Mishmash Music Making

Steinberg Lounge
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I create the beginnings of a song consistently. But I tend to start wandering around checking out sounds. Like being lost in a strange forest, walking around, looking at all the different plants.

What happens is I like something and put it in the project and play around with it. Of course it just never fits the original part, so I leave the new part for later, and move on back to wandering.

I end up with a playlist of different mish mash sections and no song. What do you do about this? Do you use project versions or track versions or keep a folder with ideas or something?

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(Moved this to the lounge as it is not so much Cubase related.)

This is an interesting discussion. Always, and I mean always, “distractions” happen. The plan changes. Some call this inspiration. The problem (for me, I speak only for me so I will not write it in each sentence from now on) is some times there’s a dilemma during the creative process. Stick to the original idea, or hop onto the tangent for the ride?

That’s when one musical idea, a piece let’s say, can end up being 4 or more pieces. Depending on how much I like those offshoot ideas, they can either be incorporated in the same project, or split to their own project. Track versions I don’t think they are cut out for this job. A track version in my head is a variation of the track. Different, but still relevant to the original idea. Even contrasting ideas might be pertinent to the original, by means of contrast (duh). But some entirely different snippet, I move them to another project and make a mental note to revisit it later. Or start working on it right away and revisit the original idea later. Or maybe the original idea was just a warmup leading to what was really worth it so there’s no need to revisit the original? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

So, yes. Many folders. Each project is its own folder, and there’s a date there usually as the name of the folder. (Which then becomes a problem of remembering to work on an idea that was - maybe - worth it 4 months down the line, but you can’t tell if 4/4/2026 was a banger without opening the project. The preview in the hub has been extremely helpful in this regard.

In any case, I think this depends on the mood of the moment. If one is willing to go for a ride (giving in to the inspiration of the moment, the distraction), or if we are so fixated on developing the idea further that we are left with the crafting part of the creative process. It just happens.

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Good thoughts.
The arrangement track and project versions, I’ll have to look into. And keeping things in a project folder that is favorited for the browser. The cubase media flat view is great.

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This is great if you have some “blocks” ready and you’re on the fence about the structure. (Maybe you can’t decide on how many bars a free solo section should be for example.) So instead of realizing it in the timeline, copying and pasting, you just set up an arranger track with some rudimentary instructions, for example 2 times A, B, A, C, 2 times A, etc etc, and you have a quick and dirty image of the length of the project, a coarse direction. I do it at times (early stages of a project though.)

I just do it the old way, Save As… and give elaborate names. I’ve got some rogue plug-ins that crash on me at times, so the whole project-01… -02… -03 thing is a bit confusing for me.

The important thing to remember is this. Have root folders for each project. E.g. Documents->Cubase Projects-> A million folders for a million snippets.

Be as adventurous as you want, but keep this rule. Don’t nest project folders. No matter how careful you are, you are going to get bitten eventually.

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The thing that happens time and time again is going through presets mashing on keys, and out of the blue there is a spark of magic. I can’t keep it in the song but I don’t want to lose it. So I need both the MIDI and the preset sound bookmarked together for later. So that I can continue on doing what I was doing in context of the current song. That’s the one that gets me the most.

I wish Cubase had that playlist arrangement thing like FL Studio. Just choose arrangment 2 and all the patterns are a different song.

Cubase doesn’t have a ‘Save New Version’ ?
I haven’t looked into project management yet. Or how it handles project assets. I’ll have to study up on that.

I don’t know what you mean. Don’t keep all the project versions for that project in the same folder?

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On the preset part, start using stars. Plop a 5 star or 0 start on the preset. For the MIDI part, it’s still a clunker for me. There have been requests over the years that we could be able to drag & drop MIDI parts directly to the right zone Mediabay, in our own custom folders. I don’t know why this hasn’t caught the interest of us users. I think it’ still possible to drag a MIDI part out of Cubase though?:thinking:

Anyway, the point is that if it’s not a fast enough procedure, I don’t bother at all, because it’s as you say. A specific catchy idea that works with a particular sound needs to be captured fast, or not at all.

It does, but it keeps it in the same folder with an incremental name like song, song-01, song-02 etc etc. I find it a bit confusing.

No, no. When you have variations of a project, that reference exactly the same audio, edits, freezes etc etc, they should be in the same folder.

BUUUT. And here’s where it gets hairy. Let’s say I have two projects. One version features a meticulously tracked upright bass. The other version does not. Instead, we changed it to a synthbass, just because. We continue working on this version, and at some point we decide it’s a good idea to track an alto sax. We do it. The reed’s poughkeepsie though, we do some 30 takes. And then, we see all these files, and say, hey, it’s one take that I’m using, why not remove unused media and delete trash? And we do it.

The next day, we open the original project. Where’s the upright buddy?:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :rofl: Gone with the trash. Because those projects both shared the same audio folder.

Do you see why I’m a little paranoid with having each project in their exclusively own folder?

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That method has issues. The first issue, is every preset I’m using is already at five stars; that’s why I’m using it. Secondly, piggybacking ratings to be the dumpster for the shortcomings of other features is annoying and confusing. “Did I rate this to that star because it’s that quality or because the rating is a coded message?” I could make a system but I still don’t like abusing the rating system.

Maybe I will add a user tag. Just a “bookmark” tag or something. Or copy (save) presets into a ‘Bookmarked’ user presets folder.

The MIDI is tricky. Because the magic only appears when the MIDI and preset are together. So saving MIDI scores isn’t enough. And it doesn’t tell me what that sound did sound like.

Hmm.. :thinking: Maybe I could export the MIDI score right out of Cubase into Synthfont 2 for maintaining a MIDI library. Not sure what the benefit of doing that would be, but I just feel like it would be useful.

Text that you can hear. Reading that I can hear the yelling that took place. :sweat_smile: Painful memories.

Life Event
Life Event490×492 46.2 KB

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Making music requires discipline, something in short supply, these days - I include my self.
But experience has taught me this much:

  • use presets as little as possible;
  • don’t use complicated, do-it-all plugins (instruments or fx);
  • don’t have too many fx plugins - 6 of each type is more than enough
  • work out song/instrumental structure before even opening Cubase
  • keep all project assets in the project folder

That’s it.

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There’s always my way :wink: I never have an idea of what I’m going to write and record until I start doing it! I grab my guitar(acoustic or electric) and jam while I turn on the computer and call up Nuendo. By the time it’s open I have an idea to work on…sometimes the idea is to set the guitar down and improv on the keys till something hits me. Once I can record the first track everything starts falling into place…I mix things up(Hard Rock, Folk, Classical, Jazz, etc.) so it’s easy to find my path, the sounds will fit or not and I abandon anything that doesn’t fit right away :slight_smile: I also record once…if it’s not right I delete and do it again…no comping, take lanes etc. If you’re wondering where this all leads here’s my last album from a year ago- https://billheins.hearnow.com/

I’m working on a new album(my fourth :slight_smile: ) now…some things are ready to be mixed, some need to be finished, and one needs to be written, decided to do a title song so I guess I’ll have to write it :slight_smile:

That album from last year came out about 6 months after retiring and a month before moving from upstate NY to Kentucky! :slight_smile:

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That’s brave.
When I happen upon something that sounds good I just can’t get over it and let it go. But maybe you’re right. Googly convinced me to get rid of a bunch of sample packs that were just going to waste my time. Maybe this is the right call too. Just slash and burn. Don’t turn left or right just keep my eyes on the prize. Keeping my course toward the port of hope.

The addiction to bookmark things has to be driven by something. There could be an underlying imposter syndrome in there somewhere. :thinking: Thinking that for me to end up with good music I have to get lucky with happenstance. Not trusting that if I can make something good now that I will be able to reproduce it in the future, so why bog myself down housekeeping things I don’t need for the project? Maybe this is a crisis of confidence. Hmm…

Groovy tunes btw :smiling_face_with_sunglasses::musical_note:

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Yup, if it doesn’t sound right to begin with spend the effort to find what does rather than trying to make something fit that doesn’t :slight_smile:

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‘Track Archives’ is my answer.