3 Ways to Make Your Song Memorable

Everyone has heard a song that sticks with you no matter what. The music is so powerful and full of depth and passion that it brings up an enormous amount of emotions within you.

Can you think of a song you have listened to and wondered what made you so attached to it?

I know I have!

This blog covers three ways that artists and producers have helped their listeners connect to songs at a personal level. 

Layering Music

When I listen to a song with great passion, the first thing I personally discovered was the way the artist manipulates layering to realize the artist's vision.

A blog by Kevin Tran available on Medium speaks more in detail about music layering techniques.

These layers invoke in the song, a range of emotions such as drama, suspense, passion, pain, sorrow, hope and more.

Some songs have instrumentals that can just speak for themselves, with beat drops, transitions or fade-outs that can be an adventure to listen to. Electronic music singers/producers such as Grimes, Daft Punk or Gesaffelstein have mastered this art through the use of production to express their feelings. 

On the other hand, these music production techniques are even more amplified when it includes lyrics with a story and meaning. Stories make up another layer that embodies the meaning of a song and touches anyone listening. Artists like Frank Ocean perfected this styling and connected with so many listeners.  

Frank Ocean- Nights

Producers Ocean Thornalley Uzowuru Ross 

Harmonies and melodies

Almost every song that I love includes harmonies and melodies that make up the structural part of a track as well as so catchy and smooth to listen to. With technology, artists are able to be more creative. 

Many respected artists in the industry such as Bjork utilized MIDI technologies to turn their visions into reality. A blog by Scott Wilson on Factmag outlines how Bjork uses technology such as Melodyne to build her harmonies with her voice.

Kanye West has also been famously known throughout his career to incorporate samples from gospel choirs which gives a whole sense of meaning and emotion into his songs. In a blog written by Desire Thompson in Vibe outlines Kanye’s West Gospel samples in his recent album “Jesus is King”. 

Ultralight Beam- Kanye West

Producers- Kanye West, Mike Dean, Chance the Rapper, Swizz Beatz

Instrumental solos

Instrumental solos, especially during a bridge, is one of the best ways to express emotions, especially sorrow and heartbreak. 

An article that can be found at Inverse explains how artists and producers utilize solos to tell their story. There are so many songs that incorporate solos in a way that heals you by letting you fully experience all your feelings.

For example, many songs by Beach House include instrumental solos to convey melancholy emotions with so many layers and music editings that are very complex.

Beat it- Michael Jackson

Produced by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones 

Conclusion

Music has so many components that anyone will appreciate when carefully listened to. 

These components are the reason why people from all over the world (no matter the language) fell in love with music as there is always something that connects with you.

These are the reasons why people fall in love with songs that they find solace in.

What are your favourite aspects of music and what resonates with you the most? Let us know below in the comments!

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If you need further help creating your own music, we offer audio production services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

We look forward to being a part of your success.

Contact us here to get started.

The 7 Best Video Production Companies in Kitchener Waterloo

Whether you are a small local startup or part of the marketing department of a national organization, video production is probably something you have thought about. There’s almost no better way to capture (and keep) the attention of an audience to get your message across and while this form of advertising is as old as marketing itself it was only adapted to a digital format in 1994 by AT&T. As access to digital production software like the Adobe Creative Suite or Final cut is made increasingly accessible, sometimes it is very enticing to just learn the skills yourself! While it can’t hurt to have some basic understanding of video production and editing, in reality, the time and resources that would go into developing these skills often outweigh outsource costs. 

As a brand, specialization will allow you and your company to focus on your competitive advantages, and as an individual it’ll allow you to spend more time on the things you love. 

For all your video production needs, here is a list of some of the best video production companies around Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.

Jony Studios

Jony Studios is a content marketing agency with various integrated video production services. They provide customized content solutions to amplify your brand's voice, increase reach, and drive business growth.

If you are a B2B company or a growing established business that needs a more strategic video approach that can work cohesively with your marketing department as a partner, then they should be your top choice.

They have worked with top organizations such as Amazon, Penguin Random House, University of Waterloo, and Bakertilly.

Astrodog Media

Astrodog Media are experts at creating story-driven videos. They have a lot of experience not only with the technical but strategic side of video production therefore they are a great choice for anyone who knows what they want to say but aren’t quite sure yet how to say it. 

They’ve got a great website where you can view some of their work or if you prefer you can also check them out on instagram. 

Meta Media Productions

Despite being slightly smaller than some of the other names on this list, Meta Media has to be included because of their unique focus on world issues, the environment and education. With an equally as incredible portfolio of international photography and video, it is so lucky they choose to call Waterloo home.

Arc Media

Arc Media’s amazing track list of clients like Shopify, Manulife, The University of Waterloo and Vidyard speaks for itself. This company can do everything from corporate videos to artistic animation, but it’s their blend of creative skills and technical production expertise which really sets them apart. Arc Media is a one stop shop for every step of the video creation process. 

Token Weddings

Token Weddings is by far the best in class wedding video company in the waterloo region. Cinematic level videos and photos will bring those amazing memories to life for countless years to come. By focusing on their core competency, this company has been able to refine every part of wedding media and provide professional level service on your big day. Although Token Weddings is much more specific than the others on this list, they command a mention due to their incredible quality.

Digital North Media

Marketing, creativity and technology is the name of the game for Digital North Media, and they really take it in stride with their unrivaled digital marketing capabilities. While they do video production, this company is designed to take your whole brand into account, video is the cherry on top of an integrated mix of web development and marketing. For this reason, Digital North Media is much more well suited to work with large or established brands compared to start-ups and individuals. 

Memory Tree Productions

This is the last but far from the least mention on this list. While other companies like Token Weddings or Meta Media have chosen their niche and stuck to it, Memory Tree Productions  has gone the complete opposite route. The scale of their operations has allowed them to invest in skills and hardware inaccessible to other studios like extensive animation, drone footage, 360 VR and even virtual tours! This is the largest and most general studio, so if you are unable to get your project done anywhere else by a specialist, you can guarantee that Memory Tree will have it covered. 

Conclusion

Video can be the best media to promote any up and coming brand,  or preserve personal memories for a lifetime. But with so many moving pieces it can also be a cause of a lot of stress. 

Hopefully this list has given you a good overview of the many specialists and general media companies in the area so you can find the one that is right. Outsourcing your video projects to an organization that knows this through and through will not only save you time and stress, but likely money down the road. 

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For any inquiries about our video production services or to book a quote, just fill out this quick contact form and if you’re interested in the other media services we provide at Jony Studios, check out our services page here.

How to Collaborate on Music Remotely

Collaborating musically can be an extremely effective creative and promotional tool for an upcoming musician. Not only does it force you to think outside the box and compare tips and tricks with another creative musician, but it's also a great way to get your name out there within the community. There’s nothing better than collaborating with another artist and sharing the reward of a fantastic single with tons of views, audiences will mingle and all of a sudden you got another ally, rooting for your success. 

Of course, a successful collaboration must go both ways, you’re only going to get support with your support right back so communication is the key to it all. 

In the age of the pandemic, communication has gotten all that much more difficult. For many people, taking a trip to another studio is not a possibility anymore, therefore most collaboration must be done online. 

For all those musicians eager to get back into the community and start collaborating again, here are some tips for collaborating and communication virtually. 

How to start the collab

Getting started with collabs isn’t about messaging any artist you can find online with a basic pitch, doing that will get you ignored at best and blacklisted at worst. Collaborations, and most partnerships within the music industry, is all about building relationships. 

As stated, a good collaboration is a two-way street where both artists trust each-other, communicate well and are honest about their goals. We’ll get to establishing goals and timelines later, but it's important to remember this fact. Not only will this bring more successful collaborations, but it also has the potential to get you new fans and supporters, even if the collaboration doesn’t end up working out.

Creating relationships as opposed to cold sales also serves another hidden purpose behind the scenes. Unless you have been following the artist for a long time, it's impossible to know if they even are the sort of artist you would want to associate with! Creating a dialogue beforehand lets you get the chance to know them better, what their strengths and weaknesses are as a creator and what their long term goals are. Speaking of goals...

Establishing goals and timelines

Once you have created an artistic relationship, you could start just by exchanging production tips and long term plans. For example, ask yourself and them,  what are you trying to accomplish with this collaboration? And how does the other artist factor in? Furthermore, are you intending on making a single together, a joint release? A cover? Or perhaps just a feature on the second verse. 

There are countless directions a co-produced song could take so making this clear and coming to an agreement beforehand is essential to ensure a good relationship down the road. 

This concept extends to the schedule as well. The last thing you want is to pour countless golden hours into a project just to wait months for your partner to get his section just right. Make sure everyone knows just what it is you are making, how the project will be released and when it needs to be completed.

Collaboration tools

Now, this is where remoteness gets tricky. Without pandemic woes, just getting in the same room as them to start jamming is often the best way to get the creative juices flowing, unfortunately, that just isn’t possible anymore (for most people). Making this work remotely might be unfamiliar, but there is plenty of file sharing and music collaboration software out there to help you along. Each of these platforms works slightly differently, from a full cloud-based Digital Audio Workstation to simple online file sharing. During the planning phase, this is another key step that needs to be worked out, but we’ll detail them here in order of intricateness.

1. Email

This one might be obvious, but without any other options, you can always just send your samples via email. Obviously this works best for a feature or guest appearance, where one artist puts the majority of the track together (with feedback of course). Furthermore, most email has a pretty low file size limit (for example Gmail limits the entire message and encoded attachment to 25mb) therefore sending extremely high quality or large samples will be an issue. If file sizes are a problem however, it's almost as easy to move to the second option!

2. File sharing services

File sharing services like Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer will allow you to share much bigger files and keep everyone up to date with the latest versions. Without losing so much quality like with emailing, this would allow you to trade audio back and forth for more genuine collaboration however generally you will not be able to send the project file itself. If you’re looking for a better way to compare the music and provide detailed feedback, you might want to try one of these dedicated music sharing services. 

3. Music file-sharing services

Pibox Music, Splice and Sound Cloud will all allow you to share your music files and let collaborators comment directly wherever on the track for even more specific feedback. As stated, communication is key to a successful collaboration, and providing clear feedback is definitely a part of that. 

These services are generally similar to the aforementioned file sharing services but allow you and whomever you share with to see the waveform and listen to it while it is still hosted online. Soundcloud is the simplest of the bunch and may already be familiar to you. All it takes is to upload privately, then share with your partner. 

Pibox takes it a step further in that it allows for live and/or video chats, screen sharing and a record of mix version history along with time-stamped commenting like SoundCloud. This service is available for 2 collaborators and 1gb of files for free so it should take you through your first few projects, but for larger ones, you’ll have to become a subscriber. 

Finally, Splice is renowned for its extensive library of user-generated sounds, but it can also be used as a DAW-based music collaboration platform! 

If the limitations of single audio files just aren’t enough for you, Splice will allow you to back up entire project files from programs like Logic, Ableton Live, FL Studio and more meaning truly getting each-others input on a track is fully possible! All it takes is an account to get started making this one of the most enticing music collaboration platforms out there currently. 

4. Cloud-based music-making apps

Music-making apps that allow for collaboration will force you out of your preferred daw but allow for even more hands-on collaborative beat making. Trackd, Soundtrap and Soundstorming are three such apps which allow you to record or track directly into their interface and upload in real-time. 

The first, Trackd, is a full-service app (only available for IOS) which makes writing, recording, multi-tracking and even mixing all possible under one roof. 

Soundtrap (by Spotify) on the other hand is the most simple and great for beginners. Under the free version, you get access to 5 projects, 900 loops, and 210 sounds and instruments to play with. The other unique thing about Soundtrap is that its browser-based making it especially easy to invite your collaborator and get to creating! 

Soundstorming is the last, and most unique of the apps featured here. First off, it markets itself as a “social music app” and works much more like Splice’s sample library than either of the previous two. Essentially, record your musical idea into the app and upload it to a global community of musicians for brainstorming, critiques and feedback. This app has capabilities more reminiscent of a music community than a collaboration tool, but it can be still used for the latter purpose. 

Following through

Now that the introductions, goals, timelines and tools have all been established there is nothing stopping you from making that killer song! Making great music and finding inspiration is a whole other challenge, and a topic for another blog, but in my experience, I’ve found that just being able to bounce ideas off of another capable musician has been extremely effective. 

It’s important to remember everything you’ve talked about throughout this process. Most importantly the importance of good communication. Making sure everyone is happy throughout the collaboration will undoubtedly produce something great, even if it's just for the memories. 

Conclusion

Collaborating artistically can be one of the most fulfilling activities an artist can take. I know that some of my best works have been made this way and the same goes for countless amazing artists for all time. 

Music aside, it's also another incredible way to promote yourself and be a part of the musician community online, from some of our previous blogs, you can never discount how important that is. 

Hopefully, these collaboration tips will set you right on your way but if you’re looking to give that collaboration something extra special, check out our website for the mixing and mastering services we can provide to take your song to the next level. 

What are some of your best and worst collab stories? And what have you learned from it? Let us know in the comments below.

- By Erik Steiner