Working with notes is like trying to solve a very complicated fluid problem without equation.

Notes don't allow to make any equation for them.

And any problem without equation can not be solved mathematically.

And when the math is not present in somewhere, definiteness can not be achieved and questions will still live.

 

You overcomplicated it man. This is not rocket science. Also we have 21 century and nice advanced DAW's and tools.
Just set the scale you want and put random notes into TB-303 type sequencer, then random accent and slides and you have melody.
Or similar with Arp. Set the scale and put some random shit and it will spit out to you some nice melody.
Experiment, hold few notes at once, try different modes, tap different rhythms.
And you will get melody without equasion because it is not needed here.

For example I just messed with few knobs in Diva, turn on the Arpeggiator and put my cat on the keyboard or something like this.
I don't remember because I was stoned as fuck.
And all of these shit gave me this lol

 

I wish I was a cat.

 

You don't wanna be my cat. Believe me. When there is no one around and I feel lonely very unpleasant things happen to him
Just kiddin
Back to the topic.
I even didn't use those shitty scales.
You can by your ear just listening what you playing determine if it sounds good or not and you don't need any scales for that.
If you playing something and you press next note and it sounds terrible, don't fit then just put finger on different note.
Experiment until it will sound nice!

 

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 27, 2024

@The King
Thanks! Nice track for sampling!

 

But you said:

You can't find any pondering feature in any DAW. DAW makers must rethink about their toys otherwise the future of music is in danger.

 

Recording Studio: What instrument you playing sir?
Me:

 

@The King


That voice was unexpected. How hard was you kicked in the biscuits to be able to sing that :

 

@Sylenth.Will.Fall Also not every new project will be a banger.
Look that even pro and talented producer like Tennyson when started first project on the stream he closed it after 30 minutes because was shitty. And he started new one to not waste time.
Not every project will be a banger. You can create few projects in a row and they will be shitty but then you can create next new project and it will be nice and later again new project and it will be again something cool but next project can be shitty.
Same with inspiration and ideas. You can have dozens ideas and be very inspired one day and next day nothing will come to you.
Falling and Getting Up is a norm.

 

Very motivational

 

There's lots of goodies here. I'll just share the way I work. Once I got a basic idea, a melody, a riff, a groove, anything, I build a structure: [intro] [verse] [chorus] [verse] [chorus] [middle 8] [chorus x2], etc. It's just an example. I paste my part in every section. Then I go to the busiest section (usually the last chorus or something) and I fill it up with anything that comes to mind, the shitty soup as you said. Then I paste that "soup" in every chorus and start subtracting stuff. I work my way backwards to the quietest section, usually verse 1. At that point, I have the same melody and/or basic part repeated at nauseam in my track but I can now picture differentiated sections, that's the key for me. That's when I let it rest for days, months? At that point, I'm saving just my raw idea but with a structure I can go back to in time to revisit when I feel ready to go on. I'll be less tempted to delete the whole thing once it's so built up. On revision later on, new ideas might come.

I hope this helps @Sylenth.Will.Fall . Let me know.

 

Sorry saying this.

This method keeps him in the circle, he and millions of people suffering so much! Massive and endless suffering, like someone who has a deadly shrapnel left in his body from the time of the war and the doctors are unable to remove it.

His problem is notes not structures.

BTW, I don't know the person made this structure but it's an artificial way of looking at music. Have you ever noticed that why pop music is sounding so simulated and unnatural?

 

Sorry. It's my fault for taking down the short clip I posted.. As @The King said,. my problem is with notes and harmonies. I know how to build a structure, but where I seem to go wrong, is how different instruments blend with each

I tend to lose interest in it, delete it then start again. Although, I have learned some tips from asking this which I plan to put into operation. AND take more than an hour on it.

 

Last edited: Mar 28, 2024

Was this book already mentioned? https://makingmusic.ableton.com/
It's really good i think.

 

When I have a base (melody, or chords, or something else) I write it in MIDI, make a loop and start to improvise with other instruments. I listen, play and try to find something cool or meaningful. I try to become a bassist, a drummer, a keyboardist etc. Or I just write something in the piano roll. I write what I hear in my head rather than random notes. First I try to hear it then I try to reproduce it. But even random notes are OK. If they are wrong it is always possible not to use them.

Singing is good.

When you really know what part you need (a pad, an additional melody line, drums, a bass line etc.) it is very important to find appropriate sound for them. Or create it from scratch. The more approprite this sound will be, the better.

I am not a big master of music theory but I use all what I know.

 

Last edited: Mar 29, 2024

Don't delete your stuff. Yes, may be something is shitty, right know you don't know. But may be few days, weeks or month later you'll find that (for example) your melody was good and wrong timbre destroy it. Or something similar. Drafts doesn't take much space.

 

I agree and disagree.

Working with small loops (1, 2, 4 bars) is a really bad idea. Yes, it is sort of prison. I mostly hate music based on repetition.

But there is nothing wrong when we loop a part of a composition and try to develop or extend it. We may improvise, experiment, try different sounds etc. But it requires that we have a more or less complex initial idea.

 

I've added it to the list of things to look into.. thank you.
-----

True. I'll take that on board. thanks.
---------

 

Some thoughts...

1. It seems to me, you hurry up with adding new parts. No. Don't hurry up with it. Think then add. Plan your compositions. I don't mean the 'horizontal' plan (intro, verses, choruses, bridges etc.), I mean the 'vertical' plan (instruments which sound together). But I wrote about it before.

2. Find the main part, focus it, make it louder. Put all other parts into the background. Make them quieter, pan them, EQ them, compress them, add reverberation etc. A bit of mess in the background isn't always bad.

3. Mute parts then unmute them. Find unnecessary ones. Mute or delete them.

4. Simplify what you have. Try to delete notes. I don't know about other DAWs but in FL Studio you can mute notes. May be in other DAWS you can do it too.

5. Change timbres, try different patches, different synths. May be radically different ones. Finding a "right" sound isn't easy. It takes time. Some sounds fit better than others.

6. Isn't it self-suggestion, a prejudice, an illusion? If we think 'it sounds wrong' we always find 'mistakes'. If you see sort of beleif in your inability to make music behind it avoid it as a plague. Fight it. Change your mind. It DOESN'T sound bad as you think. (But it doesn't mean that it sounds well. Delicate question.)

7. Try to finish a single composition. Don't give up, finish it. Search for new ways, new tricks but finish it. Without the mess. Make it intentionally simple (may be). Success is very important. May be after finishing it you'll understand what you do the wrong way.

8. Turn it into your personal style. Very dense, "chaotic" arrangments. Why not? Then overuse what you usually do.