How to make a music video? How to write beautiful melodies. The Easy Method Note durations are the key to an interesting rhythmic melody

At first glance, creating music can seem like an incredibly difficult task. And the first question that arises for those who want to create their own melody is “Where to start?” But the beauty of musical composition is that there are no clear rules, no restrictions that tell you where to start and how to finish your work. But, of course, there are several methods that will help you jumpstart the creative process.

While there are several approaches to composition, you should keep three things in mind:

• Harmony
• Melody

These are the three fundamental musics. You can put them in any order you like, mix some of them up, or ignore some of them altogether. Many composers experiment without considering harmony and/or melody or timing.

You can add one more element - swing. And although swing is usually classified as jazz and improvised music, you should not discard it if you create music of a different style.

It's also worth remembering that you must have some skills to create music:

1. Ability to read music.

This is the first and most important point. Even if you use some programs that write sheet music for you, you should be able to sight read. And, of course, you must know music literacy. This is the most basic thing a musician should be able to do. You should know what a pause sign looks like, which symbols indicate different effects (staccato, tremolo, piano, forte, etc.).

2. You must know different musical styles

You may think it's pointless to study other styles of music than the one you like, and that's a huge mistake. You should not think that it is not appropriate for a harsh metalhead to listen to classical music - many rock stars have repeatedly said that they love classical music and listen to it; a jazz lover should not ignore simpler musical styles, and a sophisticated classical listener should not turn up his nose at rap and hip-hop. And not because all the music is worthy of attention, although it is. By listening to different styles, you expand your horizons and learn new techniques in music. Also try not just to listen to music for pleasure, but to literally “disassemble” it in your mind into individual instruments. Analyze what you hear. Try to understand how to create a particular sound.

3. Know what instruments sound like

Strive to know what every existing instrument sounds like (at least the most common ones). You should know how certain effects, “gadgets” and so on sound. Of course, you can say that you are not going to create complex pieces of music, but still, knowing the sound of instruments will help you at least develop your ear and broaden your horizons. Well, maybe in the future you will want to add others to one of your instruments.

Preparation

Listen to all your favorite songs and try to see if there is a pattern, something in common. Are there any contrasting passages? How many are there? How long are they? Are any techniques repeated? Does the rhythm of the melody repeat? What mood do these compositions create? How do they do it? Do they follow the same tone?

Analyze and take notes, which will later serve as a source of ideas for you.

Step 1: Style

Decide what style you want to create music in. Listen to compositions in this style and analyze what techniques are used, how often the entire composition adheres to the same meter (4/4, for example). Consider whether you will do something similar or experiment.

Step 2: Shape

Decide on the shape of your composition. Most musical compositions consist of equal sections (repeating sections) or different sections from each other (contrasting sections). Decide on the length of the composition and how many sections it will have. Remember that each style has its own set of common forms, such as the 32-bar AABA form in jazz or the blues period, consisting of three phrases, each containing 4 bars. You can use one of the existing ones or come up with your own. Just try not to make it too complicated.

Step 3: Create your idea

Use a device to record your ideas. Play a few tunes that come to your mind. Or sing them. These melodies don't have to be perfect, no one can hear them but you.

Step 4: First musical motive

Now listen to what you recorded. Is there anything you like that you could develop into a full melody? If you can't choose something that you really like, you can always turn to existing rhythms and notes. Remember that this sketch you are creating at this stage does not have to be complex. Your job is to create a foundation that you can build on.

Step 5: Transform Your Motif

Now that you have a motive, you can do the following: you can expand it, shorten it, play it backwards, repeat. You can change it a little, or you can change it beyond recognition. By doing this, you create a musical phrase—a more complete thought or idea.

Step 6: Contrasting Section

Almost all styles of music have a contrasting section that adds flavor to the piece. This function is performed by the bridge in a pop or rock song, section B in jazz, development in classical sonatas. To write a contrasting section, repeat steps 4 and 5, trying not to play your main motif. You can do it in a different rhythm, give it a different mood, and so on.

Step 7: Putting it all together

On this moment you have a couple of contrasting sections, now you need to combine them. Think about the form you wanted to create your melody in, will what you end up with fit it? Don't be afraid to change things up. See if your melody looks complete, or if there is something else you need to add. Do you think it is necessary to add anything else?

Step 8: Arrangement

Turn the melody into a full-fledged musical composition by adding embellishments and supporting it with a left-hand melody, for example (if you play the piano). Consider whether you need to add other instruments or vocals. Overall, do everything to make your composition sound the way it should. You can ask your familiar musicians for help so that they can add something interesting to your composition.

As it turns out, you can now create music not only in a DAW program, but also on some online resources that are equipped with samples and loops. Of course, this will not allow you to create a full-fledged track and work it out thoroughly, but taking notes or drafts (especially on the road) is quite possible!

1. Soundation.com

Sounding is a powerful online studio with professional functions(such as: recording, virtual instruments/synthesizers, built-in effects and over 700 free samples and loops). Basic Features are available for free, while more advanced ones require the purchase of a monthly subscription!

2.

Audiotool is a complete daw program right in your browser. Everything is realized with great love for detail. Created tracks, samples and presets are stored on Audiotool servers and are accessible from any browser. Allows you to publish (“share”) a track directly on SoundCloud, Youtube or Facebook.

3.

A complete program in your browser. Adaptable for both PC and tablet/phone. You can create music together with friends in real time via the Internet (there is an internal top chat of created tracks). Unlimited project creation + 780 samples and loops + 190 virtual instruments for free.

4.

Looplabs is a collaborative, cloud-based music studio that allows anyone, regardless of technical skill or ability, to quickly and easily create professional music anywhere, anytime, with anyone.

5.

Turns your browser into a fast and flexible music production studio with built-in synths and live effects. These are the best online music production platforms available at the moment. It is difficult to highlight the features of each site, due to the fact that they offer approximately the same functions and effects. Choose the most convenient service for creating quick notes!

2018 update:

The relevance of online services is growing and the number of available platforms is increasing. This still does not allow you to do high-quality work purely on the side of the Internet resource, but for beginners, drafts and just “playing”, they will be quite enough! +6 more sites to add to your collection!

6.

PatternSketch is a free online drum machine. The sequencer and drum kits give you the ability to create entire rhythm tracks. Share your creations with friends or invite them to collaborate directly from the platform. PatternSketch even lets you export your track to WAV, OGG or MP3.

7.

Type anything into Typatone and it will turn every letter into a beautiful sound. Switch to a tool to find what you like best. There are many options on the site. Open several tabs and create a polyphonic ringtone. Or even turn any text into music by copying it into Typatone. You can experiment with how your name sounds! Typatone is free to use, but exporting (saving a track from a website) costs $1.00.

8.Text To Speech

Text To Speech opens a whole new world vocal samples for your tracks. Enter text or add a track you recorded. Then export the audio file to MP3 for free.

Text To Speech is an amazing way to make slightly robotic vocals, similar to those produced by Daft Punk. Add some effects and you'll get some irresistible vocal distortion.

9.

Online Sequencer is a free sequencer right in your browser. Choose from 13 instruments and place them on the track to create a melody. When inspiration strikes, this is a great way to jot down notes or sketch out a song. The platform allows you to export your creation as MIDI file. This file can then be placed into your DAW program.

I'll tell you how to easily and simply choose beautiful melodies for your tracks. How are harmonious leads, sequences, riffs created? There are some secrets and tricks that greatly facilitate the process of selecting melodies for new compositions. They always work, and that's what I talk about in the video.

Watch the video version of this lesson

What types of ringtones are there? Most often, in electronic music there are several types of melodic transmission and they have their own names. Let's look at some of them today.

Sequences. Sequence.

Sequences are small melody that repeats. A looped melodic segment that repeats under different chords. Most often, sequences can be played on different steps, but they can also repeat the melody by playing each repeat cycle from one step.

Leads. Lead.

Leads - category of timbres. Lead is a solo melodic element, derived from the word “leader”. Usually monophonic, plays the main theme of the work. Most often, this is the brightest and most memorable part of the melody. You can imagine the lead as the leading part of the whole harmony. Leads lead against the background of other melodic elements of the track and composition. It can also be presented as a business card of the entire composition or track. Tracks and famous compositions can be easily guessed from it.

Riff. Riff.

A very incendiary part of the track, composition. Most often, riffs are used in electric guitars. Riffs differ from leads in a brighter, richer sound. The riffs are a very intense part of the melody that is hard to miss in the track. Riffs are often even brighter in sound compared to leads.

Pad. Pad.

Another name for it is “lining” for music. This is the background melodic accompaniment of a track, composition, song. As such, the pad is not a direct melody, but it is directly involved in creating harmony for the track, and therefore its sound greatly influences the effect of leads, sequences and riffs. This is a harmonic element, polyphonic. Adds volume to the composition. More often, a chord sequence is prescribed in the pads, which sets the main harmony.

As you understand, all these elements that set the harmony for your tracks should build with each other as accurately as possible, “not mess up,” and even cause a pleasant perception from the given harmony. So what should you do if, say, you have no musical education, but you want to combine these elements of music as effectively as possible? You can use proven algorithms and schemes that greatly facilitate the process of selecting melodies for your tracks, without creating a lot of unnecessary falsehood and disharmony in them.

Now, check out the cheat sheet below for creating harmonious melodies. By the way, you can download it by clicking on the picture. Below I provide an explanation of how to use it.

Click on the picture and download the cheat sheet JPG format will begin.

If you take 7 steps - 7 notes of which your music consists (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si) - then they will always have more stable and less stable steps. Sustained notes are notes that you always want to listen to in a melody; using them in a melody always sounds pleasant and harmonious. And unstable ones give us not very pleasant sensations, and they are the last thing we want to hear. In a word, the ratio of stable notes to unstable ones is different. If we create a melody only from unstable steps, then it will be such a mess that you won’t think it’s enough! But if you create a melody only from stable steps, then it will be a very harmonious sound that is easy to listen to, but perhaps this melody will not have enough “pepper”. That is why it makes sense to use all the notes-steps, but in different proportions, some more, some less.

So, let's figure out which notes and degrees are stable and which are not. If you look at the cheat sheet picture above, you will find the three most stable steps - these are 1, 3, 5 (they are indicated in green). If you are making a melody in the key of C major (C maj), then these will be the notes “do”, “mi”, “sol”. However, in other keys these will be different notes. For example, in the key of G major (G-maj) these will be the notes G, B, D, since for this key the first step will be the note G. And in the key of “F# minor” (F#min), the first step will be the note “F#”, and accordingly, the stable notes here will be “F#”, “A”, “C#”. And according to this principle with all other keys. I hope this has been sorted out.

Go ahead. We discovered the 3 most stable steps-notes, which should be the most in the melody. These are the ones that most often need to be written into your leads, riffs, and sequences. However, you won't get far with three notes; the melody will sound a little boring. Therefore, for these three notes we will call on two more less stable note steps - these are 2 and 6. In the key of C major, these will be the notes “D” and “A” (indicated in green on the cheat sheet). We have 5 notes in our arsenal. By the way, with these 5 notes you will already go very far. Even if you write a melody using only these steps, your melody will already sound beautiful, harmonious and built with chords by default.

We still have 2 more note-steps left that are unstable - these are 4 (“F”) and 7 (“B”) (indicated in red). They can also be used in the melody, but so little so as not to spoil our melody.

Ideally, the ratio of all note-steps in the melody you are writing should be as follows: more than 50% of all notes in the melody must be sustained steps, and according to the residual principle, all other notes are steps. Only then will your melody be constructed beautifully, not go wrong, and evoke pleasant emotions.

Now I’ll tell you about a very easy way to create a harmonious and quite beautiful melody in 5-10 minutes. Try using the pentatonic scale. The fact is that the “pentatonic scale” consists precisely of those note-steps that are the most stable. The pentatonic scale itself literally means "five tones." This means that you need to play not 7 notes, as we are used to, but only five. And these notes will be steps 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 - the most stable and most harmonious steps.

The pentatonic scale is actively used in modern electronic music. Although it came to us from antiquity. The pentatonic scale can always be heard in Chinese, Japanese, and also Tatar, Bashkir and Chuvash music. Some folk songs and melodies of these peoples still use the pentatonic scale as the main scale for creating musical works.

Now try the following. Create a chord progression from this cheat sheet. After that, put a lead melody on it according to the following scheme: write (play) any white keys on your instrument in a random order (i.e., randomly), but do not use the 4th and 7th steps. Those. do not write the notes “F” and “B” in the melody. Scatter all other notes as you wish. If the chord progression consists of 4 chords, then repeat your melody in the last two chords. You should get the following: the melody you recorded plays on the first two chords, and on the last two chords it is repeated one-on-one. And listen to what happened. The melody will build with your chords, since it is written in pentatonic scale. In it, you can start a melody from any note of the scale (from any of the five steps), and end on any of the five notes.

Many people are interested in how to create music on a computer. It's not as difficult as it might seem. To create your own track, at the first stage you need to make several samples, which will be included in its composition. What does this word mean? A sample is a piece of recording lasting several seconds. In order to create it, you need to write a sound part or music in a sequencer, while typing the necessary notes, which we will consider now.

Sequencers

A sequencer is needed primarily to create excerpts that form a track. The author will only need to spend a little effort on writing music. Two types of data are used: musical notation and digitized sound excerpts. Some people don't know how to create music on a computer, but they are aware of sequencers. Well, we should move on from theory to practice.

Set of musical instruments

All sequencers have a traditional list of musical instruments, which include piano, violin, synthesizer, guitar, xylophone, drums, etc. For a beginner, the above will be quite enough. But in general there are a lot of instruments - 128.

Entering notes into a special window

The MIDI standard is used on synthesizers to create the musical foundation. Such a file is formed by a certain number of tracks that correspond to certain musical instruments. They also include musical notation information. On a simple hardware synthesizer, music for each instrument is created separately using keys. What's next? Then these instruments are turned on in the required sequence, and a track is obtained. This is how mixing or mixing occurs. In much the same way, having certain instruments in a software sequencer, notes are entered into a special area, indicating the duration of the sound.

It's quite simple. Now you already have a rough idea of ​​how to create music. Sequencer software helps a lot with this. She is simply irreplaceable.

Putting passages in the correct sequence

Using the sequencer goes beyond specifying instruments, playback volumes, and notes. As a rule, these programs also have a second area where the created excerpts (clips) are placed in the required sequence. When the mixing is finished, you will have a finished track.

The sequencer accesses directly the list of musical instruments available in the audio card processor, which determines the quality of the MIDI signal.

Pay attention to a program such as Fl Studio. Many computer users know how to create music in it.

Recording and subsequent mixing

This process is completely simple: you need to take a microphone, insert it into the appropriate hole on the audio card, set the recording mode in the editor, and then play the desired passage (it doesn’t matter whether it’s singing or a guitar part). If you notice slight interference while listening, you should try to eliminate it by adjusting the microphone. If you have Windows XP, click on “Start”, go to “Control Panel”, click on “Sounds and Audio Devices”, and then select the “Speech Test” tab. Now you can set the microphone volume to keep hiss to a minimum. After all, how do you create music without eliminating noise? It would be stupid and unwise.

Removing Interference

But no matter how hard you try to eliminate the interference, you still won’t be able to completely get rid of it. Therefore, it is necessary to use in which, after recording the signal, you can use all kinds of filters to neutralize noise. This way you will get a melody with a minimum of hiss. The next stage is selecting the necessary pieces from the created passage, in other words, editing. Everyone can handle this. If you want to understand how to create music, you first need to become familiar with the editing process. It is very important.

Adding Effects

The editor not only creates samples, it can also be used to transfer soundtracks from some media to a PC. For such records, it is recommended to use the so-called

So, we have the required number of samples. How to combine them into one full track? To do this, you need to resort to the help of a sampler program. with their help, more and more people learn every day.

Samplers

After recording the singing and in the sound editor, we have full samples. What's next? Now you need to arrange them in the program in the required sequence and adjust them so that the parts are harmonious. Mixing samples is just as important as using sequencers. Need to understand allows you to create arrangements for the planned track. The preference for one or another option can affect the future fate of the composition, both with good and bad results. bad side. Therefore, sampling should be taken very seriously. Now do you understand how to create music?

Many users are interested in creating music. Modern technologies allow you to create music tracks online on your computer without any special education or professional skills. The main thing is to have an understandable and convenient program. You can find online music creation services on the Internet, both paid and free, but their capabilities are limited compared to the functions that specially designed applications have. Therefore, in order to create a really high-quality music track, you need to use programs. Let's look at some popular services and applications.

Online services for music creation

Using online services, you can create music directly in your browser without downloading or installing any programs.

With the iZotope service, it’s easy to make a beautiful musical composition

The user receives the necessary knowledge in a playful way and immediately learns to create and process music. Once the appropriate level has been selected, the theory is taught concisely and clearly, followed by practical exercises. Located at https://pae.izotope.com.

Acid Machine

Sequencer for advanced users. With it, you can create tracks using an impressive set of tools. Once completed, the synthesized file is easily saved on your computer. The website address is http://errozero.co.uk/acid-machine/.

Audiosauna with useful effects and online synthesizer

The service's interface is convenient, and the large set of tools even includes live effects and virtual synthesizers. Located at http://www.audiosauna.com. Implemented in Flash, so if you want to create a significant work, use a processor with powerful characteristics.

ButtonBass

This online studio, located at http://www.buttonbass.com, is distinguished by its simplicity and originality. When working in it, you can create music by typing notes using a computer.

Soundation

Don't refuse to work with a studio if its interface is written in English language. Just translate the page directly in the window that opens (when you go to the page, the browser itself will offer to do this, you will only need to agree and wait for the translation).

Music creation software

Programs for creating melody provide users with much more functionality, but for installation they require certain processors. technical characteristics. If you need, read the previous article.

SunVox

The SunVox application is considered one of the most popular among users who create music (http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/). It consists of two parts - the sequencer itself for creating tracks and the synthesizer. In addition, the utility supports different formats and gives users the opportunity to create original compositions with a variety of effects. SunVox can work with a keyboard synthesizer.

https://youtu.be/b51Q6B8QIAs

Cubase - music creation and mixing

A studio that contains everything you need to create a high-quality music track. It is suitable for professional use and is popular among musicians, sound engineers, and arrangers. The program's capabilities are almost limitless: it supports a huge number of plug-ins, allows you to select and edit notes, and records online the voice of a musician or instruments connected to a PC.

FL Studio sequencer for songwriting

Despite the fact that FLStudio is designed for beginner track creators and has a simple interface, its functions are quite wide (http://www.image-line.com/downloads/flstudiodownload.html).

A large number of filters and special effects opens up many creative possibilities for users. In addition, the program channels contain sounds that imitate various musical instruments.

MadTracker audio and MIDI mixing

It is considered a salvation for the most demanding users. With almost no impact on computer performance, the program allows you to quickly create any music track online. For beginners, the utility provides templates, and for advanced musicians, a mixer that gives fast access to effects plug-ins built into the program. Users note that with a mixer, a music track is created much faster.

NanoStudio

Despite the fact that the program is easy to use, it has powerful functionality and a variety of tools. Although the menu is written in English, visual cues make the operation clear and convenient. The utility has at its disposal a sequencer, mixer and sound editor from musical instruments or a microphone connected to a PC.

https://youtu.be/oPyG9NkG6T4

Try to download the program yourself and work in it, and with some skills you will understand that independent online creation music tracks is an easy and interesting activity!