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FamiTracker
So a couple of months ago I downloaded famitracker and decided I would give it a try. I've been working with it on and off since I just started college recently but I've made a couple of songs. I know they aren't all that great but I'd appreciate it if I could get some feedback and if people could give me some pointers on how to progress.
https://www.mediafire.com/?q1wi38bksltv47a (I've numbered the songs in the order that I made them in.
Even if there's a few, it'd be easier (and i suppose less spooky) that going to a random mediafire link.
Regardless, checking now.
edit : alright. boardwalk is really simple, a little long, but very pleasant. Better than i expected without any on-grid volume leveling or anything. I like it.
Something1 is a weird little song. Pretty simple in terms of what's going on, but again, pleasant. A running theme so far. No crazy effects, no complicated instrument switches, just a decent melody. Straightforward. Good stuff.
the hunt was probably my favorite so far, and your triangle |15 0 is such a cool idea, i've placed something something similar into my template file. very cool stuff.
Betrayal at the. Right off the bat i want to tell you you don't need to spam volume numbers. It keeps the whatever it was set to the first time it was set, until you change it. I'm into frame 03, and pulse2 is all 8888888888888888888. You could just use one 8 at the top and be good. Maybe one at the top of each frame, so you can playback and hear it properly. You did the same thing on the noise channel. No need to, man~
also the 2 channel echo that i see you doing there, with both pulses. I find they're more effective if the notese fade out or terminate in some other way. Sustaining an echo always feels dragged out to me. I'd fade them out, but to each their own.
frame 07 is lovely! didn't expect it to switch over to something like that. frames 09 and 01 are a little weak, after that, i think.
Still, good use of volume control, minus the numberspam. Echoes work, everything works.
Good stuff, man.
Now post the ftms in here so people don't have to go to mediafire to listen to em.
Here's the files uploaded normally. I didn't see the attachment option when I made the first post.
Anyway thanks for the criticism, I'm glad that you liked the stuff I made. One thing I'm wondering though, what's "on-grid volume leveling?"
Also, I'm trying to get a bit more into using effects but I feel like whenever I try to do that they feel forced. Any advice on how to get comfortable with effects?
Not bad at all for first attempts, it would sure help me out to know your musical backround though. If the answer is not much, well... the internet can be a really useful place, trust me. You don't necessarily need to devote money to the cause of you becoming more acquainted with theory.
Bla...bla... Now that I'm done with that...
You seem to be having an OK idea of how to use the NES as an instrument. Over time you'll definitely iron out some of the "weirdness" in them, especially if you go around and listen to work from other people. By weirdness I mean that strange percussive triangle motion, but most people aren't nearly as imaginitve the first time as it takes to use the triangle for drums + bass. And also noise. You'll learn how to make the most out of that as well, I know the short clicks sound awesome at first, but then they're going to lose their power for you, and make you experiment. Low pithces are good for kick sounds, mid-pitch for snares and high as hi-hats and cymbals. (It shows the pitch in hexadecimal though! 0-F)
The first two felt a little bit empty and drawn out, but haunted was a bit like the first Castlevania actually! It had its flow and I liked that. The last one was best in my opinion from a tonal point of view.
Oh and I edited the second song, to show you a different, delayed echo I like using on sustained notes.
As for the effects, vibrato is best used to make those long notes more interesting (or if you want to make it sound like drunkenness-themed music) by starting the vibrato mid-note. 464 is a pretty standard vibrato value.
As far as music theory I took a basic class in high school and I've played piano for a few years so I've picked up some bits and pieces through that.
So far I've just been shifting notes up or down a few semitones when I want two notes playing at the same time to harmonize.
When it comes to overall composition I've really just been improvising and trying to take tunes that sound interesting in my head and make them in the tracker.
I'm not really sure where to go as far as learning music theory; everything seems to be either really basic "this is a quarter note" to really advanced stuff that flies over my head.
I can identify with that. There are some music theory 101's online that are good for simple stuff like, yeah 'this is a quarter note, there are 7 unique notes in an octave, the eight note is the same as the first but a register up.
When it got into numbering chords i started to get lost. capital I's for major and little i's for minor. And that assumes you can play 3 notes at the same time whenever you feel like it, too.
Still, being able to say 'gonna shift this from the key of x to Y major' seems like it'd be beneficial for composing something. Without that you're really just going 'i dunno this sounds good, and lets see if this also sounds good. yeah, it sounds pretty good i guess'
That's how i compose. Which means i'm not properly doing things at all. BUT! you do what you do.
Also, 'on the grid volume control'. I meant using the dedicated volume column. Having everything be set to LOUD all the time gets tiring to the ear, at least for me. Some more variation could accentuate your pieces. its like musical contrast i guess.
