So, I’ve been producing dance and chill-out for live performances, for at least a couple of decades now (playing around with synths and recording for at least a decade before that).
The best material I think I’ve (mostly co-) produced, has been remixes of my musical partner’s material.
That means that he’s done most of the sequencing and I just have to think about fresh sound design.
There’s some magic in the sequencing I think I’ve been missing, when writing my own material. That’s possibly due to me being a programmer by trade (day-job) and therefore having more of a structured, maybe even limited approach.
I can play real instruments and make a reasonable job of sound design, but my sequencing skills still have a way to go.
I’m starting to wonder if I should take more of an approach, where there’s lots of random sequencing data, which I cut down and re-arrange - possibly a bit more like a sculptor chiselling away at stone.
Does anyone have any thoughts on ways to sequence (DAW and/or stand-alone hardware), to get me further forward and improve?
That’s a Great question and I am very interested in the responses because I struggle the same!
I have no problem building cool loops. Even enough different ones that get together for a song, but building the song out of them mostly ends in (for m opinion) way to boring combinations and buildups.
MIDI programming is pretty tedious, but you will definitely develop your own style and approach to music.
I’ve been programming for a long time, and I know ‘the grid’ and recognize patterns in music.
Many people don’t realize that MIDI programming is a LOT more rewarding than learning the Elektron sequencer. Although the sequencer is good for parameter-related changes and stuff, programming midi notes aka trigs on it will result in sequences that have been made over and over again many times.
In my opinion, the best thing about understanding MIDI programming is that you can control several different instruments at once - AND you can control ALL instruments with a MIDI port without even knowing the machine. It’s just a matter of deciding what sound you want, and knowing what machine is able to synthesize that particular sound. Worrying about a particular machine not having ‘song mode’ or having a limited sequencer is a non issue.
That’s what I think - but I gotta say, you’re on the right path.
If you want, you can check out the latest beats I’ve composed using MIDI. I have a speedy workflow now and can arrange a nice melody fairly quickly… but it took years to figure it out, and I’m still improving my skills.
Learn from others and from varied sources. This can be listening to music both in- and outside your comfort zone or style and replicating what others are doing, or reading/watching tutorials for playing music of all styles. I recently made some slamming 303 pattterns by replicating a slap bass tutorial from Youtube. Great music has always borrowed from what came before.
Embrace experimentation. Sometimes it’s good to purposefully break the structures and habits you unconsciously or consciously impose upon yourself. For exaple, if you always find yourself making melodies in C minor, try switching to different keys and modes. This might give you new ideas even when you return to the original key.
Practice as much as possible. My friend at one point was banging out one track every two days. It might sound like crap for a while, but eventually you become better and faster in translating ideas from your head to the sequencer.
Thinking about where I’m lacking, it’s not necessarily melody. Being a guitar player, means I know a fair bit about scales, harmonic modes, counter-point etc.
It’s possibly more about breaking away from some of the well-trodden rhythms - especially in dance music. Ghost notes/hits work well for making those patterns more interesting. Modulation also makes things more interesting, some of which can come from the MIDI sequence data.
I think for me, it’s maybe that gap between programming MIDI sequence data and playing live/real instruments. I’m a fairly average guitar/drums/keys player, so recording live playing only gets me so far. Sequence programming-wise, I tend to get into a creative rut, in that I’m very used to making things concise and simple in my day-job, so that it’s easily understandable and maintainable.
That’s partly why working with other people works well for me. I do a decent job of taking their ideas and helping to push it in different directions.
Perhaps I’m looking for a method which is a bit more algorithmic as a starting point, which I can then chop around and improve? Like the difference between starting with a blank canvas and having an interesting block of stone to sculpt?
Yep, great rhythms are hard to achieve for sure. I remember that one producer sometimes used to just improvise a rhythm on one piano key at first and then shift the notes to form a melody. Could be a good way to focus on just the rhythm at first.
I find that interplay between different instruments/tracks is also key to a nice groove.
I’ve also been trying more and more generative techniques as of late. Probabilities, arpeggiators, Euclidean sequencing and so forth. Lots of great ideas and suprises to be found there, which you can then use or modify.