timaeus222 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Try finding a track you want to imitate for inspiration, and, oh, let's say, try remixing this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9GXV5ueRBY (something with a decently memorable melody that maybe you can adapt to multiple genre possibilities) or maybe this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbl0s7tJDHA (something that has some interesting chords) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Boy Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 I messed around and I didn't come up with anything good. I'll try again tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The thing is, you have to spend more time than an hour to really have a decent idea of whether or not the track has potential. I would suggest that you give yourself at least 1-2 weeks, if not more, on the same track before you judge that it "won't be good" and suddenly decide to stash it away somewhere. You didn't even post it here for other people to give you input! (By the way, I think "Land of Pools and Masks" has the most potential out of all your tracks to be some sort of town theme. It reminds me of this: https://soundcloud.com/isworks/puddle-jumping-dressed-by) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 If you don't know how you want to remix something, don't remix it. Trying to force a track where you have no idea what you want it to sound like is not an organic process. So true. When I'm having a creative period, I start a dozen new tracks, and most of them are just tests for me to get an idea out and hear how it sounds before I can decide that it doesn't work. The few tracks that survive go on to be one of those go-to tracks I'm working on from time to time. Occasionally, one of those really grab my attention, possibly after years. I picked up an old remix of Faron Woods from Zelda TP the other day. Changed the genre and the track just clicked. Should be done, shortly, and I might finally have a new, finished track to submit to ocr. My previous take on it takes back to 2011. Just try things out. Find a source you like, and do some things with it. If it doesn't keep you working on it, move on to another track, another source, another idea, until you find one that just clicks and you know what you want to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Boy Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Sorry for constantly bumping this thread. Been writing every day now, just scraps, and nothing progresses past 20 seconds. But I'm enjoying myself at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Then why not post it here so we can give you advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slimy Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Sorry for constantly bumping this thread. Been writing every day now, just scraps, and nothing progresses past 20 seconds. But I'm enjoying myself at least. I have folders and folders of 20 second, unfinished ideas. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowlerhat Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 20 second tracks are the best kind of tracks to improve upon in my humble opinion. Personally I'm studying Jazz composing and arranging, and I can spend hours voicing only 4 bars of horns for big band ensemble. Just trying out different approaches and such. If you know what style you're going for and if you know how it works to arrange or compose in that style you only need 20 seconds of music to keep improving upon, until you've finally fully understood what it means to compose/arrange in that style. And then you can try out bigger ideas and tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CelestialSonata Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 When I started using a DAW and writing music on it, I focused too much on making each track public-ready. Problem was, I was never happy and I end up being stuck on tracks that were going nowhere, preventing me from moving on and make something I would have a better start with. I've shifted that way of thinking recently and accepted the fact that it is okay to experiment and write things that have no plan on making public. So lately, I've been doing more 1-minute tracks, not really full songs, but chord progressions that have only one section. Each time I do this, I change up a progression, try a different key, use different instruments, etc. During this process, I've learned more about the kinds of sounds that suited my taste, what blended well, which progressions I liked. Each time I do this, I bounce the mp3 into iTunes. If I'm ready to work on a song, I could always go back to my iTunes library and expand on one of those tracks I really thought had potential. I'm sure for every great hit, there are 20 songs written that the artist is embarrassed to show. timaeus222 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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