Looking for Creative Process/Production Videos

[ObtuseMoose]

Can anyone point me to tutorial type videos about the creative and production process? Let me explain.

 

I'm dissatisfied with the process I go through when creating (or, more often, trying to create) a finished piece. I always seem to focus too much attention on one section and end up with either a killer chorus and really weak everything else, or I get burned out on the tune and never finish it. I feel that if I could learn to spread my attention and effort out over the whole piece and resist the urge to prematurely dive deeply into one section, I could finish more tunes and have them be more balanced.

 

To do that, I think it would be helpful to see examples of how other people work and hear WHY they do things the way they do. I know everyone's work style (including mine) will be unique, but I hope seeing what works for others may give me ideas for how to improve my own process and get stuck less often.

 

Most of the videos I've found so far have been too short, too abstract ("you got to FEEL the flow of the groove in your bones"), or too specific ("How To Make Bitchin Beats for Deep Electro House on the Akai MPK and a Stylophone").

 

One notable exception was the "Elite Sessions: Jaytech" video at PyramindOnline. That was a 2 hour video where he went through the creation of a track from a basic beat through a more or less ready-to-mix piece (well, as much as can be expected for an hour or so of live work.) Along the way, he explained what he was doing and why it worked for him. Although the music style was a bit too "dance-y" for my taste and he wasn't using Logic, I still got a lot out of it. (There are other videos there that might be worthwhile, but my free trial ran out before I could get to them. I'll probably sign up for a month to get access to the rest.)

 

If it wasn't obvious, music is a hobby and this is for my own enjoyment. I do my own composing and use softsynths in Logic almost exclusively. The style of music I aspire to could probably best be described as downtempo electronic. Some of my influences are General Fuzz, Tarekith, Kalabi, Tangerine Dream (in the Tangram / Rubycon / Poland days), Jon Hopkins, Sounds From the Ground, etc.

 

Anyway, if anyone knows of any videos (free or paid access) that you think might help, I would appreciate hearing about them.

 

Thanks.

 

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Moose

[Rev. Juda Sleaze]

Tangerine Dream

 

Yay!

 

Anyway, sorry I don't have any links to videos, but all the tunes that've gone well/smoothly for me have been when I've concentrated on getting the main melodies/chords of the whole tune before going too deeply into arranging.

 

I generally like to work most things out, in a skeletal form, on acoustic guitar before I get carried away with electronic toys, but I have done this with softsynths too.

 

I tend to concentrate on harmonies and counterpoint melodies, and let the chords build up from that, but sometimes the chords come first.

 

Hope this might be of some help to you.

[ObtuseMoose]

I generally like to work most things out, in a skeletal form, on acoustic guitar before I get carried away with electronic toys, but I have done this with softsynths too.

 

Well, you've got me thinking about how most of my projects start: it's usually some sound or short riff that grabs my attention. I immediately start noodling with it and building it out both in width (making it a longer phrase) and depth (adding supporting sounds and instruments to it), growing it from the inside out. Or, to put it another way, I start with a sound and try to fit a musical idea and structure to it rather than starting with a musical idea and fitting sound(s) to it.

 

Perhaps I'll try limiting myself to a single instrument early in the process until I get the overall structure down.

 

Thanks for the response, Rev.

 

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Moose

[CarlosUnderground]

I find I work better by working backward. Hearing the song in my head before I fire up DAW. I learned this in athletics. First visualize the gol, then work towards it. I often just grab a mic and sing the melody first as a sketch, then I start to record the instruments. The idea is to not over intellectualize and just get it on tape as fast as possible, then polish it. Sometimes I'll take a cool rifft and cut it in half, giving me two rifts and arrange them through the song until they come together as a climax. Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[ObtuseMoose]

Can anyone point me to tutorial type videos about the creative and production process?

 

Since I posted my original question I've found a series of videos on YouTube that are almost exactly what I'm looking for. It's a series of 23 videos (a little over 4 hours) produced by the Icon Collective and Future Music featuring D. Ramirez going through his process of producing a dance track in Logic from inspiration to final mixing and mastering. The first video in the series can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ny4q2I3z44. If you search for "DRamirez Masterclass", you'll find plenty of playlists that will let you watch the whole series back-to-back in the right order.

 

Like the other series I mentioned, this one is a bit "dance-y" for my tastes, but I got a lot out of it. Seeing the whole design / record / arrange / mix / master sequence is what I wanted. I thought I'd post the link in case anyone else is looking for an overview of the entire production process.

 

Disclaimer: I have no connection to DRamirez, Icon Collective, Future Music, or anyone involved with this series. I just enjoyed watching it.

 

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Moose

[camillo jr]

Here's some more with

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