Hello,

I've just downloaded my first sequencer and I've got a small midi keyboard. Where do I start to make a tune? I've heard of chord progress but I don't know what that is.

I was practicing Britney Spears - Toxic to practice and to see how its made but I want to get my head around the process. What steps do I need to make a tune?

Thank you.
Last edited by maudioradium on Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:31 am; edited 1 time in total

What sequencer did you download?

I usually think of a tune in my head, then play it on my keyboard or guitar. Of course I learned to play before being able to do that.

EDIT - the OP is just a time-wasting troll - see page 2 - but for anyone who is honestly keen to start learning how to make a tune, there are many different ways to do it and this is how I usually do it:

1) Create a melody (or reproduce a well-known melody for practice, eg Toxic, either by ear or by reading from music notation). A melody is just a pattern of notes that, at its most basic, sounds pleasing to you.
Get your main instrument to play this - maybe a piano sound?

2) Create the bassline - sometimes just picking out the same notes as the melody, but at a lower octave; sometimes playing it's own supporting melody which 'fits' with the main melody.
Get a bass instrument to play this - maybe a bass guitar sound?

3) Create some beats - kick, snare, hi-hat, a cymbal crash at various moments for effect (and maybe some tom toms or other percussion for funky poly-rhythms or fill effects).

4) Chords / harmony - get a secondary / supporting instrument to play the chords around the melody.
So if the main melody instrument plays middle C (C4 - approx 262 Hz in frequency terms), get a secondary instrument to play either a major chord - for instance maybe C4, E4 and G4 (C Major triad chord) - or a minor chord, for instance C4, Eb4 and G4 (C Minor triad chord). As you see fit, repeat this process with different sounding chords for some/all of your other main melody notes.
Get your secondary instrument to play these chords - maybe a guitar sound?

You now have a basic tune. How complicated you want to make it beyond that is up to you.
And what notes, instruments and style of music you like might depend on what genre you are making: eg, the choices of dub reggae are usually much more rigid than EDM.


Further advice:
1) check out JumpingJackFlash's music theory threads on the Music Theory forum here at KVR - these have excellent explanations about chords etc.

2) buy this book if you can find it second-hand, it will give you a great heads up on arrangement tips:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arranging-Techniques-Sythesists-Eric -Turkel/dp/082561130X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339715134&sr=8 -2

3) This isn't too bad a site either: http://www.jacmuse.com/041708trc/101706trc/index.htm

Doug
Last edited by Doug1978 on Mon Jun 18, 2012 2:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

I'm using Ableton Live.

Thanks guys for your help, I'm going to spend some time on your advice now.

You need to download fruity loops and listen to more Lady Gaga.

Computer Music have a special about Live 8 available atm. You should probably pick up a copy.

This makes me think maudioradium is pulling ol' KVR's leg here, so I'm locking this.

maudioradium, if I'm mistaken and you want to make a case for reopening the thread, PM me.

maudioradium says there's no leg pulling going on, so here's the thread reopened with an eye on it.

I found the ableton live bit interesting

Sometimes people need to start from the beginning, I've taught myself a couple things but really, I've just been popping down midi notes manually on a sequencer and I'm starting to think I'm not doing something right.

Any beginners advice to me is a big help.

Use those random midi notes, pipe it via Ableton LIve's MIDI plug-ins (arpeggiator, chord, random and the rest), add some drum loops and you have yet another electronic production, one of 5,306,566,467,489 out there.

Which is why I wanted to start from the beginning.

I think part of the reason why there's such poor electronic music nowadays is mostly due to "musicians" not knowing how to play an instrument and thus not being able to play for long enough to make a tune/chord/song structure.

I also think that with illegal downloads and people not paying for music for small up coming artists, it's harder to make a full-time career of music.

Anyway, which is why I want to start from the basics and do it properly this time, I'd like to know the kinda of things musicians do to create their melodies.

I'd like to create a county and western song next.

Is that true in your case? If so you just answered your own question. Learn to play an instrument and you'll automatically pick up songwriting and arranging skills along the way. IMHO it's the best way to really understand how to make music.

Really?? There are loads of people who play an instrument (or more), but they can't write (good) songs. Songwriting is a special field itself, and is has to be learned additionally. There is no simple 1-2-3-recipe for writing tunes...