a peak into our Innovative Production & Songwriting Masterclass
Written by Elizabeth Chavez
Nikki Flores and Jay Cooper led a small group of us students into their songwriting and production process. It was exciting to step foot in the beautiful spaces at Fab Factory in North Hollywood and into a cozy studio full of instruments. I was definitely nervous, being new to collaborative songwriting. While I wasn’t a complete stranger to production, I’m very aware of how much there is to learn; however, being open to new experiences and embracing the unknown is something I’ve learned to appreciate more while attending HVS Conservatory. I feel that this is an essential mindset when it comes to creative collaboration and learning in general.
Nikki and Jay were such down to earth people, I immediately felt at ease and safe to just be myself. We got to ask questions about how they set up their DAW. Our performance mentor, Ron, who was visiting the session, shared an industry insider tip for vocal production. He talked about setting up a template meant for easier use of applying different effects on the vocals. This way, you can visually see every effect. You can automate the volume of each one instead of dealing with different buses. Nikki also shared her own personal effects chain that she uses when recording her own voice. I took notes, feeling excited to actually try these things at home. Maybe Logic isn’t so intimidating after all.
We then went around the room and talked about what we each felt were our strong suits when it came to the songwriting process and what our musical tastes were, and we dove in from there. It was a thrilling process to build a track from scratch. Jay laid the foundation with a drum groove that we all were vibing to. Nikki then played around with some chord progressions on keys, and I helped add some transitional chords that jazzed it up.
We set up two main sections, a chord progress for the verse and one for the chorus. We tracked some bass, guitar, violin, and added some chopped up voice memos that gave it a truly unique touch. There was some cool effects we put on the violin and even reversed the sound. We then started to try out some vocal melody ideas. Slowly, words started forming and ideas about the story of the song. Even as the track was developing, we all agreed it sounded a bit nostalgic. It felt like end of summer vibes, which guided our lyric choices as the top line melody formed.
It was truly amazing how everything unfolded. There truly is a benefit of having collaborators in this process to help make decisions and affirm the creative direction. You end up going places you never would have thought of on your own. I was also inspired to build upon my production knowledge, and have since collaborated with peers in songwriting class while taking on a producer role. Just like practicing an instrument, getting more reps in using a DAW is the only way through to mastery. I know this will be such a vital skill to be able to produce quality demos. I learned a lot and I’m excited to keep collaborating and learning about innovative songwriting and production.
Follow Nikki’s music on Spotify here, and Jay’s music on Spotify here.
Check out our schedule of masterclasses. HVS Conservatory also offers free community events, including acoustic session, seasonal open house events, and artist showcases.