Help with composing tracks

AngryWildMango

AngryWildMango
here is my soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/angrywildmango
Now when i start a track i usually start from the beginning with a melody or beat and go from there by going from the intro-buildup-drop-chorus-breakdown-buildup-drop-chorus-extro (just an example)
I myself can feel the flow throughout the whole song, but what most people say about my tracks is that the beginning does not go with the chorus and sometimes the breakdown as well.
Now could you give me tips on how I could fix this. So my tracks feel as one song. Not two songs put together. Should I make the chorus first? then do the intro for it? or should i do what i have been doing, but just really try to formulate the chorus with the intro better.
Any links to videos, books, articles, would help too. I am very serious about being a producer, so I would highly like some help with this. i feel that at the moment this is my current weakness with my tracks.
Thanks for you time, and especially if you try to help.




(sorry if this is the wrong section for this thread)
 
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I listened to your tracks Petrichor, Twilight Jungle, and Mountain 367. I have to say, I can understand why some fans might say that. Though honestly, some of the sounds you made are really cool. You have a real talent for highlighting the bizarre.


I should preface everything by reminding you that your genre is labeled as "experimental". I'd describe it as "electronic avant-garde", if you'll allow me to invent a genre. Regarding music, "avante-garde" is codeword for "bat-s*** crazy". You've got elements that are just wild, but also elements that are electropop or EDM. If you're truly going for experimental, half the point is to be weirder than your audience expects. Some will think you're a visionary while most while click the Next Track button. Some people really like being that artist.


Your intros tend to be really long, and to lack all structure of rhythm. I'd recommend getting to the point of the song a lot faster, and try adding percussion from the very beginning, or very close to it.

Your musical ideas are cool, but the transitions do seem off-putting. My earliest creations (much less interesting than yous) sounded like that. I was thinking of a song as a bunch of random musical tangents strung together instead of a cohesive story.

And probably the biggest reason your music sounds this way is that it isn't anchored by vocals. Vocals tend to tell the story of the song; they determine the shape of the song. One could use one dominant instrument to determine the shape of the song all the way through. But absent of both, a song can sound like a bunch of cool ideas crammed together. I'd say fix it or accept it.


What I would recommend is developing one chorus, then one similar verse. Maybe they share some common instruments or other common elements? They should sound related when flowing from one to the other and back again. After you get two or three unique song sections like this, that are mildly related and can be placed right next to each other, space them out a bit to create transition sections. But now that you know where you're coming from and where you're going, the transitions will make more sense. Lastly, make the intro and outro.

Again, focus on the core elements of the song first: verse and chorus. Then work on transitions and oddball sections. Finally, work on intros and outros.
 
Nice to find you in Google Music. I added An Afternoon of Danger to my "Artist Discovery" playlist. You'll get some tiny royalties from me. =]
 
Thank you Milo! This is exactly what I was hoping someone would help me with. You are right with the whole "weird thing. That's exactly what I go for. I do not want to be like every other producer. Most just follow the trend of whats popular. I do what i want. I will definitely follow what you said, thanks a ton. Also thank you for the Google music add. Always means alot. I make music for one reason. To make others happy. So I am glad you enjoyed it.

Also how did you find me on google music? ha
 
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I always start with whatsoever I feel more comfortable to start with

most of times it may be looking at my presents or sound design, and search for something that inspire me to compose, I may listen a bunch of different songs, to create a better vision of what am I about to do

I don't really start with the idea of making best possible melody, what I do is I simply try a bunch of different things until I feel like something is working
 
What personally helps me to make my parts cohesive is this trick:

(1) Loop the loop that you are working with
(2) Once you have enough movements to keep the ear interested and engaged, mute some parts (like the main melody for example)
(3) Write new parts to fill the void.
(4) Unmute all the crap you have. You'll have a ton. Split it all in half. Now you have a verse and a chorus!
 
Hey AngryWildMango,

Just listened to Petrichor and have to agree with pretty much everything Milo Burke has said.
A couple of additions if you are interested in commercial songwriting:

I recommend writing a couple of simple pop songs to train yourself in what is standard practice in songwriting.
Then when you understand how "normal" songs work, you move on and add your own twist to it.
I really like some of your sections and some of them are actually quite commercial - you have a lot of talent
and I recommend experimenting with more standard structure to reach a bigger audience. You can still do all
of your weird sounds, just package them in a more normal way (more on this process here).

Secondly, if you want coherence, don't change your instruments for every new section. Stick with some basic
sounds. Stick with one tempo, one key and one or two grooves. It may help to write a song using only 5 tracks
to limit yourself. At the moment your songs are all over the place. Figure out what the core of your song is and
then make all of your song about that.

Hope this helps,
Friedemann
 
An analogy:

A lot of students think they have to write a paper in the direction it will be read. Start with the intro, then move to the body. The trouble is that when you write in this order, the paper feels scattered and disjointed.

Any writing professor will tell you to write the body of the paper first. Because it could and probably will change as you go (unless you have a super solid outline). After the body of the paper feels nearly complete, and you're really sure what the paper is about, that's when you write the introduction and the conclusion.


Same goes for your songwriting: figure out what the song is about first by making the choruses and verses first. After those have largely come together, then you put together an intro and an outro that fit. The song will feel much more cohesive and have better flow.


I found you on Google Music just by searching in Google Music. Searching for Twilight Jungle lead me to your EP.
 
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