hi guys,

So assuming you've got a half decent bare bones song, say chords and single vocal melody - Just wondered what people strategies are for starting to build the arrangement and production into a finished track.

Im an engineer with a "half decent" grasp of theory basics looking to start with my own productions. Any tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

thankful, as always!

Remo

It's nearly always the rhythmic elements (usually drums first) for me as this informs the phrasing of melody to such a large degree.

Of course, if you're recording a band live, that decision is taken out of your hands... That really focuses your mixing skills.

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www.thediplomatz.com

Listen to what the song is saying. You’ve got to support the song, its mood, and genre. When a song reminds me of something else I will shamelessly pilfer ideas from those references. That doesn’t mean copying, or even listening to those references, but simply use what you THINK you know about them. How the references REALLY sound is of no importance – it is simply what you recall that is important. I’ve worked on songs where I thought I was emulating aspects of an old classic, only to find that I was well wide of the mark – no matter, in fact so much the better!

Mostly I like to work from the lyric. That gives me my most important cues.

For example, there’s a song I’m arranging/producing right now that began life a simple acoustic guitar/vocal recording. I’ve been asked to give it the works to see what can be done with it. I was fairly new to this artist, but I gave him the usual ‘trust me’ speech and went off to see what I could achieve.

The lyric ‘summer sun’ began me thinking about drying out and thinning the vocal, as if it were outdoors. I even added some distortion to make the voice close and intimate. The lyric tells of a love gone wrong, so I imagined someone speaking in a summer garden, complete with buzzing insects and swishing garden sprinklers, which I hinted at with courtesy of a few synth parts. I also added bird sounds, slowed down 1000% to emphasise the ‘something-gone-wrong-ness’. I took a ‘Beach Boys’-style organ part (summer references again, you see), screwed it up mercilessly and placed it shimmering in the background. The intention was to create a soundscape which supports the imagery, but tells you that something is very amiss.

The chorus spoke of better times, so I gave it a big lift, with the vocal opening to full bandwidth and programmed drums, bass, guitars et al thundering in to carry the vocal triumphantly on their shoulders.

From the lyric came all of the prompts I needed to build this production around the message. By the time you get here you have a ‘vocabulary’ for the song and you’ll find yourself working on instinct – it becomes effortless.

In this example it’s fair to say that the artist was initially shocked by the result, but I was relieved when his face broke into a wide grin. It took a few plays for him to really ‘get it’, but it began to build a trust that now benefits us both.

I hope you find some of the above helpful.

Of course, if the lyric is ‘boots upside yer head’ you’re in big trouble before you start!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote RemoHead:

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hi guys,

So assuming you've got a half decent bare bones song, say chords and single vocal melody - Just wondered what people strategies are for starting to build the arrangement and production into a finished track.

Im an engineer with a "half decent" grasp of theory basics looking to start with my own productions. Any tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

thankful, as always!

Remo

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Do you play/perform yourself? It would be much better if you thought of yourself as a musician with a "half decent" grasp of engineering!

This may sound a little pretentious but I recently adopted a tactic of closing my eyes and feeling my way to what sounded good to my ear.

Forgot about keys, chords, melody etc and just played the notes that I thought fitted, obviously in time!

Admitidly the end result was something that is in a key of sorts but it was a fun way of approaching a project and is something I will try again.

I find that when working on a few songs at a time I try and mix things up in terms of production otherwise it just becomes a bit boring and, for me, teh end result wont have "that vibe".

So in answer to your question I personally dont have a strategy.

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http://www.facebook.com/tomtomcullen

Quote tjc:

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This may sound a little pretentious but I recently adopted a tactic of closing my eyes and feeling my way to what sounded good to my ear.

Forgot about keys, chords, melody etc and just played the notes that I thought fitted, obviously in time!

Admitidly the end result was something that is in a key of sorts but it was a fun way of approaching a project and is something I will try again.

I find that when working on a few songs at a time I try and mix things up in terms of production otherwise it just becomes a bit boring and, for me, teh end result wont have "that vibe".

So in answer to your question I personally dont have a strategy.

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Can I ask how yo set up a Facebook page with music player like yours, it leaves MySpace in its dust, tracks play instantly, and good tracks they are too by the way

Mine always start with a sound. Could be a bass line, a melody a particular guitar sound, a vocal line or even just some kind of musique concrete. I then try and replicate it (if I happen to be out and about when I hear it, and not at my studio) by ear. That always leads to the rest of the track developing organically, for want of a less-pretentious word.

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I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over
Twitter

thanks for all of the suggestions guys. Im a session drummer and I play a bit of piano & sing a bit so it makes sense for me to start from the rhythm track I suppose!

thanks for all of the more general music production tips too! keep them coming

remo

The beat.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

I always do the structure harmony, bassline, drums LAST!

I want to make the music do what it has to do first, then make the drums fit the music.



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G-Dub
Studio G-fx 15inch quad-core i7 Macbook Pro Logic913

Quote OneWorld:

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Quote tjc:

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This may sound a little pretentious but I recently adopted a tactic of closing my eyes and feeling my way to what sounded good to my ear.

Forgot about keys, chords, melody etc and just played the notes that I thought fitted, obviously in time!

Admitidly the end result was something that is in a key of sorts but it was a fun way of approaching a project and is something I will try again.

I find that when working on a few songs at a time I try and mix things up in terms of production otherwise it just becomes a bit boring and, for me, teh end result wont have "that vibe".

So in answer to your question I personally dont have a strategy.

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Can I ask how yo set up a Facebook page with music player like yours, it leaves MySpace in its dust, tracks play instantly, and good tracks they are too by the way

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Search for RootMusic mate.

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http://www.facebook.com/tomtomcullen

there are techniques that have the possibility of achieving certain results

its all subjective

when in the production/arrangement phase let your conscience be free, and your creativity expand

Quote systm_bypass:

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there are techniques that have the possibility of achieving certain results

its all subjective

when in the production/arrangement phase let your conscience be free, and your creativity expand

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Or sometimes it's pretty objective! If you're being paid to produce music in a certain genre, just get on with it! Take pride in your craft, save up your personal creativity to expand some other time.

Usually piano chords and melody for me, preferably one performance all the way through, against a very simple loop if I'm going to be playing to a click. Everything else is then built up round that, setting the levels as I go so that as I'm laying down parts, the velocities I play are specific to the existing levels of the mix. Frequent saving of the song (as a new file each time) so I can always get back to whatever the levels were at the time of playing. This is crucial- if I start messing with volume levels too much, the relationships between the parts start to fall apart and I have to start adjusting velocities etc.

But then I 'play' everything as far as possible- I might loop a very simple bass drum and snare feel initially, but at some point I'll go back in and replay it- there'll always be some point where what I've done since will require just a little extra hit here and there, and I use a midi drum pad with sticks so I can get 'real' paradiddles and rolls. As much as possible, I treat the DAW as 'tape' and record every single part playing all the way through, quantizing only when I've got a really nice take but there are a couple of bits where the timing is a bit loose- I never quantize an entire take.

This is for my 'own' music- jobs often require completely different strategies depending on what the genre is. Slamming synth pop ? Quantize absolutely everything everywhere and then stick at least three compressors over the master buss (or sidechains everywhere) so there are no dynamics of any kind and it sounds vile. If that's what the client wants, then that's what the client shall get ...

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http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk

Quote RemoHead:

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hi guys,

So assuming you've got a half decent bare bones song, say chords and single vocal melody - Just wondered what people strategies are for starting to build the arrangement and production into a finished track.

Im an engineer with a "half decent" grasp of theory basics looking to start with my own productions. Any tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

thankful, as always!

Remo

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for me there is no strategy, at all, much more free flowing and just going wherever the piece in question takes me...

it's basically just listening until i hear something, then re-creating what i hear...

if there's a focus on anything it would be on energy and feeling, the flow and transition and how it moves along, creating moments and that sort of stuff...