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Melody writing?
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Svampe
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
19
Posts :
71
Posted : Mar 30, 2011 18:57:06
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Hi there,
I am wondering how you guys come up with your melodies. I have been struggleing with melody writing for a while and I cant come with any decent stuff, I am able to make a proper sound but then i get stuck. I have a midi keyboard, but i dont really know which keys compliment eachother. So i would like to know how you learned it, did you take theory lessons + piano/keyboard lessons? or what did you do?
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Vermeee
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
108
Posts :
1069
Posted : Mar 30, 2011 19:30
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its musical theory..its called scale the sequences of notes....
u can look for some webpages that will give u the sequences of the scales....
anyway.. u can try with this one .... 1 4 5 7 
http://soundcloud.com/bgos |
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
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2822
Posted : Mar 30, 2011 20:02
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if you want to learn how to write expressive and interesting melodies you are going to have to learn some music theory. You can go about this in a couple of different ways depending on how you like to learn.
You can scavenge places like this for shreds of music theory given by people who are usually not teachers and are most likely still learning themselves...
You can buy books written by people who know what they're talking about. One really great one is the Dance Music Manual...
You can teach yourself by blind experimentation...
You can hire a music/piano teacher and have them give you some lessons...
I'm sure there are a bunch of other methods but those are the ones that I have been utilizing since starting out music production from scratch in December of 09.
My advice to you is to get some material written by an actual music teacher. Sure, you can scavenge around the net on forums, and some people are exceptionally helpful but what you are in need of is a good BASE of knowledge. Once you have that you have the potential to ask some really insightful questions, and therefor would be able to better utilize the community here and elsewhere. If you don't have the musical vocabulary then you can't ask questions in the right way so that you get a response that is helpful.
Here are some links to get started:
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano
Every scale in every key you could ever imagine.
http://www.howmusicreallyworks.com is a fantastic resource that explains a lot of theory. A lot of the content is free.
For what its worth, I've found my music theory and understanding has increased exponentially since hiring a piano/music theory teacher. I just hopped on craigslist, said I'm looking for a teacher for basic piano/music theory instruction and I don't want to learn sheet music or sight reading. Within a couple of days I had 20+ willing instructors to pick from.
Learn how the Major and Minor scales are constructed. Once you understand the formula, pick a key - generate the major and minor scale for that key. Change keys, do the same thing. Over and over again. Once you can do that you can navigate and understand the keyboard a bit better and not be so intimidated by it.
All the best!
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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aciduss
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
112
Posts :
1490
Posted : Mar 30, 2011 20:40
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If you are serious about music then learn the theory behind it.
Also, learn to play a real instrument... keys at least.
Melodies in psytrance are tricky because if you don't get the flow going it might end up sounding like something completely different like cheap hard trance or house.
Took me a few years before achieving nice melos... i still struggle some because coming up with original ideas is always a challenge.
I'd advice to learn a few chords and scales first, that can speed up your learning process a lot.
Good luck |
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Insomniscene
Started Topics :
9
Posts :
57
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 14:35
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Once you've got some basic theory knowledge, see if you can get the hang of modes/modal scales, they can make melodies reaaaaaaaaallly interesting. |
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daark
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
58
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1397
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 15:40
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I think the best thing is just play. Try to come up with the best you can and that is it. Ears is the most important stuff and learning never hurts but mostly is just writing note after note with patience sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't.
http://soundcloud.com/magimix-1/chilling-forest-whispers
Wierd shit happens :) |
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jekvan
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
70
Posts :
406
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 15:57
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Quote:
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On 2011-03-31 15:40, daark wrote:
I think the best thing is just play. Try to come up with the best you can and that is it. Ears is the most important stuff and learning never hurts but mostly is just writing note after note with patience sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't.
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Yes and no,there is no point inventing the wheel all over again..You can do it by trail and error and getting great results,and one day you can open music theory book and discover that all that painstaiking process is described in couple of pages.
There are great tutorials in youtube about classical theory,look for some guy called Lypur...
From all the things I lost,that sandwitch cost me most :)
http://soundcloud.com/jekvan |
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
Posts :
2822
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 17:55
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I found "just playing" to be incredibly frustrating. I felt like I was just walking around a minefield and occasionally I would find an easter egg. Works? Sure. Lots of things work, but lots of those things are inefficient.
You don't need much theory to find your way around the keyboard but that little bit of theory is massively helpful.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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aje
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
99
Posts :
1145
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 18:07
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I find the best melodies if I a set a track up perfectly aligned with the simple music theory that I know, and then I purposefully introduce elements that break the rules, like sometimes slide down a semitone more than ishould or whatever. Those little uncertain elements make melodies and tracks in general much more interesting, IMHO
Check out my album: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/gay-satanic-hippie-tiefenrausch |
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
Posts :
2822
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 18:23
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oh definitely - slavishly sticking to the scale will sometimes make the result come out kind of sterilized. Introducing accidentals/out of scale notes on purpose to add tension and contrast is very nice
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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jekvan
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
70
Posts :
406
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 18:54
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Quote:
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On 2011-03-31 18:23, willsanquil wrote:
oh definitely - slavishly sticking to the scale will sometimes make the result come out kind of sterilized. Introducing accidentals/out of scale notes on purpose to add tension and contrast is very nice
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Blue notes for the win.
From all the things I lost,that sandwitch cost me most :)
http://soundcloud.com/jekvan |
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5meohd
Started Topics :
3
Posts :
55
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 19:31
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this is all nice.. but.. what are some popular scales used in contemporary prog? like the perfect stranger and tegma type stuff?
my ear is shit.. but I think if I had the scale to start I'd have a lot more fun with synthesis/melodic composition.
thanks!
http://www.emusictheory.com/freeResources.html thats one of the sites we use in Theory I for homework.. hopefully something there is useful to someone!! |
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Shiranui
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
116
Posts :
1219
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 20:26
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think more in terms of intervals than scales |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 20:33
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A minor pentatonic
can't go wrong with that one.
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Chimp in Space
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
29
Posts :
86
Posted : Mar 31, 2011 23:44
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