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FamiTracker
-Learn who's who among NES musicians, both classical and modern.
-Analyze their stuff. Open up FTMs and question everything you see. If FTMs aren't available, there are tools available that let you import NSFs into a FamiTracker session.
-Be patient. If someone is starting out as a total n00b, it typically takes years before they make anything that'll turn some heads.
-Of course, there's the musical component. You gotta always focus and work on your composition skills on top of learning how to make the NES sound good.
-Learn about the hardware. Learn everything you can about the NES. Basically, become a huge NES nerd. Throw yourself into the void.
-Learn how to use other chips. They will force you to focus on specific techniques that can translate over to NES as well.
-Look into companies like Konami, Sunsoft, and Capcom. Crack open the NSFs and learn their sound design tricks.
-Get involved with the community and make friends. You'll learn a lot from people over time.
-Write a lot of music.
-Keep writing...
So you want to make interesting music?Posted: 2015-03-06 05:50
Hahaha the classic new aspiring composer thread. I feel old.
Welp, you'll definitely want to look into music theory, even if only briefly and informally. You see, music that is pleasing to the ear often follows specific parameters. These parameters are often:
1) Melodic scales (major and minor scales)
2) Sections of repeated chord progressions followed by different sections, of different chord progressions
3) Dynamics / Volume change and variation amongst notes of the same instrument, and notes of different instruments
4) A sense of overall harmony and direction
So, you want to start composing some crazy tunes, huh?
Maybe something simple but catchy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTHYUENpCoM
(Kirby - Butter Building theme. This one is pretty simple in structure, but it has a few flashy things in it that make seem more complicated than it really is)
Or maybe something captivating and powerful?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFJPXNL_2s
(Disasterpeace - Counter of the Cumulus)
Either way, you're going to need at least some sort of knowledge revolving around music theory, and chord progressions.
SO, what I recommend is that even if you kind of know what notes "sound good together," I recommend you figure out how to find the major scale and minor scale of any given note.
(Here's a tip:
Major:
# = scale degree (in "e minor", e is scale degree 1)
1 to 2 is a whole step (there is one single note between them)
2 to 3 is a whole step
3 to 4 is a half step (there is no note separating them, they are next to each other)
4 to 5 is a whole step
5 to 6 is a whole step
6 to 7 is a whole step
7 to the next 1 is a half step
So, the way to find all the notes in a particular scale goes like:
"C major"
Okay,
C (...skip c#, in order to make it a whole step to get to the next scale degree of the major scale)
D (...d#)
E
F (...f#)
G (...g#)
A (...a#)
B
C
if you want to start from any note and find its corresponding major scale, follow this formula and refer to the above use of it!
W = Whole step, h = Half step
W W h W W W h
(minor is W h W W W h W)
So, the notes in C major are C, D, E, F, G, A, B! That's all the white notes on a keyboard by the way! Whoa?! (no, no other major scale uses only white keys :)
When you know what notes make up a scale, it becomes much easier to make chords. Why? WELL
The basic triad chord is made up of the root of a scale, and the third and fifth scale degrees. In other words,
1,
3,
and 5.
If we start at C on the C major scale (aka, C is our root), our notes in this basic triad are:
C,
E,
G.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW A TRIAD WORKS, YOU CAN NOW MAKE SONGS! Yeah! Easily!
Because, so long as you start from any scale degree in C major, and find the third and fifth notes after that scale degree, you can make a series of chords using this pattern (1,3,5) to create a CHORD PROGRESSION!
There are many chord progressions one may utilize/make up when one has a sense of what sounds good or interesting, however let's look at one to explain the concept.
Here's a straight-up chord progression in its usual form:
i - iv - v - i
Consider each roman numeral to represent a set of notes that lasts for, say, one measure. Or if you're used to thinking in terms of Famitracker, think of it as a frame that contains at least... 4 beats let's say.
Now, if we're talking about C major, this simply means that the roots of our chords will go from C (scale degree 1 or i), to F (scale degree 4 or iv), to G (scale degree 5 or v), and then at the end of this progression is C, once again.
In triad form, your chords would thus be using these notes:
C E G,
F A C,
G B D,
C E G.
Now of course, if you put these in Famitracker as is, it doesn't really sound good! That's where, well, a lot of creativity comes in handy. And... perhaps a little more knowledge of music theory.
But don't worry, there are other ways to learn how to make some nice melodies to compliment and accentuate these strange sets of notes that don't seem too descriptive, and in fact, seem pretty generic when simply input in Famitracker nakedly!
One way to learn how to make interesting compositions is to, well, listen to some interesting compositions! I find that Kirby songs are really good for kind of understanding how to make music from a beginner's standpoint. They are simple yet whimsical. The chord progressions are somewhat easy to understand (try playing the bass (using only one key for each chord, this helps with seeking out the chord progression patterns) for the butter building theme on the piano) .
Uhhh, also yeah, add some melodies to that chord progression! Do something interesting with it. Make the bass accentuate your drums in a fun way! Copy from stereotypical saloon piano music (their chord progressions are so easy to hear, which will help you understand them)! Build from the base up: establish a chord, then think of some interesting chord progressions, then apply a lovely melody to it! Also, sometimes it may be easier to create a melody first, then apply a whole chord progression to it. Additionally, tt may also help to make only a melody and its bassline, and figure out the other notes you want to use.
Erm, some final words of advice would be to keep in mind that sometimes it may be of use to you to HIDE your chord progressions, OR to expand them! If you think of C5 as C in the fifth octave from the bottom of a piano, where each new C begins a new octave, you may want to use, say, C3, E4, and G3 to create an appregiated bassline for a song, which is really just a glorified C major triad. Other times, you may not even want to use the triad notes until a later time, in a sort of big reveal of what you have devided to make your chord progression. Instead of a 1,3,5 chord, you might actually decide to do a, say, 1,3,7 chord.
ALSO! No, you don't need to stick to just one scale for a song! In fact, I find it incredibly boring to do so! You can not only go back and forth between C minor and C major, but, say, between E minor, F major, and Gb minor or something! (I'm basing this example off a song I know, but I'm not completely sure if this is the actual chord progression, sorry!) But yeah holy crap I'm not actually sure of how people go around to doing this, so uh, you're on your own for now with that!
-----------
Hopefully this has been helpful to you. Sorry if I underestimate your knowledge of music theory, as I have no idea how much you do and do not know. Enjoy making music, mate!
_______________________
" I'm not affiliated with Nintendo."
-jsr
https://soundcloud.com/florasora
On the subject of theory, I have a question. It's an embarrassingly rookie question but I haven't been able to find a clear answer for it elsewhere and I honestly think it's interfering with my creative flow.
When I've identified the key a song is using, it's irritating to see the occasional note or two that strays from the key itself. I suppose I'd use Mega Man music as an example, where you seldom see key changes. As I said, it'll just be one note outside of the key (not a full on key change), lasting maybe a quarter of a measure tops. Then it reverts back to the key it was using. Is the song modulating to a neighboring key for a really short period, or is there some sort of technique for this?
It's irritating because I find I stick too rigidly to a certain key when I try to compose. It would be really helpful to know how to stray from a key, as it'll either sound good or crap.
I'd really appreciate an answer for this and I hope I explained it ok.
[quote=psn]
I'd really appreciate an answer for this and I hope I explained it ok.[/quote]
Well, notes outside of the key are often, well, just those that still manage to sound good even when not in the key. A good look at some jazz scales should help with that! Jazz scales are particularly known for being major/minor with some extra notes added in, and they sound fine, because it's known when and how to input these notes in a song.
So, if you want to learn a bit more about stuff like this, I suggest looking into jazz scales! Also, why not just... go outside of the key once in a while when you feel like it? It's fun to be naughty! ;)
Also, I remember reading once that when one keeps in mind music theory too much, it becomes much harder to make good, inspiring music. So maybe it's good to just sometimes let go of it for a second in order to peak your OWN interest, and then fix the song up with some theory knowledge, you know? Don't let theory ever get in the way of making good music! Think outside the box once you can define the box, which it seems like you have done, at least somewhat!
_______________________
" I'm not affiliated with Nintendo."
-jsr
https://soundcloud.com/florasora
Those outside-the-scale notes are basically outlining non-diatonic harmonies. Non-diatonic, basically meaning chords that aren't I ii iii IV V vi viio etc.
There's theory junk called "borrowed" chords, which is basically like(if you're in a major key) using i instead of I, iio instead of ii, III instead of iii, etc.
What I do is just play around and try different things and pay attention to the different effects they have. I use theory to get the general concepts of what is happening, then I just forget it all and play around.
Here's a quick thing I put together showing how you can go off the rails a bit in C major. Just melody and bass, tho it'd sound more confident if there was a comp of course.
In 02 I'm outlining a C13 harmony, which has a Bb in it. In 03 I'm outlining an Amaj7(instead of Am), a Gm(instead of GM), and a little whole scale run(the inversion that includes F).
It's a crude example, but I hope it at least gets the point across and maybe answers a few questions for you!
Basically, when you run into something that goes outside the scale, look at what the bass is doing and ask yourself what harmony everything else above the bass is outlining.
And it won't always outline a chord. Sometimes it'll temporarily use a scale from another key and go back again.
Anyway, that's the super basic basics. The rest is just playing around with stuff and seeing what you find!
[quote=FloraSora]Here's a straight-up chord progression in its usual form:
i - iv - v - i[/quote]
You can sing [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I]at least 40 different songs to that.
In some ways, composing music is like writing poetry. You know how a poem's line-by-line rhyming structure can be described using letters (like ABAB, AABB, etc.)? You can break up a song and find the same pattern (but with the melodies played rather than words spoken) -- like how the rickroll song has a loose A-B-A-B pattern to its verse.
_______________________
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/
Here is the demo with comp. I basically tried some random harmonies that came to mind when I first made this, just to demonstrate how loose and non-restrictive it can be. You can literally try anything, but of course different combinations will sound more pleasant than others. I think you can make even the janky stuff sound confident in itself if you support it correctly.
[quote=gyms_]Here is the demo with comp. I basically tried some random harmonies that came to mind when I first made this, just to demonstrate how loose and non-restrictive it can be. You can literally try anything, but of course different combinations will sound more pleasant than others. I think you can make even the janky stuff sound confident in itself if you support it correctly.[/quote]
mind = blown, mate. Nice stuff.
EDIT: Although, wasn't the point of it to show how you didn't have to make a full shift into another apparent key in order to use those notes? idk it sounds nice regardless. Just... do those constitute key shifts or not? My music theory experience is limited ^^'
_______________________
" I'm not affiliated with Nintendo."
-jsr
https://soundcloud.com/florasora
[quote=FloraSora]do those constitute key shifts or not?[/quote]
Nope! At least I'd say not : >
The way I see it, take a look at the bass line. Or even better, solo it. It's very direct in telling you what key it's in, it's saying:
I vi V IV V > I and repeats
The first two frames are obviously in the key of Ab. All of the harmony is basic triad stuff.
The next two frames, the same bassline continues on like it was before(still saying, "Hey! I'm in Ab!), except I've changed the chord qualities to:
I13 VImaj7 Vmaj7 IV(underneath some whole tone noodling) V > back to regular I
Now what I've just typed out here isn't something you'll find in theory books, I don't think. What I'm saying here is basically:
-If you're in a key and you're bored with being diatonic, try playing around and experiment. Try using a i7 instead of I, or a bIIImaj7 instead of iii. And of course your melodies will temporarily follow that harmonic outline, letting you safely navigate outside of the key signature and do a bunch of neat and colorful things.
What's most important is that your root movement(the bass) is still saying, "I'm still in the key of X!". This is accomplished mainly through having a solid understanding of how to cadence.
The coolest thing about this is there's not actually much theory involved at all! It's just you playing around in the harmonic sandbox, exploring and building your own progressions and further developing your own sense of harmony.
