---
title: "Shuffling the Creative Deck"

description: 'Switching up the "lead" instrument in a song can have incredible effects. In this solo pod, I discuss different songs with different recording orders and how that can dramatically change the parts musicians lay down.'

status: complete

date: 2024-03-12

kind: solo

guestSlugs: []

listenUrl: "https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lovemusicmore/episodes/Shuffling-the-Creative-Deck-e2h0650"
appleUrl: "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shuffling-the-creative-deck/id1567355195?i=1000648968368&uo=4"
spotifyUrl: "https://open.spotify.com/episode/4HYT5xo7DnjVYwy5fmqg5a"

topicsDiscussed:
  - "Creativity"
  - "Bass"
  - "Singing and vocals"
  - "Songwriting"
  - "Music production"
  - "Creative Sequencing"
  - "Recording Techniques"
  - "Song Arrangement"
  - "Influence of Instrument Order"
  - "Emotional Impact of Music"

hostNote: |
  The instrument you start with shapes the whole session, not just the arrangement, but the feel. If the drums come first, everything locks to a pocket. If the bass comes first, the pocket is negotiable. If the vocal comes first, you're composing around a human being.
  
  I run through specific examples of what changes when you shuffle the recording order, why starting late with bass can free up a pitch center rather than lock one in, and why, in a world where everyone has the same palette of tools, process is one of the last places to find a genuinely different sound.

selectedMoments:
  - label: "Starting Creative Processes"
    startSec: 139
    note: "How starting creative projects with different instruments can change outcomes."
  - label: "The Magic of Bass Parts"
    startSec: 226
    note: "The magic of placing bass tracks at different points in the recording process."
  - label: "Vocal Centerpieces"
    startSec: 365
    note: "The unique challenges of recording vocals first as a centerpiece."
  - label: "Rethinking Song Structure"
    startSec: 631
    note: "The importance of reassessing starting points in song creation."
  - label: "Experimentation with Instrument Order"
    startSec: 678
    note: "Encouraging experimentation with instrument order for creative growth."
  - label: "Guided by the Vocal"
    startSec: 452
    note: "Building arrangements around the vocal and how it changes the overall vibe of the music."

excerptQuotes:
  - text: "I want to talk to you about a concept of following the leader. So depending on where you start with any sort of creative endeavor, I feel like that influences where you end up."
    startSec: 103
    reviewed: true
  - text: "There's a magic in doing it late. Vocal is usually done late. There's a magic in doing it early."
    startSec: 222
    reviewed: true
  - text: "I found that really liberating because you could just set a pitch center. So it gives you a place that you can kind of set as your bass line and you can dance above and below it."
    startSec: 367
    reviewed: true
  - text: "Just try to reassess your starting point and that's going to have incredible downstream effect."
    startSec: 586
    reviewed: true
  - text: "In a world where everybody's kind of got the same tools, there's a lot of the same palettes. You can make these incredible changes just by rethinking process."
    startSec: 629
    reviewed: true

faq:
  - question: "What are creative sequencing strategies in music production?"
    answer: "This episode discusses different strategies such as starting with various instruments and how that influences the song."
  - question: "How does the order of instruments affect a song?"
    answer: "I explain that changing the order can lead to surprising emotional impacts and dynamics in a song."
  - question: "What can you learn from this episode about songwriting?"
    answer: "Shuffling the order, starting with bass instead of drums, or vocal instead of rhythm, changes which element sets the harmonic center and emotional frame for everything that follows. The first instrument leads; the rest follow."

transcriptPublished: false

draft: false
---