Lead Synth Workflow & Confusion....???

C

Chew_Bear

New member
It seems like I can can never get satisfied or happy with my lead melody or the timbre/sound of the synth/instrument.

So...

1. Which should you work on first...??? Melody/Composition Or Sound Design...???

Some things I have noticed...

The timbre of the synth/sound/instrument...Kind of determines what melody the instrument 'naturally' wants to 'move' to.

Because...Obviously, you will get a different timbre/sound, depending on which octave you choose to work in...

Higher scale (C3 and above) = Higher pitched/frequency timbre/sound. E.G. Leads.

I.E. Wants to naturally be shorter/pluckier. Shorter and pluckier sounds like to move fast and with more variation across the scale/notes.

Lower scale (C2 and lower) = Lower pitched/frequency timbre/sound. E.G. Basses.

I.E. Wants to naturally be longer/drawn out. Longer and more drawn out sounds like to move a lot slower across the scale/notes and don't like a lot of variation between notes. They like to 'stick close to each other'.

Therefore...More importantly...

2. How do these 2 concepts of sound design and composition work with each other in a good way (for you)...???

3. Can it be said that they can also work in a bad way (against each other) and ultimately...against you...???

4. How do you know when you finally have the "perfect marriage" of BOTH, melody and Timbre/Sound...???

Because...I will literally go 'BACK AND FORTH' between sound design/synth tweaking and melody work/music composition many times...until almost an hour has passed and what I end up with in the end...Is now totally different from what I had originally or a few 'tweaks ago', where I thought I might of had something good/worthy. After an hour and lots of tweaks...it just seems to get worse no matter what I do.

Sorry for the long winded thread.
 
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Some people will prefer to tinker with their sounds until they attain their goal/vision or stumble upon something that suits their needs (or just ends up sounding cool). Some people will just let the sounds themselves lead them in their melody-making. And some people will just use whichever sounds to make their melodies and worry about the actual timbre later. I guess I personally tend to both tweak the sound as I'm "finding" the melody, and I'd wager that's what a lot of people do. But there are no rights and wrongs here, and I doubt forcing your workflow into a mold that works for some people would be beneficial for you. You just need to hone your style & skills until you a) get there faster and b) know when to stop.
 
krushing said:
Some people will prefer to tinker with their sounds until they attain their goal/vision or stumble upon something that suits their needs (or just ends up sounding cool). Some people will just let the sounds themselves lead them in their melody-making. And some people will just use whichever sounds to make their melodies and worry about the actual timbre later. I guess I personally tend to both tweak the sound as I'm "finding" the melody, and I'd wager that's what a lot of people do. But there are no rights and wrongs here, and I doubt forcing your workflow into a mold that works for some people would be beneficial for you. You just need to hone your style & skills until you a) get there faster and b) know when to stop.
Click to expand...

Depending what your goal is.
I usually end up with an 8 bar loop with a few instruments, tinkering all kinds of settings and whatnot, enjoying the sound I produce at that time.
I have different approaches to making a track though. I just go with whatever feels right at the time. Depending on my mood.
 
Chew's questions are good but in my opinion all of his questions is one of personal preference and not music theory.
Sound Design and stuff, parameters etc all of the stuff he asks is not from Y to Z it's whether or not Q should always be done in W.

When it comes to certain things it's not a matter of whether or not it should always be like whatever is being asked, but whether or not this gets to the point of desired effect man.
 
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