Question on Layering instruments

T

TDOT

New member
Would it make sense to layer a melody with a completely different instrument?

For example have my melody played on a piano and then layer the exact same melody with a different sound.

Would that make the sound thicker or my track sound more complete, or would that just be a bad idea?
 
That is a popular method with trap beats especially on the chords.You don't have to layer if you don't want to.When you layer make sure it works and goes together a layer of garbage is just going to make louder garbage.if I have a good lead synth sound I usually leave it be.Mainly because most of the synth vsts have reverb delay eq ect... already on it so it can easily stand out on their own.
 
Just experiment with different sounds. Sometimes if I have a sliding synth Ill layer each note with a fast attack/pluck sound.
 
True thanks for that response.
I know you said not too layer bad sounds otherwise it will sound garbage. Is there a rule for that
like maybe only layer keys with keys or string with strings etc, or whatever sounds good works?

The thing is sometimes just a grand piano or an electric guitar alone just sounds stale or weak.
 
TDOT said:
Would it make sense to layer a melody with a completely different instrument?

For example have my melody played on a piano and then layer the exact same melody with a different sound.

Would that make the sound thicker or my track sound more complete, or would that just be a bad idea?
Click to expand...

It will
a) thicken it
b) make it sound different

It is also a standard orchestrational idea to double the melody in another instrument family at pitch, at the octave above or the octave below....
 
Thanks bandcoach always on point
-going to try that out, is it by standard usually 1 octave lower or higher???
Or can it be the same octave or few down or up???
 
At the same pitch, octave above/below, Double octave above/below are all doing one thing strengthening the basic pitch of the melody.

When you move to another interval you start to get different effects, some nice, some not so nice, some just plain wrong.

New theme to illustrate the differences

Interval/CommentaryAudioImage
Unison Fine[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm00.mp3[/mp3]
pu.png
m2 rarely works well unless it is up high and you are trying to be dissonant[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm01.mp3[/mp3]
min2.png
M2 is ok but used sparingly[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm02.mp3[/mp3]
maj2.png
m3 good go to for this type of work, but make sure that you are staying within the bounds of your chords.
This means use non-chord-tones, making sure that they are short and necessary for the continuation of the line		[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm03.mp3[/mp3]
min3.png
M3 good go to for this type of work, but make sure that you are staying within the bounds of your chords.
This means use non-chord-tones, making sure that they are short and necessary for the continuation of the line		[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm04.mp3[/mp3]
maj3.png
m6 good go to for this type of work, but make sure that you are staying within the bounds of your chords.
This means use non-chord-tones, making sure that they are short and necessary for the continuation of the line		[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm08.mp3[/mp3]
min6.png
M6 good go to for this type of work, but make sure that you are staying within the bounds of your chords.
This means use non-chord-tones, making sure that they are short and necessary for the continuation of the line		[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm09.mp3[/mp3]
maj6.png
P4 sounds like our archetypal Middle Eastern Crusades and later Chinese/Asian sound, more because of Hollywood silent film and talkies soundtracks than anything else[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm05.mp3[/mp3]
p4.png
P5 sounds more Roman like and is often used for thickening war themes[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm07.mp3[/mp3]
p5.png
A4/d5 are brittle and dissonant and ambivalent - these are the active tones in a dominant 7th chord and tend to seek release in 3rds or 6ths.[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm06.mp3[/mp3]
a4.png
m7 is ok but can become a bit irritating after a while[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm10.mp3[/mp3]
min7.png
M7 is ok but in the same boat as the m2 a it adds dissonance[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm11.mp3[/mp3]
maj7.png
P8 Fine[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/intHarm12.mp3[/mp3]
p8.png
 
When I first started I always used to just layer my melodies an octave above or below. It thickens up the instrument but it doesn't really "complete" it.

By default I go with layering the notes with the 4th or 5th interval, sometimes the 3rd (so C with an E, F or a G). Even using the same instruments this "fills out" the beat more to my ears. I've yet to try doing this with another instrument though since it already sounds pretty damn good that way lol.

And bandcoach with a helpful example as always!
 
tdot said:
would it make sense to layer a melody with a completely different instrument?

For example have my melody played on a piano and then layer the exact same melody with a different sound.

Would that make the sound thicker or my track sound more complete, or would that just be a bad idea?
Click to expand...
'
yes i do this all the time in my techno beats.. And rap beats.. Adds imagery to the beat and makes it fuller..
 
Layering sounds is one of the most important things you can do to get a richer fuller beat at the end. The only thing you wanna be careful with is to not go overboard and have it overpower the track. Also layering is a cool way to basically make your own sounds without actually programming a vst etc. Highly recommended!
 
Yeah, I think that you should layer with different notes within a chord. This will make the song sound better. However, it depends on different situation. Try layer in up or down an octave, then up or down at different notes in a chord. Listen and FEEL :D There are some tips here: How to make a beat | Real Music Maker
 
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Except of course not every thing should follow some plan - you need to make sure that the choice you make is the best one for the current problem otherwise you just wasting yo time..
 
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