hey everyone,br
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since about a year ago or so i’ve followed some of the tutorials on here including the main room house for ableton. the biggest problem ive had is creating the best melody. trial and error, over and over, ive attempted to create interesting leads and accompany them with layers and somehow i can’t seem to ever create interesting enough melodies as compared to what i hear on the radio. br
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what i have done is taken whatever melodies i have and worked around them, but i eventually get stuck as to whether or not the melody ive made is fit for a intro, verse or chorus. i know there are many tracks out there that use the same melody throughout from beginning to end, but when i work on my stuff, it just doesnt come out the same. even those artists that use the same melody throughout their songs, still have parts that break down. i think i just need some feedback and to see if i need to add more to what ive made. here are just a few ideas ive had. most of them ive never completed and i have a lot of different melody ideas just sitting around in my projects. feedback is most definitely appreciated!!br
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I really Like that top one you have… great mix between expected and unexpected changes… it has a really nice resolve on the second part and has that “have i heard this somewhere before” vibe that is always a good thing. (as long as it a total rip off)br
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Sounds a bit like Nicki Menaj - Starships or something.br
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I think you are on the right lines… i would keep doing as your doing and blasting out loads of different riff options… when you hit on the right one you will totally know and be jumping round your room… just be patient and keep trying different ideas. br
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Also don’t be too judgmental of your stuff initially let your ideas breath for a day of not hearing them before you decide to scrap/use them as its very easy for perspective to get skewed when you are in the thick of it.br
That’s really good advice from Phil. Especially the part about letting ideas sit a while before deciding to keep or scrap them.
thanks guys! thanks Phil…btw your tutorials are amazing. br
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but another question still lingers. lets say i liked the melodies i produced and decided to make a full track… the quality of my sounds (timbre and whatnot) just wont sound full fledged as compared to professional tracks i would hear on beatport. br
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what you heard in the first track of my soundcloud was somewhere nearing the best i can do as far as mixing/mastering. most times i end up sitting for hours tweaking and trying to make my sounds fuller, but they still seem thin. do i need to add more sounds? is it the sound of sylenth? ive been considering purchasing a virus ti for quite a while thinking it can do more damage. br
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and that initial question still lingers…do i add a completely different melody for chorus? how do i know if what i have is the chorus?br
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thanks again, you guys rock!!! :w00t:
The fact that your songs do not sound like the ones you hear on the radio is all because of the work of some good mastering engineer.br
You won’t get your tracks sounding as full and balanced as theirs, but you could try. For sure.br
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This has all got to do with good EQing, compression (don’t overdo it) and volumes.br
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Apart from that, you should use a spectrum analyzer on the master chain to see what’s happening in the song. See what’s spiking, and see what’s missing.
A lot of arrangements now have 2 distinct sections… br
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- the driving bit… check out all the Main Room Bass sounds in ANAbr
br - the melodic bit… you arent far off sound wise with your main lead… just pay attention to when and how melodic leads are used in tracks now… very rarely with the beat. and there is a trend to using tons of reverb.
thanks again guys. i’ll just keep at it! appreciate the feedback
This isnbsp;a problem for me too. Sometime get a good chord loop going but then I end up saving the project and starting a new one because I can’t manage to getnbsp;the right bassline or melody to go with it./PPOne thing I find when I manage to make a good funky bassline in the track, is wondering if it even needs a melody on top of it, and if it doesn’t, what should I use to create the added excitement that would usually be the role of the melody?
I have been taking strict piano lessons since November. I began taking it for two reasons. One is because I will want to know how to play it solely like a master hopefully within the next 5-10 years…and two…to apply the theory I will pick up to dance tracks that I’m working on. In hopes that I can understand transitions. It might be a lot considering popular songs we hear are made by those who barely know which key is which, but in my case, I think it’s necessary. Problem is, I don’t want it to take 5 years to understand proper arrangement and transitions of verses, choruses, etc. =\
Some things simply do take time to understand, evolve, grasp, etc.br
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It might be helpful to jam a little. Jazzy. Try to find the right chords. Or first try to play a nice simple bassline with your left hand. When that works. You can add, with your right hand, some kind of melody. Just improvize.br
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You’ll need to listen what works and what not. Hear feel the harmonics.br
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You don’t necessarily have to learn this all from books.
from hearing your stuff a recommendation would be to go back and really give your drums a better tune up and a much fuller sound. you got a lot of cool ideas going, you just need to spend more times with the levels of your songs and the arrangement.