Making an Ambient Indie Song (Bon Iver, Novo Amor, Phoebe Bridgers)

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[@MusoraMedia]

Great vid! We love the Yvette Young shout-out!

[@TrevBarnes]

First, holy smokes I'm fangirling so hard that you commented on my channel. Second, of course, Yvette is a legend!

[@TobiasRobertson]

When you said about strings I already knew you were reaching by for the mellotron! It’s such a good sound for this genre, especially when do weird stuff like drown it in reverb, delay or even distort/bitcrush it for weird little ear candy moments Great video again dude

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!

[@intersweat]

This style is one of my favourites and you did a really great job. Only subbed yesterday and I’ve been going through your vids and I love this the most. Awesome job!!

[@TrevBarnes]

That’s so kind, thank you!!

[@WraithMusic.]

Great vid Trev! I wish there was more of this style of tutorial on KZbin...

[@TrevBarnes]

Thanks!

[@marionobre2678]

I think the key is to be authentic and not try to emulate what was the accidental of what makes something heartfelt and unique, it more a connection to the soul and capturing it with any means you have in the most fluid way without overthinking it to keep the emotions pure and not empty…

[@TrevBarnes]

I agree with that, I've never made anything good (in my opinion) from overthinking. The best way to write and produce something heartfelt is just simply to do.

[@mattk.9377]

Side note, great books behind you. Rick Rubin's "The Creative Act" is a must read for any artists out there.

[@TrevBarnes]

100%

[@mattk.9377]

@@TrevBarnes if you liked Psychology of Money check out The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. You won't be disappointed.

[@tepidlemming]

No cap bro, you’re a huge inspiration and have given me the confidence to put down my real ideas in logic instead of just making beats.

[@TrevBarnes]

that means the world to hear. stay inspired, friend 🙏

[@cesarespinoac]

KZbin suggested this video to me, I didn't know I would come across such an interesting production, good video, new subscriber, greetings from Mexico.

[@TrevBarnes]

That means so much to me, thank you!

[@DaysBeforeICame]

Didn‘t Bon Iver record his debut album with just a SM57?

[@TrevBarnes]

He sure did! Ran them through a $60 Avid MBox on a student version of ProTools. Incredible.

[@toweringdaddy-qy7if]

SM57 is a great all around mic for instruments and vocals. has a little more meat to it than the beta 57 on vocals, partly due to the beta's noise rejection response.

[@LastTakeFilmMake]

This was awesome you inspire so many! Keep it up!

[@TrevBarnes]

That’s too kind, thank you so much!

[@michael.h.m]

I love your brain man. Thank you for these videos!

[@TrevBarnes]

That’s so genuinely kind, thank you!

[@musiclearner8634]

The lyrics are simple yet so effective 💯♥️. Very thoughtful writing

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you so much!

[@davidferguson1378]

Loved the comment about playin w the tip of your finger for a softer sound while still including some kinda transient. I typically point my finger nails on my right hand so that its easier to do this. You can also keep the rest of you nail shorter so you don't freak out the barrista at your local coffee shop.

[@macaroon147]

Im in the Same place like with you and lyrics bro. For me I end up just saying whatever words come out and trust that later they'll make sense - or not. It's more about the feel in the end to me. Like the music i listen to, i never really care about the lyrics either.

[@LukeProv]

Man I would love to see exactly how you mixed those vocals to get that final sound! Awesome video, you gained yourself a new subscriber !

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you for the sub! To be 100% honest with you, it was nothing fancy or complicated. It was done mainly with the Slate Virtual Mix rack, if my memory serves me correctly, all that is on them is a small amount of preamp push, slight compression, and some low/mid eq cleanup. That's pretty much it. The magic comes from sending the vocals to a big, drenched reverb, and compressing the reverb bus fairly hard. I think a lot of people forget to process bus effects, so removing low end from the reverb, adding some mid presence, and compressing it a fair bit goes a LONG way. Hope this helps!

[@LukeProv]

@@TrevBarnes thanks so much for taking the time to reply, I appreciate that. I’ll give this a shot!

[@TrevBarnes]

For sure! Let me know how it goes

[@davidblades9468]

@@TrevBarnesthis would be super helpful if I had any idea what you were talking about. lol. Any chance you could do a video walking us through this process? Great song and trying g to learn how to produce this type of music.

[@wanderlost2490]

Youre the one im looking for🎉❤

[@MusicBenHenry]

Absolutely beautiful man!! Nice one

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@disobeats]

absalutely gorgious, you totally nailed this sound!

[@TrevBarnes]

That’s so nice, thank you for watching!

[@ArtFreex]

Damn! The idea of mixing in mono is amazing! Definitely will try that asap! Thanks for the very nice video :) was listening to Novo Amor the other day again and it's just such a vibe.

[@TrevBarnes]

Thanks for watching!

[@ChilledGreese]

This is amazing, great work!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thanks a lot!

[@pyt2]

Amazing, my dude. Would love to see more videos on this style.

[@TrevBarnes]

For sure!

[@sydneyotoole7685]

love this sm!!! the song was so good and the video production went off💃

[@TrevBarnes]

That means so much to me, thank you!

[@sarahlibovmusic]

Hey, I love your videos and they're super helpful. Do you by chance have a studio tour/gear collection video? Would be so interested in seeing that.

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you so much! I definitely plan on doing one soon

[@brendanpatrickmusic]

Mellotron flute/string works perfectly on anything in this style haha.

[@TrevBarnes]

It sure does!

[@NickKizirnis]

Very cool, thank you!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank YOU!

[@ashtongermain]

This is rlly inspiring

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!

[@lh_ke]

this is amazing! you should try a bleachers style. and also i think the vocals sound great!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you! I’ve been wanting to do a bleachers style vid, great suggestion!

[@matthewk8279]

great video and beautiful song!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!!

[@toweringdaddy-qy7if]

agreed about the beta 58 on vocals. i always struggle with this one, there's quite a thin sound to it.

[@TrevBarnes]

Which is so bizarre considering how great it sounds on instruments

[@toweringdaddy-qy7if]

right!? sound is so cool. @@TrevBarnes

[@LaupaireOfficial]

Nicely done❤

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!

[@aviruptheguitarist]

Great video thanks!!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!

[@isaiah_dunbar_music]

Awesome video man!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you so much!

[@kadinbartlett2763]

Can you make a video on making a song that sounds something like the bands M83 or Beach House? Love the content!

[@reganovich]

This sounds great! love your style and approach..Peace from Ireland! Also, what is the initial synth/instrument sound..that sounds gorgeous

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you so much! Its Baby Audio's new ATOMS synth. They sent it to me to try out and I legit use it with most projects now, there's alot of weird stuff in there

[@ceckpoint2519]

Hi man! Really love the bass, how did you made it?

[@TrevBarnes]

Hey there! If my memory serves me correctly it is the default patch when you open up the plugin Ana 2, and just added a little bit of a high cut.

[@Enamoredofa]

can you make a video on how to make a stephen sanchez ( until i found you) type song ?

[@TrevBarnes]

I’d have to check it out!

[@mn23122]

very nice video and song 👍

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you!

[@lillylegit]

Nice video!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thanks!

[@philipalmen5116]

Sounds great man, good vibe! Can't really hear the lyrics though. Are you using Logic plugins for guitar?

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you! Yeah, after listening to the final I may have gone a little overboard with the reverb. For the guitar I’m using a mix of logic’s stock plugins and slates VMR

[@dmitriytampei1953]

FAC GAE tuning

[@wheresallthezombies]

One of my biggest regrets is not working on my singing. This is great

[@TrevBarnes]

A regret is only a regret when the time of opportunity has passed, and there is no such thing as missing your chance to work on something. You can do it.

[@wheresallthezombies]

@@TrevBarnes thanks dude! People keep telling me that but I feel too old. lol. Especially after wasting my teens, 20s, and early 30s doing drugs and sort of wasting away.

[@elalexromeu]

Great video & song! Really enjoyed watching. I have a question, what drum kit did you use? Is it Logic Pro X native? Greetings from México!

[@TrevBarnes]

Thank you! The kit is a collection of samples from Logic

[@ddt92712]

yo trev! another fire video man. you think you could do a smashing pumpkins inspired vid at some point?

[@TrevBarnes]

That would be so fun

[@vitocarrone7452]

What kind of reverbs did you use for the session? Particularly on the voice...

[@TrevBarnes]

if my memory serves me correctly, I used Logic’s Space Designer. The only three things I adjusted on the reverb were the pre-delay (set to 0ms), the EQ (boosted the miss, cut the lows and highs a tad), and adjusted the wet mix to flavor

[@vitocarrone7452]

@@TrevBarnes thanks, you use the hall type?

[@TrevBarnes]

@@vitocarrone7452 I believe so.

[@GG-zt1nt]

YES I WAS HOPING YOU’D USE A MELLOTRON

[@TrevBarnes]

You’re hopes are my commands haha

[@chojiakimichi2587]

Bro why's that mic make that buzzing noise?

[@TrevBarnes]

The sample rate of the interface and OBS were off so there was a few interference. Was trying something out but it didn't go too well, sorry!

[@MisaAcim]

That melody from 11:22 ...that sounds awfully like the melody from August Rush.

[@TrevBarnes]

Ive never seen it, i should check it out!

[@MisaAcim]

@@TrevBarnes do see it. The music and the story is very inspiring.

[@ItsArius]

great video and song. send me vocals in this indie style around 120-126 bpm and I'd love to build a song in my style around it. feel free to check out my stuff and tell me if you'd be down

[@jiosanchez3160]

what reverb did you use??

[@TrevBarnes]

If I remember correctly I think I used the space designer from Logic with pretty minimal tweaking

[@josephschenk5820]

how long of a reverb do you have on the vocals?

[@TrevBarnes]

I believe the tail is 1.9 seconds, size was around 110% with a 70% mix

[@EastCoastSkater30]

Zach Bryan's new tiktok video sounds awfully similar

[@TrevBarnes]

He plagiarized me, it's time to sue lol