How do you start a tune off?

[el sub sta]

Do you have the idea before you start or just have a mess around and see what comes up?

All of my best tunes have been mistakes, thing coming out wrong and sounding better.

[fullyrecordingz]

Try this in Fruity

Get ur 4 bars up dere
140BMP
one bar should look like dis
[1][ ][ ][ ]-[2][ ][ ][ ]-[3][ ][ ][ ]-[4][ ][ ][ ]

so u have 4 beats per bar and 4 little nodes ber beat that i have numbered

put a Kick Drum in Beat 1:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]

put a Snare in Beat 3:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]

you should have two empty Beats on number 2 and 4 of the bar as above.
You could put Tick sounds in dem like this:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[T][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[T][ ][T][ ]

then suttin like dis maybe for a second bar:-

[K][ ][T][ ]-[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[K][ ][T][ ]

Remember..
Kick is K
Snare is S
and Tick is T

simple

[8bitwonder]

try to imagine a track as a person with its own personality.....for 13th chapter i imagined a poor chinese warrior that became great thru war

bit trippy and wierd you might say

but works for me

[auralassassin]

try to imagine a track as a person with its own personality.....for 13th chapter i imagined a poor chinese warrior that became great thru war

bit trippy and wierd you might say

but works for me

good little lesson... how about one for those of us who dont use fruity

[8bitwonder]

try to imagine a track as a person with its own personality.....for 13th chapter i imagined a poor chinese warrior that became great thru war

bit trippy and wierd you might say

but works for me

good little lesson... how about one for those of us who dont use fruity

ive never ever used fruity loops ever

i use pro tools adns acid 5 pro and a bit of reason 2

[8bitwonder]

sorry im stoned i didnt know what anyone was on about then...

[fubar]

try to imagine a track as a person with its own personality.....for 13th chapter i imagined a poor chinese warrior that became great thru war

bit trippy and wierd you might say

but works for me

Yea all the tracks ive made that ive been pleased with ive been trying to imagine a specific place or feeling and then just building it up with that idea in mind, but normally to start just messing about with samples, synths and rthyms to see if I can get a sound that I like.

[straffi]

ive only just started producing dubstep but have been making dnb for a few years. i always start with a beat, i may have some samples or a bass line that i want to try out but i need to have some beats running before i can start thinking about laying in anything else into my track.

[toxin]

i usualy collect samples for a beat before i start producing it, once i get a feel for the samples i will start with the intro and then with a bit of trial and error everything seems to start to sit in place.....

[dj $hy]

Try this in Fruity

Get ur 4 bars up dere
140BMP
one bar should look like dis
[1][ ][ ][ ]-[2][ ][ ][ ]-[3][ ][ ][ ]-[4][ ][ ][ ]

so u have 4 beats per bar and 4 little nodes ber beat that i have numbered

put a Kick Drum in Beat 1:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]

put a Snare in Beat 3:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ][ ]

you should have two empty Beats on number 2 and 4 of the bar as above.
You could put Tick sounds in dem like this:-

[K][ ][ ][ ]-[T][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[T][ ][T][ ]

then suttin like dis maybe for a second bar:-

[K][ ][T][ ]-[K][ ][ ][ ]-[ ][ ][ ]-[K][ ][T][ ]

Remember..
Kick is K
Snare is S
and Tick is T

simple

Thats wikid man, how long did that take lol

Big him up tho, all about sharing the knowledge!

Deffo collect samples but I tend to build 16 bars but inside that I'll create the main part of the track, then when I have all teh elements I build sideways.

Each to their own imo tho, however the beats come is down to you and your way of producing.

[shonky]

I think that's how I'd go about it - 8 or 16 bars of beats, basslines, melody and then copy and paste across. The Neptunes apparently do this and just get all the parts that work together then mute individual tracks for eight bars or so, so that it develops and parts drop in and out to give it motion. If you can do more with less tracks, all the better as it's better to subtract than add as it creates clutter.

The only problem with this is that it may get over repetetive, but if you work on getting those bars tight, you could easily add new sections or parts from another tune of a similar mood to bring in distinct changes and then cannibalise them together to create a composite track. Always keep those 8 bar sections that you couldn't turn into anything else, as they may well be useful at a later date.

Try to leave adding drum fills, effects and all those extra elements until the end. Once you've got the tune to the right arrangement (intro, build, drop, main section, etc) you'll be able to hear where extra sections/changes are required and add these in later. I say this as otherwise you might just end up with a really well programmed 8 bar loop, and I generally find that if it starts sounding like a tune rather than a beat, you'll find that you're far closer to finishing it.

[el sub sta]

Thanks for the help

Whats a tick tho?
Just the sound of something ticking

[elemental]

depends really

sometimes i have a solid idea I wanna try out
but often the tune takes its own course once I start working

or I just mess with some sounds or start a beat .. re-arrange a break, find a fat bass sound ... the main thing is riding the vibe and just listening to ideas and acting on them one by one, not getting too bogged down in technical issues or mixdown stuff too early, unless its an important part of the sound you're after.
Also - take To Do notes if you're getting loads of ideas, and go back to them and tick them off. I dont do this enough.

[jera]

Also - take To Do notes if you're getting loads of ideas, and go back to them and tick them off. I dont do this enough.

yeh do that all the time ill be jus chillin n it'll jus hit me....bam!write it down.
its usually when im stoned n if i dont write them down ill usually forget.

[forensix (mcr)]

i just programme a synth till i get a good sound and then set up a 16 bar loop with that using some rex'd breaks from another tune ive done then get going on some bass or pads depending on the synth sound ive made

[forensix (mcr)]

Thanks for the help

Whats a tick tho?
Just the sound of something ticking

shorten the sustain and decay on a hi hat

[municiple]

Also helps to try to record longer parts with more variation for blines and strange bits... I like to lay down the basic pieces in Cubase, lay it out a bit, then load of up some strange sounds on Kontakt and randomly play them over the track in midi. Export as audio. Cut up the sounds, pull them to individual tracks and eq and add effects. Most importanly is lots of good panning.

[fullyrecordingz]

u can use nefing for a tick, but dats wat i call it.
try using different sounds in that place, or layer them with sounds.\

try layering the clap or snare with a weird noise wiv bare delay every two bars for four bars den da next 4 bars stop da sound but do a double clap every 2 bars or suttin

da possibilitiez r endless
just keep everything movin and alternating and building up. try not 2 clutter it wiv ideas doe, jus pace urself out.

[8bitwonder]

u can use nefing for a tick, but dats wat i call it.
try using different sounds in that place, or layer them with sounds.\

try layering the clap or snare with a weird noise wiv bare delay every two bars for four bars den da next 4 bars stop da sound but do a double clap every 2 bars or suttin

da possibilitiez r endless
just keep everything movin and alternating and building up. try not 2 clutter it wiv ideas doe, jus pace urself out.

well said mr