Top 10 Music tips
Stream your Games to TV
I prefer comfort while gaming and you can take it to the next level by streaming your games directly to your living room TV with Steam. You can do that by installing the Steam Link app on your Smart TV and pair your controller to the TV and open a bag of Doritos. It’s game time. You would have to keep your PC turned on and logged in the entire time as the actual processing happens on the PC. Related: 8 Best Live Streaming Apps for Android and iOS In case you can’t install apps on your TV directly, you can use a Raspberry Pi, Apple TV, or any other Android TV box to install the Steam Link app and then stream your games on TV using those devices.
Sound design and sample selection
Before even touching the mixer controls, the most important stage of the mix is choosing samples and sounds that work well together and hit many of the right frequencies. Remember, the only thing that matters is how good it sounds together - not as individual parts. You might have a killer synth lead that melts your brain when played on its own, but in the mix it might muddy your drums. Spend time getting your sounds right BEFORE the mix down.
Go Big Picture
Steam has a feature called Big Picture mode, which offers a custom UI for big screens aks TVs. So, instead of showing you a similar screen, it shows a controller friendly UI that would let you navigate all the Steam features and play games with just the controller. Think of it as the console-style navigation Steam. You can enable the Big picture mode by clicking the View button on the menu bar and selecting Big Picture mode.
Tune your drums
Almost every drum sound has a predominant “note”. If you can tweak the pitch of each of your drums sounds to match the key of your track (particularly the kick drum), it will help avoid a muddy, dissonant mix. Try it...you might be surprised at the difference it makes!
Use automation
The overall mix should sound spot on BEFORE automating, but then you can use it to help really accentuate certain parts of the track, for example, when a DJ slowly filters out the bass during a build-up, then brings it back in on the drop. You could also take the whole track's volume down a little in a break, and bring it back to 0dB on the drop.
Cut EQ rather than boost
As a general rule, it’s better to cut frequencies with an equaliser rather than boost. This helps prevent a build up of frequencies that can make your mix clip. E.g. If you want a piano to sound brighter, try taking out some of the bass and mid frequencies and increasing the channel volume, or, try the tip below... (Here are 5 of the best EQ plugins available).
Broadcast your Games Live
Twitch and YouTube Gaming are one of the most popular streaming platforms that allow you to showcase your gaming skills to the world. Steam broadcast aims to be a worthy competitor to those services. You can start broadcasting your games without any additional hardware. Yes, Steam client does everything from recording, encoding and uploading the feed to the internet, the only thing you need to do is press the play button. You can watch other people’s broadcasts on the Steam community website. To enable the broadcasting, go to Settings> Broadcast> Drop Down> Anyone can watch my games> OK. However, there is one catch with this feature. You will have to spend at least $5 on your Steam account to be able to start broadcasting your games.
Use distortion as EQ
By adding some slight distortion to the upper frequencies of a sound, you can help it cut through the mix a bit more without boosting the EQ. Used sparingly it can work wonders. A tried and tested technique used by Calvin Harris.
How to Use Apple Music
Using Apple Music is pretty simple. Once you have subscribed to the app, use the search bar to find your favorite tracks or playlists of favorite singers/band. Apple will suggest more similar music and bands based on your listening habits. There are five tabs at the bottom. One is Library where you will find your created or added playlists and songs, For You for recommended music, Browse for a curated list of playlists by genres by Apple team, and Radio for endless music sessions. Search is self-explanatory.
Play your music during a game
I miss those days where you could simply upload your songs to GTA: Vice City game folder, play the game and listen to the music simultaneously. While you can still load up a music player and launch a game but that won’t give you the option to change tracks mid-game. Steam, however, has an inbuilt music player that can play all the songs stored locally on your computer. Simply add the folder and launch the music player in the game by pressing Shift+tab. Easy right? Read: 15 Best YouTube Music Tips And Tricks
