Do you struggle when it comes to creating Worship Patches?
I will go through the steps I take to creating a killer MainStage 3 Worship Patch that will help you gain that Worship Experience.
Who would of though a few years back Mainstage would have become the next big thing for us keyboard players, now in days we have the ability to recreate the sounds in most songs within one software app.... That is huge right! because in a way it has eliminated the need of buying a keyboard that can range from $500 to $6,000 if you really want a good one, but then again it comes down to where if you don't know how to utilize its features, then you are stuck with presets and having to switch back and forward with multiple sounds just to play one song, and even then you are not able to tweak the sound to your liking.
Now Mainstage is a software that gives us the ability to do that and more, All it requires is (User Creativity) to accomplish what ever comes to your mind...That's right there is no limitations to what you can do with this amazing piece of software.
Of course you might need training to be able to do some of the more complicated things, but don't worry we will get you there!
Most of us reading are able of creating patches by adding a few instruments plugins here and there, split them up in layers, add some reverb, delay, compression and done right??? but what happens when you get to church, jump onstage, setup your rig and test that patch that took you hours to create and all of the sudden you realize that it doesn't sound like you though it would. It's missing the presence, it has to much low end, it's muddy and it doesn't cut through the mix, now you're frustrated trying to figure out what you did wrong, asking your self all this question. the synth line is too loud, the arps are too soft, you are trying to tweak things on the spot while the band is waiting on you...We have to understand that people's time is valuable and we have to respect that. Believe me, I used to be that guy not to long ago, then I realize that I needed to implement some of my studio mixing techniques and spend a little more time tweaking each sound to get that Worship Sounds Experience!
Once I implemented this techniques I was able to create better patches, I was able to hear the same sound in my studio speakers and the same deliverance of sound at church. (The best feeling ever)
As a men of God I believe he has called us to serve and to give out our best, Our God deserves excellence.
Colossians 3:23 says
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, so I encourage you to give out your best to him.
I want to give you 10 mixing techniques I use when I'm creating patch and what I look for to accomplished this, trust me when I tell you, if you implement this basic mixing techniques the results will be amazing.
#1 Analyzing the song
I usually listen to a song a few times, pull out my notepad and I write down the sounds that I hear the most, what's special about them and what makes them pop through the mix, of course you might not be able to hear all of what is been played because of all the extra stuff going on within the track, but thank God for multitracks right.
The next thing I do is to go their website and look up the song. Now here is when it gets interesting, now you are able to hear the exact sounds that are been played in the song, so this simplifies things for us.
Now you have a list of sounds and a basic idea of what is been played and when it's been played.
#2 Think of the big picture
Now it's time to think about how you want to layer the sounds through out the keyboard, do some brain storm and think of what best works out for your, of course some songs are easier than others and this can get complicated at times, but relax, take a minute to think about layering and figure out what sounds go whereas far as placement, this will help you out before hand instead of just looking for a bunch of sounds and throwing them on there. I mentioned layering right, so I would say that this takes 50% of the final product, knowing where to place your instrument tracks, adding automation and manipulating knobs, faders and mod-wheel to do different things during the song it's a huge thing, like adding a high pass filter, making the mod-wheel control the volume of an instrument as well as opening up another instrument to sound bigger as it brightens a synth line you are playing for a chorus while turning the mod-wheel up is huge. Been able to think about all this things before hand will help you accomplish a better worship sound experience. I guarantee you will be happy when people notice what you are going.
#3 Look up the instrument sounds
Now is time to find the Sounds you need, my self personally I keep all my Sound Libraries organized and in order so I can easily go to some of my presets saved channelstrips and import them as I need them. Make sure to match the sound as close as possible. You will have to listen to the song or multi track a few times and go back and forward testing the sounds to make sure you get something that is close enough . I am very detailed when it comes to creating patches, so I take my time when it comes down to this part.
#4 Tweaking the sound
Now it's time to start the editing process, the very 1st thing that I do is pull out my eq, activate the analyzer so I can see the frequencies that are been played and I start sweeping and tweaking all the bad frequencies to make my adjustments.
Next you want to compare the instrument to the one you heard in the recording and see if you are getting closer.
3rd think of the patch as something you will implement with the rest of you team and not as if you where playing it all by your self. When I say this I'm referring to the equalization, don't make it too big on low end (it might sound good in your studio monitors,but not when you implement the band, this can be a critical.
#5 Presence and Punch
Now let's talk about compression, some instruments need more compression than others and depending on how you use it (tweak it) you might change the shape and feel of the instrument. I'm not gonna give out a class on compression, but I do want to point out that with the right adjustments you can make that instrument pop out in the mix. Also you have to be careful, sometimes adding to much compression can get louder or distort the sound messing with the equalization of the instrument, so don't be afraid to throw another eq to make some small adjustments.
#6 Shape and Smoothness
Adding the right amount of Reverb can smoothen the sound, adding too much or using the wrong reverb can ruin the sound causing to get lost in the mix in result of a low quality product. There is all different kind of effects plugins that will help you manipulate the sound to make it right. Just take your time finding the right plugin to achieve this.
#7 Equalizing the Effects
The same process you do when equalizing an instrument can be used same way to eq an rever, delay etc, no matter what you use always make it a habit to sweep through frequencies and remove unwanted noise/frequencies
#8 Panning
Panning the instruments will allow room for instruments to be breath and be heard
#9 Volume Level
This might seam simple but when you have more than 6-10 instruments you need to make sure what instruments need to pop out more than others, there for you need to be able to know how to balance them. A good reference would be to listen to the multitrack and try to match the volume levels, also make sure that none of your channel-strips are peaking, this is very important.
#10 Automation
This is by far one of the most important and hardest things to achieve (if you want to do it the right way) I'm not just talking about assigning volume control to a knob. This process takes more than just that, we are talking about manipulating the sound by automation, eq, compression, reverb etc. and been able to assigning this to a knob, modwheel or a fader. This process take some time to think before hands so you can have a basic idea of where you want to layer your sounds so when you get to automation you have all ready layer this properly to make it a lot easier for you. So think about that.
There is still a lot cover in this on this, but at least you have an idea of how I start my process when it time to create a new patch.
That's it for now I know I didn't go into to much detail on how to do all this things but I know that at least it will make you think a little different when creating a patch, I'm gonna work on making a video talking and covering each part of this process so stay tuned and subscribe to my newsletter for more upcoming videos and tutorials .
If you are interested in getting the sounds I used to create all the patches I make check out my Sound Library It a package of most of the sounds and presets I use when creating patches this will help you accomplish and simplify things.
Have a blessed day!