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FamiTracker
So Tuesday (two days ago) I'm looking at chiptunes on Youtube and come across Danooct1's awesome channel [url=]http://www.youtube.com/user/8BitDanooct1 (who I understand is a member on this forum?) and I see he uses FamiTracker to make 'authentic' NES tunes.
So Wednesday (yesterday) I download FamiTracker and force myself to write a few songs. I started writing a sad march and noticed the chord progression was awfully similar to the main theme from FFVI, so I just went ahead and used the melody from that too. Then I thought I'd try a 'Mega Man'-type song. "Hey! It doesn't sound too bad!"
Now today I checked out this forum, and holy crap! There are some seriously talented people here and some insanely complex compositions! And no shortage of people claiming to have written something 'Mega Man'-ish . Well, I want to learn to write chiptunes and FamiTracker looks like a good place to start. Maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. Like, starting with some tips to improve these songs?
I'm totally clueless about drums/noise. And I'm not too sure how to use envelopes effectively. Any feedback encouraged. Thanks.
Hmmm... I am surprised people skipped this thread. You are quite talented yourself. You have a basic way about your music, but musically this is quite impressive. Basic isn't bad at all, like in your case.
I am guessing you'd probably want to spruce things up in the near future with your tunes, right? Then have a search around this forum and load up other people's projects to see how they did them (if they are able to be opened as FTM, that is). NSFs cannot be opened in FT, so I recommend any emulator that supports NSF files or a plugin for winamp (anybody here will point you to good NSF players - they're good like that). ^______^
So keep at it!
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You now process Dracula's Rib. Good luck processing it...
Rushjet1 -- I think when you wait that long before starting a vibrato, and when the vibrato is that strong, it sounds better when you ease into it. So keep the 83's where they are, but put an 82 above the 83, and an 81 before the 82, and it sounds much better in my opinion.
Demick12: I used to listen to SPC and NSF files ages ago, but just recently started again. Winamp really works great for both . But I remember being able to load one .rsn file in Winamp and have a full soundtrack for that game in my playlist. Now if I go to Zophar's Domain and download a SNES soundtrack it's in 7zip format (which is great for compression, but not as convenient for queuing in Winamp.)
BTW I've been looking at some .ftm files on this forum and whew! it's a little overwhelming. I'm definitely looking at the instruments and patterns for ideas though. I'll try to put them to use tomorrow to make the terra song more expressive, and the mega song more...technical I guess. Or at least longer.
Since you guys bring up vibrato here's a question: when do you use vibrato and when do you use tremolo? I think these two terms often get mixed up in music, but they're clearly distinct in FT. Do you guys have any conventions on when to use which effect?
Whenever there's a distinction between the two, "tremolo" always refers to volume and "vibrato" always refers to pitch. The only context I'm aware of the two truly being interchangeable is in the context of guitar equipment, where the two names are reversed: a guitar's "tremolo arm" produces vibrato, and a "vibrato unit" is an effects box that produces tremolo. This is because electric guitar pioneer Leo Fender apparently mixed up the two terms. Oddly enough, the guitar playing technique of wiggling the string is always, correctly, called vibrato.
As for when you actually use them in your songs, tremolo is much rarer and much less useful than vibrato is. I don't think I've ever used it, except maybe once or twice.
The tremolo arm being more commonly known today as a whammy bar. The guitar playing technique of wigling the string is called vibrato, and yes a vibrato unit produces tremolo. I have an old amp that says vibrato on it, but the input produces tremolo, not vibrato. Yes, I do play guitar.
Re: vibrato
When I took a class for brass instruments last year, I could hear that with a trumpet, french horn, or cornet, that vibrato for them is a volume thing. Because their instruments just won't resonate if you don't buzz your lips at the correct harmonic frequency. Probably works for low brass though like a trombone.
As for tremelo, I thought that was a term limited only to string players? It's basically us bowing a note as fast as possible, or fast enough. It's hard to describe the effect when done en masse. Thinking of examples...
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIpM_bLSTA]Stravinsky - Berceuse & Finale @2:08 1st and 2nd violins have tremelos, not sure about violas. 3:20 and on it's just us
I'd imagine doing the 7xy on 2 channels at different x speeds would work out nicely. Even moreso if you go MM5 (not sure if 7xy works on those channels...)
Yeah, I knew that tremolo is volume and vibrato is pitch in FT. Funny about guitars though, isn't it? Xyz, I played trumpet for 12 years and for us (and probably most wind players except trombone as you said) 'vibrato' really was more of a volume thing. What's more, there were a couple different ways to achieve that 'vibrato' (using your lips, wiggling the instrument with your hands.) Probably one of those methods affected the pitch a bit too, further compounding the issue.
Well, I made some changes before I read the last couple comments:
Terra - I put in a snare and added vibrato AND tremolo to the long notes (why not). I also experimented with a different bass line, but I can't make anything in the triangle channel work besides octaves. My crappy netbook speakers probably aren't helping.
Mega Song - added a proper intro, added a new bar in the middle (still feels a little awkward though), and [size=5]removed the volume controls from the triangle column.... What would be the best way to make my fake triplets into real triplets?
[quote=Xyz_39808]As for tremelo, I thought that was a term limited only to string players? It's basically us bowing a note as fast as possible, or fast enough.[/quote]
And in guitar, that's called "tremolo picking" (another case in guitar where they always get it right). The usage you describe is the original use of the term; "tremolo" as it's usually used in the context of trackers and effects probably derives from it because the result sounds similar.
[quote=MrFTBN]Terra - I put in a snare and added vibrato AND tremolo to the long notes (why not)[/quote]
There are a couple of places where you have a note playing while vibrato is still active. In my experience, this tends to sound weird, although it can be used for deliberate effect if the music is meant to be really eerie. Usually it sounds best to wait a couple of rows before you turn on the vibrato, then when the next note comes, turn it off and wait a couple of rows before turning it back on.
There's also at least one part where you turn off the vibrato several rows [i]before[/i] the next note, which also sounds weird to me.
I also think combining the tremolo with the vibrato is a bit too heavy-handed, but maybe that's just me. Usually when I do vibrato I give it just enough to make it apparent, just enough for the note to really "sing". But this is one area which is definitely subject to opinion!
By the way, your 'snare' sounds like an open hi hat to me... ^^;
. Well, I want to learn to write chiptunes and FamiTracker looks like a good place to start. Maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. Like, starting with some tips to improve these songs?
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