Forward Producing

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melodea
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Forward Producing

Post by melodea » Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:53 am

Is anybody composing & producing tracks without a Listing asking for it, like: I had a great piano melody in my head for weeks that could be perfect for a documentary underscore evoking a sense of hope and positivity and I'd love to produce a track for it. AND maybe in the future, there will be a listing for it. I know it's probably a time question. But is anybody producing in advance? I'd love to hear your opinion!

cheers and good luck with your music
[glow][/glow]Melodea a.k.a. Chris Moser

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by paulkearnsmusic » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:25 am

Hi there,

I'm pretty much a newbie on this platform but I've been recording for some years.

I find that, occasionally, I'll be working on a listing and the idea "morphs" away from what's being asked for.- or, like you, I just have something in my head that "needs" to get out.

What I tend to do is, initially, do a "rough out" of the tune then, depending on time scale, get back to the original listing..

I always schedule in some "me" time each week and that's when I go back to the rough out and complete the recording. I always try to make sure there's enough edit points so that, if a listing comes along that might suit what I've done, it can be "adjusted to meet the time requirements of the listing for which I'm putting it forward.
I record as much in midi as possible - which make time and tempo adjustments far easier.

You never know - that piano piece you've got in your head now just might be perfect as the theme to the next "Friends" 3 years from now :shock: :D .

Mind you, as I've only just started getting forwards from Taxi, I've no idea how "valuable" my advice might be :D .

Cheers

Paul

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melodea
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Re: Forward Producing

Post by melodea » Tue Sep 21, 2021 4:47 am

Sounds good to me! Thanks!
[glow][/glow]Melodea a.k.a. Chris Moser

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by cosmicdolphin » Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:02 pm

melodea wrote:
Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:53 am
Is anybody composing & producing tracks without a Listing asking for it, like: I had a great piano melody in my head for weeks that could be perfect for a documentary underscore evoking a sense of hope and positivity and I'd love to produce a track for it. AND maybe in the future, there will be a listing for it. I know it's probably a time question. But is anybody producing in advance? I'd love to hear your opinion!
Not personally, I always write to whatever the brief is. I don't write without one. So whatever I write should in theory be licensable regardless of whether it gets accepted for that opportunity or not.

I think what you have to be able to develop over time for sync is the ability to turn creativity on and off like a tap. You can't really wait for inspiration to strike if a deadline is looming. Personally I don't find it too difficult unless I'm making an album for sync where it's 10 tracks in on genre over 5 or 6 weeks...then I start flagging around track 7 or 8

But sure, I have read that some people like to keep an ideas folder they can reach into , so when they really need something there is stuff that might be usable. I guess as long as you don't spend too much time and have a good filing system it can't hurt to capture these snippets of ideas.

Mark

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melodea
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Re: Forward Producing

Post by melodea » Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:06 pm

Good advice! Thanks.
[glow][/glow]Melodea a.k.a. Chris Moser

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by Telefunkin » Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:51 pm

melodea wrote:
Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:53 am
Is anybody composing & producing tracks without a Listing asking for it, like: I had a great piano melody in my head for weeks that could be perfect for a documentary underscore evoking a sense of hope and positivity and I'd love to produce a track for it. AND maybe in the future, there will be a listing for it. I know it's probably a time question. But is anybody producing in advance? I'd love to hear your opinion!
Isn't that what creative and original composers do, thank goodness? Art doesn't always have a brief :).

I suspect you'll find the full spectrum here, from those who make their own music but don't particularly choose to write to any brief, to those who write strictly to briefs only.

Personally, although I produce tracks to briefs from multiple sources, I also create batches of tracks in styles that I like and that I know have been requested so I can offer them to libraries directly. I think it helps to be capable of a bit of 'push' as well as 'pull', especially in the wider world beyond Taxi. Each to his own though, and vive la difference!
Graham (UK). Still composing a little faster than decomposing, and 100% HI.

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by melodea » Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:17 pm

Thanks Telefunkin! I like the way you look at it. Maybe the more I succsessfully produce to briefs the better I can produce in advance with a chance to use it in the future ( unless my aim is not a commercial one)
[glow][/glow]Melodea a.k.a. Chris Moser

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by MBantle » Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:35 am

melodea wrote:
Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:53 am
Is anybody composing & producing tracks without a Listing asking for it, like: I had a great piano melody in my head for weeks that could be perfect for a documentary underscore evoking a sense of hope and positivity and I'd love to produce a track for it. AND maybe in the future, there will be a listing for it. I know it's probably a time question. But is anybody producing in advance? I'd love to hear your opinion!

cheers and good luck with your music
I would say 'yes' in terms of melodic/vibe ideas (I usually keep them as 'voice memos' on my Iphone) but so far I've never managed to fully develop/produce one of those without a listing asking for something where one of those ideas could fit. So let's keep our fingers crossed that an opportunity will arise soon! All the best. Matt

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by Zaychi » Thu Sep 23, 2021 12:52 am

I used to take the mainstream TAXI advice and write for the briefs only. The problem with that though, is that three weeks (and this seems to be diminishing!) is pretty short to get from conceptual idea to full production, especially for songs (as opposed to instrumentals). Sure it can be done, but it means there's no time to put the song "aside" for a week, usually you listen to it in a completely different way when you get back to it.

So recently I took a song which I noticed coming along quite often as a reference (in my case, Billy Eilish' Bad Guy) and took a longer but less intense approach. So in a sense, I was writing for a listing which wasn't there yet; but it gave me the time I needed to produce a better song. I'm quite pleased with the result; the song is much more balanced and mature than my previous TAXI work. I guess I was lucky that there was, indeed, a listing with that reference around when I finished. :)

Then again this approach obviously doesn't work for a "trailer-style intimate chill with Russian lyrics" listing!

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Re: Forward Producing

Post by melodea » Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:08 am

Thanks mate! I feel the same. Time is always short especially if u have day time job. Having said that, with the time u get a feel for what’s comming & and what your strenghts are and can therefore produce tracks in advance!
[glow][/glow]Melodea a.k.a. Chris Moser

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