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-- How do you get an idea for a song?
How do you get an idea for a song?
I was thinking of trying my hand at producing (eventually, not right now). I do understand the basic layout of a track and how trance tunes should be structured.
But my question is, how do you get an idea for a tune? Is it just something you suddenly hear in your head, or does it come out from experimenting, like a "jam session"? Is songwriting a gift that only a select few are blessed with?
personally i just walk around with my hand held taperecorder and if i here a beat in my head i sing (yes its retarded hehe) into the recorder. thats how most of my stuff comes about...i start at the begining and work through the track listening to it...the rhythm...the sounds and come up with stuff to add to it that will fit with the rest of the tune.
most of the time i have an element in mind when i sit down to "compose" whether it is a lead, a pad, a certain drum fill etc.
I then create a rough draft of that element and allow the other elements to expose themselves to me through the gear that i happen to be working on at the time...
i believe in an organic approach to production...allowing each element of a song to "grow" from or be inspired by the other elements in the mix...this is to allow better fluidity in a live play set-up...accordingly the idea of how a trance song "should" be structured seems somewhat silly to me...besides focusing too much on how a road should be built doesn't get you any closer to the destination...
of course if i was focused on producing tracks to be spun by dj's perhaps the structure would matter more...i think the best way to approach song creation is from your thoughts outward rather than attempting to reproduce what others have done in the studio...i mean really if it has been done does it need to be re-done? just my $0.02
good starting point is equipment (be it hardware or comtputer based) and free-time...lots of free time to just piss away learning how to amaze yourself with whatever gear you're using at the time...
Re: How do you get an idea for a song?
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| Originally posted by Eugene or does it come out from experimenting, like a "jam session"? |
Re: Re: How do you get an idea for a song?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Mr.Mystery This is exactly how I do my tracks... I just mess around in Reason playing some notes... sometimes they grow to be a track, most of the time they just end up saved to my hard drive with names such as "crap.rns", "crap2.rns", "what the hell is this.rns" and so on... |
first of all:
@ eugene: if you're a woman and look like your avatar i really really wanna mary you.
ok, now i ussually get melody in my head when i'm out of any pencil/paper/tape recorder/computer/anything. so i try to remember it. then i really wanna kill the first person who comes to me asking for something (stupid).
but eventually, when i manage to put the notes in my sequencer i can start building pads/basslines/anything that can go with melody. it's not that hard if you have some music theory background (i used to play piano for 15 years)
peace
ms_bug
| quote: |
| Originally posted by ms_bug first of all: @ eugene: if you're a woman and look like your avatar i really really wanna mary you. |
no man, I'm a guy.
oh nothing then. it is a shame not to try.
and yeah as ussualy if you have more of her PM me and then you can start flooding my mailbox with pictures. 
cheers
ms_bug
I GO UPSTAIRS AND SIT DOWN ON THE SHITTER AND THEN AS THE LAST LOG PASSES THROUGH MY RECTUM I GET A MARVELOUS IDEA!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by trancedfarmer I GO UPSTAIRS AND SIT DOWN ON THE SHITTER AND THEN AS THE LAST LOG PASSES THROUGH MY RECTUM I GET A MARVELOUS IDEA! |
SOmetimes the best way to find melodies for a track is to immerse yourself in different surroundings, and trying to use your thoughts of that place to make a feeling with music. The resulting melody, only polished in my sequencer, gets better when I add the beats, precs, and basslines, etc.
Remember, melodies for music, and especially trance, are endless in possibilities. You'll eventually find a melody of your own that is amazingly beautiful.
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| Originally posted by ehcsztein ...i call that excre-meditation... |
i have various ways to get my ideas
sometimes im influenced by other artists
sometimes it depends on my feelings, like whats going on in my head and heart.
sometimes im just walking along, and i get the ideas in my head.
all depends really
I usualy just sit down in reason....then I play around....most of the times I've found a nice synth and started to play with it trying to find a melody that fit's that sound....then I find the melody and work from there
I also tend to build the mainpart of the song first...with a kick that fits, and hihats...and a bassline and so on...then when that's done i start to build the song from the beginning
Most of the time when I find a new sound in one of my keyboards or vsti's...or when I'm on the train ride home from college...I can always get ideas when I listen to a cosmic gate or dumonde set....
There are 2 ways :
1. When ur walking or somthin just start thinking of trance music ... but dont think of tracks u hered, just make somthing up ( the hard part is 2 remember it )
2. play aruond with your kebord, just pick a chourd and start playing till u come up with somthing ( dosnt allways work )
coby
Hi, First Post.
Anyways, The way I do it is like this : I sit down and start to mess around with a keyboard or synth. Gradually a Melody will begin to take shape. Sometimes it'll be a simple little thing that just sounds right and other times it'll be a a 16 measure, epic sounding melody. It usually depends on the mood I'm in.
Sometimes I make the bass line first, that will sometimes make the the shape & sound that the melody's going to have a little easier to find.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by trancedfarmer I GO UPSTAIRS AND SIT DOWN ON THE SHITTER AND THEN AS THE LAST LOG PASSES THROUGH MY RECTUM I GET A MARVELOUS IDEA! |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Floorfiller personally i just walk around with my hand held taperecorder and if i here a beat in my head i sing (yes its retarded hehe) into the recorder. thats how most of my stuff comes about...i start at the begining and work through the track listening to it...the rhythm...the sounds and come up with stuff to add to it that will fit with the rest of the tune. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by SgtFoo SOmetimes the best way to find melodies for a track is to immerse yourself in different surroundings, and trying to use your thoughts of that place to make a feeling with music. The resulting melody, only polished in my sequencer, gets better when I add the beats, precs, and basslines, etc. Remember, melodies for music, and especially trance, are endless in possibilities. You'll eventually find a melody of your own that is amazingly beautiful. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by modular GODDAMN HIPPIES!!!! ARGH!!! |
Fire up the seqencer, load which ever VSTi I feel like playing with then flick through patches. For each patch I try to play some notes in a style for that patch (e.g. for pad sounds a few chords is good and for lead sounds an arpeggio may be ok) and eventually, after flicking through may patches something vaguely nice sounding happens. It's all random, but my best advice is to leave your sequencer recording the whole freakin' lot otherwise you'll play something that sounds good and forget it all too quickly 
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