I wonder if anyone else experiences this. I’m pretty new to producing so keep that in mind…
I sit down at the Digitakt with an idea in my head for a straight ahead Robert Hood style techno banger or a simple hip hop breakbeat loop.
2 hours later I have this weird, experimental, glitchy, garbling piece of music…parts of which sound cool and I’m happy with, but I have no idea what to do with or if I even want to take it any further.
Then I do it all again and have another completely weird, slightly danceable pattern that sounds nothing like the first one, almost in a completely different style.
I wonder how much of this is me being new and not really knowing how to get where I want to go, but I wonder if part of it has to do with the nature of Elektron boxes? For example, I only recently discovered how to P-lock live filter knob changes and have become addicted to utilizing that because I get such cool sounds. But it always ends up like a dish with too much and too many spices, I think.
I wondered if I was using (for example) Roland boxes would it naturally push me to make more straight ahead traditional dance music sounds?
Anyone else feel like the boxes they use overly influence their sound or is this something that just improves with more experience?
When I started making music I found it really hard to control what music I was making. But with experience I feel it is much easier to have a plan and (mostly) stick to it. My impression is that this is common for all types of musicians, so I don’t think the gear is to blame.
Something I like to do once in a while just for the fun of it (and the educational part) is to dissect a track typical for a specific genre, and then make something very close to that, but different, referring back to the original often. When I do this it is easy to tell when I start to get lost. I might make a, say, bass line I’m happy with, but if it is way different to my reference track I’ll still scrap it and make something else. Since this isn’t music I intend to actually use for anything, it is easier to let ideas go and go back to the original plan.
this is common issue for any expressive art. i recently picked up drawing and each piece i make is different, and not what i envisioned originally. tools that you use dont dictate your style, they can only enchance it.
with music it took me 10+ years to finally start creating something thats close to what i want.
nothing wrong with swapping out and trying different tools, id say its good!
anything that can keep you inspired is good. it takes a lot of effort, thinking and time. and you gotta keep at it, at your own pace
Same! Most of the time was spent learning what I was doing, trying different approaches and tools, and figuring out what sounds good. Once I got to the point where I could start to sort of approximate the things that are actually in my head it was like the whole musical world opened up.
Perhaps start by covering songs by artists you’re trying to emulate. This is a common step in the learning process of more “traditional” instruments. When I started teaching myself guitar, I focused much of my time learning other people’s music before I started writing my own.
I’ve found this to be true from time to time, eight years into making music. Of which around six to seven have been using largely (but not exclusively) hardware. It’s something I’ve come to terms with, and I think that while it’s a common experience, it seems to vary between people, too.
I have a good friend for example, who makes really detailed music that’s incredibly methodical and created according to a specific vision or idea. He doesn’t use hardware but I bet there are people with a similar approach who do! Meanwhile I sort of let my intuition guide me somewhere, and so I rarely know where I’m going.
Like many here said it’s quite common. I also think its common for all skill levels.
On a side note, that’s one of my favorite things with Elektron boxes. I love sitting down with an empty pallet, no direction and a bit later I’ve got something cooking.
Resample, resample, resample, until it’s what you want. Also just experimenting is cool, it’s not always about the output, the journey is still fun and useful.
There are lots of great videos on youtube about how to make stuff that fits into a specific genre
For a laugh I followed one of EDM tips ones about how to make a Trance track.
It was quite fun and produced something that sounded like a mediocre Trance track. I also learned a few things.
When I make my own stuff it’s completely random what I’m going to end up with.
I do find devices put you in a certainly direction. For whatever reason the MC-707 always pushes me in a more funk / disco direction whereas the Polyend Tracker is a bit more ambient or house.
Once you have a pattern going the direction you intented copy it and paste it to the last pattern. Go back to 1 and go further with that and next patterns. If you don’t like where you’re end up copy the last pattern back to 1 and start over.
I’ll add to the chorus recommending that you start by copying in the genre you want to work with.
Like for hip-hop, find your favorite track, and just do your best to program the drums as close as you can. PLocks and conditional trigs are great for getting ghost notes, modulate the envelopes on the hi-hats to get variation and movement…just really focus on the parts you want to be able to ultimately invent yourself.
Especially in the beginning, the tricky part is holding yourself back. You have already identified this (too many spices!) Copying even just parts of reference tracks will help you stack focused.
Also, as said above, copy your patterns…that way you can indulge yourself and do some freaky stuff and mess up a pattern, but always go back to the more disciplined version.
It all takes a lot of time and practice, but have fun along the way!
I’m fairly new to music production and I experience something like this. In my head, I want to make some kind of abstract, experimental composition… but then I wind up loading a 909 kit in Digitakt. Which makes me want to add a funky bassline and next an analog pad. And suddenly I’m making dance music that could have been made 20 years ago, and was made, by people far more talented than I. It’s super fun to jam out a track and doing so has taught me a lot, but there’s this gap between idea-talent-execution that I often experience. I think my advice to myself is similar to what others have said above: have fun and keep trying new things. What is “yours” will emerge with time, practice, and the patience to accept the process.
I think there is something to embracing being a neophyte and the magic that sometimes a lack of experience can present. I was listening to Grimes first album a bit before and I don’t think any of her later stuff with more complex production that came with her being a more competent musician, producer, songwriter, or whatever–comes close to the enjoyment I get out of the tracks Oblivion and Genesis off that album.
Plenty of great first albums came out of people trying to figure things out and once they did often what came next was pretty boring and lifeless in comparison.
Meanwhile I sort of let my intuition guide me somewhere, and so I rarely know where I’m going.