Do you lay your drums first or your melody?

[CubaseRox]

I often start with a very skeletal drum beat. But even that can lock you in in subtle ways, sometimes without you realizing it.

That is true about "locking yourself in" now your committed to a particular drum beat. And not evey melody will fit with every drum beat (vice versa). So in my opinion and experiences you shouldn't start with the same thing all the time.

 

[92accordlxtuner]

i always wanted to ask this question too...lol

yea i usually start with drums, but i already have arrangements and melodies in my head when im layin drums down.

sometimes ill start the other way around. but like i said i have most of the song in my head alreasy.

i like the analogy of "you build a house by layin the foundation"...drums are the backbone, so i always feel confident laying them first.

it kind of creates the groove for the track.

 

[young_keyz]

That is true about "locking yourself in" now your committed to a particular drum beat. And not evey melody will fit with every drum beat (vice versa). So in my opinion and experiences you shouldn't start with the same thing all the time.

Yea thats how i feel. I use to start with my kick and snare and then lay the hi hats next and i have found that if you do the hats really crazy it will make the out come of your melody. Every time i make a beat i do things different plus i mix and match things. Ill 80 percent of the time start with drums first(no hi hats) just to get started. Next ill come up with a melody. ill try to work a chord progression to my melody next or ill lay the bass line. I have found that once your bass line and melody lock up you can always redo your drums to lock up with it too. If i match my base line to my drums at first it will dictate how my melody will sound. Ill only do this if my melody follows the bass line other wise i redo my drums to fit. Next i might add the hi hats now! I think at this point i have pretty clear picture where this track is going. Ill then copy my four bars(i always start with that) to 8 bars and ill add some odd stuff from time to time (that magic that takes ya mind off whats going on in the track). Last ill add something different for the hook part, no matter big or small. While doing all this ill keep redoing the drums over to fit the track more and more. Sometimes the drum patt i started with always stay the same and some times it dont!

 

[Charizma]

Drums first and foremost for me but on the odd occasion its the melody that i begin with.

 

[Lehoo]

When i was starting out i would do the drum pattern first, then I would try the melody, which was a trial and error process. I had no idea what i was doing or what key it was in, now i try to come up with stuff on the keyboard first, chords and everything. It's hard this way but its easier to tell if you have something good if you can listen to it without any accompaniment

 

[harlley]

I like to start with drums, and feel more confortable with it. But then I can't put a f**king melody in it, because it simply doesn't fit.

Very frustrating...

 

[CCITY513]

Like most everbody else is saying...it depends.

If I'm doing something that is sample-based, I establish the melody first. The reason for this is that a sample, for the most part, no matter how much you tinker with it, is what it is. Working drum and bass parts around a sample results in a much more natural and uniform sound. You have absolute freedom with your drum and bass patterns, you are fairly restricted when it comes to your sample(s) if you like them in their original form. So in my opinion, it makes more sense to work in that order when sampling.

In terms of playing original music, it's either or. Given the fact that your are in total control of every piece of the composition, no piece of the music is enslaved by another, and thus, you have no boundaries.

Different methods for different styles.

 

[E30Mill]

When there are no drums present, thats where the metronome comes in handy.

why use a corny ass metronome when i can have a basic beat that can be changed and grow into hot drum pattern open your mind people. a tick doesn't inspire ****.

 

[harlley]

why use a corny ass metronome when i can have a basic beat that can be changed and grow into hot drum pattern open your mind people. a tick doesn't inspire ****.

Seems you didn't read your own quote. Please, read it again.

 

[85maestro]

its a lot easier to play keys along to a metronome then it is to be hearing snares hit, if not a metronome atleast a static closed hi-hat pattern
& for me, its even easier just to play without anything, just when its recorded that way, there's minor errors, because your part is loose & the drums are quantized, that's why musicians tap their foot while they play, to get that metronome feel

 

[CubaseRox]

why use a corny ass metronome when i can have a basic beat that can be changed and grow into hot drum pattern open your mind people. a tick doesn't inspire ****.

This has got to be one of the silliest things ever said in this forum!!!!

Dude, if you have no other drums present and no melody playing and you are just starting out with a kick how the f*ck are you to keep the tempo without a "tick"?

You wont even know when the down beat comes in without the metronome.

You use the metronome as a simple guide until you have a kick playing on beat and then you can shut it off.

I myself sometimes leave it running for the fact that it sounds like I am in creation mode.

 

[Jam-Jam]

It depends on what kind of melody u have...me personally i lay my drums first

 

[youngE]

I definately go with the melody first it seems to flow better that way and then its easier to add in drum rolls, effects, etc.

 

[yamex5]

My experience has been to:

1) Plan out the harmony before you even start thinking about recording.

2) Using a metronome to keep time, lay down a rhythmic track with guitar or keyboards, so you know how to lay the percussion down.

3) Record the percussion track(s). Now that you have a rhythm/chordal track, you know where the verses, choruses and bridges are and where and when to transition!

4) Now you can scrap the original rhythm track, and put down a new track, using the solid percussion.

I agree that this will not work in every situation, but it's been the most reliable, versatile plan I've found yet.
- Mike

 

[E30Mill]

This has got to be one of the silliest things ever said in this forum!!!!

Dude, if you have no other drums present and no melody playing and you are just starting out with a kick how the f*ck are you to keep the tempo without a "tick"?

You wont even know when the down beat comes in without the metronome.

You use the metronome as a simple guide until you have a kick playing on beat and then you can shut it off.

I myself sometimes leave it running for the fact that it sounds like I am in creation mode.

dude!!!! I know some of you guys are new to this but most every program/sequencer has an auto tick in record mode as a default, thus there is no need to lay your own. So when i say you shouldn't start with a tick it's beacause it's already there.

 

[lokura]

i always always always make a simple drum pattern first. I cant stand the damn metronome. So i make a hit-clap-hit-clap tempo just so i can lay down the melody.
I guess u could say i lay down my own metronome, so i pretty much i start with the melody, and then build into the makin the drum pattern better.

1

 

[protean]

dude!!!! I know some of you guys are new to this but most every program/sequencer has an auto tick in record mode as a default, thus there is no need to lay your own. So when i say you shouldn't start with a tick it's beacause it's already there.

I think people ARE referring to the built- in metronome in your sequencer simply to keep time. I really don't think they are talking about laying down/recording the metronome sound of the actual physical device on top of the melody track. That would b silly.

 

[protean]

I really don't think they are talking about laying down/recording the metronome sound of the actual physical device on top of the melody track. That would b silly.

...and i know you didn't imply recording it on top of the melody track as one track, but as a separate "drum" track. i know i know. time to leave work, my brain is fried.

 

[Jugo]

I Think we should leave our paradigms behind, after all we live in the wonderfull Digital Audio era.

It seems to me that the posibilities are lot bigger than that. I´ve started track with ambiente/concrete sound i´ve come with while sound designing, but then i´ve deconstruct my guitar practice recordings for use in RnB tracks. All of this witing (hoping) tahat some sort of sinergy spark in my tracks

I´ve also found quite often that the part wich "inpired" the song ( a synth line, drumloop) does not longer work with the final version & have to be cut out (sadly).

Fco.Jugo

 

[Wals Kronkite]

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