Nov. 6 Fri. 2009
How do I make music?
Hey there! My name is Edward Kay-Coles, better known as Hoeloe. I'm one of many musicians for the Super Nuke Bros. project, but as a leading developer, you can expect more from me than other contributors. Also, music isn't all I do. I'm helping with modelling and design as well as coding, so really I'm the project's general handyman. This week is my blogday, and I'm going to be talking a little more about the music I make.
So far, you've seen one of my tracks: The Palace, and the Super Nuke Bros. Melee Theme, for which I wrote the lyrics. I'm going to use The Palace as an example of how I do what I do, in places.
First off, when making a composition, it's always helpful to know the song. You can listen to it as much as you like, but it's always good to know the surroundings of it to try and capture the original sense of the piece. Despite knowing tracks well, however, I quite often need sheet music to help me get together the music, as if I did everything by ear the tracks would never be finished on time. It takes just that long.
Before starting on a piece, you need to think about how you want it to sound. Often, I can put together an entire orchestral piece in my head, but noting it down can sound very different. This is why sheet music is often handy. I always make sure I know just what I want before I start. For The Palace, I wanted it to sound epic-orchestral, and very recognisable.
Once I have a good idea of what I need, then I start on the notation process. All of my music is MIDI, having no access to a live orchestra. The only exceptions may come later in time, when I may or may not start using instruments I have available to me. I first note down the songs with low-quality sound files in Fruity Loops 5, so that I don't use up too much CPU just getting the notes down. Once I have that, I then start adding in some higher-quality ones. For this, I use a program called East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra. This is an expensive piece of software with a bunch of live recorded orchestral instruments. Really handy!
Once I have this part done, the tunes are starting to sound good. Occasionally I have to make amendments. For example, in The Palace, I originally had the intro playing on a Spanish Guitar, but, having taught myself the intro on piano, I decided that would be a better way to go, since I love the sound of a piano.
Once everything is done, the loop sorted and everything, I add some of East West's built in reverb, which sounds fantastic, and add panning to all the instruments so that the layout is similar to that of a live orchestra. I then go through the exporting process.
Running on Win 32-bit, I have problems with the exports. East West's minimum system requirements state that 4GB RAM is recommended, at the least. Win 32 caps my RAM at 3.23GB. I get around this by exporting all the instruments in small sections (for example, I export Violins and Violas together, and Celli and Double Basses together), to make several (usually around 5 or 6) sound files. I then open these all in Audacity (which is a handy, and free, tool which I also use for the occasional sound effects I make for this project). Once in Audacity, I can layer these tracks over each other and sort out levels to produce exactly what I want out of the piece. I finalise this by exporting and setting the ID3 tags, which the in-game music player reads.
That's all from my blogday! I apologise for the length, but there's quite a bit to say! Don't expect this to be my only one, either. I'll be back with more of what I do, besides music, for the project!
If you're looking to start making music yourself, I recommend Fruity Loops and East West for certain. But, get some opinions from other music authors. This is how I run with a limited budget. Some people have far better programs and samples that I can't get hold of just yet!
