Ive been attempting for a while to get into a bit of production but i haventa clue how to tackle it.
I have Ableton and before getting bogged down with plugins and vsts i would like to basically see how someone would approach writing a track using only abletons functionality?
Does anyone care to show (basics, nothing fancy) or could you point me in the direction of somewhere to look. I’m into techno so in my eyes that should be pretty simple as its all pretty basic and repetetive.
Cheers
Gav
EDIT : Sorry for the title !! Just triedto edit but it appears i can’t once i’ve posted
In answer to your question, I think workflow is a really personal thing. The best way for me to develop my workflow was to get one of those Power! books and as I learned how things worked I figured out how I liked to do it.
I am starting with production also, trying to create some minimal tech tracks. I am using Cubase, and learned some basics using Sequel2 (home user software). My approach (not sure if its a good one) is to come up with some melody idea (with minimal is simple) , try to put it into sound and then create the drum pattern, then bass, and later effects and other enhancements. I have try to keep it very simple. Having issues with the next steps which involves getting all the levels right, equing, etc. Now I am getting a very flat sound, so probably need to work on this stage now, use of filters, compressors , effects…
Also trying to download some nice sound libraries for loops and samples.
My suggestion is to learn the basics with a non professional software so you don´t get frustrated for not understanding. Check out sequel 2 and its tutorials… http://www.sequel-music.net/home.html
Pay alot of attention to the actual structure of the song (if you don’t it’s sort of like driving in the middle of the night with no lights on something I did for too many years)
Pick one program and learn it inside and out do this for all aspects like you’re DAW ,Drums , Synths ect…
Do Not monitor too loud all you’re doing is fatiguing your ears .
If you like to get a buzz on when you’re workin on tracks try not to do it every time . I only try to do it when I’m doing sound design or mixing drums and song structure never seem to come together right if I’m blazed .
And one of my biggest pet peves is not using presets and sample CDs yeah it might sound good but honestly it’s not yours and have this great chance that someone elses toon is gonna sound alot like yours .
I think, using sample CD’s is a great way to start if you’ve never produced a track before. You can arrange your tracks they way you want and get a feel for building a track.
The reason I say this, is because you can build/arrange a track quite quickly just by dragging loops to get it the way you want it to sound without becoming frustrated too quickly…and giving up entirely.
As you continue to produce, you become more familiar with how a song should be structured and why certain elements of music sound good in certain places or in a certain way. This is when you start to experiment and start making your OWN sounds/melodys/drum patterns.
As long as you choose to really experiment with sounds and make your own compositions, you then start to find your groove and your style of music. This is where you find your ‘style’ and originality.
This is just my opinion and how I see things, my way of thinking may be completely off from a professional producer/composer.
Cheers all. Some godo info there. Maybe i will start trying to put together some tracks from the samples already in ableton and see what i come up with. Cheers all for the replys.
I think my problem is i’m attacking this at a point where i havent seen how anyone else works at all so its like i’m inventing it for the first time if you get me.
For me, the approach differs depending on where the idea came from - e.g. if it was a musical idea (riff, chord prog etc..) then i’ll get them down asap and just throw in a very basic set of drums to be replaced later. If it was more drum/bass inspiration then i’ll just concentrate on that and pad out if required…
All of it is an organic process though, don’t let your ideas get bogged down in detail too often - I usually find it much more productive to get a rough song idea and go back and polish/replace the pieces than to get an amazing 8 bar loop and try to build from there.. although sometimes the opposite.. lol
I’m partial to the odd smoke, but i always mix down when i’m totally sober. Arrangement differs, usually i’ll be sober but interesting ideas can happen late at night (especially with progs like ableton where you can record a remix as you play around and go back edit in arrange window) … I find my most interesting synth sounds are created when i’ve had a few
My 1 piece of wisdom is save often. If you think about saving, save immediately! … doesn’t happen much at all now, but i remember lots of work at college getting lost because of a crash when i thought “I’ll just add one more riff/beat” :eek: .. I also tend to keep a progression of saves as different versions.
this is the POWER he speaks of.. they make books for all the DAWS and for some soft synths etc. It is a VERY powerful resource if your willing to sit down and grind though the book. Im sure others here on the board will agree!
I don’t usually sit down as say to myself “okay, I want to produce something now.”
A lot of times I’ll accidentally come up with some melody, synth setting, or beat that inspires me to develop this small element into a project. There’s no specific order that I do things, but as soon as an idea comes to me, I have to get it out either into FL or even onto paper before I forget it.
I’ve only recently gotten better at basslines, so those generally come last.
The biggest leason I’ve learned during production: if you feel like you’re forcing yourself to finish a track and you’re just doing things to “get by,” then stop. Come back to it later, or abandon it. Nothing that I’ve had to force myself to finish has been worth hearing. Everything that I’ve been happy with has all come out naturally. This may not be true for everyone, but that’s just my experience.
i found these Rusko Masterclass tutorial videos that are really helpful for teaching a good workflow. It’s dubstep ofcourse but I think his tips apply to producing most types of dance music.
Yes its great! This thread is quite good so it was going to happen soon or later.
Just wanted to add a great tip that I have been applying since a couple of months and have worked very good for me, and also for my youngest brother who started his own studio now…
My tip is the following:
Leave everything on!!
What I mean is that if you want to write a track you need to have easy access to the software and studio area in which you are working. This is to keep the creative flow alive and don´t loose any good ideas.
Example:
Suddenly your head comes with a great idea for a part of the track, lets say something as simple as a snare hit that you thought might add something good. Imagine if you needed to go into your studio area (room, office wherever you have your gear), turn the lights on, then the pc on then the interface… software… external hardwares… etc (you got the idea) you will end wasting 20 minutes just to add on snare hit.
The most probable thing is that you will wait for the next time you sit infront of your pc to make the change and the chance that you forget about this one idea is very probable.
This is how you loose lots of goods ideas that you could try with your track.
So btm line: easy access to the media indeed will help you to improve your track and include what you really think is best and not what you could come up with in the time you assigned to song writing in front of the PC. This way you also have time to mature ideas in your head, think and decide if it is the best idea.
My approach now is to have my studio at home and I go in and leave the room several times a day, not forcing my self to do anything in a certain time. If I am planing to write a track I just try to keep a freedom of ideas so they can flow very quickly to the actual composition and don´t loose them.
Just an advice that is working great for myself:roll_eyes:
