I am curious how you guys put a track together, as i am struggling with finishing a track.

When i Start with a melody i usually get something like this [[ LINK REMOVED ]]


When i start out with a bass [[ LINK REMOVED ]]


When i start out with percussion [[ LINK REMOVED ]]



No matter what i do i never finish a track. I just get tired of drawing in melodies. I am going to invest in a midi keyboard soon.

Also, if any of you notice things wrong with the productions or have any feedback, it would be appreciated.

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HARD TEKNO

well finishing stuff is the hardest, i got loads of half done works... they just seem to not interest me anymore...

finishing takes tons of time, but sometimes i have a massive idea and finish a track faster (a month or two? i never count), i basically start out with the main part, work on the basic bass, then layer it...

then focusing on rhythm making the kick from scratch, the percs i usually take from some decent single shot sample im currently interested in (mostly the newest i have, unless im looking for something specific)

then i put some effects and stuff, work around the main build of my track, usually i then go to making an intro, then i combine the two (main and intro) adding spices to transitions along the way, then work on the sound, which could take weeks, and i would probably add a couple more sounds im messy...

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Finishing tracks is a whole skill in itself really. Its just something your going to have to work at. Its a combination of putting together all the aspects of production that you worl on, and focusing them into a finished item. Some solid time spent is about the only thing.
But there are basic generic formulas for making EDM. So just think about the fact the you guna need to make about a 7 - 8 1/2 minute track, lets say. Its guna need an intro to mix into, probably a 1st drop where its guna kick in , then a main part and one great big drop, then a cresendo sort of bit, and a bit to mix out of. Get your basic ideas for the track, bassline, beat, rythym melodie etc and lay it out roughly into basic track and work on the whole thing, adding more elements, dropping stuff in and out to make it flow.
Then i would start to tidy it up and add filtersweeps and that sort of thing.
And then spend a while making a catchy main drop because the pro's are pretty dam good at drops these days! A clever drop can be the make or break of a track .
I leave my effects ie crashes, sweeps, delay bus's that sort of thing untill towards the end. Otherwise the project can start to get a bit complex too early and can be easy to loose track of what your doing.
Being able to work fast is really good. As Vortex says you loose interest in stuff but if your spending 2 months on sumtihing Its not surprising. The faster you can get something laid out and tidyed up the better really. But its a skill you have to work at. Working fast is such a combination of skills that you only guna get after heaps of time spent making music.
Me personaly I like to spend maybe a week or so max on track, on average i have worked out that i spend 25 - 30 hours all up to get a track pretty much finished. I work pretty fast and effeciently these days. When a lable sends me remix files I can knock out a track in 2 - 3 days pretty happily. I know plenty of dudes who can work faster. Of course thats not everyone. I'm shure Shpongles tracks take a bit longer to make .

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Last edited by theartfulducker on May-12-2008 at 04:09

quote:

Originally posted by theartfulducker Finishing tracks is a whole skill in itself really. Its just something your going to have to work at. Its a combination of putting together all the aspects of production that you worl on, and focusing them into a finished item. Some solid time spent is about the only thing. But there are basic generic formulas for making IDM. So just think about the fact the you guna need to make about a 7 - 8 1/2 minute track, lets say. Its guna need an intro to mix into, probably a 1st drop where its guna kick in , then a main part and one great big drop, then a cresendo sort of bit, and a bit to mix out of. Get your basic ideas for the track, bassline, beat, rythym melodie etc and lay it out roughly into basic track and work on the whole thing, adding more elements, dropping stuff in and out to make it flow. Then i would start to tidy it up and add filtersweeps and that sort of thing. And then spend a while making a catchy main drop because the pro's are pretty dam good at drops these days! A clever drop can be the make or break of a track . I leave my effects ie crashes, sweeps, delay bus's that sort of thing untill towards the end. Otherwise the project can start to get a bit complex too early and can be easy to loose track of what your doing. Being able to work fast is really good. As Vortex says you loose interest in stuff but if your spending 2 months on sumtihing Its not surprising. The faster you can get something laid out and tidyed up the better really. But its a skill you have to work at. Working fast is such a combination of skills that you only guna get after heaps of time spent making music. Me personaly I like to spend maybe a week or so max on track, on average i have worked out that i spend 25 - 30 hours all up to get a track pretty much finished. I work pretty fast and effeciently these days. When a lable sends me remix files I can knock out a track in 2 - 3 days pretty happily. I know plenty of dudes who can work faster. Of course thats not everyone. I'm shure Shpongles tracks take a bit longer to make .

i meant that 2 months is a short time...

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It probably took me a couple of years before i started to properly finish tracks, but they wern't up to standard really. After finally getting some projects 'finished' I started to refine my process of building tracks and a couple of years later i can work prety fast. Every track you make you learn a little more, and have another trick under your belt. Its not an overnight thing.
But its easy to get stuck in the trap of buzzing out on a loop for hours, refining it and refining it .. untill your sick of it .

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I find myself spending just as much time making the first 90% of a track as the last 10%

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quote:

Originally posted by Subtle I find myself spending just as much time making the first 90% of a track as the last 10%

Same here..putting the finishing is hard cauz i think u the presentation of the ideas (the track) is as much important as the buildup itself

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quote:

Life is to short to listen to something else than Trance

quote:

Originally posted by theartfulducker So just think about the fact the you guna need to make about a 7 - 8 1/2 minute track, lets say. Its guna need an intro to mix into, probably a 1st drop where its guna kick in , then a main part and one great big drop, then a cresendo sort of bit, and a bit to mix out of.

This is what you do if you want your track to sound like every single mainstream trance track for the past ten years.

If you don't want that, then don't do what this guy said.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles This is what you do if you want your track to sound like every single mainstream trance track for the past ten years.

i dunno dude, there IS a club formula. when you deviate from it, epic fail ensues. it might still be a good song, it just wont be a club song. i suppose it depends what your intentions are... but imo, if it is not a club song, it is a radio edit, which has no bearing on the issue.

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Originally posted by echosystm i dunno dude, there IS a club formula.

Certainly.

quote:

when you deviate from it, epic fail ensues. it might still be a good song, it just wont be a club song.

It's perfectly possible to make a club song without following that formula.

I can think of a dozen older trance tracks that had melodic or ambient intros or outros, for instance, and they all killed dance floors in their day. They still would today, if people played them.

quote:

This is what you do if you want your track to sound like every single mainstream trance track for the past ten years.

So yes in other words do that if you want to make a trance track.
Or i guess , being as your finding it hard enough to finish a track as it is, take note of all the generic tricks that the most popular trance producers do and try not to do any of those things! That'l really be helpfull to you! Hopefully you can reinvent the genre after so many years!
Seriously ... learn to make basic proper generic productions that sound profesional 1st of all. Dance music is very generic basically. There are just certain production techniques that work with different styles. They have been refined for years by really good producers. Of course you can do some cool different stuff and arrange a pretty original sounding piece but its still going to be based on solid basic production and arrangement techniques.
As you start get more confident with things you will start forming your own style and getting more unique.

quote:

I can think of a dozen older trance tracks that had melodic or ambient intros or outros, for instance,

Laying out a track basically with some buildups and drops etc doesn't stop you having ambient intros, or outros or nething else. I was just giving a basic idea of how you might lay a track out. To help get something finished...

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Arrangements are supposed to be predictable, you want the people on the floor to know when things are going to happen.

The important thing is what you make happen for them.

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