Your songwriting process

T

TuneOrg

New member
Hey,
I'm a production newb with around 1-2 years of messing around with FL Studio under my belt.
I've been playing music for over a decade as a punk rocker and I've just been sick and tired of dealing with band egos and trying to find bandmates who aren't flakes... so I decided to focus entirely on making music off my computer.
Anyway, I'm used to writing songs by busting out my acoustic guitar, jamming on some riffs and chords until something fits, and then singing a basic vocal melody over it. But I feel a little lost getting started on writing tracks off FL Studio.

What are your guys' favorite songwriting rituals to get your ideas flowing and putting a basic song idea down? Do you start with a bassline, jam on some piano chords, or lay down a beat? Ever write anything good with FL's randomizer/riff machine tools? I'd be really interested in hearing ideas on how you guys get started.
 
I just read an article about a famous producer who said he find a single sound he likes and goes from there. I have had more inspiration by getting a bass line or groove down, maybe a good sequence that I get that "feeling" from. I then have been adding different drum kits and rhythm's until that feels right. I am at this point on a track right now. I have a feel for the song type so have been listening to other similar songs in the genre to see what sounds good for ideas.
 
I don't know what genre or style you're into, but I'll just give you my process anyway.
Hopefully you'll find it helpful.

I either come up with an idea, or just fool around until I get an idea.
The idea is mostly a basic loop with the most important elements (mostly focusing on the melodies and not on the sounds themselves that much, no more than a vague idea of what kind of sounds I want). The loop is at the height of the song.

I then start working on the idea as a short loop, and spend several hours on just adding elements and tweaking the sounds until I have a full and ready loop with (according to me) a massive beat and hooking melody etc.
After that I start with the intro and work my way through the track, focusing on the foundation of the track.
When the core of the track is ready (probably 70-80 % of the track) I add all fine adjustments, extra soundlayers to complement the song, and so on.

While producing, I take notes on what to do next to make it more efficient (and I think it boosts my creativity as well).
So at the next session, I may have tons of things written down that I want to try out.

Though this is of course more for purely electronic music, but maybe you find something you can implement in your own production. :)
 
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steffeeh said:
I don't know what genre or style you're into, but I'll just give you my process anyway.
Hopefully you'll find it helpful.

I either come up with an idea, or just fool around until I get an idea.
The idea is mostly a basic loop with the most important elements (mostly focusing on the melodies and not on the sounds themselves that much, no more than a vague idea of what kind of sounds I want). The loop is at the height of the song.

I then start working on the idea as a short loop, and spend several hours on just adding elements and tweaking the sounds until I have a full and ready loop with (according to me) a massive beat and hooking melody etc.
After that I start with the intro and work my way through the track, focusing on the foundation of the track.
When the core of the track is ready (probably 70-80 % of the track) I add all fine adjustments, extra soundlayers to complement the song, and so on.

While producing, I take notes on what to do next to make it more efficient (and I think it boosts my creativity as well).
So at the next session, I may have tons of things written down that I want to try out.

Though this is of course more for purely electronic music, but maybe you find something you can implement in your own production. :)
Click to expand...
So you build the chorus first, then go back to the start and go from left to right to finish the rest?
 
do just like you use to do it...I think you should have choose a different DAW as singer/songwriter
this is my option but Cubase/Pro Tools/Studio One
would have been a "better" choice
and these are my reasons
1.You like to play your acoustic guitar to get your backing melody
you could buy some rock based drum loops there are free rock based MIDI drum loops out there to(or create them) and play your acoustic guitar until your find something you like

2.record your acoustic guitar to that drum loop

3. write to that acoustic guitar/drum loop

4. add bass guitar loops or create them to add more to your song

5. add ab-libs vocal backing

6. mix your song

7. do loudness mastering yes Loudness Mastering "just for display purpose"

yes all this can be done in FL Studio

check out these two videos

you can use MIDI drum loops or Electronic Drum Kit



 
Yumid said:
So you build the chorus first, then go back to the start and go from left to right to finish the rest?
Click to expand...

Kind of.
Sometimes I make more than 1 loop. I can make a full loop of the chorus and a full loop for the break, and why not even a full loop for the intro if I want to have a certain signature to it.
And I can go from left to right several times if necessary and applying more and more tocthe track.
The process isn't the exact for each track, different tracks need different approaches.
 
I normally start by building the drums (layering sounds, etc.), and then I make a very simple pattern that is the staple of the genre I'm doing (the amen break for drum and bass, for example).

Then, I choose what instrument I'll use for percussion (if it even is a instrument. Can be some different synthetic sounds as well), and create a basic pattern.

Then, I start messing around with a synth, to get a good ambient pad (normally it is massive), and work on the intro.

Then, I start making the bass (or basses), and, at this point, I start working with the bass together with the drums and percussion, to make them fit well together. Then, I decide what will be good for a chorus and verse.

Then, I start messing with the synth again, for the breakdown.

Rinse and repeat. Normally, when making drum and bass, I usually follow that structure normally used: intro with 48bars (including the build up and drop), verse with 16-32 bars, chorus with 32-64 bars (including build down), breakdown with 16-32 bars (including buildup/drop), verse (with some minor changes), chorus 32-64 bars (with some minor changes), outro (with as many bars as I see that fit).
 
If you're starting from scratch, i would prefer you to choose a professional DAW like Ableton,Cubase etc.
On all my projects, because of i'm a Trance producer, i'm starting to imagine a melody, after i basically imagine it on my mind, then i'm starting to implement it on midi notes.
 
jkendler said:
If you're starting from scratch, i would prefer you to choose a professional DAW like Ableton,Cubase etc.
On all my projects, because of i'm a Trance producer, i'm starting to imagine a melody, after i basically imagine it on my mind, then i'm starting to implement it on midi notes.
Click to expand...

Thanks to everybody for your replies.
What makes Ableton, Cubase, etc. more professional than FL Studio, out of curiosity? I've read that FL Studio gets a bad rap but it is just as good as every other DAW. What is your opinion?
 
TuneOrg said:
Thanks to everybody for your replies.
What makes Ableton, Cubase, etc. more professional than FL Studio, out of curiosity? I've read that FL Studio gets a bad rap but it is just as good as every other DAW. What is your opinion?
Click to expand...

There's nothing particularly less professional about FL studio or more professional about the other DAWs. Just forget all about that and use the software you like to work with and leave it at that until you need to consider it for a specific reason.
 
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TuneOrg said:
Thanks to everybody for your replies.
What makes Ableton, Cubase, etc. more professional than FL Studio, out of curiosity? I've read that FL Studio gets a bad rap but it is just as good as every other DAW. What is your opinion?
Click to expand...

Let's pick a rather interesting thread, and turn it into "What is the best DAW" thread.
 
there is no best DAW I suggested Pro Tools,Cubase,Studio One because you're mostly recording and I found Cubase is the best DAW for ME when it comes to for recording,mixing,and "loudness Mastering"
I will never record songs in FL Studio but that's my choice

I make all my instrumentals in FL Studio though
 
when it comes to making tunes i dont start in any particular order, sometimes i could be messing with drum samples, playing a piano or trying to program a sound and an idea just clicks. most of the time i try to get the main part of the song done first and then the intro and then find a way to blend in each section. once the first half of the arrangement is done i copy paste it and thats half the work done.
 
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