May 28, 2016

I think I've made a similar thread before but... what's everyone's process with song making?

Do you produce all the way through from start to finish and leave it as that? Do you go back and make huge changes part of the way through because you came up with completely new parts that sound better than what you originally had? Do you usually produce the "drops" first and then work from there? Do you create a full pattern and then split it to build a song around it easier? Do you do the drums first? Or the melody/bassline etc.?

If you're a rapper and producer, do you do the production first and then write to the beat or do you come up with lyrics first and then work from there on a beat to fit your vision lyrically?

Just curious... @CreativeSXN

 

May 28, 2016

Production first, rapping second.

 

May 28, 2016

From a producers point of view, I always start with drums. Usually it's a drum break that I sample. Then I move on to melodies. I usually sample about 3 to 5 melodies before I find one or two that stick. From there I do some rough arrangement work and drum layering. From there I lay down a bassline and the rest is just little things I might add here in there and finishing sequencing. I usually go start to finish and rarely do I go back to a beat and change something about it. Most days though I won't do a beat from start to finish anymore. I'll usually work on two or three at a time and then finish them a few days later

From the rappers point of view I always have written to a Beat So I like to have the production first whether it be from me or from someone else. From there I just pretty much let it flow out onto whatever I'm writing on.

 

May 28, 2016

I almost always produce a huge full 16bar pattern with a couple melodies/counters going first with (usually) temporary drums/bassline and starting EQing/Mixing everything with my mastering plugin already on the master channel as I go, and adjust that as I do the song.

I then take that and split the entire thing in the playlist with a backup copy of it made for easy additions and then start arranging a build and the first drop, start adding transitions/automations etc. to blend/build more. Often I go back afterwards and will scrap entire sections to replace with newly written parts and rework all of the drums and often replace/layer them and add more synths as I go, depending on what I need.

I usually spend days/months listening to it and combing over it and taking notes on my phone for what I could change/add/replace/fix throughout the whole song.

 

May 28, 2016

care to expand any?

 

May 28, 2016

Simple. I feel the need to have some sort of backing track before rapping. And I don't mean no barebones track. I mean a fully produced track.

I have ideas that hit the head and I have to get them out. Sometimes my raps don't work but if it doesn't than it means another instrumental for me.

 

May 28, 2016

Oh yeah I know what you mean about scrapping fans oh yeah I know what you mean about scrapping lol. Always export a couple rough demos and listen to them constantly in my car and take mental notes. Also my arrangements pretty much stay the same. 8 bar intro 16 verse eight Bar hook 16 verse eight hook eight outro. Oh only ever switch it up if it's going to be sold (and it said client wants to switch it up) or I'm going to use it.

 

May 28, 2016

What I'm trying to do to sample dig before hand so I don't have to do it during the process

 

May 28, 2016

i've always got the newest versions on my ipod and phone (for quality assurance purposes mainly, if it bangs on the phone speakers it's gonna b--- on anything)

but this s--- always makes me feel so narcissistic lol, especially when i look at my Last.FM plays and i've got 400+ plays of my own music over the number two spot in my most played for week/month/all time etc.

see my arrangement changes constantly, sometimes i've got an 8 bar intro, sometimes it's like 32 like on What You've Done, it just depends on the type of song for me I guess. Outro isn't always even there necessarily and it usually builds down rather than straight up switching. There's a lot of times too where the song builds to the middle and then switches completely for the rest of the song.

 

May 28, 2016

i can't imagine sample digging being very fun. i don't even know where to begin other than older rock songs that I know, and i don't want to get hit with copyright s--- so I've just avoided it

 

May 28, 2016

I don't write songs but I've helped with a few

I definatly prefer when the person goes all the way through and then you can listen through it a few times and find out what's wrong.

It's just more practical to go back and make changes then to restart for me. (Then again I only help my friends with their stuff)

 

May 28, 2016

Usually start off with a basic melody/bassline and work my way through from there, start with the verses and backbone of the beat, move on to the hook, add some extra sounds to the mix (drum fills etc) to spice it up and not make it too repetitive, add something cool near the end like a beat switch or instrumental solo of some kind, do the intro and outro last, so the song doesnt abruptly start and end, add some last touches to the mixing/mastering (i tend to do most of it whilst creating the beat) sometimes i'll come back and make small changes, rarely major ones

I always completely finish my production before writing or recording to it

 

May 28, 2016

This is how i generally make a beat, but of course it changes, last week i made an instrumental that starts off simple and slow and slowly works towards a huge climax, making that obviously had a way different process to it

 

May 29, 2016

hold up

 

May 29, 2016

i meant for me really.

if it was something i did regularly and needed for my music and i got it down then maybe, as it sounds i hate the thought of it

 

May 30, 2016

freestyle on the beat and go back to fix mistakes and write down to fix it to make it sound better. or just write to the beat straight out

 

May 30, 2016

As a person who have separated my steps for both, I find myself more focused on the production elements. I like building song structures based off main melody and then building secondary elements to compliment and build. I'm very specific about how I put together sub range, percussion, and custom synths. Sometimes I can work out an idea in a day, sometimes it takes a month.

For rapping, I usually have an idea lyrically before I approach the production, but as I come up with ideas I start removing elements of production in order to emphasize the voice.