Making a SIMPLE better off alone remixTo make things quicker, we'll use a MIDI:
http://fwsnet.net/mp3/betteroff2.midI use midis sometimes, im not good at making my own music, nor at laying it all out, but i love making instruments (and im good at that)
theres many things that make a good musician, especially if youre making music on a computer
see, first off you have the basic song, then you have a beat, sub-leads, pads, arps, other instruments that fill out any void
in most trance you start off with the basic beat
listen to this song for reference:
http://fwsnet.net/mp3/gonzo-betteroffalone_4.mp3other things that you have to work with to make a song:
the layout: how it starts, music patterns and volume increasings to fade parts/instruments in
patterns are basically notation, however it can be notation for many instruments, and this makes patterns ideal for beats since you can have part of your entire beat in a single pattern and just paint it onto the songs "playout", which is the
playlistthe sound: equalizing sound, sometimes an individual instrument, and always on the master fx channel the entire song
the latter (master channel) is called mastering the song, because youd want it to have a good sound
the first thing youll learn in sound theory is that low sounds have less volume that high sounds, ie. a high pitched scream is heard miles away if loud enough, which is why we all have babies crying
anyways, bring up FL, drag the midi onto it and accept
4 channels
you should be able to identify the first channel as the lead instrument, the actual song notation
the second channel is the bassline.. its a simple but effective bass, classic dance, but somewhat boring
the third is an arp, but its notation arping, so you cant really mess with it unless you modify the notation
and the fourth is the rythm. the kick
this song has a strange rythm, so we will be using channel 4 to make the percussion (beat samples)
you should be familiar with adding instruments, and z3ta+ is a must have for anyone who makes electronic music
its also good if you have Vanguard (which is strictly a trance/dance VSTi) (VSTi = virtual synthesis instrument)
you should also have Morphine which comes with FL (though it costs money)
start another FL, and open this package (if you have the aforementioned instruments)
http://fwsnet.net/mp3/betteroffalone(alternative).zipi used no FX, but on the master channel for leveling sound properly (ideally this is done on a per channel basis)
and added compression at the end of the queue (see the fx master channel)
i also didnt use any automation or any transitions, just basic instruments and basic patterns lined up to make the song flow from A->B
however, i
modified all the original presets, as all modern VST's have internal effects and even equalizers, it makes my work easier
as you can see by the channel names they all match a factory preset for each individual VSTi
i have no idea where to start on this, there was alot of modifying going on... and i probably cant recreate it
there is alot of thought to be put into how you use your instruments
see the single piano note pattern, that is a basic grand piano preset, with a long release time and a predelayed reverb that hits the release at a certain time after each note which makes it sounds like it comes back a little
if you dont know what the release time is for you should look it up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADSR_envelopeits THE most important part of modern instruments, as it affects 100% how your instrument plays a single note
a long release time makes your instrument fade out its sound after a note is released (the sound is over),
and for example if a delayed reverb effect hits the fading out sound it makes that instrument sound warm and cozy
Listen to it here:
http://fwsnet.net/mp3/betteroffalone(piano).mp3i will put more effort into this later, maybe when i start on a new project and i make notes on what i do line by line
have a listen to the result of 30mins work:
http://fwsnet.net/mp3/betteroffalone(alt).mp3more to come,
will post screenshots in future
