Hey guys, I hope this topic hasn't been discussed here too much! I'd love to know how you guys manage to start a new track.
I have tried a lot of ways but I think I haven't found the one I'm comfortable with. I mostly start a new project once I feel the creative flow is stuck...this is something I haven't learned to deal with :/

Do you like to start with a steady drum beat? or maybe the melody?
Do you like to start with your intro? or maybe the louder section, chorus?

I have a million questions but I want you guys to feel free to share your opinions.

Sorry for my english, I hope you understand my point.

Thanks in advance!

 

i don t think there s a magic recipe for creating a new track,personally,i believe in inspiration,and it can come to mind sponaneously,like a flash,or by something hitting my interest.
sometimes it all starts from a riff,or from a sound that recalls a certain atmosphere.
the fact is that the idiea comes in 10 seconds,it s its development that takes time and i always find difficult not to fly away from the original idiea as it gets developed.
i also think that ,no matter wha your genre is,u gotta have something to say to share it,so life experience is important in my opinion.
it can be pretty easyastonish people if u have an incredible technique,and if u have it u ll get some followers who will cherish u,if uu don t have it,u gotta rely on the beauty of what u wan t to share.
music,like other things is about arts and krafts,i mean,u can use a working methid that can help u in case of necessity,when insipration doesn t show up,and u can use that method to work on,but if u dont make music on commission and u re free to follow your pace,then let yourself go and try to capture the moments,that is,don t write and record the first thing that comes to your mind just to complete something,experiment,listen,and go beyond yourself,just because bob dylan wrote knocking on hevaens door,the white stipes wrote seven nation army,and deep puurple wrote smoke on the water,it doesn t mean u have to limit yourself to four chords hoping to come out with a catchy tune.
u can cheat others but u can t cheat yourself.
there isn t a rule anyway,just write and play as much as u can

 

Depends.

Sometimes I have a melody in my head and Ill start with that. Sometimes I start with drums if I find an interesting sound or have a pattern in my head. Its different for every project.

Sometimes if I have no creative idea in my head at that moment I just throw something simple together as a 4 bar loop and apply a ton of effects, automation, cuts or whatever and see what happens.

Like you said, I too start a new project (or re-visit) an old one if my creative juices stop flowing. I have a well structured folder system for my projects and with each genre folder I have an up and down folder so I know whats good and whats not so good. I can revisit the not so good folder to see if I can get a nice loop from the project or even an idea for ANOTHER track.

The "good" folder is for projects I feel can become something special.

 

I take my Insperation from Listerning to all sorts of genres of music. Nothing is new and its all been done. I just take my pick and go from there.

 

guys you're awesome .. thanks for such quick replies! I agree with both of you and I'm glad to see you've been through this before.

Sometimes if I have no creative idea in my head at that moment I just throw something simple together as a 4 bar loop and apply a ton of effects, automation, cuts or whatever and see what happens.

^ you said it man! I sure can do this!!!! my problem is that I'm not able to continue my projects as good as I started them!! (I know there is something in my work method that doesn't let my creativity flows) Right now I'm working on letting the things as simple as I can until my tracks get some "body" or "shape"

Thanks Again! I'll keep working on this issue and continue hearing your opinions

 

i used to had the same problem as you, then i manage to solve it by just let the music develop itself, i know that sounds silly, but it worked for me,i hope it may work for you.

 

listen to the 70's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A47fr57TnJE&feature=related

 

^ I feel like I just got rick rolled from that

 

I usually just play about, and see what happens. A simple beat and just play with some synths, whatever. It's easy for me lose sight of the fun when I want to have 'a project' to get into. So I just mess about.

Othertimes, if I get stuck for inspiration or disinterested, I try doing something I'd like to be better at, or something I feel I need to learn. Working through a tutorial and/or getting some technique worked out usually gives me an idea of something novel to try, even if initially I'm not feeling very creative. And anyway, at worst I learned something.

 

I like start with intro, it gives me inspirations and ideas what should be next. And then is just flow :D

 

i feel this way all the time, sometimes i am able to create some great 16 bar loops for a breakdown and an awesome melody, but the hard part for me is completing it with an intro and outro, i run out of ideas, so i leave the project, and come back a few days later if anything in my brain sparks an idea. Sometimes leaving the project aside and doing other things like creating new synth sounds or learning new skills will help when you come back to an old project. I also found a weird "solution" to my problem, i find that when working on projects late in the night i am more creative and have alot more ideas than during the day. I have worked on projects till maybe 5 in the morning its crazy how much work i get done, near complete songs, but during the day i can only come up with a short beat or melody. And there will be days when you dont feel creative at all, it happens, so i just do other things not music related.

I prefer to start my projects in two ways, either create a kick drum from scratch and work your way up to the bassline, percussion, then main synth, Or create a breakdown with the main melody, and almost all the sounds you are gonna use in the track, then work your project around that melody like creating alternate versions of it, to add more variation. I hope this helps im not sure lol

 

thanks McXProds your comment means so much... I think I can borrow and try a couple of methods from you!

 

i agree! ;)

 

the thing is. analyse music you like and don't like. or try to find stuff that could sound good on your song (even from music you don't like). always carry around a recorder, pen and paper if you get an idea. the best way to get ideas (for me) is to walk/run.
and yes, alcohol or other substances might help sometimes ;)

-> listen to music you love for a hour. walk for an hour = get great ideas!

 

My track template is 16 bars long set to a click track .. 8 for verse and 8 for chorus. I start looping on the first 4 bars looking to develop an idea. It doesn't matter if I start with a beat, chord progression, riff or vocal etc. The main thing is to get the idea moving. Then I expand the verse to 8 bars, followed by adding a chorus section as quickly as possible.

I do it this way so that the composition is spontaneous. What I record are essentially guide tracks and I spend no longer than 10 minutes on each section (which can contain vocal, drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboard), so it's all done pretty fast.

I feel the interaction between the different sections is what makes the song. I also find it easier to appraise the songs progress once the verse and chorus are in place.

If I like what I hear at this stage, I will start tweaking and/or re-recording the tracks and developing the idea further.

Everybody has a different way of doing things but this is what works for me.