[agargara]

It usually starts with playing around with samples and effects, followed by trying it out with drum loops I've made recently until I find a good match.

[Broton42]

It starts with bongos...

[TigerMendoza]

Generally, as the cliché goes, everything starts with a beat. But it depends. I've recently done a track which was based around an electro style synth line and it's sound.

[Shamanic]

If I don't already have an idea in mind when I launch my DAW, then I use a standard beat template (I have a few - one for each genre) to feel the music, then start dropping synths in.

I rarely ever start writing without an idea though, normally I have a piano riff in mind. I start by putting that in my blank template, and get it to sound right, then start adding drums around it. I like to have a pad or strings prior to the drums, to help keep the chord progression intact.

Hope this helps!

[RaidenBeats]

i jsut randomly throw a few vsts on something, click random plugins, make a random piano roll. listen to it, realize its absolute shit, come back 3 weeks later and make a track out of it.

[TigerMendoza]

Originally Posted by RaidenBeats

i jsut randomly throw a few vsts on something, click random plugins, make a random piano roll. listen to it, realize its absolute shit, come back 3 weeks later and make a track out of it.

Yeah, done that more than a few times too....

[Shamanic]

Originally Posted by RaidenBeats

i jsut randomly throw a few vsts on something, click random plugins, make a random piano roll. listen to it, realize its absolute shit, come back 3 weeks later and make a track out of it.

What's funny, is that there's some validity to this. I get so wrapped up in the presets, tweaking, etc... that I often lose the feel of my song initially. Coming back to it a few weeks later, I can start to groove to it a bit, then put in some arrangement.

[RaidenBeats]

Originally Posted by Shamanic

What's funny, is that there's some validity to this. I get so wrapped up in the presets, tweaking, etc... that I often lose the feel of my song initially. Coming back to it a few weeks later, I can start to groove to it a bit, then put in some arrangement.

yeah i dont even usually start doing sound design till the 2nd week of the track.

[joshmg]

I usually like to start with guitar or piano to come up with a melody

[AndyMcG]

Use Ableton Live - Start off in Session View

1 - Create drums (seperate chanels for Kicks, Hats, Snares and Percussions)

2 - Create 2 Basslines - 1 for a really low rumble in your bellow effect, and 1 to work off it in a slightly higher tone

3 - Create some Stabs and Bleeps .... Works very good for House / Electronic Tracks

4 - Work on a Melody or 2, sometimes make a couple to see what works

5 - Add in my Ambients / Sweeps etc

6 - Mix my volumes for each item just now

Move into Arrangement View

6 - Start putting together my mix, obviously starting at the intro and working through

7 - Any final tweeks sorting mixing, mastering, etc .... and thats pretty much it.

[ajdangles]

For electronic stuff:

Compose everything (chords, bassline, layering melodies etc) on a piano. Then drums. Then arrange. Then the technical nincom-poopery which i really suck at