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FamiTracker
I'm helping with the development of a game, honestly it's just a few friends and myself just messing around. I've made one song which seems to have gone down well with my friends. I'm fairly new to FamiTracker so I don't expect it to be great, but I'd like some external feed back and perhaps some tips on how to improve.
I'm also trying to create another song, for one of the levels and I need to make it sound kind of orchestral. If anyone could help with how to do that, I would appreciate it a lot.
Once you've selected the file, don't forget to press "Attach File" to the right, or it won't attach.
If you want an orchestral sound, I'd recommend that you use a expansion chip and create appropriate instruments using that. With VRC6, you can make a nice string instrument by making the instrument change duty/noise like this (just copy + paste)
For the sound design aspect I'd recommend either VRC6 or VRC7. Because there are several channels and you can't control volume on DPCM/Triangle, you want to use extremely low volume levels around 4 or 5 for all the other channels (assuming you're using them all). Pay attention to the green bars under the channel name as the instruments are playing, because that's the Output Volume, which is the instrument and song data volume multiplied off each other.
Perhaps you can refer to these for a good orchestral sound design:
VRC6: [url=http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=6539]http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=6539 (There's more than one song in that single FTM)
VRC7: [url=http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=6481]http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=6481
Namco: [url=http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=4567]http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=4567
Typically you'd want to use either Triangle or Saw for bass, noise and DPCM for drums/percussion, and the remaining channels for any extra melodic voices/rhythms.
As for the compositional aspect of things, I'm not sure where your level is musically, but orchestral probably isn't the best place to start if you're learning. If you truly are up for composing orchestral, though, then I'd suggest writing a good melody and bassline, then forming the chords around them. Make sure you have:
- A melody
- A bassline
- Some drums (optional, depending on what kind of song you're doing)
- Harmonies or countermelodies with the remaining channels, which have rhythms that compliment all the other channels
I'd highly recommend working with the VRC6 module. It'll give you tremendously more flexibility than just using the 2A03 on its own, but while still avoiding a huge jump in complexity that the VRC7 and other FM-synthesis-style chips bring.
One really notable thing people tend to skip when talking about the VRC6's capabilities is it brings significantly stronger options for a very low register. The 2A03 pulses struggle with octave 0 where the VRC6 pulses handle it like a boss. That plus the delicious sawtooth wave give you potential for a much fuller sound than 2A03 alone.
You should also search the forum for various DPCM sample packs people have posted. Having access to a solid array of samples to choose from will help a lot as well, especially if you want percussion that doesn't sound as computer generated - not that noise/triangle percussion can't sound good, but it limits your options a lot since those two channels are mostly a la carte, with the triangle not even giving you volume controls and the noise only really having one "octave" of static tones.
Other than that just play around with it, the easiest way to learn this kinda thing is to set yourself a goal of some sort and then see if you can do it. I've been making DOOM covers to start learning famitracker, started learning myself only a couple weeks ago and already feel like I've come a long way from my first posted ftm, just from a few tidbits of advice and tweaks from this little community.
Why does it feel like I've heard this song somewhere =o
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"im going to continue making this crazy stuff then after a while my style will be so sick that you will be like damn suuun that shit is so sick i dont even get it. i will be like bro its ok.. you dont have to." -omgdonut
O_O What? I literally made my song in school, and I have no access to this forum or YouTube. How is it that, that my song sounds exactly the same as that?
Well, never mind, back to the drawing board.
Yeah, I've decided to use the VCR7, for now, I mean so far as I've seen I'm bad at making instruments sound good, and the piano on it sounds decent.
Where could I find some .dcm files that are solely orchestral? I've been looking and I only seem to find game samples. Might have to try to make some of my own.
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