your method/routine for producing???

[N.U.G.]

whattup fam,

I kinda have my own lil "formula" for making my beats but I've recently started tutoring a friend of mine and am interested in hearing other people's methods for production. The friend I'm teaching is an absolute begginer and wants to be a RnB and hip-hop producer although I would say RnB is her main focus.

So my question to all of y'all is what is your method for producing in it's most simplest form???

do you play with some sounds then come up with a melody first or do you lace the drums first or start by chopping samples etc. etc.??? I know we all vary our routine's from time to time but what I'm just talking about in general.

holla

 

[eka]

most of the times I start with the drum rhythm, than the bass and than the other samples.
I start out making a full pattern with all the sounds I am planning to use and than make a song of it.
when I got the song layed out I add/remove sounds.
this is only one method I use but I use it most of the times.
hope it helps

 

[mercurywaters]

i usually just lay some drums to keep the beat. i just play with whatever sounds or samples i want to use and listen. usually something jumps out that i can build upon

 

[afriquedeluxe]

if startin from scratch i try to come up wit a good chord progression, den da beat, den start addin melodies n otha sounds.
if ive got a nice sample , i first start with da drums, den i find a way of puttin da sample in there, den i drop da bassline, n den i add other synths if necessary

 

[Equality 7-2521]

first thing i do is find and chop the sounds i think i might want to use.

then i load my default drum pattern (just a shitty drum loop to keep the flow so i can get all my samples on time n shit)

then i program my sample pieces.

then i play a bassline that goes with the melody

then i redo the drums so they go with the bassline to give it the head nod feel

then i change theactual drum samples so it fits the other sounds.

then i do finishing touches to make it tight

 

[Formant024]

Ill start with thinking of which instruments I would like to use, how the signals will form a chain in the modulair setup and which dynamic signal processing will be used in the chain, finished off by setting the fx for which instrument ( or aux ). Then I'll finetune the instrument making a custom setting which fits whatever I want to hear in order to complement another sound by another instruments ( EG, VCF etc ). Then I make a template ( save the logic environment as a V1 of the track and make a V2 after something beneficial had been added. This was I can always switch back to the last version I felt good with and then go diverse and try without screwing up the whole intention of the track. Mind you, I can go miles away from the intended composition but land on my feet again when I load the first version of it again). After that it's simply writting out the track, hit the keys or play the mpc where I want to improvise on a single or double bar. I dont really do mastering since I tune/tweak everything during the composing of a track. I want to hear everything directly as it was set by mind, so when the drums that I use are all over the console ( but the track isn't done ) I'll set the comp/lim/gate already, eq kicks, top/bottom snares and hats/cymbals. I wouldn't look at it anymore when I finish composing the track. Same goes for anything else, any signal gets treated before I compose in that it makes composing for me easier. When the track is finished I only check if the tracks were nicely balanced out, in that an instrument remains in harmony with the whole and secondary is A/D-D/A. I can choose for several media to record on and to A/D - D/A again.

 

[MIKELABZ]

THIS IS HOW IT BREAKS DOWN FOR ME...

FIRST IS THE DRUMS, THEN THE MELODY, THEN THE BASS LINE, SCRATCHES, DRUM ROLLS, BREAKS, EFFECTS, VOCALS, VOCAL EFFECTS... COMPRESSION AND MASTERING.

 

[classic]

from scratch---chourd progression (usually major to minor scales) then bass melody and counter melody then drums

with sample---well when i have a sample i usually bulid everything around the sample. ususally melody,then bassline the countermel then drums.

for me drums always come last


class......

 

[hookiefree]

I always lay the beat first. even if have a melodie or chord progression in mind.

 

[CooGi_dice]

what ever im doing i always create the hook first cuz it just makes more sense overall to work like that.

so i create the melody first when i work on the track, then snares, most of the kicks, bass, hats, then any other sounds as needed...
off of that i work on all the other parts on the song, go back and add anything if needed.

 

[Ash Holmz]

Originally posted by Mr. Messenger
first thing i do is find and chop the sounds i think i might want to use.

then i load my default drum pattern (just a shitty drum loop to keep the flow so i can get all my samples on time n shit)

then i program my sample pieces.

then i play a bassline that goes with the melody

then i redo the drums so they go with the bassline to give it the head nod feel

then i change theactual drum samples so it fits the other sounds.

then i do finishing touches to make it tight

d to the ittto !!!!!!!!:dance:

 

[Cold Truth]

i tend to spend a lot of time on my drums to start..... i have a limited library of drums (that i like) and so i sepnd time scrounging for everything to match and then do the initial drum line, which will likely change a lot by the end.

then i play around until i like something i hear, and go from there. to be honest most of my tracks just happen. i'd say 30 percent arekind of mistakes, not really trying and then the main riff is just something catches my ear and i build from that. ait till storching is complete.... as i have said in another thread, it takes a while for the finished product to come to fruition with the way i work. i like to let them sit for a hile and i always come back later and it works that way.

 

[MassProduktionz]

What ever I do -I always program my drums last. That way they work with the melody/sounds and not against it.

 

[TrustNo1]

man i can't believe im the only person who takes a serious step 1: blaze a fatty

step 2: find a BPM i wanna fuck wit
step 3: load up the VSTs and the synths
step4 : hit the metronome and fire up midi board
step5 : write amazingly catchy hooks and rhythms with only metronome
step6 : fill in some drums
step 7: pretzels and hopefully coldies
step 8 : add random samples that i've previously created in the note of C5 and start fillin the gaps

ye!

 

[Kramit]

No particular method as such. Some times I'll start with the beat, sometimes I can build a good track around a solid bassline, I've actually done that a few times. Sometimes I'll bang out some jazzy chords on the ol' Yamaha and many times I can picture in my head a layout and accompanying sounds for a track. Sometimes I'll hear a sample or a patch that brings other sounds to mind, and I can sometimes imagine the beat. Sometimes I will be playing on the keyboard and will stumble upon a chord sequence or catchy tune.

I must be a freak though coz I'm hittin 7th chords and all kinds of progressions and jazzy shit, and I haven't even been taught to play. A few of my friends who actually play instruments rekon I have a natural ear for this stuff, but anyway I don't always know exactly where a track is heading until I play around and experiment. Thats where some cool stuff can happen tho, when u just play around.

I been playin around with this music thing 4 bout 4 yrs, most of the time tho I have been using Cubase and Fruityloops to compose.

Kramit
(Kram-alama-ding-dong!!)

 

[blaqcyde]

well if its an original beat it usually starts out in my head and then i make the drum beat. then i make the melody and bassline i no particular order. and last i tweak it where necessary.

 

[dacalion]

My production starts usually with a sample. Next I try to clean the sample up using filters, noise reduction, hiss removal or whatever is needed as best I can. Then I start chopping, as I chop, I find a drumline just to keep everything as tight as possible. While I'm chopping I may use plugins to twist up certain chops. Tthen I arrange my chops and start forming the beat. Once I get my main beat, my chorus and my breaks, I turn my attention back to the right drumline for the song. Once I'm satisfied with the drums and structure, I start looking for a hook or a scratch idea to really put a cap on my beat. Then once everything is put together, I do my finishing touches...volumes, eq'ing, compression/limiting and so on. I will wait a day or two and give it a final listen to make sure that everything is how I want it.