You've all just been conscripted

Ok, I’m kidding of course, you don’t have to help me with this if you don’t want to*, but…

Here’s the idea.

I want to make a guide to Notessimo - not things like where all the buttons are, and what instruments there are and what tools you can use (actually those things probably would be in there to an extent, but they’re not the main focus). The guide’s gonna be about musical theory - basically everything we as a community know about music and/or how it works in notessimo. You know, things like what kind of structures you use for songs, what instruments work well together, different ways to use them, different techniques you use for writing phrases or riffs, different ways you use volume/panning/note lengths - just anything you can think of that you use to help yourself write a song. Oh, and so guitarskills doesn’t complain, there might be a section dedicated to actual technical music theory things like scales and intervals and that kind of thing.

I’m gonna put the finished compiled guide into a .swf (you know, like a game - like notessimo) and make it interactive, y’know, with different sections and pages and buttons and drop down menus and shit. Maybe when Starburst gets round to finishing notessimo up, he might make it somewhat official? I think it’d be really useful for newcomers to both music and notessimo, so that they can see the different methods and ways of thinking us distinguished users… use. It’d probably be good for the community too - swapping different ideas and such might contribute to the amount of songs made around here, and god knows we need that. You’re already doing it - I’ve only seen a select few individual songs around here, most of you have paired up for collaborations with about 5 other people (yeah, I’m guilty of it myself - which is a little bit the reason I’ve given up on them - although mostly it’s laziness).

So, your job is to write the content. I’ve already got most of the stuff written about how the interface works and basic things like volume, panning, layers, sheets etc. so don’t worry about those, if you’re going to write anything.
Anyway, this is as good a starting point as any, so start posting stuff below if you’re interested. If this is in any way successful, I’ll compile everything after a while and zshuashzhsh (never found out how to spell that word) it up a bit in flash - if not, I’ll take the hint and we’ll drop this.

*actually, I’m lying. Now put down that alcoholic/carbonated/distilled/water based/what the hell are you drinking? …beverage, turn off the TV and WRITE DAMMIT

If you’re all going to go for what I think you are, I want you to go to kuler, pick “compound” (so the schemes work together, despite colour differences), then move the big white circle and ONLY the big white circle - although do feel free to go nuts within those set parameters. Upload a screenshot like this (imageshack, photobucket, etc - make sure the numbers are showing along the bottom (like in my screeny) so I have easy access to the colours when I’m designing the flash). Wallah - your own personal colour scheme (oh, and try to avoid something too similar to someone else’s if you can help it). RULES CAN BE FUN TOO

The idea is ok I guess (dammit why didn’t I think of it before!).

I don’t want to be the first one to contribute though.

* ASTERISK

Anywayyy. I think this is a fairly good idea… HOWEVER, most noobs probably won’t follow it and yeah. That’s all I got.

We should be making a tutorial on how to make songs, not how to use Notessimo.

Edit: Nevermind. Apparently, I don’t know how to read.

Oh - my - god.
If you actually made that, it would be the best thing EVER.

Approvedfrom octo

Why would I complain? People make better music WITHOUT music theory.

Alright, alright, don’t all rush in with your ideas at once

I’ll go first then shall I?

That’s the basic stuff, leading on to general notes about how mastering and mixing works (which you’re free to correct me on) - the length bit starts a little on composition theory, but I haven’t exactly finished writing it yet. All with an extra helping of pretentious writing, which will sound different coming from the context of a guide, but don’t worry, as it stands now it’s 6 out of 5 of your daily patronising’s!

Oh, and if anyone wants, you don’t have to write your stuff here, just put it up on google docs or something if you’re embarrassed (or whatever reason) about it, then give us/me a link. It helps, trust me.

This Thread = <3

I think it may have a better place in the Notessimo General Forum or the Helps and Tips Forum, but for now I’ll leave it. If this gets good enough it should easily become a sticky.

Anywho, I though I would share some of my experience in the game mixing instruments. The great thing about this is that you can create a whole new type of sound to fit into your song, however you have to take into account quite a few things. Panning, Volume and most importantly, which octave of any given note should you put both instruments to maximize the effect, as well as to save you from using two layers for one sound.

I’ll start with the the most common instrument used in songs (other than drums), Bass #4.

Quick Key for Octaves: 8va = One octave up, 8vb = One octave down

Bass #4 (Explanation)
With itself (having the same instrument panned at both extremities works wonderfully, and not just the bass)
Synth Bass #2 (Creates a more techno-y feel to the bass without losing the power)
Strings #3 (Creates a more epic feel, good for orchestral and rock pieces)
Clean Guitar (Creates a more Scratchy feel, better for acoustic songs)
Damant Spectrum Harm #1 (Creates a hollow feel, without losing power)

Other Cool-Sounding Combos
Female Vox + French Horn (when behind a lot of other instruments, has a nice synth brass sound. I would use this combo to make “The Final Countdown” rather than the synth brass already there. The Vox should be at around 50% of the French Horn’s volume)
Acoustic Guitar + Clean Guitar (Has a more Acoustic Steel Stringed feel to it)
Tubular Bells + Low Piano (8vb) (creates a more powerful version of the Tubular Bells)
Taiko Drums (always at the note C3) + Timpani (any note between C2 and B2) (simple add-on to your timpani drums that gives more volume without needing an extra sheet)
Oohhh #1 + Female Vox (8vb) (nice choir feel to it)

And these are just my suggestions, you can definitely experiment and find many more. You’ll need to take into account all of what DC has said about volume, panning, etc.

Wait, so you’re making this on a flash game-type button thingy?

Can we put example songs in there?

It’s uh going great.

My tip: (I actually just found this out yesterday) press the space bar to get a preview of the note. Helps if you are trying to recreate a tune from your head.

Well, I/the community/mostly I would have to figure out if the song is relative to the section it would be put in, whether the song is a strong enough example of what it’s representing, whether it’s well made enough, etc. But yeah, ultimately doable, and it would be a nice touch. Although… I’ve tried before to download the songs with the converter, and my computer won’t do it, no matter what I do - my computer also can’t audio capture because of it’s shitty sound card. So somebody else would have to do one of those two things and send the songs to me.

Incidentally, thanks to Starwars, for that great example of what kind of information is useful/what we’re looking for. Oh, and thanks to Muselline for reminding me I hadn’t thought of everything to put in the beginner section.

Muse, you didn’t know that the space bar could give a preview? Heh, even I knew that. XD

You are better than me in every way.

DC new that, too. I bet almost everyone knew that here.

Your point … ?

Who said I was making a point? I’m just saying. DC asked me to post shit so I did. lol

ok how about I say something If you wish to use Metal guitar, it helps to have either the strat or fender start playing the same notes, this does 2 things, first it makes a far less grating sound than the guitar by itself, second it distorts the sound more, useful for heavy metal pieces.

on most cases you will want the note length to equal the distance to the next note by that instrument, this is something that would benefit even more experienced composers as it is something people do not always do.

some good combos include:
oohs + acoustic + damant spectrum
Bass 4 + Metal guitar
all the other stuff that’s been said

I will say more later

How to use Metal Guitar
-Be one alpha ass motherfucker
-Anything above 2nd octave is lulz
-Anything above 4th octave is roflulz
-Slow tempo + Metal guitar usually will ensue more lulz
-Don’t fucking use it.
-Seriously, you probably don’t know how.

you will take that back after my collab comes out (all but the slow tempo)

also here’s a quick riff I made to prove my point.

You know what it sounds like, Ix? It sounds raspy. Like the acoustic guitar sounds clunky and grating, and the green synth sounds…

…horrible.

If you want my opinion, the frequencies are all screwed up. In my experience, anything other than octaves sounds pretty bad on it (case in point: your example. The riff’s not too bad, it’s just the way the metal guitar fucks it up so much when you play, say, a D and an A at the same time) - if it was something to do with individual notes being out of tune or something, even pure octaves would sound weird, so it’s probably something to do with other frequencies playing at the same time as the individual notes, which get shifted up an octave as the main note does, which is why it doesn’t sound terrible at octaves. And I’ll have to agree with Roast on this one, the highest I’d imagine you could get away with would be a C4, but that’s only if you’re using C3 at the same time so it doesn’t sound so “raspy” and crap. “Beefs it up” a little, I guess. And - well, the rest of his post as well. Until Star adds a decent distorted guitar, you have to be pretty sparing with it and know what you’re doing.