general advice for making good music

Ok I know most people probably think this is for attention or something but I legitimately sound pretty bad. It’s OK for someone who is new to this I think, but I want to get better and my Youtube doesn’t play videos so I can’t watch tutorials. I’m just looking for a way to improve my music that I make in here. Especially making video games and remixing music, it’d be nice to be able to use this for something like that and not actually sound like a MIDI file because, let’s face it, that’s what a simple creation on here sounds like.
anyways, that;s all.
PEACE (rnote)

no. no. no godamn comic sans bold -tsukasa

Learn music theory.

Get off notessimo and raise your standards.

It’s probably a good idea to learn how to read music. The program itself focuses on the musical staff, which is commonly seen in music sheets.

I can generally read music (1 yr band, 4 yrs in chorus) but I just have a hard time inventing new songs. Most of the time my issue is keeping to it. I’ll try to make a soft peice and end up with ASDFHGFJLHAHFOVRIBHEOURVFHVOUFH of drums woth nothing else :confused:

What?

Raise what standards exactly?

Just follow the vertical lines and remember to count. The staff can handle the rhythm.

Oh, I can keep rhythm, its the “sounding like a song, with real notes, and not rhythmized drums” part i seem to mess up.
As shown in my collab forum thread, I can’t even keep a song in the same genre. I took a song I started as a orchestra-like peice and turned it into rock

First:[sharedmedia=core:attachments:166]

After:[sharedmedia=core:attachments:167]
SEE?

Hmmm. You seem to be more worried about what’s next rather than what’s missing. Listen to your song a few times, then figure out what you could add onto that. Don’t try to make it sound too complicated; keep it simple.

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^I know I listen to my sheets over and over.

Thanks for the advice :slight_smile:

It’s not too bad. Maybe try to change the melody so it’s not repetitive. Try adding different instruments! Keep practising and you’ll be fine,

OH yes. I add different instruments normally. EG:BOSS theme V2.note (1.52 KB)
I definitely get what you mean with the melody, but once i get one that works it often doesn’t work with any ideas that come to me.

  • pick a key and improvise melodies to come up with ideas
  • use strings, brass, etc to make long chords that fill out your sound
  • never make a sound too harsh unless you're going for a deliberately harsh tone

The top one I think I’ve heard before, the middle one makes sense enough, and the bottom one I can see what you mean there. thanks!

For a song, there is a typical setup {which really depends on the type of song}.
The general setup has a melody (lead), harmony, percussion, and bass. You can have more, but usually not less.
Also, melody and harmony are intertwined, and percussion bass vice versa.

Melody is your lead line, and the catchiest as well. Music theory helps.
Harmony backs up your melody. It can be its own things once in a while, but never overuse it. Music theory helps.
Percussion can be a mix of things, from just a conversion of the bass (A Landmark on History) to keeping the beat (Acceleration of the Unhurried).
Bass is the backbone of your melody/harmony, but follows the percussion in rhythm, typically.

Also, certain types of songs have different overall structures
Rock, for example, is intro - verse 1 - chorus 1 - verse 2 - chorus 2 - solo - chorus 3 - outro

You said you were in band, so you should know about keys. Each song type requires a different type of key. Rock songs, once again for example, will have a minor scale (Rock Rebellion is C Minor).

Just to note, these are just for the really basic songs. Many songs have differing setups, structures, and keys. Dorian and whatnot.

Hopefully I didn’t spew too much bullshit (correct me if I’m wrong), but that at least should get you on the road.

reading Krawkyz post MMhmm. MMhmm. MMhmm.
Yeah no that all makes perfect sense, and I started “analyzing” a few songs a little while ago and noticed a few patterns (although if they fit your categorization, IDK) for example: lavender town theme has the high pitched up and down that plays by it self at the beginning, and then there’s a deeper part that more or less drones on in a few different notes but generally only change on the beat, as well as another set of notes that play to that, but fade on each note (some accent thing but i forgot). As for keys’ yes I heard about them but i never really learned what was what (because they’re a mix of the scale and sharps/flats, i never learned what included what notes) either way, thanks, that makes a lot of sense

(oh boy.)

Alright, so the thing with Notessimo is that it’s really easy to just copy and paste things. In that aspect it’s very close to a looping type software, and the problem with those, is it can sometimes cause new folks to make one little line that sounds good, repeat it and then try adding different instruments to the song… essentially changing it without making it into a song.

One of the best ways to make better music, is to listen to more music.
–Different styles and even music styles that you hate. Instead of listening to them like oh, I like this song, or oh, this song sucks. Pay attention to how the song changes over time.
Repetition can be useful, but can become very boring very quickly or even annoying to listen to.

Another good step to take is to try and write a simple tune that sounds like a nursery rhyme. Those little children’s songs are often very simple, and very memorable, while having a clear song structure.

There is always something to learn and something to improve on. The most important thing to do, though, is practice.
Your first hundred attempts on a song might suck completely, but you learn more from failure than success. It also takes countless hours for even the most naturally giften musicians to hone their skills to become the truly great masters that we account them for.

Nevermind, I’d rather write an advice post when I have time to go a bit mor in depth. Sorry for posting a pointless post

Edit: here you go

It may take a minute or two to think up a good idea. sometimes it takes less than that, and other times it takes a lot longer. Actually making the music takes a lot longer though. Therefore it is important that you don’t rush the process but instead remember to take your time. For example: if you can’t get a detail to sound how you want you shouldn’t just settle for what you have. Don’t be affraid to delete what you made, and start over. If you don’t like the new result, try again.

This approach encourages you to think outside of the box, and even if you can’t think up a sollution you like, the failed attempts will still have worked as practice and experience for future projects.

It is also important to mention, that while being able to read notes is useful, and probably will speed up your workflow here and there, it is not a requirement to make music. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t know how to read notes. As long as you enjoy making your music that’s all that really matters.

Learn from people. Don’t limit yourself to notessimo. Listen to your favorite music and try to imitate or straight out copy their style or songs. I guarantee you will learn something if you take your time to break down and analyse the diffirent parts of your favorite songs.

Listen to the criticism you get and apply it to your work, but don’t let it discourage you if the criticism is harsh. It is also important to mention, that criticism often can be very subjective, so don’t just follow what people say blindly. Instead analyse the criticism and decide which parts of it could improve your work, and then apply changes to your music accordingly.

It’s ok to experiment once in a while - even if you don’t upload the experiment. Everything you make does not have to be a full 3 or 4 minute song.

Layer your instruments. For example, lets say you want to make a bass melody. You found an instrument you like, but you feel like it lags something. Try adding a new instrument on top that plays the same melody. It could be a distorted synth on top of a sub bass. The sub bass would give your baseline that special punch that we all love about bass, while the distorted synth makes the tones stand out clearer and makes the melody of the bassline easier to read. Simmilarly, if you ever want to make a melody, it adds a ton of depth if you add some notes playing the same notes as your baseline, but with the same rhythm as your melody.

Sometimes less is more. A buildup that takes the intensity down before the songs climax can really build up some nice energy.

I think that’s all I can be assed to ad for now:p

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