Music Tutorial

bo0ey · #1 10-12-2003, 11:11 AM

The 2 songs in the zip titled "finished work" and "finished work 2"
finished work.mid = In Flames - Biosphere from the album "Subterranean"
finished work 2.mid = Rogue theme I made for Tribulation, but since it is dead... I am going to release all the midis sooner or later.

Also note I do not recommend using Fruity Loops for midis.... It didnt let me save the instruments! I kept trying and it would crash. So unfortunately ALL MY SAMPLES In the zip are Piano ONLY!

1. Drums

- Yes, the first step is to create a good drum beat! Without a good drum beat your song has nothing to sit on. I explained it better when I typed the document the first time... Darn Windows ME... Anyway, your drum beat should include bass drum hits, snare drum (about 4 hits per beat) and some cymbal hitting. I will include a drums.mid in the zip file attached so you can understand what I mean better, because even though it is fun to educate people, I would really rather not type so much at 12:30 at night... Make sure you check the mid.

2. Lead

- The Lead is the first thing I make upon the drum beat, your lead should not be faster nor slower than the drums. Lead instruments are guitars, violins, keyboards, etc.. Also Synth instruments are used as lead a lot nowadays, just not in America.. *smites*.. The Lead is the part of the song that should be the most random, the part of the song that gets stuck in your head!

3. Rythm

- The Rythm is added after the lead and the drums. You must try to make sure your notes fit in nicely with the music, you should play the song over a few times just to make sure it is Ok. Rythm playing is a lot lower than the lead, you will notice this listening to almost any song that isn't in America! *another american music bash* To hear some good rythm, download any song by In Flames or Opeth... Actually Opeth is the best rythm I have ever heard.

I will include in the zip a version of In Flames - Biosphere (CLIP) that I have just made a minute ago.

4. Synth

- Synth is good! It includes instruments such as harp, violin, keyboards, which are also lead instruments but for some reason.... Well Synth is mostly used as ensembles, so that explains it.. Listen to the harp.mid in the zip to see how I re-create Acoustic Fireworks from Final Fantasy 7 using the harp. Just like picking the guitar strings the notes go up and down between each string.

5. Afterword

- Yes I am sorry this tutorial was MUCH better the first time I wrote it.. If you have any questions you can send me a forum PM or an email, at [email protected]

- In Flames - Biosphere (finished work.mid) from the album "Subterranean" available on Amazon.com included with the album "Lunar Strain". The midi attached is only a small clip of the beggining of the song.

email: [email protected]
aim : boostrader

- Midi Programs

I found that Fruity loops (www.fruityloops.com) is a great program for begginers to create midis. A bit hard to figure out at first, but once you have it, it gets the job done.

Noteworthy Composer is also a note worthy of notice.

Thank you, thank you.

Kramer · #2 10-12-2003, 11:17 AM

Um... cool music... I like frooty loops, but I never got arrounf to really learning it, maybe I should.

Kaimetsu · #3 10-12-2003, 11:47 AM

Ew. Drums are just an accompaniment, they shouldn't be added first.

bo0ey · #4 10-12-2003, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaimetsu
Ew. Drums are just an accompaniment, they shouldn't be added first.

Depends on the song / genre actually. In most cases drum beats SHOULD be made first... I know of a CD being worked on right now that laid down all the drums first and is going in to record the other stuff now... Won't say who.

Kaimetsu · #5 10-12-2003, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bo0ey
Depends on the song / genre actually. In most cases drum beats SHOULD be made first...

Sure, if the creator doesn't have much skill :-p

Drums should complement the lead, which suggests that they should be made after the lead is finalised.

protagonist · #6 10-12-2003, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaimetsu

Sure, if the creator doesn't have much skill :-p

Drums should complement the lead, which suggests that they should be made after the lead is finalised.

It really depends. What you suggest is good for a song/tune that's written already, but suppose you want to write your own song to reel time (for convenience). Putting a drum or base every 1/2 a bar is not a bad idea, as it provides a rythm for which to lay down your actual notes.

Neoreno · #7 10-12-2003, 05:10 PM

I usually start by playing the base chords, then adding bass, based off the chords, then the melody, drums usually are low on the priority list.

Benm00t · #8 10-12-2003, 06:50 PM

Harp doesn't sound like a harp

superb · #9 10-12-2003, 07:25 PM

For me, it depends on what I want the song to focus on. There are times when it is best to lay down the drums as they are the foundation of the rythmn section. This is the way it is done in a studio for most forms of popular music such as rock and rap. Of course, with MIDI there's a wide range of sounds and styles use can produce despite its limitations. I will say that most of the time I do not write the drums first. The exception is when I want to base the melody off of the drum beat. Here's an example of writing the drums first.

By the way, that's a pretty piss poor tutorial sorry to say. Music tutorials are by no means easy to write, but you'll never be able to create a good one without touching on basic music theory.

Bow_Before_Bricko · #10 10-13-2003, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bo0ey
Post

Your tutorial seems a bit pointless... it's mostly just stating the obvious. I really have no set method of composing midis. I simply get a tune in my head, and I put it down on a midi program. Might I also add that I don't much like the tutorial midis you added...

Pickles: I did like your midi however, it's quite good.

Attached are a few examples of my work, I hope you like them.

Kaimetsu · #11 10-13-2003, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by protagonist
It really depends. What you suggest is good for a song/tune that's written already, but suppose you want to write your own song to reel time (for convenience). Putting a drum or base every 1/2 a bar is not a bad idea, as it provides a rythm for which to lay down your actual notes.

No. Drums aren't just a static background, they should interact with the main tune. If you do the drums first then you have to build the tune around them, and that's stupid.

bo0ey · #12 10-13-2003, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaimetsu

No. Drums aren't just a static background, they should interact with the main tune. If you do the drums first then you have to build the tune around them, and that's stupid.

It's not like you make the drum beat and then never touch it again, Kai... you can edit them and change a few things to make it sound better while making the song... In the music business where artists do something like this (editting) I think it is called a "dub" or "overdub" or something like that.. x.X

superb · #13 10-13-2003, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaimetsu

No. Drums aren't just a static background, they should interact with the main tune. If you do the drums first then you have to build the tune around them, and that's stupid.

I think it's more of a challenge than an act of stupidity if you can pull it off right. In most cases I usually start by writing a few measures at a time, usually about 8...then I continue to build those 8 measures piece by piece. If I get an idea for the drums while I'm putting other stuff down, I'll go ahead and add it in. There are just some instances where I feel it is necessary to add drums first. Especially when you want drums to have melodic effects (namely, timpani, mallets).

Take this piece I did for shifting ages for example. I actually started the tune with ride hits and added a melody that followed the same rythmn. Since I knew what I had in mind ahead of time, I didn't really think it made much difference WHEN I added it..it all comes out the same in the end.