You don't have to do anything excessively. You are not a robot and you shouldn't keep optimizing yourself. You're already doing the right thing!
Thanks for this info, Sir, in particular about ChordPulse, I never hear about this software prior today. Not expensive ($30), but I'll watch videos first before buying it (to be sure it's not an useless buy). I have already bought Plugin Boutique's Scaler 2 two months ago, I consider it as great tool (IMHO).
Here is my really simple approach that really works well for me (The only thing that you need to know to use this approach is how to play C major or C minor): Depending on whether you want to play in a minor or major scale, you play the chord progressions in the base scale (C maj or C min). Then you can transpose the MIDI to any other scale you want and work from there. You can also start with transposing the input of your midi by using a midi transpose plugin on the input (Cubase has it, Ableton has it and I'm sure Logic and other major DAWs have it too) and start to play the in the scale of your choice right away. So you only need to know how to play basic chords in C maj / C min and transpose them from there to any scale of your choice. Much easier then to have to know how to play chords in each of the major and minor (and pentatonic, blues etcetera) scales, even though I have total respect for musicians who have all this knowledge memorized. No scaler or any other extra plugin needed, just a minimum understanding of music theory (eg. what scale do I end up with if I tranpose C maj by +3 semitones). You can actually 3 notes up from the root note on your keyboard and it will tell you!
The C major chord family G ( C E G ) GT Terz Quint Dm ( D F A ) GT Terz Quint Em ( E G H ) GT Terz Quint F ( F A C ) GT Terz Quint G ( G H D ) GT Terz Quint Am ( A C E ) GT Terz Quint Typical rock / pop chord progressions 1= C 1234|1234|Dm 1234|1234|F 1234 |1234|C 1234 2= C 1234|1234|F 1234|1234|G 1234 1234|C 1234|1234 3= C 1234|Em 1234|Dm 1234|C 1234|C 1234 |Em 1234|F 1234 |C 1234 4= C 1234|F 1234 |Dm 1234|G 1234|C 1234 |Dm 1234|G 1234 |C 1234 5= Am 1234|F 1234|G 1234|Am 1234|G 1234|F 1234|C 1234 Triads C - E - G D - F - A A - C - E Last edited: Aug 25, 2021
Actually, the dashes represent semitones but I missed one more dash between F and G. Plus, the backendof the forum interprets them as longer -- and shorter - dashes instead of seprate ones.
CP has been around awhile from the time when there wasn't a lot of choice for this kind of software, but I still find it useful for creating rough guide tracks. Make sure you learn how to set arrangement points so you can turn things on and off. I only export the parts I like (chords consist of 3 elements), and one or two chord parts are usually all you need to kickstart a new song idea. It's also great for quickly auditioning the different chord variations so you can add some flavor to basic chord progressions. The bass isn't all that great unless you only want root notes, but I sometimes export it as a starting point to get a feel for the low end, and of course everything sounds better when used with VSTi's. Regarding Scaler, it's definitely on another level, but the simplicity of CP is very appealing and they can happily coexist alongside each other. Last edited: Aug 27, 2021
Maybe more important than learning a particular instrument to the nth degree is to learn many different styles of playing and to explore different genres, even ones you don't particularly like: I always felt that a great advantage of my working in a club band is that I became proficient in styles of music I had no real interest until then, such as reggae, pop, dance music etc., (I was a typical rock/metal guitar player). That's where my musical education took place and theory really had nothing at all to do with it. Now, I find I'm able to produce tracks in any of these styles I played in bands for many years. I also learned that when you break down most songs they consist of relatively easy to play components and that also helps when composing your own music. I don't feel that I'm locked into any particular type or style of music, it's all just open to me, the feel of the music will lead it towards a particular genre naturally. I did it by playing the clubs but another way would be to just study these different genres at an instrument level, see how all these little simple parts make up an often complex whole; learn how to play with the same feeling, like reggae - the technique isn't difficult but to play with the same feel takes time and practice. Once it's in your trick bag it remains there, to be taken out whenever you feel like using it.
im still going with the brute force method. Sit down take a scale and try to build chords. If you have a feeling for music, you will hear when you found a major chord, minor chord. Im still using Perfect Ear on my mobile to train from time to time. Maybe something for your too, to learn recognize chords?
To me it looks like you are still looking for what you really want to do later. It's always easier when you've decided on a genre of music. You skip the self-discovery and make big pieces of it. This is difficult or even impossible without prior knowledge. Which genre / style do you want to do? It's really better to leave MIDI whole. The quantization should be left out, it makes your music very static and lifeless. The drum beat can be quantized and drawn in. You need more game practice and you take more time. Start with the rhythm - find a piece that you like. Then find out what style or genre it is. Then find a drum sample or bongo congas or a bass etc and create the first track. Then load a piano VSTi for example or a guitar VSTi and play a few notes or chords. This is how you develop a feeling for it. The brain has to process these tones first and when you have found suitable tones and the tempo, you practice these parts and so on and on. I wanted to ask which D.A.W (Digtal Audio Workstation) you are using? (Please delete and forget my following comment - I have to get rid of this, I don't know any great artists who make music with FL Studio. If you want to get rich and famous - retrain on Logic, Cubase, Studio One or Ableton. ) Last edited: Aug 27, 2021
i depends on the mood, sometimes i instantly find something, which i like. Sometimes nothing. It seems to come down to mood i have. And also what kind of music i want to do. Sometimes its just using more as groove element the melody elements, then i can faster find something. With brute force i mean, sit down on a grand piano and just play one hour, what comes up with the flow. record it with field recorder, relisten. The idea is not to come up with something, which you want to keep for later. The idea is just to play with the notes/keys and feel free ... Not sure what you whole goal is, why you want to get better? Or want a new perspective on this? Hmm the problem with music production is that it can be to unorganic, unnatural. We have our master keyboards, we try to play something in with the goal that it sounds cool. We worry to much ... instead of just play ...
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I just thought of these books and links: The Ultimate Guide to Drum Programming by Sam Matla https://www.edmprod.com/drums-guide/ Drum Programming: A Complete Guide to Program and Think Like a Drummer Taschenbuch – 1. November 1991 von Ray F. Badness https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Programming-Complete-Program-Drummer/dp/0931759544 260 Drum Machine Patterns Taschenbuch – 1. November 1987 von Hal Leonard Corp (Creator) https://www.amazon.de/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Rene-Pierre-Bardet/dp/0881888877
Hello @user1293435134, here are some Books for You: Everything I know is from books.But I don't know if other people read at all. How to make Pop Music in 2020(Beginners Guide) https://recording-voice.com/how-to-make-pop-music-in-2020beginners-guide/ Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters https://switchedonpop.com/book https://www.amazon.com/Switched-Pop-Popular-Music-Matters/dp/0190056657 How Music Works by David Byrne. https://www.amazon.de/How-Music-Works-David-Byrne/dp/1936365537 The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory https://www.amazon.de/Song-Machine-Inside-Hit-Factory/dp/1622319621 The Secrets of Dance Music Production Taschenbuch – 1. Dezember 2016 von David Felton https://www.amazon.com/dp/0956446035/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MfcsAb4BGAZ3H Arranging Concepts Complete: Comb Bound Book (Dick Grove Arranging Series) https://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Co...rd_wg=r2Rdt&psc=1&refRID=J6EP7Y2QBK0QNXAETW1K
