate your channel. This was a very helpful how to. That dark pop version was ear candy.

[@robbykkingkash6225]

Awesome

[@FlightDeckStudios]

Nice video bro! looking forward to binging on your channel!

[@nimagholamimusic]

tnx austin👊🏼

[@faltonito]

FIRE

[@heartshinemusic]

In my opinion, you get much better and original results when you write songs from a melody. Forcing a melody and lyrics over a pre-existing track limits your creative expression a bit too much. Of course, songs ideas can come in different forms, but developing a vocal melody (including its unique rhythm) with lyrics over a basic drum beat (just a kick on every beat for tempo) gives you more space to explore different chords for the melody and the right vibe to accompany your melody and (guide) lyrics.

[@udaykiran9556]

I love it I'll definitely follow these tips😇😇😇

[@BenCaesar]

This artist is making cubase cool 🔥

[@Soundpaintmusic]

Beautiful video, so informative.

[@MusokeMSK]

Really helpful 👍

[@musicvibes7017]

hold up wait a minute that short intro was fire though

[@robinparik6682]

Great video, thanks!:)

[@Jamieamusic]

Love this! Always find myself writing vocals to a track. Inspiring to see this process instead. Which do you prefer doing yourself? Ace vid!

[@MakePopMusic]

Depends on the project it would be going on! Haha both versions would still need a ton of work to be finished up.

[@Painx7]

Really like your I need to find more channel like urs.Most of the other youtube producer keep doing trap or type content

[@brandonlucas15]

Cool video man

[@thanhat4561]

i'm from Vietnam . happy new yeah bro !

[@ClayENMusic]

High Quality Content ✅

[@Bernz66]

Interesting….. I normally write a song out on an acoustic guitar before I even open up my DAW…… need to try this out to see what I comes out…. Thanks!

[@latinoticiastelevision3050]

LIKE YOUR YANKEES HAT, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE HELP. YOU'RE A GREAT MAN !!!!

[@manishwagh5798]

I like indie pop

[@mikecapalungan]

This channel is a huge inspiration for me as I’ve always wanted to get into music production with recording, mixing, and mastering my own music in the future. I have this one song where the lyrics just came to me one day and I played around on my guitar with the melody of the lyrics, and found the chords for the song. i plan on getting music recording equipment this summer, but I’m worried that I’ll be overwhelmed and confused with learning everything. Any tips?

[@joeybean8669]

you will be overwhelmed but enjoy the challenge and keep working

[@timuryesa]

Bro I really love your videos! I want to buy a slate digital ml1 because of the 251 emulation. Is the blackbird version good? Or would u recommend me another mic for rnb and pop music?

[@costamato]

⚡⚡🙌

[@juanx4986]

Good video

[@skaylars]

Damn, already got the Lewitt 1040. Did you buy it or get to try it out?

[@ryanbird109]

could you do a video on how to make a song like pvris? Their new stuff, not the older albums

[@benheet6730]

I have the problem of singing in between keys when I‘m recording without chords I laid down before, any tips for that?

[@charlieswagger6786]

Hey austin, any tips on vocal timing? How do you decide where on the bar the vocal comes in?

[@imryangallus]

just work with timing it differently until one flows really smoothly and "makes sense"

[@prodjxnas]

What are these "3 options" that are shown on all of the FX Channels? looks like it got sth to do with routing but I never saw these before

[@DNAshurii]

Hey! Thanks for uploading this video - just wondering what auto tune preset you’re using for the vocals or is it just a default on Cubase?

[@MakePopMusic]

Typically just use Autotune Pro set to the key of the song with 20-30 retune speed. I will also manually align in VariAudio in Cubase!

[@DNAshurii]

@@MakePopMusic amazing stuff! thank you!! 😊

[@RishabhChouhan]

Hello Austin, very helpful video as always. I have a request, Can you make a video on K-pop Song production.

[@watameron2936]

Would love to learn more k-pop production from him too. In case you haven't seen though, there's an archived live stream of him doing k-pop

[@RishabhChouhan]

@@watameron2936 Yeah, I would love more K-pop related content and thanks for telling me about archived live stream.

[@zachpitt9249]

I always starting with vocal tunes but i encounter challenge what key to use, chords etc and i cant put in the daw what chords playin in my head because i dont have theory knowledge and gifted ears to build chords from scratch...

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

How did you set your metronome to shakers?

[@MakePopMusic]

Metro in settings in Cubase and select shaker. You can pick from like 10 different sounds or upload your own

[@akoeyooku4230]

I have already compose vocals of my songs. Now I want matching instrumentals. Is there an AI that can generate this?

[@solomike1221]

I love u

[@editname1385]

Hey, did you study audio production or something in university? What’s your opinion on studying it in university?

[@persona8991]

worth it imo but only if you have prior knowledge

[@neelchhabra5060]

Can you make a video on making a track like light switch by charlie puth? 👀

[@MakePopMusic]

Already did! Check our How To Make A Pop Song video from a couple months ago 😁

[@LillongPole]

is this cubase?

[@jakeupsmith2217]

watching your vids over a year... and i love what you do it's great ...but lacks a lot detail as to where you get to were your are..maybe I'm just a dum ass...but i still love what you do

[@floris7552]

Can you show how to make “explosive” drums, like in the end of “lakehouse” by Jeremy zucker for example?

[@floris7552]

Amazing vid btw!!

[@MakePopMusic]

Thank you! End of Lakehouse is just tonssss of saturation on everything.

[@floris7552]

@@MakePopMusic thanks! Which saturation plugins would you recommend? I never get it to sound right.

[@bhaveshtochabbra6853]

@@floris7552 fab Saturn maybe. Thermal by output is crazzy tooo

[@bhaveshtochabbra6853]

@@floris7552 i believe there's also a production breakdown of this particular song.

[@prettytiff2562]

Emailed you to commission for mix/mastering didn’t hear back

[@paidkhar5240]

Sir i want to hire you...are u available in fiverr???

[@EmanuelFuchs]

Not so shit the song idea