MockingQuantum

Wow, first of all, I'm amazed how supportive and responsive everybody is towards what I thought was kind of inane question. I've been lurking for something like 6-7 years, and now I wish I hadn't. Thanks so much for the great responses! So I'll dig into analyzing some of my favorite melodies to see what kind of form/contour they have, that appeals to my left-brained way of doing things. But I have a kind of esoteric supplemental question: is there a "good" way of improving your sense of syncopation, besides the methods already outlined for better melody writing in general? I seem to be as square as can be. Is there a good instrument or something I could try learning that would improve my rhythmic sense?

Thanks for the advice! I'm right with you about the comment about n00bs and random melodies. That's something I've been discovering about my own work just in the past month. I'll try some of these out and see where it gets me.

I can certainly contribute some reviews/examples/thoughts in a little while here; I compulsively pick up computer music books when they're super cheap/used/whatever. Off the top of my head I know I have: MIDI Orchestration Guide Music Theory for Computer Musicians Composing for Computer Musicians Harmony for Computer Musicians Dance Music Manual (I know that doesn't quite count) And a small handful of other, more obscure books that I can't remember the titles of.

Bumping this thread for a question: I've used NES VST and Magical 8 bit some, and they're a heck of a lot easier than Famitracker, but I'm a little anal about my plugins. How much would I gain in getting Plogue Chipsounds over using some of the free plugins out there? Is it worth the cash? Cuz I got cash and a need for excellently sampled chips.

Hi all, I'm relatively new to the forums, so excuse me if this is a totally inane question. I've recently been kicking my music-writing endeavors into overdrive, I'm taking lessons, (re)learning theory, and writing music whenever possible. I have one huge problem though: My melodies suck. I can write a decent progression, I can bang out an alright bassline, but for actual hummable, catchy melodies I'm pretty trash. I know practice makes perfect, but it's gotten to the point where it's a little discouraging. So does anyone have any tips on melody writing, or any techniques they use to generate good ideas? I try to record every time I improvise to catch any possible gems, but I just don't come up with much. I know I'm likely getting in my own way, but I'm not sure how to get around that.

What preamp do you have? I've got a non-functioning Presonus Audiobox, which may not be analogous, but I could crack it open tomorrow and see if I can find anything similar.

One thing I can recommend when it comes to "muddy" tracks: I'm the same way. I have trouble really writing with any intention if my tracks fight each other. Following on the tail of what timaeus said: yes, it absolutely helps to think ahead of time on what timbres and instruments will work together well in a mix before committing a ton of energy to making a song work. But one technique that can really help right away is using high- and low-pass filters. A lot of instruments or sounds have a primary frequency range that you want to hear, but they may have some acoustic energy in other areas that isn't useful. For example, if you have a hihat or ride cymbal track, use a low-pass filter in your EQ to remove the frequencies below what is useful to the hihat. Where that falls in the spectrum is dependent on the makeup of the sound-- you'll have to just use your ears. Similarly, you can use high-pass filters in a similar way, though be careful on this side-- It can be easy to cut upper harmonics that give a sound some definition. Still, some bass and kick instruments can lose some HF noise. I've found that a lot of times, if you even do this little step (i've got it hot-keyed in Cubase) as soon as you load an instrument track, it can really clarify the initial mix. Plus, you can always fudge it later!

Hey all, I'm a long time listener, but I've only recently decided to try my own hand at remixing and maybe posting some original works down the line. I'm a live audio engineer and sound designer, but I've recently decided I never want steady money again and I'd be much happier composing. A lot of game composers I respect, including (but by no means limited to) danny B and Big Giant Circles, seemed to have really honed their skills here, so I thought I'd give it a try. Right now I'm hitting the books, learning theory and taking composition and piano lessons and writing as much as I can, but at least initially I'd like to spend some time just listening to other people's work and giving feedback, since I've been told that feedback can be in short supply here at times. I figure that would be the best way to get a feel for what kind of work people do and get to know some of the regulars.