Working on an OST - Constructive Criticism wanted!

[Overlord99]

While it's clear that you have the technicalities of FamiTracker and the basic fundamentals of music creation (like volume control and instrumentation) down to a tee, I have to agree with most everyone else and say that these songs are rather repetitive and get draining to listen to after a while. I'm not expert on originals myself, but I would go by this rule of thumb: It's generally not a good idea to leave almost all the numbers in your frame editor the same thing for several frames at a time across several channels. HertzDevil exemplified this rather well with his post.

I think this has tons of potential to be amazing, but the musicality of the whole thing could use some work. You are off to a good start, though.

[Highway Man]

While it's clear that you have the technicalities of FamiTracker and the basic fundamentals of music creation (like volume control and instrumentation) down to a tee, I have to agree with most everyone else and say that these songs are rather repetitive and get draining to listen to after a while. I'm not expert on originals myself, but I would go by this rule of thumb: It's generally not a good idea to leave almost all the numbers in your frame editor the same thing for several frames at a time across several channels. HertzDevil exemplified this rather well with his post.

I think this has tons of potential to be amazing, but the musicality of the whole thing could use some work. You are off to a good start, though.

(Shit, accidentally hit flag! )
Thinking of re-doing it, because there's really no easy way of fixing it. And I think I found a solution - I need to stop setting the sheet length to 128. This literally doubles the song length, so it's the first on my cut list. I'm going to set a number of limits right now -
song length min. - 1:30
normal song length max - 4:00
important song max - 7:00 (This will only be for 1 - 2 songs, probably final boss tune)
So now I know what I need - lengthy, but not TOO lengthy songs that have varying melodies and basslines (and maybe even times signatures.)
The reason why I wanted long songs is because I'm honestly sick of devs getting away with really short and annoying tunes, I just hate it. However, I've discovered that with the way I've been writing songs, I'm not doing any better - in fact, worse in some ways. I've been extremely selfish in how I write these, refusing to listen to anything but praise. This has really helped me, thanks all of you contributing.

[MiniMacro]

I suggest making a ~6 frame song to start off with, and then instead of working on multiple songs at once, once you get a new idea for a melody, figure out how to work that into the tune, and once you feel the tune is complete, then add the finishing touches and that's one song. This way, it's higher quality and less repetitive.

[Highway Man]

I suggest making a ~6 frame song to start off with, and then instead of working on multiple songs at once, once you get a new idea for a melody, figure out how to work that into the tune, and once you feel the tune is complete, then add the finishing touches and that's one song. This way, it's higher quality and less repetitive.

That's a great idea. I generally just make up new melodies that go along, but it would be a great idea to do what you said.

[MiniMacro]

Thank you!
I used to think the Eurostyle formula was to make a running arp, a duty chinging pulse bass, and a drumbeat and there you have it.

[Threxx]

Thinking of re-doing it, because there's really no easy way of fixing it. And I think I found a solution - I need to stop setting the sheet length to 128. This literally doubles the song length, so it's the first on my cut list. I'm going to set a number of limits right now -
song length min. - 1:30
normal song length max - 4:00
important song max - 7:00 (This will only be for 1 - 2 songs, probably final boss tune)
So now I know what I need - lengthy, but not TOO lengthy songs that have varying melodies and basslines (and maybe even times signatures.)
The reason why I wanted long songs is because I'm honestly sick of devs getting away with really short and annoying tunes, I just hate it. However, I've discovered that with the way I've been writing songs, I'm not doing any better - in fact, worse in some ways. I've been extremely selfish in how I write these, refusing to listen to anything but praise. This has really helped me, thanks all of you contributing.

I would rethink these limits if this music is being composed for a video game.

How long would a player spend in a stage? Are the stages long enough to warrant 4 minute long songs? And how long will players spend fighting bosses? Is there enough gameplay content to warrant a 7 minute final boss theme?

If the answer to this is yes, then continue, but otherwise, consider these "limits" a bit more carefully. Having nearly finished one of my own projects, I can say that our longest stage theme clocks in at about 1:45, just above your minimum song length.

It all depends on the game of course. I would also warn against setting limits for yourself; one should develop a sense of when a song is complete, without the need for such strains on creativity.

[Highway Man]

Thinking of re-doing it, because there's really no easy way of fixing it. And I think I found a solution - I need to stop setting the sheet length to 128. This literally doubles the song length, so it's the first on my cut list. I'm going to set a number of limits right now -
song length min. - 1:30
normal song length max - 4:00
important song max - 7:00 (This will only be for 1 - 2 songs, probably final boss tune)
So now I know what I need - lengthy, but not TOO lengthy songs that have varying melodies and basslines (and maybe even times signatures.)
The reason why I wanted long songs is because I'm honestly sick of devs getting away with really short and annoying tunes, I just hate it. However, I've discovered that with the way I've been writing songs, I'm not doing any better - in fact, worse in some ways. I've been extremely selfish in how I write these, refusing to listen to anything but praise. This has really helped me, thanks all of you contributing.

I would rethink these limits if this music is being composed for a video game.

How long would a player spend in a stage? Are the stages long enough to warrant 4 minute long songs? And how long will players spend fighting bosses? Is there enough gameplay content to warrant a 7 minute final boss theme?

If the answer to this is yes, then continue, but otherwise, consider these "limits" a bit more carefully. Having nearly finished one of my own projects, I can say that our longest stage theme clocks in at about 1:45, just above your minimum song length.

It all depends on the game of course. I would also warn against setting limits for yourself; one should develop a sense of when a song is complete, without the need for such strains on creativity.

It's going to be an RPG. I think a 7-minute final boss tune would be fitting, since those generally take long to beat.

[Highway Man]

Re-did the title theme. It's around 2:35, so it's an average length. I also tried to vary the basslines, and threw in a quick change to 3/4 to signal the start of the chorus, where the game's main theme comes in. It's not perfect, but it should at least be tolerable.
Samples are taken from Adventures of Lolo 4 and Contra Force.

[Overlord99]

I suggest making a ~6 frame song to start off with, and then instead of working on multiple songs at once, once you get a new idea for a melody, figure out how to work that into the tune, and once you feel the tune is complete, then add the finishing touches and that's one song. This way, it's higher quality and less repetitive.

... Did MiniMacro just give actually good advice?
sorryi'mnotsorry :[

[Overlord99]

Re-did the title theme. It's around 2:35, so it's an average length. I also tried to vary the basslines, and threw in a quick change to 3/4 to signal the start of the chorus, where the game's main theme comes in. It's not perfect, but it should at least be tolerable.
Samples are taken from Adventures of Lolo 4 and Contra Force.

This is much better! It's really nice to hear some chord progressions here, this makes the song far more enjoyable!