Newbie-block, and Maschine as a core composition DAW

Performance & Techniques Music Production
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Newbie-block, and Maschine as a core composition DAW

I’m currently in the process of teaching myself to write and produce music.

Background

I own Maschine Mk2, Komplete 9 (+Razor & Skanner), every single Maschine expansion, and Traktor + Kontrol S4/F1x2 - with a mind towards buying a Kontrol S61. needless to say, I’m an NI fan (I do own cheaper keys for now). Absurd overkill, I know, but it brings me pleasure to even just own and look at the stuff. No regrets. Until now, only the Traktor stuff has seen use. I want to change that.

I’m learning piano (currently beginner-level) and am working my way through a music theory textbook (ISBN-10: 0739036351). I’ve watched and collected tens of hours of tutorials (mostly by ADSR). They range from Maschine workflow to the use of Massive, FM8 and the other Komplete Synths (not “how 2 skrillex bass!!” - actual “what these knobs do and why”).

Situation

I feel like with Maschine and Komplete, I have everything I could possibly need for now to write nearly any kind of music. I have a workbench on which to construct the music (Maschine), and a ton of instruments and effects to put there (Komplete).

Problem is, I hit a wall early and hard. I like the Maschine workflow’s clearly segmented structure and easily visualized layers. I don’t think it’s holding me back, compared to a more modern/freeform DAW like Ableton (which I’ve used) - but I could be wrong. In some ways, I think perhaps my wide-ranging musical taste is actually working against me. For someone who strictly likes Liquid DnB, they’d come at composing music with a fairly narrow focus, an easy track to stay on.

For me, I open up a new Maschine project, stare at the ‘blank page’, and go blank. Do I want to try and make slow, old-style dubstep - or maybe I’d be better off trying something punchier and faster like DnB - or maybe something flexible like psybient? This thought process trails off until I either go do something else, or begin laying down a rhythm track I end up finding clashes with what I want, and so end my efforts.

In the beginning, the discipline needed to keep one’s ass in the chair is astronomical. I’ve been told to grab onto an inspirational spark when it happens, pin it down, and make a track of it - but I feel like I have zillions of inspirational sparks swirling in my head when I sit down to write, and getting a solid hold on any one spark and keeping it seems impossible. When I do manage to begin working with one, it fizzles out and I’m left feeling like it wasn’t a fertile enough root.

I know I’m going to make bad music for a long time before I make good music. I know it’ll be derivative, dry, lack that produced punch. I know creativity can’t be truly taught and I have to get there myself… but how do I get from making no music to making bad music? I’ll happily make bad music all day until I improve… but right now, I’m not even sure how to start making bad music.

I know in part this could be due to an overwhelming amount of available tools - I definitely get a bit further when I say “I’m going to limit myself to Maschine’s Drumsynth, and 2 instances of Monark” or something of that nature. Specific styles and methods of limiting oneself like that would be much appreciated.

The Question

For those who’ve produced/written music, did you encounter this kind of thing starting out? How did you make the leap from the blank page to making bad stuff you could practice and improve upon? If you want to make a song, but don’t have any particular tune stuck in your brain to get out, what are the first things you put down on that blank page? How do you spark that creative fire and get things moving?

Additionally: For those who use Maschine to write/arrange their music instead of another DAW, do you have any tips that help your creativity, specific to the unique workflow? Do you even exist?

Can anyone suggest some exercises or projects that would help me bridge that gap?

Addendum: I have sheet music books for the score to Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, of which I’m quite fond. Thoughts on using these as a structural base to build an “OCRemix” type song? I have the actual songs from the soundtracks, and sheet music to key in for melody/harmony… Could this be a beneficial practice exercise? Should I avoid doing so for now because it could somehow be harmful or form bad habits?

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Don’t go into something wondering what genre it should be. Start with either a melodic hook that you like, a chord progression that you like or a rhythmic loop that you like. (hell, take a song you’re learning in your piano lessons that you like and jazz up the melody into a song in a genre you want) From there start to build out your rhythm and your bassline that fits in with whatever you’ve started out with. Then build the supporting elements. That will determine what genre it should be.

It’s very easy to get stuck in 8 bar loop land when you’re starting. Set yourself a goal and a deadline to finish your song. I took some dude up on some dumb contest to use only two synths that I’d never used in Live (and haven’t used since) and make a song in 48 hours. It was the worst song ever made, and for once I’m not exaggerating. But it got me the experience of making a song, beginning to learn a workflow that fit me and how to use my software, not to mention attempt mixing. As time goes by and you continue to finish songs, the whole process becomes easier. (except maybe mixing, because each song you realize how little you know about mixing)

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This set off a lightbulb and inspired me to add an addendum to the original post I’m curious to hear thoughts on.

I’ve always found immense struggle in coming up with my own progressions, melodies and riffs. For some reason I’ve found myself resistant to taking the progression out of something else I like as-is and using it for myself - but I think you’re right, and I should push past that block. My frustrated desire to be able to compose melody/harmony is probably holding me back in that. As I continue to use the chord progressions and riffs of others, the hope is I’ll come to understand why they work better - along with my continuing practice of piano / study of theory. I think I’ll have to give building on sampled rhythm loops and riff-pieces more of a fair shake, at least in the early days.

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My advice would be to just keep it simple and finish a few tracks. A lot of dance music is very formulaic - it just goes with the territory. Instead of starting with something that pushes the boundaries, just get a few patterns down, create some variations and throw together a 4 minute arrangement. Keep the patterns simple - kick on the 1 and somewhere else, snares on the 3 and 4 with a little high hat pattern, bass around the kicks and maybe a melody and some effects during transitions. Don’t over think it or worry about how it compares with “real” tracks. Just see it through to completion and get a feel for the whole process. Do that several times and you will learn a lot.

5

Yep, what Nick said. You need to go through the process of completing a song a few times to figure out what’s possible and how you work from start to completion. Once you get into it a bit more, (as well as grow as a musician) you’ll find yourself being able to easier come up with things on your own.

A lot of my inspiration comes from practicing, at which point I’ll start improvising and then wind up with something I like - usually something very small that I then build up into something I call a song.