8 Simple Ways to Start a Project (In Any DAW)
You’re in your studio, you just listened to an album that you love and it has inspired you to write a new record. You think to yourself, what now? Do I write the drums first? Do I start with the melody?
These are all familiar questions to any new producer looking to write their own records. The simple answer… there is no specific method to creativity, simple choices in the moment.
However, having a simple structure when you start out can assist you in finally finishing your songs, so we have put together an 8-step guide on starting a project in any program.
Before we get into it, remember, these steps are a guide. You can switch these steps around, particularly whether you start with drums, a melody or a harmony. Other steps will mainly stay where they are, such as mixing and mastering.
The following are transferrable with any DAW, but since we have an 8-week workshop on Ableton, our examples pics will be in that program.
You can find our Ableton Workshop here:
Start a new project in your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and set the tempo (BPM) that matches the feel of your track. This sets the pace and rhythm of your music.
Tempo is an easy was to organise the start of your track, especially for artists that are very genre specific. Tech House for example, works within a range of 120 to 130 bpm. This means you can simply set that into your DAW and you now have a pace to work with.
Pro-Tip: If you are using a sample, you may want to work with the sample first and then lock the tempo after you know what bpm you want to “loop” or “chop” it.
Lay down the drum, bass and percussion elements to establish the rhythm of your track. Experiment with different drum patterns and sounds to find what fits best. This could be from sampling a drum pattern or creating your own using MIDI through your piano roll.
If you are writing your own drums, ensure the drums are pitched correctly and play around with different sounds to find the right blend of low-end sounds (Kicks, Low Toms), mid-range frequencies (Snare) and high-end sizzle (Hi-Hats, Cymbals).
In regard to bass, you can use an 808 for a shorter, bouncier bass sound, or use a synth and hold your notes for a more sustained sound.
Use your MIDI keyboard or piano roll in your DAW to create a catchy melody. If you started with your drums and already have an idea of the pitch, then you can use notes in which you pitched the drums to create a scale to work with.
As stated earlier, you can start with the melody, so if you chose to start with there then play around with different scales, notes and rhythms until you find a great loop or section.
To understand more about music theory, you can find our course here:
Again, this could be the second step after creating your project as some people will start with their chords and then build melodies and drums once they have an interesting harmonic progression.
If you end up creating your chords after your melody and/or drum part, ensure the chords are in the same key as your melody and follow the rhythm, or add a counter rhythm to your drums.
Regardless of the genre, ensure your chords are rich and have movement. Inverting chords, adding voicings like 7ths or 9ths can help build more expressive chords and take your harmony section to the next level.
Introduce different sounds and instruments to add depth and texture to your composition. If you’re using MIDI, you can simply create a few sounds patches you think would work well together and copy then paste your MIDI files over to each channel and adjust for depth and more movement. Remember to EQ and adjust levels to ensure your sounds blend perfectly for the song.
The opposite of this is to strip layers back so that the sound has dissidence and more space. Sometimes, less is more, so you may just have a melody and drums without any chords and can then let a vocalist sing and add harmonies for added effect. Remember to play around with layering (or stripping) your sounds, this part is always a fun way to build your track into a song.
Structure your song into sections (Intro, Verse, Chorus etc.) and arrange your loops, melodies, and harmonies in a way that tells a cohesive story.
Make sure you build the track based on the genre of choice and how it will be used. If it’s a Hip Hop song, a simple, Intro – Verse- Hook – Verse – Hook structure is usually a good idea when sending it across to a rapper. If it’s a house song you may want to add a Build section or Bridge (Drop) to add tension and release to your song.
Pro-Tip: Make sure to think about the type of song you are making. Using a song as a reference point is always helpful.
This step will be a lot easier for you, if you have been balancing your levels, and applying EQ, compression and pan settings to your instruments while writing and arranging your record. Here are a few steps (or in this case sub-steps), to assist:
Some producers opt out of mixing as they want “fresh ears” during this process. If you want to use that approach, make sure to find the right mixing engineer who understands the style of music you create.
You can find a link to our mixing services here:
Prepare your track for distribution by mastering it. This involves final adjustments to EQ, compression, and limiting to the “master channel” to ensure it sounds polished and consistent across different audio systems.
For more info, see our blog post on mastering here:
GET TO IT!
Open your DAW and start creating. Remember to play around with the steps above as there are 1000 ways to skin the Cat (is that politically correct). Make sure your choices are based on what song you are looking to write, what genre you are working in, and, whether it’s for a vocalist to work on it with you, or purely an instrumental. Once you have a vision in mind, make sure your choices reflect it. Good luck!
