Keeping Interest with Tunes and Switching it up

[StepMan]

I can create a good rhythm with drums and also manipulate VST's and effects to produce various atmospheric and bassy sounds which are dope but if you listen to my tracks:
http://www.soundcloud.com/stepman/
It seems I can't structure my tunes and keep interest, also I don't think I'm allowing space and weird noises and shit, I'm not switching it up and it seems like it's just a generic bass with Kick snare behind it. The big boy's like Distance, TMSV, Kryptic Minds and Perverse are able to put in sounds and space which really switches things up and really creates the big and heavy epic tunes.

Please hok some tips through, I would really appreciate it.

Listen to my tunes, please comment if their shit and tell me ways to improve them. I'm trying to stray away from a mundane and dull sound...schweet.

[ComfiStile]

I have the same problem, interested to see what this thread throws up!

Like, falling, by distance. He uses the same riff over and over. No matter how many times I listen to that it never seems to get old.

[blinx]

- Chagne things up every 4/8 bars.
- Use incidentals/random effects
- F halftime and do four on the floor every once in a while.
- have hihats that dont jsut repeat one phrase.
- Sample someone saying "swith up" and process it then use it to drop into reggeaton/moombohton drums bridge section. Then back to halftime dubstep 8 bars later.
- play around with your ride cymbals and have creative/evolving patterns. Less rides in the beginning of a track and more active phrasing at the end when the energy is climaxing.

[Zkeeto]

use some ambient pads to add charecter and some sweeps where u go into other parts of the songs. ur song has potential:}

[mitchAUS]

automation helps heaps. I used to automate everything... i got lazy with it and my tracks have suffered so I'm buck on it now and happy with the progress

[Zkeeto]

that works wonders to:]

[kiene]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes i used to have this issue.


i read an interview with emika a couple months ago about how she makes her music. how she does it (not that you have to do it this way) is to create a song that tells a story.

of course she has the luxury of her sexy vocals and can weave a tale with words as well as with the music


but i started taking on that perspective. like kryptic minds seem to do, you gotta take your listener out of this world and on a journey.

another thing that helps is gradually modulating filters on your sounds throughout the track. adding additional drum samples here and there or changing the beat a little for a moment. like on most journeys, there are bumps in the road. that bump could be an extra kick drum when you were only expecting 1........or no kick at all

if your imagination seems dry, try reading a book. some fiction. i'm on the 4th book in the Dark Tower series and so far the first 3 have given me exciting ideas about how i can shape my music.


i hope this helps. sorry if i sound like a stoner

[StepMan]

Thanks for the input Bro's

[legend4ry]

I'm sorry but without sounding like a troll...

Your tracks on your soundcloud lack depth, texture and the expanses needed to create a well put together track.

Example: The tune in your sig has really boring drum sounds, too much empty space (which isn't being used for anything musical or structural purposes) not enough atmosphere to fill up any gaps which needs to keep the track rolling strong.


No matter how complex and interesting your make your structures or composition; if your sounds are not to a high standard as a starting block it'll still sound unfinished and never right.

"Spilt Milk" on your soundcloud is an improvement but it still lacks a driving force for the track (atmosphere/catchy rhythmic phrase(s)/a hook).

You can be minimal with your tracks, don't get me wrong - my tracks are stupidly minimal but its all about filling up space without it seeming like you have with deep and rich sounds.

Don't mean to criticize your music but structuring isn't what you're wanting.


Quick tips.

1) Use better sounding drum samples; the ones you're using sound like early stages of a layered sound.. Very clean, bland and characterless.

2) Add texture.

3) Don't make a b-line and a drum track then forget about everything else and add some dub sirens to get something else in there.. Treat each element with the same love and care as the last.

4) Keep things basic but don't be afraid to do anything whacky.

5) Listen to tracks you admire and analyse how they get it so thick and rich sounding.. Break it down into each element.

[Electric_Head]

pt no.3 from legend4ry's post

treat each element as though it was the last sound you ever made.
Make sure they all fit together like a beautiful painting.

[AxeD]

I envy you for daring to upload tunes that you are not 100% satisfied with, I don't even have soundcload
yet but I do have a few mixes and tunes.

[Dystinkt]

try at the end or a start of a 16 bar phrase, change your riff slightly. good tunes to listen to for this are exothermic reaction by skream or miss her by komonazmuk. both massive tunes that repeat essentially the same riff, but keep it interesting and heavy

[hasezwei]

8 bars, the magic number.

[ketamine]

Right. I will never understand how some artists can have bare minimal things in their song (like, go for 2 minutes without a changeup) and you just get sucked into this deep vibe, because of the consistency, but when I do it it just sounds boring. So I add and add and add, and once there's no room for anything else, it may be passible, but never interesting.

Big ups the Minimal crew.

[amphibian]

automation and stabs, all you need. Also, slight drum changes keep the beat interesting. can just be a change in hat sample, or some ghost notes.

[hasezwei]

Right. I will never understand how some artists can have bare minimal things in their song (like, go for 2 minutes without a changeup) and you just get sucked into this deep vibe, because of the consistency, but when I do it it just sounds boring. So I add and add and add, and once there's no room for anything else, it may be passible, but never interesting.

Big ups the Minimal crew.

minimalism is all about subtle progression. think acid. the same fucking loop for 10 minutes but they squeeze so much out of that single loop its unbelieveable. minimal and dub techno are basically the continuation of that ethic.
uk music works differently tho, it has more of a song-like structure with intros and drops and hooks and that. or well, 8bar.
a good mixture of the 2 is where it's at!

[StepMan]

Thanks Legend your input was most helpful...and I respect it cause your tunes are dope...
Yeah I never finish tunes which is also another flaw, so i don't mind people saying my tunes are shit cause if I spent the time I know they can be gems...
As an aside note how long does it take to make a completed tune in terms of production time

[Zöo Pop]

Thanks Legend your input was most helpful...and I respect it cause your tunes are dope...
Yeah I never finish tunes which is also another flaw, so i don't mind people saying my tunes are shit cause if I spent the time I know they can be gems...
As an aside note how long does it take to make a completed tune in terms of production time

It really all depends on the track man. It could be a couple hours, to weeks, hell I remember Doctor P said it took 2 years to finish one of his tracks.

What really matters is when your working on a track and you get to a point where you put all that you can into that track, thats when you know its completed.

[B-Frank]

I'l be honest. Except for the obvious suggestions like incidentals, different drum patterns and even switching octaves. The best bit of advice I think I can give you is automation. Automation helps keep things interesting more than almost any other trick, because it sounds like things are changing, a lot like using white noise sweeps on builds.

[Gurnumsbug]

You want to know how to mix it up?
Listen to every genre & study up!
It all comes with practice man!
My first track was awful, but it's about the experience & what I gained from it as the payoff