One thing I noticed for sure is that I get almost no ideas in those periods where I don't play for a few days, weeks... Like now. When I'm playing, listening, surrounding myself with music and musical ideas 24/7, i sometimes can't keep up with all the stuff popping up in my head. Sometimes i realize i have whole lists of ideas in the form of 2+ bar melodies or even a couple of chords and not too many actual songs. But if I play some of the stuff that I do have, I later hear continuations in my head. Its like this with a lot of my stuff. But everyone experiences inspiration in a slightly different way...
How do you usually come up with music?
- Thread starter Lehoo
- Start date
I
I_watch_stars
Guest
Does anyone else here compose while they dream? Its really annoying sometimes because I compose a song in my sleep, but forget it when you wake up...and I KNOW it was a really tight song! Arrrgg...
I watch stars - yes. It's annoying isn't it. But for me it also raises the question of whether we should credit ourselves for many - if not most, or all - of our compositions. Some composers say they don't want to be given credit because they believe it's some greater force (God or whatever) working through them. I don't care though; if it's tight and sounds right I just want to work on it and guide the musical idea to its conclusion. I also read that it's not good to judge a musical idea in the heat of inspiration - that messes you up and fouls the music with rational, dualistic notions. Judgment and criticism of your work should come later IMO. Maybe I think too much but the point is not to think when you're 'receiving' these ideas.
M
matic1
Guest
One rule of thumb: its good if it sounds good (unless you have bad taste in music, then your just screwed). I hear music in my head all the time. Sometimes I'll just hear a sound and it would give me an idea for a melody, or a sample, or a few notes I play on the keyboard. Once I have my melody I arrange the rest of the track around the melody, following the mood and style
Damn that's a good idea. I'm always makin' dope beats in my head at school but foget them once I get home.R2B said:
welcome to the club mate. I also get the best ideas when I'm far away from anything music related. I've got a lil voice recorder on my mobile. The sound's really wack but good enough to recall the idea once I'm back at an instrument.
easy
B#
LoL, that's happened a couple times but I actually hear most my songs before I go to bed but am too lazy to get up and make them once I get in bed.I_watch_stars said:
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I
InSight-Beats
Guest
like you said Lehoo .. I get on the piano .. create a melody, work around that melody .. VOILA !! I got a beat !!
(R)Con
New member
beat development
I'm so glad I'm not the only person that uses their cellphone to record ideas. haha. I thought I was a genious for thinking of that, but I always felt stupid doing it. Gotta sneak off to a bathroom or some **** and hum into a phone. I always think about how stupid it would look if someone walked in and caught me doing. Be like, "WTF?!" haha. But yeah, it works.
I gotta admit, I like to cheat. When I set out to make a beat, the first thing I will usually do is listen to some music, usually with the intent to sample. Usually it is some crazy **** I would never normally listen to. Then, when I hear something usable or that I like, I will sample it, chop it, and use the notes I end up with in the melody I chop to determine the key and chord changes I will use in the rest of the melodic layers. It usally depends on the mood of the beat I am making, but usually I go to the drum beat first, then the bass line, then accent riffs and progressions. The funkier the sample, the funkier I get with the ideas and the more abstract I generally approach the process. But yea, I am a sample guy.
I do make beats stricktly synth sometimes, but I have to have an amazingly good idea to do that. But usually, it turns out pretty good.
Just so everyone knows, the secret to Timbaland's sound is that he starts his beats in the booth, with his mouth. He has been a beatboxer his whole life. So he makes the whole beat with his mouth, track by track with his mouth, then he uses synths around that and takes out whatever mouth sounds he doesn't like and leaves the ones he does like. Next time you listen to one of his beats, it will make perfect sense. haha. Crazy how many ways there are to make a beat.
I'm so glad I'm not the only person that uses their cellphone to record ideas. haha. I thought I was a genious for thinking of that, but I always felt stupid doing it. Gotta sneak off to a bathroom or some **** and hum into a phone. I always think about how stupid it would look if someone walked in and caught me doing. Be like, "WTF?!" haha. But yeah, it works.
I gotta admit, I like to cheat. When I set out to make a beat, the first thing I will usually do is listen to some music, usually with the intent to sample. Usually it is some crazy **** I would never normally listen to. Then, when I hear something usable or that I like, I will sample it, chop it, and use the notes I end up with in the melody I chop to determine the key and chord changes I will use in the rest of the melodic layers. It usally depends on the mood of the beat I am making, but usually I go to the drum beat first, then the bass line, then accent riffs and progressions. The funkier the sample, the funkier I get with the ideas and the more abstract I generally approach the process. But yea, I am a sample guy.
I do make beats stricktly synth sometimes, but I have to have an amazingly good idea to do that. But usually, it turns out pretty good.
Just so everyone knows, the secret to Timbaland's sound is that he starts his beats in the booth, with his mouth. He has been a beatboxer his whole life. So he makes the whole beat with his mouth, track by track with his mouth, then he uses synths around that and takes out whatever mouth sounds he doesn't like and leaves the ones he does like. Next time you listen to one of his beats, it will make perfect sense. haha. Crazy how many ways there are to make a beat.