perfect arrangement

skept · Post by **skept** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:02 am

how important is it to you that your tracks are perfectly arranged?

for example(s):

the number of bars is a multiple of 16

major changes happen exactly at 64 or 128 or...

the track has a 32 bar intro a 128 bar main section and a 32 bar outro or something very well aligned like that

you get my drift i think...

Robot Criminal · Post by **Robot Criminal** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:22 am

well i like my stuff arranged quite "perfectly" cus I just happen to like things tidy/arranged/aligned (that comes from the way u think I guess, with its pros and cons)

except the intro-main section-outro part, that totally depends of the track/mood/whatnot. It could be hands on from the first beat 'til the end or whatever

@ the end I don't think its THAT important. Though I guess it kinda gives some perspective to the listener...

skept · Post by **skept** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:26 am

Robot Criminal wrote:@ the end I don't think its THAT important.

i could see it as being important for djs i guess. but if they know their tracks it doesn't matter so much.

provaznik · Post by **provaznik** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:25 am

it matters a lot to dj's. not for anything else other than laziness. a friend of mine that makes trance just got his track signed but not after making quite a few changes to the original finished product because labels wouldn't pick it up. their reasoning was that dj's wouldn't pick it up because there was no distinguishable beat for the first 4 bars or so. i told him it was a crock of sh!t that he was having to change up the mood of his new track so much becausee a dj would be afraid to spin a record that didn't have a beat in it for the first 4 bars. in the end i think that dj's in most genres have gotten lazy and are staying away from some really cool music for the sake of not being able to feel comfortable spinning it in front of a crowd. end of rant.

Robot Criminal · Post by **Robot Criminal** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:39 pm

then theyre miserable fuckers who should quit spinning and get a real job

532nm · Post by **532nm** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:24 pm

werd^^^^^^

if you're a good dj then you can mix any track as long as it has even the slightest rhythmic content. to help, you can, put a tiny little scratch on your record at the 1 beat of songs that contain quiet and hard to discern poly-rhythms for the intro.

what about the tracks that flip the 1 of the beat somewhere in the middle of the track. watch out for that! your mix is going fine until some weird breakdown, then your bass drums are ping-ponging back and forth.

here is a variation of the typical track lead in and lead out.
use as many bars for each element as you feel appropriate.
this is of coures a very straight and "musical" method and not always condusive to the minimal and experimantal music we love.

lite drums to start
add additional percussion
add hi-hats
cut some drums and add bass line
add more drums, cymbals & percussion
cut bassline and add lead synth
put all drums back in
add strings if applicable
rock out
cut some sh!t
put it back
rock out
fade out

mim · Post by **mim** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:39 pm

Isn't music about emotions in the first place ?

My emotions are not in sync with any clock

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:01 pm

seriously, does everything have to have a formula? every track should be it's own independent thing. are you making tracks to make a djs life easy, or are you making tracks because you want to make tracks? are you laying out tracks according to a pattern or according to what works best for that sound?

if you end up making all of your tracks change exactly every 16 bars, you end up with something that feels robotic. change it up. do some things for 16, some for 8, maybe even some for 3. as long as your transitions are smooth, what's it matter?

and remember, djs can always make edits...