How You Make Your Stuff

[machinea]

You guys describe your music production as if you're preparing food and eat the same meal every day. Like you have a recipe and stick with it. As if it is an exact science .

Well I don't think I was saying that at all. My recording process completely changes depending on what I want. It's the putting the songs together once everything is recorded that I was speaking of. And while mixing isn't an exact science either there is more science to it with regards to phasing and dealing with certain frequencies. When it comes to recording, I have so many different things I can use and routing configurations, different hardware samplers, microphones, and effects; analog and digital, that its hard to talk about all of that. So occasionally I'll record something straight to tape and back into the DAW sometimes record the keyboards through an amp and then mic it, a lot of times I'll record the synths straight into the sound card route it back out and through some preamps and effects and then run it back in, especially with VST's to soften the sound a tad. This is really the most experimental and fun part of writing for me, its monkeying around with recording techniques and sound design that inspires me to get writing. I come up with a sound and it just starts to click and then I go from there.

[Negamuse]

I'm still trying to find a way of working that gets the results I want - its hard because I've shifted genres a bit. The most promising method so far has been to have a day coming up with sounds and playing simple lines that go with those sounds, nothing more. Then a few days resampling them and trying to build them into something. The one thing I actually finished in the last year was the result of keeping reworking the same piece of music until it sounded nothing like the original. Like, it was a 4 bar snippet played backwards of a tune that was built from a pad that was a sample of a synth line played on a sample of another synth line...

[machinea]

I'm still trying to find a way of working that gets the results I want - its hard because I've shifted genres a bit. The most promising method so far has been to have a day coming up with sounds and playing simple lines that go with those sounds, nothing more. Then a few days resampling them and trying to build them into something. The one thing I actually finished in the last year was the result of keeping reworking the same piece of music until it sounded nothing like the original. Like, it was a 4 bar snippet played backwards of a tune that was built from a pad that was a sample of a synth line played on a sample of another synth line...

I've had this same thing happen with me. It takes a while to become sure of your tools/instruments and learn them depending on what they do. (something I'm still doing after 4 years) Obviously older synths without presets are simpler and not hard to really program whereas other stuff goes really deep. Then it becomes about the way one records, typically into a DAW, but some are still using tape. Converters can make a big difference too. As an aside just because BOC used the S1000, and I'm convinced is probably one of the greatest contributors to their sound outside of some slight tape warble and drift, Butch Vig was discussing the first Garbage album and stated that they recorded it to tape and protools and he was shocked but protools came out on top however he added that everything was run through the S1000 and its converters gave that album its sound. That said experimentation is really key initially for specific sounds.

Next figuring out structure. This is a lot harder, I started studying how certain songs I love really worked by pulling them apart and also looking at song structure of pop music. I don't want to write pop music per se but generally by working backwards from this: structure verse, pre-chorus, chorus, repeat all three then the bridge. The bridge is really where a song can become dynamic by introducing one or more chords that haven't been used previously, changing the rhythm, using notes that are either higher or lower than those used in the other sections and then Middle 8 is another place where one can change things up maybe by changing from one key to its relative minor.

Knowing how to work with this structure can help you figure out what your doing instead of fumbling around and wondering where to go next. And then from there you can break the 'rules' particularly when you are writing music without lyrics. It gives one a guide for a beginning middle and end.

[FernieCanto]

For me, usually, most of the truly creative work happens in my head. I create melodies, riffs, rhythms, sounds in my head, and piece them together in ways that sound interesting to me. Sometimes, I'll grab a rhythm and keep vocalising it to myself until it sounds neat. Sometimes, I catch a melody, or something like that. Then, it's all a matter of transferring those ideas into the computer, and that is the painful part. It feels so boring to write out everything that is already figured out, and sometimes it sounds wrong, or unsatisfying. I have to keep pushing myself until I get to the point where I can't turn back anymore. The near entirety of Don't Stay in the City and Of How a World Is Built came out like that.

But sometimes, I go for a more improvisational way. I lay down something I find interesting, and just go putting little blocks and combining them. When I have something melodic going on, I try to make as many harmonic twists and shifts as I can, without making it excessive, just to see where it goes. When it's more rhythmic, I just try to take those rhythms to their natural, logic conclusions, and exhaust them. 2:32 was almost entirely done like that, and oddly enough, I'm very satisfied with it. I finish the whole thing in about two weeks, and I don't think I'll ever be able to repeat that feat again.

[re-phaelam-ed]

Well put, and I totally agree for the most part. I just feel if we approach it like that, I'd rather see "them"/"us" learning "musical theory" before marking a personal way on the map of production. This is limiting. I put musical theory in quotes because I don't really mean taking a class or learning to read notes, I mean just studying music. Like, in your case, reading the blockhead blog or, in my case sitting through that crazy sun ra movie 3 times in a row. I just think its limiting to churn through a set of standard procedures. In a way I guess its normal to do this, though with as many possible fields as you can...yet I also think that mastery comes WITH that experimentation I'm talking about.

I'll take blockhead again as an example as it a very good example you have chosen indeed. He obviously mastered the skills he needs to do what he does, though reading that blog left me feeling uninspired. If his situation is as he says, you could say he would miss the skillset to rewrite classical music into a simple midi-file by ear (though I'm sure he can!!!), which, if you ask me, if quite a vital skill as how can you rewrite what was in your head 3 hours ago when you can't even write something you can hear by pressing play? Of course this fall under practice I guess, and we are talking about actually producing music.

Which brings up a good point: Mastering a practice is called practice, not releasing music....unless you are practicing releasing music). Wait...does practicing mean again?...euhm...ok so halfway writing this I started becoming stoned and editing it so now its starting to lose its focus. Hello. You're english is fine, and mine is not so great either.

I will continue stoned now, editing this post and toying with ideas as the subject interests me.

To tell you the truth, I do it too. Sometimes I capture myself turning on my computer "lets make some music" and just click away. Halfway into this, when musical seriousness arises (aka when the project becomes larger then some loops and fx), I usually get annoyed by myself, the music starts to lose sense and I save it as aerihg803yut0yuha.sc2. I take a deep breath and think about things I have been thinking about lately. I ask myself questions like "Didn't I wake up with a haunting melody in my head today?" Try to recall specific moments in my music listening adventures (both from others as my own) that triggered thoughts. It inspires me and I work on ideas that fulfill me personally and musically, usually giving the songs a deep emotional impact....for me that is.

Most of the time these answers to these questions have to do with the evolution of sound and building from there I guess. If I would continue to "click away" like I described there is a good chance musical evolution on my personal end would stop and eventually the musicmaking will probably too, eventually. Besides, you can get away with allot if its in the name of musical evolution.

So yeah, don't get me wrong, I understand what you do is a perfectly valid way of doing things, its just...take multiple lanes or at the very least remember to switch lanes when the need arises.
It doesn't inspire me personally though.


Also, sorry, this weed became more potent without realizing.

i just fuck around till i get something i kinda like. i have no set way of doing anything....but i only ends up with loops.

i will hook, those who've asked, up with some of the loops....but advanced warning....they ARE shitty.

[OverTheHorizonRadar]

Not really sure where to put this, but Plaid posted this on Facebook, a big collection of samples for anyone to use it seems like. Sounds pretty cool!

http://theremin.music.uiowa.edu/MIS.html