Help with my drops? (Plz i'm very frustrated)

[WolfCryOfficial]

So im gonna start by saying im pretty much going to shoot something if i can't get somewhere.

I've been producing for 5 years and i love it. To be honest i've asked this question before and got answers for things i've already tried. I'm hoping to hear something new. I am a really good producer. I can write melodies fluently (played piano for 15 years) and my mastering and mixing are pretty good when it comes down to it. Like i said i've spent 5 years working on this....

But there is always one thing holding me back.... my hooks.

You get that nice melody coming in and a riser... then when it comes time to lead into the drop... my hook (aka that big huge sound that starts it off) is always weak. Like its like "omg... im getting ready to explode my pants with buildup " and then....

The only reason i have ever released tracks is because after months of trying to make the sound i finally "get lucky" and find one that works.

Also, i would like to note that even if i get a sound i like... i can never figure out how to make any sounds that follow it that match without running out of ideas?...

So my main question is... when you guys build up your tracks and the first sound of the drop is a growl, or a huge saw, or whatever else, how do you "maintain" that ferocity across over like 8 fricking measures? And also how do you even hook into the drop?


Here is an example of an AMAZING drop i did (in my opinion)
Its not mastered yet:
Soundcloud

So imo that i a pretty good follow up on that drop...

Next heres one that is really not bad... but not really good....

Also, if you think its good... well i ran out of ideas fast....... that little 3 seconds of drop took like 4 weeks im not even fricking joking:
Soundcloud


Thanks for all the help, friends!

[ChrisPlatow]

Judging yourself is the key killer to creativity. I find just working thru all the shit that i come up with eventually gets me where i wanna be. Everything i make i can judge as shit in the first stages of creating a song, but ive learned to just not think about it till ive got a lot of material layed down. Then i might add some effects, or change the sound design, or change the notation, or whatever helps it all sound better. Thinking analytically literally blocks your creative brain so wait until your in the mixdown stage before you start thinking like that. Just let your creative juices flow. You obviously have skill from your two tracks you posted, but they kinda sound theyve been over worked at the same time. I hate when ppl say this, but it really is all about producing a lot of stuff. Its easy to fall in love with every song you make but really just try to make songs and move on to the next one, and the whole process gets quicker and more fluid. Make preset sounds that have processing already done with them. In ableton its easy cuz you just make your sound, process it, and put it all in a instrument rack and save the preset. Id recommend figuring out ways like that to make your producing quicker.. and dont judge yourself or whatever your making!

[WolfCryOfficial]

Judging yourself is the key killer to creativity. I find just working thru all the shit that i come up with eventually gets me where i wanna be. Everything i make i can judge as shit in the first stages of creating a song, but ive learned to just not think about it till ive got a lot of material layed down. Then i might add some effects, or change the sound design, or change the notation, or whatever helps it all sound better. Thinking analytically literally blocks your creative brain so wait until your in the mixdown stage before you start thinking like that. Just let your creative juices flow. You obviously have skill from your two tracks you posted, but they kinda sound theyve been over worked at the same time. I hate when ppl say this, but it really is all about producing a lot of stuff. Its easy to fall in love with every song you make but really just try to make songs and move on to the next one, and the whole process gets quicker and more fluid. Make preset sounds that have processing already done with them. In ableton its easy cuz you just make your sound, process it, and put it all in a instrument rack and save the preset. Id recommend figuring out ways like that to make your producing quicker.. and dont judge yourself or whatever your making!

Thank you so much for the kind words it really helped. I had never even considered this way to be a "method" of producing. I've always tried to let creativity flow but i guess i've been doing it wrong .

It's all good words and advice but i have one question regarding your reply and that is... do you have any suggestions on how to follow this path of divine creativity? I spent a lot of time after reading your question thinking how to open my mind and just let it go. I also googled around but i am unsure of how to "restrict" my mind. As you may be well aware its not easy to just block out certain parts of my personality and intentions and the way my mind ticks.

I one time did try what you said. What i did was i just wrote down on paper how i think it should sound, had measures and like little symbols that meant "wobs here" or "growls there" then for the drop what i did is i loaded up a shitload of massive patches (init patches) so the annoying little "wahhhhhhhhhh" that you get when you first open it. And i made a drop entirely of that noise. Then i went in individually and turned each massive patch into a bassy synth.... It didn't work.

Do you have any tips or tricks.
Just now i opened Ableton and just closed my eyes and imagined as far as i could of a song and got to work. Came up with a little dinky tune and got mad and scratched it after smashing some stuff around for a sec.

I cant really "not" pre plan my songs. I think up ideas and make them into tunes but how do i just start from one note and let my feelings for the track take me where i need to go? im constantly thinking and ugh... Its so hard to explain what goes on in my head :/

Any tips would be great help i think my hair is beginning to fall out and im only 19.

[Banesy]

That was a good point that I haven't thought of in that context...thinking of the technical or analytical components of mixing destroys my track progress. I always felt I was getting hung up on the technical mixing of a track but if you think of left brain / right brain function that makes complete sense.

I became incredibly unbound by creating a template project where all of my "mix down" technical stuff is already in place. I also have a generic mastering chain that I can pop on to hear what the final product will sound like. I can open up my project and go directly to a synth and make a riff that is pretty much mixed and roughly mastered. It helps to really focus on creative synth design rather than setting up technical stuff.

[Banesy]

Oh here is a nice trick since you are in Ableton. Go to the preferences and you can save a project template as the default project that opens. It makes it really quick to get right into putting ideas into motion.

[JTMMusicuk]

I am a really good producer.

Would have took you seriously if you didn't write this

[_Agu_]

The only reason i have ever released tracks is because after months of trying to make the sound i finally "get lucky" and find one that works.

Same thing over here, except that I haven't ever released anything. Got around 200 unfinished projects for Reason, and about the same for FL on my old laptop. You are not alone.

[NinjaEdit]

Finishing tracks takes practice.

Try getting your arrangement down early, it helps things feel complete.

[WolfCryOfficial]

Thanks for all the answers guys, im really trying to grind but so far nothing is coming. I made about 10 drum loops at different bpms just so i can get "right to the grind" and also did the template thing. Sometimes i sit down and start writing greatness... but its just i can't get past the "ugh" of the track. Like i know im just getting started but when i start working on the bass end of things, and it all starts to key in together i play it and realize how awful it sounds. And i know i should continue and ignore it for now and so i do and as i keep going it doesn't get any better any better and i don't even like the ideas i've laid out. Its like my brain is self destructing my progress and im regressing from man to ape in my tracks. Then i get super mad and erase everything only to start again and then as i fiddle with stuff SOMEHOW... end up at almost the SAME SOUNDING THING as i did before. This applies to all styles and genres and bpms. If i manage to get it to sound different i run out of movement for the piece after about 45 seconds.

I started doing this thing where i just set 16 bars aside and rampaged through ideas. So get 16 bars done of melody and some bass and save and new project. And i hav elike 50 of them now and as i sift through them there isn't even one that i want to expand its all garb.

I'm ready to give up im gonna die guys D:

[NinjaEdit]

Try doing some research on counterpoint.

[WolfCryOfficial]

I have, i havent been on here to respond for about a week haha.
I know theres not much you guys have to offer thanks for trying tho.

I just tried to download a song from the internet to break down and try to "mimick" in terms of arrangement and production, so i copied it to my ableton and made a new track with a new blank midi clip for each time the song from above switch synths, so i could kinda get the feel of rhythm and tricks... unfortunately after filling in each blank midi clip it still sounded horrendous and i've been doing that for the last 3 hours.... so yeah i got nothin

[_Agu_]

I think it's just about being perfectionist, I have that issue at least. I've heard million "okay" tracks, that get you going, but i'm 100% sure if I had made them, I wouldn't have been satisfied enough to ever finish the track. Also one thing is that if you listen lots of music from ONLY very experienced big name artists, your brains registers it like: "this is good, everything else is shit", so you set standards really high for you.

[ChrisPlatow]

I know theres not much you guys have to offer

More like you just lack the ability to apply what all we have to offer

[xGannon]

Before you even start on your basses, finish up your drums first. Get the groove down in the percussion, add effects, risers, vocals, oneshots, anything to really try and fill your track out before even getting to melodies. If you can make your track sound interesting just with drums and effects its a good start. Plus any basses you do add at the drop now will be masked with crash cymbals, explosive effects at the drop, so it will sound more fluent
Then I suggest a "skeleton" of your arrangement, arrange where your intro will be, build up, drop, breakdown etc. but only with your drums and effects.

As a workflow that should help, but I think you maybe at the point where you think sound design to a bass patch is everything, when really it's less than 20 percent to a track. Listen to some deep dub artist, and you will hear primitive sound design in their basses, but the tune still hits. The tune is being carried by a groove, the thing that makes you wanna bop your head, if you can get a good groove down the bass patches don't even have to big and crazy, just sitting nicely in the mix
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