J Dilla's Simple Complex Production Techniques
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- Опубліковано 3 тра 2024
- In this video, we explain some of the methods that Dilla used to make music, give some examples and discuss some backstory.
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Until recently, we thought we knew everything about J Dilla's production techniques. With the release of the book Dilla Time by Dan Charnas, new information was revealed about J Dilla's music production including drum programming, sampling and more.
Buy the J Dilla Book here: tinyurl.com/2zufx5ev
Get J Dilla Music here: tinyurl.com/2ydbxtby
Chapter Titles:
0:00 Intro
0:57 Backstory
1:36 Dilla's Production
2:22 MPC Backstory
3:07 Simple Complex
3:21 Swing Explained
5:45 Quantization Explained
6:22 Time Shift Explained
7:04 Programming Example
8:03 Sampling Techniques
8:24 Sample Timing
8:43 Time Signatures
9:09 Polyrhythms
9:29 Temp Changes
9:50 Natural Loops
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#jdilla #mpc #hiphop #dillatime
Wowwww, super inspiring and very well made video and instruction! Thank you very much for providing the spark I needed to get back to beatmaking and sampling.
Thanks! I’m happy you enjoyed it and it’s inspiring you to make music! Have fun!!
*sUpEr iNsPiRiNg*
I think J was just making music he liked and didn't care about all those complicated terminologies.
I think you're right.
As people study what he did, and what made his work special, they need a way to describe it.
@@OllieLoops Thanks for your response.
You’re exactly right.
He was just making stuff that he felt.
There’s no big secrets or hidden, guarded techniques.
People try to breakdown his stuff and analyze him and make it out to be that he was knowingly doing this amazing stuff but he was just making music without too much thought.
He was just dope
yup, but this video ain’t for him
true dude
Dills was an amazing producer. My opinion people need to find their own Dilla when producing. Their own way. I listen to Dilla and a lot of jazz. When it comes down to it, I can't be a Dilla or a Madlib, or any of these people but I can listen to them and be inspired to just be.
Great video btw
Great comment.
Correct. It's like a magician, telling you the secret to all of his tricks, five minutes before his show starts. I'm not a religious man, but I do think that great artists have an undeniable individuality, and it comes out in their art. Call it a soul, if you will.
Facts 💯individualism is key
Thank you for that insightful comment.
Something we can all learn from producers like Dilla or Madlib is that they listen to a LOT of music, and listen to and make music in many different styles and genres. Very important to not get stuck in a rut or limited way of doing things. The guy who worked at the record store in Detroit where Dilla usually bought records said he was surprised when Dilla started hanging out in the rock section, but he just said that he had so many soul records and wanted to go somewhere else. Dilla sampled Daft Punk, british folk music, classical moog covers... everything!
the fact that people still talk about J Dilla today shows how timeless he is.
Timeless. rip.
This is the best and most accurate explanation of Dilla’s techniques I’ve seen on UA-cam. The book “Dilla Time” is amazing. A lot of Dilla myths and folklore were debunked. Great read and highly recommended for any serious hip-hop fan.
Thanks! I appreciate that.
100% agree about the book. I think people should read it if their a fan of Dilla’s, make beats, and like hip hop history.
Great Read 👍
I love how this book is bringing clarity and energy to the Dilla fans. I picked up my copy last week, and while I was walking around the store with it, someone asked me about it because it had been on their list.
yes, the book brings a new light on Dilla, his life and music. Enjoy!
Would it be useful and enlightening for someone who's never really heard his music but loves to create?
@@PHDWhom It's a really good book. If you like biographies about artists this one is one of the recent best.
Dilla was a scientist with his craft. There will never be another. RIP JDILLA !
RIP
Book is life-changing. Not start wearing a different clothes/ change-out-your-friends life-changing, but anyone with a computer who makes music needs to understand all of this. Great recap!
Thanks! It's a great book. I recommend it.
Excellent video! Loved the animations and especially the hand puppet (more please) :)
Thanks! I was anxious about the puppet, but I appreciate your encouragement.
I think J Dilla can be described as someone doing “naive art”, someone who didn’t read the manual and didn’t care about how you were “supposed” to do things. He found his own way to do it. There are many like him but with this approach it’s really about either you have it or you don’t. You can learn how to do things the proper way, but to do things your own way and have it appeal to other people takes something you’re born with.
Thanks.
Crazy that I started doing that exact thing in my own beats after really taking in his beat tapes. Although I would free hand first, then nudge certain notes to fit how I want. I just assumed that’s how he did it too.
Awesome!
This is EXACTLY what I meant in my comment, I've listened to everyone from Marley Marl, to the Bomb Squad, Pete, Premier, Muggs, RZA, Madlib, and Dilla and I love how they all have their own thing and I've honestly tried it but it always came down to how I wanted to sound. I'm still puzzled by his low end theory techniques, but in the end I need to come up with my own thing.
I mean you can but it takes a whole lot of practice and patience
epic video Ollie! great animations/editing
incredible deep dive into the mystery of "time feel"
also what a tribute to the genius of Dilla RIP
Thanks! Really glad you enjoyed it.
Man this is such a great video both in production and actual content. Great job! RIP Dilla.
Thank you so much! RIP Dilla.
Great video, thank you for spreading the knowledge and craft
Thanks! I'm happy to share.
Thanks for the breakdown. I'm reading Dilla Time now. You're explanation is clear and gives great ideas to work with.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Enjoy the book!
what an incredibly well made video. I often wonder WHY and how people have the time to make videos like this. They are so much work, this one especially. Thank you so much for making this!
Thanks. I do this professionally and I made time for it. This video took A LOT of time. So it’s always nice when people appreciate it. Thanks for checking it out.
Amazing video. Just found your channel, but this is very well produced content. Instant subscribe, looking forward to more MPC content!
Thanks! Much appreciated.
dude this really helped me out. i'm excited to start experimenting with different quantitized rhythmic combinations
That’s great. Glad it helped. Have fun.
wow the visuals in this video were great along with the information 🙌🙌🙌🔥
Thanks so much.
Very educational and high quality video. Thanks!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Glad I stumbled upon this channel! Informative and calms the mind
Thanks, that's awesome!
great video and production quality cheers
Thanks! Much appreciated.
I'm happy people are finally discerning the misconceptions of Dilla's work and technique.
yes. I agree. Though not without controversy.
I would give this video a thousand thumbs up if I could. This was a truly thoughtful glimpse into the mind of a beloved genius. RIP Dilla ❤️
Thanks so much. RIP Dilla.
great video, you deserve more love!
Much appreciated.
Wow bro, the depth of this breakdown is unbelievable. You are providing an advanced hip hop production course 🎹📚
Thanks! Glad you like it.
Thank you so much for this, I was seeing all those exact articles and videos about his work and kept thinking "wow, I guess the MPC back then didn't have microtiming options to move individual notes" and just didn't question it.
Thanks! Yeah, it’s been a feature basically from the beginning.
Very dope and educated explanation of JD’s techniques. Dan Charnas did a phenomenal job on the Dilla Time book with not only explaining his processes and breaking them down, but his actual life in relation to how he became the great artist he was. I was fortunate to go the Smithsonian museum in D.C. to see Dilla’s 3000 and Moog along with many other great musicians artifacts. We’re all blessed to experience JD’s music. Salute.
Thanks.
Yes, Dan Charnas did a great job with the book.
I'd like to go to the Smithsonian one day to visit the exhibit as well. It's nice that you got to.
@@OllieLoops when was this book released?
@@williamperri3437 February of 2022
This breakdown sparked something in me !
Awesome.
Awesome, great work!!
Thanks!
Thanks for this!
Thanks for checking it out! Glad you enjoyed it.
BRO wtf... best video i have seen. Thank you for the theory, helped so much
Awesome! Glad you liked it.
Very high quality content, good job!
Thank you so much!
Great video keep going
Thanks. Appreciate that.
For me as a newbie that was a solid portion of knowledge! THX
Awesome! Glad it helped.
Great video man you deserve lots of views
I appreciate that!
Dope, thanks!
Glad you liked it.
That was amazing. Liked and sub’d. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Really a master of the audio version of collage. Dude was finding sounds and layering sounds on each other like a collage artist. Hip hop was revolutionary.
Thanks for sharing.
The editing of this video is art !
Thanks!
Subscribed this is such high quality content
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.
Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Hey didn't you used to have a show on TV? Love the history and this video! I could watch this over and over!!! AWESOME!
Thanks. Nope. Never been on TV. What show?
Excellent video!
Thanks.
This is so educational thanks I'll buy the book
Thanks!
Amazing video
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
bro you killed this hands down.
Thanks.
top notch content
Thanks!
excellent video !
Thanks, much appreciated.
Dope Video!
Thanks!
Nice video! Thanks you. ❤
Thanks!
I’m reading it rn and it’s good!
Dope.
killer video bro
Thanks!
Great video! it is a lot more tangible to explain swing as a a triplet based concept without the second note of the triplet being played. That's how anyone who learns to play swing will be taught as they begin to understand that concept.
Great point. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent video
Thanks
This video is awesome make more like these please
Thanks! Out of curiosity, any specific subject(s) that you're interested in?
@@OllieLoops I like the history that you showed, of j dilla and his projects/beats and how he got into music. Im very interested in the history behind music production and the intro was very good along with the editing throughout.
@@sarc143 Great feedback. Much appreciated. I enjoyed making this video and hope to make more. Thanks for your support.
Great video. You described the legend’s craft perfectly. Well done bro. ! 🤘🏻
Thanks!!
Very good video, ill share it in my blog
Thanks!
tearing up
is that good or bad?
Dope video made me really look at the style way differently
Dope! Thanks for checking it out.
He was just getting started 🐐
yeah, it's really sad. Luckily he was prolific and we can enjoy his music.
Very informative video were huge Dilla fans her at Ethic Studios 🎙
Awesome! Here's to all the Dilla fans!
Love videos like this. I love to turn everything off on my mpc its hard but rewarding at the end
Just have fun with it.
sounds like you're using the wrong machine. u need an sp for that
@@tapedlockz420 why? You can turn metronome and timing off on mpc 2000 xl and its crazy hard especially for 4/4 beats like deep house... But you get that (Kickflip Mike - Vanilla Seibt) swing naturally.
@@jovantrendmaker4722 i had 2000xl and the workflow is so much more complicated and unnecessary, with an sp you can make beats in a fraction of the time without being stuck to an exact bpm. idk that mpc especially just really made me hate all mpcs, i'll never understand why they require 20 steps to do something that an be done in 3-5 on an sp lol
@@tapedlockz420 its way to overpriced i dont have 5500€ for new one or even more for OG...
Nice channel.
Thanks!
My man, im mexican and my english is barely acceptable, but your diction is so good that I can understand every word. Thanks for that and for the editing, this is glorious content.
What a fantastic compliment. I'm so happy that you enjoyed this video. peace.
Thanks thanks thanks!! Rip Jay Dilla Treal Djedi!!!!!! Incredible Music always!!! Is not only the claps or the sounds that he was using even the samples... He was Master of atmospheres... Percussion... Bass...third plane ( like a director) Styles.... I can be all day and all night...
Thanks from Barcelona... Namaste Haribol Asewe!!!!
Thanks!
Haribol !
his brother all so produces he would be the best one to talk too
in regards to how he got his beat to swing in the way that they did
Thanks for your comment.
quality content
Thanks!
I literally listen to "Get dis money" every morning. So good.
Get dis Morning Money.
Love the video! Thanks for all the gems
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Wow, incredibly informative channel, i feel lucky to have found this 🙏🏾
Thank you!
legend
definitely.
amazing.
Glad you liked it.
Great video! It makes sense to me considering how tight his timing is in many instances, but what evidence do we have that he used time shift though?
Thanks! and great question. I'm referencing the Dilla Time book that points to that conclusion, that he was a gifted programmer and using the time shift feature was necessary to edit and perfect his time-feel. I recommend checking out the book for detailed info.
This was good.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic video from both a musical and presentation perspective. The graphics really helped to visualize the concepts. What program(s) are you using to create the visuals?
Thanks Paul. I really appreciate that! I can't disclose any production related information as there is an increasing number of people who are copying my style and production techniques. I hope you understand.
Nice 1. BTW there is a very simple way to describe swing - every other 16th note slightly late.
cool. thanks.
I'm gonna need that book
It’s a good read.
If you are getting it, consider the affiliate link in the description of this video. Thanks.
@@OllieLoops oh damn, too late already ordered it right after writing that comment 😅
@@biokode no worries. Enjoy the book.
subbed!
Thanks! Really appreciate it.
This video could be taught in a dilla course. very well studied
Thank you so much.
If had HALF of Dilla's mind added to my own, I still wouldn't be in his league! He was a genius.
He was a genius! RIP.
Maestro
He was good.
never heard that heron flip woooooooooo
Yeah, really good flip.
For a beatmaker like me, J dilla's techniques are like studying the bible; it's the goat
RIP Dilla
For a beatmaker like me, J dilla's techniques are irrelevant or obvious... pretty sure others have innovative but see no mass videos about them... as if he is the only influence....
No wait, that Nujabes guy.
Yeah, two guys in the history of music..m
Been making beats for about 15 years and Dilla being just the one.. first it was Pete Rock for me, but then Dilla got it even further. To me this video is very accurate and i think this way of Dilla's timefeel a lot of times. And of course something to mention.. Dilla used 8bars or 16 bars or sometimes longer loops and inside of that changed the place of individual kicks and snares, where you really couldn't copy his time feel exactly, but you know, it's just style you have to look after. I think he used step edit a lot, or whatever it is called in MPC. But yeah programming is a term that is closest to me what he does.
I think there are some techniques that can't be taught (i know that people don't want to hear that) and that is the ear.. Well in some ways you can, you can be taught the theory of pitches and harmony, but what i'm talking about is the inner ear, the style. Dilla and Pete Rock had mostly one thing in common and that was their very musical ear, the inner ear, where they could get sounds from 5 different records and put them to a blend and what comes out is like honey and something that is just locked with their whole musical feel/style to it.. it always has that "Dilla" or "Pete Rock" feel in musical way and of course in time-feel way.. And that is a crazy part when you think about that they are using sounds from thousands of records, so they had to have that inner ear that directed them to select and decide what sounds they should put together harmonically. You cannot sort out which sound is taken from where, because it is a whole new sound. So that is a ear harmony that comes from general musicality and i think that their musicality level on this harmony level is many times overlooked. And that is something that most producers don't have. They usually just copy the time feel.
I appreciate your comment and thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
What kind of pencil is that on your notebook? It looks nice.
Thanks for the video, bro!
That's a Pentel P209 0.9mm mechanical pencil. I love these and highly recommend them. Good value.
Thanks! Glad you liked the video.
Get Dis Money! 🔥🔥🔥
Get it.
definitely what you explain can be done with microtiming of the mpc or in a daw. i think if you chop samples at all you realize a lot was done chopping. you can make mistakes, lazy chops, too much micro chopping, chop on a beat or off, get parts of things by being too rigid or not, put peices in a varying order and come up with chaos or a mess or find some kind of order out of such experimentation, etc. and after you have done this for years it just flows out of you. it sounds and if it loops? it works.
what i'm saying is nudging, microtiming, grids, using pieces that are too small, having too much precision, relying on the machines timing even while very minuscule will only take you so far. control is an illusion.
definitely try to make beats using the grid. but also break away. and combine the two as well.
Thanks for your comment.
Another way to look at it is, it's not the tool is the user. Many producers and beatmakers had/have the MPC3000 and can't create a time-feel like Dilla's. Therefore, we need to give credit to the fact that his taste, knowledge of music, context of his music and skills as a programmer were crucial to his style.
I wise old painter used to talk about happy little accidents. Dilla simply recorded a slightly sloppy drum pattern, realized it sounded great, shared it with his guys, and that Detroit sound was born. This is how new ground is broken in music. The only difference is that Dilla was not some underground musician that had his style stolen. He was a big name producer working with big acts so his sound went global, and he was able to get the credit
@@Kevinschart exactly
I don't know that I've heard his work directly, at least I don't think so. I fell off of the Hip Hop thing in the 90's, as I was getting into other weirder shit, but now I'm gonna have to go back. The one thing I find interesting about his technique is that it seems like he was just a natural, and this was his natural timing, his feeling of a groove instead of just a straight metronomic tempo.
While I love the old school boom bap, I feel like J Dilla might have been the one to bring some real soul and feel into the genre and the culture.
And now I might have to reconsider some shit.
Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Great video. But it wasn't an MPC3000LE, that came out in like 2005. It was a Bruce Forat customized MPC3000 which Akai later imitated and sold for $4k when they couldn't sell the arguably more powerful 2000xl because it had lost the feel of the 3000.
I'll read the book but it also isn't wrong to say that he's doing a 5 or 7 beats per quarter because due to the low PPQ of the sequencer (96), moving one beat back here or there does result in a mathematically describable pattern. A lot of pro musicians preferred Logic even since the Notator days because it had a 960 ppq resolution even on the Atari version, which Akai didn't equal until the MPC4000. I think in version 5 or 6 Logic got sample-accurate midi, way ahead of all other products. But they also added in MPC and Linn9000 inspired groove templates.
Thanks for that great info. On the note of the 3000, the one in the Smithsonian is an LE. Not sure what to make of that.
@Ollie Loops I take it back then. On further research I guess the original came out in the early 90s, the LE was out 99-2001, and the main thing it had was 32megs of ram instead of 16, and the smpte and output options were preinstalled. Iirc in 2005 they did a super limited production run of LE's, like 100 nationwide. That's when they were hard-priced at 3995 because they were so hard to come by.
In my opinion it's much quicker and easier to use Quantize but reduce the strength to around 65% and just finger drum with swing. I also usually have swing at 52-54%. Most times I get the recording in one go without having to tweak notes individually.
Thanks for sharing.
subbed
Thanks!
a genius
mos def.
finally understand, dilla was a modern day producer, was modern was the future back then
That’s a good way to put it. I think he was ahead of his time.
Babe in indian music your can not only define swing but all the types and minor things of it ❤
Indian music is awesome!
8:24 sample timing is just pitch down option.
9:29 temp changes is just a 16pads levels option 😆
cool. thanks for sharing.
They need to do a Dilla movie already 🙏🏾
I hear Questlove is working on one, based on this book. Should be good.
I think a large part of the myth of J Dilla comes from people over analyzing him in books or videos causing urban legends to be thrown around like they are facts. For example the whole Donuts being made on his death bed on the original SP-303. The truth is he wasn't in the hospital and he made it on a computer on top of that Peanut Butter Wolf put the whole thing together.
At the end of the day James had an interesting style and was involved in some good projects. The story of his life is much more interesting in my opinion. However, dozens of videos will put relatively basic concepts like slightly shifting where the notes hit as genius work. It does make for a good video though.
Thanks for your comment. The book does mention how there were discrepancies in earlier stories of the making of Donuts as well as his last years. It goes very deep into his life. I'd recommend checking it out.
Completely agree! Great video and visualization work, no doubt, but those "mystic" techniques were used years before in the tracking scene and in electronic/IDM/experimental music, for example. And you don't need to invent new music terms for swing or playing the snare a little bit forward on the arrangement. No disrespect to Dilla himself or the author of this video (impressive visuals!) though UA-cam has built its own aura of mystery around him. As @RockyPondProductions put it, the style was interesting though I clearly remember not everybody enjoying it at the time.
And it's quite easy to adjust quantization to triplets for one take and then go back to 1/16th on another take, on the MPC. You can even isolate certain tracks from swing changes, though that requires more menu diving. Those tricks has been used on NYC house music since the eighties!
Again, I admire J Dilla had quite a personal style and his roast of collaborators were A list, for sure. He was a great listener with an open mind for many styles of music. However, much of the hip hop scene seemed to be "amazed" about his ideas basically because they didn't listen to other genres outside hip hop. And I mean actually LISTEN, not buying some vinyl and do some 3 seconds needle dropping so they "check" a whole album in half a minute.
@@OllieLoops Yeah I listened to the audio book. It was pretty good, at times it dipped more into a fan piece than an actual biography but overall did a good job telling his story. I think there should be more videos on his life because as the book shows there is alot of material that really is much more interesting and informative than the same sort of beat technique breakdowns.
I agree. Well said. I don't want to disrespect Dilla, but I think the hype around him is a bit overblown. Why doesn't Pete Rock, Qtip, Clark Kent and Alchemist get the same kind of love and appreciation? Do they have to die for people to appreciate there amazing work the same way?
@@badnewsproduction01 you have got to be kidding me...
Peaks and valleys up beat and the down beat in every sound. Dilla was a transients shaping master.
interesting. What do you think he used to shape the transients?
@@OllieLoops i don’t think this guy knows what he’s talking about lol
3:46 Close Encounters! 😉
👽