Phase 2
Signal
If it doesn’t move, it won’t finish.
Not all ideas are equal.Some are noise.Some are signal.
Signal is an idea that already contains movement and has genuine potential. It suggests where it wants to go without being forced. Noise feels exciting for five minutes, then collapses into a generic loop.
Phase 2 is about learning to tell the difference early and developing the skills to navigate towards better ideas.
This phase focuses on:
Identifying ideas with momentum — ideas that evolve, not repeat
Designing change into the DNA — tension, release, contrast, progression
Avoiding static loops that feel finished but go nowhere
Strong ideas don’t rely on complexity. They rely on direction.
If an idea doesn’t imply a next step, it will resist being finished later.
In this phase, you’re not trying to make a track.
Consider listening for evidence that a track wants to exist.
This is where most producers waste months - polishing ideas that were never really good enough to begin with.
Not all ideas are equal -
Most producers assume every idea deserves the same effort. They make a loop. They get excited and they try to force it into a track
But the truth is simple:
Some ideas are built to become finished records, and others are not.
Your job is not to finish everything you start. Your job is to recognise which ideas are worth finishing. That skill alone will save you years.
Some ideas want to stay loops forever
This isn’t a failure but a category in itself.
Some ideas exist or should exist purely as:
Sound experiments
Texture studies
Groove sketches
They feel good for 8 or 16 bars — and then they’re done.
Trying to force these ideas into full tracks can often lead to:
Over-arranging
Adding unnecessary layers
Losing the original vibe
The problem isn’t you.
The idea simply doesn’t contain enough information to support time and repetition.
Static loops are a dead end
If nothing changes over time, you don’t have music yet, you have a sound test.
A loop that repeats perfectly is not a track.
Even a great loop can be creatively static.
Music needs:
Movement
Evolution
Contrast
This does not mean complexity.
It means change.
Minimal tracks still evolve and simple tracks still move.
If something stays identical forever, the listener checks out — even if they can’t explain why.
Movement is not arrangement - This is important.
Movement is not something you “add later” with breakdowns and drops.
It really needs to exist inside the idea itself.
Before you think about structure, ask:
Does anything change as this plays out?
Does it feel slightly different on the 4th or 8th repeat?
Is there tension slowly building or releasing?
If the answer is no, the idea is probably too static. You can apply this at to the instrument level - drums, synths, bass, fx can all have modulation to contribute to the overall movement of the track.
Design ideas that can grow
When starting an idea, think beyond the loop.
Ask yourself early:
What could evolve over 3–6 minutes?
What elements could slowly open, close, thin out, or intensify?
Where could energy increase without adding new parts?
What might surprise you slightly each time it loops?
If you can’t imagine the idea growing, it will eventually trap you.
Good ideas don’t demand effort — they invite expansion.
Using modulation to create life
Modulation is the producers main tool to adding movement.
Subtle modulation can turn a static idea into something that feels alive. More extreme forms of it can turn a basic loop into a mind bending, euphoric monster.
Useful approaches:
Slow filter movement that you almost don’t notice
Envelopes that respond differently depending on velocity or note length
Slight tonal shifts that prevent repetition fatigue, e.g slow vibrato
Very restrained LFOs that work over long timeframes and map to several parameters.
If you mute everything except one sound and it still feels like it’s going somewhere, you’re onto something.
Automation as part of the idea
Automation doesn’t have to wait until the arrangement.
Sometimes the idea is the automation.
Think less:
“I’ll automate this later”
And more:
“What if this is already changing?”
Examples:
Cutoff gradually opening up over time
Rhythmic emphasis subtly shifting (via velocity for example)
Harmonic tension increasing almost imperceptibly
When automation is embedded early, the track practically arranges itself later.
Randomness with intention
Randomness is only good when it has boundaries.
Used well, it introduces:
Subtle variation
Natural movement
Small surprises that keep ideas interesting
Organic feeling, like a ghost in the machine
Good uses of randomness:
Micro-timing changes inside a groove
Slight melodic variation within a defined scale
Small parameter changes within a narrow range
Bad uses:
Randomising everything
Letting chaos replace taste
Using randomness to avoid committing
You are not removing yourself from the process.
You are nudging the idea into places you wouldn’t naturally go.
Change without losing the idea
One of the biggest fears producers have is:
“If I change it, I’ll ruin it.”
The solution is controlled change.
Ways to evolve ideas safely:
Keep rhythm stable, change tone
Keep harmony stable, change density
Keep the core sound, change what surrounds it
Let background elements evolve while the foreground stays familiar
If everything changes, nothing anchors the listener.
If nothing changes, nothing holds attention.
This balance is the craft.
A simple filter: is this idea worth finishing?
Before committing, ask:
Does this already feel like it could have a beginning, middle, and end?
Can I imagine it getting bigger, darker, emptier, or more intense?
Does it feel like it’s moving, even subtly?
If I strip it back, does it still work?
If yes, invest.
If no, let it go early and use it as a training exercise. Every new track will present new problems. It’s about knowing what’s a lesson and what’s worth pursuing.
Key takeaway
Finished tracks don’t come from forcing loops to behave.
They come from ideas that already contain movement.
Ideas that change and evolve. Ideas that feel alive over time.
Learn to generate those and finishing stops feeling hard.