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Before you start a new track..
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| runawaywaffle3 |
| Hello tranceaddicts, i had a quick question. Before you guys start producing a brand new track from scratch, do you already have an idea of what you want the track to sound like? Or do you just play with synths until you find one that you like and create a progression/melody with it and base the track around that? The only reason i ask if because very often i find myself struggling to conceptualize what I even want my tracks to sound like until I have a melody or progression to work off of |
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| Zombie0729 |
| any & all, starting new shouldn't be hard unless you're very specifically going after a certain sound/reference track. You shouldn't be too picky in the beginning, you just need to lay out some ideas, and keep laying out ideas. The next day when you come back to 5 or so 8 bar ideas you'll know which one to continue on with... |
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| Kysora |
| Starting to write a song without having any ideas beforehand is the reason so many people can't finish their own work, so I would suggest not doing that. |
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| Zombie0729 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kysora
Starting to write a song without having any ideas beforehand is the reason so many people can't finish their own work, so I would suggest not doing that. |
the moment you find a sound/patch/sample you like the ideas should start rolling very fast, if it doesn't then you're not listening to enough reference material in your free time. My friends that pump out amazing tracks at a ridiculously fast pace do so because they were the kids who had headphones glued to their head from age 10 to 20. |
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| Kysora |
Maybe I worded that wrong -- for most people, jumping into producing a track unless you have most of the melodic/rhythmic elements figured out
beforehand is a good way to get stuck when you run out of ideas to continue the song. You should at least have a decent idea of how the song will progress from beginning to end, and have the main melodic component already written. It's smooth sailing from that point.
I'm not saying everyone works like that, or should, but it's worked for me so far. I've probably finished over 90% of the tracks I've ever started. |
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| runawaywaffle3 |
well i was definitely that kid who had their headphones in from ages 10-20.
thanks for the responses guys i will certainly try the methods you suggested |
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| psymon.d |
| this is a answer, but true: it depends and changes from time to time, track to track. |
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| sicc |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kysora
Starting to write a song without having any ideas beforehand is the reason so many people can't finish their own work, so I would suggest not doing that. |
I often start off tracks ing around with synths and trying to write a melody w/o any ideas before hand. I can come up with some very creative stuff and it sometimes turns out well, BUT, as you said, I have a very hard time finishing the track, because I have no ing clue where its going. Its a struggle, so I keep my mind open to new things :) |
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| sot |
i usually start with a logic template that i created that has a few exs instruments with my favorite drum samples, few of my fav software instruments (trilian, dune, ace, oddity etc), drum bus, synth bus, fx bus, reverb bus. a gain plug on every single channel so i can gain stage accordingly. voxengo span on master output for metering.
depending on what i'm working on, if it's a remix, i'd throw in the parts and tinker around till i come up with a decent 16-32 bar loop then start arranging.
if it's an original tune, i'd just get a basic drum loop going then just jam out with my midi keyboard till i get something i'm happy with. usually a happy accident happens during this stage since i'm waiting for something unpredictable to happen as everything i tend to play i'm never too impressed with, i dunno bout you guys but i can sit there and jam out for hours on end and be happy with something for a few minutes then go ahh, don't like it anymore. best advice, least for me is to just commit to something and do whatever it takes to get as much as possible done during that first session otherwise i'll start dwelling, and dwelling = bad, very bad. you get nothing done if your a dweller. |
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| Zombie0729 |
| quote: | Originally posted by sicc
I often start off tracks ing around with synths and trying to write a melody w/o any ideas before hand. I can come up with some very creative stuff and it sometimes turns out well, BUT, as you said, I have a very hard time finishing the track, because I have no ing clue where its going. Its a struggle, so I keep my mind open to new things :) |
i don't know this about you personally but all i can suggest is you listen to more reference material in your free time, commit to listening to a few podcasts/mix tapes a week (commutes to work, at the gym, whatever).
Speaking personally here, the moment i started forcing myself to make sure i stayed up to date on new music was really the turning point for me. Before i was doing about 1 track every 6 weeks, and now since January i've been doing 6-8 tracks a month (and in my own opinion the quality has improved). The major difference is i know where something should go right away, i know what not to waste time on and what i should focus on (and i think it's because i always have a frame of reference from all the listening i do). just my 2cents |
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| runawaywaffle3 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Zombie0729
i don't know this about you personally but all i can suggest is you listen to more reference material in your free time, commit to listening to a few podcasts/mix tapes a week (commutes to work, at the gym, whatever).
Speaking personally here, the moment i started forcing myself to make sure i stayed up to date on new music was really the turning point for me. Before i was doing about 1 track every 6 weeks, and now since January i've been doing 6-8 tracks a month (and in my own opinion the quality has improved). The major difference is i know where something should go right away, i know what not to waste time on and what i should focus on (and i think it's because i always have a frame of reference from all the listening i do). just my 2cents |
i completely understand the structure of trance music as i have been listening to it for a few years now but sometimes it is hard to translate what i know into my own tracks, for instance i have a hard time making my melodies gravitate to a breakdown or build. |
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| sicc |
| quote: | Originally posted by Zombie0729
i don't know this about you personally but all i can suggest is you listen to more reference material in your free time, commit to listening to a few podcasts/mix tapes a week (commutes to work, at the gym, whatever).
Speaking personally here, the moment i started forcing myself to make sure i stayed up to date on new music was really the turning point for me. Before i was doing about 1 track every 6 weeks, and now since January i've been doing 6-8 tracks a month (and in my own opinion the quality has improved). The major difference is i know where something should go right away, i know what not to waste time on and what i should focus on (and i think it's because i always have a frame of reference from all the listening i do). just my 2cents |
Interesting. I usually throw my ipod on shuffle, at times I pay close attention to the tracks structures and how the move around, other times not so much. I think as you said, I do need to commit to listening to some reference tracks. I struggle the most with track structure. Do you produce in a linear method; starting at the intro? |
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