Song production
 

How do you guys go about making a song?
When i try to make a song i usually don't get further then a loop.

I start to play with some sounds loaded in my mpc on a 4 bar loop , lay down a beat or some melody , add some bass sounds , some fx sounds , add some hi's and stuff till i get my groove going , but then , if everything sounds right , all adjusted/tuned and stuff .i suddenly lose my inspiration, i kinda get stuck after making my groove/loop , so all i'm left with is a really cool 4 bar loop.
When i then try to make a track ,i get a really lame song with lame transitions/breakdowns and stuff.
Okok i had some luck on some songs that seemed to just write themselves as i was playing , just totally in the groove ,focussed as if i totally emerged in the song , ( a sudden overload of creativity i guess) but most of the times i get stuck with a loop.
I have tons of loops just waiting to be stretched out into a song.
There are also a lot of times where i just make track and find some technical malfunction , then i get totally focussed on that malfunction trying to repair it , forgetting all about my song and when it's fixed i totally lost the feeling of the moment. But that's remedied by just bypassing the malfunction , writing it down and fixing it some other time as to not loose your creative surge.

But anyways , back to the question :) , how do you guys go about laying down/producing a song?

Greetz...

Great question...I got the same problem as you.
I got hundreds of 1 min clip on sitting on my computer, quite a few that really deserve to get finished.

My problem is mostly that once all the elements are in, my cpu load is near 100% so it makes the project virtually impossible to finish. I could bounce to .wav, but then it would mean that I'd need to plan in advance the structure of the song.

How I would do it if I had my TI here:

1. Writing
I'd start with the melody(I'm mostly writing trance, so melody is kind of the main element). Once I'm done, I'd go with the bass to make it complement the melody, then the percs to accentuate the groove.

2. Structure
I would then work out the structure of the whole track.

3. Sound design and recording
Initially, all sounds would be from the TI. Then, I would go through elements 1 by 1. Everything that I'm not happy with, I load up a VST or any of my other hardware synths and replace the sounds. Once I'm happy with the sound, I record and can move on the next element.

Hopefully with that technique I'll be able to finish more projects with minimal cpu load.

I suggest you to read those couple of golden threads about arrangement and song structure:
http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthread...hreadid=264521
http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthread...hreadid=274688
http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthread...hreadid=244758
This really improoved my arrangement skillz when i was stuck with 8bar loops,
and i still think that arrangement is not something you learn,
it's something that should come naturally.

Well...

Once I have a good loop going, what I usually do, is just copy and paste it out till its roughly a song length. Then I write a half a dozen fills and insert them in the key transitional bars, so that even just listening to the loops you get a feel for when the song wants to change. Then, I spend hours and hours deleting different parts from different sections, this is when the song starts to take shape. Then I'll spend a couple nights working on the breakdown, buildups, drops etc. Then I'll go and do some more deleting. Then I'll add a couple extra tricksy fills to some key areas or take the bassline out of 8 bars in a certain section, things like this to add variation. Then I'll spend days and days working on beefing all the sounds up and getting everything to sit in the mix nicely.

I wouldn't say that I recommend this as the best way to work, but its what I have been doing lately. If anyone has a better idea, please let me know.

Hope this has been helpful.

Interesting thread. :D

I like to hear how people get their arrangment down. It's by far the most difficult thing for me too - it's makes or breaks a track.

Anyway....

I tend to start my tracks on the hardware sequencer in my JX305. Once I have a small loop going (usually with 2 sections of melody lines), I jam with it - using the mixer to fade in parts, send FX, EQ on the fly and play with the structure a little. Also while at this stage, I'll play other bits live. From here I'll turn on the computer and record some parts to audio and move other midi lines into cubase. Then I'll always build up the drums - layering by recording straight to audio for each new sound, untill I'll happy.

Because I have already played with the structure a little I know where I want things to happen, but I still get into a copy and paste mentality - this is my downfall.

I think jamming and having fun with tunes helps get your arrangement down, but when switching to a copy and paste system, things start to get more difficult.

i think your problem is geting use to a certain method of working that realy doesnt fit you.
i would suggest changing it. :wink:

personally i start off with drum programing and then program a the main bass sound

i start straching this loop (copy paste :P )
and start adding synth lines and the story continues... :D

It seems like everyone has a totally different approach as to what things to start of with and what comes next and so on...
Looks like you gotta find your own personnal way of writing a song , a system that suits you best.
I will try some of your methods and see what works.
And tomer , yes i definatly need to change my method of working.
Haven't got mutch time to write now cause it's my lunchbreak , but i found this nice video yesterday , actually a lot of video's.

Check them out.
first check this , carl craig working with logic audio you can see his approach on making a song.
http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/L...?act_session=5

then check out the other lectures , really interesting stuff

Well those three threads XLR8A posted were kinda all i asked for :D .
After reading thru all three i kinda have a general idea of what to do.
I also found a video from simon V who works with an MPC and a moog and some other synth and makes his music totally live when gigging.
He just plays his synth preparing for the show so he has some basic idea's of melody's and drum sequences and stuff , this way he has some building bloks to use when making his tunes.
I think that's a good idea cause then you come up with melody's and variations and stuff mutch faster when making a song , that will definatly reduce writers blok.
http://etihad.com/Uploads/All%204%20...%20Version.mov

And madstation , why don't you try using midi to trigger external gear to take some load off your cpu.
And as for gopal , your method seems really slow and i think that would really screw with my feel of the moment . Working on a song for like two weeks or more , just feels so unintuitive (not sure if i'm using this word right tho :lol: ).

Greetz...

Yeah, its been good to read all your different methods.

I know my way of working is a very long process but thats what happens when you have no-one to learn from and you are just flying blind. Just spent the day yesterday learning how to work in logic and how to use software samplers (Intakt) and I've definately found some things that are going to save me oooodles of time.

Very interesting to hear all your methods. I find it very hard to keep it fun and 'just jam' but I think thats just cause its all so new to me and I need to be more comfortable in the basic workings of my setup before the creativity will truly be allowed to flow.