Workflow!

[cloudshovit]

More than knowing what people I look up to use to make their music. I am always more interested on knowing how other people start. What is your workflow? How do you start a song? How often are you able to finish a song? On my part, I am still working on having a better workflow that can coexist with my other responsibilities. Planning on waking up as early as I can every morning and work on my music before I start with my boring 9-5 job.

[itroitnyah]

Always start with synths. Make sure they're good before you start with the actual composition and production.

[colortwelve]

Sound design in a continuing process. Sometimes I'll watch a tutorial and specifically try to make a certain sound just to have for later, with no intention of using it right away. Other times I'll make a sound from scratch while setting up a template, or have a vague idea of what I want to fill out a section and just flail helplessly in Massive until I stumble across it. Other times I deconstruct and remake preset sounds minus all the cheesy effects.

Composition is something that usually has to be inspired. Whether I'm going into it with an idea of what I want, or if I just have an idea for a chord progression that doesn't exist as anything other than Roman numerals at the moment, I've got to have a direction. And it usually happens all at once for the better songs - I'll sit down and start working, and a couple hours later, I'll have a rough version of my track. But this is the crucial aspect of my composition process: I don't add effects or incidental percussion to a composition project. I export all of the instrument tracks into a new folder, then dump them into a new project file to mix it as if it were recorded by a band in tracks.

From there, I do mixing and mastering, more precise sound design having to do with mixer inserts, and do what I do with sound effects, loops, and non-drum samples. I've only just started doing it this way, but I already like it a lot more - it may take more time, but it yields a more refined product. It really helps when mixing not to be worried by the temptation to alter the composition, and vice-versa.

[Mondogreen]

Most of the time I just pick a section (pad, lead, drums...) and make something. Then I base (bass...) the rest of the song around that. The hard part for me has always been finding a starting point.

[the4thImpulse]

I remember a few threads like this in the past, it might be worthwhile to look them up as well.

I start with a drum kit I've used from a previous track, make a quick simple beat to play to and start up the MS2000. Once I get a few basic ideas down I move to arrangement view (Ableton) and work on quick transitions and the rest of the track always falls in place over time.

[Lavender_Harmony]

Unfortunately I can't tell you exactly what I start with. I start with an idea, whatever it is, I hear it in my head and I put it down. I'm one of those weird people who never stop writing music, whether it's at a computer or just in my head.
Sometimes I'll start with a drum pattern, sometimes a synth, sometimes I'll focus on the orchestra to begin with. Unfortunately this can lead to losing the inspiration sometimes if it doesn't work out immediately, either due to technical hitches or creative block, but that's a whole other topic altogether.

Nothing ever comes first. The only thing that comes later is mixing, which I do once I have the basic idea down and I start mixing as I go.

[Stars In Autumn]

My workflow is always changing, but this is what I do now for trance.
Load in kick, EQ and compress.
Load in snare, EQ and compress
Throw in something for the offbeat
Load in FL Keys and find a chord progression I like.
Sound design something I like for a lead
Find a melody that works with the chord progression
Build the track backwards from the melody to the intro (Bass, fx, other perc, fills, vocals or something).
Then the breakdown, design some pads and build up to the release from there.

[MRPPony]

Bass patterns are my absolute worst so my workflow usually goes like this:
Basic Kick
Basic Hihat patten
Sync up vocals (if its needed)
Rage/Stress over bass for roughly an hour
Chord prog. in nexus and listen if it goes well with the song i'm remixing
If all is good, I make the lead first, then pads, arps, fx, then go back and change/fix the kicks if i need to
Mix down/master it absolutely last.

I should start with the music first before laying down the foundation because my music sounds way too basic despite i've been using FLStudio for....ahh a few years.

[phantomignition]

What I want my workflow to be:
-Song structure
-Basic composition
-Synthesis stuff
-Change up composition a bit to make more interesting
-Touch up synthesis stuff
-Mix
-Master

Usually though, it starts off with me making a sound I like with short idea that I like, and then getting stuck on what to do after a measure or two. Most songs that end up finished usually start through me staying up really late and getting the basics of it done, then going back and touching it up. I only end up finishing a song like... maybe a fourth of the short ideas that I start, if that. I always have a lot of short ideas that I can't figure out how to build on just sitting around.

[Captain Ironhelm]

Chords & Melody
Biggest section of tune
rearrange and variations for the rest of the song's structure
mix!

[cloudshovit]

I try to schedule and do my programming and sample organizing at a different session. I want my music making session to be devoid of this activities. But the problem is, I sometimes get inspired while programming synths and auditioning my samples.

[cloudshovit]

Sound design in a continuing process. Sometimes I'll watch a tutorial and specifically try to make a certain sound just to have for later, with no intention of using it right away. Other times I'll make a sound from scratch while setting up a template, or have a vague idea of what I want to fill out a section and just flail helplessly in Massive until I stumble across it. Other times I deconstruct and remake preset sounds minus all the cheesy effects.

Composition is something that usually has to be inspired. Whether I'm going into it with an idea of what I want, or if I just have an idea for a chord progression that doesn't exist as anything other than Roman numerals at the moment, I've got to have a direction. And it usually happens all at once for the better songs - I'll sit down and start working, and a couple hours later, I'll have a rough version of my track. But this is the crucial aspect of my composition process: I don't add effects or incidental percussion to a composition project. I export all of the instrument tracks into a new folder, then dump them into a new project file to mix it as if it were recorded by a band in tracks.

From there, I do mixing and mastering, more precise sound design having to do with mixer inserts, and do what I do with sound effects, loops, and non-drum samples. I've only just started doing it this way, but I already like it a lot more - it may take more time, but it yields a more refined product. It really helps when mixing not to be worried by the temptation to alter the composition, and vice-versa.

This is what my work flow should be. Really good incites man!

[vladnuke]

I first find a quiet, peaceful place.

Then I fill that place with sound.

The problem is with the first step.

[Foxtrot89]

Kyoga's got a pretty good workflow going on. Definitely something to take into consideration and maybe imitate to an extent.

Worth mentioning, I never sound design around a song. Probably a habit I should break, but I create patches and then build songs around that. To each their own, I suppose.

[CommandSpry]

I load up either a piano or a staccato string patch, and just start writing the melody down. I don't care how long or how fitting or anything structural like to have an intro or an outro, I just write the notes that correspond to what I choose the subject of my song to be. Once I've written enough, I try and separate something along the lines of a riff, bridge, chorus, maybe fix some disconnects along the way, then decide if I want to keep it orchestral or replace the piano or the strings with something electronic. I always put some drums after I make the melody, just to hear how it sounds with different tempos and beats.

[cloudshovit]

thinking of finishing the structure first, chords, melodies, harmonies etc on a limited patch like a piano or a soundfont before using synths etc

[FLAOFEI]

Wow... you people are so organises 0.O
I usually start with makeing loops for bassline and drumms. Then alter the bass so i have 3 or 4 versions of any chord progression im useing. I do the same for drumms so I have a few different versions of the beat that all go to the bassline.
Then its time for the lead and arangeing the loops. I usually start with the intro and work my way through the track cronologically, just mostly putting out the loops I allready made, changeing them slightly if they dont fit, but allso ading a bunch of sounds, effects and automation as i go.
When I feel im done I render it and listen to it as an mp3, change anything that needs changeing, render again, same process again. Finaly it goes on my iPod and I listen to it even more, just to find anything bad. I usually dont change anything after that, even though I probably should...

Thats what it looks like when im successfull at a project. Sometimes though i skip the mp3 part and just release it strait away, and sometimes i give up on the project before i even started it...

[Djeinus]

What I do is open up Sibelius and then go crazy.

[Sonarch]

I think, without having the intention of making a song, I want to create a pool or library of stuff to draw from, like saving a bunch of layered drum samples, maybe making some drum patterns for use when I can't come up with a decent one, or designing cool sounds for potential use later. For me, in general, i'd probably need to start with some sort of structure to base everything around, be it a chord progression, or lyrics, or something to that effect.

[XXDarkShadow79XX]

Usually I do melodies/sequences first, or at least, I come up with them first. Then I build the sounds around that, work on the beat, then mix it all. (Yes, I mix when I'm writing, (GAWSH DEWNT YELL AT MEH) then I call it a night and forget about the track for the next few days. I finally decide to pick it up again, but then I get distracted and play Hitman. When I finally suck it up and start up teh FL Studios, I rush the rest of the track then shoddily master it within 5 minutes.

And that's my happy little workflow. ;D

[Nine Volt]

I don't know.

I start with drums and usually add FX and sweeps and stuff last.
I mix while writing sometimes too :3
And at the end I master.

[cloudshovit]

I am seriously thinking of just having an soundfont template to start with because I want to have a more musical output. If I start with a beat or synth line it tend to lose my focus and momentum by endlessy tweaking everything. So in the end I may find that sound I'm happy with but I don't a song which is more important.

[Omegastick]

The problem with having a set of sounds already set up so that you can get to work as fast as possible looks good on paper, but rarely works that way. It leads to all your songs sounding the same, as you build your songs around those sounds. No matter what order you remove them in the others are always going to be built around those sounds and it will be really quite difficult to add the variety needed. If you really want to do something like this then I suggest the Deadmau5 approach and sketch everything out with simple drum samples and saw waves.

Still, I prefer to get some drums down first, then my lead instrument (be that bass or a higher synth) and then everything else. I mix as I go, but always do an extra mixdown at the end for good measure.

As for how I structure the song: I start with whatever bit I'm inspired to make (almost always the drop) and then work outwards from there, building both forward and back. I usually decide the structure of the song in advance, but then once I've got it all arranged as I planned tweak it some to provide variety and to make the track flow nicer.

[JeremiS]

Well, normally, I guess I just get some drum samples that sound good and make a drumbeat with them, then I make a bassline and melody, and edit it all afterwards...

[ph00tbag]

I touch on this in the other thread here about workflow, but I'll go into a bit more detail.

It usually starts with some random idea, be it a melody, chord progression, synth riff, effect, beat, whatever. Then I build eight to 32 bars around that concept with a rhythm section that suits it. Next, I come up with a few more elements to develop the track with, and noodle around with them to figure out what sounds best on its own, and what sounds best with other stuff playing alongside it. I also try to figure out some good transitions between elements. At this point, I do some preliminary mixing to make sure everything sounds good.

Then comes the outline. Basically, I draw out a rough concept of how the track is going to develop in the playlist, and rough out how each element is going to transition into the others. During this, I don't put in any flashy effects, I just want to make sure the structure of the track is written down so I don't forget anything later. Once everything is written out, I start fleshing out the track with effects, transitional sounds, and automation.

Finally, once everything is written out, I do a final mixdown and mastering. I usually sit on the track for a week or so to listen to it on a couple of sound systems, just to get an idea for things that need to change.