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FamiTracker
I Started Famitracker about a week and a half ago, so I realize that these tracks are far from being technically proficient. I have always loved retro video game music so I figured I'd give it a go.
The how to on my FT does not work (there's no response to any tab I click) so this has all been off of trial and error, as well as reading a few things online.
I would love any and all help as well as suggestions I can get, and look forward to hearing what you think.
A first tip I can give immediately: You need to look at tutorials. Preferably a lot of them.
You've got to have a rudimentary understanding of the hardware you're using to create your song. Right now, it's all either very basic or doesn't quite fit.
A running theme among the tracks themselves is that they are all rather short and pretty repetitive. But hey, I can't compose anything at all. Your melodies at least make sense. You've got a decent musical base - keep working on it, I see potential
It's gonna take a short while, but I'll try and give you a few tips, tricks ans general overview over the hardware architecture of the 2a03 (and maybe a few expansion chips) you can work with.
So, being okay at something is the first step to becoming great at something. Keep working on it and eventually you'll get better through experience
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The purpose of a programming language is to protect the computer against the programmer.
First things first, [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la3coK5pq5w]Here's a brief explanation of the functions of the NES audio hardware. Take a look and then continue reading this.
To tie in the explanation with Famitracker:
- You access the Pulse Widths through the Effect Vxx (xx = {00, 01, 02, 03} ) or trough the instrument tab "Duty / Noise". 00 is good for making the pulse sound squeaky, 01 and 03 are "normal" sounds and 02 sounds like a flute.
- Every channel has 16 Volume levels {0 .. 15 / 0 .. F}. You can access the volume of a channel trough the volume column or inside the instrument settings (again). If there are volume data coming from both an instrumnet envelope and the volume column, the volume of the envelope is going to be scaled down according to the volume column. There's also the effect Ax0 / A0x which will increase / decrease your volume over time. Beware that this effect won't stop until there's a A00 put in place. You can also create a tremolo (quickly increasing and decreasing the volume) with 7xy (x: Speed, y: Depth).
- You can cange the pitch (frequency of the note) either trough Pxx (HEX 80 is default pitch, the range goes:
-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3
7D 7E 7F 80 81 82 83
!! Beware, negative values will result in a higher pitch while positive numbers will lower the pitch) or in the instrument settings trough - you guessed it - "Pitch". Note that "High Pitch" is just like Pitch, only multiplied by 16. Not very useful IMHO.
Or you could go with 1xx / 2xx which will constantly increase / decrease your pitch. Any pitch slide stopped by 000, 100 or 200.
A general tip about the instrument editor: With ' / ', you declare a release. That means that the envelope will stop at the value following the slash and continue as soon as a release (double line) is detected. A ' | ' will create a loop - everything following this will be blayed in a loop constantly, but it'll be cancelled out by a release zone.
Properties of the triangle channel:
- First off - I think this thing sucks big time. No volume envelope, no way of altering the timbre (sound) ... nothing. Just an old telephone beep. Oh well, use it for the bassline when going 2a03 only or try and support the drums when using expansions trough going 2xx on the triangle channel. A triangle pitch bend will create in a substitude for drums. Very efficient in combination with noise percussion.
- Also, this channel will play an octave lower than displayed. Keep that in mind - if you type in a C-4, it'll really play a C-3.
Properties of the noise channel:
- Nothing all to fancy here. 16 volume units as usual and 15 pitches of noise. Use 0-3 as bass drums, 5-9 as snares and A - E (F is almost inaudible) for Hihats. Also, if you set the duty cycle to an uneven number (trough a volume envelope or V01), you'll shorten the noise pattern from 32 KBits to 93 Bits. This will result in various buzzing sounds, depending on the pitch and what nouse was last played. Experiment on this channel a lot, it'll really pay afterwards.
Properties of the DPCM channel:
- This is a VERY special one. It plays sound clips similar to primitive '.wav'-files. Those can only last about a second on highest quality (eight seconds on potato-level-compression) and are coded trough 1-Bit-Modulation. So, always expect them to sound like utter sh!t. To create a so-calles Sample, you've either gotta load a .DMC-file (direct sample, there's a bunch of Sample packs on the forum) or import a .wav-file. Beware, as this will even further decrease the quality.
- Also, the DPCM state affects the volume of the triangle and noise channel. So, if you want to blast full noise percussion, don't put in too many fancy samples or you might shoot yourself in the foot.
And one more tip. If you'd like to put in chords (preferably 3 notes), you can use a tecnique called "Arpeggio". Very common in eurpoe, this technique breaks up the chord into 3 notes trat are rapidly played one after another. A simple way to create such an arp is to use the command "0xy" which will play the note you entered, followed by the note x semitones above and then y semitones above one after another.
To better implement this, you can also use the "Arpeggio"-tab in the instrument settings and enter things like " | 0 X Y " for a standart arp or " | 0 Y X X Y 0 " for a more Commodore 64 - esque arpeggio.
About expansion chips: It you want more ways to work with the NES, go into your Module Properties (Ctrl + P) and select one in the dropdown-menu. They all function in their own ways, so I won't describe them with further detail right now. If you've got any questions about the effects, the way things work, channels, samples, tools
, tricks, techniques and much more, just look on the [url=http://www.famitracker.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page]Famitracker Wiki or, if you can't find anything, never be afraid to ask.
Have a nice day and much success with your projects ^_^
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The purpose of a programming language is to protect the computer against the programmer.
If you're still having trouble learning anything with Famitracker, I highly recommend that you take a look at what others have uploaded. Just remember to give credit whenever you decide to use any instrument that anyone else has created.
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Ponies, Mega Man, Meshuggah, Rotten Sound and ice-cream! <3
[url=http://www.youtube.com/user/seppowarheart]YOUTUBE
Even if it's not for me, i must say that Alexander283's answer is gold.
So... big thanks Alexander : )
EDIT:
I'm still learning but if can help on something is to play around with a
" blank " instrument,wich means you create a new instrument and do nothing to it, this advice was given to me here and it helped me understand and manipulate the effects more clearly and also allows you, to control the volume more easily for fade out-in, crescendo etc..
-And definitely use some effects like Vxx,400 (vibrato) to give life to your notes and melodies.
There's so much things but that's what's great (and yeah..overwhelming) about this software.
-And don(t forget to match the number of you instrument with the numbers you have for each parameters in the instrument editor, it sucks when it's a mess, i lost way too much time by not doing so : )
Props to Alexander for that fantastic reply. It was great of him to give someone the fundamentals on top of the fact that tutorials are already available. Here's a bit more advice if I may piggyback off of Alexander283 and heyjoe07:
1. Your 03 instrument in your 3rd song is pretty unique. I'm sure someone somewhere has created something similar before, but playing around and just experimenting with the software is a good place to start. You can come up with all sorts of crazy sounds by just messing with the instrument editor.
2. This forum is your best friend. Go through and see what people are currently posting, and have posted in the past (so long as you don't necro). You can get lots of great ideas from seeing how other people
3. Study and save this page:
http://famitracker.com/wiki/index.php?title=Common_tempo_values
It's critical for when you want to start messing around with other tempos.
Other than that, just have fun with it and keep practicing =]
Thank you for guys for listening and for the great advice! I have a ton of research and work ahead, and am very appreciative for all your help and great vibes :-)
Alexander283, I really appreciate such a thorough and awesome response, I will definitely experiment with all you said and if I have any questions I'll send them your way. Much thanks man, you rock!
Threxx, thank you, that did the trick, the entire help tab works just fine now!
Warheart, I appreciate that, I'm going to do some rummaging through everything I can, and if I borrow or sample will never take anything without giving the due credit deserved.
Heyjoe07, I hadn't even thought about that, I guess it's kinda like how back in the day my parents told me I need to learn manual before I drive automatic because I'll have a better understanding of the feel of a vehicle and won't destroy the transmission.
Also keeping everything neat and organized is something that I'm definitely coming to understand the importance of and will continue to work on.
OneHitLeft, thanks for the compliment on the instrument, I have had a lot of fun toying around with the editor. Just curious, what does "necro" mean?! sorry I haven't heard that term yet! Thank you for the page too, I've wanted to experiment with other tempos but wasn't sure what works and what sounds like complete slop!
Oh wow, I didn't think my answer would be recieved so positively
I do what I can do - I can't compose, but I know the technical aspects and tracking techniques. So, I'm here to help the ones in need of technical assistance. Else, what would a forum be good for if everyone wasn't contributing his abilities as well as his problems? Not a place where everyone profits, that's for sure.
Oh well, now to get less philosophical. Your songs - generally - should be a little more structured. Right now, it's pretty much a "Lemme take this channel, then add this one and then this one and ..." and the result is a melody that is "growing", but isn't adding anything new. In fromt of all, if you inly hear a single pulse channel playing, you may think your NES just broke.
I'd do the following: Use all (or most) channels from the getgo and let the melody make a build-up. And - in front of all - more patterns. Playing one pattern in a loop all the time may be okay for an accompaning voice (although it should follow the melody), but the melody MUST progress. A continuous loop gets annoying real fast.
But if you just continue practicing, It'll pretty much come by itself (I hope/think)
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The purpose of a programming language is to protect the computer against the programmer.
To "necro" means to reply to a post that is several weeks, or even months old. What I meant is that you should go through old posts, and see what people have posted and study it, but don't reply to it. If you reply to a really old post it pops back up in the thread and can be misleading to people, thinking that old forum members have come back, or have responded to a post that is months old. Don't let that discourage you from downloading the .ftm or .nsf files and listening to them and studying what others have done, just don't reply to the post itself =]
