[Anorax]

...what do you do first?

Whether it's for OCR, or an original work, is there always some part that you write first, without fail?

Is there a step that you ALWAYS take?

[Legion303]

I don't start a track because I want to write one, I start a track because there's some musical element in my head that I want to get out. I would suck in a (musical) job with deadlines.

[SonicThHedgog]

Originally Posted by Legion303

I don't start a track because I want to write one, I start a track because there's some musical element in my head that I want to get out. I would suck in a (musical) job with deadlines.

^ this this

[Anorax]

Originally Posted by SonicThHedgog

^ this this

Problem is, I get ideas when I can't put them down, or I an unable to return to a certain inspiration later on. (Maybe this is a help thread?)

[SonicThHedgog]

Originally Posted by Electrolisystem

Problem is, I get ideas when I can't put them down, or I an unable to return to a certain inspiration later on. (Maybe this is a help thread?)

Tape recorders, what I did LONG time ago, now soundcloud even has apps for stuff like that.

recording your hums is a great idea to keep ideas, I treat hums and beat boxes as midi.

[Calum]

occasionaly i open up a virtual instrument find a preset speedily and with no real purpose and play around and something comes, if not move onto the next preset - tweak it randomly and rapidly.

With my compositions i've been trying to start with a handwritten score - there are merits but more often than not i simply don't have the time.

EDIT: my songs nearly always start with a chord sequence/harmonic language - harmony is usually the driving force in the stuff i write

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I just pick up my guitar and jam. Don't really think about it. I experiment with different scales, chords, whatever on the fly. Improvise.

Eventually I'll come up with a melody or rhythm that sticks out and start building off it from there.

[Garpocalypse]

I remember back in college asking a guest composer a very similar question. And for years I thought the response he gave me was just something to dodge my question.

He said that before chords, melody, rhythm etc. start with an idea.

Common sense right? But when you think about it music is a language, that we can all agree on, so what do you want to communicate?

For myself, one thing that I like to do is try to absorb some atmosphere. If I have an idea for something I'll try to find and feel anything that could be related to that. Making a chilled out piece of music? Compose at night, Think of all the times in your life that you felt relaxed. Put on some blue lights, Look at pictures of Oceans or find some abstract art that has what your looking for. Hell, go turn on the faucet and watch if you have nothing else.

As far as getting ideas when you can't put them down I think everyone knows that feeling. At work, in the car, a few times I remember suddenly getting out of bed to get something into my DAW before getting frusterated giving up and going back to sleep. Then when it comes for some scheduled studio time I get NOTHING! Sometimes your mind can shut down if you spend long amounts of time in front of the same lighted screen hour after hour. Play with the interface in your DAW, Take frequent breaks but keep what you are doing on your mind, play some different instruments. Anything that keeps you flowing goes!

[DDRKirby(ISQ)]

I wait for the One Hour Compo theme to be announced at 6PM

Actually, contrary to what people have said, I find that nowadays my best work is done when I DON'T have ideas in my head. Call me strange or weird or broken, but I find that whenever I try and go into a new project with any sort of specific preconception of what I'm trying or planning to do (other than a =very general= idea), it tends to block my flow of ideas and things don't "click" as well as they do when I'm just being freeform. This has been both a blessing as well as a curse for me...

...Which is not to say that this will or should be true for you too. Just wanted to point out that it's necessarily going to differ based on the natural "flow" method of your musical ideas.

[mickomoo]

Originally Posted by Electrolisystem

Problem is, I get ideas when I can't put them down, or I an unable to return to a certain inspiration later on. (Maybe this is a help thread?)

Hum it or whistle it. But be aware that reguardless of whatever you do the sounds in your head a very likely to morph into something different (or disappear and reappear years later), unless you have perfect pitch and can record stuff instantly. And it's not that this is bad, it's just that you might almost always lose whatever original thing that was floating in your head.

At the end of the day I usually go to a piano room to practice or play around. The piano is a very good instrument to practice or get melodies from.