Workflow tips for crafting a new track from a template
This week’s tutorial video deals with creating a starting point for a track, from a template that we previously created.
One of the first things I do when starting a track from a template is to create a “main hook”, for those who don’t know what the concept of a main hook is – it’s ideally something unique and memorable to that specific track, something that will set it apart from every other track in the world. This is why I feel it’s so helpful to have a structure in place when the creativity strikes, so you can spend most of that creative energy on crafting something unique.
Once you have a solid main hook in place, because we have all of our channels and effects lanes already laid out, it becomes very easy to quickly create multiple variations or experiment with new arrangements, without having to craft everything from scratch again – keep in mind, these can serve as place-holders to fine-tune at a later stage, when you may have some more time on your hands.
Looking closer at this example…
In this example I’m using the “Tristan-style psychedelic drums” trick using the sampler in Phase Plant, the “Reverser” effect here is great for altering these types of percussive sounds, coupled with the usual delay and reverb and you’re good to go. Once you have something decent, copy it over to multiple sections and create a bunch of variations. Using a similar sound in various ways throughout a track helps to create a running-theme.
It’s also much quicker to duplicate the ready-made chunks of track and create multiple different bassline variations, creating a large variety and then “cherry-picking” the best ones is a very powerful way of creating a compelling bass pattern.
The idea here is not to get too technical, focus on creativity – leave the mixing and more technical stuff for when you have some more time on your hands.
For a walkthrough on how I go about this, check out this week’s tutorial video here:
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/FQsPUnncP2s”]