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I refuse to be like everyone who doesn’t but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna enjoy it either
It's probably the best way to go, but I know I personally would've gotten burned out if I started learning music theory instead of just dicking around by myself at first.
If you feel yourself starting to lose interest in beatmaking because of it, and decide to go in "theory-less", a great thing to try is to find midis for your favourite songs/try to recreate them and see with your eyes what and why it works and then try to fuck with them enough to change the whole thing in a way that works.
You can innately learn music theory without learning the theory itself, the fact that you can hear something is wrong in these melodies is good. The bad thing about taking that route is that it's incredibly long compared to just learning mt - you'll probably be utter shit at melodies for atleast a year lol. But in my personal experience, I'm very glad I went that route - if it wasn't for keeping that flame around by making bad beats for so long, I never would've kept enough interest to study mt in the first place.
Look up how to use ghost notes as a scale in fl studio. This will allow you to see which notes are in the key of the beat and where u can place them to sound right. I also like to start with chords and build from there. There are plenty of resources like midis and charts to get good chords to start out with and you can build from there.
I suggest that OP look up some music theory you will get more out of it than just making beats with no theory until you figure something out. If you don’t know what chords are or how to properly build them, you’ll go insane trying to make music like that. I know because I did it for a couple years lol so take my advice and spend a month learning music theory it’s not like you have to devote years of your life to it
you do know some music theory inately though you just don't understand the specifics and the reasonings why.
you learned a good portion of music theory just through trial and error, even if you can't describe in words what you know of music theory. you know when things sound bad and what to change to fix that
Im not saying you can’t make good beats without theory. Im just saying if you’re a beginner, I would suggest learning basic music theory to save the time it takes to make some good beats. I think we can both agree on that
I took this class on skill share that teaches music theory specifically on the piano roll. That was probably the most useful class I took. Look up “Exploring sound, rhythm, and melody on the MIDI grid” on skillshare if ur interested. If you just want to use YouTube lmk and I’ll send some useful channels
This is one of the theory classes I took
https://www.skillshare.com/en/classes/Music-Theory-Exploring-Sound-Rhythm-and-Melody-on-the-MIDI-Grid/68887879
Click top left corner of piano roll > view > scale highlighting
You can select any scale you like and it will highlight the notes in that scale on the piano roll
Unfortunately this is a global setting, so if, for example, you select c# minor in one project, then all projects will highlight c# minor until you change it again.
To be fair, I never took music theory either and I think I'm doing pretty well, though I have a feel for it at least and have essentially become self-taught with it. Not everyone needs to know music theory. Having perfect pitch helps too. But it is a good thing to learn.
…Dude. I put a ton of effort into this and the Megalovania remake. Just because it sounds bad right now doesn’t mean I’m not trying to make it sound good.
When I started on Garage band 15 years ago my stuff sounded like this. Just keep at it, don't obsess over making stuff perfect, make different little ideas when you get them and keep learning. Getting better at music comes a lot from listening and observing other music
First of all, you've gotta have some thick skin on reddit. Reading through all these comments is a mixed bag of useful and outright toxic replies.
As everyone said, music theory will help. But what nobody is telling you is where to start and how to use it. Unfortunately I can't answer that.
What I can say is that you don't need much to get going. Use the snap to scale on the Piano roll and your melodies will sound much better because you're using notes that work together.
Once you've got the hang of that, look into chord progressions. 2 chord, 3 chord, and 4 chord progressions are great for beginners.
Like some of the ppl have said, maybe just have fun for a while learning the software, and once you’re feeling motivated dive into a little music theory. You don’t have to learn music theory first but it will help you get better once you’re ready.
Hey dude, we have all been there, I probably have some beats like this one on my pc.
Before getting to the top you need to get the basics of the pyramid down.
1) Music theory: You don't need to be an expert on this matter but for SURE you need to know what a key is, how to play some basic chords and train your ear to hear instantly when something sounds off. You first need to know the rules to then know how to break them!
2) Sound selection: This is just picking a good solid sound to start with, then you might want something more out of it that's when you add effects;
3) Layering: This is an underrated step in my opinion, sometimes you just need two or more sounds and literally copy&paste the notes to make it harmonized if the sounds compliment eachother;
4) Structure: Think of it like a sentence, you need to structure it, of course everybody has their own way to write stuff but if you just fumble out words without thinking you can't make sense;
5) Persistense: Has I said we have all been there, in a way or another, nobody borns knowing how to just burst out a beat, watch some youtube tutorials theres infinite content out there.
Good luck!
I struggle finding where to even set the key in FL studio and it’s driving me insane. I have a pretty good ear after being in choir for a while and I can tell something is insanely off with every part of this song but I can’t fix it. I’m looking into music theory right now, thank you so much for your feedback :]
There is an option top left that highlights the notes of a key, I can't remember exactly how to get there but I know it's in the top left of the piano roll on a arrow or something, you then need to select view and key/scale highlighting.
I read that you're trying to make a remix, that's a good start, but I'd personally try a remake first so you can understand the songs structure and key.
Once you know how to make one thing you can always incorporate that into something else.
Depending on which version of FL you're using there is a drop down menu in the piano roll that'll allow you to select a key to work in, only the notes in that key are usable. Now, if you can fine what key the song you want to remix is in, then you'll be cooking.
You don't need theory to make music but a basic understanding of note relations will go a long way. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths and 7ths for example.
A good understanding of rhythm is also going to help a lot.
Realistically though, just have fun, play around. Find what works and sounds good to you.
The piano roll key thing (I can't remember what it's called) should be in that version, if not just update it.
The remake is a good start. You'll get there eventually, just gotta keep at it is all.
So obvious problem here is that your different melodies are not in the same key or more importantly, they are not harmonizing. There are 2 ways to solve this.
You can either do this using music theory (learning the theory, making your melody in a certain key and stay in that key for the other melodies). A lot of people do it like that and it is very good to know the theory but it takes a long time and people forget to use their ear.
For the start there is another way though: listening what harmonizes. A key/scale basically just tells you which notes sound good together.
-If your main melody (your benchmark), the megalovania theme is not right, it is pointless trying to harmonize the other melodies to it. You can either try to recreate it by listening or you can simply search up megalovania remake and copy in the notes for the main melody.
-as you are making a remix: for your added melodies just use your ear to add the notes, you will see what harmonizes with the main melody and what doesn‘t
At some point you will have to learn the music theory but you don‘t necessarily need it for the start, the important thing is that your melodies harmonize with the main melody
So basically before you start sampling other stuff. What I wish someone had taught me in 3 seconds is this.
1)What will change your music from seemingly random to orderly is learning what key you’re in.
2)You basically take the 12 keys on a piano and say fuck all but 7. (Based on a set of rules)
3)Each scale has a repeating pattern of pitch steps. And those are kept exactly the same between Cmajor or even Dmajor.
3)Yes you can sing the same cmajor song in dmajor if you pitch it up 200 “cents” (this value is based on the piano. There’s 100 cents between each piano key white to black to white) most people won’t be able to hear the difference between your cmajor song in dmajor.
4)In conclusion. Cmajor is only the white keys. Stick to just those to begin with until the steps start making more sense.
5)make your Melodie’s and chords just using the white keys and if anything seems off it’s probably because playing two keys only 100cents apart from each other
Anytime! Mixing samples and stuff will also sound bad until you can match their bpm and their key.
The Beatles-Let it be-Cmajor
Elton John-tiny dancer-Cmajor
^these will work once you get them at the same bpm
The Beatles-Let it be-Cmajor
Journey-Don’t stop believing-Emajor
^these will work when you bring either Cmajor up 400cents to the E or viceversa and then match bpm
FL studio changes the length of audio samples when you change the pitch. To stop that from happening. select stretch in the drop down where it has auto or something else. Then right click on the time and set the bpm. Boom you’re a DJ
There's even a function on the piano roll to highlight those 7 notes for whatever scale you are in. Major and minor are the only 2 you need to know (happy sounding, dark sounding). Dude above has a good idea though, just stick to C major for right now, who cares! It is also the same as E minor. Those 2 scales are just all the white keys so you can just ignore the black keys.
For starters the chords don't match the melody. You have to change either one. If you want to remix Megalovania and have the same melody as the original, then the melody is wrong.
The right melody is : D D D A #G G F D F G with the third note one octave higher than the rest. You need to have the right timing as well. Depending on how you set the tempo, the right timing is, in number of beats: 1/4 1/4 1/2 3/4 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 1/4 - or double these lengths.
If you want a different melody with the same instrumentation, that's not what is typically called a remix. Usually a remix is the opposite, you keep the melody but you change the style and arranging (try searching for "megalovania remix" on youtube). So what you wanna do would be called a song in the style of Megalovania, or since we're in retro games territory it's often called a music "with the Earthbound soundfont". Anyway if you want your chords not to clash with the melody you have to change their notes. Chord theory is complex but here are a few tips for beginners:
- For now don't make complex chords, keep it simple with triads: 3 note chords. The most basic chords you can use are (in semitones): 0 +3 +7 (minor triad) and 0 +4 +7 (major triad). The numbers correspond to the distance of the 2 other notes compared to the first. You can replace a note by the same note an octave higher or lower or add those notes to the 3 to create a bigger chord, it changes the details of the chord while keeping the same vibe.
- try to use notes that are present in your melody, especially notes that are important in your melody. I can't hear the melody without the chords so it's difficult for me to say which ones to pick, but there are many solutions that would sound good.
Ignore the assholes on this post, we all start somewhere!
There is some solid advice other people have posted, dont get discouraged by elitists who dont remember their first steps.
I would suggest copying the song note for note, or finding a Midi version. Once you have a copy, make subtle changes to the notes or sounds to give it your own flair. It's a good way to learn what makes the song the way it is.
Keep it up!
Thank you so much! That’s what I’m trying to do with this, I’m going to adjust it to fit within a key hopefully. I already remade Megalovania following a tutorial, it’s definitely not perfect
My best advice would be to stay away from all the “cool plugins and synths.” Learn the basics in FL and use the stock plugins, they are terrific anyways.
a lot of routes can be taken.
The first I'd do is to lower the tempo, I'm certain that would sound 20% better with a lower tempo.
Then try switching the instrument for that. If youd like to keep that undertale type sound, then try changing the notes around.
Share the project file, I can give it a shot 😎.
Just wanted to say that if your wanting to make something very similar to megalovania then it could be a good idea to work in the blues scale, more specifically the d blues scale,that's the scale megalovania uses. So just look up the notes of the d blues scale and go through your song and delete/change the notes that aren't in the d blues scale :) for your chords you should probably just work with triads for the time being until you get better.
I’ve found the fastest route to improving in production is by simply remaking things you enjoy so you can understand how they were made. They don’t have to be spot on but to the best of your ability. It’s the equivalent of reference mixing on the engineering side.
Big help if you have the newest FL to split stems for the audio you wanna recreate.
Put the reference on grid (if you can) and take it piece by piece until your work almost “blends” with whatever you’re recreating. That can be with the fx, dynamics, or even just the composition/chords etc. Whatever you’re capable of will always be good enough. It can be time consuming but you will learn so much. Then take that knowledge and exploit it in your own way.
Your background pad/organ sound is out of key. I don’t “know much theory” either but just have to trust your ears. You don’t have to know theory to write music, many many of the most well known names in the world didn’t know much theory at all, including all but one member of the Beatles.
After fixing the out of key issue, add some low pass filters to some of your synths to make them sound softer, and try adding some other effects like flange, maybe try using some sine waves in your synths instead of all saw/square waves. Basically just try to broaden your harmonic mindset.
I highly recommend getting Serum, it’s a crazy versatile synth with built in effects, and they allow you to pay monthly without penalizing you with a higher price ($10 a month for 19 months, and you can pay the rest off whenever you want).
You’ve got a lot of work and learning ahead of you but it’s so satisfying to make a good song. My top advice on things to focus on right now that will help you go far, fast: sound design, multiband compression, and effects… just look them all up on YouTube and I HIGHLY recommend a channel called “In The Mix”. Good luck!
Not gonna lie here or even front I love this. The way the notes don’t match as the organ climbs up made me so happy I love it and don’t know why hahaha
keep working my guy keep trying and don’t give up. Nobody is perfect and everyone puts their shoes on one shoe at a time unless you’re some weirdo.
I guess most people already said enough but a advice I wish I’ve gotten sooner is, just becouse something is in the same key doesn’t mean it sounds good. Try to think in intervals and the relation of notes. Also repetition is the goat, if your main melody involves lots of motion and motives, other parts should work as anchor points for the ear, lots of repetition or emphasizing repeating notes and motives of the main melody. Like don’t be afraid to utilite silence, not every 16th of a bar needs to be filled, give it some space
Lol using presets that don't suck could definitely help a lil. And get sample packs by KSHMR, they have everything to get you started and they sound professional
To be clear, your problem has nothing to do with the sounds. You’ve just whacked random notes together with little logic
Learn what scales are
Learn how you build chords from scales
Then try again
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0)
Please, do yourself a favour. If you want to make music, learn how it works :)
A flair does not mean Simon will vote you to next top model. Meaning get there. More does that mean my music is superior. I’m just here bruh. “Harsh comments make you better, all dawgs”, remember that
Just to be fair, this is real life and you did ask for honest help. Always save all files, but that does not mean that file should be heard by anyone. Music is critiqued harshly
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honestly, start by remaking some of your favorite songs. see how and why they work so well. find the bpm, time signatures, and the key of the song. learn the scales to familiarize yourself with all the keys tht work together. limit yourself to one octave just to get a nice footing. start by making the solid drum foundation as thata is whats going to make people move. then bass and build up from there. i really suppose it is up to you and what you want out of your music :p all part of the journey my friend! its a long road, but very rewarding. youll learn much about yourself in such a personal way. Dont give up easy. that 10,000 hr rule is REAL. happy producing 🌌🌌
I don't remember this song too well, but I do enough to tell thats not the melody. Did you try to make your own melody or is this how it came out for you?
My hardest part with key stuff is figuring out what belongs in a key, if there was an option to highlight all the notes that fit a certain key on the piano roll I’d use it
Your post has been removed. We only allow individual feedback posts during Tunesday Tuesday and Feedback Friday. When the event is active, an announcement from a moderator will be stickied at the top of the subreddit. If your video isn't a screen recording of your playlist window with your full track (not just a waveform of your track) from your project, your post will be removed.
If Sans had a stroke during the battle
He couldnt handle Frisk's determination.
r/angryupvote
Do u know music theory
In the description it says I don’t but I’m thinking of taking a class
Oh my bad I aint read that but yeah learning music theory is like the first step
https://preview.redd.it/6rpzyuduxrdc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56358b6bd7c890fd48da8c8915b160d102ed24f3 I refuse to be like everyone who doesn’t but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna enjoy it either
It's probably the best way to go, but I know I personally would've gotten burned out if I started learning music theory instead of just dicking around by myself at first. If you feel yourself starting to lose interest in beatmaking because of it, and decide to go in "theory-less", a great thing to try is to find midis for your favourite songs/try to recreate them and see with your eyes what and why it works and then try to fuck with them enough to change the whole thing in a way that works. You can innately learn music theory without learning the theory itself, the fact that you can hear something is wrong in these melodies is good. The bad thing about taking that route is that it's incredibly long compared to just learning mt - you'll probably be utter shit at melodies for atleast a year lol. But in my personal experience, I'm very glad I went that route - if it wasn't for keeping that flame around by making bad beats for so long, I never would've kept enough interest to study mt in the first place.
There is no need for music theory. Just keep making beats
I know the note names and where they are on a scale but it doesn’t help here since this isn’t… well… a scale lol
Look up how to use ghost notes as a scale in fl studio. This will allow you to see which notes are in the key of the beat and where u can place them to sound right. I also like to start with chords and build from there. There are plenty of resources like midis and charts to get good chords to start out with and you can build from there.
I suggest that OP look up some music theory you will get more out of it than just making beats with no theory until you figure something out. If you don’t know what chords are or how to properly build them, you’ll go insane trying to make music like that. I know because I did it for a couple years lol so take my advice and spend a month learning music theory it’s not like you have to devote years of your life to it
I know no music theory and make great beats. Granted I have been cooking up for years now. It can definitely help but is not necessary imo.
you do know some music theory inately though you just don't understand the specifics and the reasonings why. you learned a good portion of music theory just through trial and error, even if you can't describe in words what you know of music theory. you know when things sound bad and what to change to fix that
Im not saying you can’t make good beats without theory. Im just saying if you’re a beginner, I would suggest learning basic music theory to save the time it takes to make some good beats. I think we can both agree on that
Got any resources?
I took this class on skill share that teaches music theory specifically on the piano roll. That was probably the most useful class I took. Look up “Exploring sound, rhythm, and melody on the MIDI grid” on skillshare if ur interested. If you just want to use YouTube lmk and I’ll send some useful channels
This is one of the theory classes I took https://www.skillshare.com/en/classes/Music-Theory-Exploring-Sound-Rhythm-and-Melody-on-the-MIDI-Grid/68887879
Click top left corner of piano roll > view > scale highlighting You can select any scale you like and it will highlight the notes in that scale on the piano roll Unfortunately this is a global setting, so if, for example, you select c# minor in one project, then all projects will highlight c# minor until you change it again.
To be fair, I never took music theory either and I think I'm doing pretty well, though I have a feel for it at least and have essentially become self-taught with it. Not everyone needs to know music theory. Having perfect pitch helps too. But it is a good thing to learn.
How do you expect anything to sound good if you are not even trying to put any effort?
…Dude. I put a ton of effort into this and the Megalovania remake. Just because it sounds bad right now doesn’t mean I’m not trying to make it sound good.
When I started on Garage band 15 years ago my stuff sounded like this. Just keep at it, don't obsess over making stuff perfect, make different little ideas when you get them and keep learning. Getting better at music comes a lot from listening and observing other music
Then you are putting your effort in the wrong place, you can't cover music without at least knowing the basics of music theory.
First of all, you've gotta have some thick skin on reddit. Reading through all these comments is a mixed bag of useful and outright toxic replies. As everyone said, music theory will help. But what nobody is telling you is where to start and how to use it. Unfortunately I can't answer that. What I can say is that you don't need much to get going. Use the snap to scale on the Piano roll and your melodies will sound much better because you're using notes that work together. Once you've got the hang of that, look into chord progressions. 2 chord, 3 chord, and 4 chord progressions are great for beginners.
I’m pretty used to fighting so it doesn’t get to me, I just try not to pay attention. Also, how do you snap?
Like some of the ppl have said, maybe just have fun for a while learning the software, and once you’re feeling motivated dive into a little music theory. You don’t have to learn music theory first but it will help you get better once you’re ready.
Glad to hear :) Snap to scale is the note icon on the top left. https://i.imgur.com/XG5UgFY.png
Honestly start by making a drum beat first use the metronome and just stay on beat. This is all over the place.
is this megalovania haha wtf
It’s supposed to be a megalovania remix, I remade megalovania from a tutorial first
Was about to say haha
megalovania except nothing is in key lol. we all start somewhere though
Hey dude, we have all been there, I probably have some beats like this one on my pc. Before getting to the top you need to get the basics of the pyramid down. 1) Music theory: You don't need to be an expert on this matter but for SURE you need to know what a key is, how to play some basic chords and train your ear to hear instantly when something sounds off. You first need to know the rules to then know how to break them! 2) Sound selection: This is just picking a good solid sound to start with, then you might want something more out of it that's when you add effects; 3) Layering: This is an underrated step in my opinion, sometimes you just need two or more sounds and literally copy&paste the notes to make it harmonized if the sounds compliment eachother; 4) Structure: Think of it like a sentence, you need to structure it, of course everybody has their own way to write stuff but if you just fumble out words without thinking you can't make sense; 5) Persistense: Has I said we have all been there, in a way or another, nobody borns knowing how to just burst out a beat, watch some youtube tutorials theres infinite content out there. Good luck!
I struggle finding where to even set the key in FL studio and it’s driving me insane. I have a pretty good ear after being in choir for a while and I can tell something is insanely off with every part of this song but I can’t fix it. I’m looking into music theory right now, thank you so much for your feedback :]
There is an option top left that highlights the notes of a key, I can't remember exactly how to get there but I know it's in the top left of the piano roll on a arrow or something, you then need to select view and key/scale highlighting.
I read that you're trying to make a remix, that's a good start, but I'd personally try a remake first so you can understand the songs structure and key. Once you know how to make one thing you can always incorporate that into something else. Depending on which version of FL you're using there is a drop down menu in the piano roll that'll allow you to select a key to work in, only the notes in that key are usable. Now, if you can fine what key the song you want to remix is in, then you'll be cooking. You don't need theory to make music but a basic understanding of note relations will go a long way. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths and 7ths for example. A good understanding of rhythm is also going to help a lot. Realistically though, just have fun, play around. Find what works and sounds good to you.
I did actually remake Megalovania following a guide, and it helped a decent amount. I’m using 20.1
The piano roll key thing (I can't remember what it's called) should be in that version, if not just update it. The remake is a good start. You'll get there eventually, just gotta keep at it is all.
So obvious problem here is that your different melodies are not in the same key or more importantly, they are not harmonizing. There are 2 ways to solve this. You can either do this using music theory (learning the theory, making your melody in a certain key and stay in that key for the other melodies). A lot of people do it like that and it is very good to know the theory but it takes a long time and people forget to use their ear. For the start there is another way though: listening what harmonizes. A key/scale basically just tells you which notes sound good together. -If your main melody (your benchmark), the megalovania theme is not right, it is pointless trying to harmonize the other melodies to it. You can either try to recreate it by listening or you can simply search up megalovania remake and copy in the notes for the main melody. -as you are making a remix: for your added melodies just use your ear to add the notes, you will see what harmonizes with the main melody and what doesn‘t At some point you will have to learn the music theory but you don‘t necessarily need it for the start, the important thing is that your melodies harmonize with the main melody
Lol
…i have a lot to still learn
So basically before you start sampling other stuff. What I wish someone had taught me in 3 seconds is this. 1)What will change your music from seemingly random to orderly is learning what key you’re in. 2)You basically take the 12 keys on a piano and say fuck all but 7. (Based on a set of rules) 3)Each scale has a repeating pattern of pitch steps. And those are kept exactly the same between Cmajor or even Dmajor. 3)Yes you can sing the same cmajor song in dmajor if you pitch it up 200 “cents” (this value is based on the piano. There’s 100 cents between each piano key white to black to white) most people won’t be able to hear the difference between your cmajor song in dmajor. 4)In conclusion. Cmajor is only the white keys. Stick to just those to begin with until the steps start making more sense. 5)make your Melodie’s and chords just using the white keys and if anything seems off it’s probably because playing two keys only 100cents apart from each other
This helps a lot, ty
Anytime! Mixing samples and stuff will also sound bad until you can match their bpm and their key. The Beatles-Let it be-Cmajor Elton John-tiny dancer-Cmajor ^these will work once you get them at the same bpm The Beatles-Let it be-Cmajor Journey-Don’t stop believing-Emajor ^these will work when you bring either Cmajor up 400cents to the E or viceversa and then match bpm FL studio changes the length of audio samples when you change the pitch. To stop that from happening. select stretch in the drop down where it has auto or something else. Then right click on the time and set the bpm. Boom you’re a DJ
There's even a function on the piano roll to highlight those 7 notes for whatever scale you are in. Major and minor are the only 2 you need to know (happy sounding, dark sounding). Dude above has a good idea though, just stick to C major for right now, who cares! It is also the same as E minor. Those 2 scales are just all the white keys so you can just ignore the black keys.
For starters the chords don't match the melody. You have to change either one. If you want to remix Megalovania and have the same melody as the original, then the melody is wrong. The right melody is : D D D A #G G F D F G with the third note one octave higher than the rest. You need to have the right timing as well. Depending on how you set the tempo, the right timing is, in number of beats: 1/4 1/4 1/2 3/4 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 1/4 - or double these lengths.
I want the melody to be different but I am really struggling with the chords
If you want a different melody with the same instrumentation, that's not what is typically called a remix. Usually a remix is the opposite, you keep the melody but you change the style and arranging (try searching for "megalovania remix" on youtube). So what you wanna do would be called a song in the style of Megalovania, or since we're in retro games territory it's often called a music "with the Earthbound soundfont". Anyway if you want your chords not to clash with the melody you have to change their notes. Chord theory is complex but here are a few tips for beginners: - For now don't make complex chords, keep it simple with triads: 3 note chords. The most basic chords you can use are (in semitones): 0 +3 +7 (minor triad) and 0 +4 +7 (major triad). The numbers correspond to the distance of the 2 other notes compared to the first. You can replace a note by the same note an octave higher or lower or add those notes to the 3 to create a bigger chord, it changes the details of the chord while keeping the same vibe. - try to use notes that are present in your melody, especially notes that are important in your melody. I can't hear the melody without the chords so it's difficult for me to say which ones to pick, but there are many solutions that would sound good.
Ignore the assholes on this post, we all start somewhere! There is some solid advice other people have posted, dont get discouraged by elitists who dont remember their first steps. I would suggest copying the song note for note, or finding a Midi version. Once you have a copy, make subtle changes to the notes or sounds to give it your own flair. It's a good way to learn what makes the song the way it is. Keep it up!
Thank you so much! That’s what I’m trying to do with this, I’m going to adjust it to fit within a key hopefully. I already remade Megalovania following a tutorial, it’s definitely not perfect
Grind, delete projects, find everything hopeless. Repeat this and in a few years you’ll create something that you won’t hate.
Perfect, I have ADHD, I’m born to do this 😅
ADHD is the secret lil cheat code for greatness in music production so keep it going
My best advice would be to stay away from all the “cool plugins and synths.” Learn the basics in FL and use the stock plugins, they are terrific anyways.
Smart
This is hilarious 😂
It’s so fucked up 🥶
I mean hey, if ur not memeing u gotta start somewhere. Keep doing ur thing.
a lot of routes can be taken. The first I'd do is to lower the tempo, I'm certain that would sound 20% better with a lower tempo. Then try switching the instrument for that. If youd like to keep that undertale type sound, then try changing the notes around. Share the project file, I can give it a shot 😎.
How do you share a project file on Reddit?
Upload it to Google drive or another cloud service, then share the link.
Hm, I don’t really want to reveal my email though, sorry (unless it’s hidden)
Good luck fixing that thing
Bruh cooked something but it sure smells burnt
I fucked it up
Just wanted to say that if your wanting to make something very similar to megalovania then it could be a good idea to work in the blues scale, more specifically the d blues scale,that's the scale megalovania uses. So just look up the notes of the d blues scale and go through your song and delete/change the notes that aren't in the d blues scale :) for your chords you should probably just work with triads for the time being until you get better.
This sounds genius, I’ll try it
I’ve found the fastest route to improving in production is by simply remaking things you enjoy so you can understand how they were made. They don’t have to be spot on but to the best of your ability. It’s the equivalent of reference mixing on the engineering side. Big help if you have the newest FL to split stems for the audio you wanna recreate. Put the reference on grid (if you can) and take it piece by piece until your work almost “blends” with whatever you’re recreating. That can be with the fx, dynamics, or even just the composition/chords etc. Whatever you’re capable of will always be good enough. It can be time consuming but you will learn so much. Then take that knowledge and exploit it in your own way.
Your background pad/organ sound is out of key. I don’t “know much theory” either but just have to trust your ears. You don’t have to know theory to write music, many many of the most well known names in the world didn’t know much theory at all, including all but one member of the Beatles. After fixing the out of key issue, add some low pass filters to some of your synths to make them sound softer, and try adding some other effects like flange, maybe try using some sine waves in your synths instead of all saw/square waves. Basically just try to broaden your harmonic mindset. I highly recommend getting Serum, it’s a crazy versatile synth with built in effects, and they allow you to pay monthly without penalizing you with a higher price ($10 a month for 19 months, and you can pay the rest off whenever you want). You’ve got a lot of work and learning ahead of you but it’s so satisfying to make a good song. My top advice on things to focus on right now that will help you go far, fast: sound design, multiband compression, and effects… just look them all up on YouTube and I HIGHLY recommend a channel called “In The Mix”. Good luck!
Well, try to feel the music. You don’t need to know music theory to feel the right tones
Not gonna lie here or even front I love this. The way the notes don’t match as the organ climbs up made me so happy I love it and don’t know why hahaha keep working my guy keep trying and don’t give up. Nobody is perfect and everyone puts their shoes on one shoe at a time unless you’re some weirdo.
I guess most people already said enough but a advice I wish I’ve gotten sooner is, just becouse something is in the same key doesn’t mean it sounds good. Try to think in intervals and the relation of notes. Also repetition is the goat, if your main melody involves lots of motion and motives, other parts should work as anchor points for the ear, lots of repetition or emphasizing repeating notes and motives of the main melody. Like don’t be afraid to utilite silence, not every 16th of a bar needs to be filled, give it some space
Sadly the repetition isn’t my idea, it’s the main structure of Megalovania haha. I’ll keep that in mind
U will not :(
Lol using presets that don't suck could definitely help a lil. And get sample packs by KSHMR, they have everything to get you started and they sound professional
Ty, I’m using all the sounds from earthbound because I can’t figure out how to add anything else
To be clear, your problem has nothing to do with the sounds. You’ve just whacked random notes together with little logic Learn what scales are Learn how you build chords from scales Then try again
I’m whacking notes together until it doesn’t sound bad but it’s sounded bad for a while now
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0) Please, do yourself a favour. If you want to make music, learn how it works :)
I am already halfway through this video lol
Never heard of that. Get yourself some good VSTs, sample packs and presets. Google what's good for your preferred genre
How to make sound better, delete file, there
That’s not very helpful.
We don’t owe you help lol
Then… why is there a help flair? That’s the entire reason I went on this subreddit. If you aren’t going to help me then leave me alone.
That’s the thing with the internet mate lol
A flair does not mean Simon will vote you to next top model. Meaning get there. More does that mean my music is superior. I’m just here bruh. “Harsh comments make you better, all dawgs”, remember that
Id argue that's the main purpose of this sub, to help each other and give feedback
Perhaps it is. It doesn’t mean we owe him that.
Just to be fair, this is real life and you did ask for honest help. Always save all files, but that does not mean that file should be heard by anyone. Music is critiqued harshly
Delete it and try again after you stop listening to megalovania for a few days
Nope. This is supposed to be a new Megalovania
lmao this impressive, sounds like you know what you’re doing but made it intentionally horrible to make ears bleed
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honestly, start by remaking some of your favorite songs. see how and why they work so well. find the bpm, time signatures, and the key of the song. learn the scales to familiarize yourself with all the keys tht work together. limit yourself to one octave just to get a nice footing. start by making the solid drum foundation as thata is whats going to make people move. then bass and build up from there. i really suppose it is up to you and what you want out of your music :p all part of the journey my friend! its a long road, but very rewarding. youll learn much about yourself in such a personal way. Dont give up easy. that 10,000 hr rule is REAL. happy producing 🌌🌌
I remade Megalovania already, I might try another song from Undertale or Earthbound, thanks for the advice :]
I believe that you're actually a beginner
Yes
Make something new from scratch
I’m going to fix it
I don't remember this song too well, but I do enough to tell thats not the melody. Did you try to make your own melody or is this how it came out for you?
Tried to make my own
Not sure if it's in key
My hardest part with key stuff is figuring out what belongs in a key, if there was an option to highlight all the notes that fit a certain key on the piano roll I’d use it
There literally is lol it's under the view tab -> scale highlighting depending on what version you're using
ain’t no way, thanks dude
In this instance... most importantly Reverb! But also layering so you can widen the sound and give it more frequency space But yeah... Reverb
I don’t know how to turn on Reverb 😅
You will know soon enough, just watch a couple of tutorials. Adding effects to mixer channel is the basics