after you flip a sample, what do you aim for to fill out the rest of the track?

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notoriousben15

New member
i have no problems creating a dope loop (using Reason 4.0 and Recycle), but after i lay somethin down, i always have trouble trying to fill out the rest of the song. Sometimes it sounds fine just bein a sample over drums, but i feel like it's kind of too easy. I'm not showing off my producer skills.

For example, i've been sampling a lot of music by the Black Keys. I make a sick guitar loop, sometimes flip it 3 or 4 different ways, but i have trouble trying to add in any other instruments.

So i'm just curious as to what you guys aim for? Lead synths? Pads? Do you try and fill instruments in where the loop has gaps or try and play over the loop? Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks guys.

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 AM ----------

also how do you add in songs in on these forums? I would love to put one of my tracks up and get some tips directly
 
I generally build my tracks around drums and percussion and add the sample after that. Then add some bass maybe some synths or fx but not usually depends on the beat. The melodic element should come 2nd to the groove of the track.
 
i do mines oppoite................i actually look for a sample that fits the mood that I want the beat to have, sometimes i find a loop, and loop two parts of the song, some songs have parts where u can create a beat out of it
 
Like spektor says : just look for a sample that fits the mood that I want the beat to have.easiest way
 
hmm alright, thats interesting to me. Can someone give me an example? I mean i usually just look through songs until i find something that sounds cool to sample, then i play around with it until i find something i like. But you guys are telling me that you find a sample that fits the mood of the song. What type of stuff are you sampling?

I generally have sampled from cd's that are more like solo instrumentation. I'm not very experienced with sampling from more contemporary songs b/c once the drums kick in, it's difficult for me to get clean cuts to play around with.

so like if you were trying to make a more upbeat, kind of dance song maybe, you lay the drums down, and then sample from what kind of song? are you chopping up the sample in between where the drums are on the original track, or sampling from the first 15 seconds of a song before the drums kick in?
 
bass line , percs and sum effects .. mayb ... it depends on the sample for guitar loops that has more than one guitar playing goes gud with a solid bassline
 
notoriousben15 said:
hmm alright, thats interesting to me. Can someone give me an example? I mean i usually just look through songs until i find something that sounds cool to sample, then i play around with it until i find something i like. But you guys are telling me that you find a sample that fits the mood of the song. What type of stuff are you sampling?

I generally have sampled from cd's that are more like solo instrumentation. I'm not very experienced with sampling from more contemporary songs b/c once the drums kick in, it's difficult for me to get clean cuts to play around with.

so like if you were trying to make a more upbeat, kind of dance song maybe, you lay the drums down, and then sample from what kind of song? are you chopping up the sample in between where the drums are on the original track, or sampling from the first 15 seconds of a song before the drums kick in?
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You need to start choppin different types of music and experiment. I used to just chop the beginning of songs for the same reason, I was inexperienced. The technique in which you chop all depends on the sample, so every song/beat is different. There's nothin wrong with choppin on the drums. You can try choppin on the kicks and snares. Once you throw a filter on and lay down your own drums over it, it's hard to even tell they're there. It also layers your drums with the ones in the sample. Just do you and experiment..
 
After a find a sample and chop it up, I'll just try to find the best percussions. Then I'll add a bassline. To fill out the track, try to do more than one pattern, and do drops and instrument solos.
 
I start out with finding a sample i like and choping out the parts I want to use. Then I add drums, perc, bassline, fx etc.
 
I like to make a nice melody and then of course some kind of change-up (whether it be for a chorus or whatever) and if there's not much else to do with the sample I like to add sound effects here and there. I feel it creates somewhat of a diversion to where you don't need to add an unnecessary amount of synths and what not.
 
PerplexBlackSheep said:
at the end of the day its on how you feel at that moment routines are ment to be broken Back To Basic's- instrumental by Gods Left Ear on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
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He's got it right. Same thing isn't going to work on every beat. Can't get caught in some sort of step by step process that's the same everytime cause 1)it will stifle your creativity and 2)it just isn't going to work.

Sometimes I do drums first (meaning I found a dope break) and sometimes the melody sampling comes first. Sometimes the beats are just some nice chops looped, sometimes it's looped chops with other part from the song interspersed sparingly, sometimes I look to other songs for little touches, sometimes i'll add some sort of vocals sampling, sometimes the drums build, sometimes blah blah blah. Just go with the flow it'll all start to happen if you really want it to.
 
i will usually juz poke around with drums....finding ones that go good with the sample...and if the sample has a light drum pattern to it then i will try to kinda go along with it adding my own lil twist
 
i go back to the song and try find something to chop that might go as a hook, usually fitting my bass with the sample and adding a synth or two and layering drums.
 
I kind of have the same problem some times. Usually i look for a nice sample, i cut and chop it and create a drum pattern around it. Then i add a bass line and basically thats it. You dont need your beats to be to busy or something, especially if you have rather soulfull samples including a lot of instruments.
 
I agree with the poster above me.

Don't overcrowd a beat. Sometimes after you have a sample chopped up with drums, all you need is a bassline, some extra percussion, and small sound effects to complete an environment or mood. Really listen to your loop and decide if you feel like it's missing something (this is what I do). Then try to imagine something added on, but only if it's missing something. Make sure everything has a purpose.
 
I know there are a ton of videos on youtube or whatever, but i hate sorting through them to find the ones that relate to what im tryin to do. Does anybody know if there is a good, detailed video out there that could help me? Like for example, i hate the vids where they dont even talk, they go through the whole process but don't explain shit you know? Let me know folks, thanks!
 
Your answer has already been told...
There's no one way to fill it up, assuming it needs that.
Look...sit the hell down, and listen to it. But LISTEN. and let your mind do the rest. If you take your time with a track, it'll start to come together.
What kind of video would you expect anyways? This is art fam, not a science. Especially when it comes to sampling. Just be creative.
 
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