I have been practicing using LMMS (a DAW) to try to make music for my roblox games. Here is my first ever song. I had no aim or idea for how to continue the song at any point in making it, so it is REALLY messy (and bad). I would love feedback.
As you said, it sounds mediocre, but I can see a bright future for you when it comes to making music. First of all, I’m thinking of you adding some kind of arp (if you don’t know what an arp is, it’s a synthesis tool that cycles through random notes that is inside the key you set to) and tuning the subs on the kick to make it sound “thick,” otherwise you can look for a different kick sample that you might like off a sound library. And when you’re doing transitions and stops you should add some SFX, along with some background noise. That way it can sparkle things a bit on your project. Turning to the timings, I heard that things were a bit off, and that’s where quantization comes in. Just experiment with them (I start at 1/16 first, because that’s the default on the DAW I’m using to make beats, then go up and start using the triplet settings. For most of the time my notes that I composed in the piano roll sound on time when I set it to 1/8, so I think for the lead you should put it onto the one that mostly works for me (1/8). Don’t forget that you’ll need to quantize the kick, but instead of using 1/8 you should use 1/4, as you used a four-on-the-floor pattern without a snare. And…I think that’s it I can say. Keep it up.
Great review, and another great tip I find myself even sometimes reminding myself is that; Good stories aren’t freestyled, and good songs aren’t either.
Plan out what you want to create first, you’ll finish it faster and you’ll have a more focused & structuralized theme to it.
Yeah, brainstorming will help you a lot. Deciding what genre it is, the key you’re putting it in, all of that. But I don’t really do that. I just experiment with random instruments with some FX that sound chill and chords on the piano roll and make myself think what those two I mentioned is going to be (EDM on G minor, orchestral on B minor, or hip-hop on C# major). I know that I can describe this better, but somewhat I feel like I’m in a rush.