Writing Entire Song On One Sequence

Hey Guys,

Pardon me if the question was asked before. I tried to cull through many search results on the topic.

I write Production Music for a lot of reality TV. I have always used a DAW but I'm contemplating buying the MPC Live for when I travel.

The main question is regarding the workflow. Is it possible to write one long sequence that has musical parts evolving and leaving such as a bridge, hook, etc? Do I have to make a seperate sequence for each part like an intro, body, hook, bridge, etc?

I never used an MPC before but I love the Included drum kits and sound sets.

Thanks.

Honestly I would not reccomend Mpc Live for the kind of work you make.
It works very good if you use it as a sort of instrument in a performance situation or also to produce beats and phrases on the fly but for editing and song construction, well, it cannot really compete with the comfortability of a daw.
You can easily get stuck this way, especially because the possibility of using clips as in a daw is still very limited.
I use it to produce patterns and textures and I am very happy with Mpc Live for that but when I have to work for movies I still make editing and mixing with computer

Yes, I do it all the time. Just set how many bars you want, I usually set it 36 to 64 bars to craft a song. Whats cool about this method are the 8 audio tracks where you can record vocals or instruments over the beat. Works really well on a single sequence because the audio tracks will not cut off at the tail like if on multiple chaining sequences.

Ill,

So you can write one long sequence and have layers of musical parts coming in and out? Can you also add like a bridge or part B to the long sequence and come back into the original melody?

Danny Scott wrote:Ill,

So you can write one long sequence and have layers of musical parts coming in and out? Can you also add like a bridge or part B to the long sequence and come back into the original melody?

Yes you can, and you can see all this on the 7.1 inch screen. like he said set the bar (measurement) to what you think the length might be. You will be working with midi right? So it can happen. You get to explode tracks, so everything wont be on one track and you can edit your song as you please.

Danny Scott wrote:Ill,

So you can write one long sequence and have layers of musical parts coming in and out? Can you also add like a bridge or part B to the long sequence and come back into the original melody?

You can always compose each part of the song's structure as separate sequence. Then enter Song Mode, determine the length and order of each sequence. Then convert that song, into one long sequence. This allows for more flexible, if you decide to go back and change your arrangement.

Then from there you can add longer evolving solo parts, which in turns allows for a more linear composition with dotted notes/sustains to continue without being cut off.

too and he could rock song mode. He has a few options. What's sweet is the large screen.

CharlesRandolph wrote:

Danny Scott wrote:Ill,

So you can write one long sequence and have layers of musical parts coming in and out? Can you also add like a bridge or part B to the long sequence and come back into the original melody?

You can always compose each part of the song's structure as separate sequence. Then enter Song Mode, determine the length and order of each sequence. Then convert that song, into one long sequence. This allows for more flexible, if you decide to go back and change your arrangement.

Then from there you can add longer evolving solo parts, which in turns allows for a more linear composition with dotted notes/sustains to continue without being cut off.

Ill-Green wrote:Yes, I do it all the time. Just set how many bars you want, I usually set it 36 to 64 bars to craft a song. Whats cool about this method are the 8 audio tracks where you can record vocals or instruments over the beat. Works really well on a single sequence because the audio tracks will not cut off at the tail like if on multiple chaining sequences.

Thanks for the helpful answers guys!

What is the max amount of measures per sequence?

If I use one long sequence, can I see the whole timeline with seperate parts like a DAW?

I know i am asking a lot of questions but I am trying to justify the price. Every tutorial I see on Youtube, just shows people making a 16 measure sequence or beats. I never came across a video that shows a lot of stock sounds and lead synths with melody lines, etc.

I can get a Macbook for 1000.00 and transfer all my VSTi's over to it, but it only has 8 gigs of RAM with 256 gigs of hard drive space. I'm sure a nice DAW ready Mac would be over 1500.00 with upgrades.

Yeah, tutorials are just to set the example, but you can set the bars to 999 bars if you like and thats the max.

You can work a single sequence like a DAW because not only do you have 8 audio tracks, you also have 128 MIDI tracks which can be muted in and out.

And yes, like Danoc said, you'll have it all shown on the 7"screen.

CharlesRandolph wrote:

Danny Scott wrote:Ill,

So you can write one long sequence and have layers of musical parts coming in and out? Can you also add like a bridge or part B to the long sequence and come back into the original melody?

You can always compose each part of the song's structure as separate sequence. Then enter Song Mode, determine the length and order of each sequence. Then convert that song, into one long sequence. This allows for more flexible, if you decide to go back and change your arrangement.

Then from there you can add longer evolving solo parts, which in turns allows for a more linear composition with dotted notes/sustains to continue without being cut off.

Good method. Leave the audio tracks for last if you go this route.

Ill-Green wrote:Good method. Leave the audio tracks for last if you go this route.

Exactly. I found it to be a faster work flow, without having to commit to any particular song length.

Yes you will be able to see the whole ofthe separate parts on a timeline. Its two ways to do it.

1. One long sequence one track 1 with separate parts.
2. One long sequence with separate parts exploded to different tracks. Track one will be muted once you explode.

Ate you doing cues like for a movie?

Danny Scott wrote:
If I use one long sequence, can I see the whole timeline with seperate parts like a DAW?

I know i am asking a lot of questions but I am trying to justify the price. Every tutorial I see on Youtube, just shows people making a 16 measure sequence or beats. I never came across a video that shows a lot of stock sounds and lead synths with melody lines, etc.

I can get a Macbook for 1000.00 and transfer all my VSTi's over to it, but it only has 8 gigs of RAM with 256 gigs of hard drive space. I'm sure a nice DAW ready Mac would be over 1500.00 with upgrades.

Danoc wrote:Yes you will be able to see the whole ofthe separate parts on a timeline. Its two ways to do it.

1. One long sequence one track 1 with separate parts.
2. One long sequence with separate parts exploded to different tracks. Track one will be muted once you explode.

Ate you doing cues like for a movie?

Danny Scott wrote:
If I use one long sequence, can I see the whole timeline with seperate parts like a DAW?

I know i am asking a lot of questions but I am trying to justify the price. Every tutorial I see on Youtube, just shows people making a 16 measure sequence or beats. I never came across a video that shows a lot of stock sounds and lead synths with melody lines, etc.

I can get a Macbook for 1000.00 and transfer all my VSTi's over to it, but it only has 8 gigs of RAM with 256 gigs of hard drive space. I'm sure a nice DAW ready Mac would be over 1500.00 with upgrades.

Danoc,

I write instrumental cues for TV. The cues end up on Animal Planet, MTV, Love And HipHop, Growing Up HipHop, etc.

I have to be away from my studio a lot and would like something that's exactly like a portable DAW in a box. I am still thinking about possibly a Mac Book but it's a pain in the azz to load all of my soft synths and 25 Kontakt VI's again on to a computer with getting re-autorization permission, licenses, etc.

If MPC Live can give me full control of my mix with assigning a channel strip to each track and utilizing effects for each channel, it may be just right for me. I know it will not be good for Epic Orchestra and trailer type stuff but I don't care. Most of the Cues on TV nower days are EDM or Urban.

Like I mentioned before. Most of the Youtube vids are about making beats, not writing songs but when I hear the sounds I just love them. I also like how you can plug in a Midi keyboard controller into the unit and actually play a synth line.

I knew you were doing cues for something. Im in the same boat. Doing some urban RnB now so stau tuned.

Channel strip l dont know about that but you can add up to 4 stacked effects to each pad/sound.

Yes you can connect a keyboard and get wild with the Live. Also you get Free vsts from Akai without having to load your other Vsts you mentioned you dont feel like loading. These are top notch joint you can make records with them.

Danny Scott wrote:
Danoc,

I write instrumental cues for TV. The cues end up on Animal Planet, MTV, Love And HipHop, Growing Up HipHop, etc.

I have to be away from my studio a lot and would like something that's exactly like a portable DAW in a box. I am still thinking about possibly a Mac Book but it's a pain in the azz to load all of my soft synths and 25 Kontakt VI's again on to a computer with getting re-autorization permission, licenses, etc.

If MPC Live can give me full control of my mix with assigning a channel strip to each track and utilizing effects for each channel, it may be just right for me. I know it will not be good for Epic Orchestra and trailer type stuff but I don't care. Most of the Cues on TV nower days are EDM or Urban.

Like I mentioned before. Most of the Youtube vids are about making beats, not writing songs but when I hear the sounds I just love them. I also like how you can plug in a Midi keyboard controller into the unit and actually play a synth line.

When I mentioned Channel Strip, I meant having a seperate track for each instrument so you can tweak panning, volume level, etc.

What VSVT's were you mentioning that were free?

Danoc wrote:I knew you were doing cues for something. Im in the same boat. Doing some urban RnB now so stau tuned.

Channel strip l dont know about that but you can add up to 4 stacked effects to each pad/sound.

Yes you can connect a keyboard and get wild with the Live. Also you get Free vsts from Akai without having to load your other Vsts you mentioned you dont feel like loading. These are top notch joint you can make records with them.

Danny Scott wrote:
Danoc,

I write instrumental cues for TV. The cues end up on Animal Planet, MTV, Love And HipHop, Growing Up HipHop, etc.

I have to be away from my studio a lot and would like something that's exactly like a portable DAW in a box. I am still thinking about possibly a Mac Book but it's a pain in the azz to load all of my soft synths and 25 Kontakt VI's again on to a computer with getting re-autorization permission, licenses, etc.

If MPC Live can give me full control of my mix with assigning a channel strip to each track and utilizing effects for each channel, it may be just right for me. I know it will not be good for Epic Orchestra and trailer type stuff but I don't care. Most of the Cues on TV nower days are EDM or Urban.

Like I mentioned before. Most of the Youtube vids are about making beats, not writing songs but when I hear the sounds I just love them. I also like how you can plug in a Midi keyboard controller into the unit and actually play a synth line.