instruments don't sound right together

[dvyce]

Originally posted by the czar


Some say the ear is the most impotant thing a musician can have. And doing music by ear is even more popular in hip-hop.

Of course it helps if you understand music theory, but even if you are a music theory master and you don't have an ear for music, you won't be a good composer.

If you read what I said, I wasn't telling him that he should learn "music theory"... I said that "in a sense" it is a lack of "applying music theory"

I said he needs to understand how to write music in its most basic form... to understand how music works in its most basic sense.

That can be completely by ear. In fact, there is really no need, in my opinion, to really "study music theory"... you need to know what you are doing, even if it is by ear.

To randomly mess arounf with a midi controller till he randomly comes up with something is not "writing music"... what he is doing is simply "waiting for a happy accident to happen"

Even if you have no idea why something sounds good or what the theory is behind it or what the notes are, you should be able to sing in your head "da da da da la la la la" and actually think of what you are going to do and be able to sing a line that will sound good without having to randomly sing notes until one sounds good.

Do you see what I am saying?

That is not studying music theory... that is simply knowing how to write music. Just imagine if you have a singer in the studio and you want them to come up with a line and they start singing random notes... that is like American Idol funny outtake stuff. You don't need to me a music scholar to come up with a line that works without thinking about it.

That is just making music... you can know that stuff even if you are writing by ear... BUT you NEED that EAR.

Do you see what I am saying?

The fact is that EVERY good composer writes music by ear. You feel the music. You think of a melody or chord progression that you sounds good to you. It is as simple as that. You don't think about the notes or the scales... you just play. Music is not written by formulas. It is purely creative... and if it is not just coming from your ear and your heart, then you are not "writing" music, you are doing "math"

[the czar]

Okay, yeah I see what you're saying. And I agree with it.

But you say:

-
To randomly mess arounf with a midi controller till he randomly comes up with something is not "writing music"... what he is doing is simply "waiting for a happy accident to happen"
-

When he says he randomly messes around, he's just doing it by ear. And so that's why I was supporting his method.

Even so, I agree you need a basic knowledge of music. So yeah.

[hakaveli]

Originally posted by the czar
Okay, yeah I see what you're saying. And I agree with it.

But you say:

-
To randomly mess arounf with a midi controller till he randomly comes up with something is not "writing music"... what he is doing is simply "waiting for a happy accident to happen"
-

When he says he randomly messes around, he's just doing it by ear. And so that's why I was supporting his method.

Even so, I agree you need a basic knowledge of music. So yeah.

yea.. i mean ive actually come up with some beats that people have said hey that sounds pretty good.. but they dont mean like its pro and all that.. but they mean its still music... i mean, i think i can come up with a pretty funky loop maybe even a club banger loop.. but i cant make complex beats like progressions and stuff like that.. i can pretty much make 4-bar loops and 16-bar loops and loop them to make a beat.. but i feel like it gets repetitive sometimes.. but its still sounds cool sometimes, especially knowing that i made it

[Adriano]

Music Theory isnt mandatory

It will be a major help
After all the science behind music is understandble and therefore is a guideline with endless help throu your mind creation and then into the paper


A good thing about eletronic music composing is that it gives you the awrness on how much symethric music is

If you dont understand music theroy to write a melody, you have to trust in your symetric sense
Everything has its place, even if it seens weird
and thats what i have to say about it


Peace

[Adriano]

Another thing should be said

Its indeed very hard to put something together and make it sound nice. Especially if it is a melody variation betwen two diferent instruments/sounds

In eletronic music, every time you upload a sound from the banks or a sample. 99% of the time those sounds/effects are "ready".
They have an ambience wich make then sound natural by its own... all alone.
Thats good to see what its about it, but it doenst fit in the whole track
Thats why you need to proper edit and EQ everything so it sounds natural as a whole. This goes beyond thechnical issues and its part of composing melodies