Ways of laying a track out

yo punkchdrunk, yo live shiet is down, i brought my 4-track out and recorded some sessions on the melodica and my drums and keybored. You have a fender rhoads by the way? How much did you pay for that?

I have to say the music theory stuff, or even playing an instrument is far from essential in hip hop. And this isn't comming from someone who doesn't know about it or learned it later. I feel my knowledge of music has actually hindered me in terms of making my music. I compose most of my stuff, vs sampling, and I NEED to fill up a track. I can't make simple beats with an identifyable melody. I played music for 14 years and i'm so used to full sounding music. When you play classical in a band, there is so much going on. Theory definealy does help me find chords, stay in keys, and do far more than i could do without the knowledge. I'm not just relying on my ear. But when it comes to hip hop, it's just excess. And sure, you can say it's just me. But so many people make great music without any training so that doesn't fly with me.

talontsiawd wrote:And sure, you can say it's just me. But so many people make great music without any training so that doesn't fly with me.

i would call beat boxing, clapping your hands to the snare, rhyming 16 bars or 4x4....All of these traning in a sense.


I mean have you heard someone beat box for the first time?
have you heard someone try to bang a beat on a lunch table the first time?
how about spitting a flow WAY OFF BEAT?

they are all off beat and horrible. Thats my point. Many people try to get into something when they have had no experience. Conciously or sub-conciously you are teaching yourself how to stay on beat when you clap your hands to what he's doing all the time.

I mean have you heard someone beat box for the first time?
have you heard someone try to bang a beat on a lunch table the first time?
how about spitting a flow WAY OFF BEAT?

true true. good points. you've got to train your inner metronome.

I started out not knowing what anything was - being able to read music did not interest me when I first started. all I wanted to do was make music

I have learned alot through the time that I have had the 1k

I do not feel that it is necessary to learn music theory to make music

If you have the desire to make music I think that comes automatic just through ones creativity/imagination

now that I have been at this for a little over a year I want to now gain more knowledge so now I AM beginning to dibble dabble into some online music theory e-books.

I was even about to sign up for classes at a local music production/engineering school but then I got to thinking.

Did jim hendrix ever go to music theory school - I DONT THINK SO.

Id rather be self taught with no idea of any limitation.

good point again but let's get back on topic...laying tracks out...

yeah I was just throwing in my comments in on that last discussion sidetrack


how I lay out a track is no secret I would not think.

its nothing revolutionary

I lay out my drums first - I switch how I lay them out pretty frequently to get different feels - just trying new things here and there - always using new drum samples to keep it fresh - sometimes reusing the same ones because I like them so much - using different filters as I go.

I used to be really really basic with my drums - simple hihat simple snare and kick

antonym kind of got me wanting to put more time into my drums and it really does help with the feel of the music - I was really impressed with his drums on his album.

anyways - once I get a good 4 bar loop that I really can appreciate

I go into song mode and double the rep of the drums to make it 8 bars to allow more room for a not so repetative melody

then I go to record mode and pound away on my micron for hours upon hours looking for the right melody - basically practicing the piano while im doing this

once I get something I like I lay it out where I want it on the sequence

layers of different melodies usually

then once thats done I will usually look for something extra to ad to it - a sample of some sorts to throw on top to give it some extra style

it is looped based - it is usually dark sounding hip hop tracks but I am into rock to so I try to switch it up every once in a while - my brother in law has been drumming and playing the guitar for years so he comes over and gets down on the guitar and we sample that and lay it out on the drum track.

unfortunatly I have yet to make anything that I am 100 percent happy with so I just keep practicing and going for the sound I want.

solah wrote:yo punkchdrunk, yo live shiet is down, i brought my 4-track out and recorded some sessions on the melodica and my drums and keybored. You have a fender rhoads by the way? How much did you pay for that?

word word. thanks for the compliments on the live stuff i did.

i got my rhodes with the legs and the sustain pedal for about $450.

just started playing keys around september. having a real rhodes
is so much better (obviously) than all the emulators out there. so
much warmer and grimier when you hit the keys hard.

damn you got a melodica? hells yeah.
yo if you got a decent computer you should try using Ableton.
it lets you record live instruments in a similar way to how an mpc
handles sequences. loop stuff on the fly.

ableton + mpc +live instruments= madness!!
peace...

i record each track into cubase and do all my arrangement there then do my EQing and effects with vsts. I cant stand tracking out in song mode, on the 4k or on the 1k, its just to limited for me (which is how some people get their sound, im not knocking it)
Also it's another chance to layer your sounds.
my 2p cheers

I MAKE MUSIC WITH THE POWER OF SATAN!!!

I AINT JOKIN NETHA.