Want to remix one of your favorite songs?
If so, you’ve come to the right place.
You’ll likely have a hard time remixing a song If you don’t have a basic understanding of electronic music production. Luckily, the fundamentals of remixing are pretty straightforward.
In this detailed guide, we’re going to take you through all you need to know about how to remix a song. By the time you finish reading, you’ll have all the tools and know-how you need to make the best possible remix.
What Is a Remix?
A remix is any song that has been altered or manipulated in a way that it stands on its own as a new track, although reminiscent of the original piece of music.
Remix producers will obtain stems from the original track, which are individual audio files, including vocals, guitars, synths, bass, drums, and more. The producer will then rearrange and recompose them in their own special way to create a new track.
What Do I Need to Remix a Song?
There are only two main components that you need to remix a song, including stems and a digital audio workstation (DAW).
Stems
For starters, you will need to obtain stems. As we mentioned before, stems are individual audio files from the original track. You can find stems in many places, including remix contests, sample packs, and DJ pools.
I often head over to platforms like Splice or Loopmasters to find high quality stems and sample packs for my remixes.
Whether you’re looking for groovy drum brakes or full-on vocal chops, these sites just about have it all. Plus, you never have to stress about the legality of using stems and samples from these platforms, as they are copyright-free.
If you’re looking for acapella tracks from popular pieces of music, you might want to scope websites like BPM Supreme, DJ City, or Acapellas4U.
DAW
While you can use just about any DAW to create a remix, FL Studio happens to be one of the best, as it has a wide range of tools for manipulating samples and loops.
Check out our high-quality Remix Course to learn how we approached the remix production process in FL Studio.
7-Step Remixing Process
Picking the Right Track
One of the first steps in creating a remix is picking the right song.
Remix a song that you enjoy in the first place. If you hear an original song and you have an idea of how you would change it up, it’ll make the process far more exciting.
There are a few things I look for when considering the song I’d like to remix:
- Songs that already have catchy hooks. You want your listeners to know where the original melody is coming from, regardless of how much you manipulate it.
- A BPM that is within 10 BPM of your track. You can certainly stray outside of these lines, though it will make the remix process harder
Of course, make sure that the song you pick is a song that you’ll be able to get stems from.
Creating Direction
The first thing you’ll need to do once you find the song you want to remix and determine the direction you want to take it in.
Are you looking to take that throwback track and make it a club hit?
Maybe you want to slow it down a little bit and turn your favorite pop song into a chillwave track?
Having an idea of direction before you get started can be helpful in making tonal decisions.
Finding the BPM and Key of the Original
After you get the stems for your remix, you’ll need to find the key and BPM of the track.
If you’re in a remix competition, you’ll most likely have that information available to you. On the other hand, if you are making a bootleg remix, you’ll have to figure it out on your own.
Knowing the key and BPM can help you make better composition decisions. You’ll also be able to find chord progressions or samples that work well with the original track’s hook.
One of the easiest ways for an amateur to butcher their remix is by using sound and samples that aren’t in the correct key.
Learn more about keys and chord progressions in our Chords and Progressions course, Which offers more than six hours of advanced music theory lessons.
Prepping Your Stems
Because the stems are separate audio files for different elements from the original track, you can chop, mangle, and manipulate them to your liking.
Stems are often broken down into multiple categories, including vocals, drums, bass, guitars, keys, FX, and more. I often like to start by arranging the stems in FL Studio so that they are lined up stands for organized by type. This helps me see what I have to work with right off the bat.
I can then determine which of these stems I want to use in my remix and which ones I can get rid of.
Choosing the Stems You Want to Use
Once your stems are organized, you’ll want to determine which stems you’re going to use. The fewer stems you use, the more creative freedom you’ll have with your track.
I often like to pick no more than three stems and then import my own creative musicality into the remix.
Of course, when picking the stems, make sure you’re using those that will make the remix recognizable, or else they can lose the sense of being a “remix.”
Once you’ve chosen your stems, you can take the other elements out of your session.
Then, you’ll want to figure out which of your own signature sounds you want to impart on the remix. This can be anything from drum samples to synth leads to vocal chops. We have a wide range of sample packs here at FL Tips to get you started.
Building Out Your Remix
The way you choose to build out your remix may be different than another producer.
However, if you’re having trouble getting started, here are a few ideas you might want to play around with.
Manipulate the Melody
Sometimes I like to take the existing melody from the original song and use another instrument to represent it, sticking to the same notes while changing the timbre. You can even keep the same timbre, but change the order in which the notes in the melody are played.
For example, let’s say the melody is a four-bar melody. You might consider looping the first bar twice, playing the third bar in reverse, and letting the fourth bar act as the turnaround to get you back to the beginning.
You could also try maintaining the original melody and implementing heavy processing to make it sound completely different. Throw the vocal melody through a bitcrusher and dose it with some heavy reverb to give the listener something completely fresh.
Use a Different Chord Progression
One fun technique for remixing a song is using your own chord progression under the pre-existing melody. To do so, you’ll likely need a basic understanding of music theory and chord progressions, though you can also work by ear like many other music producers.
You might even change the rhythm of the chord progression underneath the melody. For example, if you’re working with an original song that has long and sustained chords, you could use the same chords and add a staccato syncopation to give the song a different vibe.
Implement Your Own Drum Samples
One of the easiest methods for remixin song is using your own drum samples. This is especially useful if you’re planning on changing the BPM of the original song. By getting a drum groove down, you can determine the energy level of the remix and envision to the potential elements.
Plus, with your own drum samples, you can put your own creative stamp on your remix.
Make sure to check out our diverse collection of samples here at FL Tips.
Mixing and Mastering
Even if you’re able to crank out equality remix, you’ll have a hard time competing against other professional tracks if it’s not polished. This is why it’s so important to mix and master your new track.
If you’re planning on sending your remix to a label, they will likely master it themselves so that it sonically matches the other remixes that they receive. However, you’ll still need to provide that label with a clear, quality mix.
You can either choose to mix and master the track on your own or send it to a professional. If you’re interested in learning how to mix and master, make sure to check out our mixing and mastering course here at FL Tips.
FAQ
Is Remixing a Song Legal?
Remixing a song and sharing it online without the original creator’s permission is illegal, even if you only use a small portion of the track. No matter the case, you need to obtain permission from the original song’s copyright holder in order to redistribute it.
Even though you might just be posting the song to free streaming sites, such as YouTube and SoundCloud, it does not make it legal.
How Do I Obtain Permission To Remix a Song?
One of the best ways to get permission to remix a song is by entering a remix competition. These competitions are often open to the public, providing producers with stems and permission.
If you want to remix a song next does not have public stems, you can reach out to the original artist and ask for their permission. It’s pretty easy to get permission to remix a song from an artist, especially if they are unsigned or on a smaller label.
However, if you’re going after a song that is from an artist on a larger label, you may have a difficult time obtaining permission, as these larger labels are often more protective of their works.
What is the Difference Between a Remix and a Cover?
While a remix uses elements or materials from the original song to create a new track through sound manipulation and rearrangement, a cover is an entirely new performance of an original song with new styling and instrumentation. A cover should not use any of the original song’s source material.
Final Thoughts
While there is certainly a lot more we could say about be mixing, we hope that this small collection of tips is helpful to get you started. Remixing a song should be an enjoyable process. It should be your goal to get creative and put your own sonic stamp on a song you already love.
Great remixes come from artists that put their own unique twists into the production. There’s no better way to give you a remix a personal touch than by using signature sounds and elements.
We know that learning how to produce music can be hard, which is why we’ve built numerous music production courses that cover everything from arranging to production to mixing and mastering. If you are ready to elevate your music-making game and invest in your future as a music producer, check out some of our top-rated courses today.