Sally's SongNeuro Spice Girls Remix // Reconstruction

Download the package first

Everything you need to start: both source songs, our draft, and the six pre-cut blueprint pieces. Grab the two zips to get it all at once, or download single files below.

Or grab single files:

Original songs

• Universal Hall Pass - Sally's SongD minor · 112.35 BPM · 11.2 MB
• ponyphonic - Sally's SongC# minor · ~99 BPM · 5.3 MB
• Neuro Spice Girls Remix, draft v01 (reference)C# minor · 112.35 BPM · 7.7 MB

Blueprint pieces (UHP already at −1 st)

• 01 IntroUHP 0:14 to 0:37 · 0.9 MB
• 02 Pony Block 1Pony 0:00 to 1:01 · 2.4 MB
• 03 UHP MainUHP 0:43 to 1:50 · 2.7 MB
• 04 BreakdownUHP 1:50 to 2:05 · 0.6 MB
• 05 Pony Block 2Pony 1:20 to end · 3.5 MB
• 06 Crossfade and OutroUHP 4:17 to end · 3.2 MB

Notes

• README: Start hereBlueprint and quick assembly · 2 KB
• How to make the stemsAbleton Stem Separation steps · 1 KB

Pieces map to blocks: 01 Intro, 02 Pony 1, 03 UHP main, 04 Breakdown, 05 Pony 2 with its tail, 06 Crossfade and Outro. These are other artists' recordings, so keep the files and the finished mashup between the two of you unless you get permission to post.

Ableton in levels

You don't have to learn Ableton before you use it. Do Level 0 (about an hour), then learn each later level right before the step that needs it. Every level ends with a short exercise and a list of what to skip for now.

Levels cleared 0/5 Saved on this device only

Keep learning mid-task: hover over anything in Ableton and read the Info View in the bottom-left corner (Shift+? shows it). It's Ableton's built-in explainer.

Skip until a real need shows up: Session View and live launching, racks and macros, Max for Live, MIDI controllers and Push, recording instruments, advanced routing, synth design.

Want more? Ableton's free, interactive Learning Music runs in the browser. The "Make beats" and "Bars" chapters take about 20 minutes.

The map: what the Neuro Spice Girls Remix is made of

The remix takes turns between the two songs instead of stacking them, switching in 7 blocks. Universal Hall Pass (UHP) is pitched down 1 semitone to match ponyphonic's key. You can rebuild the whole frame with full songs before you touch a stem.

The blueprint

Times are mm:ss, accurate to about a second. Trust your ears for the exact cut points.

Left out: UHP 0:00 to 0:14, 0:37 to 0:43, and 2:05 to 4:17 (more than 2 minutes), plus Pony 1:01 to 1:20.

Pony block 1 carries a little extra high end compared to the source. That's likely the atmosphere and wind layers from the draft.

Just in time: Level 0 + Level 1

Setup: a project with the reference built in

First session is setup only: a saved project with three tracks and a reference locked to the grid. About 20 minutes.

1. Install Live 12 Suite (rent-to-own, or the free 30-day trial while you wait). Stem Separation needs 12.3 or later. Press Tab until you see the Arrangement View, the one that runs left to right.
2. Save first. File > Save Live Set As, name it Sallys Song Rebuild. Ableton makes a project folder for you.
3. Set the tempo. Click the number in the top left and type 112.35.
4. Make 3 audio tracks. Rename them REF NSG draft, UHP, PONY. Color them and keep the colors forever.
5. Drag in the MP3s, each at bar 1 of its own track.
6. Lock the reference. In Clip View, turn Warp on and check it reads about 112.35. If the grid misses the kicks, right-click the first kick and choose Set 1.1.1 Here.
7. Mark the blueprint. Add a locator (Create > Add Locator) at the start of each block: Intro, Pony 1, UHP Main, Breakdown, Pony 2, Crossfade, Outro.
8. Collect and save: File > Collect All and Save.

Keep the reference muted while you build. Solo it whenever you want to A/B, meaning flip between the original and yours. Checking against the reference is the most important habit in this project.

Just in time: Level 1

Make the stems now, use them later

The frame rebuild only needs full songs. Stems come into play when you start changing things. The full walkthrough is in Skills, Lesson 1.

1. Right-click the UHP clip and choose Separate Stems to New Audio Tracks.
2. Keep all 4 (Vocals, Drums, Bass, Others), choose High Quality, then Separate.
3. Repeat for PONY.
4. Rename them UHP Vox, UHP Drums, UHP Bass, UHP Other, PONY Vox, and so on.
5. Group each song's 4 stems (Cmd+G / Ctrl+G), name the groups, fold and mute them for now.
6. Solo each stem for 20 seconds. Some bleed is normal. Note any watery, garbled spots.

Just in time: Level 1 (Warp)

Warp and key: make the two songs agree

UHP goes down 1 semitone to C# minor. Pony stays exactly as recorded, unwarped.

Later, to put pony's vocal over UHP's beat: Warp on, right-click, Warp From Here, then fix markers bar by bar. Or move the project to about 106 BPM so each song stretches only 6 to 7%.

Just in time: Level 1, then Level 2 before block 4

Rebuild the frame, one block at a time

One block per sitting, A/B against the reference before moving on.

1. Intro, 0:00 to 0:24. Split UHP at 0:14 and 0:37, keep the middle, slide it to the start, add a 1 to 2 second fade in.
2. Pony 1, 0:24 to 1:25. Pony 0:00 to 1:01 at the Pony 1 locator. Clip Gain about −8 dB. Short fades if the handoff clicks.
3. UHP main, 1:25 to 2:33. UHP 0:43 to 2:05 (includes the breakdown) at UHP Main. Line up the kicks with the reference. About −4 dB.
4. Breakdown, 2:33 to 2:48. Auto Filter on UHP, low-pass. Automate Frequency from fully open down to about 600 Hz by 2:45, and dip the volume 4 to 6 dB.
5. Pony 2, 2:48 to 4:02. Pony 1:20 to its end at Pony 2, about −9 dB.
6. Crossfade, 4:02 to 4:20. About a 10 second fade out on pony. A UHP copy from 4:17 at Crossfade with a matching fade in. The fades cross in an X.
7. Outro, 4:20 to 5:20. Let that UHP clip run to the natural end, about −5 dB.

After each block: same 20 seconds, reference then yours. Check the cut timing, the volume jump, and the brightness. All three match, move on.

Just in time: Level 2 + Level 4

Mix and refine

Save the faithful rebuild as v01 faithful, then make each change in a new version.

• Match loudness, not waveform size. Utility gain on each track until the handoffs feel even.
• One bass at a time wherever things overlap.
• Hide cuts with space: a Return with Reverb or Echo, and a quick send throw on the last hit before a cut.
• Protect the ending: Limiter on Main, ceiling −1 dB. Export a 24-bit WAV.

Stem refinements, easiest first

1. Softer intro: only UHP Other and UHP Bass, drums enter on the last bar.
2. A vocal bridge in the breakdown: a PONY Vox phrase over the filtered UHP, high-passed at about 150 Hz, with reverb.
3. Drums through the crossfade: UHP Drums quietly under pony's fade out.
4. Bring back music that got cut: UHP 2:05 to 4:17.
5. The full mashup: all of PONY Vox warped over UHP's instrumental stems.

Session checklist

Progress 0/7 Saved on this device only

• Session 1: setup, reference warped, 7 locators named
• Session 2: stems split and grouped, UHP at −1 st, pony unwarped
• Session 3: blocks 1 and 2 rebuilt and compared
• Session 4: blocks 3 and 4, including the filter sweep
• Session 5: blocks 5 to 7, then save v01 faithful
• Session 6: mixing basics, then export a WAV
• Session 7 and on: stem refinements, one per version

Glossary

The outline is solid. The work is cleanup.

Sync, mud, hi-hats, levels, and the fake ending. Keep this version as the guide, split both originals into stems, and rebuild it cleaner in Ableton Live 12, each of you on your own computer.

"You want to communicate chaos. You don't want chaos."Phoebe, on the through-line

Busy is fine as long as one steady beat pulls the ear through. Lose it and the song falls apart.

What Phoebe loved

• The atmospheric opening. "Really well done."
• The background atmosphere and winds, which keep the empty spots from feeling empty.
• The big bass in the later section.
• The UHP time-change part. The best part. Slightly off, not distracting.
• The beginning and the end. Most of the rework is in the middle.
• The track layout. Organized the way she'd do it.

01 to 06 from Phoebe's review · 07 to 14 from the file analysis

Fourteen fixes, step by step

Save a new version before each fix (v02 fix1, v03 fix2). A fix that goes wrong costs nothing. Done 0/6 (saved on this device only)

Optional: pull bass sounds from earlier versions if they worked better, then layer new bass on top.

These came from measuring the draft MP3 section by section. Fixes 07, 08, and 10 overlap with Phoebe's mud, levels, and sync notes, so do those first. Your current Ableton version may already differ a little, so trust your ears over the numbers.

Whole song: −16.4 LUFS, true peak −1.4 dB. The source songs sit around −9 to −11 LUFS.

Listening setup

Mix on headphones, check on speakers, and keep switching until both sound right. Headphones put every sound exactly where it sits. Speakers add the room's echo and boom, which is why DJs mix on headphones.

• Sound going to the wrong place: Settings > Audio (Live > Settings on Mac, Options > Settings on Windows), then pick your device under Audio Output Device. Each of you sets this once.
• Bluetooth headphones add a delay. Wired is better for timing work.
• Quick check: the same 30 seconds on headphones, then speakers. If something vanishes on one, fix it rather than turning it up blindly.

Working on two computers

Phoebe needs her own Ableton license. One license covers up to 2 computers owned by the registered user and can't be shared between people. Rent-to-own can't be transferred until it's paid off.

• Match versions: both on the same Live 12 version, 12.3 or later. A set saved in a newer version may not open in an older one.
• If Phoebe isn't on Suite: before handing off a track that uses a Suite-only device, right-click it and Freeze Track, then Flatten. Stems are plain audio and open anywhere.
• Rent-to-own catch: Live must go online at least every 3 days, or saving and exporting pause.

Sharing the project

1. One shared cloud folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud) called Sally's Song.
2. Before handing off: File > Collect All and Save. Share the whole project folder. The .als file alone holds no audio.
3. Wait until the folder is fully synced before the other person opens it.

The baton rule

• Only one person edits the main project at a time. Text: "I have the baton."
• Name every save with a number and initials: Sally v05 PO, then Sally v06 PH. Never save over the other's version.
• Passing the baton: one line on what changed and what to listen for.
• Solo experiments: Save As your own copy (Sally v06 PH experiment). To borrow one track, find that .als in Ableton's Browser, open it like a folder, and drag the track in.

The skills behind every fix

Do these in order, each on its own copy (practice lesson 1, and so on), so nothing you try can hurt the real version.

Modules complete 0/4 Saved on this device only

• Lesson 1 practice: all 8 stems split and checked
• Lesson 2 practice: drum loop, vocal phrase, reversed swell
• Lesson 3 practice: the 3-note piano tail
• Lesson 4 practice: v01 balanced, exported, sent with the baton

Making stems

A stem is one layer of a finished song: vocal, drums, bass, or everything else. Ableton's Stem Separation (Suite, 12.3+) makes 4 from any audio file.

Make them

1. Drag the original song onto a new audio track.
2. Right-click the clip, Separate Stems to New Audio Tracks.
3. Keep all 4: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Others. High Quality (High Speed only for previews).
4. Separate, and wait. Faster on Apple silicon, slower on Windows or Intel Macs.
5. Rename, color per song, and group the 4 (Cmd+G / Ctrl+G).

Check them (10 minutes, worth it)

Solo each stem for 20 seconds at the start, middle, and end. Write down what you hear, with the timestamp.

• Bleed: a little of one part leaking into another. Normal. EQ handles it.
• Warble: watery or garbled, usually on busy vocal moments. Don't feature those exposed.
• Holes: a part that drops out. Grab that moment from the full song.

Clean them up

• Vocal: EQ Eight high-pass at about 120 Hz removes kick and bass bleed.
• Bass: low-pass at about 5 kHz removes cymbal bleed.
• Silence between phrases: split out and delete, or add a Gate.

Before sharing: transpose the 4 UHP stems −1 st together. Select the 4 stem tracks, right-click, Freeze Track, then Flatten. Plain audio, already in key, opens anywhere.

Building pieces

A piece is any chunk you cut, loop, or reshape from a stem. Most mashup work is making good pieces and placing them well.

Save pieces to the Browser (drag clips into Places > Current Project) so they're easy to grab and share.

Composing new layers

New layers are parts you play or draw on a MIDI track. Everything here is in C# minor. Stay on its 7 notes and anything you add fits.

Setup (once)

1. MIDI track: Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T. Drag an instrument onto it.
2. Select some bars and press Cmd+Shift+M / Ctrl+Shift+M for a clip. Double-click to edit notes.
3. Turn on Scale in the clip and choose C# Minor. Fitting notes get highlighted.
4. No keyboard? Press M to play with your computer keys, record, then Quantize (Cmd+U / Ctrl+U).

Four layers for Sally's Song

1. Hats, transition only (Fix 03). A kit from Browser > Drums. Closed hats on every 8th note for 2 to 4 bars, with varied velocity. Quiet.
2. Low layer for vocal depth (Fix 02). A sine or sub preset (Drift works). Long low notes following the bass. EQ everything above about 150 Hz away.
3. Pad to extend the atmosphere. Hold C#m, A, B for 2 bars each. Cut below about 200 Hz. You should miss it when muted more than notice it when playing.
4. Piano tail (Fix 05). C#, E, G#, slowly, last note held. Long Reverb, automate Freeze on the final note.

The mute test: loop the section and mute and unmute the new layer. Worse without it: keep. Can't tell: delete. Mud usually comes from layers that fail this test.

Levels and mixing

Give every layer its own space: in loudness, in pitch range, and left to right. Most mud and tinniness is two layers fighting for the same space.

Step 1: Balance (always first)

1. Every fader all the way down.
2. Anchor drums up until the loudest hits reach about −10 dB.
3. Main vocal up until it sits clearly on top.
4. Bass, then everything else, each just loud enough that you'd miss it.
5. Main meter peaks at or below −6 dB.
6. Check every handoff. Pony was mastered 8 to 9 dB louder than UHP, so match what you hear.

Step 2: Carve with EQ

• EQ Eight on everything except kick and bass: cut below about 100 to 150 Hz.
• Under the vocal, dip pad and Other stems 2 to 3 dB around 300 Hz and 2 to 4 kHz.
• A Spectrum device shows where each track's energy sits.

Step 3: Sidechain the bass to the kick

1. Compressor on the bass and sub layer.
2. Sidechain on, Audio From UHP Drums or a kick track.
3. Ratio 4:1, threshold down to 2 to 4 dB of reduction per kick.

Step 4: Automation

Press A, click points on a volume line, drag to shape. Lift the atmosphere in the gaps, duck the pad under vocals, shape the fake ending.

Step 5: Finish and check

• Pan atmosphere, hats, and pad slightly. Kick, bass, vocal stay centered.
• Mono check: Utility on Main, Width 0%. Hidden mud shows up here. Back to 100% after.
• Limiter last on Main, ceiling −1 dB.
• A/B against the REF and a finished song you love, at the same volume, on headphones and speakers.
• Export: WAV, 24-bit, 44.1 kHz, plus an MP3 for phones.
• Mix at low to medium volume, with a 10 minute break every 45 minutes.

Sources

• Stem Separation in Ableton Live FAQ
• License policy for Live
• Rent-to-own FAQ
• Ableton pricing by edition