The struggle of Gps learning music and sheetmusic

Anything that doesn't fit into other topics goes here!
516 posts
Gps wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:10 pm
Gotta have House, music, all night long

With that House, music, you can't go wrong
Give me that House, music, set me free
Lost in House, music, is where I wanna be ( Marshall Jefferson )

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/charm2export

Work in progress although I feel stuck at the moment. Were to take this ?

Made this loop by improvising on my Keystation mini 32, then deleted most and kept the good part, and changed it a bit.

Exported this from RC4 installed through AppImage. :)

Made on rc3, but I had some export issues with rc 3.

I knew there was some funk ( dare I say jazz :P ) in me, maybe it finally starting to get out ? :mrgreen:
From what you have so far, nice work man. 8-)

Okay. The beat (bass, drums, claps etc) that plays throughout the track, 0 to 30 secs
sounds good. And it kinda sounds like, old school techno music and house music
thrown into the mix. No complaints there.

But the claps, hmmm......for some strange reason, sound a bit weak in this.
It needs some style to it. 8-)
Maybe adding some calf vintage delay and calf reverb, or both, to the clap sound
might make it sound cooler.

The melody that comes in later 30 secs onward, sounds really nice so far.

I'll listen to it again, and see if I can help you any further.

PS: Why didn't you post this, in your house music post? Ha! Ha! Lol! :lol:
Lol, I had totally forgotten about my house post.

Thank you for the feedback.

I have a bit of a weird idea, but it might work.

Unlike most house music I might have a verse and chorus part.

The chorus part being more acid house like. (if I play almost the same melody, through the lb 302 it sound very acid house like.

I will work on that clap. :)
Listening to allot of house still, and comparing it to my lmms track.

Figured out what "wrong" with my drums, I need to add swing.

I saw a guy in albeton do it, he moved some notes.


In lmms I will prob have to experiment with the bbe, and open that loop in the piano roll to move some notes.

1/192 ?
2/192 ?
3/192

Will have to experiment on that. ( until we have a humanisation function in LMMS, I know that will come one day )

For a certain type of House there are two things "wrong" with my piano melody.
Its too long, and has to many notes.

Now the big question, how much do I care ?
Some house has a 4 beat loop , with 4 beats I mean 4 kick hits.
On top of this a minimal melody, over and over again.

Example of what I on about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAMLX7W8mPA

Or my favourite House track:
( gallop base line, that has I think an 8 kicks loop)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpR4ceGxW0

Syncopation and swing, very important for house music, and lets not forget the samples.
Gps wrote:
Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:37 pm

For a certain type of House there are two things "wrong" with my piano melody.
Its too long, and has to many notes.
It might be a long melody, but at least, it kinda changes over time. Which is nice. :)


Gps wrote:
Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:37 pm
Or my favourite House track:
( gallop base line, that has I think an 8 kicks loop)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpR4ceGxW0

Syncopation and swing, very important for house music, and lets not forget the samples.
I remember when you posted that house track before.
I agree. It's really a perfect track to listen to, if you're trying to make house music.
Classic tune man. 8-)

Concerning the swing trick, alot of Lmms users have been asking about swing
especially in jazz music.
I remember slipstick and a few others, were helping them with that.
And even trying to teach them, how to make that in the piano roll.

Now if only I could remember, where to find those posts...... :P
To add swing in lmms.

You move the notes to the left or the right. But only a little bit.

Set quantisation to 1/192, then move the note 1, 2 or maybe more steps)

Its that simple, but off course needs trying and trying again, so it sounds right.

In the albeton vid, some percussion notes are moved a tiny bit to the left.


Then there is also a trick I learned form musicbear.

A musician who plays an instrument will never hit all keys evenly.
We can mimic this with changing the velocity.

For example:
Some beat, one, two three four.

Make the first note a bit louder, so move the velocity of the first note a bit up to get
ONE, two three four
Gps wrote:
Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:56 pm
To add swing in lmms.

You move the notes to the left or the right. But only a little bit.

Set quantisation to 1/192, then move the note 1, 2 or maybe more steps)

Its that simple, but off course needs trying and trying again, so it sounds right.

In the albeton vid, some percussion notes are moved a tiny bit to the left.


Then there is also a trick I learned form musicbear.

A musician who plays an instrument will never hit all keys evenly.
We can mimic this with changing the velocity.

For example:
Some beat, one, two three four.

Make the first note a bit louder, so move the velocity of the first note a bit up to get
ONE, two three four
Nice info. Thanks. :)


Gps wrote:
Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:56 pm
A musician who plays an instrument will never hit all keys evenly.
That statement is so true. And it leaves us all, with alot to think about. :)
Good ol' Musikbear, right as always. 8-)
The series of records and cd that started my house interest.

Turn up the bass.

I just found a you tube channel, that seems to have them all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lENXDg ... gK-oU&t=22

I again start a rant, although this was years ago.
When you bought the records ( vinyl ) you paid around 22 guilders for two records. ( part 1 and 2 )

When you bought the cd's, however you paid at least twice this amount, because you had to pay for part 1 and part 2 separate. ( and cd were more expensive, for reasons still no body knows, except pure greed )

This was around the time cd started to replace the vinyl records. I am getting old. :P

Second cd has my favorite all time house record, but today I would like to put some attention to another track.

SkaHouse ? :P

The Beat Masters - Ska Train.

That trumpet at 2.46 I love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_BqcBRv6yM

As far as I now the term ska house is made up by me, there was how ever hip house.
Raps over house music.

THE BEATMASTERS with MERLIN. "Who's in the House" (the hip house anthem).1989. vinyl 12".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFNHhO-t8Q

I still need to figure out, why these tracks make me wanna dance, unlike my latest house attempt.
Gps wrote:
Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:45 pm
The series of records and cd that started my house interest.

Second cd has my favorite all time house record, but today I would like to put some attention to another track.

SkaHouse ? :P

The Beat Masters - Ska Train.

That trumpet at 2.46 I love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_BqcBRv6yM

As far as I now the term ska house is made up by me, there was how ever hip house.
Raps over house music.

THE BEATMASTERS with MERLIN. "Who's in the House" (the hip house anthem).1989. vinyl 12".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFNHhO-t8Q

I still need to figure out, why these tracks make me wanna dance, unlike my latest house attempt.
Wow! A Ska House track. I heard about that genre years ago.
I will admit, that track really does have, a unique sound to it.
It's really an interesting blend, of two genres, that love beats and cool sounding melodies.


I like the beat, from the BEATMASTERS track, that you linked above.
That sounds really cool. 8-)
Boy I miss that style of music. :P :P
The interesting thing I noticed about it, is that when you listen to it, the beat really
does sound simple yet so cool.
A piano playing uplifting notes, a nice bassy 80's house bass, a drum, a snare, a hihat etc.

Old school 80's goodness, at it's best. 8-)
Gps wrote:
Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:45 pm
I still need to figure out, why these tracks make me wanna dance, unlike my latest house attempt.
How's your music going?
We haven't heard from you in a while. 8-)
I had another one of those moment, were I got totally frustrated, and wanted to smash things. :P

I was working on a house track, but that did not work out at all.

I wanted it to be funky, but failed horrible. The mistake I keep making, when were talking music, is that I try harder and harder. But when making music trying harder, totally works counter productive. ( at least for me )

For music I need to shut up my rational site, and use my intuition more.

After some time of doing nothing, I started lmms again and opened a hip hop mix track I was working on.

Its not really a mix, because all are midi recreations in lmms of famous hip hop tracks,

I noticed how allot of hip hop I like, is not 4 to the floor.

I will get back to that house track one day. I might have created a melody that simple wont fit, in house music.

In the hip hop tribute, is also jam on it - Newcleus. You ( brandystarbrite ) helped me to find the right notes.

Looking at that hip hop track, I noticed were the funk comes from. Funks is about longer and shorter notes, but also notes on counts that in general are used less. 2 and 4.

Syncopation is the official term for it.

Working on that track put a smile on my face again, and gives me fresh motivation to return to that house track later on.

First part is almost done, second part, is also almost done. I am right now working on the jam on it part.
Need to make another 808 part, and it wont be easy, its hard to hear what is going on exactly, because of all the syncopation in it.

Allot of modern dance music is much simpler, were the drum and bassline do about the same, as the melody.
Not in jam on it of the Newclues.

Almost every note is syncopated.
516 posts