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how do you make your beats
 

offline EVOL from a long time ago on 2007-02-21 22:56 [#02053502]
Points: 4921 Status: Lurker



i gotta turn in an Expository Essay (In an expository
essay, you describe and explain) by midnight and was
wondering (hoping) i could get some info from all of you on
the process of music making. maybe write just a paragraph
on some aspect or particular part of your process and i
could remix them (kinda like how you write songs for all the
mixes we have on zilty)

or

maybe someone could start off with the begining and then
others could reply and build onto it (kinda like the rambo
thread recently) just so i have at least a draft to show for
now. i can always change it before the final is due next
week.


 

offline w M w from London (United Kingdom) on 2007-02-21 23:31 [#02053508]
Points: 21452 Status: Lurker



1) have, say, 13 tracker patterns of 96 rows each. put a
random interesting sound(s) on the top of each (the
interesting parts and changes of which are measured in
chunks of 8 or 16 about.). make a blank 'dummy' pattern and
sprinkle it in amongst the 13 (in approximate ratio of 3
with sound per 1 blank).

2) do it again only with say, 17 instead of 13 patterns,
also with dummy blank sprinkled in.

3) do it again, only with say, 21 (so they're all different
lengths)

4)save all as a wav file measured perfectly so they loop

5) play so these 3 waves intermesh evenly (purpose is to
have a constantly different beat since these waves are out
of phase with eachother, being different lengths)

6) play this whole thing in 3 octaves at once, the lower
octaves being slightly louder.


 

offline DirtyPriest from Copenhagen (Denmark) on 2007-02-22 00:54 [#02053524]
Points: 5499 Status: Lurker



Ask DJ Subwoof!


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2007-02-22 02:03 [#02053531]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular



hey i'm too lazy/stupid to do my school work. i know, i'll
ask a bunch of strangers on the internet.

OR

do your own fucking work you lazy sod


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-02-22 02:03 [#02053532]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to DirtyPriest: #02053524 | Show recordbag



ha ha ha!

I usually start with a drum machine (software or hardware
)and write the main beat loop. I then transpose this to a
sequencer and (usually manualy) add some syncopation/shuffle
to it. I then tweak the sounds about so that the sounds in
the kit work well together. Next I usually make the bass,
then melody, then add some unique sounds. For these non-drum
sounds, I usually use a preset (one of my own presets I've
made earlier) that is close to the sound I want, then change
it so it's unique for this track.

I usually make a 4 or 8 bar loop and then extend this and
make some variations on it. I then do a rough sequence using
these loops. I then go in and program in extra detail like
breakdowns, drops, etc.

HTH


 

offline w M w from London (United Kingdom) on 2007-02-22 02:08 [#02053534]
Points: 21452 Status: Lurker | Followup to w M w: #02053508



Fairly ok example I just made. I've made lots of
these because I like the intricate pseudorandom beats that
take fairly little effort, and because I currrently lack the
programming ability to do something complex and interesting
without cheating.


 

offline unabomber from Palma de Mallorca (Spain) on 2007-02-22 02:09 [#02053535]
Points: 3756 Status: Regular



I spin old soul records and sit waiting for the riff to
come, then I sample that in the computer. I cut it and cut
it, rearange in three or four tracks and reverse some hits
to ocasionally get back to the full original loop. Add EQ to
each channel and compression in the bus where all drum
tracks go.


 

offline DirtyPriest from Copenhagen (Denmark) on 2007-02-22 02:16 [#02053537]
Points: 5499 Status: Lurker



For a more serious answer, heres a shot:

I make pop music, so melody is everything to me. A track
starts in my head. I usually go for a walk with my
dictaphone, and sing little brackets of something, a melody
that i like, with some ideas for a lyric on top. Melody and
lyrics go hand in hand for me. Then i go home, transcribe
the melody into fruityloops, make some chords over it, then
a beat, then a bassline, and now i have a chorus. From then
on, i try to figure out how to structure the song, and write
verses, solos, c-pieces and shit like that. Then i start
fine tuning my shit, change the drums, add some interesting
effects.

There you have it. The viktor crayon recipe for succes!


 

offline DirtyPriest from Copenhagen (Denmark) on 2007-02-22 02:17 [#02053539]
Points: 5499 Status: Lurker | Followup to DirtyPriest: #02053537



As a note to that, i very rarely come up with something
usefull (for me) with just "messing around".


 

offline EVOL from a long time ago on 2007-02-22 03:16 [#02053548]
Points: 4921 Status: Lurker



it was worth a shot. i can't fuckin write. this was the
only reason i never continued my education up untill now. i
can't fuckin write. i'm goin to the campus tomorrow to see
if i can get a tutor to help. i can't fuckin write. i just
can't do it. it's like i'm retarded. seriously. fuck. i
have to be retarded. ah! my add! i am retarded!


 

offline EVOL from a long time ago on 2007-02-22 03:23 [#02053551]
Points: 4921 Status: Lurker | Followup to EVOL: #02053548



thanks btw! before i leave tomorrow i will copy and paste
all your posts onto word pad and save it to my pen drive,
see if i can use it for ideas with the tutor. if there are
some more posts between now and then i think it should go
pretty easy. i'll post the draft if i can get some more
good responses.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-02-22 06:38 [#02053629]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to EVOL: #02053548 | Show recordbag



you just wrote quite a few words

Anyway, when I make stuff, it just kind of comes.. I start
playing, and something emerges which I record and then I
keep on doing this in layers. Then, when I've got some
stuff, I add drums, etc, then I play other stuff like the
bass.

I'd say anything outside of structure (applied later) is a
non-rational process.


 

offline dog_belch from Netherlands, The on 2007-02-22 06:41 [#02053632]
Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Show recordbag



First I listen to a lot of drill and generic IDM until it
makes me so cross that I fire up Floops and vent my
frustration at what people are doing to electronic music and
I make the angriest sound possible, which is incredibly
juvenile.


 

offline Skink from A cesspool in eden on 2007-02-22 06:43 [#02053634]
Points: 7483 Status: Lurker



Reading this i realise that my methods are so laborious! I
am surprised i get anything done at all ever. Resample, cut
and paste. That is one of many methods that i use. which in
turn depends on what kind of mood i am in.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-02-22 07:01 [#02053639]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to dog_belch: #02053632 | Show recordbag



Isn't that how Aphex did CTD?

EVOL: Mate, if you're having difficulty writing (and I don't
just mean you're stuck on this assignment, but have
difficulty writing academically in general), go and see a
tutor. Your college probably runs drop in writing workshops,
or even optional "free modules" in writing in an academic
style that you can take alongside your existing lessons. It
might be too late to do for this essay, but if you think you
have a problem with writing, it's well worth going to a
couple of sessions so that the next coursework will be
easier.

HTH.

Skink: Do you record live jams then try cutting that up and
re-ordering it then?


 

offline horsefactory from 💠 (United Kingdom) on 2007-02-22 07:06 [#02053640]
Points: 14867 Status: Regular



i don't really have a routine


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2007-02-22 16:24 [#02053977]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker



I usually start with a melody which has been floating about
my head, or a chord sequence which I've riffed on
guitar or piano. I will leave this looping, muck about with
the sound until it sounds like it sounds in my head (or the
nearest virtual approximation). Then I will harmonise the
melody, either with chords or counter-melodies. I will then
either extend the melody or the counter-melodies, so one
urges the next one forward. I will then program in a beat &
percussion. Then I will (normally) lose all interest in it
and do something else. Sometimes I return and extend it,
again either if a new melody or effect has popped into my
mind, which I will add. If that sparks off more ideas, I
will extend or deepen the track. Then lose interest again.

Other times, I will start with a concept (two recent ones
were to use all acoustic-mimicking instruments to try and
recreate an acoustic guitar-type track; and the other was to
make a 1980s sounding soundtrack for an imaginary film,
Mango & Trash. I will then use these concepts to
create a visual representation of the music & ideas which
inhabit the old cranium).

When I reach the height of malaise, I save it as an mp3, and
then upload it to zebox and inflict it upon the unsuspecting
gentlefolk of Xltronic.


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2007-02-22 18:16 [#02054101]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular



nobody worth their wieght will judge you for not being able
to write. maybe a strictly academic route is not for you.
and yes you can still earn mega bucs without being able to
spell a single word or string a written sentence together


 

offline pachi from yo momma (United States) on 2007-02-22 18:22 [#02054103]
Points: 8984 Status: Lurker



Technically, I load samples into the Fruity Slicer plugin in
FL Studio, then arrange the sequences via Piano Roll.

In abstract terms, I mainly just adlib and act on impulse.
In other words, laying stuff down as I go.

I'm not sure how much I've contributed to the research of
your assignment, but there ya go.


 

offline EVOL from a long time ago on 2007-02-22 18:23 [#02054104]
Points: 4921 Status: Lurker



i havce the ability to write well... when i'm passionate
about the particular subject. obviously, motivation is not
always going to be easy to dredge up for every assignment.
i guess i'm just suffering from a current bout of the old,
"writer's block." usually tho if you hand me a blank
canvas, i just end up staing at it anyway. i'm at uni now
tho and i just finished a tutoring session which helped
immensely. i'll post later when i'm finished. i have a
midterm study review in my music class right now which
starts in five minutes!


 

offline roygbivcore from Joyrex.com, of course! on 2007-02-22 18:59 [#02054123]
Points: 22557 Status: Lurker



i sit down and fuck around till i find something i like


 

offline edgey from New York (United States) on 2007-02-22 22:01 [#02054196]
Points: 408 Status: Regular | Followup to dog_belch: #02053632



I'd enjoy listening to that, please.


 

offline edgey from New York (United States) on 2007-02-22 22:02 [#02054197]
Points: 408 Status: Regular | Followup to EVOL: #02053502



I enter a state of bliss, and the world disappears around
me, hours later, there's beats.


 

offline CS2x from London (United Kingdom) on 2007-02-23 00:12 [#02054213]
Points: 5079 Status: Lurker



For drumbeats, I make a few loops on the MPC 1000, record
them as different audio tracks on the sequencer, and cut
them up and add effects to tiny sections of those loops
where appropriate, and switch between at points them to add
variation. The MPC can recieve USB data, so you can make all
the individual hits on some audio editing software with lots
of nice fx first, and send those to the machine; I find
recording knocks and bangs from any nearby objects
particularly enjoyable. Then, they'll be some extra layers
which are made by step sequencing off other machines for the
drums....

There's no set way to do the rest of the track ever, really,
so that's a bit hard to help you with.



 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2007-02-23 00:39 [#02054220]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



a magician does not reveal his secret


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 04:38 [#02054263]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



I make my beats by magically making them go over each other sexually to crea....


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 04:38 [#02054264]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



...te music. I need to learn the downsides of long
a-hrefing.


 

offline ebolawasher from Dublin (Ireland) on 2007-02-23 04:52 [#02054269]
Points: 229 Status: Lurker | Followup to HmND: #02054263



Be jaysus you sound like a squarepusher.
How did you come up with such a thing? Is this a message
from God?


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 04:55 [#02054271]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



I am Aphex Twin's secret musicbox.


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 04:57 [#02054272]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



I am also NiN.


 

offline ebolawasher from Dublin (Ireland) on 2007-02-23 05:06 [#02054276]
Points: 229 Status: Lurker



I can only guess how many time you've heard these tracks.
You should stop doing that and buy some CD's. Seriously.


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 05:08 [#02054278]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



Too much, that's for sure.

But then again, I have a big enough music library which I
listen to all the time, so It's all good.


 

offline HmND from your mom (Israel) on 2007-02-23 05:09 [#02054280]
Points: 660 Status: Regular



Actually erase that.

I AM APHEX TWIN AND I ONLY LISTEN TO MY MUSIC CAUSE IT'S THE
BEST. I HAVE NO EXTERNAL INFLUENCES.

Amirite?


 

offline staz on 2007-02-23 05:44 [#02054297]
Points: 9844 Status: Regular



sometimes i go in with firm ideas, sometimes i feel myself
in from the start. it's an intuitive process.


 

offline retape from http://retape.net (Norway) on 2007-02-23 06:46 [#02054319]
Points: 2355 Status: Lurker



first. i start with a beat.


 

offline thatne from United States on 2007-02-23 07:54 [#02054346]
Points: 3026 Status: Lurker



first i have a plan or outline for what
i wish the final product to sound like.
i dont get discouraged if i cant achieve
that. next i select a time signature and
program whatever patterns i would like
to hear right then for the opening bars.
later i may make that pattern part of a
nother section of the tune. now i have
the option of counterpointing the beats
somehow, either with effects or melody,
and after that its basically a matter of
repeating the process and then laying
on bass and lead instruments in some
manner of harmony usually.


 


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