How do you start your composing?

[Financier]

I have wondered how people start on a composition.
Is it a melody that you hear? And want to compose it. Or a feeling? Inspiration? A sound?
What is the starting point that causes you to compose?

[cgren72]

Honestly for what i feel like is a lot of us here, we are just working off killer buzzes and getting things done before we fall asleep.

[CS_TBL]

I have two ways:

1. I start by playing around a bit, improvising. If something works I'll keep it and develop it from there, not by playing, but by entering notes (I'm a tracker, which requires a thinking pattern comparable with entering notes in a score editor or a piece o' scoring paper).
2. I start with a visual theme, e.g. what someone would do when making music for a film. In my head I've a list of solutions for visual objects or situations, or else I'll make a new list rapidly when it's required. From those basics I continue expanding themes again by entering notes.

[garranimal]

We've had a thread before about the creative process, but none specifically for starting a track? I try to stay open to as many possibilities as possible. The album I'm working has had tracks begin any number of ways:
- Sound design. Conjuring patches, audio loops, or killer samples have spawned quite a few. Many times the sounds I'm getting will dictate a special chord progression or primer while I'm noodling.
- Concept. I'll have a vague idea of what vibe I'm wanting, and use simple adjectives to frame things out. I'm working on a track now that I always knew I wanted it to be dark and extra heavy with a classic double-bassdrum beat. Past tracks I have wanted something spacy, big art-core beat, or driving sequences with a soaring lead etc.
- Primer. Frequently I turn to piano (samples), Electric Piano (Mr Ray free plugin), and most recently guitar (Fender Strat) to create a riff from which a whole song can be extrapolated using various compositional tools.
- Influences or practice-training. When I get stuck for starting ideas I'll turn to the music that inspires me the most. It's more about jump-starting the musically-thinking centers of the brain. It may involve simply listening to music. It is more stimulating to practice ongoing keyboard/guitar lessons and/or learning songs from my favorite bands. This most often sparks creative impulses in me.
- Backlog. I think most everyone has a catalog of 'old songs' of theirs they pull out and dust off occasionally. I used to rehash old material frequently, drop old riffs into new works with a little compositional liberty, and work on ways to re-imagine previous works. But it became a crutch that I've gotten away from on my latest project.

No matter how a track starts, I have discovered it will go absolutely no where if I'm not feeling the vibe. It's got to be there from the very beginning.

[infrared72]

My compositions usually start by working with improvising a bass synth line or something atmospheric either on my Virus, Jp8000, a Vst synth or combinations of all three. These simple improvised lines can lead you down a path to other great ideas. Accidents here count as well... I've managed to come up with some great things I've played that don't sound quite right initially. After working with and editing the clip, changing the synth patch, tempo, or even time signature some great things start happening that you didn't anticipate.

Sometimes they start with drum loops or simple patterns I've programmed. I might copy a synth or drum pattern a few times, then work out a bunch of variations of those basic patterns/clips in Ableton Live. Once I have enough pattern variations in Session view, I will start to layout the whole track in Arrangement view. That part usually takes a fair amount of time getting everything sounding right as well as setting up any automation.

Other times I'll be coming up with something loosely based on the vibe, feel, or texture of another existing track. It could be a simple melody from something you like or even a rhythmic idea. I've found that when I try to recreate something I've heard, it never sounds the same as the original artist, but sounds original to my ears as it's an interpretation or approximation of something. Somewhere in that process, you can come up with some really interesting ideas.