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Forums - Music techology
Subject: The Making of a Track
Original Message 1/26 13-Aug-98 @ 05:17 AM - The Making of a Track
So how you go about creating your tracks?
Do you have a set routine? If so, what is it? Or, do you do it differently each time?
What usually inspires you?
Do you have a set routine? If so, what is it? Or, do you do it differently each time?
What usually inspires you?
Message 2/26 13-Aug-98 @ 05:57 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
This is how I like do it.....
I usually start off with a kick and bassline. I like to have a bassline that swings really nice and my favorite way to do this is to offset one or two of the notes 1/16th ahead or behing the downbeat. Once I have the bassline set, I will drop out the kick and start working on the hi-hats, toms, and other percs in conjuntion with the bassline. Every once in a while I will bring the kick back in to see how it is working with the rest of the percs and bassline. I also reduce all of my percussion (including the hi-hats) to the lowest bit possible. 8 bit is my favorite.
Once that is done, I will decide how I want the bassline to travel. If I’m writing a house track, I will usually have the bassline repeat for 3 bars and then create a variation for the 4th bar.
Pads come next. With house music, I will create a pad sound that involves strings and just about anything else. I keep the chord pregression simple, and I will bury the pad in the mix.
By this time, I’ll have an arrangement going too.
I work on the lead sounds next, and I will either stack them on to the bassline, or I will use a lead sound to compliment what the bassline is doing.
Then I start working harder on the arrangement and I also start using FX to phatten things up.
I usually start off with a kick and bassline. I like to have a bassline that swings really nice and my favorite way to do this is to offset one or two of the notes 1/16th ahead or behing the downbeat. Once I have the bassline set, I will drop out the kick and start working on the hi-hats, toms, and other percs in conjuntion with the bassline. Every once in a while I will bring the kick back in to see how it is working with the rest of the percs and bassline. I also reduce all of my percussion (including the hi-hats) to the lowest bit possible. 8 bit is my favorite.
Once that is done, I will decide how I want the bassline to travel. If I’m writing a house track, I will usually have the bassline repeat for 3 bars and then create a variation for the 4th bar.
Pads come next. With house music, I will create a pad sound that involves strings and just about anything else. I keep the chord pregression simple, and I will bury the pad in the mix.
By this time, I’ll have an arrangement going too.
I work on the lead sounds next, and I will either stack them on to the bassline, or I will use a lead sound to compliment what the bassline is doing.
Then I start working harder on the arrangement and I also start using FX to phatten things up.
Message 3/26 13-Aug-98 @ 07:16 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
I usually make my tracks with a disposable insulin syringe.. Har har har!! No, really, the inspiration for a track comes outta nowhere.. See, I DO have a pattern, but the tracks I REALLY like happen kinda spur-of-the-moment, from say, a pad sound, or a lead sound, or an old drumloop I find on my hard drive, or an old record I listen to, or a sound in a movie.. Whatever.. I'm pretty eclectic. This sucks, of course, because when I do sit down and try to make a track, it's usually shit. But when I can't help myself, and I start busting out and don't sleep all night because I'm recording all these ideas, it always ends up being something meaningful and important.
Message 4/26 13-Aug-98 @ 07:33 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
When people come over to work, I tell them bring records & cd's & whatever instrument they could really call their forte, ie don't bring 5 synths, just the one they know best. Then we sit down, check out sounds or samples, & work off inspiration. Sometimes a preset synth sound through a neat effect is enough.
Whenever I start with the beat, the results are lack-luster, so I try to start with something simple & go back & fix it in the end. Yeah, everybody tells me it's dance music & this should be my focus, but I guess I'm too much of a muso.
You'll laugh, but Lionel Ritchie said "if you can't hum a line that'll stick in your head, then you've got no place making music." Exactly. For me it's the melody or sound that sticks in my head & makes a track special, not the beat.
Whenever I start with the beat, the results are lack-luster, so I try to start with something simple & go back & fix it in the end. Yeah, everybody tells me it's dance music & this should be my focus, but I guess I'm too much of a muso.
You'll laugh, but Lionel Ritchie said "if you can't hum a line that'll stick in your head, then you've got no place making music." Exactly. For me it's the melody or sound that sticks in my head & makes a track special, not the beat.
Message 5/26 13-Aug-98 @ 07:45 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
This has got to be one of the coolest threads i have ever seen! Seriously. I have a syndrome along the lines of Sedusa. I cant write music worth shit but when i have an idea i will stay up all night getting every last bit of inspiration out of it, and with that come several new techniques about format, sequencing, editing, mixing, development, etc. But it seems that that only happens when i either A) Get new gear B) hear new music C) dont get enough sleep D) coming down off drugs or E) shit luck. I cant really say that i make music, i just like to make stuff that makes me think about the technology used to create it. Fuck music, not really but kinda?
out...
out...
Message 6/26 13-Aug-98 @ 08:10 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
noteven...good post.
Derrick May once said writing "Techno (Detroit) music is creating something that no one has ever heard before".
He also said that "it's what would happen if George Clinton and Bootsy Collins got stuck in an elevator for 2 hours"...Ummm...I think I'd personally go for Pammy Anderson over those two sweaty bastards.
I now focus more on melody than ever before. But Mindspawn, as others, are helping me to color outside of the lines. In the past I have gotten too hung up on formula. Now anything goes...
Derrick May once said writing "Techno (Detroit) music is creating something that no one has ever heard before".
He also said that "it's what would happen if George Clinton and Bootsy Collins got stuck in an elevator for 2 hours"...Ummm...I think I'd personally go for Pammy Anderson over those two sweaty bastards.
I now focus more on melody than ever before. But Mindspawn, as others, are helping me to color outside of the lines. In the past I have gotten too hung up on formula. Now anything goes...
Message 7/26 13-Aug-98 @ 08:25 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
Greenie, when are you going to finish that track we started. I thought you'd be done in a week, & now it's been fuckin' months!!!
Just finish it, & if it sucks you can blame it on me.
Just finish it, & if it sucks you can blame it on me.
Message 8/26 13-Aug-98 @ 09:38 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
wrote the beginnings of a track last night - just by getting this monster dubby-bass thing looping from the an1x and then getting my mate to sing random stuff over the top until we had this kind of country-ish vocal (like beth orton kind fo...) over this dirty lo-fi dub beat. sounded good - love the emax for this ability just to lay down the beats quickly - but the first time i've ever done it like that.
the most prolific period of writing i had was last year in manchester - we hooked up a four track (bass, guitar, synths and drum machines) and just kind of jammed - when we had something going we'd flip the 4track into record.....
then later you have all this ready-made material to sample and fuck with - all in the same key, same tempo, all feeding off each other already. sounded pretty good....
the most prolific period of writing i had was last year in manchester - we hooked up a four track (bass, guitar, synths and drum machines) and just kind of jammed - when we had something going we'd flip the 4track into record.....
then later you have all this ready-made material to sample and fuck with - all in the same key, same tempo, all feeding off each other already. sounded pretty good....
Message 9/26 13-Aug-98 @ 09:48 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
Hey how are you guys sharing the track ? What formats do you send in? I wanna play too ...if its techno'ey
cya
cya
Message 10/26 13-Aug-98 @ 11:19 AM - RE: The Making of a Track
if you do want to share stuff you could use cakewalk (i think the .bun files include all the audio files as well) but you have to remember to include any midi data you have as audio...obviously....
or you could use soundforge acid, which can save a song complete with all the samples in - .acd extension.
there's some examples of .acd tracks here:
Some Acid tracks with embedded samples.
Did that work?
or you could use soundforge acid, which can save a song complete with all the samples in - .acd extension.
there's some examples of .acd tracks here:
Some Acid tracks with embedded samples.
Did that work?
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