How my song usually starts

Neon Notes — Week [3]

Ok. Now that I've gotten the introductions and the "Why's" of my music out of the way with the first two posts, it's time to explain the "How's".

Very rarely do I go into a song knowing what it will be, not that I don't have inspiration, but I like to feel where the song takes me. There are some occasions where I'll start a new project with a specific idea, but the organic flow of not knowing is what makes it most fun for me.

This is the order in which I make a song:

• the first two are chords and vocals
• simple drum beat 
• bass
• lead synth melody
• main verse
• chorus
• intro
• Arrangement adjustments (if needed)
• break or bridge
• synth solo (if it has one) 
• second verse/half
• drums/percussion finalization
• fx
• Final arrangement
• Outro

I always start a new project in one of two ways, a chord progression, or a vocal sample. If I start with a chord progression, I'll pick a minor key and start building the progression. The structure of the progression will then determine the tempo of the song, of course I may tweak the progression later and decide to change tempo at that time, like I said, I love the organic approach.

If I start with a vocal, that sample usually dictates the tempo, mood, and feel of the song right away. Although, I could change the cadence of the sample to be more upbeat or downtempo. It all depends on what hits me.

The next thing I do is create a really simple beat just to get a rhythm going. I'll let the beat, chords and vocals (if the song has vocals) loop for a while and just listen. At this point I'll start writing a bassline for groove that fits the chords or adjust the chords to fit the bass.

Then I move on to writing the main melody using the soft synth called Serum. Once I have the synth melody, this is when I start dialing in the main synth and the bass design. I'll tweak the synth and bass depending on where the song is going, is it up tempo? Is it more chill? That's what determines if my bass and synth have more groove or more emotion.

Once that's done I start on the main verse or core of the song. It will either have a vocal or stripped down version of the main melody. It's usually 16 bars with the second 8 bar section a little more energetic leading into the chorus/hook.

Now it's time to work on the chorus or hook of the song now that I have the main verse done. My goal here is to build a catchy earworm hook that makes me want to hum or sing it all the time. This is where I use the main melody of the song, and it always has the most energy or emotion. 

Now it's time to move on to how I want the song to start, if it's an upbeat dance song, I might start with the chorus/hook, right into the meat of the song and keep the energy going. Or, I may have a moody slow building intro if the song is lower tempo, and more emotional. It all depends on my mood.

At this point I have lightly arranged the song, and now I'll deliberately make changes to the arrangement if needed. I'll move sections around so that they make sense to me in the context of the song. Sometimes, this can lead to major changes in how the song feels, like I said, it's all an organic approach.

Once I have a basic arrangement down, I start work on a break or bridge after the chorus/hook. This break/bridge is usually in the middle of the song, and will lead into one of three things...A synth solo, the chorus/hook again, or directly into the second verse. If it's a solo, I'll write 18 bars, 1 bar at the beginning as a lead in, 16 bars of actual solo, and one bar at the end for an outro that leads into the second verse or chorus/hook. 

Now that the bridge and solo (if there is a solo) is done, I either go into an even more energetic chorus/hook or the second verse. The second half of my songs almost always have more elements, energy, or emotion than the first half. It's just the way I like to write.

This is where I start adding percussion, like rim shot grooves, shaker grooves, tom fills, and I also finish the drums. I either make it a simple 4 on the floor or I make it groovy depending on the feel of the song.  I also start adding drum fills and beat cuts, as these can make a huge difference in how interesting a song is.

Next up is all the fx and ear candy, swooshes, blips and bloops, ambient breaths...all the things you hear, but wouldn't notice until they're no longer there. The fx and ear candy can make take the song from plain and boring to super interesting with just a few additions. 

Now it's time for the final arrangement. This is where I solidify how the song is structured. Sometimes this step only takes a few tweaks because the arrangement works, sometimes I make major adjustments (rarely) because something seems off. The goal of this step is to keep the song as interesting as possible so that it makes me want to listen to it over and over.

Finally, I work on the outro. Now...when I first started making music, I just did a fadeout because I just thought that's how it's done. Now, I write deliberate, meaningful endings to my songs.

And that's it, that's how I build a song. It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done besides becoming a husband and father. Music has always been apart of my life, it's always been there to cheer me up, or make me think of a certain time of my life when I hear a specific song...and now, maybe I get to do that for someone else. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If any part of it resonated with you, I’m always happy to hear your thoughts. Whether you’re making music or something completely different, I hope you keep following whatever feels honest to you.

This post is part of my weekly Neon Notes series. Look for new posts every Wednesday.