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@TSS: wow dude, epic post. A lot of wisdom in there. I will say this though: y'all playing in a live band keep those earplugs in. I went def in my left ear for a week when I was sixteen. (Due to practicing at show volume and never wearing ear plugs). It was the scariest shit ever. I slowly got my hearing back, but it's never been quite the same. Not trying to be a contrary mary or anything, just a reminder to look out for your hearing. It's a precious gift.

My first release will be a ten track album called "Never Forget Where You Came From". I kept it simple and stuck to the 2A03 chip in Famitracker. It's a collection of happy, upbeat kind of 50's/60's inspired pop with some punk elements and lots of nostalgia. Most of the tracks are up on soundcloud in rough mix form, but the indefatigable Ypmid is hard at work mastering the tracks and the dynamic NEON is busy creating some beautiful cover art.
(What a couple of rad dudes!)

The whole package should be up on bandcamp sometime in the next few weeks.

Also, I'm putting together a comp that should be out sometime in the next few months. Most of the tracks are up on soundcloud already, but they haven't been mastered yet so some are a lot louder than others.
IOUT Soda Comp 2014

Oh yeah, thanks! I've been working hard. Being somewhat a newcomer to the production side of chipmusic myself, I know how you feel. Check out the super helpful advice from an0va in this thread: http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/15001 … ductivity/

Most mid-sized junior colleges will offer an introduction to theory/composition course. If money is an issue you can look into something like this:
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-t … -section-0 There are tons of free resources on the web, try punching your question topics into youtube or wikipedia for starters. I can offer what might be a serious shortcut to better composition though: if you don't play one already, maybe it's time to learn an instrument. Piano is fun and easy to start with, you can find cheap electric (toy) keyboards at thrift stores pretty often. It's not really comparable to the real deal, but it can get you started in the right direction.

Your tracks seem pretty well programmed for an LSDJ novice (I'm one too, we're all learning here...), but they're pretty loud, both in the mix and in the instruments. Better mastery of the E command is something I'm looking into myself. I had a problem with lots of long sustained notes in my early work on Famitracker. As I learned more about volume control it became really clear to me how hard those notes were on the ears. If you feel like it, check out some of my songs from when I first started understanding how volume works (Blushing Lilies) compared to my latest stuff (That Summer Lives On) here: https://soundcloud.com/imaginary-chipmusic That's just a general tracking hint though, some of the LSDJ pros could probably help you out a lot more... anyway, just keep tracking. Maybe try some originals?

Yeah, been there multiple times. Pretty much everybody has to take a hit and give up some of their personal time in order to make stuff work. For a while it only worked for one of my later bands to play during the weekend, and that was the only time I had to spend by myself/with my lady. I was the practice enforcer though, so I had to bite the bullet and basically piss off my girlfriend every weekend instead of relaxing and recovering from my then really shitty job. I would have been a huge hypocrite otherwise, haha. Another time in that same band it only worked for us to play Fridays from 9-11 pm. Then for two weeks running everyone showed up at practice but the guitarist. That band ended up ending abruptly due to awkward schedule demands and some grabass between band members over a girl. That's what you get for being in a band with teenagers. Zing! Nah, being in a band with the right teenagers can be fine.

After personnel, schedule is one of the hardest parts of playing music. Everybody needs to be on the same page and be willing to make some sacrifices. If a band member isn't with that it can cause friction surprisingly fast. Keep clear and open lines of communication about the schedule, and even specific practice dates. Call your bandmates the night before practice and remind them... I know that seems like a no-brainer, but I can't even count the number of times I've watched (or been) the band leader dude angrily on the phone trying to find out where the missing member is. "Oh dude, I'm at the laundromat, be there in an hour and 45 minutes." Sweet. Now we have half the intended practice time and an awkward hour of trying to practice without that member...

There will be times when you'll only be able to squeeze out a practice a week, and that's fine if you're just playing for the hell of it. If you're serious though, you'll want to look at the member who's dragging the band down in a more critical light. I've been in the situation of having the dude who I co-founded a band with pretty much lose interest, but if I brought that up he'd get all butthurt and talk me down over it. The second week in a row he showed up to the practice spot too late to finish a setlist before our time was up, I quit the band. It was a damn shame, but sometimes you're the only one who can be honest in a situation.

TLDR;
Scheduling is a bitch, good luck.
Don't ever let people waste your time. Don't ever be the guy wasting other people's time. Learn how to be honest with yourself about both.

Hell yeah an0va, that's great advice. I wish I'd had that explanation when I first got started tracking.

Being in a band is all about finding people who actually want to play music. Not people looking to get laid, not dudes who want to "rockstar out bro!" not that guy who wants to be the coolest kid on the block, but people who are musicians because they have an honest drive to make music for it's own sake. If you can find four people in your area with this attitude, who share genre preferences, consider yourself very lucky. (When you add other limitations like "Not an egotistical asshole" or "can actually play an instrument" it becomes more like three, or even two in all honesty.) I have been in bands with some amazing people and some absolute turds. Sometimes it's easier to keep the hardworking, dedicated musician who has nothing in common with you than the totally awesome guy who never practices and just shows up to look cool to his non-musician friends.

After personnel is sorted out, the band dynamics will form themselves in time. Usually one person will emerge as the principal songwriter and the others will either jive with that or bail. Sometimes that can be messy and uncomfortable, but it's a natural part of the process. I have been on both ends of that situation a few times, and sometimes bowing out gracefully is the best option. It really helps to be flexible and open minded in that situation. In very rare circumstances one might find a person that they can fully collaborate on writing with. I have only found that once in my career as a musician, and it made for the best band experience and the best music I have yet to produce. If you find that person, cherish your relationship and give it your all to keep it as friendly and informal as possible.

As far as writing better music, preforming well and progressing as a unit, there is no secret at all. You can take lessons, read books on your instrument, spend money on better/more reliable gear and get the collective effervescence of the band going by being truly into it. All that stuff is great and will help in superficial ways, but the truth is, none of that shit matters at all if you don't practice. Practice every day you can possibly imagine practicing. Make a schedule and write it out on calendars for each bandmate... At the height of my best live band we were practicing 5-7 days a week. 2-4 hours a day. We made this work because we had a dedicated practice space, the three of us had 9-5 jobs and lived within 45 minutes bus-distance from each other. Did we get sick of each other? Yeah, but not to the point of violence. Did we get bored to death of the same setlist? Yeah, really quickly, actually. Was it all worth it to go on stage and absolutely floor audiences every time? Yup.

TLDR: Q: How can we be more productive? A: Practice as much as possible.

Word, most likely we can just chalk it up to the wisdom of "these things are old..."