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Bedingfield Style - Almost! Thoughts?
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| DustyWhiskey |
Howdy,
Here is the rough arrangement of one of my songs. Would like some feedback as to how bad it is at the current time, and how I could possibly fix up some things. I am having troubles with some of the levels throughout the song, but I am working on trying to fix these things. Here is the link:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
Thanks for any comments. |
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| cryophonik |
| Nice start! It's minimalistic and is obviously lacking a melody, but creates a good foundation for a killer synth-pop song if you wanted to add vocals. I like the chord progressions and choice of sounds, but as you already stated, it needs some mixing work. I'm thinking that it could also benefit from a more exaggerated use of dynamics - HUGE chorus contrasted by a much quieter, more intimate verse. Just a thought. Can't wait to hear the final version. |
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| DustyWhiskey |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Nice start! It's minimalistic and is obviously lacking a melody, but creates a good foundation for a killer synth-pop song if you wanted to add vocals. I like the chord progressions and choice of sounds, but as you already stated, it needs some mixing work. I'm thinking that it could also benefit from a more exaggerated use of dynamics - HUGE chorus contrasted by a much quieter, more intimate verse. Just a thought. Can't wait to hear the final version. |
Constructing melodies is my biggest problem. I feel that I can come up with nice chords and sounds, but when it comes down to the melody I always seem to come back to the boring arpeggio. Any ideas as to how I could make a melody? |
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| cryophonik |
Writing melodies is the hardest part for most people, that's what separates the hits from the $#%ts! I have a BA in Music Theory, so I've been more or less conditioned to start with a melody and build chord progressions around it, but it can be done either way and there are many approaches to writing melodies. Having some rudimentary understanding of music theory will go a long way, but having a good ear is arguably more important.
You may want to start by just playing up and down the scale of the key that your song is in until you hear something that works. Or, listen for a rhythm that you think would work with your song and start playing around with the individual notes in the chord (i.e., harmonic notes), as well as other notes not in the chord (i.e., non-harmonic notes) while playing that rhythm. The non-harmonic notes are usually as important as the harmonic notes in any melody, so a good understanding of the various types of non-harmonic notes (e.g., passing notes, escape notes, suspended notes, anticipations) can be very helpful. Of course, these require that you have a decent knowledge of scales/modes. Another idea is to just listen and start humming along until you find something you like and record yourself humming that melody. Then, play back the recording and figure out the notes. Of course, this requires having an ability to sing on key and have some ear training skills to figure out the notes you were singing. Also, listen closely to your favorite melodies and figure them out on your piano (try to find the MIDI files if your ear isn't that trained yet). Then, try to identify what makes them so great and apply those elements to your own melodies.
These are just a few tips. Try googling "writing melodies" and you'll find a ton of information. I'm sure others will chime in with more advice, but this is a HUGE subject and a whole thread could be contributed to it. HTH. |
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| DustyWhiskey |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Writing melodies is the hardest part for most people, that's what separates the hits from the $#%ts! I have a BA in Music Theory, so I've been more or less conditioned to start with a melody and build chord progressions around it, but it can be done either way and there are many approaches to writing melodies. Having some rudimentary understanding of music theory will go a long way, but having a good ear is arguably more important.
You may want to start by just playing up and down the scale of the key that your song is in until you hear something that works. Or, listen for a rhythm that you think would work with your song and start playing around with the individual notes in the chord (i.e., harmonic notes), as well as other notes not in the chord (i.e., non-harmonic notes) while playing that rhythm. The non-harmonic notes are usually as important as the harmonic notes in any melody, so a good understanding of the various types of non-harmonic notes (e.g., passing notes, escape notes, suspended notes, anticipations) can be very helpful. Of course, these require that you have a decent knowledge of scales/modes. Another idea is to just listen and start humming along until you find something you like and record yourself humming that melody. Then, play back the recording and figure out the notes. Of course, this requires having an ability to sing on key and have some ear training skills to figure out the notes you were singing. Also, listen closely to your favorite melodies and figure them out on your piano (try to find the MIDI files if your ear isn't that trained yet). Then, try to identify what makes them so great and apply those elements to your own melodies.
These are just a few tips. Try googling "writing melodies" and you'll find a ton of information. I'm sure others will chime in with more advice, but this is a HUGE subject and a whole thread could be contributed to it. HTH. |
Thanks for the response and the info. I will look into it. But as far as the sound of the chords, do they have potential? |
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| cryophonik |
| Yeah - I think the track has a ton of potential. The chord progression is nice and the arrangement/instrumentation hasn't painted you into a corner. In other words, its' still sparse enough that there's plenty of room for a great melody, whether it's vocals, synth leads, or other. |
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| DustyWhiskey |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
Yeah - I think the track has a ton of potential. The chord progression is nice and the arrangement/instrumentation hasn't painted you into a corner. In other words, its' still sparse enough that there's plenty of room for a great melody, whether it's vocals, synth leads, or other. |
What do you think I should do with regards to the arrangement/sound of the overall song? What should I exclude - try to include? |
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| cryophonik |
| I don't think I'd exclude anything at this point and I wouldn't even focus too much on mixing it yet (except as needed to keep instruments out of each others' way). IMO, you should just decide where you want the song to go, figure out a melody and a hook (i.e., the part of the melody that sticks in your head after hearing it), and go from there. I've got to get back to work, but I'll give it a few more listens later on and see if I can offer any other suggestions. Good luck! |
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| DustyWhiskey |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
I don't think I'd exclude anything at this point and I wouldn't even focus too much on mixing it yet (except as needed to keep instruments out of each others' way). IMO, you should just decide where you want the song to go, figure out a melody and a hook (i.e., the part of the melody that sticks in your head after hearing it), and go from there. I've got to get back to work, but I'll give it a few more listens later on and see if I can offer any other suggestions. Good luck! |
Thanks, look forward to it...Maybe I could send you the MIDI file and you could play around with it for a few minutes and send it back so that I can visually understand what you have done for a melody...!!! |
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