Pre-knowledge: A musical idea is usually 4 measures long.
--A musical idea or phrase is about 4 measures. In Miku's ARiA, when she sings "kodomo no koro ni, itsu mo miteita" is 4 measures long, for example. That is one musical phrase.
1. Use a simple but interesting rhythm.
--Don't use only quarter notes. Don't use only 8th notes. Only whole notes is boring. These rhythms are way too simple. Don't use 32nd notes with quarter notes in the middle of a 32nd note string. This is too complex and throws the listener off beat. A good rhythm is a few 8th notes or 16th notes, then a 16th/8th note rest, then repeat. (This is just an example- I really don't know how interesting that one is)
2. Start and end on the tonic.
--The tonic is the beginning of the scale. If the scale is C Major, you start on C, you end on C.
---Important note: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE SAME OCTAVE OF THE TONIC. A lot of people screw this up. It can start on C 3 and end on C 4, vice versa.
---Important note 2: ANOTHER screw up people make is to think that this means to start and end on the tonic every measure. You start on the tonic at the beginning of the musical phrase, and end on the tonic at the end of the musical phrase.
3. Use MOSTLY step wise motion.
--A step is a 2 notes up. C -> D, D -> E, C# -> D# (however this depends on your scale- if you're using the blues scale on C, You can't go from C -> D, but rather, C -> D#.
---IMPORTANT NOTE: You can jump a little bit, but not much. You should use mostly step wise motion. (To jump between notes is going more than 1 step at a time- C -> E)
4. Have a sense of direction.
--If you're going up in scale, keep going mostly up in scale for those measures. Like this- imagine quarter notes- C, D, E, F, E, D, E, F, D, E, F, G, F, G, A^, C^.
5. Repeat a rhythmical section.
--Chorus lines sound the same, right? A chorus line is a rhythmical section. So is the buildup before it, and the verses have the same pitches. If the note lengths change, that doesn't matter, but the pitches must sound the same.
6. Stress the tonic on the first beat.
--Although you don't HAVE to, doing so makes it more clear to listeners that you are on the next measure.
Time to make some samples!
--A musical idea or phrase is about 4 measures. In Miku's ARiA, when she sings "kodomo no koro ni, itsu mo miteita" is 4 measures long, for example. That is one musical phrase.
1. Use a simple but interesting rhythm.
--Don't use only quarter notes. Don't use only 8th notes. Only whole notes is boring. These rhythms are way too simple. Don't use 32nd notes with quarter notes in the middle of a 32nd note string. This is too complex and throws the listener off beat. A good rhythm is a few 8th notes or 16th notes, then a 16th/8th note rest, then repeat. (This is just an example- I really don't know how interesting that one is)
2. Start and end on the tonic.
--The tonic is the beginning of the scale. If the scale is C Major, you start on C, you end on C.
---Important note: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE SAME OCTAVE OF THE TONIC. A lot of people screw this up. It can start on C 3 and end on C 4, vice versa.
---Important note 2: ANOTHER screw up people make is to think that this means to start and end on the tonic every measure. You start on the tonic at the beginning of the musical phrase, and end on the tonic at the end of the musical phrase.
3. Use MOSTLY step wise motion.
--A step is a 2 notes up. C -> D, D -> E, C# -> D# (however this depends on your scale- if you're using the blues scale on C, You can't go from C -> D, but rather, C -> D#.
---IMPORTANT NOTE: You can jump a little bit, but not much. You should use mostly step wise motion. (To jump between notes is going more than 1 step at a time- C -> E)
4. Have a sense of direction.
--If you're going up in scale, keep going mostly up in scale for those measures. Like this- imagine quarter notes- C, D, E, F, E, D, E, F, D, E, F, G, F, G, A^, C^.
5. Repeat a rhythmical section.
--Chorus lines sound the same, right? A chorus line is a rhythmical section. So is the buildup before it, and the verses have the same pitches. If the note lengths change, that doesn't matter, but the pitches must sound the same.
6. Stress the tonic on the first beat.
--Although you don't HAVE to, doing so makes it more clear to listeners that you are on the next measure.
Time to make some samples!
Last edited by LupinAKAFlashTH2 on Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total