How do you approach track making? Do you start with a beat or is a bassline? Do you work with samples? What's your process?

Curious to get some ideas.

For me, the track starts with a melody - I guess that's why most of my tracks end up on a "chill out" or "ambient" side of things. Drumming is not my strong suit and I don't want to use samples, although I think I should.

I watched my buddy work, he throws a beat, then loops it, as it's looping, he moves to next track and makes a bassline with several different takes. He then puts down a pad or some improv melody. Eventually there's a sketch, a skelleton of sorts. Depending on where the track goes, he adds and changes parts. Every time saving "major idea" as a separate project.

Watching him work is a humbling experience, as his entire studio seems to be extension of his brain - there's no searching for this sample or twiddling with that cable. Everything is just flowing seamlessly. Amazing, really

At the end of the session he either has a core done or at least some strong parts in place that are considered "pillars" of the track - these don't get changed unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. If this project is actually going to end up as a track, all deviations are separate projects to be pursued later. I've seen him pull out 4 or 5 different tracks out of single idea. If he was more into EDM (he's more of a prog rock/new wave/rock background), he'd probably have even more options. Several of his basslines + beats were wicked at 140+ BPMs - I've heard worse "main stream" goa/psy tracks with a lot more effort put into it. You could take that, add few elements here and there and have a killer EDM track. I should probably get some of his stems and try to remix them

Anyway, your tips?

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Lately I've been picking a tempo and key and then just writing a lot of parts without trying to "imagine" a whole finished track. I let invention take free reign without any specific end goal in mind. I write synths, beats, weird noises and effects, atmospheres, then I try to combine them in different ways and see what fits and what doesn't. Then I write some more...

I like this spontaneous method because it gives me ideas for tracks that cycle through different sounds and moods in an interesting and somewhat unpredictable way. Also it doesn't leave me discouraged about not achieving some "ideal" track, since I just don't bother to think of an "ideal" in the first place. I've gotten some nice results from this so far.

I start the majority of my songs at the piano (actually my Alesis QS8.2 using a basic piano sound). No DAW, no soft synths, just me and the piano so I can focus on creating a melody and chord progressions. Sometimes, I have a melody idea in my head, so I just work it out on the keyboard. Other times, I just start playing around with melody ideas and chord progressions until something hits me, then I build on it. After I have the basic idea down, I play/record the MIDI into Sonar and start building from there.

I will also occasionally start songs on my bass, since that's my primary instrument. I'll come up with a bass groove, then start layering drum and percussion loops, etc. in Sonar until I get an idea that I like, then build on it. Eventually, I end up back at the piano to work out a melody over the grooves that I've created.

That's my approach for starting tunes - nothing unconventional or groundbreaking about it, but it works for me.

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usualy start with a loop somehow, it can be a funky baseline, some technodrums or a really nasty breakbeatthing adding efex and stuff. then it just goes from there. no tips really but go with the flow and delete what u dont need.

For me i usually play about with some string sounds and get the main melody to start with then keep looping it and trying to add nice motifs that fits well with it. once i have them i try and get a nice bass sound runnin with it.

Basically make lots of small loop parts of the structure of the song and then play about with the sounds i want to go with each part. after that do the arrangement and then finally eq and volume etc sometime i eq and vlume on the fly though.

but do what ever you feel comfortable with as its not always the same way for each song.

I might start from an awesome bass sounds and build from there.

hope my 2 bob of advice helps....

You know, I've noticed I've produced my last couple of tracks in a completely linear fashion. I start with some intro sounds and proceed from there as if I were listening to the track. It's not really a conscious choice either, it just seems to happen that way.

Come to think of it, I don't recall anyone else here actually state producing like that... ?

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^^^
have tried to work this way but always end up getting stuck in a loop, i think moving from left to right is the best way to work tho

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i usually come up with a rythmn on a bass synth, loop that, then copy and paste it to a lead synth and fit it to a scale. then i'll make a general template for the song with kick/high hats/crashes add some background synths. after that i'll have the main core of the song and then start adding in transitions and sound effects.

oh and i usually EQ as i go along and occassionally use the Soundgoodizer to hear how the final product will roughly sound like.

another good thing to do is close your eyes, put headphones on, turn off the computer monitor, and just listen to where the song takes you. a little green doesn't hurt either

quote:

Originally posted by Brownsound a little green doesn't hurt either

^^^^^^
Agree with that

I have also been working linear like Mystery, I have not always done this but, my latest track this is exactly what I did, and its the closest to a finished track that I've done in a long time and in about a week too. But, generally I try to take a different approach to composing every time, maybe eventually I will find my way and stick to it, who knows. But, trying different ways of working will allow you to see it from different angles and I think that improves your skills in general.

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ive oly been producing/learning for just over a year so dont think ive had the time yet to try other ways but i usually either work out a melody or chord progression, then work out the bass, then the kick, percs, fx.

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I never like to let the early stages of my songs be heard until they're done or close to it, but what the hell, one time won't kill me. Here's an example of the way I work with vocalists. I start the song at the piano as I described above and once I get a basic idea for the melody and chord progression together, I slap a drum loop and basic bass line on it and send it to the singer. The singer uses the piano melody as a guide for writing lyrics. So here is the chorus idea for the latest vocal track that Avonlea and I are working on:

cryophonik song idea

Yeah, cheezy drums/bass, I know. I intentionally keep the idea very simple when starting it so the singer has plenty of room to experiment with the lyrics, phrasing, etc. Once the vox are recorded, we nix the drums, bass, and piano and start building the song around the vocals. I like doing it this way because I think it's easier to make the music fit the vox, rather than vice-versa.

I'll leave this sample up until the song is complete in (hopefully) a few weeks so you can compare the final version to the initial idea (that's always kinda shocking to hear!).



edit: just to be clear, I'm not looking to have this thread hijacked by feedback on the sample I posted. So, if you have comments, feel free to PM me rather than take this very cool thread off-topic.

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quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery You know, I've noticed I've produced my last couple of tracks in a completely linear fashion. I start with some intro sounds and proceed from there as if I were listening to the track. It's not really a conscious choice either, it just seems to happen that way. Come to think of it, I don't recall anyone else here actually state producing like that... ?

I do that too.
Make the music as im listening to it, i find it funny that my main parts almost always kicks in at 5 minutes.
If u know alot of music u can really get alot of different styles and outcome this way.

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