title basically explains everything

stuff like chord progression, rhythm, melody writing, anything really tbh

(yes ik there are like 3 other threads on this topic but it's not really what im looking for.)

Could you be a little more specific about what you are looking for?

PRO TIP: When making a music, try to make a good one!

I don't particular know what level of advice your asking for, and I'm not exactly a professional, but assuming you're not under a small time limit, it might help to listen to your in progress work fully without any pauses multiple times throughout the day. Consider from the listeners perspective for a second, what parts sound repetitive or bland or distract from the good part? Jot down these as notes or whatever, and apply them the next time you work on the song.

Of course, this isn't helpful with OHBs or whatever, but I can confirm your music literacy is a muscle, and (even if you don't feel it), you are slowly growing always (:

@Lasertooth whoopsies i should've mentioned that.
Basically, tips on making interesting (,depending on the situation, catchy,) memorable music (in general, not chiptune specific).

if that's still too vague, then also just...
uhhh...

songwriting tips?

pay attention to the overall form/structure of your song (in terms of its arc, the intensity levels, and creating contrast), and be intentional about the directions your melody moves (e.g. moving up to a higher destination note, descending to a lower destination note and when and why). small fragments of melodic/rhythmic motif can (and often should) be reused in different ways to build cohesion and catchiness. if you have a cool idea, milk that cool idea for all it's worth and find different ways to apply it within your song. think about the voice leading of your chords - where is each voice in the chord headed and why

Effort and confidence while working will tend to show in the resulting piece.

Agreed heavily on what @damifortune mentioned especially milking a cool idea.

From what I learned, I would also say try to keep your ideas simple overall as well. We all are simple people who enjoy simple things.

A melody doesnt always need all 12 notes to sound beautiful.

Progress your notes and keep some stability however way you can. (Ex. Pedal notes while shifting other notes)

Keep in mind of all the things you have in music and what you can do with it. (Ex. Notes: 1/4 1/2 notes(whole notes can give a chill pacing while 8th notes can give rapid ones), rests, tempo, bass)

These are what I believe. Perhaps you might see it different but as long as the musics good right? c:

@Raiku "A melody doesnt always need all 12 notes to sound beautiful." - dodecaphony always needs! :)

@SRB2er just like in visual arts, try to seek simplicity from complexity, and complexity from simplicity

@Wobbleblast i think everyone use to run away from people too confident, or values effort too much... xD

@Surfcroc "good music" is too subjective

-

@nitrofurano maybe I haven't chosen the right words, I meant effort as in care and attention, and confidence as in not worrying and second guessing every decision and being proud of our work no matter what.

resist the cult of the chord progression.

@roz wut
elaborate, pls

I am also curious to hear what roz means. I would assume to avoid just using 4 chord loops for everything?

One piece of advice which can apply to all art forms is to not get too attached to your ideas. When you have an original idea you like (such as a bit of melody, an instrument, chord, etc.) it's really tempting to hold on to that piece and refuse to change it. It can feel like that piece is "sacred" or "core" to the song. However, the best results often come through iteration; your first idea is not always the best.

Something I have started doing to get more comfortable changing ideas is cloning my modules. That way if I try a new melody for example and decide the old one was better I can simply go back. Funny thing is, I don't think I've ever gone back to the original, but it gives me peace of mind knowing it's still there.

@nitrofurano Yes, I agree! However, I wasn't talking about "good music", but rather a "good one" c:

As for making memorable music, I think it's important to work on not just the contents of the song, but also the presentation. A good song title or cover art can significantly enhance the listening experience, by giving the listener more to latch onto (or you could also use it to do something unexpected)!

I can't give any actual good music tips, since I usually turn my brain off when making music and just follow my gut. (as well as trying to make a good one)

don't take creative advice from someone whose work you don't respect.

@SRB2er you forgot mentioning scales in your first post here, chord inversions as well

@zor the more you underestimate their work, more they can surprise you sooner or later

@nitrofurano well thats something new to me. Sounds like something Id like to experiment on sometime.

Though I wanted to try and state how simplicity first is key and efficient without limiting the creativity

everything i know fundamentally comes from noodling around until i found notes and rhythms i like. music theory is cool and helps with that process, but is not essential

when it comes to form, e.g. the question "how do i add another section/riff to this", i like to think about the concept of developing variation, very loosely and generally described as a process of repeating previous ideas/themes in new ways. as an example, if i have a four-on-the-floor beat, i could try introducing a variation on that beat by putting a snare on the "and" of 4

also all advice is to be taken with a grain of salt. what works for you works for you

mx SRB2r, i elaborate:

"the cult of the chord progression" is what i call the pervasive belief among numerous people in creative circles i am adjacent to that more complicated chord progressions are always better that simpler ones. this usually comes as a package with the more general belief that complexity in music is always better than simplicity. you see this especially among the terminally theorybrained who are in an endless competition to one-up each other by filling their music with modulations, polyrhythms, virtuosic instrumental performances, and so on. (to generalise, you might call it "the cult of complexity" - or, more snarkily, "the cult of berklee").

the truth is that none of that stuff matters because all that really matters is whether music has the juice, but unfortunately there is no reliable way to get the juice into your output besides strange, blind, wordless intuition which can appear and disappear uncontrollably. this is so frustrating it makes you want to kill yourself, so people search desperately for One Weird Trick to getting the juice flowing - "fill your music with ✨jazz chords✨" is one such Weird Trick.

if your music does not already have the juice, adding modulations and chord substitutions and so on to it won't help because the juice is not in a chord progression, it's in you.

what i'm really trying to say is beware of One Weird Tricks in general. there is no secret to creating art - if there was, it would not stay a secret for long. the low-hanging fruit has all been picked. if you want to find beauty, you will have to climb for it.

with all that said, please bear in mind zor's wise words from earlier in this thread - if you think the shit i make sucks, disregard all of the above.

the key to making your music good is to find that One Weird Trick. I can sell it to you for 130 dollars and a small piece of your soul

"the low-hanging fruit has all been picked. if you want to find beauty, you will have to climb for it."

damn that is a really deep quote



i've honestly thought cool flowing chord progressions were what it took to make actually good music (unlike mine)
...guess ima have to start from scratch lol

thx

here's a koan for musicians: the soul of the song isn't in the notes, it's in the sound of the notes.

you are so right zor, I always wondered early on why whenever I would imitate chord progressions or design elements from other songs I liked it would sound so flat in comparison to the original product, until I realized that it was because I was picking the wrong sounds for my notes. Even if a meat like chicken is completely capable in its own right, it is completely helpless if you're trying to make a baked ham.

Of course, this doesn't mean you have to buy super expensive vsts and plugins to make good music; it just means you should have good awareness of the sounds available to you.

i feel that you must recognize individual little successes in every piece, even if the song is not very good overall. improvement is just a cumulative process is all. you are more likely to appreciate what you make looking back on it than now- maybe its best to have faith in your personal growth, get your head down, and make a new song even if its bad..

anyway, for more concrete advice.. i suggest considering phrasing- its what may distinguish a good loop from a good song. depending on your goals.
for example, consider that a song is a long, drawn-out expression. thats how western classical/baroque is structured i believe, as a sequence of movements from one tone (emotional, not frequency) to the next. i think thats why some describe song movement as "a story".. a bit misleading imo, since your music doesnt have to be particularly illustrative, but it should function like a narrative in that it is built around movement from one scene/idea/exclamation to the next (typically from build-up to climax to resolution, although thats only conventional). in fact it seems tto me, every considerable aspect of music is built around that idea.... but thats difficult to conceptualize because that means everything about music is transient, factless, and that is inherently incommunicable in this static language, without practice..
if this pointless message is meant to aid in any way, i hope its to only make you consider this issue yourself.. its such a subjective thing that it seems everyone has to come to an understanding alone. as it is emotional..

IMO the best overall tip (besides constantly making songs) is to learn from pieces of music you take inspiration from. Such as transcribing a specific chord part, learning a specific production technique, how a song form is laid out etc. You can then analyze it, come to your own conclusions on how/why something works and try to incorporate those techniques in your original work.

This way what you learn is very specific to your tastes and what you're trying to achieve in your music (which could be completely different for someone else)