Theres gotta be a better way to program songs! HELP!

hey all, this is my first post... i just picked up the mpc 1000 last week. i actually have been producing on the PC (w/ fruity loops) for the past year and a half, and felt the need to take it to the next level. so here i am, with the mpc1000, as a beginner all over again, and i must say, programming songs seems tedious as hell.

lets say i start off with my basic melody (trk1) put some drums down (trk2) add some bass (trk3) add some other perks (trk4) and then add a special section for a break (trk5), now obviously they will all play at the same time within the same sequence. but i'd like to be able to layer it, so i can have it start with my melody as an intro, let the drums start after 4 bars, drop out the bass somewhere in the middle, and let the break play somewhere towards the end. the process im using now is to copy my sequences over several times, and make each sequence correspond to one part (i.e. 1 sequence with just melody, another with melody and drums, and so on) and then use the song feature to set em up in the order i wanna use. i must say thats tedious as ever, cause in fruity, i used to just have each part on separate channels, and in the song screen be able to layer each on top of another and take one off and so forth. i dont know, basically, im just hoping theres an easier way to make songs on the mpc. something like being able to layer or something. how do yall go about making complex songs on the mpc?

thanks in advance

Song mode is deep, you got the right idea. It's a different approach than fruity, but it is dumb easy once you get used to it.

lol, i may have the right idea, but my execution is def off, how do u go about programming ya songs?

the mpc is more of a drum sequencer, not a song sequencer.

so what should i try to get my hands on to sequence my songs? any suggestions on that?

jksuperstar wrote:the mpc is more of a drum sequencer, not a song sequencer.

jacka$$ dont litsen to him, the mpc is one of the best SEQUENCERS out there

JStruMENTAL wrote:

jksuperstar wrote:the mpc is more of a drum sequencer, not a song sequencer.

jacka$$ dont litsen to him, the mpc is one of the best SEQUENCERS out there

So help me doggie! just put me onto where i can start, im a fast learner, i just need to be put on the right path

copy the lets say the " 4/4 " loop from seq 1 to seq 2

then go back to seq 1 and edit out the drums etc

or mute them etc

its not hard


i used fruity loops for years


i luv my mpc1k way way more

What are you talking about? Can the MPC simultaneously play a pattern & a melody together as the described? If all your playing is Hip-hop, yeah, the MPC is "the best sequencer out there" since the hip-hop melody is typically a riff in lockstep with the drum pattern...repeating over & over & over

You could either keep doing what your doing (copy drum tracks, lay melody over it, etc)...or get a second sequencer for your melody. You can grab a little Yamaha QY-70, which, by the way, has a great 24-track sequencer & editor, that can do a pattern & melody at the same time, has built in sounds (not awesome but not horrible), and is extremely portable (size of a VCR tape) & runs on batteries. It can also act like a MIDI interface to the PC or MAC, which is very handy if you want to sync your gear up to software when the time comes. There's lot's of little sequencer's though, go hit up sonicstate.com or harmony-central.com for some help on gear searching.

gutter,

1 : build a main sequence with everything init like when everything comes together...then make a couple of copies of it...the "track mute" feature is on of my favs...u can just mute or solo out tracks with the pads...it works great live too...i never program songs i just freestyle with the track mute function on one sequence HAHA,

2 : the "next sequence" feature(button to the left of track mute) is also very handy...sequences u made can be triggered with pads as well..plus u can cut in "sudden" and theres a hold function too if "loop" is set to "off" it will loop the designated sequence,

3: if u highlight the "Sq" (sequence) text on the main page u can move back and forth between sequences with the "data" wheel while its playing so thats another way to chain sequences,

4: as u pointed out u can eventually build a song from sequences too and save the whole song...i prefer to improvise with "track mute" and "next seq" and record that performance directly to Sound Forge via the digital out thereby bypassing all converters (try it the sound is significantly clearer than passing it through the converters mpc out->soundcard in).

5: if u then still miss the graphical overview that u have with software sequencers dont forget u can export sequences,songs in .mid format. If u do so load the .mid file in cubase,logic,nuendo or whatever soft sequencer u using and connect the mpc's midi in to ur midi out port on ur mac/pc (usually u can set midi in/out ports in options/preferences in software) Make sure u set "Active track receive channel" (mode->pad9->midi tab) on "All" or any value between 1-16 that corresponds with ur midi channel in ur software on the mpc. So basically the mpc will act as a sampler that plays back the sounds following midi note on messages. When u are done with ur composition u can then export the midi file u made in ur software sequencer back to the mpc and play it back with impeccable timing LOL

Also worth to mention:

- u cant program the filters externally, so if u want to animate filters u have to do so on the mpc itself either by sliders or in step edit

- a somewhat faster way to record a midi perfomance to ur comp would be to record the midi stuff the mpc sends out on the fly..i ve tried it but its not as accurate as exporting a midi file then loading it in a soft sequencer

- the layering u talked about can be achived easily on the mpc but in a smwhat less friendly=graphical interface LOL

- working on the mpc will never be that easy as on for example in fruity BUT its all worth it believe me. U made an excellent choice by buying into this heritage of hardware hell/heaven HAHAHA . And i think that new versions of fruity will load .mid files so if ur already familiar with that particular interface well dont diss it yet.

If u have any questions msg me or post it in here. PEACE MAN.

just use the track mute option.

chd wrote:gutter,

1 : build a main sequence with everything init like when everything comes together...then make a couple of copies of it...the "track mute" feature is on of my favs...u can just mute or solo out tracks with the pads...it works great live too...i never program songs i just freestyle with the track mute function on one sequence HAHA,

2 : the "next sequence" feature(button to the left of track mute) is also very handy...sequences u made can be triggered with pads as well..plus u can cut in "sudden" and theres a hold function too if "loop" is set to "off" it will loop the designated sequence,

3: if u highlight the "Sq" (sequence) text on the main page u can move back and forth between sequences with the "data" wheel while its playing so thats another way to chain sequences,

4: as u pointed out u can eventually build a song from sequences too and save the whole song...i prefer to improvise with "track mute" and "next seq" and record that performance directly to Sound Forge via the digital out thereby bypassing all converters (try it the sound is significantly clearer than passing it through the converters mpc out->soundcard in).

5: if u then still miss the graphical overview that u have with software sequencers dont forget u can export sequences,songs in .mid format. If u do so load the .mid file in cubase,logic,nuendo or whatever soft sequencer u using and connect the mpc's midi in to ur midi out port on ur mac/pc (usually u can set midi in/out ports in options/preferences in software) Make sure u set "Active track receive channel" (mode->pad9->midi tab) on "All" or any value between 1-16 that corresponds with ur midi channel in ur software on the mpc. So basically the mpc will act as a sampler that plays back the sounds following midi note on messages. When u are done with ur composition u can then export the midi file u made in ur software sequencer back to the mpc and play it back with impeccable timing LOL

Also worth to mention:

- u cant program the filters externally, so if u want to animate filters u have to do so on the mpc itself either by sliders or in step edit

- a somewhat faster way to record a midi perfomance to ur comp would be to record the midi stuff the mpc sends out on the fly..i ve tried it but its not as accurate as exporting a midi file then loading it in a soft sequencer

- the layering u talked about can be achived easily on the mpc but in a smwhat less friendly=graphical interface LOL

- working on the mpc will never be that easy as on for example in fruity BUT its all worth it believe me. U made an excellent choice by buying into this heritage of hardware hell/heaven HAHAHA . And i think that new versions of fruity will load .mid files so if ur already familiar with that particular interface well dont diss it yet.

If u have any questions msg me or post it in here. PEACE MAN.

eh man, i really appreciate the help... and thanks to everyone else too, im bout to get to work on it

Do you see that little white button that says 'track-mute'?

Press that button and see that every track corresponds to a given pad. Push all pads so that they mute. Now starting with the intro, unmute it.

When you get to the verse, or whatever, unmute those tracks you want to come in. It will take you a couple passes to understand how to track your paticular song, but you are in effect, recording it in real-time without having to save sequences or songs, or anything. You are just using the mute-and unmuting the tracks so that you have whatever you need. I usually build my songs this way, in real time, maybe starting with 10 to 12 tracks, and learn the song, sometimes using three or four fingers on the various pads/tracks, until I get what I want. Try it.

OK I'll tell you what I do to build songs

i start with my basic sequence ( I usually change it to a 4 bar loop)
then I copy it
so now I have 2, 4 bar sequences
go in to the second sequence and make some changes how you want
add a change up in the 7,8th bar , whatever you feel

then I go to songmode and put them out seq1,seq2,seq1,seq2 so now I have 16 bars 9 you can do any changes how you feel this is just for example)
follow me?
then I go to CONVERT, it changes it to a 16 bar sequence(or how ever long you set it) rename it to VERSE
then I do the same thing for the hook
set 2, 4 bar loops go to song mode and open em up , then CONVERT to an 8 bar sequence and name it to HOOK
then I do the same for the intro and possible outro
(sometimes I just loop the hook a few times to end it

then when I'm done with all my seq's
I got back in to song mode(always opening a new song)
and build my song:

intro(usually 8 bars)
verse 16 bars
hook 8 bars
verse 16 bars
hook 8 bars
verse 16 bars
hook 8 bars
hook 8 bars
outro 8 bars
fade to black

set my tracks to each indivdiual out
and record each track to Nuendo
to whatver mixes with levels or whatver
and I'm good to go