Song Construction Process? -ACID Product Family - MAGIX Community Forums Archive

Subject:Song Construction Process? Posted by: spinweb Date:1/13/2005 8:06:16 AM Gee, guess I'm on a roll here today. Topic #3. OK. This should be a rich thread. Can folks describe their recording process, not in terms of equipment and tech. stuff, but rather from laying down tracks, editing, etc. How do you go from coming up with an idea for a song, to the #1 hit you are about to take over the world with? I'll start. 1. Drink coffee. ;-) (Get real. Nothing happens in this world without caffeine!) 2. Noodle around on guitar. 3. Go to laptop and (usually) find a drum loop that sort of works with the guitar part. Note - this was because before ACID v5, there was no metrognome. However, even though this could be a pain (i.e., I was dying to lay down my latest, brllliant guitar wizardry), there were many happy accidents that happened by fiddling with drum loops that may not have if I just strummed the guitar part. I highly encourage such play. 4. Drag drum part for 100 bars or so. 5. Play it while recording guitar part. 6. Then record another guitar part. 7. Add bass, vocals, etc. The problem with this is that I often wind up with a mess. It is a blessing and a curse to be able to start recording a demo the second I think up a song. The blessing is obvious. The curse is that the song has no time to ferment. Songs need to be banged on... played live, other musicians need to add their spins. Yadda^3. What do the really good folks do? Do you sit down at the start and make sure the drums and bass are rock solid before adding anything else? How can you do that if the song starts on guitar and may go through several iterations. Is there any way to speed this process up? I have a song I really like now, that's basically a mess. It looks like I need to go back and start from the groun dup. Sigh. So many songs, so little time. The thing is, it's so darn exciting to just GO WITH IT in the moment? Right? Your song is rockin and yer like "Let's add a keyboard part!!!" Oh, now some bass! It needs a lead guitar!" HELP! Ain't this all SO MUCH FUN?! Rick

Gee, guess I'm on a roll here today. Topic #3.

OK. This should be a rich thread.

Can folks describe their recording process, not in terms
of equipment and tech. stuff, but rather from laying down
tracks, editing, etc. How do you go from coming up with an
idea for a song, to the #1 hit you are about to take over the
world with?

I'll start.

1. Drink coffee. ;-) (Get real. Nothing happens in this world without caffeine!)
2. Noodle around on guitar.
3. Go to laptop and (usually) find a drum loop that sort of works with the guitar part.
Note - this was because before ACID v5, there was no metrognome. However, even
though this could be a pain (i.e., I was dying to lay down my latest, brllliant guitar wizardry), there were many happy accidents that happened by fiddling with drum loops that may not have if I just strummed the guitar part. I highly encourage such play.
4. Drag drum part for 100 bars or so.
5. Play it while recording guitar part.
6. Then record another guitar part.
7. Add bass, vocals, etc.

The problem with this is that I often wind up with a mess. It is a blessing and a curse to be able to start recording a demo the second I think up a song. The blessing is obvious. The curse is that the song has no time to ferment. Songs need to be banged on... played live, other musicians need to add their spins. Yadda^3.

What do the really good folks do? Do you sit down at the start and make sure the drums and bass are rock solid before adding anything else? How can you do that if the song starts on guitar and may go through several iterations.

Is there any way to speed this process up? I have a song I really like now, that's basically a mess. It looks like I need to go back and start from the groun dup. Sigh. So many songs, so little time. The thing is, it's so darn exciting to just GO WITH IT in the moment? Right? Your song is rockin and yer like "Let's add a keyboard part!!!" Oh, now some bass! It needs a lead guitar!"

HELP!

Ain't this all SO MUCH FUN?!

Rick