Describe your preferred workflow

[CYSYS8993]

I'm not exactly professional at the moment, so it's no surprise that I have yet to decide on one for good.

Right now, I'd add a melody line, harmony, and drums, then add some FX or a few extra texture noises wherever appropriate as I progress.

[etyrnal]

Don't get stuck into a single monolithic workflow, your creativity will stagnate. Keep it flexible. Change it up. Try different things. Don't create a workflow for the creative stage. If you're mixing or doing some other things like that or mastering, then I guess it makes sense to have a workflow. But not for the creative portion.

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[aeox]

It all starts with experimentation for me.

Maybe I'll have a blank project open, writing chord progressions with unprocessed sawtooth waves to bin for later, and get inspired by something I came up with and start building on it.

Maybe I'm working on sound design or creating a library of patches to use later, and get inspired by a sweet patch I made and go from there. Add drums, start layering, processing, etc. Next thing I know I've got a track finished.

It could even start with a kick drum on ever quarter note, getting that kick to sound just right the way I want it. Adding a clap/snare, cymbals, etc. Getting a 4 bar loop to sound good and start adding to it from there, maybe write a chord progression, add a melody, background elements, etc.

There is no right or wrong workflow, most of the greatest music out there has just happened by experimenting, sometimes even on accident.

[syncanonymous]

Don't get stuck into a single monolithic workflow, your creativity will stagnate. Keep it flexible. Change it up. Try different things. Don't create a workflow for the creative stage. If you're mixing or doing some other things like that or mastering, then I guess it makes sense to have a workflow. But not for the creative portion.

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I agree totally. I always say creating music is subjective and mixing audio for film is objective. My workflow for mixing dialogue and interviews is always the same. Creating music depends upon what you are doing,

If making music for yourself, do what you want.

if making a cover or soundalike that sounds somewhat like a reference, then formula makes sense. For example, if composing or using a reference for film, duration is all important, especially for short form. 120BPM is your friend here because timings match timecode; you can compose neatly to 15sec or 10min exactly. If I am doing a cover or soundalike, I determine BPM first, then I always start with drums and bass.When I make music for myself, I totally just follow my nose. Arrangement wise, I always use guitar because that is my main instrument, but that is not a rule, by any means. My right index finger has been messed up for about 3mos, so playing guitar & keys hasn't been normal for me. I started using my left hand on keys much more and using machines too.

Mixing audio for film, like an interview, is always the same formula:
01_I use the same folder structure every time.
02_I use audio syntax documents to outline all the files I am using & what to name the exports which usually takes me about an hour to create, but is valuable if I need to backtrack at a later date.
03_convert xml from video editor with AA Translator & rename in a new location
04_convert video ref from mp4 to avi
05_connect the media
06_copy original sequence clips/regions to safety tracks & hide
07_set up my DAW mixer (4 channels per mic; fx returns always in this order: DClk>DNz>DS>EQ in series)
08_set offset level
09_create noise reduction profiles (if req'd; if outside no NR; if inside NR 90% of the time)
10_apply DClk & chk
11_apply DNz & check
12_set eq (it's different for every voice and every recording, I have a starting point I always use)
13_set DS (if req'd....probably use 60% of the time; sometimes better after eq, but not often)
14_mix transitions with headphones; when mixing transitions some word and syllable replacement will be required. transcripts are helpful when I have them, but I usually do not....so listen to the rushes and track down the best takes; can be very time consuming. Mixing the transitions can be fairly quick. I have a recipe for transition "crossfades"; essentially the when the fade up reaches 0db the fade out needs to be a -9db to be seamless...but it is more complicated than that...
15_mix peaks down to -10db ; I usually record with a Sound Devices 702T which has an awesome limiter, but I also find the quieter I record lavalier mics, the better they sound in post...we often record at -30db to -24db and boost +6db to +12db; sometimes up to +15db for quiet contributors
16_mix background music level (music is already mixed)
*client approval if possible right here; for me it usually is
17_export to new soundfile
18_send soundfile to to video editor to lay back to picture

the formula is always the same; unless there is video sync beyond the interview/dialogue sync. The more mics; the more complicated the job, but the workflow is the same.

[aRiver]

A lot depends on style of music you could be writing. Let's look at two extremes: one is classical music which has all the sounds ready to go and has no or very little sound design implementation , so it goes right away to wiring melodies, harmonies. On the other spectrum is sound design driven music like neuro, where at it finest point you do not have any sounds, and you need to have a lengthy session of creating your own musical pallet, thus leaving 'writing' music part for after.

Up to you to find where you would want to be.

[CaliforniaBurrito]

I usually start with drums but not today!

[Oquasec]

A modular mpc with clip launching capabilites.
So Reason & Ableton.

[Innerst]

I find the following workflow both productive and inspiring:

#1 Project setup

I prefer building a new and very simple rack at the beginning of a project. This new rack may contain only a drum machine, a couple of synths, a sampler and perhaps audio tracks for guitar and vocal.

I find it useful with self imposed limitations in the beginning of the creative process. This enables me to focus on sketching out ideas without diving into the endless possibilities we have in the DAW. I try to avoid getting lost in details early on and instead focus on the creative part.

Some of the old school workflows really inspire me. Like when you had a limited set of boxes and had to learn and take advantage of each box.

#2 Jamming and capture of ideas

For capturing ideas I always use block mode.

In the start I will produce a number of 'seed blocks' which may contain variations of the same theme. These first blocks often contain simple chord progressions, maybe a few seconds of droning, a short beat or maybe a guitar riff. I then take elements of these basic blocks and produce new blocks. These new blocks will then again form the input to even more complex blocks. At any time I may create new base blocks to start of completely new ideas but with the same instruments.

I always keep the source blocks which were used to create new blocks. I find this a good way of documenting the creative process. It also enables me to backtrack in case a particular idea or block is a dead end. Imagine this as a hierarchy of sorts which also enables branching off new ideas at any part of the tree. Even the blocks you felt were dead ends may in the future form the basis of fruitful new ideas.

To document the relation between the various blocks I sometimes use a simple naming convention and group blocks together vertically.

During the creative block phase I sometimes also add new devices. But generally I try to avoid having too many devices.

I often find that less is more both in terms of productivity and creativity.

#3 Song writing and mixing

The blocks produced in step #2 may at some point be good candiates for usage in Reason's song mode. If I decide to enter song mode I usually have enough material as blocks to create more or less a full song. On entering song mode I will always save the project into a song mix. This way you can go back to the block mode project and produce more songs with the same theme.

Hope that makes sense