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[DSMagnum]

How do you start your pieces? How do you decide what you're going to do?

Personally, I like to start off with a loop and then try to extend on that. Other times I'll play the piano to get a melody going. Occasionally I'll just start writing things in to see what comes out. My best songs come from hear a melody in my head and I'll put it down and build up from there. I have many different ways I produce my music. How about you?

[TheComet]

I randomly throw in an instrument and them go crazy edited it, then mix around notes in the piano roll until I get something I like. Then I build off of that on a few other layers and then put in drums.

[SineRider]

Well for me, I usually start with making some kind of synth in Reason then playing a nice melody around. I might add a harmony or bass right at the go, or leave them for later.

Next I decide where I'm going to take that song as in genre and arrangement. Then I add a nice drum beat or so.

I arrange the things in my head to a loop. Add more instruments.

Next I think about full arrangement of the piece. This is where my editing skills kick in. Moving around and arrangeing different parts. This is usually the most time consuming part for me.

Finally I come out with a nice song and I add different effects and master it. Then I let it sit for a day ome back and take a listen to make sure it is eactly what I want.

That is bassically how I go about maknig my songs =)

[TheComet]

forgot to mention one thing, I have a SHITLOAD of projects going on at once XD

work at one run out of ideas, jump to another, and then go back eventually in like a cycle

never run out of ideas that way, and I get alot songs done

[SadSpoon]

I always start with the drums, sampling and layering and then writing a beat. Then I EQ and mix them.

Then, I make really cool sounding bass by tweaking every knob I can find. I lay down the bassline in the piano roll (no MIDI controller, it sucks) by keeping it simple, and usually very dark.

Then I can add in the subbass or anything else I need at that point.

I now start arranging the song, switching the beat or melody around every so often to keep the diversity up.

It's always great to fill up a sampler with wierd samples, I have a big collection of random sounds that work great as background noise in my songs.

Then I might add a main synth, if I find it necessary. I usually don't.

Strings always come in handy when putting something in the background, as do random sine arpeggios with some portamento.

It's always a good idea to let the song sit for a day or to, I never do it though XD

Those are the basics.

[Paul-Stetich]

In order to make video game songs to my perspective, I first listen to the original a few times, find the instruments that would be perfect for the parts, and the first verse is always the original. Then after a quick solo, I usually put the song into my own perspective. Usually I head to a quiet spot with the song in my head to think of how to do it. I usually go to this steep dirt hill which is like 45 feet by a lake. That's a nice, serene, quiet sanctuary for me to think. Then I just throw the notes around, come back and, as I like to call, "Stetichize" the song. Of course, there is the problem with length and speed, so I have to speed up the song sometimes if I want the full version in play, or cut it down if it gets too fast.

As for original songs, I just listen to my favorite bands and think of cool chord combinations. Sometimes that can take a few days. Of course I always go to the hill by the lake. Sometimes I bring my IPod and listen to my stuff there. Sometimes I sleep to it lol. Either way they are all cool strategies. My friend Alex helps me out sometimes, writing some lyrics and helping out with instrument selection.

I use Cakewalk Kinetic mostly, for the beat and such. I then use Audacity to export to MP3 file and to record lyrics. Although I wish I had something better so my songs can be longer. Right now, my programs limit me to 4 minutes and 15 seconds.

That's how I roll style in a nutshell.