my 2 cents:

Create something weird based on samples:

You could take an old gospel vinyl ( if you have something like this )sample out ten seconds of it, reverse it and a some progressive beats to it...( if you release it on vinyl, remember to check up the copyright things...)

or: take a classical cd, sample out some violin solos, cut it to single notes, put them into your sampler and create a new melody...

or: take any melody of your own tunes, distort it, reverse it and make a new track out of it...

anything goes you can imagine...


Trancevision

Get a visual image of your track. Draw its basic parts just like blocks, in a paper, and mess with it trying to come up with something that dont keep stuck in your inspiration (or your lack of it) for that song.

Create a beat. The most overused thing on trance actualy is the beat, its aways the same kind of beat/percussion. Mess with tons, shakers, try to put diferent kicks togheter in the song, make a short break and so on. Everybody seems to think in a good melody first, and just build a very normal beat to carry it, when it should receive the same, or even more attention, its the song drive and rhythm after all...

I used to get some cool/crazy things messing with randomizers, its a good resource when u donk know what to do, may just give u some new ideia in those blank-head moments.

Get a theme. Sometimes, just looking at something gives u a feeling that can become music, be it an object, a place, whatever.

Aways listen to a wide range of music. If u only listen to an given type of song, u will only hav creativty for that type of song. The more diferent things u listen, more ideias will flow in your head.

Thats all i can think off for now, hope this helps

quote:

Originally posted by Trancevision As most of us are hobby producers we are not bound to a label, which might force us to "commercialize" our tracks: We can do EVERYTHING we want. Trancevision

Thats right, if you want to make music just for you. But if you want others to listen to it you have to make the Track in a way THEY like if. This is also a big problem in this board, if a Track is very special and not the usual uplifting/big melody/armin/ferry style or so they don't even try to get more into the music.

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here

I think we must hav a balanced point here. Of course we need to do expected things so wu got our sound accepted, but its not good being eternaly stuck with the same basis.
Making some diferent things (dont need to be totally, absurdly, diferent and unexpected) is good for the flowing of changes.

And btw, i remembered something very interesting that gives me inspiration many times. its graphics. I often keep watching that graphical plugins with crazy and ramdom images and it becomes sounds in my head. Blur reminds me of reeverbs, colors give me an energetic feel (like blue=strings, deep-melody, soothing-leads / red=energy, percussion, pumpin and so on)
From visual plugins, games, magazines, whatever... happens to me quite often...

Last edited by NicklessGuy on Jun-15-2003 at 22:25

experiment. a lot. do weird stuff that you'll think it'll never work (like reversing samples, adding non-sense FX, applying the same FX to two channels that have nothing in common, any crazy idea), well it usually doesn't, but once in a while you get a very original idea that works.

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