When it comes to music production before you even press a button or twiddle a knob there is a binary decision to make. Do you start with the Drums or Melodic content? In this post we break down the pros and cons of each approach to beatmaking. So which camp are you in?

Starting a New DAW Session

So, you have opened up a blank session in your DAW of choice. You are primed to create the sickest beat of your career. The question is, do you start the proceedings by programming the drums or applying some melodic content? Either starting point is valid and most people will have a favoured workflow. The genre you’re working in, as well as how you are feeling inspired on any given day, may also influence your decision.

Let’s examine both scenarios, kicking it off (no pun intended) with Drums First…

Drums First

Advantages

Starting a track by working on the drums offers several advantages, especially in genres where drum patterns tend to be syncopated and the drum sounds are characterful i.e. Hip-Hop, Lofi and Drum and bass. The main advantage of creating a drum track first is it provides a solid and inspirational foundation to build the rest of your beat. It’s much easier to catch a vibe when you have some rocking drums in place. Whether playing a melody over the drums or testing out samples, the drums can help inspire ideas and spark creativity.

Drums also set the tempo and energy, providing a clear framework for the track’s direction. As the rhythm establishes a groove and feel this will help guide your melodic elements and compositional choices. The choice of drum sounds can also influence your choice of melodic instrumentation. For example electronic drums may steer you towards more synthesized instruments while organic drum sounds may inspire you to go for more traditional acoustic instruments.

Disadvantages

Starting a track with drums can also present several disadvantages. If you are a producer who’s more inclined towards harmony and melody you may not feel inspired to break out the drum kit at the very inception of your track. This might stifle any initial inspiration you may have. Also, without a melodic or harmonic framework in place, you may feel a lack of direction early on. This can make it harder to visualize the final beat. Another disadvantage may be that if a drum pattern is too complex or characterful it might restrict your melodic choices. For instance the placement of kick drums can have a direct influence over bass line patterns.

Also, if you are a singer-songwriter your initial ideas will most likely start with a strong melody or chord progression – perhaps played on guitar or piano. Having a strong drum track may have a dominating effect on your initial compositional ideas. If for example you embrace non-conventional time signatures or like to use different time signatures throughout a track, then a pre-programmed drum track may inhibit the way you compose and arrange.

Melodic Elements First

Advantages

The main advantage of kicking off a track with melody is the freedom it gives you to explore melodic ideas without the influence of a strong rhythm. If you’re a producer that’s strongly melody-led then this should be your first port of call. You must of course be conscious that your melodic ideas are in time and on the grid. This will involve writing to a click track or metronome. For many types of music this uncombered approach provides more freedom to explore different musical ideas. If for example you write songs on a guitar then laying down a guide guitar track could be a good starting point. If you are an EDM producer then your initial inspiration may come from sound design. In this instance, you may choose to lay down your original sound design first and use this to inspire the direction of your track – including drums.

The sonic qualities of your melodic elements will also help to influence the sort of drum choices you are likely to go for. For example if you’re track is shaping up to have an 80’s feel then you might want to add a Linn Drum gated reverb drum sound.

The other thing to bare in mind is the melody and particularly bassline will often dictate your drum patterns. By getting some initial melodic ideas down you can then structure your drums so that they fit and compliment your melody perfectly.

Disadvantages

Without a doubt, the main disadvantage to starting a track with the melody is you’re forced to write to a click track. And nothing screams musical inspiration killer more than a plinky plonky metronome. Most DAWs do allow you to change the metronome sounds though but for pure vibes and inspiration it’s hard to beat a tasty drum track. Another disadvantage to not writing to a drum track is it can make it difficult to visualise the direction of a track. You may find it harder to visualise the finished track. I guess this could either be seen as an advantage or disadvantage.

Something else you need to be aware of when writing to a click track, especially when laying down longer sections, is getting lost and losing your way. Drum tracks tend to provide a solid rhythmic structure with each bar being clearly defined.

And finally, it can sometimes be more challenging to find the right drums to match a melodic structure. Especially if you are relying on sampled drum loops. You might struggle to find looped drum patterns that perfectly complement the structure or subtle swing of the melodic elements.

Session Starting Tips

• Create a nice simple drum beat on track 1 of your DAW session. Then save this as your session template. Every time you open a new session you will have some basic drums to use as a guide.
• Customise your DAWs metronome so it is more pleasing to the ear. Many DAWs offer the option of adding your own custom audio files. Why not go for ticks and tocks from an old grandfather clock?
• Why not start a track with some tasty percussion instead? This may inspire some different musical ideas.
• Rather than laying down a complex drum beat at the start of your session just program the hat and snare. Then come back to the kick drum once you have added some melodic content.
• Work fluently and constantly flip between drum and melodic ideas, adjusting and tweaking as the track progresses.
• Whatever your initial spark of inspiration for a track is, go with that first. You may have a drum loop you’ve been wanting to lay down or maybe you have had a bassline stuck in your head for days. Get these elements down first and build from there.
• Don’t get stuck in a formulaic workflow. Try taking yourself out of your comfort zone by switching up your usual session-starting method.

Conclusion

So, to conclude it’s pretty evident that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of drums or melody first. The decision will come down to numerous factors, namely your personal preference and workflow. Your decision will also be influenced by the type of music you make, your musical strengths, the feel you are aiming for, and whether you want your track to be driven by rhythm or melody. Some producers are very much driven by drums and rhythm while for others the drums are an afterthought and melody is king.

The most important thing is to choose the method that feels most natural to you and sparks the most creativity. The key is simply to get started; from there, it’s a journey where you can freely explore different musical ideas and directions.

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