How do they decide which instruments to use, how to layer them, etc
In: Other
If you’re making a western song, you’re going to need drums, guitar, bass and keys as a foundation. Brass comes on top.
You then choose what the sound of the instrument. You pick what sounds best for the style you’re going for.
For drums, you have a big rock set up, a jazz set up, 808 electric, or just a simple clave keeping time. For guitar, you can have acoustic, classical, clean electric, distorted electric, then you have pedals to add delay, wah-wah and such.
And so on.
If you don’t have a band, you’re going to have to record each instrument at once. You do the drums first, then bass, then chords, then vocals, then accents. Drums are needed to keep the time, bass gets the groove and the harmony down. Chords fill out the harmony, vocals lay down the melody. You then add lots of other stuff on top.
Modern music loves adding many layers that are very quiet to create a very thick sound. You can also double track vocals to make them feel thicker.
It is all about the style you’re going for, and what sounds good. Lots of messing around with different sounds and techniques allow you to find what sounds new and good.
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