I use various methods to compose music. I might fiddle around with a Moog to find the sound that I imagine would fit with the piece I am creating. Or I might play a series of chords I particularly like on an acoustic guitar or piano and then translate it to a software synth or even hire a string section to play that part. Sometimes an ARP can create rhythmns which might suggest a beat or pattern that can be expanded upon. etc.etc. These are all just tools to be used (and have a lot of fun with) to arrive at your destination. And there is the whole crux of the matter. You have created parts - by whatever means to arrive at the final product. i.e you have an idea at the outset and you carefully craft the material to achieve the desired result. A computer can't think and has no soul - two key elements in any creative process. When you read something like 'random generated' in IT speak, it's a fallacy. The machine has to operate according to physical laws and algorithms - a human being does not. I like electronic music and somtimes it can be highly emotive as well, but you have to have the idea to start with.
'Loops' are a total waste of time and do not introduce anything new which is why we keep hearing the same old crap over and over. I use a sampling package called "Artist Drums' to lay down my plan for the drumkit and to experiment with parts to see what is going to work with the rest of the instruments and once I think I have it down it goes off to Marc - a drummer in Baltimore (and also incidentally, a pilot for SouthWest Airlines - I think - in the United States) who emulates the part on a real kit in the correct recording environment. The human touch adds depth interest and dynamics to the part. And it also introduces elements to the mix that you might not have thought of. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, but they are far better than the 'copy & paste' method used by some 'musicians'. By the way I don't read music and have never had any lessons of any kind - but I do think I have an 'instinct' for it (obviously not everyone's cup of tea - the music, I mean - but that's life) and no computer can replicate that. The human imagination is limitless - a computer's program is not.
http://www.marcnorgaard.com/
PS
If you are looking for a live drummer for your own project, I strongly recommend you check out this guy's site. His ability to 'slot in' with what you are trying to do is uncanny. Nothing short of brilliant. He can do what it says on the tin. Everytime!
'Loops' are a total waste of time and do not introduce anything new which is why we keep hearing the same old crap over and over. I use a sampling package called "Artist Drums' to lay down my plan for the drumkit and to experiment with parts to see what is going to work with the rest of the instruments and once I think I have it down it goes off to Marc - a drummer in Baltimore (and also incidentally, a pilot for SouthWest Airlines - I think - in the United States) who emulates the part on a real kit in the correct recording environment. The human touch adds depth interest and dynamics to the part. And it also introduces elements to the mix that you might not have thought of. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, but they are far better than the 'copy & paste' method used by some 'musicians'. By the way I don't read music and have never had any lessons of any kind - but I do think I have an 'instinct' for it (obviously not everyone's cup of tea - the music, I mean - but that's life) and no computer can replicate that. The human imagination is limitless - a computer's program is not.
http://www.marcnorgaard.com/
PS
If you are looking for a live drummer for your own project, I strongly recommend you check out this guy's site. His ability to 'slot in' with what you are trying to do is uncanny. Nothing short of brilliant. He can do what it says on the tin. Everytime!