nazgaldracul
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Find my DS at nazgaldracul.bandcamp.com
Posts: 108 
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Post by nazgaldracul on Apr 1, 2017 22:30:57 GMT -5
If the method is not knowing or not being hindered by music theory one should just play for the win. But for those not afraid of learning just a tiny bit I would recommend to google "medieval modes" or "medieval dorian mode" (I like dorian the most i think). Before I made some Digre tracks for the album yet not publicized (I will provide soon) I saw a few youtube videos made by some music teacher person that was both inspiring and helpful. these I saw and these I would recommend: www.youtube.com/watch?v=How4f5c6rBUwww.youtube.com/watch?v=GIVTk0Y2nc0I very much agree with this statement. Music theory isn't all that important really in the creation of this genre. I've was studying music theory for some years and have spent all my time since then disgracing everything i've learned with black metal and experimental music. There is however some things that can be very useful, like scales. The dorian scale is my personal favorite in dungeon synth and for those of you not wanting to learn theory: Start with the tone D and only play white keys, instant dorian mode for you all. |
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Post by nicolas on Apr 3, 2017 14:19:58 GMT -5
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nazgaldracul
Verified Account
Find my DS at nazgaldracul.bandcamp.com
Posts: 108
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Post by nazgaldracul on Apr 3, 2017 15:45:32 GMT -5
Simple yet effective dungeon synth. I would be interested in hearing a full album. However I would recommend making a thread in the chambers section to share and promote your project as that seems to be the place people go to listen and comment on other peoples projects |
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Post by garvalf on May 1, 2017 16:57:26 GMT -5
What medium do you use to perform?I don't perform live recording, but I find ideas by playing on my keyboard. I record parts either from my keyboard, using quantisation, or I program the notes in my DAW. I have a few "real" synth or expander (Roland D-110) so it might change in the future. I own a Korg x5D which has some "big" sounds, so it can give new inspirations. Software you use to record?
I only use free and open source software. For DS music I find LMMS rather convenient. Musescore is great but it supports only soundfonts, not VST.
Do you do any mastering once you've recorded?
As I don't use any external synth, I don't feel the need to remaster my tracks. Any particular VST's you prefer?I try to use only synthesised sounds (no samples), at the moment at least. And I also prefer to find VST which are a recreation of historical synth. For example I enjoy TAL-U-No-62, SQ80, PG-8X, Dexed (DX-7) etc. For new sounds, Helm is great. How much have you spent on your setup?I only reuse my old computer, so it's a 0 € budget. But I also have a few old machines I want to use for maybe some DS projects, such as a Commodore C64, Atari ST, Sega Megadrive etc. so it only costs the old materials (around 50 € for each old machine). Are there any budget-friendly options for a prospective DS artist?LMMS + Dexed can help to get a great DS sound for 0 budget. LMMS was for linux only in the past but I think it works now on Windows and Mac OS X. lmms.io/Sunvox is free and is a great DAW as well (but doesn't support VST). www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/There are also some good trackers like openmpt which can use VST openmpt.org/
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Post by DieuxDesCimetieres on May 1, 2017 23:03:41 GMT -5
LMMS + Dexed can help to get a great DS sound for 0 budget. LMMS was for linux only in the past but I think it works now on Windows and Mac OS X. lmms.io/Yes, LMMS works well with Windows these days. I've been using it for some years now, and it is quite stable and most VST's work well with it. It's got its quirks and bugs, which is understandable considering it's a volunteer effort, but hey... it's free. |
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Post by andrewwerdna on May 2, 2017 3:02:06 GMT -5
I've never heard of LMMS, but it looks good. Have you used Reaper at all? I'm interested how they compare.
Also using old game systems for ds, rather than than just samples from them, seems really cool. Apparently Ilmarin used a PS1 to make some of their music.
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Post by garvalf on May 2, 2017 6:08:55 GMT -5
I've been using it for some years now It's great to learn that it works ok on Windows too. Are you recording your great music with it, or are you using other DAW as well? |
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Post by DieuxDesCimetieres on May 2, 2017 6:34:12 GMT -5
I've been using it for some years now It's great to learn that it works ok on Windows too. Are you recording your great music with it, or are you using other DAW as well? Thanks for the compliment  Yes, I use LMMS exclusively, with a selection of 3rd party VST's. My previous experience with DAW's was Fruity Loops 3 - yes, ancient stuff - so the "old school" GUI suits me to a tee. I'm an old dog and I don't learn too many new tricks, ha. |
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Post by garvalf on May 2, 2017 7:04:20 GMT -5
It sounds impressive yes, and the compo are catchy. Now I'm learning to use the effects provided with LMMS (calf and such) to enhance my own sound. I'll listen to more of your stuff for sure!
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Post by garvalf on May 2, 2017 8:26:54 GMT -5
I've never heard of LMMS, but it looks good. Have you used Reaper at all? I'm interested how they compare. Also using old game systems for ds, rather than than just samples from them, seems really cool. Apparently Ilmarin used a PS1 to make some of their music. Yes, LMMS is rather good, even if there are still some limitations. But the new 1.2 version should have great improvements (I don't know when it will be out but there is already a release candidate)! I haven't tried Reaper. From the screenshots it looks similar, yet Reaper is probably a more advanced in features. Ardour is another DAW which is quite recognised in the industry. I've recorded some bass part some years ago. Since then it has much evolved! (and it looks quite complicated). I've posted in the miscellaneous section a few tunes recorded from a Sega Megadrive console. |
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Tyrannus
Verified Account
Knowledge is Night
Posts: 806
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Post by Tyrannus on May 2, 2017 9:42:16 GMT -5
I've never heard of LMMS, but it looks good. Have you used Reaper at all? I'm interested how they compare. Also using old game systems for ds, rather than than just samples from them, seems really cool. Apparently Ilmarin used a PS1 to make some of their music. I used reaper to make the Tyrannus albums Solitude and Kingdom. It's a pretty decent little piece of software. I only barely scratched the surface with it but I liked it |
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Post by Pilgrim's Shadow on Jun 21, 2017 13:18:31 GMT -5
Heya, sorry for jumping this thread.
I was wondering, how do you mix a whole album or an EP?
Are all the tracks in the same DAW file projact? if that so, why? how do you seperete them?
If not, how do you manage to have the same "colour" for all the track in the EP?
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Tyrannus
Verified Account
Knowledge is Night
Posts: 806
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Post by Tyrannus on Jun 21, 2017 13:27:16 GMT -5
Heya, sorry for jumping this thread. I was wondering, how do you mix a whole album or an EP? Are all the tracks in the same DAW file projact? if that so, why? how do you seperete them? If not, how do you manage to have the same "colour" for all the track in the EP? I never put them all in one DAW file but I know people who do. Everything I record is at about the same volume (as loud as possible) so I've never bumped into those issues myself |
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Post by Båvingr on Jan 30, 2018 10:22:56 GMT -5
I'm a bit of a doofus when it comes to music theory but I feel like I've improved a little bit. A while ago I downloaded a program that detects what key a song is in, I used it to analyze my old album Seven Wonders and like every track is in e minor haha. that ends up being pretty common in metal and dungeon synth - for DS, because E (and A-minor) have minimal sharps and so are easy to play on keyboard instruments, and in metal because the standard tuning of a guitar favors the key of E. I remember the first time I made this observation was listening to Iced Earth's Horror Show, because like the first 5 songs featured galloping triplets in E minor. Of course, an album could entirely be in the same key if there was a solid diversity in the songwriting, so there is that. To add to this discussion, I'd encourage everyone to learn about modes - the short version is, a mode is what you get when you start a scale on something other than the first note. So if I have a C major scale (all white keys), but I chose to start on D and end on D an octave higher, the collection of notes is known as the Dorian mode. (E-E is Phrygian, F-F is Lydian, G-G Mixolydian, A-A is Aeolian, but we also know it as relative minor, and B-B would be the controversial Locrian mode). it enables you to get a lot of diversity out of your sounds, since many of them sound more like a major or a minor scale, but with subtle differences in character that can go a long way. chaucerianmyth has a good point about knowing about Orchestration - although I would add that a lot of the standard rules established in university-level orchestration classes may not apply to DS style timbres, especially with low-fi. But I think the concepts could be abstracted, in terms of thinking about the types of waves synths use (Sine, Sawtooth, Square etc) and how those are often used to emulate particular types of instruments. As with real orchestration, it may play into your composition in an intuitive rather than purely academic way, but it can help you make sense of why things are not sounding as you expect. Regarding modes: I understand how they are constructed, but what I've never understood is this... Should,for example for D Dorian be played over a chord progression in the key of C major, or should it be played over a progression in they key of D minor? Thanks! |
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Post by nahadoth on Jan 30, 2018 11:03:00 GMT -5
Usually you would go with a chord progression based on the root key, so in the case of D Dorian you would probably do D minor. Go based on the notes in the mode, so since D dorian has an F natural (rather than F#) the minor chord is appropriate. D Dorian is nice for someone without a ton of keyboard skills because it uses all white keys.
The general layout for the modes of the major scale is:
I: Ionian (another name for major, use a major chord
ii: Dorian (use a minor chord)
iii: Phrygian (use a minor chord)
IV: Lydian (Use a major chord)
V: Mixolydian (Use a major chord)
vi: Aeolian (another name for natural minor
vii: Locrian (use a diminished chord.
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Yes, I use LMMS exclusively, with a selection of 3rd party VST's. My previous experience with DAW's was Fruity Loops 3 - yes, ancient stuff - so the "old school" GUI suits me to a tee. I'm an old dog and I don't learn too many new tricks, ha.
