Medfish Composing First Approach Options

[Darius Wave]

Ok. So I think there is no better idea than start working on Your first composition with my help For the beginning I need to know what is Your software backilne and skills. Are You available to programme VST drums, do the multitrack recordings etc?

[Madfish]

Ok. So I think there is no better idea than start working on Your first composition with my help For the beginning I need to know what is Your software backilne and skills. Are You available to programme VST drums, do the multitrack recordings etc?

Yay! How exciting!
Multitrack recordings - yes. I already have some experience recording with Reaper + Amplitube.
Never done any VST drums before.

[Darius Wave]

Yay! How exciting!
Multitrack recordings - yes. I already have some experience recording with Reaper + Amplitube.
Never done any VST drums before.

Great! I can record some bass tracks for You but You have to fing some vst drum machine and quickly learn how to draw in MIDI That's a "must" and it will profit in Your future projects

One of the best at the market is EZDrummer...and the basic version would be ok for the first steps. Samples have descent sound and it's pretty simple to configure.

Let me know if You can handle this and if You need my help configuring and making first steps with vst drums.

This post has been edited by Darius Wave: Apr 12 2013, 09:51 AM

[Madfish]

Great! I can record some bass tracks for You but You have to fing some vst drum machine and quickly learn how to draw in MIDI That's a "must" and it will profit in Your future projects

One of the best at the market is EZDrummer...and the basic version would be ok for the first steps. Samples have descent sound and it's pretty simple to configure.

Let me know if You can handle this and if You need my help configuring and making first steps with vst drums.

I already got myself the free version of Addictive Drums and wired it into Reaper. Is that OK as well?

[Darius Wave]

I already got myself the free version of Addictive Drums and wired it into Reaper. Is that OK as well?

Yeah - that's also cool Now...let's do the very first steps. There are maaaany ways to compose song. Sometimes it's melody first, sometimes few nice sounding chords, sometimes doing an arrangement for one cool riff. I would like You to try the way that usually works best for me.

Keep in mind that whatever You can do - how fast You are, how tricky things You play and how precise it's worth not much if there is no music in it so...When I try to compose I start from....not having guitar in my hands.

I suggest to try one of my methods to do the first song:

1. For easier work on later tasks We could Use well know A-minor (natural minor) scale.

2. I would like You to hit the A-minor chord (no chord progression - that is important) than play A-minor scale from the 5th fret (3 notes per string on every string) You will make yourself familiar with the notes We will Use.

3. Now THE MOST IMPORTANT! - try to imagine Yourself a simple, vocal-like melody that fit A-minor notes. Those can be some 3 notes patterns with different endings, Don't try to think about it as a guitar solo - think of music, think of What You would sing through it if You would be a singer....You can use "la la la" method )). It would be great if You first record Your singing a than find those notes within A-minor scale.


4. Try to Make 2 different melodies - one for the verse and one for the chorus. Try to make some contrast and a little "more power" feel for the chorus melody. Once remember - at this level You are not a guitar player - You only use guitar to find the notes, that are in Your head

Imagination has no limits...no scales, no need of knowing the fretboard and no need of knowing any music theory...we try to bring out something from a limitless source - our brain

5. You can "hear" the backing chords in Your imagination while singing - it's pretty obvious that melody will not work as a stand alone but...stop Yourself from finding the chords at this level. There is too much risk of using something You already played an something that is very obvious.


6. Hit the A-minor to make shure You're searching in the correct field.

7. You can use tap tempo to define the beat of Your melody
http://www.analogmix.com/tap-tempo-finder/ scroll down - there is a free a tap tempo meter - just hit with same freq as You would hit the floor with Your foot while feeling the groove of Your melody.

8. Set the displayed tempo on any metronome

9. If You have the recording o sang melody, play it and find those notes withing A-minor scale (You can use GMC scale generator)

10. Tell me the tempo and send me trakcs of both melodies with no backign tracks, no articulation (just a simple notes - no bends, slides etc...at this level You're a MIDI machine, will get to the articulation and will progress the solo section as a one of the final moments)



11. Don't avoid things that sounds like "I heard that beofre". This is how melodies are created. The base on what we have heard in music through whole our live. Many times You can caught Yourself doing a mix of a few melodies that already semms to sound "well known" for You. Don't try to run from this. It's a kind of natural way of what people consider being melodic. Of course...there are some geniuses that makes very uniqe melodies but that's the "hard level of composing" and not to be work on for now


Give me those melodies and will progress them

Waiting for Your recording

[Madfish]

Here it is. I'm a human MIDI machine Tempo is 130.
Will that do?

Attached File(s)

 verse.mp3 ( 630.61K ) Number of downloads: 97
 chorus.mp3 ( 630.61K ) Number of downloads: 89

 

[Darius Wave]

Here it is. I'm a human MIDI machine Tempo is 130.
Will that do?

Ok that is exactly what I meant Now is a moment where the fun begins We need a harmony backing and to be honest - there are no limitations. Let's do a few variations and then we'll decide which one would be the best.

First idea would be to post here the very first chords You think they fit this melody in a particular order - write them into bars to show me when they change. At this point we don't use theory but simply use our musicial feel. Very often the very first idea seems to work best but further You can experiment with the harmony to make shure the choice is best.


At this point give me Your very first chord progression and then I'll show You some ideas. You can also write down simple chords (with no added intervals) - all that contains notes from the A natural minor scale.

[Madfish]

At this point give me Your very first chord progression and then I'll show You some ideas. You can also write down simple chords (with no added intervals) - all that contains notes from the A natural minor scale.

Ok, here it goes:
verse F, Am, Dm, Dm
chorus F, Am, C, Dm, F, Am, C, G
That's more or less what I can hear. My chorus has a very weird timing. Think I should fix that

[Darius Wave]

Ok...first idea is done Try to record both - melody and backing guitar. Feel free to choose the rhythm You like for it. Upload Your results. Now...experiment:


Try to write down as manyl chords as possible. Chords available for A-minor what means that none of them should contain any other notes than A,B,C,D,E,F,G.

Now...let's do some test. Build a chord in which first note of melody would be a 9th , 7th or 4# (tritone) to the chord root note.

Example:

Long note in melody is an E. Find the name of the note that would be 9th down from the E (in this case it's D ). So the full chord would be D9 but....we have to decide would it be minor or major. At this point compare to the notes from A-minor and You'll know that it has to be D-minor add9 or D-minor 9 because D-minor = D F A (D-major = D F# A....F# is not a note from A-minor scale)

If something is not clear just ask

[Madfish]

Ok...first idea is done Try to record both - melody and backing guitar. Feel free to choose the rhythm You like for it. Upload Your results.

Hey. I'm getting there, although extremely slowly. Recorded the verse with a simple backing:  excersize.mp3 ( 925.51K ) Number of downloads: 91

Right now I'm doing the experiments you mentioned.

[Madfish]

Hey,
I recorded everything with the chords in the back. I modified the melody a little bit as well:  excersize2.mp3 ( 1.46MB ) Number of downloads: 91

In one place I did the experiment you suggested, but instead of G7 I decided to go with Gm7. Don't know why, but it sounds better for me.

Is this good enough?

[Darius Wave]

Great 2 example! This is very good ! Now write down Your new, full chord progression. Also it's time to make a decission would it a be a clean tone ballad or were gonna do a rock, distortion ballad out of this? What do You choose ?

[Madfish]

Thanks

The final progression looks like this:
verse: Dm Am Dm Dm | Dm Am Dm Dm
chorus: G, Am, C, Gm7 | G, Am, C, G

I'd rather go with a rocky - distorted sound.

[Darius Wave]

Ok. So what we need to prepare is a session with a drums and emulated bass. You can USe 4Fron bass (find via google it's free).
Play Set the tempo and try to record it with no additional modifications. We'll do them soon (Thinking about too much things at the same time can make some confusion).


One more Thing. Check the Key we were trying to work on and re-check the notes of each new chord . Write them down and write Your observations

[Madfish]

Ok. So what we need to prepare is a session with a drums and emulated bass. You can USe 4Fron bass (find via google it's free).
Play Set the tempo and try to record it with no additional modifications. We'll do them soon (Thinking about too much things at the same time can make some confusion).

On it. Will get back to you with a basic bass track soon.

One more Thing. Check the Key we were trying to work on and re-check the notes of each new chord . Write them down and write Your observations

Dm - D, F, A
Am - A, C, E
G - G, B, D
C - C, E, G
Gm7 - G, A#, D, F

There is very little of A note in the chorus part of the backing. It is G Mixolydian, isn't it?

This post has been edited by Madfish: Jul 26 2013, 02:14 PM

[Darius Wave]

On it. Will get back to you with a basic bass track soon.



Dm - D, F, A
Am - A, C, E
G - G, B, D
C - C, E, G
Gm7 - G, A#, D, F

There is very little of A note in the chorus part of the backing. It is G Mixolydian, isn't it?

I was just trying to say that while doing this experiment with harmony and confirmation by the ear You just naturally created some outside

Gm7 is chord with Bb (not A# - name is cause by the way we write down the notes) This note doesn't belong to A minor but it's ok to have a chord with outside. You just need to remember about the single note (BB instead of every time You improvise and th Gm7 comes in the backing

Nope...this won't be mixolydian. This will be G dorian mode G A Bb C D E F G

[Madfish]

Hey,
Here is the bass track:  bass.mp3 ( 1.43MB ) Number of downloads: 85

Is that more or less what you meant?

This post has been edited by Madfish: Jul 28 2013, 10:44 PM

[Darius Wave]

Hey,
Here is the bass track:  bass.mp3 ( 1.43MB ) Number of downloads: 85

Is that more or less what you meant?

Please record guitar playing chords with bass and simple drums groove...it would be much easier to work this way

Little tip for the bass. To make it more melodic and sit well in the arrange very often bass players play different note from the chord. For example when the chords are G and D...they play G and F# (major 3rd from the D) so when for example next chord is E minor, than You'll have smooth melody in bass section - G F# E. Otherwise You make a huge skip from G to D on the nex string and this not always sound cool

[Madfish]

Hey Darius,
In the meantime I started working on https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Metal-...t-Hand-Workout/ to improve my right hand.
Could you take a look at my slow tempo rec and drop me some comments/hints?

I know there are lot's of timing issues :/ Anything else that I am doing wrong?
Thank you!

PS. The bass track recording is coming soon

This post has been edited by Madfish: Aug 24 2013, 10:46 PM

[Darius Wave]

Ok...so let me start from some very basic tips Metal = bridge pickup position in 99% cases That's why many metal players have only bridge pickup in their guitars You tone is way too muddy but party it's a fault of switch position. Keep that in mind Also...if it's possible try to record vids in the daylight so the camera could have lower lightening time and Your movements will be more clear Try to change this and we'll see how can I help You with this metal rhythm