How To Arrange ANY Song In Less Than 10 Minutes

FREE Guide - Learn how to finish at least one great-sounding song per month: pickyourself.c...
In this video, you'll discover how to escape the loop and effortlessly arrange any song using my tried and tested “skeleton arrangement” method.
Hey there, I'm Philip from Pick Yourself, and my mission is to guide electronic music producers like you toward meaningful progress with your music.
Creating a loop might be a breeze for most electronic music producers, but let's face it - arranging and truly finishing a track is where the real challenge kicks in. That's why I'm excited to share this insanely powerful yet straightforward method that'll have you arranging any song in 10 minutes or less.
So, why does it work? It's all about creating a solid “skeleton” track first and then filling it in with additional layers. I get it - it sounds simple, but the magic is in the details. There's one crucial step in this process that you absolutely can't skip, and I'll walk you through it in this video.
Whether you're into Techno, House, or EDM, this technique is tailored to fit your style. No matter if you're using Ableton, FL Studio, Cubase, Logic, or any other DAW, this method is your key to unlocking a smoother and more efficient arrangement process.
I know the struggle firsthand, and that's why I'm here to share one of my favorite arrangement techniques with you. Join me in this video, and let's turn your loops into fully arranged masterpieces.
1-on-1 Coaching: pickyourself.c...
Online course: pickyourself.c...
Mixing & Mastering: copilco-produc...

[@pickyourselfofficial]

FREE Guide - The Finisher Framework: pickyourself.com/framework

[@ivicai3281]

A video for "Foreshadowing"? Yes please! Your approach seems really straight forward... love it!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thank so much! Will do :)

[@NANo-ko9ey]

@@pickyourselfofficial I'm curious too

[@andyraps]

I LOVE this video Philip. This comes at such a good time to me as forever coming up with the loops and not finishing tracks! When I do arrange, I get tied in knots sometimes with all the automation lanes. The Macro idea is a great one, and also the suggestion of doing this as part of the initial arrangement - not afterwards. This one tip alone has made me visualise better how a track can come together. It’s a point which nicely supports the video about not mixing whilst producing - just get the arrangement done, which really automation is such a part of. I’ve always thought that there is must be a blueprint or formula for structuring club tracks, and whilst that probably still applies to an extent, this makes me think about the emotional flow and feeling, more than just ‘you must have a bass drop at bar 64’ (as a loose example). Thanks for this. Keep going with the great content.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeahhh that’s awesome to hear! So happy that you got instant results from this!

[@veigatm]

MMM mm mm mm mm mmmmmmmmmmmmm

[@djcolinturnbull]

Good tip for producing digitally. The automation is the same benefit of working with analog or outboard. You play it and have variations from the beginning. Not just repetitive loops

[@Petran892]

Actually I use a eurorack and using this technique still looks very helpful from an arrangement perspective. Also if I have an interesting sound with lots of movement using a filter and effects in the daw

[@levijones5555]

Great advice! Iv'e always waited to automate after painstakingly building out the track... Going to try using this technique right now!

[@katecaballero9660]

Was my little roadblock till now

[@matthewplassmeyer6866]

This video is perfectly helpful especially on this morning during a nice staycation and at a moment I can focus on music. Coming across this video is serendipitous. I'm taking notes and will apply!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Ah, nice! Happy to hear that you found it in the right moment :)

[@tiagomelogames]

Great tips! ❤ One thing I like to do when setting up the macros, after assigning all parameters, is to set it to 100%, and only then I adjust all parameters while hearing the sound. Then I do the same with the macro at 0%. This gives me the maximum and minimum "feeling" for this macro

[@wusulu-yc7sl]

Great tip, I think you also get to train your ears that way in terms of what parameter does what to the sound

[@aced9239]

Awesome video as always! A video on foreshadowing would be so good!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Nice one, it’s now on my list :)

[@nomattt]

thank you so much, this technique has opened my eyes and helped me get out of the no-so-flow state

[@stefankatic1337]

Thanks, I usually get a decent structure, but I avoid automating because I feel I'm too committed to the sound I created and don't want to break it. Recently I started forcing myself to automate a ton from the start to try and get a feel for how I could progress the element later, and it helped certainly. One problem I noticed is that a bunch of my tracks get the same or similar progression to each other (maybe because of the genre of techno, with not many breakdowns), and it all starts sounding repetitive. I would definitely appreciate going more in-depth from here, with a focus on transitions where you introduce new elements & transitions between sections. The arrangement is definitely harder for me for genres like hard techno or industrial techno, or generally fast bpm, short breakdowns type of techno, where the track is constantly banging and you can't go for feels and tension & release techniques as much as you can in slower more melodic techno, I struggle a bit here because you need a lot of new elements for FX, fills and hits, and my songs start sounding muddy with many different elements. I guess focusing more on precise sound selection would be a solution, but the more I produce, the more I realize how hard finding fitting sounds is and is a skill in itself.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeah that’s definitely a topic with maaaaany layers of depth. One thing that I’d try to focus on if I were you is to boldly mute elements and also boldly re-introduce them much more often and much more extreme than you might think. That has helped so many of our coaching students. But I will definitely add more arrangement videos, there seems to be quite some demand for it.

[@mymusicmixminute]

Excellent stuff- I feel smarter.😀

[@agustinfuentessalazar6648]

bro this channel is amazing, thanks

[@wusulu-yc7sl]

Great Tips my fellow Almann, I easily get overwhelmed by a loop with a ton of layers and then don't know what to do with it. this seems like a great approach

[@erikbosgra1775]

Thanx for sharing this great and fast way to create a sketch of the track. Because it's a sketch you feel the freedom to leave the song as it becomes or quickly make an alternative. You just pick the best one and create a detailed and polished version.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That’s such a great way to look at it! Exactly 💯🙌🏻

[@timothywinfrey6124]

GREAT VIDEO! simple and effective!

[@maximd2]

Congrats! That's super smart yet obvious once you see it. That's what the best teachers do 🤯

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That means a lot, thanks for the great feedback!

[@iamluchini]

fun exercise! minimalist production is the way to go

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeah, it’s easier to go deep after having this in front of you :)

[@synaesmedia]

Useful. I'm not an Ableton user, but that quick macro thing looks pretty good. This inspires me to go off and make some Patcher templates in FL Studio 🙂 I normally custom build my fx racks and modulations for each tune. But I can see how having "off-the-shelf" modulatable fx racks like this make it much easier to sketch in the skeleton of the track. Rather than deciding it all on an ad hoc basis.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeahhhh so great to see you make the mental transfer in the right way. That’s what I like! 💯🚀

[@RogueFire29]

great video! and it's great that you show the two parts, creating the macro 1 and then the arrangement :)

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much, super happy to hear that you got something out of it :)

[@aaroncross4063]

nice one! Yes I'm interested to hear about foreshadowing

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Cool! Noted ;) will do this 100%

[@aaroncross4063]

Legend! Thank you@@pickyourselfofficial !Look forward to hearing your ideas

[@senitexger]

Thanks a lot for this inspiring video, i had a project where i was a bit clueless and this one get me back to the project, now i have a direction which i can work with. Incredibly simple but so effective. It makes a difference if you work with a key element, it makes it a lot easier to work around the key element! Please more of this type of content :)

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That means a lot, thank you! These results are why I’m sharing it. So good to hear that it worked for you as well.

[@seltsam924]

Hey man great tutorial as always! Please please please tell us more about foreshadowing. I'm also interested in how to create nice Texture patterns like the one you're using. Also I want to learn how to make Congo Percs sound more natural/tribal. A lot of people use the LFO-Tool Plug-In but I am only working with Ableton intern stuff. I still struggle using the LFO/Shaper Tool right, so a tutorial about that would be great. I would also love to create Submarine Sonar sounds so if you could talk about all the possibilities, that would be helpful. Your channel is ridiculously good and full of important knowledge and I am literally growing with every video you post. I definitely picked myself!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

So great to hear that you’re getting that much value from the channel! That’s incredibly rewarding to read. I’ve noted everything and put it in the content pipeline :)

[@MagnificentlyHighAlien]

Any tips for listening fatigue? I can barely finish an electronic track because most of the time, one of the elements will either get annoying or starts to sound dull, even though it sounded full and good before. This also happens when I come back to a track after a day or 2, it suddenly sounds either flat or boring. Also when I try to mix I start hearing stuff that's not there, but realize it way too late and the whole thing is just ruined. Sure it's a skill issue, but I think there's something of both involved.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

So the real game changer is to always listen at the same (low) volume and taking lots of breaks. Plus: using reference tracks (even in a totally different genre like Jazz) just to recalibrate your ears.

[@andersrydingdaugaard]

really brilliant guide into understanding mapping and automations

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thank you, that means a lot!

[@Petran892]

This typ is a game changer also if i use a eurorack system and so i cannot automate synt parameters there is still a ton to be made with effects and filter automation.

[@mosheahuvi]

You are the best teacher

[@Ionian225]

Brilliant.....Game changer. being a mixer and sound design type..i always got lost in arranging......the only thing worse is mastering..lol

[@kikemizurov3597]

Nice approach by taking the lead as the "emotion giver" and playing with the macro. I used to map different parameters to different knobs for more control but this makes everything a little bit simpler in the beginning :D Great content overall ! keep it up, please 🔥🔥🔥

[@kaylammitchell]

Great suggestions and tips in this video! Thank youuuuu!

[@shomm_music]

Wow, great concept. Watching a lot of arrangement content lately, at a certain point it is essential to establish an efficient creative workflow....

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Nice! Good to hear that your’re on an arrangement leading spree :) this will massively pay off, I’m sure!

[@tsotne_von_chikobava]

Amazing thank you

[@bertrichter3522]

Your content taste very well 🏁

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much!

[@stefanschlemmer8067]

thanks a lot I'll definitely try this

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Nice, let me know how it goes!

[@monsterofeastfelton]

Great technique. Thank you for sharing!

[@Hogan213]

Brilliant video this will help me so much

[@victor.vandeneynde]

great content as always Phil!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much Victor 💯🚀

[@killakillabarchbarch]

Very useful concept, thank you!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much! 💯🙌🏻

[@pablovalderas6021]

nice video!!, thanks a lot for your help, you are doing a great job!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate that :)

[@yuripk]

Damn... Thank you, your content is really good

[@katecaballero9660]

Thank you this is a great idea 🎉

[@user-py3qx4ox5q]

hey, great Video! Can you please give a short advise how did you create this nice bassline ? Thanks :)

[@biner01]

Great video, thanks!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

My pleasure :)

[@stephaam_music]

So nice, thank you!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

My pleasure, glad it was helpful!

[@matiascanteros8063]

very very useful !!!! thanks bro

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much, that means a lot to me!

[@slawomirbialecki2275]

thank you !

[@pickyourselfofficial]

You’re more than welcome! 💯🙌🏻

[@sanderschuurman8393]

This is actually one of the most helpfull video's I've seen so far. The past couple of years I have been building a modular Eurorack system (which I can partly control through Ableton) but I've been stuggling to create complete tracks with it, instead of short loops. This video really gave me some great idea's on how to get to that point! Thank you very much!

[@johncitizen8828]

Really great content - appreciated. However, I did wonder why you did not map some of the parameters to different Macros - which would obviously allow for a greater diversity of expression and intensities.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Great question! The only reason ist that this now allows me to paint the storytelling curve in one simple, easy to look at way. I might later on add other automation lanes or even delete a macro mapping if I feel it doesn’t quite cut it. But all of that happens once the rough arrangement is in place. It’s much easier to make these decisions then :)

[@mattdruid]

Wow - those are quite the large headphones! I wonder what kind they are.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Audeze LCD-X. Better than most speakers in the 3-6k$ range.

[@MarcoLanzaa]

very good!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks, I really appreciate it! 🚀

[@MikeManaMusic]

Whats the name of the patch?

[@Saphira_Paix]

but the time you take to select carfully the modulation points for the macro 1 for example is the time you want to safe by doing automation isnt it? so its a zero calculation

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Without talking, mapping ALL the macro modulations takes me about a minute or less. And that is time well spent. But hey, if that approach isn’t for you, no worries. I’ll bring on more arrangement videos for sure, maybe something else resonates better.

[@aced9239]

I realised you don't do any mixing in this arrangement phase, is that because you have the correct sounds already and you mix in the final stage of the track? If so, would you recommend choosing your sounds first thing when beginning a new track/idea? Thanks for the video btw these tips are so useful!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Exactly! I’ve made a video about my reasoning here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4XTlY2cjpyca8ksi=WIftcmTX-0EK8AB0

[@aced9239]

Just watched it thank you! @@pickyourselfofficial

[@HenningUhle]

This makes sense in my opinion. But I feel this makes only sense in tracks without big changes in the composition. I try to imagine how it would work in A-B-A-B-C-B structures like typical verse-chorus songs. Would it work there as well?

[@pickyourselfofficial]

It’s mainly meant to work in Techno-ish genres. But you could take aspects of this and implement them in traditional structures. For example: a core chord progression in which you modulate the sound design over time and then, based on the “sonic picture” you draw, exchange the chords on some parts and write top lines on them.

[@HenningUhle]

@@pickyourselfofficial Oh yes, this will work. I think that I work this way. Not totally, but in general.

[@Tenshii-i]

18:04 what's the plugin for that bass?

[@jinrusso7993]

Great contents...foreshadowing vid?? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@xzchc]

Very interesting idea, thanks! Here's a question though. So in the lead, we have a whole lot of modulations all baked into one macro automation. But those modulations are then tied together - is there a way to pick some of the recorded parameter automation individually for further editing? For example, if I like the lead's reverb automation most of the track, but at some point I want to edit it. Is there a way to "untie" it, or do I have to get rid of the reverb automation entirely and re-record it?

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Great question! I think you have to remove it from the macro and re-do it but maybe someone clever knows a workaround?

[@xzchc]

@@pickyourselfofficial Now that I think more about it, we could duplicate the lead, and in that copy unmap everything else except the reverb. (Obviously, unmap the reverb in the original) Something along these lines might be a workaround.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

@@xzchc dude that’s genius, thanks for coming up with that 😂💯🚀

[@Arkansya]

if you open the automation lane for your parameter you may be able to see the automation you recorded and work from here somehow

[@razeu482]

Yes, how do I make kick and bass sound good, with punch and together? Also, how do I equalize each band separately when using multiband? Maybe you can #hearmytracks to see what I mean. ily, baeb.

[@servetdemirci8009]

🎼⏳️🎶💯🎧

[@DiiGiiTAL]

can we download this template in the video?

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I‘m working on something even better ;) stay tuned!

[@DiiGiiTAL]

@@pickyourselfofficialroger that

[@parenteseswebdev]

Hi wonder how subscription and comments help you..Oh is the financials 😊. Yep, the words that every KZbinr witholds from the public and sponsorship.