metz
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Sketching song ideaa
Hi guys,
How do you sketch out your song ideas? I've mostly done it in sonar but starting to look elsewhere since feel its to slow.
I've looked in the direction of Chord pulse and Odesi but not totally convinced. I want to be able to just select chords instead of painting them in by hand in the piano roll. Surprised this isn't basic functionality of every DAW.
Any suggestions?
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bapu
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/05 18:09:41
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1. EZKeys if piano based
2. BIAB if looking for overall feel
3. AAS GS-2, IRON/AMBER(By Virtual Guitarist), Real Guitar, OTS, Shreddage II if guitar based
4. Guitar loop libs
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patm300e
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/06 08:16:18
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Guitar...I don't play keys :( Even that is a stretch for me as I am a drummer!
Typically try to get Chorus Verse and any bridge happening, then do Lyrics. Anyone else do it the other way around?
BTW, Should this be in Techniques?
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metz
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/06 08:32:25
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No im mainly after the software you are after
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rsinger
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/07 11:52:17
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I use guitar/guitar synth to track. For traditional song structures I use Sonar Platinum for ambient/soundscapes I use Live 9.
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TheMaartian
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/07 12:05:06
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metz
Hi guys,
How do you sketch out your song ideas? I've mostly done it in sonar but starting to look elsewhere since feel its to slow.
I've looked in the direction of Chord pulse and Odesi but not totally convinced. I want to be able to just select chords instead of painting them in by hand in the piano roll. Surprised this isn't basic functionality of every DAW.
Any suggestions?
Never heard of Odesi before. Will have to take a look. I use Chord Pulse, and like it, but I think another app I use might be a better fit: Sundog Scale Studio. http://feelyoursound.com/sundog/ Nice to have multiple tools to pick from.
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patm300e
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/07 12:49:07
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Sonar SPLAT...That is all I use...Take Lanes are sweet!
I have done voice over stuff and the comping is wonderful for that...
SPLAT on a Home built i3 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 Home Premium 120GB SSD (OS) 2TB Data Drive. Behringer XR-18 USB 2.0 Interface. FaderPort control.
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Mesh
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/07 13:24:03
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TheMaartian
metz
Hi guys,
How do you sketch out your song ideas? I've mostly done it in sonar but starting to look elsewhere since feel its to slow.
I've looked in the direction of Chord pulse and Odesi but not totally convinced. I want to be able to just select chords instead of painting them in by hand in the piano roll. Surprised this isn't basic functionality of every DAW.
Any suggestions?
Never heard of Odesi before. Will have to take a look. I use Chord Pulse, and like it, but I think another app I use might be a better fit: Sundog Scale Studio.
http://feelyoursound.com/sundog/
Nice to have multiple tools to pick from.
This looks very interesting......my main instrument is the guitar and if this software is fairly easy/quick in fleshing out ideas, I'm in. Do you find this software to be pretty good in doing that? ATM, I'm watching some EZ Keys tutorials and planning on going that route for song ideas.
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smallstonefan
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/07 15:39:18
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I throw an instance of BFD 3 and Stylus in a project and use the two to start getting some sort of groove going. Sometimes I'll start with a BFD 3 groove that gets my attention, sometimes with a Stylus groove. I now use Ableton Live for this part of the process (and then bring into Sonar), so I'll put a number of drum parts from BFD 3 into Live clips, as well as each Stylus part on it's own track and use variations in different clips. I then use the Ableton Push in arrange mode and I can actually "play" the clips like they are instruments and everything stays in sync (this part is a lot of fun).
Once I start getting something that works well, I'll record what I'm doing with the Push in the Arrangement view (much like the track view in Sonar).
I'm a guitar player, so the next thing I'll do is start noodling some guitar parts until something jumps out at me. I usually record a number of different guitar parts using different tones - and more importantly to me - different delays. I each tone goes on it's own track and I'll make a few clips of variations.
Then I get stuck for a very long time. :)
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Ripwolf
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 00:40:42
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Some interesting approaches. I am primarily a guitar/bass player but I can muddle my way through on a keyboard enough to get a chord/melody struture together. For me it really depends what I'm trying to write. I usually open a project in Splat with EZ Drummer open and pull up a pattern that's close to the feel I'm looking for and start banging away on the guitar/piano in loop/comp mode till I get a couple of things happening that I like. Anderton had a good tip about dragging some takes over to the browser then dragging them back into a fresh track to assemble a rough draft/arrangement which I find very useful. Or.. I open Maschine Micro in standalone mode if it's more of a loop based feel I'm going for. Get some patterns and sounds/arrangments together and then bring it into Sonar. Or.. Run Splat with VIP/ Komplete Kontrol open if I'm trying to do a Tension/Hybrid type thing and I'm just browsing through sounds to get a mood happening. I'll record to different tracks and start building from there. Then again I might just sit down at the piano/guitar with a pen and paper and not go anywhere near a computer! At the end of the day, it's all about whatever gets my creativity going. It all ends up in Splat at some point, which is just the medium that I prefer to use. I love hearing about the different ways people get their creativity on! Very inspiring! Yours in Music, Rip
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Ripwolf
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 00:42:24
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Sorry, sent twice.
post edited by Ripwolf - 2016/06/10 01:21:25
ripwagner.com. Sonar Platinum Lifetime.Windows 10 64-bit,AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics, 16GB Ram, AMD Radeon HD 8400, 2 monitors, Focusrite 2i4, Behringer X-Touch, Presonus Faderport, Console 1 mkII, Maschine Mikro MK2, Maschine Jam,, Komplete Kontroll S 25, Akai Advance 49, Casio Privia PX-150, Mackie 1202, Line 6 POD, Vox Tonelab le, Komplete 10 Ultimate, East/West Composer cloud . Ez Drummer 2 and Superior Drummer 3, Assorted collection of acoustic, electric guitars and basses and amps.
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noynekker
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 01:09:00
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Hey Metz . . . a handy tool for sketching chord patterns / song chord progressions I've been using in Sonar lately is MusicLab's RealGuitar. The latest version 4 has added a "song mode" where you can grab various guitar strum patterns, and create a song sketch of chord progressions . . . after an idea is formed, Sonar is great to start adding Bass, Drums, Vocals, and eventually built it into a song arrangement and gradually add other instruments.
Another nice thing about this is that I can create and be mobile on my laptop, without my hardware keyboard or control surface . . . by utilizing Sonar's internal Virtual Controller / Keyboard view . . . basically using the QWERTY keyboard to play chord progressions.
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patm300e
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 10:14:47
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I do ALL of the below in SONAR SPLAT:
Since I am actually a drummer first and guitar/bass second. I try to lay down guitar (rough tracks but in time with click) first. This is how I get my ideas down as far as arrangement.
After I get a rough guitar/bass arrangement, I record the drums. I do this WITHOUT the click so I can respond to any variances in timing that may or may not have snuck in. I do NOT use any kind of audio snap tools. I guess I am an old school type. The slight variances to me make it interesting as long as the timing is not a total mess.
Then if I really want it to sound good I will bring in real guitar/bass players to lay down real tracks using the drums as a timing mechanism.
Strange I know, but it works for me.
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kitekrazy1
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 11:56:34
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I like to buy midi loops. You cna always change those. FL has a chord function. I think it will be added to Reason 9. I don't remember if Live has such a thing.
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bapu
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/10 12:13:42
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smallstonefan
I throw an instance of BFD 3 and Stylus in a project and use the two to start getting some sort of groove going. Sometimes I'll start with a BFD 3 groove that gets my attention, sometimes with a Stylus groove. I now use Ableton Live for this part of the process (and then bring into Sonar), so I'll put a number of drum parts from BFD 3 into Live clips, as well as each Stylus part on it's own track and use variations in different clips. I then use the Ableton Push in arrange mode and I can actually "play" the clips like they are instruments and everything stays in sync (this part is a lot of fun).
Once I start getting something that works well, I'll record what I'm doing with the Push in the Arrangement view (much like the track view in Sonar).
I'm a guitar player, so the next thing I'll do is start noodling some guitar parts until something jumps out at me. I usually record a number of different guitar parts using different tones - and more importantly to me - different delays. I each tone goes on it's own track and I'll make a few clips of variations.
Then I get stuck for a very long time. :)
I skip all that schtuff in the beginning and jump to last statement.
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Del
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/11 18:10:47
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I sketch it out with on acoustic guitar, then lay it out in BIAB. I might even use the chord dictionary that came with BIAB to fine tune the chords or get a very cool sounding chord that sounds just right for that part of the melody.
Once this is done, I take it to SPlat, for the mixing and adjustments that it might need. I might even use EZdrummer, RealGuitar or other tools as others have mentioned above along the way to get to the final arrangement. Then its just, rinse and repeat.
BIAB/SPlat combo works very nicely for me, I've put together quite a few tunes this way.
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BobF
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/11 20:23:37
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smallstonefan
Then I get stuck for a very long time. :)
james - That describes my process perfectly
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mesayre
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/12 12:42:58
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I think Halion Sonic is a pretty awesome tool. You can assign chords to the trigger pads, then groove on those using whatever controller/keyboard you like. You can also save the pads as presets. I wish there were more than 8 pads, though.
It's also a full 16 channel x 4 layer workstation synth with a large complement of sounds. I end up replacing a lot of them with higher quality dedicated instruments by the time I'm done, but it's great for picking stuff quickly and keeping moving. No time lost trying to decide which synth/sample library to use. Arpeggiator, all that stuff. Pretty useful.
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smallstonefan
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/12 17:07:15
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BobF
smallstonefan
Then I get stuck for a very long time. :)
james - That describes my process perfectly
I'm working on perseverance - I think I've finally got a project over the hump where it's turned into something real that I can build on. It takes a heck of a lot of effort for me to push one over the hump...
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jonboper
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/17 09:58:32
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The quickest way to demo something is by playing it into your phone...
I use an app called Smart Voice Recorder - you can record in mp3 or wav formats, name your files upon completion, and instantly email your ideas to collaborators or upload them to the cloud or whatever. No multi-tracking or anything, but if you really want a quick sketch this is the way to go.
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TheMaartian
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/17 12:47:20
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jonboper
The quickest way to demo something is by playing it into your phone...
I use an app called Smart Voice Recorder - you can record in mp3 or wav formats, name your files upon completion, and instantly email your ideas to collaborators or upload them to the cloud or whatever. No multi-tracking or anything, but if you really want a quick sketch this is the way to go.
On Android, I use Field Recorder Pro. Excellent app! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.pfitzinger.rec 
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jonboper
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/17 15:41:43
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Fleer
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Re: Sketching song ideaa
2016/06/17 23:18:03
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jonboper
The quickest way to demo something is by playing it into your phone...
I use an app called Smart Voice Recorder - you can record in mp3 or wav formats, name your files upon completion, and instantly email your ideas to collaborators or upload them to the cloud or whatever. No multi-tracking or anything, but if you really want a quick sketch this is the way to go.
Which one? There's three of 'em in the App Store.
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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