Do you produce music based on..?

[eluherlu]

I've always interested in modern electronic music, such as drum n bass, techno etc. But when I tried to produce that kind of music, its always too cheesy (the melody, rhythm and sound design). I'm coming from traditional music background, playing guitar in bands. So everytime I improvised in production, the output always just plain, boring melody and rhytm.

I know its a looong way to master one genre, but I'm just curious, do you produce music based on your interest or based on what is naturally come out from you? I hope everyone understand my question

[Zexila]

Just do whatever suits my vision/inspiration/taste, sometimes I try same idea in few differnt genres of my interest, flow with what works the best for given composition, which comes first. I try to get away from norms as much as I can.

[mgw38]

I have a similar issue. I am trained in classical piano (although I did not touch an actual piano for many years). So whenever I want to produce modern electronic music it tends to be very heavy on the melodic structure or anything that benefits from a good understanding of music theory. I never get the beat anything near to what modern electronic music sounds like. I decided to accept that. I am doing my own genre now.

[Zexila]

Plenty of the guys would have more musical outcome if they only could do it, they can't, so they focus so much on rhythm, producition and sound design. Use your knowledge for your own benefit, people more love/remember melodies in the end of the day.

[foosnark]

I found when I specifically tried to make something that sounds like an existing genre, it fails.

I'd rather succeed at making music -- and then maybe fail at categorizing it afterward -- than fail at making music.

[Zexila]

it's good to find a partner who excels in things you fall short, win win really.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I think the issues occur when misjudging certain electronic genres as simplistic, even if subconsciously. And I'm sure there's a certain sense that one who is an accomplished musician should easily be able to craft a banger, whereas you just end up 'aping' the genre, and with corny results.

Genres in music can be pretty specialised things, with specialised skillsets, despite seeming simple from the outside. And while I'm not suggesting that becoming fluent with electronic music would be as huge a task as learning to be a good jazz musician, it'd probably be worth approaching the task with the same methodology. And that starts with becoming really familiar with the type of music you want to create, making sure that you at least really enjoy listening to the genre/style. Learn why certain things are done as they are etc. (Youtube tutorials would be helpful, here).

Lastly, I think it's important to step outside your own workflow norms, and try to adopt certain 'given' new workflows. For instance, ditch the keyboard. Sitting behind your 88-key controller will just lead you towards certain choices that these producers won't be able to make from behind an XoX-style sequencer. While you may not be interested in spending thousands on a whim for a hardware setup, these workflow 'limitations' can easily be recreated within the software world.

Anyway, this is all just thoughts, opinions etc. that lack real-world experience. Im just thinking how I would approach the situation. I imagine the styles I'd find easiest to be convincing with are trance (There's a place for all that melody), and D 'n' B (Many substance-fuelled days and nights with the dark stuff ).

Hope some of this was helpful

[Delta Sign]

I always just do the shit that's in my head. I never thought about genres. I don't see any benefit to it.

[bbtr]

based on what is naturally come out from you?

In most cases, guys who fit the above are not musicians, and do not write music. Especially on kvr.

Theory is important, genre rules are important, if you're ignorant of those, where are you going? And then you need the skills, and you need talent.

But if you want to do a certain style, knowledge comes first. It just cannot 'come out of you'. You cannot just become an engineer, or a doctor... or write poetry in iambic hexameter.

[vurt]

You cannot just become an engineer, or a doctor... or write poetry in iambic hexameter.

one never knows till one tries.
no point doing all that medical college if im going to find out i don't enjoy neurosurgery.
best to try it a few times before signing up.

[Jafo]

I'm coming from traditional music background, playing guitar in bands. So everytime I improvised in production, the output always just plain, boring melody and rhytm.

If you follow the same rules as everybody else, you'll sound like everybody else, and they have a lot more experience at it.

Stop writing phrases in 4s and 8s -- write to new patterns. Try phrases of 3+5, 3+3+2, 6+2, whatevs against that four to the floor. Try some cross-rhythms (hemiola?) -- do two parts, one in 4+4, the other in 3+2+3.

Try odd meters as well. Take 5? Why not 7 or 11? It ain't an impossible mission! You could even drop a beat every other bar -- if it's good enough for John Lennon and Jimmy Page (all you need is love out on the tiles at the ocean), it's certainly good enough for you. (Well, unless you just want a gaggle of technicolor raving zombies.)

Sure, your experiments will probably suck at first, but what doesn't?

[Zexila]

based on what is naturally come out from you?

In most cases, guys who fit the above are not musicians, and do not write music. Especially on kvr.

Theory is important, genre rules are important, if you're ignorant of those, where are you going? And then you need the skills, and you need talent.

But if you want to do a certain style, knowledge comes first. It just cannot 'come out of you'. You cannot just become an engineer, or a doctor... or write poetry in iambic hexameter.

That's a bit of straw man right there, nobody claims you need to break every rule, but you don't need to follow every single cliche, folks that stand out the most in any genre are the ones that have something little different going on for them.

Most important is to found yourself in any genre, get your taste and vision out there for people to connect, let yourself in slowly, not push yourself into cliches and become just another copy cat, especially if you got something going on for you except that you one day downloaded a DAW and want to make music and have no actual knowledge whatsoever.

So yeah, as "real" musician you have so much to offer to any genre, opposed to usual "bedroom producer" that would kill to know how to play half of the ideas he got in his head, use that to your advantage, dissecting basics of any electronic genre for any musician should be piece of cake, of course it takes time to get fluent with everything else, so take your time.

[eluherlu]

Hmm, lots of really helpful answers here, and great suggestions. Thanks guys! I also found that in electronic music there are too many options, and that's not a good thing, at least for me

[vurt]

i produce music based on the phases of the moons.
divided by the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin.
this gives me map coordinates for the ethereal plane.
my composition is then inspired by whatever landmark i find.

[Zexila]

Hmm, lots of really helpful answers here, and great suggestions. Thanks guys! I also found that in electronic music there are too many options, and that's not a good thing, at least for me

Find something where you belong mostly out of the box, there must be some genre where you can shine and be yourself for most part, where your taste and vision flows naturally, you can dissect whole thing and everything, but next guy that is part of the scene can in no time make something people are really connecting to, he feels it, he probably use drugs too as majority of his audience, you are trying to fake it, you can't never fake it as good as he can make it, he is part of the floor, you really can't make dancefloor music without that experience, that's when I actually got nuances of some things I desperately tried to dissect in studio, after parties in studio.