Author Topic: Production Process Thread  (Read 7036 times)

Zildy

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Production Process Thread
« on: February 08, 2016, 12:11:20 am »
I haven't been able to find a post on this topic yet, so I thought I'd make one here.

How would you describe your production process, from start to finish? Do you have a recognizable process (for example, looping, then pasting clips around, then refining)?

I am also an amateur illustrator, and I find that process is somewhat easier to grasp for digital art, but that in general the process is defined by the type of output you want.

I have been trying lately to focus on writing the "music" before getting into the "production", which seems to work well in terms of finishing faster and writing more coherent tracks, but it tends to limit my sound design options, since I can't represent, say, a morphing fm bass with a simple saw wave in the writing process.

What are your thoughts/processes?

vinceasot

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2016, 12:30:58 am »
its the baseline and melody that make the track, so these are the most important, you need a baseline and melody catchy enough that people want to listen to it over and over again..

that is easier said than done lol

the drums and fills then come which are important too, with the drums i think its about selecting the right sounds for your tune

then the arrangements and mixing come in and i think they get easier after practice

its about thinking outside the box, and the creativity muscle gets stronger with practice i think and being open to new things

i think its important to be a DJ too or listen to a lot of new records, so you can see all the tracks that come out, and why they grab attention

so really its all about practice, practice and practice



« Last Edit: February 08, 2016, 12:41:21 am by vinceasot »

Marrow Machines

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2016, 02:52:01 am »
always start off with drums, then i move to bass, then i move to melody. I go between those ideas and usually for the meat of the song first, then i work on the intro and breaks.

I then see what effects i can use to spice up the production. and when i say effects i mean, like sound fx usually rendered out.

then i make adjustments until i have a solid piece of music. then i start to mix. then once i get that to a satisfied level, i start finalizing.

since i've gotten over the fact that i need to release stuff quickly, and out of necessity due to school. I can spend more time focusing on the details of the mix and musical creation.

I've got like fives songs back logged and ready to go. but i've decided to release a song once every quarter (3 months). So i have time to spend on making as many tunes i can think about, but honestly i haven't really made any thing new in like a year or so. but during that time i've worked on my mixing skills with those five songs.

right now, it feels like the next song i make will be my first song of understanding the entire process, and i got this after 6 years.
Josh Huval: Honestly, the guys who are making good art are spending their time making it.

Zildy

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2016, 04:18:22 am »
always start off with drums, then i move to bass, then i move to melody. I go between those ideas and usually for the meat of the song first, then i work on the intro and breaks.

I then see what effects i can use to spice up the production. and when i say effects i mean, like sound fx usually rendered out.

then i make adjustments until i have a solid piece of music. then i start to mix. then once i get that to a satisfied level, i start finalizing.

since i've gotten over the fact that i need to release stuff quickly, and out of necessity due to school. I can spend more time focusing on the details of the mix and musical creation.

I've got like fives songs back logged and ready to go. but i've decided to release a song once every quarter (3 months). So i have time to spend on making as many tunes i can think about, but honestly i haven't really made any thing new in like a year or so. but during that time i've worked on my mixing skills with those five songs.

right now, it feels like the next song i make will be my first song of understanding the entire process, and i got this after 6 years.

In terms of when you spend time on sound design, I've heard a lot of people argue for doing "sound design" first in the process, then moving to arrangement, however to me sound design seems like it should come secondary to the notes..

Also, I've been producing music for 10 years and still struggling to understand, though I've been doing it more seriously now for 2 years...
« Last Edit: February 08, 2016, 04:23:47 am by Zildy »

xp

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2016, 05:03:57 am »
In terms of when you spend time on sound design, I've heard a lot of people argue for doing "sound design" first in the process, then moving to arrangement, however to me sound design seems like it should come secondary to the notes..

Also, I've been producing music for 10 years and still struggling to understand, though I've been doing it more seriously now for 2 years...
I guess whatever you're comfortable with. I can't make a melody/chords etc without at least a simple sound that isn't just a plain saw or square; usually pianos, harpsicords or i'll have some patches I've made in the past to use.
hi

Marrow Machines

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2016, 04:59:49 pm »
always start off with drums, then i move to bass, then i move to melody. I go between those ideas and usually for the meat of the song first, then i work on the intro and breaks.

I then see what effects i can use to spice up the production. and when i say effects i mean, like sound fx usually rendered out.

then i make adjustments until i have a solid piece of music. then i start to mix. then once i get that to a satisfied level, i start finalizing.

since i've gotten over the fact that i need to release stuff quickly, and out of necessity due to school. I can spend more time focusing on the details of the mix and musical creation.

I've got like fives songs back logged and ready to go. but i've decided to release a song once every quarter (3 months). So i have time to spend on making as many tunes i can think about, but honestly i haven't really made any thing new in like a year or so. but during that time i've worked on my mixing skills with those five songs.

right now, it feels like the next song i make will be my first song of understanding the entire process, and i got this after 6 years.

In terms of when you spend time on sound design, I've heard a lot of people argue for doing "sound design" first in the process, then moving to arrangement, however to me sound design seems like it should come secondary to the notes..

Also, I've been producing music for 10 years and still struggling to understand, though I've been doing it more seriously now for 2 years...

it's a preference man. I don't think i've stated what i do first, but i typically do sound design first for an individual element rather than getting all the sounds i want, I end up creating what is needed.

I can see why people would want to do the music first with out any sound design, but that doesn't quite give me the idea of the emotional context behind it. And the timbre of the sound really helps identify the emotion behind the notes.

There's more many ways to skin a cat, just find something that works for you.
Josh Huval: Honestly, the guys who are making good art are spending their time making it.

alex 1

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2016, 07:19:26 pm »

for me:

1: open up my last finished, or nearly finished project, that has a similar setup to what i want to use. (correct type of distortion busses etc).

2:change the lead into something that doesnt remind me of the previous track (both melody and sound design)

3:start working on the main fullon section of the track, modifying the lead, and any available pads and  blip making synths i have loaded. i'll stay on this section until i got something that i think can carry a track. sometimes its just getting the lead sounding nice, and sometimes i'll get some pads to harmonize with it. there will be some eq work in this stage too

4: take a step back, and look at the current structure of the track, and decide what areas need to be rearranged for the curent track. do i want the lead to filter in at bar 48, or to hit hard at 129, after a 32 bar chillout.
up to this point i havent touched the drums in any way, but now they will get rearranged to match what i want with this track.

5: the melody is sounding nice and i've arranged things into a structure that i like, though this might and probably will get changed at a later stage. now i'll start changing the drum sounds that i was using in the previous track, so that the track doesnt remind me of the previous track in any way. these drums will probably also get changed again later, but some might stay.

6: at this point, its now a bit of everything, just rearranging and fine tuning, more and more. eq, sound design, move things etc, and maybe work on a second melody for the lead, and see if i can improve it. things like that.

have to stop typing now, but hopefully that was helpful to someone!

Marrow Machines

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2016, 11:34:33 pm »
I also forgot to mention that, i use a template.

I have my drum channels routed to a drum bus, sub goes straight to the master (because bass that's why), then bass synth to bass buss, leads and pads to lead buss, then sound effects&fills to SFX&fills buss.

Each buss gets routed to a pre master bus, then that pre master gets routed to the master channel.

I bounce my premaster into the daw a few times to see what might need fixing, and i also use reason's channel filters to shave off the lowest and highest cut off point.
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Lost Coast

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2016, 02:26:01 am »
its the baseline and melody that make the track, so these are the most important, you need a baseline and melody catchy enough that people want to listen to it over and over again..

This seems incredibly subjective, varying depending on your taste and what kind of music you're making.  This could totally be true for you and the type of music you're making, but I don't think it's going to apply to everyone.  In many cases the percussion and groove is actually far more important than the melody or the bass line, particularly in more underground genres like techno or tech house.  I tend to write music with vocals, so I'm usually starting with a chord progression and the vocal lines before introducing other melodies or the bass line. 

I like to start with whatever I'm going to think of as the "core" of the song.  If that's a vocal track, that's going to be the chorus.  Usually for those I start with a chord progression, and then write a vocal melody and words to that, and then build everything else around those.  If I'm making an instrumental track, I also tend to like to start with the chord progression I'm going to use on the drop, but from there I tend to move to percussion and from there to any melodies.  I like to try and build up a few parts from there, the chorus or the drop, and then a verse section, and start to try to build a rough outline of the structure of the song.  Once I have a structure I think flows well (Side note, I think this an incredibly important step that a lot of people overlook, designing a cohesive structure that makes sense is one of the most important things to making a song sound good) I work on more of the detail elements - drum fills, risers, fx, etc.  I tend to mix as I go along, which is maybe a bit unorthodox and/or lazy but it seems to work for me.

Lazarus

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Re: Production Process Thread
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2016, 05:44:09 am »
Quote
How would you describe your production process, from start to finish?

Denial — The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.
Anger — When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, it becomes frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?".
Bargaining — The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise.
Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon, so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
During the fourth stage, the individual becomes saddened by the mathematical probability of death. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.
Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."; "Nothing is impossible, just do it."

In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.