Structuring Your Track & Keeping It Interesting

[raige]

big thanks legend4ry. this is probably one of my biggest gripes when it comes to making tracks. no matter what kind of music I listen to I can tell what the verse, chorus, bridge, and all that good stuff is, but when I try to make my own track I get lost in the fray.

[traffek]

Is it weird that I pay attention to time rather than bars? For instance I usually use about :30, :45 (rarely 1:00 but sometimes) intros, about 1:00 to 1:30 loop, :30, :45 (rarely 1:00 but sometimes) breakdown, and finish it out with about a 1:00 to 2:00 second bit/loop (exact times relative to BPM).

I'm on bored with the "just let the track do what it wants" philosophy, however there is often and editing process to reel in tracks that get...off track.

I generally write tracks in a linear fashion (intro to outro), but have recently gotten into arranging a "bare bones" version of the 64 bar loop then starting with the intro.

Some one had asked melody or drums a earlier...I've been trying lots of different things. Track I'm focused on at the moment I took some advice from Basic A and started with just writing all the ambient/atmospheric parts of the track, made that sound full and lush, arranged that bit of the track front and back, then went back and wrote drums, bass, melody etc. Also really focused on making the pads/atmospheric not just full/lush but melodic elements that play off of each other even if they are low down in the mix--gotta say I'm *really* happy w/ the results so far. Hoping to post some results soon.

im on the bare bones thing too. some would say this is totally wrong, but after making my main beat and placing it where i want, will structure out entirely ALL of the drums for the track without even laying down bass. it has really been helping my flow and allowing me to escape loop regiments of bass (which has been holding me back i feel) arpeggios are another thing pulling me down but thats another thread. i too say do what makes you happy.

[howiegroove]

Hey Leg, great thread meng, but I think I'm finally gonna chime in.

It really depends on what you are making music for and how you want to convey it. If you want chill music, cool. But I like dubstep that gets people's ass's shaking. I think of it like this. When I'm digging a track fully, I always have the same reaction, and thats at the drop. When it builds and builds and builds, and then drops, I start to bounce up and down. So typically I like to make my peak sections first and foremost. Once I have a 16 bar loop, I will make variations of this and tweak the sounds to make it sound full. Then its all about arranging and creativity from a different perspective. Once you have all your parts (not including FX), you can create other parts and lines from the main part of your song. So you would take the pad you created and the sidechained noise, and the hihats (or whatever) and add them to your intro. Then you pull other parts from your peak and continue making changes every 8 bars, and remember to make larger changes every 16 and/or 32 bars to keep it interesting. However, you dont always need to add in elements, which is where creativity comes in. What can you do with what you have. If you do this, you will get sounds that fit with what you already have instead of creating a completely new instrument to play. Also, change up the midi notes or the fills or the drum patterns slightly. All of this creates interest to the listener, whether they realize it or not.

In the end, if I am making a track and it drops and when I get built up and it drops....and it doesnt make me go DAMMMMMMNNNNNNNNN!!!!! WOOOOAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! or WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!, then there need to be changes made. Only the best tracks make it to the light of day.