melody the basics

[scottishraver]

ok a few weeks ago i came upon a basic tutorial that i cant find now

im just learning the basics of melody and im aiming to make some house music /deep tech

the tutorial was explaining how to put notes together, and as far as i remember it was saying whatever note you start on i.e c it moves up or down in steps of 2 ie -
c-d d-e e-f# f#-g# g#-a# a#-back to c.
or
d#-f f-g g-a a-b b-c# c#-back to d sharp that idea

now i know some of you may find my stupidity amusing lol,but i have never played any instruments before,and i need help and advice on how to
put simple bass lines or leads etc together ,what keys go with what , what rules to stick to if there are any etc

if anyone knows any books or tutorials i can read that would be great, just the basic stuff.
i contacted a local tutor but i dont have much cash to splash just now esp at £20 an hour / or do you think a few lessons coverng the basics would be time well spent?
thanks guys

[DF2R]

or do you think a few lessons coverng the basics would be time well spent?

Always IMO. Even if it's for a short time, it's more likely to get you acquainted and on the road to understanding the basics than not. And knowing some theory makes things a hell of a lot easier. It can be a lot easier to find inspiration if you have a good idea where it's likely to be laying in the first place, if you get me.

[diijay]

Google is your friend , tons of good music theory sites out there to teach you.

Books are good to.

http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Computer- ... 249&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Compu ... 249&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Comp ... 249&sr=1-3

[scottishraver]

superb they look ideal
thanks diijay
have you read them?>

[diijay]

Yes, they're all good.

[manducator]

Those Michael Hewitt books are great indeed. You won't regret buying them.

Also take a look at this, its free:

www.musictheory.net

If you go to the classic version, you will find a downloadable offline version of the course. I learned the basics from it.

[gambaytheunspoken]

Are you thinking of spending some money learning music theory or learning to play an instrument? I can guarantee you that taking basic music lessons in order to learn an instrument, while helpful, is probably not going to help in the music theory department, especially if you have a basic run of the mill music teacher who is going to insist you learn to play Swanee River or Kumbaya. Just a couple of these mind numbingly stupid sessions and you're already out like a good 40 bucks. I do not wish that on anyone. A friend of mine who is a very good guitarist but wanted to learn to play piano took some music lessons with a classically trained pianist, but the dude couldn't read a lead sheet, had never even seen one before in his life, something most working musicians use. So make sure you get a good teacher if you go down that route. Some of them offer free introductory lessons. My advice to you is try and jam along with the tunes that you like, that you want to sound like and analyze what makes these tunes work for you. Imitation is one of the best ways to learn a language, and music is a language. Another thing I would suggest is to get your hands on some midi files, there are millions floating about on the net. Again, use them in your host and analyze them. And then there is youtube. Really, everything is there. By the way, your honesty is refreshing, "now i know some of you may find my stupidity amusing." I found that pretty funny, to tell you the truth.

Good luck!

[sjm]

the tutorial was explaining how to put notes together, and as far as i remember it was saying whatever note you start on i.e c it moves up or down in steps of 2 ie -
c-d d-e e-f# f#-g# g#-a# a#-back to c.
or
d#-f f-g g-a a-b b-c# c#-back to d sharp that idea

That would be the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_tone_scale. If you're just starting out, I would suggest that you instead look at the major scale ( http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/21 ) and then the minor scales ( http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/22 ).

The reason I'd suggest starting there is that those are generally the basis for most (popular) western music. The notes and chords of the major scale (and natural minor, which basically contains the same notes as the major scale but starts from 3 semitones lower) are what you have been hearing in almost all music you've ever heard, assuming you live in a western(ized) society. This means you'll have an innate understanding of what sounds "right", even if you don't understand why.

Generally your melody will consist of notes in the scale (key) that your song is written in. You won't however simply go through the notes in order - that's something your piano teacher might tell you to do to practice, but it makes for a pretty dull melody.


Also check out the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths. The circle of fifths has loads of uses - too many to cover here.
Note however that the inner letters in the circle of fifths indicate the relative minor for the major keys (so you can see that C major and A minor are related keys, with A being 3 semitones below C, see above).

[jancivil]

i have never played any instruments before

SMH.

Look. You're not going to become melodic from a book, or someone's advice over the internet, or a website with all the music theory information in the known universe. You need to get involved with melody on the for-real side for A WHILE first. By playing, by singing, by learning songs yourself and making melody happen, you'll get some cause and effect happening. You're expecting something to happen in a type of vacuum.

Music theory is not a how-to manual. A lot of information in the abstract - eg., 'whatever note you start on... moves up or down in steps of 2...' is going to be just as meaningless as that as long as it remains abstract - isn't going to add up to anything, not outside of putting it to practice. Move some notes up or down on an instrument and you'll find out some things. Why not.

advice on how to put simple bass lines or leads etc together

get your ear together by getting involved in music. do a bass line in real life, you know. it comes off as, you're looking for a paint-by-numbers manual instead of ever trying any painting.

[dandmkirkwood]

If your a beginner dude, lessons are the go. Just make sure you get a teachure that can teach you what u want to know. If you want to play rock, dont go to classical school if you catch my drift.
"c-d d-e e-f# f#-g# g#-a# a#-back to c."
sorry bud, this progression doesnt make any sence, in basic music theory terms. maybe in some sort of abstact jazz, but not that i can tell. The Cmajor scale, ( which is a good place to start,) is C.D.E.F,G,A,B,C. Chords for this progression are: C,Dm,Em,F,G,Am,Bdim,C.
If you truelly want to learn music, don't read books, get a good tutor, and start playing. Youtube is a good resource for learning basic songs, if you want to be a copycat. But theory books without help will just confuse you. Good luck.

[b4serenity]

Good call on the musictheory site. I love the exercises!

[ufk18]

AUTO-ADMIN: Non-MP3, WAV, OGG, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook links in this post have been protected automatically. Once the member reaches 5 posts the links will function as normal.

Google is your friend , tons of good music theory sites out there to teach you.

Books are good to.

http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Computer- ... 249&sr=1-1 (https://www.amazon.com/dp//ref=nosim?tag=kvraudio-20)

http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Compu ... 249&sr=1-2 (https://www.amazon.com/dp//ref=nosim?tag=kvraudio-20)

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Comp ... 249&sr=1-3 (https://www.amazon.com/dp//ref=nosim?tag=kvraudio-20)

Yeah, Michael Hewitt's computer music book series best point to grow up.
But I don't understand relations beetwen lead and bass(not in harmonic,in suitable or not suitable)

P.s: Sorry for bad english,few practic and bad working google translate =)

[tapper mike]

I can guarantee you that taking basic music lessons in order to learn an instrument, while helpful, is probably not going to help in the music theory department
Good luck!

I can attest to quite the opposite. A good teacher can help with theory and practice more then you can imagine. It's simply a matter of specifying your intentions to the teacher. Some people go to a teacher and don't want to learn or apply theory. So the teacher gives them a few basics and teaches them licks etc.

I was quite the connoisseur of theory books that I could never apply until under the tutelage of a good teacher. A book doesn't grade you on your approach or force you to demonstrate priciples in differing environments.

[jancivil]

first school lessons I had were 5th grade band class. My instrument was Bb trumpet. On my own I was trying to play popular songs from sheet music and some things just weren't right. I asked the band teacher how this could be. He told me the key of my instrument Bb was a transposition, & that these sheet music editions were for a C instrument; and showed me what was going on and a way of navigating that mentally.

First private lessons I had were on drums, when I was 12. I wanted to expand my ability, from playing the drums part from The Monkees 'Mary Mary' to 'Fire' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (same type of beat, only more complex). He had me transcribe it onto drum kit staves, worked with me to break the beat down to kick, snare, hat parts and understand the interlocking parts and the specific syncopes from that, which gave me an excellent foundation for understanding and I came away from the experience a decent reader of rhythmic notation in multiple parts.

Both the 'theory' classes I took involved part-writing in class, you did the thing and it was evaluated right there; played for the class in the first one I took so you knew if it worked or not. That's real.

Why does 'Harmony' have to be put in a special context 'For Computer Musicians"? Are they challenged in some way? Is there a Special Olympics at the end?

[mikeyo]

I took piano lessions for 4 years at school after playing around with keyboards at home since i was little, i could already work melodies out (with my right hand) and after a while find a bass note (or a chord) to compliment it (played with the left hand).
I make all kinds of music from trance to hardcore and i can say the piano lessons probably didn't help me making electronic dance music these days.

i would say have a mess about and play along with melodies you like, if needs be try and get a midi file or two and see how other people write their melodies.
if you come up with your own ideas and they sound good to you then there's a good chance they are, if you're unsure run them by someone else.
i've always worked on the idea that there's no rules when it comes to writing melodies and you'll know when somethings wrong when you get horrible clashes with the notes you're playing.

practice is the best way and if you know someone that has an a knowledge of making music then spend some time with them, if all else fails goto a music teacher and learn some basics then at least you can ask questions and get answers right away.

try not to get in the mindset of fixed rules though as i would imagine it'll overcomplicate things and make the whole process less fun.

the above works for me anyway.