Building Song Arrangements Options

[PosterBoy]

There is no right or wrong way I guess but just wondering how the guys here who track everything themselves do it.

How often do you record a part and then later come up with an idea for another layered but it requires tweaking the original part
It's very different than recording a track when it has been rehearsed for hours and tweaked by a band

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

My approach is usually to write everything in Guitar Pro. I have done that for years and years. Drums, vocals, guitar parts, bass, keyboard... anything your head can imagine is noted down there. Once you know the program really well, it's a very fast method of noting down songs, material, riffs, parts and everything. It does take a lot of time to become familiar with it, and I can only recommend skipping GP6 and go straight to either 5.2 or 7.5. Those two versions have the best features.

I then export the midi from Guitar Pro for those track that I will not be playing myself, and I import those in Reaper. Choose the VST instruments and record the rest of the tracks. Of course there are some more or less manual humanizing to do and stuff like that.

Things may then change in the recording phase too of course.

Here are examples of GP5.2, GP7.5 and an mp3 export from GP7.5. Please DO NOT open this with GP6, as it will NOT sound "right". Use regular midi for 5.2 and the inbuilt sound engine of 7.5:

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Dec 12 2018, 05:52 PM

[Todd Simpson]

There are as many ways to do it as there are players I usually just record as I go. I record everything direct/no fx (plugin like overloud th3 used for monitoring guitar tone) so that it can easily be changed later on. I go back and re record on new tracks later. It's usually an evolving process that changes the song over time. They say songs are not finished, they are abandoned
Todd

There is no right or wrong way I guess but just wondering how the guys here who track everything themselves do it.

How often do you record a part and then later come up with an idea for another layered but it requires tweaking the original part
It's very different than recording a track when it has been rehearsed for hours and tweaked by a band

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[onetabmat]

I like the process of using guitar pro /tux guitar. But find it abit hard to put in the notation, pitch and tone wise it's fine but the note duration and rhythmic value is were I tend to struggle. It would great if I was writing music were it's just simple 8th notes or 16th notes .
I suppose it's a practise thing more than anything , would like a program where I could tap the note lengths and I could amend the actual music notes after.

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[Mertay]

Similar on classical music too, notice almost all famous composers were really good piano players too. The score is usually written on piano (as it represents the full range of the orchestra) then divided to instruments.

Because they had no chance of recording, they took notes on paper were a melody is going to be used on which instrument if its crucial. Also, as they couldn't play everything on piano, supporting parts were added later on.

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This post has been edited by Mertay: Dec 13 2018, 11:36 AM