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@Asterbee Composing good melodies, counter-melodies, bass lines, and drums is actually relatively easy to moderately difficult. But writing interesting and harmonious chords is much more difficult and requires far more knowledge of music theory, experience, and musical imagination (but that's exactly where the great musical magic begins). For starters, it is enough to know that in the Western tonal system there are a total of 12 notes (7 root notes such as C, D, E and 5 intermediate notes such as C sharp or D sharp) that repeat themselves in several octaves. A piece of music - or at least a specific passage within it - always follows a specific key/mode, which always contains 7 different notes from the total of 12 notes within an octave. These 7 notes (also spanning octaves) are essentially the key to the musical language in a musical work. If you know this key (i.e., the key with the 7 notes), you already have a good foundation for rewriting or redesigning a composition according to your ideas without making your remix composition tonally inconsistent (finding the right rhythm is, of course, another field of musical art). This applies to virtually all components of the composition, whether melodies, bass lines, or chords, although in the case of chords, certain minimum intervals between the chord tones should be maintained (this also applies to playing across octaves, whereby in the case of tone intervals, a lower C, for example, should be treated like a higher C). While neighboring notes in a key (including notes spanning octaves, such as C1 + D2 or B2 + C4 in C major) tend to sound harsh and dissonant as chord tones, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th or, for that matter, the 2nd, 4th, and 7th notes within the key tend to sound more harmonious. ... So let's assume that a piece of music is in the key of G major. This key contains the following 7 notes: 1) G (1st note of a key = root note or tonic) 2) A 3) B 4) C (4th note of a key = subdominant) 5) D (5th note of a key = dominant) 6) E 7) F# The tonic, subdominant, and dominant can be used to create interesting chord progressions, each of which fulfills different musical functions. Tonic (1)= like a cozy home Subdominant (4) = you're on your way to adventure Dominant (5) = tension builds A typical chord progression is, for example: I - Tonic (1st note of the respective key) II - Subdominant (4th note of the respective key) III - Dominant (5th note of the respective key) IV - Tonic (1st note of the respective key) So, in the case of G major, a chord progression could look like this: I >>> G + B + D (feel free to play 16 times in a row with a bit of groove and varying dynamics) II >>> C + E + G (again 16 times) III >>> D + F# + A (again 16 times) IV >>> G + B + D (this time only 15 times, slowing down gradually, and on the 16th time, play the 3 notes one after the other to finish and add the root note G an octave higher as the 4th note). ... This is just a rough, hopefully helpful introduction based on practical examples.

Now it seems to be working properly. Only two messages are displayed, stating that the file is too large to preview and and too big for Google Drive to scan for viruses (but I checked - stuff seems to be safe ;)). By the way... What exactly are sound fonts (are they just sound effects without the music in a game)? How exactly do you open and use them (somehow via a DAW as a kind of extended sound pool of audio files)? I've never really looked into this kind of stuff before. But it sounds like an interesting opportunity for creating retro-style video game remixes. ))

Hmm, if Japanese composers were to write an American national anthem, they might even incorporate some influences from the often-forgotten Native Americans, the original inhabitants of the vast and free lands on the western continents... ... whether in the Street Fighter style: ... or rather in the Final Fantasy style: I'm sure I'd love it. )))

@Asterbee That is precisely the charm of a remix or arrangement. Creating a sometimes completely new soundscape that still carries the character of the original at its heart. This is true artistry, requiring the appropriate skills, experience and sensitivity to do justice to such matters.

Lately (maybe for a few weeks or months now), I've noticed that OC Remix pages are slow to load or don't load at all - and this only seems to happen with OC Remix. With other websites, the connection is quick and the page loads completely within 2 to 5 seconds. With OC Remix, however, the page sometimes doesn't load at all, while a few minutes later it suddenly works as usual again. Does anyone know why this is happening, or is it just me? ... Otherwise, I'll run a full scan with the latest version of Microsoft Safety Scanner on my computer (which may be a little overcautious with a freshly installed and updated new operating system - but you never know).

Maybe this fierce remix would be a nice US national anthem as well. The composer behind both remixes, Xynapsis, has a pretty good taste in music. )) Maybe I should ask him if he wants to join OC Remix, too.

Irish Harp - another really well-sampled and completely free VSTi from Native Instruments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good news for all broke and less broke composers. I found another awesome free and sophisticatedly sampled VST instrument - the Irish Harp from Native Instruments: - around 1 GB - a good amount of MIDI velocity dynamic layers - lots of keyswitch articulations (including damping of the strings) and different settings in the VSTi inferface - a pretty lovely sound I really cherish the part with the quite famous Legend of Zelda melody around minute 2:18. Guess some oldschool game nerds made it right into the big companies where the real bliss happens. You can download the VST instrument right here: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/spotlight-collection/irish-harp/ If you don't have Native Access and Kontakt Player (also completely free stuff) yet, just follow the download instructions: 1) Install Native Access and create an account for it 2) Open Native Access and download the latest version of Kontakt Player (it will be installed automatically after the download and it even might be fully integrated into your DAW) 3) Look in Native Access for a library called "Irish Harp" and download it (it will also be installed automatically after the download - just open your DAW and you should find the Kontakt Player amongst your VSTi - open Kontakt and look for the Irish harp) Have fun with your music projects and enjoy a wonderful pre-Christmas season. ))

That is usually the case, but there is no obligation to add lyrics to a national anthem or other anthem. The term “hymn” probably originates from ancient Greek (ὕμνος - hýmnos) and literally translates as “sound structure.” Historically, hymns were mostly solemn songs of praise in honor of the gods and great heroes, which were later adopted by Christians, among others, to honor their God. In the general current meaning of the word “hymn", I found the following definition: “a solemn song or instrumental piece of a devotional character.” This is perhaps one reason why a few nation states still do not play a national anthem with vocals (i.e., only instrumental) on official occasions, or why there are even states that do not have any lyrics in their national anthem, such as the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sounds pretty much like an oldschool Final Fantasy intro. And if you want to put it that way, music is already a kind of language in its own right, which, apart from the obvious acoustic means, is understood primarily on an emotional level. ... I would also prefer a way more interesting instrumental composition for my country (Germany), because the lyrics (except perhaps for the GDR anthem) are generally really awful and narrow-minded, and trigger a reflexive territorial behavior in many people here that sometimes ends in chaos and destruction. Perhaps one simply has to write an extraordinary composition for one's country, in which, for example, the focus is not primarily on one's own transient nation, but rather on the powerful connection between humans and nature, which shapes the fate of the whole human world quite independently of national borders... ... and which does not make people so easily susceptible to the waged wars of the high society, the large corporations and their more or less bought up governments in their own country.

This is pretty much one of the best remixes of Guile's Theme from the Street Fighter video game series that I've been able to find over the years: I'm sure it would also make a really good US national anthem. No pompously patriotic words that would make even a ladybug take cover. No one who radically snores away during the pretty verbose anthem anymore. No half-assed messages that have no meaning for the rich banana hoarders anyway. Just a really good beat that might shake up this shady Shadaloo organization, which has apparently made inroads into the governments of this world. ... I guess Guile's Theme really goes with everything. ))

Native Instruments' Kontakt 8 has just been reduced from a good 300 to just under 150 bucks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...including a 50% price reduction for various other Native Instruments content. https://www.native-instruments.com/en/ And even better for me. I can get Kontakt 8 for just around €80 in an additional special offer on top of the already exaggeratedly good Black Friday deal, because I get an extra discount since I already own a Kontakt sample library called Shevannai (which lets you play some mystical elf singing voices with the keyboard or any other similar MIDI controller). I would have been athrilled if they had reduced the price of the Kontakt 8 to 200 euros. With my seemingly endless patience, I waited for it like a snapping turtle lying in wait for its prey. But this way, it's practically a gift. Quite the happiest Mi ever. )) Now I can get started right away next week finally reinstall my DAW (composition software) on the new 4 TB SSD hard drive running Windows 10 Pro, while I completely wiped the old Windows 7 Pro off the old hard drive and installed Linux Mint version 22.2 as a stable, fast, and secure backup system instead, and experimented a little with the new Linux operating system. After a short period of adjustment, Linux Mint is so incredibly good that I don't want to go back to Windows anymore: - Extremely user-friendly design, where all important processes such as driver installation run automatically at the beginning - and only when you want them to... - A thoroughly modular and freely customizable system where Microsoft doesn't tell you how to use your operating system... - No annoying online registrations and no shady background programs that transfer data to Microsoft and Co. and tap into your PC's performance resources... - No annoying, forced software frills like on Windows, which once again cannot be uninstalled in newer Windows versions and sometimes cause problems... Unfortunately, there is currently no reliable way that I am aware of to get my rather complex composition software, Samplitude Pro X4 Suite, to work fully under Linux, even though I was able to initiate an (albeit incomplete) installation process for my DAW software on Linux using PortProton, despite my beginner Linux skills. But I'll write about my extremely positive first impression of Linux Mint in a separate post. ... If everything continues to go according to plan, I'll be working on another musical project before Christmas and, in addition to the wide range of great VST instruments in Kontakt 8, I'll finally be able to try out and make full use of my new legendary VST instruments from 8Dio, such as the really beautiful Caribbean steel drum, the harmonica, the nice whistling VSTi, and the awesomre Zeus drum kit as VST instruments in my DAW Samplitude Pro X4 Suite and make full use of them. I'm really looking forward to it. ))

Sophisticated drum kits from 8Dio ------------------------------------------------------------ I recently discovered three excellent, comprehensively sampled drum kit VSTis at 8Dio, where I also bought the Advanced Drum Series Zeus Kit, which had just dropped in price from just under 50 bucks to just under 20 bucks (so I paid just 40 dollars for four VSTis, i.e. the steel drum, harmonica, whistling VSTi and Zeus drum kit). The drum kits have up to 10 velocity layers and 10 round robins per drum element, enabling extremely realistic playing. ... To briefly introduce the three drum kits: 1) Advanced Drum Series Zeus Kit ----------------------------------------------------------- This is pretty much a true all-round drum kit that can be used for all kinds of music genres: - around 6 GB - over 38000 samples - less than 50 bucks https://8dio.com/products/zeus-drummer?variant=41309966434504 2) Advanced Drum Series Ragnarok Kit ------------------------------------------------------------------- As the name suggests, this is more of a drum kit that is particularly suited to heavier music genres such as metal: - around 7 GB - around 37000 samples - less than 50 bucks https://8dio.com/products/8dio-advanced-drum-series-ragnarok-kit-kontakt-vst-au-aax?variant=41309973381320 3) Advanced Drum Series Blackbird Kit ------------------------------------------------------------------- This rather large and heavy-sounding drum kit is probably aimed more at heavy metal musicians, hip hop producers or composers of epic film soundtracks: - around 7,5 GB - around 37500 samples - less than 50 bucks https://8dio.com/products/advanced-drum-series-blackbird-vst-au-aax-kontakt-instrument?variant=41309880942792 … That's it for now. In my next major post on this thread, I'll also show you how to use 8Dio instruments without the full version of Kontakt.

@Xouman At least, it doesn't work the way I'm used to with Google Drive links and direct downloads. You have to go to your Google Drive first and select the uploaded file you want to share with the public. To the far right of the file, you will see an icon with three dots. Click on it to display an option for setting the file sharing parameters. If sharing is still restricted, change the restricted status to a status where anyone who knows the link can download the file.

Learning to play the electric guitar - Part 1: First steps and the first melody I was able to play on the electric guitar after a few hours of practice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In late summer 2024, after a long time, I fulfilled a big wish and finally bought my first electric guitar for my small home studio, a pretty versatile Ibanez Gio GRG140 in a really stylish white. At the time, I didn't have much time to learn how to play the electric guitar more intensively. But at least I was able to familiarize myself a little more closely with the electric guitar, its construction, its functions, its care, etc., and I was able to make the strings of the electric guitar sound quite official and play a few notes using the really good guitar amp plugin Vandal in my DAW Samplitude Pro X4 Suite. Since I had already worked with really good electric guitar VSTis for many years, composing with them and playing them via MIDI keyboard, I already had a good foundation of prior knowledge about electric guitars, guitar amplifiers with their wide range of settings, and various playing techniques on the electric guitar (if only to understand how to implement such playing techniques as convincingly as possible with an electric guitar VSTi based on the playing techniques on real electric guitars). And the melody I play in this video was basically the first melody I was able to play reasonably well after just a few hours of practice. It's a slightly modified melody from the soundtrack “The Price of Freedom” from one of my absolute favorite video games called Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, or rather the remake Crisis Core - Final Fantasy 7 Reunion (the short video footage I used here is from the remake version of the game). The original song “The Price of Freedom” was written by Takeharu Ishimoto. So far, I've only been able to play this melody on the high E string. But by using various playing techniques such as hammer-ons, slides, and bends, I've already been able to achieve a smooth-sounding and quite convincing result. Well, I know. When learning to play the electric guitar, playing melodies actually comes relatively late after learning the chords. But I was somehow tempted to provisionally play a few small melodic passages. ... In the summer of 2025, I finally started learning to play the electric guitar with the help of a specialist book, which also included additional online content with illustrative video material for practicing electric guitar playing and actively playing as a solo artist or in a band. I usually only practice a few hours a month. But I feel that even as a complete beginner, I have already made some progress. For example, I have already learned a few important basics, such as theoretical principles relating to electric guitars, the different types of electric guitars, various types of guitar amplifiers, the correct posture for playing electric guitar, and how to read tablature. I've also learned some practical skills, such as tuning the strings, correctly grabbing individual strings in different frets, playing with a pick (which was also used in this video), alternate picking, the basics of playing individual notes rhythmically, and the practical use of a metronome. The first power chords are probably already on the learning plan. Of course, out of curiosity, I have already tried my hand at playing more complex chords, but so far I have failed because I am not yet very good at grabbing the chords correctly, I obviously don't hold my fingers in the optimal position, and I usually end up accidentally muting neighboring strings with my fingers. But I'm definitely not going to let that discourage me, because practice makes perfect (or at least better), as we all know. And my musical journey into the world of electric guitar playing has only just begun. ... However, I was very proud of the live result in this video, even though it took me around 50 takes or recording attempts until the electric guitar playing on my Ibanez Gio GRG140-WH was kinda flawless and the use of various playing techniques finally met my expectations to the extent that I was really satisfied with it. On this new and exciting journey, Master Mi will once again become the inquisitive student Mi and is already looking forward to his potential progress in the coming years and the many interesting opportunities that will arise for the future, especially in the field of music composition for soundtracks and remixes. I could almost say: “Yeah, I'm on fire now.” )) ... But feel free to listen for yourselves. Here's the video with the recording of my early attempts at playing the electric guitar: ... What do you think? Nothing too special - but not too bad for a bloody beginner lvl. 1, eh?

I can literally smell a human sinner here. For this incredibly grave sin, you should regularly repent and synth hard! ... Dude, 15 years? Were you in a creative coma as a musician, snoring away comfortably like a huge Flemish Giant flopped into the cozy meadow, or were you somehow on the run from the Mafia or something? I mean, hey. I'm also kind of a pro at picking up an old remix from over 10 years ago and completely remixing it or rewriting the composition (simply because I've just started getting into music, composition, mixing and mastering around this time). But if you haven't done anything musically in all these years, you've really let yourself go and metaphorically left your passion in your bum bag. ... Nevertheless, welcome back to the club. ))

@Zacktorial I remember modding my Super NES Mini Classic with extensions such as RetroArch a long time ago. It was quite a fiddly job, but I managed to get a lot of old games running with it. Some of them didn't run quite smoothly, though, which was probably due to the limitations of the hardware or the native emulators on the Super NES Mini Classic. On my PC, on the other hand, all retro games have run smoothly so far with emulators such as Nestopia or ZNES. But thanks for pointing that out anyway. ))