Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

This is probably the one area that gives people the most trouble while 
working on music.  I know so many people that can get a good 8 bar loop 
happening, but when it comes to actually laying out a song, they get 
stuck.  I don't think that there's many books out there on this, because 
by and large this is the 'art' aspect of making music.  There's no right 
or wrong ways to do it, and you're really only limited by your 
immagination. 

If you're stuck and don't know how to proceed, I always recommend people 
listen to a couple of their favorite songs with a pen and paper handy. 
Make yourself a small graph showing when different parts of the song 
happen, and how it's arranged.  Listen to it a few times and note when and 
where instruments are brought in and out of the mix.  Try and write this 
down in way that gives you a visual representation of the song, then use 
that as the basis for yours.  After you do this a few times with different 
songs, you'll start to get a feel for song structure, and be able to do it 
on the fly with your own tunes much easier.

rEalm




Does any body know of any websites (or books) that talk about song 
structure (i.e. how to make a song). Ive read lots of material on how 
to get the right sound, tech advice, recording techniques, etc. But I 
havent really seen anything about putting together a song. I can make 
good loops and beats, play tight bass lines, and get good vocals and 
samples, but when it comes to arranging all these elements to make a 
smooth flowing song, my skills are lacking. Any tips?




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