Aug
Greetings and salutations ladies & gentleman. Madden Miles here. I’d like to take an opportunity to start utilizing this blog and really get some dialog going.
The thing I want to know.. And this is awesome because every one is different in their respective approach is… What do you start with first? The melody/sample? Or do you lay the drums first?
I thought of this because producing for a few years now, I just now today made my first beat where I did the drums first. For all of this time, I let the sample/melody do the talking and guide me to which drums to use. I figured that doing the melody first, you’re creating the overall feel and tone of the track you’ll be producing. Having said that, I couldn’t help but see a different approach when I did the drums first.
I utilized some new drums I received and was just screwing around on the maschine with some fills, kicks, snares, etc. I had a nice 4 bar loop I had thought was pretty damn solid after a little jam session I was having in between playing Arkham City with my son. It dawned on me that I was doing something different creatively in my process and I didn’t even realize it. The drums were hard, snappy, thick, and aggressive. I opened up Omnisphere and started plucking some key notes that sounded reminiscent of something DJ Khalil may be responsible for. A producer I’ve always enjoyed but felt like my sound was not capable of being executed like his. Then BAM. I get my studio loud enough that I’m shocked I didn’t have police at my door for a noise ordinance. So it pro-actively got me asking and writing this blog. What do YOU as a producer prefer to do first? Get your melody? Or lay your drums? Try doing it backwards once, it’s weird.
I look forward to creating engaging discussions for this blog where everyone can comment and share opinions/ideas. The only thing I do know, and fortunately, when I know something.. Believe me… I know. Is that the Packers will win the Super Bowl this year. 😀
Thanks for checking the first blog post out everyone. Please feel free to follow me at @maddenmiles on twitter and http://www.facebook.com/maddenmiles on Facebook. I have a really cool new project I’m about to start wrapping up and would love to let you all hear it.
Take care/Be good.
-M
I mostly start with the melody/sample and then find drums to match. When I get a block I will lay down some drums and hack away at some keys and chopped sample and hope to make a beautiful mistake lol. I use Ableton with maschine, this has been a good set up creative wise for me.
I normally srart with melody/sample, then buikd from there. The sample and/or melody speaks to me, and I choose sounds and patterns from there.
I always got my sample chopped first and then dropped the drums according to the feel of the sample and chops. If I don’t sample I always lay out a melody and then rock the drums to fit it. It’s funny because my partner here at Bangintrax always do the opposite and really do get that different feel. When we work together we try both ways and we produce something crazy. I’m going to try to lay down drums for like a week while I produce and see what feel I get. Thanks for the blog