TragicSans
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'MURICA

Hi all, I've been making these for a while and think I finally developed a melody I can be proud of.  The instrumentation and sound shortcomings are a discussion for another day.  I'm very bad with terminology and I wish I could explain more clearly what it is I'm looking for but bear with me.

My question is, what kind of sounds or segments could I impose to keep things going a bit longer, that'll fit with the rest of the song?  How do I stretch it out without boring the listener?  If you guys experience this problem, what tips and tricks do you recommend that will keep people engaged longer than 120 seconds?

Am I doomed to write Title Theme music forever?  Will the Powerpuff Girls be able to begin a fight with their most detested side dish?

The song in question: http://chipmusic.org/tragicsans/music/t … nd-of-greg

Last edited by TragicSans (Jan 13, 2013 7:53 pm)

SketchMan3
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NC in the US of America

It sounds cool. Reminds me of something that'd be in a One Must Fall sequel/remake...

Try altering the chord progression, either as an add-on to the track as it is, or as a bridge between sections. You could also try adding a lead melody in some places.

Grymmtymm
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KC

doesn't sound too bad really.

if that was mine I'd either leave it alone and start a new one or continue the theme of it.

like doing a new song with the same theme/melodies/progression with some variations.

like the classical masters

Jellica
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England

there is nothing wrong with making short songs

calmdownkidder
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Liverpool, UK

Add a funny sample from a TV show, like the Beg Bung Fiery, then add some sik dubstep womps.

Downstate
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shanghai

just change the melody a bit. add a lead melody. make some variations of beats. listen to songs you like, what do they do ? well i dont know that. but you should. adopt similar ideas. its not rocket science really. many songs hit a 2 minute saturation point when theyre being made. that means its time to decide A)you think its worth being un-lazy and build on what you have. B)you think its ok as a short track.C) probably most likely you realise its not all that, discard and set about making something better. i think most would agree that for every 2 or 3 songs you 'finish', you ll have atleast 15 other ones in a 'wip's' folder on your hard drive that you'll prob never finish.

radian
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Brighton

Put a donk on it.

xylo
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Holland
Jellica wrote:

there is nothing wrong with making short songs

Agreed. Loops are awesome as well!

Try to focus on arrangement. If you make songs more structured people find them interesting throughout the entire song because they tend to expect stuff they heard before in the song, and if they like it they are waiting for it to come again. You can bring certain parts with interesting build-ups or bridge-ish parts.

I mainly focus on a chorus part which is catchy. Verses are really just to make the chorus pop-out more.

Loops are a different story. I just focus on a really good catchy melody there and make it loop hehe.

SadPanda
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Chicago IL, USA
calmdownkidder wrote:

Add a funny sample from a TV show, like the Beg Bung Fiery, then add some sik dubstep womps.

Invisible Robot Hands
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Playboy Man-Baby
calmdownkidder wrote:

Add a funny sample from a TV show, like the Beg Bung Fiery, then add some sik dubstep womps.

You talkin' about Bug Bag Thirty?

Last edited by Invisible Robot Hands (Jan 14, 2013 1:06 pm)

Victory Road
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Gosford, Australia
Jellica wrote:

there is nothing wrong with making short songs

ily

chunter
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Brunswick, GA USA
xylo wrote:

You can bring certain parts with interesting build-ups or bridge-ish parts.

Failing to deliver an expected section is a great tension builder too.

Russellian
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Harrisonburg, Virginia

Honestly, I like the song as is. Maybe you could extend the ending, solo the melody, then fade out. There's a bunch you could do to "liven up" this song, but I think it works well as it is right now.

nickmaynard
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rochester, ny

you could add a second section to it?

TragicSans
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'MURICA

Thanks for the feedback, you guys are great.

I think what I'll do is leave the song as it is for now, I'm afraid that if I touch it I'll only mess it up.

Maybe later when I'm feeling more confident I'll come back and add a new section or rearrange it.

vargero
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Florianópolis-SC, Brasil

Only thing I'd add would be a higher pitched sine melody in the end with big notes, to break the things as they are. You know when you're listening to a song, and theres one part of the song you really love and it keeps repeating, and all of a sudden something new is introduced and make your mind blow? I'd aim for something like that.

Last edited by vargero (Jan 15, 2013 1:17 pm)