Melodys and Chords (Page 1 of 3)

Here's what I know.
1. you should start doing your own light reading on music theory, at least the basics. It does really help and will probably answer all of what you just asked.

2. melodies are mostly made of the notes of chords, and vice versa.
    this means, start teaching yourself basic chords on a piano/guitar.

3. melodies usually stay the same throughout a song, with slight variations for variety/breaks/tension/release.

4. also, most good melodies are the ones that we can hum or whistle, which is why they stick in our head.

5. practice is the only way to figure this stuff out and really see it for yourself.

6. don't make trackers your only musical outlet, as knowing how to play at least one instrument can go a long way.

Know what scale you're writing in and use all the notes of the scale to come up with melodies. If you're hitting a block writing melodies try instrument changes. Add some groove on your melody to make it funky.

Depending on the chord count the semitones from your root note and put each note in a different channel at that same place so they all trigger at the same time. Traditionally chip music uses arpeggios to play chords due to lack of space in each channel but modern trackers will allow you to program chords without having to worry about space. Renoise will allow you to put chords in a single channel.

As far as what sounds good just start messing around with different chord progressions. What sounds good to you will more than likely sound good to everyone.

uuuh dude you can find that info all over the internet.

or go to a music store and pick up some scale books.

Learn the names of the notes in the chords you know on guitar (for example, C major is made up of C, E, and G) and then transfer that to your sequencer of choice. Usually you'll have to put each note in an individual channel as most chipmusic trackers only allow one simultaneous note per channel.

With limited channel tracker formats like LSDJ, 2A03 NES, C64 SID, Amiga Mod, Speccy AY, and AHX, rapid arpeggios are used. They are even used for style in less limited formats like XM, Renoise, IT, etc etc.

The way rapid arpeggios typically work is that you enter a note in the note column, then use the arp command in the effects column (0xy/Vxy/etc. depends on the format). with x and y being half-step intervals up from the note that you entered in the note column. Then when the note is played it will rapidly cycle through the notes in the arp command you entered.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa... this sounds like a recipe for boring
Oh wait I thought you said "usually the melody will stay the same throughout a song" but you said "melodies" which means there is more than one in the song *phew* yes good. :3

Actually though that is a good place to start. Take a rhythmic melody and a chord, then when you change the chord, keep the same rhythm of the melody, but change the notes to match the new chord.

http://www.google.com/search?q=music%2Bscales

since you play guitar already, http://justinguitar.com is a REALLY good resource for learning everything you need to know on guitar, and he puts an emphasis on ear training and music theory too and it's free!

Last edited by SketchMan3 (Dec 12, 2013 6:51 pm)

Awesome thanks so much guys be watching for some demos from me real soon!

Looked at the scales and lets use the G Major scale for example. It contains the notes: G – A – B – C – D – E – F#
so in LSDJ or MILKY TRACKER I would use these 7 notes in different orders to write my piano riff? just trying to get a clear understanding.

You got it.