Elektron-Users

So if you use the mk1 units to their full potential, you can create at maximum only 8 minutes of continuously changing (every bar unique) music. On the mkII units, Elektron has doubled the pattern length which brings it to 16 minutes, but it is still not much.

Interesting. I tend to look at it the other way around. The MD offers 16 tracks, which I often view as two or four complete patterns, depending on the complexity of the beat. I'll literally make up a kit with two or four sets of the same instruments and only keep one group unmuted. Depending on how much I'm asking from the MD, this allows me flexibility without changing patterns all the time.

merlin wrote:

-(ab?)use songmode by playing only a part of a pattern and mangling it internally. Very powerful and creates unexpected results.


This is so key - why else would Elektron allow 256 steps per song?
I think though, that the sequencer on the Elektrons does lend itself to loop-based composition, even with cutting them up in song mode. I find it's much easier to write songs which evolve linearly in something like Cubase.

Compostion and writing music for me has always been sort of a weird confluence of ideas and techniques, and in the heat of the moment I never really can tell which is which. I'd say I spend a lot of my time really learning my gear and what it can do, so that if I do get a burst of creative energy, I don't have to think about "HOW" to do something, I'm only focused on "WHAT" I'm doing. I've never been one who finds composing easy, it's usually hours and hours of trying different ideas that are doomed to failure, only to have one mistake take me on a 3 hour oddessy that hopefully ends up as the basis for a musica idea worth expanding on later.

One of my major issues is that I'm extremely picky when it comes to the music I write, so I'm not the sort of person that has ever been good at cranking out a tune in a day or two. Most of the time they take a month or more when all is said and done. I really enjoy listening to my tracks when I'm done with them, so I find that taking a lot of breaks to give myself some perspective, and a chance to recharge the creative juices really helps me. It's not uncommon for me these days to have 5 or 6 songs in the works at once, so I can distance myself from any one of them at any time. Sounds odd, but I find I like my songs a lot more when I take these short breaks, and then come back to them to see just how it sounds after awhile. Otherwise I find I spend a lot of creative time and energy on something that might fit my mood in the short term, but long term I'm just not happy with (or I wish I would have followed a different path I could have taken halfway through). It might not be as fun day to day, but at the end of the year I think I'm happier when I listen to all the music I wrote, and find it still makes me proud no matter what my mood.

When I say I take a lot of breaks, I don't mean from music related activities either. As was mentioned before, there's always something that needs to be done in the studio. So I'll use these down times to sort new samples, check out some new software demos, watch tutorial videos, read product manuals, update the MD Tips and Tricks , or even just work on learning the gear I do have just a little bit more. All of this is "practice" in my mind and really goes a long way to removing the technical limitations from interfering with my artistic intents when I am actually chasing down an idea. It also helps me learn my studio's "sound" better, removing acoustic limitations too.

Tarekith,

I am a traditionally live instrument composer.

I have to agree whole-heartedly to your thoughts.

I work the same way. But, not in the same way.

Our fulfilled ideas don't come about by fulfilling them, but finding them.

peace

Wonderful contributions from all. Inspiring and definitely good to hear about other ways of approaching writing.

I have different ways of working depending on whether it's an original or remix. For original material it goes something like this:

Most songs start with rhythm. Mood often dictates tempo. Usually I work somewhere between 100 - 140bpm. The last year I have started many of my beats on the MDUW.

The above rhythm is typically very minimal. I learned long ago that filling up the wholes with rhythmic hits early on makes for a mess later, at least for me. So by minimal i mean, i kick + snare pattern. I rely on the MD synthesis for this.

While I like to start with a minimal rhythm base, I'll spend a ton of time shaping those sound. Resampling, processing through the T-Res, layering, etc. I never go for a strong effect. But i think its incredibly important that each sound is authentic in character.

At this point, I'll start playing around with UW sounds. Also, rhythmic. It would take me forever to try to explain what I look for but I just know it when I hear it. Often I'm looking for dirty sounds. Poor recording quality, mixed poorly, etc. Often I'm reaching for rare late 70's to 80's records. There's a lofi quality there that can't be fabricated today.

Anyway this is just a nasty kick, snare, hihat but often it could be anything that I shape in Ableton's Sampler. You can do just about anything with that app. Great sound design tool.

So now I have a nice rhythm track that has the body I want. Bass and melody next.

It's hard to say what comes next. I work a lot on inspiration. Depending on the rhythmic base I usually start thinking about either the bass or melody. Let's say it's a synthy melody I'm excited about on this example.

Fire up the Monomachine and start crafting. I love sound designing in the MM, but it takes time. At this point I really feel I can shape pretty quickly in it. Lately, I load up the new DigiWave machine almost always. Though I hold a special place in my heart for the SID machine.

Anyway, it's all inspiration at this point. I mean, I can think of sounds and write them but I prefer to just listen. With the beat rolling I just shaping and shaping. There are typically two things that happen, either it's a pad or over arching melody or very rhythmical. Which is pretty easy to do on the MM.

After the first thematic melody is achieved I then go for bass sounds. Sometimes I'll do bass sounds on the MM, if not I will work with Ableton's Sampler. Sampler is a great sound shaper. As for source material, it really can be anything. I very rarely yank a bassline then repurpose it for my own uses. I want something more sonically authentic.

Again, I'm working of inspiration. At this point I have a rhythm base and main melody. So the bass just falls in the pocket.

I know it's odd that I didn't do the a-typical drums > bass > melody writing but i don't know how to explain that i find locking down all the bottom end with drums and bass tends to quickly suffocate the track. I like textures but in order to fill-in the track there has to be simple components.

From this point the base of the track is there. Most likely there are multiple patterns in the MD and MM. Most of all the core song changes already worked out: intro, main pattern, melody, and usually at least two changes based on the main theme.

Now I start dumping everything into Live. Why? because it's fcking quick as hell. From this point the track is pretty much there. I just need to mix, maybe add some efx, and often I'll chop little bits to see what kind of weird new ideas come about.

As for mixing, I like to think I mix each sound along the way. So by the time they're all in Live there's not a ton left to do. I typically add several instances of Saturator and possibly other efx, but I kinda hate the overuse of efx in music.

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That's about it. The one sidenote to this whole post is that while I tend to start rhythmically, I'm often working off inspiration, so anything goes. It's pretty simple really. The longest part is sound designing and shaping things to get the character I want. Downside to this style of writing is that it's not very quick. It's easy to put a kick and snare on x0x pattern, but it's another thing to make it sound good.

One caveat is that I am a strong believer in keeping things minimal. I don't want distractions, no more then the many that life delivers, and also I think the only way to truly grasp my gear is to make it do what I want for me, ie learn it. I've lived through the 'looking-for-gear-that-sounds-like' phase. It's a bottomless pit, the a roller-coaster of 'buy and be excited' then slowing be disappointed and shift the next victim. Anyway, I like to keep it slim and make my gear sing. Not that that always happens but it's nice way to stay focused and remember it's not the gear. Anyone who plays and instrument should know that. Anyone can have a keyboard and softsynth, but that doesn't make you a Herbie Hancock.

Another new variable is that the MM is quickly becoming one of my favorite rhythm boxes. I can great really unique drum sounds that are hard to achieve so quickly on the MD or other synthesis. It could just be that I love writing on the MM but it's really becoming a big staple in my rhythm writing.