Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /storage/content/49/145849/famitracker.com/public_html/forum/classes/dbHandler.php on line 29
FamiTracker
What kind of stylistic choices do you make when composing songs?
For example, I'm working on a series of tunes based on the RPG [i]Bravely Default[/i], and one of the stylistic choices I made is not to use the Noise or DPCM channels. Which means the songs have almost zero percussion (there are occasional toms here and there, played on the Triangle channel, but that's it). I decided this because the game is such a throwback to old-school Final Fantasies, and in the NES days of Final Fantasy 1 (and 2), they didn't utilize any Noise channel anywhere in their soundtrack either. (It was also my first time creating drum instruments, and since I already had a good bass track establishing the song's rhythm, the drums added basically nothing of value and I took them out.)
There's another song I'm working on where I'm trying to create it using just the standard three channels (plus Noise), but as I listen to the source tune I realize there are definitely more than three instrument channels being played. The song is so beautiful I might have to set it up with an expansion chip just to do those parts justice, but I don't want to diverge too far from the basic three instruments and pure NES flavor (I've seen plenty of tunes with VRC6 or 7 that, when they utilize all channels at once, the result starts to sound somewhere between 8- and 16-bit -- "12-bit" if you will). I may end up making two separate versions of the song just for this.
_______________________
Where to find me:
YouTube: [url=http://youtube.com/user/stratelier]http://youtube.com/user/stratelier
DeviantArt: [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/]http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/
I try to avoid the expansion chips if at all possible. Partly because it's more interesting to work with tighter constraints, and partly because expansion chips aren't what any of us grew up with (unless you're from Japan).
You can do a hell of a lot with just the 2A03. My [url=http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=3496]cover of the theme from Plok, for instance, is proof of that, and that doesn't even abuse the DPCM channel as much as some other stuff I've done. Sometimes I sketch out an idea with an expansion chip, using the extra channels for chords, but use the 2A03 for the final thing.
All that said, it depends on what you want to do. Some people do amazing stuff with the expansion chips that couldn't be done any other way. If it's what you want to do, who are we to stop you?
[quote=furrykef]I try to avoid the expansion chips if at all possible. Partly because it's more interesting to work with tighter constraints, and partly because expansion chips aren't what any of us grew up with (unless you're from Japan).[/quote]
I didn't even know that expansion chips were only in Japan. And I like to have 2A03 only sometimes, but mainly a I use expansion chips. Really, with FT (and things like it) you can go two ways in my opinion. You can use it to just make music that sounds good, regardless of how it's made. But then, you can also make music sound it's best with channel limits. To use Dalek's terms in that awful post some of us may remember:
[quote=Delek]Well, in other words, I'm a purist Chipmusic/Chiptune lover, and if you think that you're making TRUE Chiptune but what you do can not be run on real hardware, you're wrong.[/quote]
But when composing, it is purely up to you, obviously, and really just get's affected by how you want the end result to sound. For instance, in music that will be kinda fast-paced, I usually want nice bass. Such as a Saw bass. And there's really 3 options; VRC6, N163, and FDS. I usually use VRC6 because it comes with 2 pulse channels for moar polphony. So, whatever fits your song. I usually compose outside of FT, anyway.
My most important principle is this: Don't do stuff you wouldn't see in a game. For me that means no crazy envelopes, or samples for each bass note. I mean sure, people can go and pack in 200k of DPCM in there, but it's not very nostalgic then.
Honestly, it doesn't matter to me. I used to do a lot of Follin style 2A03 songs because it opens up so much opportunity with what type of sound you want to make out of just a simple pulse wave, which I would have never discovered without hearing his work. Making those kind of songs is what encouraged me to improve my music writing skills and I definitely think it has helped me. I've delved into a bit of assembly language as well, so I think it also helped me prepare to write music for an actual NES game.
When I use an expansion, it's usually for experimental purposes to try and get a type of sound I'm looking for. If I get the sound I'm looking for, I will probably make a song with that expansion. If not, I keep trying to replicate that sound as best as I can and if all else fails, try something else.
In other words, if I want to make a strict NES style song, I'll will try to make the most of what I have. But if I want to do something outside of the box, I'll use an expansion.
for writing music, i generally start with a melody, then write the harmony and bass parts. if you came up with more than 3 total parts, use an expansion. if one instrument is piano or guitar, use an expansion for that. if you go with 2a03, and you want to expand your sound, add an expansion. as per style preference, the 2a03 only style evokes a nostalgic feeling for me, and thats the reason i use ft.
But before delving into the depths of Famicom and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANWjd70KWvo]unofficial-hentai-pirate fighting games, however, I try to give NES and strict 2A03 a chance.
Here's the source of one of my covers: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkk2_1qpHL4]Wave Race 64 - Drake Lake in all its harmonic essence (several different instruments, plenty of cords, and overlap)
Here's a cover I was quite pleased with:
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdJxlsLs3zE]http://www.youtube.com/waverace?v=drkLk <- notice the subtle use of arpeggios for cords, fading in/out of instruments when needed, and overall, just picking the most harmonic-sounding choices I could find.
[quote=furrykef]I try to avoid the expansion chips if at all possible. Partly because it's more interesting to work with tighter constraints, and partly because expansion chips aren't what any of us grew up with (unless you're from Japan).[/quote]
I have literally never seen (in person) any NES game with an audio expansion chip, let alone played one to know what their soundtracks are like; so like a lot of people the core 2A03 capabilities are all I know.
[quote=]You can do a hell of a lot with just the 2A03.[/quote]
Speaking of which, while this one did involve the VRC6 chip, somebody dragged FamiTracker [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bWTS4IgTuM]through the fire and flames, and the end result is almost like watching a black MIDI....
[quote=za909]My most important principle is this: Don't do stuff you wouldn't see in a game.[/quote]
I agree. I've viewed quite a few songs composed with the VRC6/7 chips and when they sart combining pulse waves (with varying duty cycles) into chords the end result starts sounding less "8-bit" and more "16-bit". Now I have pulled a few unusual stunts with instrument definitions here and there but they're nothing that couldn't also be performed using discrete notes and effects.
_______________________
Where to find me:
YouTube: [url=http://youtube.com/user/stratelier]http://youtube.com/user/stratelier
DeviantArt: [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/]http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/
[quote=Im_a_Track_Man]Someone hasn't seen some of Nicetas' FTMs[/quote]
No, definitely not. Not unless I have reason to.
_______________________
Where to find me:
YouTube: [url=http://youtube.com/user/stratelier]http://youtube.com/user/stratelier
DeviantArt: [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/]http://stratadrake.deviantart.com/
There's some pretty awesome nicetas_c (aka HertzDevil) stuff out there that you might be interested in. I'm not sure what Track_Man was referring to earlier though; I don't recall ever seeing a black MIDI-esque FTM of his. But yeah he's more than competent with the tracker.
_______________________
Follow me on [url=https://twitter.com/jrlepage2a03]Twitter.
I record (some) NSFs on hardware. Feel free to [url=http://www.famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=3633]request a hardware render.
[quote=jrlepage]I don't recall ever seeing a black MIDI-esque FTM of his..[/quote]
Not "Green pattern" so much as "impressive arp-heavy walls of notes" on an unsupported chip, no less. Fair warning, SN5B module.
unrelated: It really bugs me that when 5B is actually supported, this will sound completely different.
[quote=CheeseGuy99]To use Dalek's terms in that awful post some of us may remember: [/quote]
Please don't confuse me for Delek. I do [i]not[/i] share his views at all and some of his views drive me up the wall and are extremely aggrivating. I do not want associated with those views or him in general.
As for the topic at hand, I don't care if you use every single expansion available to the NSF format or just the basic 2A03 channels without using DPCM.
Whatever sounds good will sound good. Do not let some profound and extremely stupid elitism sway you away from what methods you choose to make your music. It's YOUR music. Do not let anyone dictate how you should make it or shape how it should sound.
