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FamiTracker
Typical sounding song--it's okay, still a very rough draft, but as usual I'm struggling with volume control. I'm guessing that it's a combination of overcrowding the channels and it being a generally "undynamic" song in general; cluttered and with no real focus. I know that's a compositional issue in itself, but I think I can fix that by myself, in time. What I'd like to ask you peeps for are suggestions and help focusing on the technical/volume aspect of the attached .ftm.
That being said, how can I make what I have more dynamic by altering it's volume levels? I'm struggling to accomplish this on my own and would like to understand how those more knowledgeable of such things would deal with this.
I'd say you have pretty decent volume control in this tune. But if you're concerned about volume here are a few tips...
Try using the Axy effect for fade-ins & fade-outs instead of relying solely on the volume column or volume settings in your instruments alone. A01 would give you a slow fade-out & can reach all the way up to A0F for faster fades. A10 gives a slow fade-in & goes up to AF0 for faster fades. A00 cancels the effect & maintains the volume at the level it was in the previous row. It's safe to use the effect with existing volume settings in your instruments & it's required that you use a starting volume value in the volume column at the very least before using the command.
Another tip to remember is more technical; remember that electrical & audio waves, when played at the same time, will combine themselves together & increase the overall volume of the song. It's especially true for waves of the same duty cycle/phase & type (for example, if you play the same note on both square channels at 50% duty cycle & max volume, the overall volume would be doubled). So don't be afraid to use the duty cycle settings in your instruments & don't be shy to use the Vxx effect (V00 gives a 12.5% duty, V01 gives 25%, V02 gives 50% & V03 gives 75%). The key here is that, if you want both square channels to have the same duty cycle & not affect volume too much, one channel can be 25% duty cycle while the other is 75% (i.e.: the duty cycle is technically the same, while the phase is offset by 180 degrees, where overlapping waves won't produce as much volume build-up).
Pitch bending adds to how dynamic a song can be, provided that you use effective volume control techniques (you can use the Pxx command to fine-tune the pitch of any particular channel, or use the 4xy command to change the pitch speed & variation of a vibrato). The 4xy command can be troublesome, though; use higher values for x & lower values for y to get the best vibrato with respect to your volume (I find 462 & 463 good enough for a channel with notes of higher octaves & volume levels, while you can change the x value to 7 for channels with lower octaves & volume levels). If you go crazy with the pitch bending, the sound may be too intolerable (especially when coupled with excessive volume).
The last thing I can think of is to let you imagine you're making music on an electric guitar with a whammy bar (which can be used for pitch bending effects). Some players would swing the whammy bar lightly while playing their song at certain sections, while others would swing the bar heavily when they reach a stretched note; this can give you a good idea when to use the Pxx or 4xx effects in your songs.
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Technology: the one thing that's hated & cursed at by all engineers, technologists, scientists & technicians!
i'm a beginner, so i won't be able to help you technically on your question about volume dynamics but i've listened to your song,and i liked the "guitar solo" or "80's pitch synth" solo
so my humble tought on the "compositional" side of the dynamic,like you said you've pointed it in your post but i wanted to share this :
the build up on frame 26 and 27 and the beginning of the solo at the end of frame 27, maybe you could add dynamic to your song by muting a couple channels and keep only for frame 28 to 2E : dpcm+sawtooth, like it's suggested by the half time feel, that would give a breakdown until you put everything back at frame 2F or some channels gradually until the end.
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