Question for everyone who makes music

[randomblockfilms]

Well this has been bugging me for a long time. Its a question I've been asking myself for months and now I guess i will ask it.

When you make music, do you know exactly what you are doing? or do you just mess around and stumble upon a cool progression/sound and make a song with it by throwing together different melodies and stuff?

its kind of hard to explain but let my try to explain it a bit better. When you are making a song, to you pay a lot of attention to the chord progressions like "OH thats a C# to a G7 diminished which resolves to an A minor 2nd inversion". Or do you just kind of hit your fingers on the keyboard and try to find something nice to the ears?

and when it comes to synths and baselines and all types of instruments, do you go like,
"Hrmm. this sine wave could use some more modulation from a saw wave."
Or
"this orchestra section could use some more dampening"
Or
"The resonance on these bells are too high."

OR

do you just not worry too much about it?


ok so yes there are a lot of questions in here and i know everybody has their own style. but i was just curious to see how many people know exactly what they are doing. or atleast have a good understanding of why their music sounds the way it does.

this is a very messy way to ask this question but its the best i can do. :/

[SoaringFlight]

I just mess around in FL until i get something that sounds somewhat ok - i try to use my ears. For the rest, well, i got almost no experience. Theory doesn't help me much, i dont know chords or anything more advanced.

Same goes for synths and the rest, got no experience in those fields, im on presets (i suck ) - i would love to learn more though.

Im looking at production as a hobby, so i dont worry that much about it.

[Kryptage]

I use my ears for the most part. However, I always musically work out a progression a melody, and a rhythm that work together. I use them as a base and see where it goes. All my synths I work out solely by turning knobs and seeing what happens.

I think that going for a specific sound limits you. I do use presets occasionally.

All the technical stuff, with the sounds I work out during the mixing process. Like if something is just too screechy, or too bassy I work it out later.

When ever I do anything with the progressions or the melody's, I sit back down with my guitar, or my piano and I play it out, work out what I like most, then I put it in, however, my ultimate goal when writing, is to take something I had in my head, and translate it to something listenable. So most of the time if I put something in, I had already thought about it long ago, I just had to work it out.

That's really all music is, taking a vision you had in your head, and making it real. A lot like film or art.

[Mundius]

I don't worry about it. It's not like I'm going to lose millions just because I screwed up a note. Or a song.

[Facade]

I hit my face on the keyboard until I find a few notes that sound cool played in a progression then use fl's chord thing to turn them into chords then I mess around with that

[Evdog]

I make shapes and see what it sounds like

I'd say both. I have a general idea of what will happen in the song, but I work out the finer points along the way. There are times where I can go through a song exactly as planned, but those are rare. Inspiration in the moment, and good-sounding mistakes which I decide to keep, generally lead to the final product.

With chords, I don't think of the chords as a C# to a G7 diminished, like you said, and I think you'll find that most musicians don't. We think about how they sound relative to each other. i.e. First, Fifth, Minor Sixth, Fourth.

And when it comes to instruments, I think about those things, but not in that way. For example, it's more a case of "I don't like that sound, but I know what knob to turn to change it." And that just comes with experience.

All the technical stuff, with the sounds I work out during the mixing process. Like if something is just too screechy, or too bassy I work it out later.

Yeah, that too. It's best to leave the EQ and Mixing for the end.

[Kryptage]

Inspiration in the moment, and good-sounding mistakes which I decide to keep, generally lead to the final product.

This is beyond true for me xD. So many mis-clicks, or putting on an effect going for one thing and getting another.

It's all part of the beauty of the musical process xD.

[Dr_Dissonance]

I tend to be the one who goes "oooh lets use chord x with chord y and not resolve to chord z!"
With pony music, I tend to just write things out which would work in theory, then tweak and change it to my liking.
Uni music is a bit different, due to using quarter tones and strange sounds. That's more 'lets hope for the best!'

But yes, I guess the only thing I really just mess around with a lot is instrumentation. I spend a lot of time just loading vsts I haven't used yet and listening to them for a while, to see if I feel they'll fit somewhere. Timbre is more important in my works than the average classical composer, so it's important that I have a wide range of timbres!

[TheSunAndTheRainfall]

It varies a lot with me. Sometimes I'll have a concrete idea in mind, and try to translate it as best as possible in my keyboard/guitar before I sit down and record it. Sometimes I'll just say "I wanna write a song with these characteristics" and sit down with my keyboard and that goal in mind until I have something I'm more or less happy with. Sometimes I'll be mucking around on an instrument, and I'll stumble upon a melody or chord progression that I like and try to develop it from there.

When I'm recording and making up arrangements, I usually have and idea in mind of how I want things to sound like, and mess around with the parameters in my VSTs, and with effects and EQs until I get something that more or less comes close to my vision, but I'll often produce happy accidents that I like and keep as well.

[MixolydianPony]

For melodies, I typically take a more loose approach. For chords, I'm about as music theory intensive as one can get.

For effects and mastering, I am very precise about exactly what I'm doing. As opposed to "this needs to stand out more", I'll think something along the lines of "Less bass, more midrange. Less reverb." or somesuch.

I have an extreme attention to detail that is more crippling than helpful, hence why I've only released 1 song ever.

[hiero]

I hit my face on the keyboard until I find a few notes that sound cool played in a progression

This.

Sometimes with a guitar, which is a bit more painful.

I also enjoy flipping through different filters and arps with VSTs and my synth, hitting a few notes, and messing with the attack and decay until I get something unique or awesome. Often times I'll also try to convey my mood into music, or the mood of whatever is the influence of the song I want to make.

[randomblockfilms]

oh my gawd. didn't think i would get so many replies! thanks!

well after reading everyones replies, it seems that there is no right way to make music. wow i feel so stupid. lol. I guess you just got to find your style and stick with it. (I've been telling myself this for a while but just never believed it I guess)

I think the problem with me is that i simply over think things. and so i try to figure out how people made a certain sound when it probably was an accident by loading a wrong filter or something. or ill try to figure out a chord progression when they probably just randomly asked them self how it would sound like. Because of how my brain is wired, i assume that all sounds in a song that someone makes is intentional and that they knew how to get that sound and progression and stuff.

not sure what else to say here but these replies sure do help. I think I got a better understanding of what i have been wondering about.

[Versilaryan]

I do a bit of both. Oftentimes, when I'm making a synth, I'll have an idea on how to make the sound I want and then do that to start. Once I do everything I know how to do, I start screwing around and end up with something slightly different from what I intended. But I'll stick with it.

Chord progressions are 100% intentional, though, unless I'm going for something more avant-garde. Sometimes, I'll start playing a chord progression and I'll hear what chord comes next in my head. Then it's a matter of figuring out what chord I'm "hearing". More often than not, though, I'll compose the chord progression before I even hear what it actually sounds like.

[MixolydianPony]

oh my gawd. didn't think i would get so many replies! thanks!

well after reading everyones replies, it seems that there is no right way to make music. wow i feel so stupid. lol. I guess you just got to find your style and stick with it. (I've been telling myself this for a while but just never believed it I guess)

I think the problem with me is that i simply over think things. and so i try to figure out how people made a certain sound when it probably was an accident by loading a wrong filter or something. or ill try to figure out a chord progression when they probably just randomly asked them self how it would sound like. Because of how my brain is wired, i assume that all sounds in a song that someone makes is intentional and that they knew how to get that sound and progression and stuff.

not sure what else to say here but these replies sure do help. I think I got a better understanding of what i have been wondering about.

Well, to a certain degree, there are ways to go into a song going for a certain sound and knowing how to achieve it immediately. You can do a lot of that by using modes. I know that Lydian can sound ethereal and dreamlike, so if I want that sound, my first choice would be Lydian. In my head, I've sort of categorized the modes based on feeling, and I typically start there.

[@ppleBukker]

When you are making a song, to you pay a lot of attention to the chord progressions like "OH thats a C# to a G7 diminished which resolves to an A minor 2nd inversion". Or do you just kind of hit your fingers on the keyboard and try to find something nice to the ears?

Usually, I just kinda decide what key I want. B is always fun. From there I just kinda pick what scale (usually major). From there I just plick around until I find a good progression that fits my mood. As far as chords... I'll use an example:
Say if I'm in B: I want to use B, E, F# (demonstration purposes) for my progression. B, okay let's find two other notes in the major scale. Say, D# and E. Okay, E... let's use A# and D#.

It's usually like that until I find something that I deem worthy.

and when it comes to synths and baselines and all types of instruments, do you go like,
"Hrmm. this sine wave could use some more modulation from a saw wave."
Or
"this orchestra section could use some more dampening"
Or
"The resonance on these bells are too high."

OR

do you just not worry too much about it?

Sometimes I know what I'm going for and I'm kinda that way. Other times, I just say "Hey, let's screw around until I find something awesome-like."

[Facade]

I hit my face on the keyboard until I find a few notes that sound cool played in a progression

This.

Sometimes with a guitar, which is a bit more painful.

I also enjoy flipping through different filters and arps with VSTs and my synth, hitting a few notes, and messing with the attack and decay until I get something unique or awesome. Often times I'll also try to convey my mood into music, or the mood of whatever is the influence of the song I want to make.

haha yes it is which is why when i compose on a guitar i just select chords at random and pick and them or something

[Facexplodie]

Definitely just face punch the keyboard till it sounds good to me. I usually try to mix as well as write at the same time too, which I'm not sure is the best idea. I might start fiddling with chord progressions to make more sense out of the riffs. Voilá!

[DrSorkenstein]

and when it comes to synths and baselines and all types of instruments, do you go like,
"Hrmm. this sine wave could use some more modulation from a saw wave."
Or
"this orchestra section could use some more dampening"
Or
"The resonance on these bells are too high."

OR

do you just not worry too much about it?

Always listen, your ears are your best tool. I usually just start of with a short melody or something like that without any idea of where I'll end up. If I find something that sounds better than what I've been doing until then I'll switch. As for sounds you'll learn how to make certain ones by using your synths and familiarizing yourself with them. I usually twiddle the knobs with a bit of thought put in until I like what I can hear.

I think the problem with me is that i simply over think things. and so i try to figure out how people made a certain sound when it probably was an accident by loading a wrong filter or something. or ill try to figure out a chord progression when they probably just randomly asked them self how it would sound like. Because of how my brain is wired, i assume that all sounds in a song that someone makes is intentional and that they knew how to get that sound and progression and stuff.

not sure what else to say here but these replies sure do help. I think I got a better understanding of what i have been wondering about.

When I'm looking for a specific sound I find it easier to break it down into pieces i.e. Do I want a harsh sound or a "pretty", wide or narrow, bassy or trebly, what effects etc. Usually being inspired to make "that specific sound" will cause you to come up with something cool of your own.

[TheSunAndTheRainfall]

Oh right, mess with every knob, every switch, assign LFOs and other modifiers to whatever; rape your sound. Sometimes that gives me inspiration or a push in an interesting direction when I feel like I'm getting nowhere.

[mindsetpony]

For me, it's just sitting down and screwing around until you get something that sounds good.
It's all a learning experience
As for synths, I have a general idea of what sound I'm out for. However, when It comes to actually forming the sound, I feel that you just have to know how to work your synth of choice. In that area, I feel it's more about practice.

[CGEyeGuy]

I first select a tempo I like/ don't use that much and make a nice melody. Most of the time that it will either be a hook or an intro. Then I continue adding, deciding how it gets to that point and what it does after.

As for the synths it depends on what you are looking for. I usually just tweak until I find something that sounds nice and sets the mood I am trying to achieve.

[natsukashi]

I usually research scales and try to use them to set the mood. "Oh, celtic folk? *googles* I guess I should go for the mixolydian then."

But when it comes to sound design I don't think too much ahead, drag the knob both ways to see what happens and then put it at a good standard is my approach for most stuff. As for the choice of effects and waveforms I rarely just pick random ones, but effects are easier to hear in your mind than fine tuning. :3

But the more I do this shit, the faster I know how to work. I often find myself thinking "This shit could use some goddamn lowpass/compression/less high FQ/whatever" when I listen to TV, songs and FX

[LeafRunner]

I mostly start off by improvising around until I get a melody or chord that I like. I try to go by feeling, getting the sound to portray whatever mood I'm in at the moment. I guess that's why I love improvising and jamming so much, because it really shows "in the moment". I might even record myself just messing around, go back and listen to it to find tidbits I like. Then I'll take that and continue to add to it, or completely change the feel into something else.

I never did look up much music theory (it's on my list of things to do someday, the more I'm getting into it), but I have played many different styles of music over the years, so I've picked up things that work and don't work from doing that. I try to keep a lot of variance in my music, either by not repeating things much, or layering melodies and chords in different ways to create counterpoint. I really do need to learn more theory though, even if I mostly go by feeling.

My advice would be to try something different each new song, and find what works best for you! Try writing a melody first, try writing chords first, think up something in your head and put it on paper, start methodically with known intervals. It may seem hard at first restricting yourself to something you're not used to, but remember: creativity blossoms the most the more restrictions you have.

[AutomaticJack]

What I do is this:

1) I wanna make music!/Idea!/I'm bored!
2) Stare at the DAW screen. Forget idea and ask myself why I fired up FL 7 in the first place.
3) I used to select a kick sample and turn it all the way up, but these days I usually open 3xOSC and switch to all squares (a much better place to start than all sine waves), and then start hitting keys and tweaking the oscillators and such.
4) I've never really liked the typing keyboard as piano keyboard thing, but I keep it on to demo sounds.
5) 97% of my songs begin as C, and 92% are written in C Minor... the only scale I ever actually learned (except C Major, but everyone knows that one =P) So I just start laying, chopping, rearranging, and destroying notes til I have some semblance of a bassline/melody.
6) With a melody/bassline firmly in hoof, I might:
--a) Wobble that shit!!
--b) Sidechain that shit!!
--c) Make a beat!!
--c) Delete that shit!! Then start over.
7) Once I've wobbled/sidechained/beattreated/deleted, I'll try another instance of 3xOSC and start on another pattern to go with the first one. I find it EXTREMELY difficult to just write a pattern without regards to what scale I'm functioning in, and I'm too lazy to decide, 'Ok, it's major here, it's minor there...'
8) From here on out, it's anything goes. As long as the track sounds promising, I'll continue to work it. The second I lose intrest, BAM! on to something else. I may come back later and say, 'Hmmm, that sounds aight... what it needs is this... and a little this... oh! And some of this.......'

That's about the size of it. =P
To summarize, which maybe I should have done in the first place: I might have an idea of what I'm going to do, but the track I make will probably be way different. I just like to go with the flow, because there isn't definitely a point in my creative process where the song is asking me to do things for it, instead of me asking the song to do things for me, if that makes sense. I guess another way to say it would be: I do most of the giving and less of the taking, but once a song gains momentum, I know what it needs and can't get it done fast enough. Sometimes I'll build my own templates, so I can quickly jump in and start writing a tune. Nothing is worse than the creativity dying somewhere between brain and computer screen because the process wasn't fast enough. =(

[DerpyHoovesies]

I don't really know.

I don't know if I could say this applies to everyone, but I find in my case if I'm trying too hard or TOO determined to make something sound nice, it's going to fall apart from the beginning, leaving me feeling worse off. However, I also believe sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike isn't helping yourself either. So, as a first rule, I force myself to do music work of /some kind/ at least once a day. Setting a deadline for yourself is a great idea, too, _even_ if you're just not feeling it at first.

I find what people call "inspiration" is actually just an idea... that first spark, if you will, an idea in your head. It's a great thing, and I use it as a springboard to get started and get into the "zone" of working on a project, but at the same time you can't rely on it at all and expect to come out with something fantastic from that simple idea--because the REAL inspiration comes into play DURING the "zone" phase. After you get your little boost off the ground with the original idea, you'll find yourself working, and, if you aren't pressing yourself too hard and letting your creativity run free, you'll find yourself thinking things like "Oooo, I should do x and see how that sounds with y. Oh and maybe I should add some slower hihat runs here, maybe I could also run that into a big buildup..." And when that happens, that, I believe, is the real inspiration... It comes spontaneously, without premeditation, just follow your ears after you're in the zone and you may surprise yourself.

Despite all of this I'm currently having a really hard time working on music lately, I keep letting myself down or making awful sounds...