How do you come up with tunes

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ckzdub
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How do you come up with tunes

Post by ckzdub » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:30 pm

Im very new, so far all i really do is use FL studio and basically start with is making a drum beat i like, then find some type of instruments or make my own synth with 3x osc and play around with sounds over the drum beat till i find something i like then record, and keep adding other sounds till i find something i like... How do you guys do it?

Another good technique to make up cool sounding tunes ive sort of came up with myself is to get stoned and listen to music quietly so you can just barely hear it, and my mind will start making up melodies that sound really good, then if i can remember those melodies i will try and take them and put them into FL studio and use them over a beat.

what do you guys do?

FSTZ1
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Re: How do you come up with tunes

Post by FSTZ1 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:42 pm

Ckzdub wrote:get stoned and listen to music

what do you guys do?
Ckzdub wrote:get stoned and listen to music
Ckzdub wrote:get stoned and listen to music
^^mostly that

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lojik
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Post by lojik » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:43 pm

I usually just start by finding a nice sounding pad or something and coming up with a cool chord sequence. Then I'll add a few intro percs and start to get a feel for what the track might sound like. If I like it I'll carry on, if not I'll start again :D

Usually I know when I've started a track that I'll finish the first day becuase you get into that production flow where you tend to stay up faaaar to late and even when you go to bed your too buzzing to go to sleep lol.
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Post by megaladon » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:10 pm

I try and start with different parts in an attempt to get some diversity, layering a load of ridiculous pads with automation is a good one if you're out of ideas. At the end of the day it's easier just to copy people, it means you don't have to think too hard and it's very fast.

ckzdub
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Post by ckzdub » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:03 pm

Interesting, I guess it does make a bit more sense to come up with a synth riff before the beat, instead of trying to fit a riff into a beat, which is what i usually do and probly why all my riffs are like only 3 notes :/

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abZ
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Post by abZ » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:06 pm

I like to get stoned and listen to music. Pictures of Alpacas can't hurt either.

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karmacazee
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Post by karmacazee » Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:56 am

I've recently gone back to playing a lot of guitar after what seems like a small eternity.

Not only has 12 months solid of producing made me play my guitar waaaay more in time, but I now approach my songwriting in a totally different way.

And it works two ways. My guitar playing has influenced my tunes. I find it easier to write chord progressions on my guitar, plus basslines are easier to come up with (especially while playing in drop D). My latest one Dr. Gonzo was written on the guitar.

So I guess the lesson here is learn the guitar...

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beerz
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Post by beerz » Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:23 am

the more experienced u get at producing and the more effiecient u are at getting things done in your daw, the more time u can spend writing "music" and not just technical twaddle. it comes as part of the natural process of producing. i found that in time u can become more and more musical as everything else is just simple tasks

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kidstatic
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Post by kidstatic » Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:07 am

i usually get ideas for tracks when im doing other shit. just dont think about it. music is everywhere. ive gotten track ideas from my windshield wipers, traffic sounds, falling down stairs, whatever. use the audio recorder on my phone to hum the melody or bassline, then flesh it out when i get home.

actually that was all bullshit. you know how i really get my ideas?





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drokkr
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Post by drokkr » Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:30 am

90% of the time i start out by putting together a drum pattern, kicks and snares and some hats. if start feeling something from this i move on to doing edits of the drum pattern and adding other perc. sometimes, i take this up to 32 bars before i start thinking about any synths or bass.

then, i take a break, come back and listen to my drums very loud this is when the ideas for synths and bass seem to come into my head.

drugs lend some help too. sometimes :wink:

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Mad_EP
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Re: How do you come up with tunes

Post by Mad_EP » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:22 am

FSTZ wrote:
Ckzdub wrote:get stoned and listen to music
^^mostly that

I am no prude when it comes to my past & substances... but that is seriously the stupidest thing I have ever seen (and I have seen it a lot). The fact is: if you need substances in order to be 'creative', the reality is- you simply are not a very creative person.

As I said- I am no prude and did my share back in the day... but even then, it was to cut all creativity out, and focus on mundane details... not the opposite. I would smoke so that I could be bothered to do batch conversions of my sample library (and make sure all of my samples were zero crossing, etc).... NOT to get 'inspired'.

If music doesn't inspire you when you are sober, I don't know why you would even bother?
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kidstatic
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Post by kidstatic » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:30 am

different people access their creativity differently. some people dont NEED substances to do it, but like doing it anyways. substances affect everyone in subtly different ways too.

it's really not up to you to judge the value of how someone accesses that part of their brain.


also saying "i'm no prude but.." is like starting a sentence off with "i don't mean to be racist but..." the statement after it is pretty much guaranteed to be exactly that.

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Mad_EP
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Post by Mad_EP » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:36 am

kidstatic wrote: also saying "i'm no prude but.." its like starting a sentence off with "i don't mean to be racist but..." the statement after it is pretty much guaranteed to be exactly that.
Actually it is nothing like that at all...but thanks for playing.
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Post by Brisance » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:38 am

Mad EP, you obviously haven't done amphetamine :twisted:

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kidstatic
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Post by kidstatic » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:40 am

mad ep wrote:
kidstatic wrote: also saying "i'm no prude but.." its like starting a sentence off with "i don't mean to be racist but..." the statement after it is pretty much guaranteed to be exactly that.
Actually it is nothing like that at all...but thanks for playing.
my point was just that qualifying the sentence with that at the beginning doesnt add anything to it.

you can have an opinion without having to smoke pot or be a prude.

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Mad_EP
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Post by Mad_EP » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:01 am

kidstatic wrote: my point was just that qualifying the sentence with that at the beginning doesnt add anything to it.

you can have an opinion without having to smoke pot or be a prude.

Actually it does add value to the sentence- because the fact is, if I said anything against those who need to do substances in order to be creative (without disclosing my past)- it is all too easy for people to naively argue that I have a problem with the drugs themselves rather than the way they are used.

Fact is- I used to smoke heavily (amongst other things) and even though I quit, I have nothing against it. The only thing I have a problem with is the same thing I had the problem with back when I did use... which is - I have never met a truly creative person who needed substances in order to be creative.

Sure- plenty of creative people like to get lifted... However, the truly creative people can do so without. Those who can't, owe their creativity more to the drugs rather than anything within.


Since you are such a big fan of analogies- let me give you one that *actually* works (rather than your irrelevant 'racist' one)...

A musician saying they need drugs in order to be creative is like an athlete saying they need steroids in order to be competitive. And to take it one step further... you saying that it is judgemental to value how someone accesses the creative part of their brain is like saying it is judgemental to value how someone accesses the strength & quickness out of their muscles.
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