How To Fit 37 Songs In Under 4 Minutes –…
Like every year, we didn’t shy away from some extra work to finish off the 2017 Megamix before the holidays. Big thanks goes out to our producers Jan & Alex, who made the mix possible.
We want to give you some insight how to approach such a massive project. If you want to try something like this on your own, here’s a basic run down of the steps:
#1 – Choose The Songs
Well, it’s a Megamix. So you want the most successful and popular songs of the year in your session. A good list to refer to is the Billboard Year End Charts – Hot 100 Songs.
There is no standard length for a Megamix, nor a specific amount of songs you have to use. We recommend using at least 10 songs. If you use more, no problem. But don’t worry about it to0 much and don’t settle for a specific amount on songs before you start, because you will have to adjust your production later on most likely. The only rule : The biggest hits needs to be in hit – period.
#2 – Find Acapella’s And Instrumental’s
Good quality is a is a key point here. If you don’t work with high quality elements (preferably originals), you will notice it later on.
There will probably be a point, where you have to pitch or time stretch elements to make them fit in your production. PlugIns such as Pitch ‘n Time Pro, Little Alter Boy and Melodyne are useful at it. However, this is where you lose quality! If you struggle finding good quality elements in the first place, Delay or Reverb can be used to cover it up.
#3 – Sort The Songs By Bpm And Key
Staying in rhythm on a long mix is essential. In order to do that, take 2-3 songs with similar Bpm (f.e. Bpm range from 90-100), similar keys and put them together. You can play these songs as a block before switching to a different bpm or tonality.
#4 – Find A Suitable Drumloop
This also helps keeping the rhythm. Depending on the length of your mix, we recommend using only about 2-3 different loops max. Also possible is an instrumental of a big song.
#5 – Start Mixing
This is the fun part. Let your creativity flow, don’t overuse PlugIns and stick to your presorted blocks of songs. Also, don’t be hesitant to try things out, maybe even switch out songs, just to see what different outcomes you cant get.
If you think you are finished, let someone else listen to it. You need another pair of ears to judge flow, transitions and rhythm.
#6 – Mastering
Every good production needs good mastering! We don’t want to get too much into detail here, but you should give it as much attention as the rest of your work. Mastering is the glue that brings everything together.
So there you go guys, we tried to break down the production of a Megamix in a few steps. If you follow these steps you should have a good foundation to just go at it and have fun.
