Music tips and advice thread!

[DX7.EP]

Given the growing popularity of the art/illustration tips thread and the likelihood of it being filled to the brim with advice for pictures (as well as Anunsew's pushing for this), here comes the music thread to counter complement that!

Feel free to post any advice here pertaining to music creation and remixing, or ask questions about anything and we'll try to answer however possible. Also, go ahead and post snippets or even full versions of your own works for some constructive feedback.

Today's advice from me is a repeat of what I put on the original art thread. Generally speaking, my advice will concern composers and computer-based musicians, as I do my work that way as well.

- In the drafting phase, I find it preferable to work in mono. Yes, it is surprisingly possible to pan in mono, but the idea here is to better assist with the mixing and balancing with other parts.
 - It is advisable to, when starting from scratch, just lay down the initial notes first then change instrumentation, effects, whatever. At least then you don't forget what you wanted to write whilst tweaking!
 - Speaking of fresh starts, writing songs is a bit easier when starting with the general chord progressions.
 - As a Logic user, remember that EVB3 (the organ synth) only responds on MIDI channels 1-3. Why that is the case, I will never know.

My question to the music crew: what got you to start playing/composing/remixing? For me, it was violin experience combined with a growing discontent for playing just what was written on the musical score and a like for game music.

[If you're really low on ideas,] start playing random notes on a keyboard (which type, well, depends on your setup) and something may come up.

A little alcohol also helps. :V

...oh, and a few new things!

 - For most, knowing how to play piano basics will come in very handy for composing in both Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and hardware sequencers. Writing and editing fully from the piano roll is a real bitch. This does not apply nearly as much, however, to those relying on tracker notation, where your computer keyboard will be enough.
 - If recording from an external instrument, check with a few test records to see if the sound distorts. Many DAWs and audio editor tools will notify this with the volume bar going past 0dB (often in the red zone).

I would put up examples, but at the current time I'm facing computer issues and neither of my DAWs are working.

[miracle★cookie]

Punyuruuuuu

My question to the music crew: what got you to start playing/composing/remixing? For me, it was violin experience combined with a growing discontent for playing just what was written on the musical score and a like for game music.

too much free time back then so i picked up the guitar. playing and composing are mostly for self-amusement but i guess by extension i hope others enjoy the music as well

so my advice would be mainly about recording and mixing guitars.

-mic'ing the acoustic guitar. condenser mics are generally considered most ideal for capturing acoustic sounds. compared to dynamic mics, condensers should give a fuller and more transparent/detailed sound. however condenser mics are quite sensitive and can easily pick up various background sounds, which can either be a good or bad thing depending on what sounds are being picked up. nevertheless a dynamic mic would work just fine recording acoustics, though they can be a little thin sometimes

-the position of the mic is really a matter of personal preference. i tend to keep the mic away from the guitar and usually point the mic at around the guitar's 12th fret. but anywhere else would do, since i used to put it right before the sound hole. it's the same with mic'ing amps. different places give different sounds. it really comes down to what tone the guitarist is looking for and, how much post-production one would like to do.

-about mixing guitars. again it's a personal preference thing. keeping the mids down while boosting bass/low and treble/high can work well on a distorted guitar (for heavier stuff), but it's not going to sound nice everywhere else because the guitar is predominately a mid instrument. which means that for solos/leads, turn the mids up can really make the guitar stand out in the mix. it's not much different from vocals in that sense. roll the bass back, turn up the mids and treble (and presence) is the way to go imo. also keep in mind that as the level of distortion increases, the level of bass/low frequencies also increase. adjust your bass knob accordingly

-in most other cases, the rhythm guitar can benefit from having a decent amount of mid. another thing is that too much treble can make the guitar sound really harsh, so be careful with it

-guitar tones that sound amazing on their own often don't sit well in the mix, while ones that sound average alone can sound really good when put in the mix. it's not always the case but knowing which tone will fit well with the rest of a song before recording can save a lot of trouble in post-production and whatnot; it's one of those things that makes a great producer.

-low-pass filter. get it; learn it; use it; love it. the same goes for multi-band compressor

-speaking of which. while compression can make everything sound more balanced, it can also kill the dynamics of a song imo. so use it in moderation

plus things i forgot and aqueous transmission, random title for an arrange of Nitori's theme which i did a few months back to test a new mic. it's not much of a WIP since most likely i won't go back to finishing it ever.

[DX7.EP]

I would like to make a remix of a Touhou track but I don't know what track woud match my style. Any advice?  Also, is it okay to post soundcloud links? 

What styles do you listen to most often? That can give you good background material to work with.

Soundcloud is fine, but it does mess up often with people who use ClickToFlash, Flashblock, etc. I prefer Tindeck, personally. Youtube and Newgrounds are common as well.

[Ex-Nue]

I listen to and produce Drum and Bass. 

[DX7.EP]

Not accustomed to D&B here, but when generally remixing, feel free to bend the main bits and whatnot to the needs of your remix. As long as it retains a memorable bit of the track somewhere it can suffice as a remix.

[Anunsew]

Given the growing popularity of the art/illustration tips thread and the likelihood of it being filled to the brim with advice for pictures (as well as Anunsew's pushing for this), here comes the music thread to counter complement that!

YAY~

I'm purely a soft-synth composer. I use FL9 XXL for composition and rendering, but my sounds are mostly sample-based (thFont soundfont is my main arsenal of choice). I have a little knowledge of piano (mostly self-taught, but I can boast as much as a Grade 3 knowledge in piano...okay, maybe that's not much to boast about. >.<)

My interest in music coincides largely with Touhou. I would not have been a composer if I did not meet Team Shanghai Alice, period.  I have varied interests in music besides ZUN, my oldest influence being this. While I'm not a hardcore fan of VGMs, I like listening to them. I'm a fan of Akira Tsuchiya and Motoi Sakuraba as well. Don't get me wrong though, I also like some of our local composers and have some influence on my style as well,

Some perspective on how I work:
- I approach music as a project, so I have an aim, a division of workspace, and other of those organizational stuff. I don't have a schedule though, so I usually work whenever I feel like it. XD
- In hindsight though, my approach makes my style a bit rigid, robotic, and predictable, so I guess I have to change it.  :derp:
- I write my theme's chords first. I've noticed that ZUN's earlier style (HRtP early) follows a regular progression, and his later themes are just variations from that movement. This is most notable in Positive and Negative and Iris--which are two of my favorite PC-98 themes. XD
- When I'm stumped, I usually go around and lurk, gathering Midis and listening to OSTs.
- About mixing: I usually experiment. Do it by the ear, they say--it's still a hit and miss thing though. Having lots of experience in this area is invaluable, I cannot stress this enough. This is my main weakness, and currently a work-in-progress in my field. Sadly, there's no way around this besides studying and practicing...
- My favorite THFont instrument is the Flute and Harpsichords. The Flute goes with everything, from chords, pads, and even as a lead. Harpsichords carry over from my love for certain Ali Project tracks.

I started making music for a friend who wanted a theme for Rin Satsuki for a danmakufu script (sadly, the project died). My first try at composition didn't really leave a good impression, so I crash course'd everything, and ended up with this. History tells the rest. ^^

- In the drafting phase, I find it preferable to work in mono. Yes, it is surprisingly possible to pan in mono, but the idea here is to better assist with the mixing and balancing with other parts.
...
 - For most, knowing how to play piano basics will come in very handy for composing in both Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and hardware sequencers. Writing and editing fully from the piano roll is a real bitch. This does not apply nearly as much, however, to those relying on tracker notation, where your computer keyboard will be enough.

Mono is helpful, since it reduces the stereo widening and can help spotting some distortions in some freqs. Unfortunately, FL Studio can only simulate Dual mono, and not Single Channel Mono....
Just being able to read music is a big help in composition, even if the only thing you know how to play is a guitar or a flute.

- If recording from an external instrument, check with a few test records to see if the sound distorts. Many DAWs and audio editor tools will notify this with the volume bar going past 0dB (often in the red zone).

On this, I want to ask everybody's opinion about Digital synthesis vs Acoustics. Everybody knows that both has pros and cons (i.e the ease of EQ and mixing with synthesizers vs the liveliness and richness of real acoustics), but I want to hear other people's opinion about the two.

[ByakuganAce]

Hey guys, I recently got the newest Cubase  :] and was wondering if anyone knew what voices ZUN commonly uses in his compositions. The only one I'm currently aware of is Romantic Trumpet. I'm mostly interested in background/support voices, but leads are also of interest...I really appreciate any help you guys can give me!

Thanks,
Ace

[Romantique Tp]

Most of ZUN's instruments come from the SD-90, a hardware synth. The only Cubase instruments he's known to use are HalionOne's pianos and Prologue's basses.

[DX7.EP]

We have a music thread too, just letting you know. (and I'd suggest merging this thread into that)

Also, SD-90, being a Roland synth, tends to work better with Sonar (Cakewalk/Roland) rather than Cubase (Steinberg/Yamaha), though it really doesn't make a huge difference which DAW you use.
Actually, I own one and a few other synths, and use Logic and Sonar as my primary DAWs. Hope I can help here.

Some instruments within the SD-90 that he has used:
 - Reed Romance (Alto sax and...Tenor, I believe? playing in unison)
 - Flute vib.
 - Rock Bass
 - Jazz Bass
 - OB Square (Necrofantasia leads)
 - MG Saw (some UFO songs)
 - Violin 1 (Prismriver - and it's horrible :V)

IIRC he also uses LM-4 and/or Groove Agent 3, both of which are VSTis that can integrate well with Cubase.

The only Cubase instruments he's known to use are HalionOne's pianos and Prologue's basses.

Oh good, he doesn't use the SD-90 pianos of failure. :V
(on the other hand, I noticed that the Metal Slug 5 OST uses SD-90 drums of even more failure D:)

[ByakuganAce]

Ok, thanks for that link...I couldn't find that section earlier when I posted this (probably because I'm lazy). One more question...what is the voice that he uses for extraneous sounds? It sounds sort of like a plucked instrument...Examples of it's use in the background would be UFO's Stage 1 Theme, Hartmann's Youkai Girl, etc.

Thanks for any help!

[Romantique Tp]

Also, SD-90, being a Roland synth, tends to work better with Sonar (Cakewalk/Roland) rather than Cubase (Steinberg/Yamaha)

I don't know were you got this from, but there's no reason why any module would work better with Sonar unless Roland was sabotaging their own hardware. If anything they would work better with Cubase because its I/O system has been designed with ASIO in mind since Cubase SX.

- Violin 1 (Prismriver - and it's horrible :V)

Violin 1 doesn't have vibrato, and even if ZUN used it in that song, that would mean he only used it once.

[DX7.EP]

I don't know were you got this from, but there's no reason why any module would work better with Sonar unless Roland was sabotaging their own hardware. If anything they would work better with Cubase because its I/O system has been designed with ASIO in mind since Cubase SX.

I see that behaviour more in Yamaha anyways, and the SD-90 can take advantage of ASIO (Windows) / Core Audio (Mac) regardless of DAW. X1's I/O also handles ASIO very well.

Whatever, we're fighting over DAWs here, move back to main point.

[Romantique Tp]

Ok, thanks for that link...I couldn't find that section earlier when I posted this (probably because I'm lazy). One more question...what is the voice that he uses for extraneous sounds? It sounds sort of like a plucked instrument...Examples of it's use in the background would be UFO's Stage 1 Theme, Hartmann's Youkai Girl, etc.

Thanks for any help!

Does this ring a bell ?

[ByakuganAce]

YES! That's it!!! What's the name of that voice? Is it actually called gdagg?

[Romantique Tp]

Is it actually called gdagg?

Hm, not really. (^^;
That's Super Quartet's Jazz Bass and Rock Bass playing the same notes simultaneously. In ZUN's typical setup, one of the basses is panned very far to the left, while the other one is panned very far to the right.
Amazon is selling this VST for a pretty fair price if you're interested.