Sup guyz, im strugglin to create a good melody in Reason, this is probably a limitation of my creativity and lack of experiance on the keyboard (i can't play shit not happy birthday or anything).......... any tips?
Help Im Strugglin....
- Thread starter DJ Harris
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just dont force it, to start with.
you gotta learn piano theory... once you know about the shit, you can start putting it out.
get some good chord books or something, and play around with the chords and then interweave 2 or more and make a melody.
first thing you wanna do after you lay down the drums is add a bassline. doesnt have to be all fancy but just put one on the drums and make sure everything is complementing each other.
then for the synth or instrument that you want on top,
press some keys on the keyboard in an octave that sounds ok on the beat, and find the base note. the starting note that sounds good. some keys don't work. there will be one that sounds really nice.
then you can go to http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano/
and look at the different chords/scales and look at some that use your base note.
and don't worry about it, many people get producer's block.
you will get through it when you regain your touch
this is how i do it.
oh- and make sure that when you want a nice melody, you have different drum patterns to begin with. different patterns inspire different melodies..
have fun!
you gotta learn piano theory... once you know about the shit, you can start putting it out.
get some good chord books or something, and play around with the chords and then interweave 2 or more and make a melody.
first thing you wanna do after you lay down the drums is add a bassline. doesnt have to be all fancy but just put one on the drums and make sure everything is complementing each other.
then for the synth or instrument that you want on top,
press some keys on the keyboard in an octave that sounds ok on the beat, and find the base note. the starting note that sounds good. some keys don't work. there will be one that sounds really nice.
then you can go to http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano/
and look at the different chords/scales and look at some that use your base note.
and don't worry about it, many people get producer's block.
you will get through it when you regain your touch
this is how i do it.
oh- and make sure that when you want a nice melody, you have different drum patterns to begin with. different patterns inspire different melodies..
have fun!
you don't have to get a bassline after your drums at all..
sometimes it's better to make the whole beat & add a bass after that !
That way it'll definately compliment the rest of the beat
sometimes it's better to make the whole beat & add a bass after that !
That way it'll definately compliment the rest of the beat
ah kool, cooper? wtf? u know chords n shit or are u bein a fool? looks like a trip to the library with my super outdated card from 1993 lol i wonder if they'll still except it!
thanks guyz
thanks guyz
Pain Of Depth said:
most producers like to have a melodic base... the bassline is the backbone of the beat. i guarantee you that you will find it much easier creating a melody on a basic bassline sequence with drums than just on drums. now go ahead and validate my words
and i realise i don't use the terms bassline and melody in unity.
the keys to the bassline are in fact a melody, but it is so much easier to create a bassline than it is to add synths and instruments (may anyone that does not agree with this please be stripped of all reproductive capability..) . this is why i use the terms in seperate context.
Hey, we all have different ways of doing things. Understand this and don't speak like your way is final, bro. Whatever you are comfortable with, if the end product is right then there is no problem.
^^ exactly
validate your words? uh , sure?
listen , I've never made a beat drums first , bass second .. of course it's easier to , but that way you tend to make a beat that has instruments supporting the bass ( as for clubs for example )
I do drums first , then piano as backbone & then other instruments & then bass
Hymnz said:most producers like to have a melodic base... the bassline is the backbone of the beat. i guarantee you that you will find it much easier creating a melody on a basic bassline sequence with drums than just on drums. now go ahead and validate my words
and i realise i don't use the terms bassline and melody in unity.
the keys to the bassline are in fact a melody, but it is so much easier to create a bassline than it is to add synths and instruments (may anyone that does not agree with this please be stripped of all reproductive capability..) . this is why i use the terms in seperate context.
validate your words? uh , sure?
listen , I've never made a beat drums first , bass second .. of course it's easier to , but that way you tend to make a beat that has instruments supporting the bass ( as for clubs for example )
I do drums first , then piano as backbone & then other instruments & then bass
that's funny that you noticed that. depth is kiinda right tho. when you make the bassline first, you do get a beat where the bassline stands out. that doesn't have to mean it'll turn into a club beat tho. i'm viiiioooolent is a god example ;xPain Of Depth said:
i switch the order in which i do it from time to time because creating a beat with the bassline first, or the bassline last, is to me like two completely different ways of creating beats. and i end up with two different types of beat, with different feels. beyond the fact that the mood, samples, melodies and patterns are different, the whole general feel of the beat is different. i say if you don't do both you are, without knowing it, capping off your creativity. then there's also the personal preference that comes in to play.
i find that when i chop samples i can't do the bassline first no matter what ;p
Ant said:
did i say that my way is final? i just said its easier.
some people might do things differently, but all i am saying is that most professionals doing hip-hop beats would agree with me.
Pain Of Depth said:
well, did you validate them?
you said "of course it's easier to" but also said "I've never made a beat drums first , bass second" so you are the one being presumptuous now.
and wow, you use the piano in every beat? clap clap, have a cookie
Hymnz said:
It's easier for you. Someone else might hold a completely different view. And I really don't think you're in a position to be saying what 'most professionals' think. It is an art, stop treating it like a science.
ever heard of DR. dre? the ALCHEMIST? it can be both in fact...
or a different way of looking at it -
it is perhaps an art that cannot be expressed without the science...
think of the technical aspects of production. nobody can make a nice beat without knowledge of sequencing, instrument placement etc
every producer that has been in a studio has studied the science behind the art. commercial hiphop these days seems to have no art about it, merely just a formula - hot drums, deep bass and a simple melody. most producers we look up to are using this all the time. of course there are many exceptions, but in this game you can't paint without paint if you want to eat. maybe this is getting out of context but it is the truth...
perhaps my opinion on the basic structure (concerning the bass) is slightly skewed, but i had this same discussion with someone on another forum about 3 years ago. what they said made me believe what i am saying today. i was just like you Ant, a moron.
i think the guy wrote about 200 lines of yackidy-yack that i read through. it is just easier.
it is fact that low harmonics give the groove of a song, while high ones determine the rest. when you have the groove down, the rest can be built much easier. it is much harder to find a groove to a song that has pre-determined qualities already. i guarantee you that your bassline will be much better in the context of the finished product if you construct it after the drums. it is not even my opinion now...
or a different way of looking at it -
it is perhaps an art that cannot be expressed without the science...
think of the technical aspects of production. nobody can make a nice beat without knowledge of sequencing, instrument placement etc
every producer that has been in a studio has studied the science behind the art. commercial hiphop these days seems to have no art about it, merely just a formula - hot drums, deep bass and a simple melody. most producers we look up to are using this all the time. of course there are many exceptions, but in this game you can't paint without paint if you want to eat. maybe this is getting out of context but it is the truth...
perhaps my opinion on the basic structure (concerning the bass) is slightly skewed, but i had this same discussion with someone on another forum about 3 years ago. what they said made me believe what i am saying today. i was just like you Ant, a moron.
i think the guy wrote about 200 lines of yackidy-yack that i read through. it is just easier.
it is fact that low harmonics give the groove of a song, while high ones determine the rest. when you have the groove down, the rest can be built much easier. it is much harder to find a groove to a song that has pre-determined qualities already. i guarantee you that your bassline will be much better in the context of the finished product if you construct it after the drums. it is not even my opinion now...
Man you got an ego. Plus, nearly everything you've said has been opinion under the guise of facts. I couldn't care less how Dre and Alchemist put beats together. People find different methods easier for different things. Something so objective as beat making doesn't have right and wrong ways, the person dictates what he/she finds most comfortable and they use that. You thinking its a shit way to build a beat ain't gonna change anything. Just try to have a less narrow view of things and you wouldn't come of soundling like such a clown.
Hymnz said:well, did you validate them?
you said "of course it's easier to" but also said "I've never made a beat drums first , bass second" so you are the one being presumptuous now.
and wow, you use the piano in every beat? clap clap, have a cookie
wtf?
Ant said:
i see you didn't get the dre/alchemist remark
. you said it was not a science, but there are people called DR. dre, the ALCHEMIST etc.anyway, what im saying is- you have to know the science behind it to make a beat. if you just put some cave man in front of an mpc he wouldn't know how to do anything. if you have ever read a manual for anything production-related, or looked up a help guide, you have studied the science... i guarantee that someone that knows the science of production could make a better beat than someone just pressing keys on a keyboard aimlessly. one thing is for sure- NO big producer randomly hits keys without at least knowing the range they are hitting, what chords they have chosen to be limited to etc.
i say its time for a beat battle ant....
it will shut you up for good.
2 weeks to make a beat (after agreement). 4 bar intro, 16 bar verse, 8 bar chorus and then 2 or 4 bar outro. or we choose a pac acapella to produe... or someone else chooses one.
conditions negotiable.
i don't wanna hear any excuses like:
* my hand is injured
* im serious, my hand is injured
* im on holiday right now
* im a witness in a murder trial
or anything like that. or that you're having pc problems.:laugh:
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