Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
User avatar
Plyphon
endless
Posts: 652
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:06 pm
Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Plyphon »

Hello,

Often I find myself with an inspiring sound, could be a bass patch, or recently I've been exploring resampling so could be hit/texture/note from that process, or a vocal, chord, note, whatever - I've made something that makes me go 'yeah that could go somewhere'.

But then at this point I tend to get stuck with no real direction to whatever I come up with from here on. Often it ends up feeling like a mix of random elements rather than a track with a clear hook/mechanic/subject/whatever.

I was wondering if anyone can share their process or and tips and tricks at this stage that helps them turn the inspiration into a track?

I have never been one to 'hear' a track before I make it, I usually get inspired by a sound and go from that point onwards.

Cheers

User avatar
RWise
durchfall
Posts: 480
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2016 8:04 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by RWise »

If i make a sound that inspires me first, usually ill hear in my head how i think the track should go. If not, ill put the sound to one side and solely focus on drums and groove.

Ill play around with groove and sound/texture of the drums and then start to see what works with the inspiring sound. Once you have them things sorted, the arrangement falls into place.
Dont take life so seriously :mrgreen:

User avatar
tsaro
Lifer
Posts: 737
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 7:05 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by tsaro »

You could try to fill out your loop with some random raw sounds and start chipping away at the ones that don't quite fit, when I do this it usually helps to get a clearer picture of where the track wants to go. Another advantage is that it makes it easier to delete parts when you have a better idea since you haven't gotten 'attached' to your ideas.
how far do you want to go

dubdub
Asphyxiwank
Posts: 2454
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:49 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by dubdub »

Most of my tracks start just with a single chord. Then I duplicate that, transpose it, change the notes a bit, make a second chord from it. Change the envelope and filter, put some reverb on it, make a pad out of it. Put an arpeggiator in front of it and make an arp out of it. Put reverb on it, resample it, make an atmosphere out of it. Resample, put it in a sampler, make a quick stab for fills out of it etc. One of the big advantages of working in the box with mainly MIDI IMO, you can quickly duplicate anything while retaining full control over everything.

User avatar
nomadjames
mummy!!
Posts: 611
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Pittsburgh
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by nomadjames »

I just lay out a 32 bar loop and try to fill it with elements that work well together, then I go back and spread them out over a loose structure of a track. That's usually where it dies as I don't come back to it, lol.

When I'm done I render out all the stems and put them in a folder called grave yard.
www.soundcloud.com/nomadjames

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson

www.nomadjames.com

Pittsburgh Ableton
www.facebook.com/groups/558333351022659

User avatar
Lost to the Void
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 13518
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:31 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Lost to the Void »

I work a number of ways.

If I have created a sound I like then I try and pick out any natural rhythm inside of it and then make a beat to go with it.

Or I pick out complimentary melodies with a sound that roughly fits and make a melodic part then jank that sound until it fits.

Usually a good sound starts creating ideas and it just snowballs. If that doesn`t happen then I don`t consider it to be a good sound and move on.
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
New Shit
Techno is dead. Long live Techno.

rsntr
Jan : )
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:10 pm
Location: Berlin
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by rsntr »

I think you are addressing two issues here. How to fill sonic space and how to fill time.

If you have, say, a bass patch that you like, you could proceed by looking for elements that fill the remaining frequency spectrum that won't clash with the element you already have.

Regarding a hook or theme, one approach is to think in terms of phrases, i.e. call and response. This relates to the arrangement of your elements over a given period of time, like 1-8 bars in order to create a hook. Your synth line poses a question, the chord stab gives the answer, for example.

That's of course not to say that this is the only valid approach. Just one of many.

User avatar
Plyphon
endless
Posts: 652
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:06 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Plyphon »

nomadjames wrote:I just lay out a 32 bar loop and try to fill it with elements that work well together, then I go back and spread them out over a loose structure of a track. That's usually where it dies as I don't come back to it, lol.

When I'm done I render out all the stems and put them in a folder called grave yard.
This is kind of where I am - except there is a stage of viciously bashing the buttons trying to make it work before grave yard-ing the track :lol:

User avatar
nomadjames
mummy!!
Posts: 611
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Pittsburgh
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by nomadjames »

Plyphon wrote:
nomadjames wrote:I just lay out a 32 bar loop and try to fill it with elements that work well together, then I go back and spread them out over a loose structure of a track. That's usually where it dies as I don't come back to it, lol.

When I'm done I render out all the stems and put them in a folder called grave yard.
This is kind of where I am - except there is a stage of viciously bashing the buttons trying to make it work before grave yard-ing the track :lol:
For me its a matter of time: I don't have a lot of time to work, so I usually don't have enough time to finish a track, plus I don't get a lot of time in the studio in general, so I usually don't go back to a track before I'm over it. I have been refining my working methods to work faster, so eventually I think I will be able to write a complete track in one session, then just go back and master it later and be done.

Well, at least that's what I am aiming for.
www.soundcloud.com/nomadjames

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson

www.nomadjames.com

Pittsburgh Ableton
www.facebook.com/groups/558333351022659

User avatar
Root
BANNED
Posts: 834
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:17 pm
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Root »

Plyphon wrote:Hello,

Often it ends up feeling like a mix of random elements rather than a track with a clear hook/mechanic/subject/whatever.

Cheers
One thing is to make your elements in the track fit and harmonize. The other thing is arrangement, having an idea where you derive your song structure from.

If you got ONE good element, don't add all the others you'll need at the same time. Add only one more and work on this until it's really good and fits. Then go on.. Often people add kick, hihat, percussion, ... at the same time, just because you gonna need it. But that makes it hard to get elements that are based on each other and that are linked.
:geek:

User avatar
Plyphon
endless
Posts: 652
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:06 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Plyphon »

Thanks Root (And everyone else) -

I tend to make some drums, then try and find my main element, then turn it all back on after - maybe I should make my main element (Whatever that may be) and then build drums around it.

Cheers all.

User avatar
SFBM
&roid
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:10 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by SFBM »

Root wrote:
Plyphon wrote:Hello,

Often it ends up feeling like a mix of random elements rather than a track with a clear hook/mechanic/subject/whatever.

Cheers
One thing is to make your elements in the track fit and harmonize. The other thing is arrangement, having an idea where you derive your song structure from.

If you got ONE good element, don't add all the others you'll need at the same time. Add only one more and work on this until it's really good and fits. Then go on.. Often people add kick, hihat, percussion, ... at the same time, just because you gonna need it. But that makes it hard to get elements that are based on each other and that are linked.
That's really good advice, actually. I've gotten into the habit far too often of starting out with a kick or percussive loop or crunchy synth riff (or a combination of any/all) and then just plopping on any old generic sounding off-beat open high hat pattern or simplistic bassline - if only to give the track a more solid and "complete" sounding structure - rather than sticking to my original 1/2 sounds and making sure they sound great and approximately what I want, and then moving from there. I'll have to focus more on making sure my source sounds are great and I'm happy with them from now on and then progressing to the next element, instead of rushing to add more content that may just be half-assed. Great tip.

User avatar
Mslwte
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 5903
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:32 pm
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Mslwte »

The only way I can really describe my method of working is, imagine you have a fuck off canvass and several pots of paint. And a scalpel . I then throw on the paint and start to carve out some kind of picture. Sometimes it works most of the time it doesn't. :P

But what I'm really trying to say is I have to throw it down quick, get the vibe going and then perfect it later. I spend more time tweaking than anything else, but it's done at the end of the process. Not the beginning.
https://soundcloud.com/mslwte
https://noizefacilityrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/subsekt909
https://www.facebook.com/subsekt909/
Lost to the Void wrote:Fuck off, get some tequila down ya neck and make some noise you cunt....

User avatar
Kromasome
arsehole
Posts: 310
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 12:48 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Kromasome »

SFBM wrote:
That's really good advice, actually. I've gotten into the habit far too often of starting out with a kick or percussive loop or crunchy synth riff (or a combination of any/all) and then just plopping on any old generic sounding off-beat open high hat pattern or simplistic bassline - if only to give the track a more solid and "complete" sounding structure - rather than sticking to my original 1/2 sounds and making sure they sound great and approximately what I want, and then moving from there. I'll have to focus more on making sure my source sounds are great and I'm happy with them from now on and then progressing to the next element, instead of rushing to add more content that may just be half-assed. Great tip.
I'm 100% guilty of this too

And this below is often the reason for what SFBM describes above...
Mslwte wrote:
But what I'm really trying to say is I have to throw it down quick, get the vibe going and then perfect it later.

User avatar
Plyphon
endless
Posts: 652
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:06 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Plyphon »

Yeah, last night I had a go at starting with a kick, then really making my main synth gel with the kick, and then and only then unmuting the claps/hihats etc.

buffered
Freestyler
Posts: 612
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:56 am
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by buffered »

One way ive been able to overcome the stuck in a loop problem is to put all the incidentals in first. So an impactful sound on the start of every 32 bars etc. then a random Porc somewhere in between with lots of verb etc etc. before even thinking about a kick drum.
I was finding that when I began a track with just kick synth hihat texture etc I couldn’t keep interest for large amounts of time.
With the incidental/random elements already in place it bridged gaps by default once I started really working on the core elements. Even if they are just placeholders to begin with.

User avatar
timc3
Back Bling
Posts: 548
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:36 pm
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by timc3 »

Root wrote:
One thing is to make your elements in the track fit and harmonize. The other thing is arrangement, having an idea where you derive your song structure from.

If you got ONE good element, don't add all the others you'll need at the same time. Add only one more and work on this until it's really good and fits. Then go on.. Often people add kick, hihat, percussion, ... at the same time, just because you gonna need it. But that makes it hard to get elements that are based on each other and that are linked.
Yeah, that is really good advice. Going to try and take that onboard.

What I am trying to do is if I create something that I think could go somewhere is to find another part which is equally as interesting that compliments it, perhaps in call and response, or just to keep the first part interesting. Perhaps in a different time signature. One of these days I might even succeed with this ;)

User avatar
Críoch
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 11025
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:22 pm
Location: Lego City
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by Críoch »

Lately I've been making nice patches on a synth. Saving them.

Turning on the mpc. Load up some samples. Do a bit of drumming. Copy some bars to 16. Make some tracks to turn on/off, for claps, hats, Porc etc..


Make some tracks for midi. Hit some synths. Use my patches or make something new. Record it in. Turn them on/off. Play with filters.

Wiggle my ass.

Turn everything off. Nothing gets recorded. Feel happy. No pressure.

Really like the MPC / no computer thing. It's all on vibe. No scope to get in too deep with eq or anything. It sounds rough.. but it's good not getting bogged down.
KennethExack wrote:My kids and I are completely shocked by the specialized secrets that everyone has on this forum
>> Click here for NEW POSTS on subsekt <<

Dialog I The Hole I subsekt Blog I The Bench I IG I SC I Mixes I FB

User avatar
nomadjames
mummy!!
Posts: 611
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Pittsburgh
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by nomadjames »

Críoch wrote:Lately I've been making nice patches on a synth. Saving them.

Turning on the mpc. Load up some samples. Do a bit of drumming. Copy some bars to 16. Make some tracks to turn on/off, for claps, hats, Porc etc..


Make some tracks for midi. Hit some synths. Use my patches or make something new. Record it in. Turn them on/off. Play with filters.

Wiggle my ass.

Turn everything off. Nothing gets recorded. Feel happy. No pressure.

Really like the MPC / no computer thing. It's all on vibe. No scope to get in too deep with eq or anything. It sounds rough.. but it's good not getting bogged down.
I gotta get a better hand on using my MPC. I’ve not been able to spend a lot of time learning it beyond getting all this MIDI shit to function.
www.soundcloud.com/nomadjames

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson

www.nomadjames.com

Pittsburgh Ableton
www.facebook.com/groups/558333351022659

User avatar
nomadjames
mummy!!
Posts: 611
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Pittsburgh
Contact:
Re: Strategies to go from an inspiring sound to a track?

Post by nomadjames »

I know we’ve discussed this before Crioch, but what MPC are using again?
www.soundcloud.com/nomadjames

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson

www.nomadjames.com

Pittsburgh Ableton
www.facebook.com/groups/558333351022659


Post Reply