It happens to the best of us. There comes a time when the music just isn’t flowing. It can happen at any time during the music production process: sound design, sequencing and even mixing. Don’t despair though, as randomization is a fun and surprisingly effective method of getting past the doldrums and back into a flow state.
Brian Eno knew this well and, in 1975, developed the Oblique Strategies, a set of cards with vague instructions written on them like “Turn it upside down” and “Cut a vital connection”. What these are meant to do is get you thinking in a different — but highly creative — way.
You don’t need to fork out for a set of the cards (though they are worth looking into). In a similarly creatively inspiring way, try employing randomization in your production process. Below are five ways to use chance to spice up your track at the sound design, processing and sequencing stages. If you like what you get, freeze the track or bounce out the audio to preserve it. Or use it as inspiration for a new idea and keep going.
Spice up synthesizer sound design with sample and hold
Not feeling inspired by any of the presets in your soft synth? Sounds lacking in movement and interest? Try using sample and hold to add some unpredictability to your patches.
Sample and hold is a circuit that samples (grabs) the voltage of a constantly changing signal and holds (freezes) its value at a constant level for a specific period of time. This adds a ‘bubbly’ effect, perfect for livening up static pads or, in this case, the low-pass filter on a bass.
Not every synth has sample and hold. It’s more common on emulations of older analogue synths, like the Roland Cloud System-100 in this example.
First, patch out from the noise generator to give the sample and hold a random signal to clock to. Next, connect a cable from the S&H circuit to the external CV In on LFO-1 and set it to S&H. Then another patch out to LFO in on the VCF. Make sure the LFO control is up. Play with the Sample Time slider on the sample and hold circuit to change the speed of the effect. Finally, dial in the appropriate cutoff and resonance levels.
Here’s the effect in action with a beat after being bounced to audio and arranged:
Throw the dice with randomization plugins
There are some plugins out there that are designed to add random movement to a signal. This can be especially useful when processing or mixing pads or audio beds: sounds that could benefit from some movement and change.
One such plugin is Randomachine by Soundevice Digital. It has a number of different effects like distortion, pan and reverb, all of which turn on and off at different intervals. You can set the trigger to transient, DAW tempo sync or MIDI.
Drop Randomachine into an effects slot on a pad, such as this string patch made with U-he Zebra 2. Set the Trigger to Sync and then tweak the different effects controls until you get something that catches the ear. Don’t worry too much about precision. Remember, you’re letting chance take the reins.
Here’s the finished pad now run through more reverb and with the same beat as before.
Cycle randomly through Recycle loops
Dr. OctoRex, the loop player in Reason Studios’ Reason DAW, has a random way to audition loops. Any loop will work, as long as it’s been turned into a Rex file first. (If you don’t have Reason, don’t fret. Many other DAWs can do a similar thing.)
Load Dr. OctoRex into your Reason project. Using the Browser plus Run button, audition loops. Once you find one that sounds promising, hit the Copy Loop To Track button in the bottom half of the device. (Be sure and turn off Run or you’ll hear two copies of the same loop play when you start the transport.)
Now when you cycle through loops using the Select next loop buttons, you’ll hear the new loops playing according to the MIDI pattern of the first loop. This can yield all sorts of unique patterns that you would never think of on your own.
Here’s a processed random loop playing with a techno beat.
Randomize your step sequences
Some step sequencers have random functions, which can help you develop unusual patterns for leads and basslines.
Phoscyon 2, an emulation of the Roland TB-303, has an intuitive sequencer with plenty of randomization parameters. You can even export the sequence as a MIDI file and use it with another instrument.
In the Phoscyon 2 sequencer, use the Amount knobs under Random to add or subtract the number of notes, slides and accents. Finally, click Export and Drag MIDI file to the target lane in your DAW. If you don’t like it, try again!
Here’s a random acid sequence driving U-he’s Hive instead of Phoscyon’s internal synth engine.
Add chance to DAW sequences
Most DAWs have built-in features to randomize sequences. In Ableton Live there are two ways.
First, add a copy of the stock Random MIDI effect plugin before an instrument in a MIDI clip, such as in this percussion pattern. Increase the amount of Chance and Choices to change the notes randomly – in this case, the triggered percussion sounds.
Next, try playing with the Random function inside the piano roll. Click on the MIDI clip then at the bottom of the piano roll, press the button to reveal the Chance lane. Finally, hit Randomize to vary the probability that any note will play during the sequence. Lower the percentage from 100% for a less chaotic result.
Here’s that Latin percussion track with a strong beat and additional processing.
