Process #2 - creating effective scratch tracks

[KuruPrionz]

I'm almost always an "Army of One" and I've found the following to be an effective way to get songs recorded. This is a work in progress, my next improvement will be learning to control tempo changes that serve the song. Not quite there yet.

 

First step for me is to find a drum pattern that I like and feels good to play for the piece I'm working on. I've got IK MODO Drum and NI Studio Drummer but just about any free plugin should work for this. Once I have that pattern, I tweak the tempo to find the best feel for my song and then I loop it. My DAW (Waveform) will loop up to 32x. Often I'll copy and paste that to make a longer scratch drum track than I will need. 

 

I ALWAYS put a countdown on the vocal track but you could play a countdown on an instrument as well. Just a simple "1-2-3-4" will provide a consistent starting point. This makes proceeding much easier. 

 

Next, I play a simple scratch track using a guitar plugged straight in and a single mic for vocals (you could use your preferred instrument and if you don't sing then you won't need the mic unless you are all acoustic).

 

None of this is intended to end up in the final recording but it provides an easy way to proceed. 

My next steps are usually to create the percussion track that I want for the final song, there are LOTS of different ways to do this and none of them are inherently wrong. I like having my fills, breaks, etc. all played in time and in correct position. 

 

Next for me would be the bass guitar. If your drums and bass lock a groove and define the track then you can proceed with your keeper tracks, whatever they may be. 

 

I'd love to hear about other ways of working, please post if you have a technique that might benefit all of us!!!! 😇

[David Emm]

Gee, I wish I HAD a more consistent approach. Yes, its sensible to get your tempo/percussion lined up first, but sometimes, its like playing the ELKA-X recently and being mesmerized by a patch that became the seed of a new piece. That also occurs while I'm getting percussion lined up, sending me careening off with a melody that suddenly appears, to fit it to a proverbial T. I rush and overplay like a sumbitch, but that's become a dependable compositional technique. I create some loops laboriously by hand, cutting n' pasting as needed to construct it. Sometimes a loop comes from the depths of a freebie or from Alchemy.

 

I think I resist some standard approaches because I get more from allowing that first spark to determine the general shape. There's pragmatic discipline and then there's inspiration. Surf the line between them casually, I dare you! 🤔

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, David Emm said:

Gee, I wish I HAD a more consistent approach. Yes, its sensible to get your tempo/percussion lined up first, but sometimes, its like playing the ELKA-X recently and being mesmerized by a patch that became the seed of a new piece. That also occurs while I'm getting percussion lined up, sending me careening off with a melody that suddenly appears, to fit it to a proverbial T. I rush and overplay like a sumbitch, but that's become a dependable compositional technique. I create some loops laboriously by hand, cutting n' pasting as needed to construct it. Sometimes a loop comes from the depths of a freebie or from Alchemy.

 

I think I resist some standard approaches because I get more from allowing that first spark to determine the general shape. There's pragmatic discipline and then there's inspiration. Surf the line between them casually, I dare you! 🤔

Thanks for posting!!! I understand your approach and do similar things myself. 

TBH, I often just let imagination fly and record all sorts of crazy stuff. To me that is an important aspect of creativity and I refuse to stifle it. 

I think of it as part of the writing process and I have to do it or nothing gets done. 

 

On the other hand, the song I'm working on now was written in 1978 and I've never found a drummer who could play it the way I wanted it played. 

It's pretty straightforward reggae but the signature intro, verse and chorus have to deploy different levels of intensity, mostly in the snare hits. 

IK MODO Drum had the beats I wanted and some cool fills so I went with it. Once I had the drum part cobbled up it made playing the bass part fun and easy.

The groove locked and that was it. 

 

I did more or less the same thing on a couple of other songs although they are very different styles. I feel like once a song is written and I hear it in my head, I should honor that and this way of working seems effective. 

 

I didn't go into the later stages of development, will probably write another Process #x thread describing the joys of allowing myself to pile tons of insane stuffs into a song and then chopping and deleting (which takes a few days sometimes) to get just the cool stuff here and there and not smother the mix. 

Hmmm... smother the mix... there's a good title... 😇

[Dave Bryce]

Great topic, brother Kuru!

 

My scratch tracks almost always start with a single instrument played all the way through the tune as a guide track.  

 

Typically, I use a piano-type sound...but it can start with a guitar as well.  I work that track until I get the structure of the tune and a good sense of the feel, then build all around it using the guide track as a frame.  

 

Interestingly enough, the guide track does not always make it into the tune...or, it gets changed to a different sound/set of sounds.

 

After that, i usually just start piling stuff on, typically playing sounds from one end of the tune to the other with the idea that I'll go back and delete/edit the track to fit when and where it works best.

 

dB

[KuruPrionz]

22 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

Great topic, brother Kuru!

 

My scratch tracks almost always start with a single instrument played all the way through the tune as a guide track.  

 

Typically, I use a piano-type sound...but it can start with a guitar as well.  I work that track until I get the structure of the tune and a good sense of the feel, then build all around it using the guide track as a frame.  Thanks for sharing

 

Interestingly enough, the guide track does not always make it into the tune...or, it gets changed to a different sound/set of sounds.

 

After that, i usually just start piling stuff on, typically playing sounds from one end of the tune to the other with the idea that I'll go back and delete/edit the track to fit when and where it works best.

 

dB

Thanks for sharing, Sir Dave! 

When I am creating a new song I don't have the structure mentioned above, that comes later as I must develop ideas first.

I will say that some of my initial ideas spark a flatlined drum or percussion loop and that finding the tempo is something I try to do early on. 

After that all bets are off. I may find a use for a horrible sound or an unpleasant progression, tension and release means everything can't be nicey-nice! 🤔🤣

 

My guide tracks never seem to work out as part of the song although I may cop the feel or a bit of chord/melodic structure here and there. 

I always pile in tons of tracks and end up deleting most of it. Sometimes a 4 minute track will have 5-10 seconds of magic that are allowed to exist and I may move that part to a better spot if I hear it that way. 

 

I'm pretty certain by now that "Process #3" will be about allowing creativity to flow since that theme has appeared in this thread. 

Sharing ideas is a great way for all of us to learn new things! 😇

[Strays Dave]

I'm newly dipping my toes into the multi-verse (multi-track) universe.  Only 3 or 4 songs thus far.  I'm using  the piano as a foundation track, with left hand bass, right hand rhythm chords.  I guess it's  what you are calling a guide track. I've been using songs I've written with a chord/melody/lyric sheet I create using the Goodnotes app on my iPad.  Trying to keep the piano part simple so it doesn't conflict with a percussion part added later. At least that's the hope.  I'm assuming you are all using some sort of metronome,  or a virtual drum with a steady pulse.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Strays Dave said:

I'm newly dipping my toes into the multi-verse (multi-track) universe.  Only 3 or 4 songs thus far.  I'm using  the piano as a foundation track, with left hand bass, right hand rhythm chords.  I guess it's  what you are calling a guide track. I've been using songs I've written with a chord/melody/lyric sheet I create using the Goodnotes app on my iPad.  Trying to keep the piano part simple so it doesn't conflict with a percussion part added later. At least that's the hope.  I'm assuming you are all using some sort of metronome,  or a virtual drum with a steady pulse.  

I do use a drum plugin as a basis for keeping time. The loop I track for playing a scratch track may or may not become part of the final drum track. The scratch track itself is usually both acoustic guitar and vocal on one track, just to provide some definition to an arrangement. It's unlikely to make it to the final mix either.

 

That's for songs I've already more or less sussed out.

 

IK MODO Drum or NI Studio Drummer are my current choices. Both of them have more realistic drum beats, a metronome will show you where the precise, mathematical "one" is but most music that I listen to has a "backbeat" and it's easier to groove along with a drum part that also has that. 

 

My Process #3 thread covers how I go about making up new songs. 

I'd say if your way of going about it is fun and working for you then it's a great way to do things!

And, thanks for sharing!!! The main reason I'm posting these threads is to get feedback and learn new ideas on how to get things done. 

 

I don't think there is only one "correct" way or ever will be. 😇

 

[Paul Vnuk Jr.]

For client projects, I will do scratch tracks typically with midi and virtual instruments––Superior Drummer, Ez Bass, Kontakt, Pianoteq. Usually, this is with the hope and or expectation that they will be replaced and re-played by real players and real instruments. In these cases, I am typically creating looped sections like a verse or chorus.

 

When I create my own tribal ambient tracks, I sketch blindly––maybe setting up a sequence on a Moog Subharmonicon or DFAM, or it could be doing live real-time looping with a hardware synth into a Looperlative LP-1 and effects pedals. While I call these sketches, it's almost always with the expectation that they will form a finished composition that I then continue to add layers to.

 

Now actually finishing one of these sketches and declaring it a finished song...that's a whole different story.

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Paul Vnuk Jr. said:

For client projects, I will do scratch tracks typically with midi and virtual instruments––Superior Drummer, Ez Bass, Kontakt, Pianoteq. Usually, this is with the hope and or expectation that they will be replaced and re-played by real players and real instruments. In these cases, I am typically creating looped sections like a verse or chorus.

 

When I create my own tribal ambient tracks, I sketch blindly––maybe setting up a sequence on a Moog Subharmonicon or DFAM, or it could be doing live real-time looping with a hardware synth into a Looperlative LP-1 and effects pedals. While I call these sketches, it's almost always with the expectation that they will form a finished composition that I then continue to add layers to.

 

Now actually finishing one of these sketches and declaring it a finished song...that's a whole different story.

And there's another way of going about it, except for the inevitable ending! 😃

I have a hard time proclaiming a song done as well. 

 

And I'm world famous in Whatcom County for piling tracks in by the umpty bajillion and then chopping them up and tossing out most of it. 

[Bill Heins]

I work differently. First of all I have no idea what I'm going to write until I turn the computer on While the computer boots and I check for updates I grab my guitar and start playing around...when something strikes me I open Cubase(now Nuendo) and start recording. Then its just adding layers and parts. If I decide to do a piano or synth based piece I load the DAW, call up something like the Ravenscroft VI and start noodling till something strikes my fancy and then record and enhance. Recording something to purposely toss doesn't seem like a good idea to me

 

Bill

[KuruPrionz]

4 hours ago, Bill Heins said:

I work differently. First of all I have no idea what I'm going to write until I turn the computer on While the computer boots and I check for updates I grab my guitar and start playing around...when something strikes me I open Cubase(now Nuendo) and start recording. Then its just adding layers and parts. If I decide to do a piano or synth based piece I load the DAW, call up something like the Ravenscroft VI and start noodling till something strikes my fancy and then record and enhance. Recording something to purposely toss doesn't seem like a good idea to me

 

Bill

I get your point but I can say from experience that letting go of any preconceive ideas and allowing myself to create freely has paid off frequently. 

The snippets I've taken and kept from my improvised tracks have been great additions. But then, I am an improviser by nature. 

It has in fact, changed the way the song was "written" and recorded more than once. I've tossed a few entire tracks but that includes tracks I went at with full intention of them staying. 

 

Thanks for posting your perspective, that's why I started this thread and you got me thinking! 😇

[Bill Heins]

I don't throw tracks out....I throw projects out

 

Bill

[KuruPrionz]

12 minutes ago, Bill Heins said:

I don't throw tracks out....I throw projects out

 

Bill

I've done that too!

I've also re-recorded many projects from scratch. The previous versions inform both what is good and what is not. 

This isn't like stocking the grocery store, Art rears its beautifully hideous head more often. 

[David Emm]

On 2/14/2023 at 11:53 AM, Bill Heins said:

I don't throw tracks out....I throw projects out

 

Likewise. Sometimes, things curl up and snarl to such a degree that I have to accept the loss. In "Con Air," Colm Meaney plays a federal agent whose beloved vintage Corvette ends up being dropped from a cargo plane. He walk over while the wreckage is still smoking, shoots it and says "I loved that damned car." 😝

 

Due to "this and that," I've either killed off belligerent pieces for the good of the "band" or accepted that something was lost before I could get it into Logic and save the better aspects. Part of being a practical artiste is knowing when a thing ISN'T working and not letting detrimental rumination ruin your lunch.

 

BTW, you're a bad dad if you let your kids see "Con Air" before about age 14. Its a wonderful piece of disposable action-flick fun, but they'll probably pee the bed and it'll be your fault.