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Posted : Dec 14, 2010 08:39:41
Hi newbie here, just joined the forum, been searching through and reading for some time. Lots of good information here.
I know this subject has probably been beaten to death, but I need some help. I'm new to music production and have been trying to piece together stuff about goa trance. I keep getting stuck on the melodies.
Here are some Bassline/Kick examples I could come up with. What would you guys do for the lead/melodies for something like this? Thanks in advanced...
orgytime
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Posted : Dec 14, 2010 13:47
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Posted : Dec 14, 2010 21:57
bass/kick sounds nice imho. the kick could use some more click (and volume), but i wouldn't really add high frequencies to the bass (but rather cut a bit at around 400hz). goa leads have a lot more low end than your typical psytrance lead.
for melodies, i usually just jam to the beat on the keyboard.
just putting in (semirandom) notes in the piano roll has also gotten me good results, but most of the time it sounds too random (a la early filteria) to me.
another method i use is starting with i.e. a gated pad and figuring out a nice chord progression and then building melodies by following or contrasting to the progression. this usually involves also some jamming on the midi keyboard
@the bap
hehe.
phygian>>other scales
doruk
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Posted : Dec 14, 2010 22:44
i usually roll my bassline..And then modify the notes over the bassline copy them over the synth and make my melodies..That sometimes sucks but it works for me..
Monib
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Posted : Dec 14, 2010 22:47
SO I guess my fundamental question is that does the bassline and melody have the same rhythm?
There are so many options to choose from when making a Goa Melody, that I don't know what to do. I usually end up with a corny/cheesy melody with a bunch of effects.
Anyone care to take a stab at the loop and create a melody?
Padmapani
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 01:10
i'd usually say that you'll have to try for yourself what sounds good and to analyse your favourite tracks, but i was bored, so i spent 10 minutes to put a sloppy melody over your beat
keep in mind that i don't think that using that clip as example for goa melodies is a good idea and i did this just for fun. note: i took all synths from my own tracks including effect chain, eq and the rhythm of the gate, so it doesn't always fit well to the rhythm (or sound) of your clip (or other synths i added).
The Bap
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 01:56
That sounds great Padmapani.
@Monib, I meant Phrygian mode. D'oh!
I use FL and there is a setting for the arpeggiator (maybe in other ones too, I dunno)called Phrygian. Basically it's an exotic scale that sounds great in Goa Trance.
Another way I use, is to mimic the bass line in rhythm but vary it in melody to give a sense of movement. Check out the tune snippet in my signature to hear what I mean!
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 02:48
Hey Guys thanks for the snippets. They really do sound good, and it's what I'm trying for.
@The Bap, was the stuff in your snippet made with the Pro-53?
@Padmapani, That was really good. Maybe you could walk me through how you did that?
I will try out some of the ideas you guys suggested, and see where I go from there.
Thanks once again! Great tips.
Padmapani
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 03:45
thanks.
alright, first i added the gated sound that plays throught the whole sample. your beat just begged for a phrygian scale, so i used the most simple progression that does the phrygian scale justice (tonic, minor second). phrygian does not lend itself to complex chord progressions like aeolian does, so most progressions in phrygian just consist of the tonic minor second and the note below the tonic (sorry, i don't know the correct music theory terms in english ).
for the lead in the beginning i just jammed on the keyboard, not straying far from the gated sound i added first.
for the acid sound in the middle i started by drawing notes in piano roll, first just at the tonic only focussing at the rhythm (which is pretty bad imho ). then i started shifting a few notes around to spice the whole thing up a little. (this one is completely trial and error for a beginner, but nevertheless works. with practise you will have a rough picture of how it will sound just by looking at the notes...)
the next thing was the gated sound of the latter half of the snippet. the melody here is just a variation of the gated sound from the beginning. to save myself some explaining i'll just post a pic of the pattern: i found that one while jamming to the beat playing together with the first sound. actually that wasn't hard as it exclusively uses the notes from the standard phrygian "chord" progression i mentioned earlier.
then i just copied the acidline to a different synth track and made a few small adjustments (added a slide for instance) to add some variety.
for the high melody that plays in the last two bars i was just playing on the keyboard to the second half of the clip until i found notes i liked, which i then recorded.
wow, this post is much longer than i thought it woud be.
i hope it helps.
another tip i've got is: try to learn at least a little bit of keyboard playing and play along with your favourite goa tracks (maybe timestretched or pitched down, as some melodies are pretty fast). analyse the melodies and the intervals and take short licks into your repertoire. that has helped me a great deal and also helps you to acquire a unique style.
one more thing: we're producing trance and not jazz, so don't be afraid to use the root note extensively
have fun producing goa trance!
(we need more goa producers anyway )
Monib
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 06:46
Quote:
On 2010-12-15 03:45, Padmapani wrote:
another tip i've got is: try to learn at least a little bit of keyboard playing and play along with your favourite goa tracks (maybe timestretched or pitched down, as some melodies are pretty fast). analyse the melodies and the intervals and take short licks into your repertoire. that has helped me a great deal and also helps you to acquire a unique style.
one more thing: we're producing trance and not jazz, so don't be afraid to use the root note extensively
have fun producing goa trance!
(we need more goa producers anyway )
Thanks man! this is really helpful. Let me see what I can come up with and post it.
The Bap
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Dec 15, 2010 18:57
the lead line after the "Hippies..." sample was. I turned the tune up loud and farted around until that came out. I then recorded it into thePiano Roll and messed about with velocities and note lengths.
The bass is Alien303 (of course!) no EQ or anything, just raw,
a Renegade VST synth(also G-Sonique) and a
MFX Axone 1.2 vst (free from http://www.new-age-hippies.net/german/evst.htm) made the rising and falling sound in the background.
Mainly trial and error. (even though I have a musical theory background it only helps to speed up the trial period by not wasting time)
).
