The struggle of Gps learning music and sheetmusic

[Gps]

Found this vid.

Now this is helping me to figure out ska.
Left hand in general plays a melody the left hand chord are more repeated.

Or in lmms terms. The bottom line notes play the melody, the top ( chord) notes are more repeating building the ska rhythm.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mxPcW6Z03A

[Gps]

I am making nice progress on my hip hop mix.

I can live with my rappers delight bassline.

I studied a midi file, but as usual refuse to copy paste those notes, and ended up with something I can live with.

The jam on it part, is giving me a headache.

I think I best give up on trying to have the same as the original, and just go for something nice.

When I listen to jam on it very slow I keep getting confused.
The droid X cover is not entirely the same, I noticed this when listening to that one on the slowest speed possible in vlc media player.

Musicbear has given me a file, which really helped, and I am trying to fine tune that part.
I think I now have something I can live with.

My ska attempt is giving me some trouble too, but that mostly about making a better melody.

[Gps]

Just wanted to share with you guys, that all the frustration about learning music, was worth it.
I am still making progress, and making music is becoming more and more fun, and less and less frustrating.

From day one biggest frustration, I could not get anything out of lmms, of what I had in mind.

Right now, I am working on some instrumental rap mix, and rappers delight is in it.

There was something missing when I listened to my version, so I listened to some you tube vids.

I also listened to the break of Chic - good times.
For those that do not know, that break is rappers delight, but its not a sample.
The guys from the sugar hill gang asked their base player to play that bassline from that break.

They at first got sewed for it, but in the end they are all friends again.
( the fact that rappers delight became a bigger hit then good times did not help the sugerhill gang at all )

Chic - Good times with the break, were the suggerhill gang jumps in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtVhIQ4e9fo

I love those guitars. ( funk ? )

But how to do stuff like that in a daw?
( or at least something close, because we cant really do what real good bass / guitar players do. )

So I downloaded a midi file and had a look on how they solved this problem.
I copied the notes into my cover and liked it, but I had to add some funk to it.

The fact that I managed to improve a on a midi file is what makes me really happy.
Maybe one day I can do this this without midi files?

I am also starting to produce better bass lines. I am starting to understand were and how to add notes, or go off beat to make it more fun, and less boring, 1,2,3,4.

Its not hard at all. ( which is always the case when you understand something )

One thing I did wrong for funky basslines, was to have the quantification set too high.

The default lmms setting is quite good. It also corrects some timing mistakes of me when I try to record some thing from my midi controller.
With funk how ever that setting is not gonna work. You need 1/32, and maybe even 1/64 sometimes.

I cant play songs, but my sense of timing ( rhythm ) has always been rather good.

All of the 808 parts of my jam on it cover attempt, I played on my midi controller, while listening to the original.

One day I will be famous

[D.Ipsum]

In my opinion, the complicated for a guitar simulation is the go-and-return of the right hand (right-handed guitar of course). As I play guitar, I've tried, but it's a nightmare in the piano-roll ...

And in a more general way, to simulate the human, realistic and relatively precise side, one must not remain stuck on the grid of the piano-roll.

[Gps]

For recording I sometimes even set the piano roll to 1/192.

Then notes appear "exactly" how I play them. ( with all the mistakes, but that is an easy fix in lmms )

You are totally right, for funk and guitars in general, one should not worry too much, if he is on the grid or not, only if it sounds right.

Rappers Delight and jam on it,
What do you guys think, I feel something is missing from the Jam on It part. ( and I am not talking about the rapper )
Should I look for sounds that are more like the original and or add more sounds?

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/rappers-jam-on-it ( Work in progress )

For those that need to hear the originals.

Rappers Delight - Sugarhill gang:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM

Jam on it - Newclues

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

[D.Ipsum]

Is not the original bass one octave below?
Some details in the phrasing of the bass do not match with the original.

[Gps]

I will try the bass an octave lower.

I have been moving it up and down already.
What do you mean by phrasing ?

The note pattern, and spaces in the piano roll, or something else ?

Maybe I should start over from sheet music I found.

Even ones found a page explaining the small difference between the good times and rappers delight bassline.

[Gps]

This made me smile, guess what I found?

A you tube vid of the guy who played the bassline for the recording of rappers delight.
And how he tried to change the good times bassline a bit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8_ShjOIIg

[D.Ipsum]

I will try the bass an octave lower.

I have been moving it up and down already.
What do you mean by phrasing ?

The note pattern, and spaces in the piano roll, or something else ?

Maybe I should start over from sheet music I found.

Even ones found a page explaining the small difference between the good times and rappers delight bassline.

By "phrasing", I mean that there are certain notes that do not match rhythmically (the spaces between notes).

For the bass, I had the impression that it was necessary to play an octave lower. Maybe it's more about EQ?

[Gps]

Thank, now I do understand you

I moved the notes to E.

Read some were that the track is in E minor.

Spacing sounds right to me, but I will have another critical listen.

I also looked at my bassline, all notes are on the grid.