Write Songs FAST with the Digitakt and Digitone
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2024
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In today’s video, I bring you through my process of developing a beat or loop into a full song using the Elektron Digitakt and Digitone. Here's the song, for reference: • Ambient Digitakt & Dig...
It’s really quite easy to get stuck in the habit of creating loops, or short beats, without taking them to the next level. A big part of that is the immediacy and limitless options included within most modern music hardware and software. But, with a little bit of focus on honing your craft (and hopefully implementing some of these methods), you’ll be able to progress your favorite beats into fully actualized tunes!
0:00 Intro
0:58 A very important question
2:02 Analyze your process
3:20 Develop an alternate progression
4:35 Build up your beat
7:14 Adding bass and melody
9:10 Be aware of intention/structure
11:27 Opening it all up
14:17 Advice, practicing, and outro
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Every time you post I get the urge to grab my Elektron boxes and keep writing stuff. Inspiring stuff!
So happy to hear that! That’s always my goal
I feel much the same.
Elektron instruments have been untouched for months due to various factors, but your work certainly shows how creative one can be with them.
Thanks for your time and efforts.
PS: For a pop song with a great arrangement, check out "Darlin' Be Home Soon" by the Lovin' Spoonful.
@@RobG1729 I’ll check it out!! Thanks so much for watching
I've found that writing the melodic content first is helpful. Starting with drums can be limiting, and pop you into old, bad habits/licks. Of course, your mileage may vary.
Morning coffee time!!!!
Hope you enjoyed it!!
Great video, thanks for the thoughtful approach and ideas!
Thanks for watching!
Nice work! Ooooh, that bassline! Subbed!
Hah thanks!! Yeah I was super stoked when I came up with that one too
Very inspiring video. I couldn't agree more about your point about the misconception of not needing to practice your electronic instruments. I almost use every single commute to get further on learning to use the Digitone.
Thanks so much! That sounds great, do you use a portable battery?
@@SlowHaste I am using a portable battery and a voltage converter. But since I learned to play the piano for roughly 15 years, I do prefer using the Digitone paired with my Keystep 37 at home. (But also battery powered. Jamming on the couch, looking at snowy mountains is 👌.)
Before that, I used the OP Z but I felt too limited in sound design.
Hey, appreciate the good advice here. Totally agree about practice. I'm working mostly on modular, and practice is definitely a big part of turning a patch into piece for me. Just subbed and looking forward to more of your videos. Cheers!
Thanks so much for watching! For sure, modular definitely requires lots of practice. That was my main focus before getting into the Elektron devices, and I definitely feel a bit rusty whenever I’ve gone back to patch something up after taking a long break from modular.
@@SlowHaste the Elektrons are really cool -- they're so deep and capable. I had an Analog Four for a while, and although I ultimately decided to continue to focus on modular, it was a great little machine. Actually thought about a lot like a modular, just with virtual patching.
Awesome video!
Thanks!
This video met me precisely where I'm at. I was just thinking today about the "choreography" of playing synths. Only so much can be automated, but to effectively improv over a backing track, it helps to practice the effective movements.
Exactly!! Always overlooked with synths, it seems
@@SlowHaste Now I just have to figure out how to let the creativity continue to build more tracks after I'm tired of hearing the same loop ad nauseum.
Really enjoying your videos, especially as someone with your exact setup that has what I'll call beat-shrapnel spread across multiple patterns without a lot of cohesion (never mind a bad habit of having parts of the songs in different projects and pattern numbers on both devices... need more discipline there).
It's a rabbit hole that I'm hesitant to recommend, but if you grew up studying classical music and have a background in theory, digging into elements of Sonata-Allegro form from is an incredibly helpful way of thinking about song structure, development of themes, transitions and more. Actually, an introduction to classical forms would be really helpful for those who have never studied them - maybe.a video I should make (though I don't have a channel).
That does sound pretty cool, I’ll have to read up on that!! Structure has always intrigued me, particularly because a lot of people will deem something “not a song” just because it’s doesn’t have the structure that they’ve become accustomed to hearing out in the wild.
Here I was thinking a Sonata was a boring sedan made by Hyundai!
Very good point re practice in electronic music. Very often an overlooked concept in this genre. The best live performers “get it” though. Nice post. 👍😊
Haha yep!! It’s so much more than just hitting “play”. Thanks for watching!
Great vid man! This is some real meat and potatoes stuff.
Thanks a ton!! Glad you enjoyed it
Great shirt
😎 thanks! got it from stitch fix, which I ended up not totally loving, but I got this shirt out of it!
Hi Daniel, yeah I often get stuck on a nice loop with the DN + DT and find it hard to take it further and end up over hearing it and hating the loop. I find I need to step away for a bit which helps. Some great tips.
Glad you found it helpful!!
The main problem with this method is that every time you made a modification on one pattern you had to go back and correct in the other, volume, filters, etc so often i prefer to do it on only one pattern. For example i used the FILL mode for having 2 variations on just one PTN.
Fair point! I tend to really dig in to mixing when I lock in that first pattern to avoid that as much as possible, but there is always the stray peak or dip that shines through when you start to introduce other elements.
thank *YOU* to infinity...
You’re very welcome!
One issue I have with pattern changes are that all the live changes to the previous pattern are reset which kills the fluidity...
Do you see these devices bringing anything to the table that the Push 2 doesn't? I've seen the argument for limitations, and there's always the DAWless argument. I guess I've been watching a lot of these videos and Elektron devices look really cool but I don't really know how much they'd really contribute
Very simply put, these devices can do FAR less than what you can do in Ableton.
However, many people prefer working on hardware, with the Elektron workflow and sequencer over working on a computer. The challenge of working with their limitations is actuall part of the fun, and can help you focus on the important parts of songwriting, instead of getting distracted by all the bells and whistles of a DAW.
Off topic but has anyone ever told you you look kinda like Eric Wareheim? Great video though man I just ordered both of these boxes and I'm so excited to experiment with them
Hahah no they haven’t but I love him!! Thanks for watching :)
How do you initially pick bpm? I struggle with that at the beginning
I’ll typically just start playing around until I find a melody/beat/something else I enjoy, and then I’ll tap out the tempo. I don’t usually have one in mind before I start, but that happens occasionally too!
Very useful! My M:C and Digitakt look like sketchbooks right now 😂📖 nothing wrong about that, but sometimes I should push my boundaries a bit more :)
The learning curve is real!! And sometimes sketches are good for teaching yourself more stuff at a quicker pace. Like taking your new knowledge and putting it into practice, then moving on to the next skill!
@@SlowHaste yes! I’m having fun (doing sketches for a whole year 😂🌝)
I have so many good, unfinished ideas. Its frustrating! Goal: finish off what I have before writing more tracks.
I don't like digitone, but I like the idea of having 2 digitakt for 16 samples for 32 midis much better.
Are these only samplers? Or do they have built in sounds too?
The Digitakt is a sampler, but comes with plenty of preset sounds & waveforms so you can sort of okay it like a mono synth. The Digitone is just a synth (doesn’t do sampling), so they make a fantastic pairing!
Hey there, I've been going around all sorts of digitakt videos asking if they can help me update to the new OS via PC. I have updated the "transfer" software so i can drag & drop the "syx" files, but no luck. I can't for the life of me find a helpful source...i wish someone can make a video tutorial on how to do it. I have done everything like their website "step by step" asked to, but it just won't drag & drop. Would it be to much to ask of you for help? Im sorry.... im just so frustrated not being able to do it ever since the new OS released.
Hey!! I’m so sorry to tell you, but I’m a Mac user 😞. I’m guessing this is the page you’re using: www.elektron.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Digitakt_OS1.30_readme.html. But it sounds like it’s a PC issue with not being able to drag and drop
@@SlowHaste ok, thnk u!🙏
I didn't see any succulents near your boxes, can you really even call this ambient without the succulents? ;)
Great video! Thanks! I love when working on an arpeggio and trying to come up with more variations when the new version blends really well with the old so then you have 3 patterns to work well!
Hahaaa, there is luckily a jade plant in front of the window behind my head, I wouldn’t play you like that!!
Our front yard is fill of succulents.
I'll be sure to have one in view should I make a video.
Thanks for the tip.
How do you deal with the DN changing patterns a bar later than the DT ?
Hey, I’m not sure what you mean! Is this an issue you’ve run into?
You haven’t apparently?
@@robbret not as of now! I wasn’t sure if there was a spot in the video where you noticed it happened, or if it’s an issue you’re encountering
Do you have your track length set globally or per track ?
@@robbret I have it set globally