What do you add first, the drums or the lead?

[CYSYS8993]

Question says it all.

[diminished]

Depends. If I start with drums / bass, it's the drums I add first obviously. When it's chord progressions I'm starting with, melodies follow.

[MrFigg]

Sometimes I play a line on my bass to a click then bring the drums in halfway through the bar so the start point of the bass line changes in the song.

[PhillipOrdonez]

Drums.

[Heigen5]

It varies every time. I'm just loading a sound and start trying it out. Oftenly just playing something with my midi keyboard and if I come up with something I hit record and play it in.

[Ahornberg]

Depends on on what the muse gave me first, sometimes drums, sometimes melody, sometimes chord progressions.

[mashers]

Interesting question. As a songwriter, the lead is usually the vocal (at least initially). The chord sequence (if there is one) is associated with the lead vocal melody, so I usually start with a baseline which relates well to the lead line. Writing the bassline then reveals some of the rhythm of the track and I write some of the drum parts to go with it. Then usually I add a pad or some strings to accentuate the chord progression so I can then record some early vocals, and build the rest of the track from there. Finally when everything else is done I re-record the vocals.

[Spryx]

Melodies first, then bass, then drums.

[nooomy]

Drums always and then pad/keys or bass. The lead always comes last

[Wobbleburger]

I'll usually start with a backing synth and drums. I like to build a nice skeleton then start the lead so it fills in the blank space

[rgdaniel]

For me, it's a deliberate choice that varies from one song to the next. Sometimes I want to improve my chord progression "skills" and I'll start there, with some piano + Scales and Chords, or some other way to introduce basic chords. Then maybe copy those clips down to a bass track, keeping the low notes, as a starting point for the bass line. Then fill in the drums, maybe swap out or augment the piano with more interesting synth sounds, then finally do a lead. Alternatively, I might start with a rhythmic idea, build some wacky odd-time thing, punctuate it with bass, which will suggest chords and eventually the melody. Leads generally come last.

[WarStar]

For me typically it's lead and/or Melody with a basic drum pattern in mind already. That pattern may change a bit but usually that's how it works for me. Although there's plenty of times I'll begin with drums. But for some reason I typically begin with a chorus which usually means some kind of big lead and Melody.

[bangaio]

Neither. Always the pad. It gives my the base to the song.

[motuscott]

Harmonies. Then I work backwards. Into the Reason SSL mixer set to Destroy All Human History. Rhythm is the last concern, I don't know if you've noticed but these drummer cucks are a dime a dozen
just sain

[Przemyslaw]

Different each time. Once the drums, the chords once, the melody another time - usually with harmony.
But it also depends on the style of music. If I write rhyming music, I start with something rhythmic - drums or drums with chords, thanks to which in the melody you can sense accents and grooves better. If I'm working on less rhythmic / energetic music for example on ballads where elements of interpretation and actions on the rhythm of the melody can be more, it's worth to start with the melody, I just play the piano / guitar and sing.
In general, it is better not to limit yourself and do not put yourself in the diagrams. It's worth experimenting.

[avasopht]

Either.

I like to get to a groove quickly, and then work from there.

Sometimes can evolve into a completely different direction and take you by surprise. One of my favourites is this track become this track. At first I started jamming with that track. Then started reversing sections. And before I knew it I had an entirely new track (retaining the same drum beat).

[BRIGGS]

Gel the drums and bass first.

The rhythm section is support for everything else.

[ProfessaKaos]

All depends on what feels most inspiring at the moment of creation.

[VariableX]

drums, bass, then everything else 🤟

[WarStar]

Forgot to mention, about half of the songs I write begin with some sample cuts, mainly classic rock, 80s synth-y type stuff and some old sludge rock. In that case the samples usually take up the background to a verse or chorus. Granted there are plenty of times where the sample(s) might be the foundation, alot of times some vocal stab will be the focal point of the chorus.

After cutting up these samples into different versions of both chorus and verse, as well as bridge/breakdowns, then I'll poke around with some leads. Nailing down the key and melody that might be present in the sample then experimenting from there.

The drums and rhythmic pattern kind of write themselves at that point. Alot of times the bassline and fills might be the last thing I write.

It's not always in this order but typically it's how it shakes out. I have a love for sampling, cutting up and rearranging them so it's where I begin a lot of songs when writing/producing.

[Re8et]

Drum first, except my friend has a different idea, he kicks my drums out of the mix,
then I'm left with no choices but disintegrate its drums with some outer orchestral sounds,
trust to the mic, say something futile, then pitch backwards all other instruments. At this point I completely forgot what the word Drum stands for usually.

[TritoneAddiction]

It varies, but most often I think I start with a bass riff or a melody. But sometimes it's just finding a cool synth patch and working from there. When that's done I usually hear a beat in my head that compliment whatever I've come up with.
It's weird I often don't remember the first steps of a song. It just sort of happens.

[raymondh]

Drums are usually last for me.

First is usually a melody hook, or a chord progression. Once I have those two working together, the rest comes fairly naturally. Even if I don't use the chord progression prominently, it helps determine the key and overall arrangement for me for constructing the rest of the song.

Not part of your question, but I also use blocks, mainly as a visual marker to map out the arrangement.

[Molotovbeatz]

It depends on how each person follow a process when they are working on a beat. Me for example I do pre-select drum sounds but I do not play them in a sequence or loop until I get the melody recorded with the tempo click first.

Once the melody is recorded then I start to record the drums in the sequence to achieve the result I want. I never play my drums without any melody. Some people do record their drums first and then the melody but I guess everyone follow process that suit them most.

I do like having the melody first before playing around with drums.

[guitfnky]

yes. or no.