I'm glad the 'your music sucks' in the title was satire, imagine if this was just a video telling you why you suck at composing at not telling you how to improve lol.
well i have never rlly heard any composers or producers say something sucks and not give a reason for ngl, the music community lives off of constructive criticism
What immediately came into my mind when you mentioned “too much repetition” was “Really Happy” from the Suicide Mouse mod. That song was literally just the same arrangement of notes back and forth for a few minutes and it got boring really quickly. Thanks for articulating these issues in a way that’s not condescending.
I feel like Tricky music is a good showcase of how to do fnf music right. They have an outrageous voice for tricky (aka race car) that works so well. Plus, they include note spam while not ruining the melody of their songs.
And tricky uses *fair* note spam. Some people charting songs don't know that having 20 left notes in a 30 notes section isnt fun to play, a lot of mods fail to use jacks correctly
And the tricky mod includes breaks, the turns aren't so fast that it feels like instantly you have to press the notes again and long notes help it's melody and makes it fair, and it doesn't just start with 9000 notes per second, improbable outset is a bit calm at least compared to the other songs.
i can’t believe how insanely eye opening it was to hear you say that a melody structure can follow an A B A C formula, my first immediate thought was the rhyming structure of poetry which makes more sense in my brain as a comparison??? i’m way more familiar with writing poetry and rhyming schemes so being able to apply that even in a subtle way is really helpful! (and it’s also kinda funny that you were talking about “it’s a dopamine rush for the brain to recognise something it’s familiar with” and here i am experiencing said rush)
I honestly was hoping to hear the whole song.. anyways, this was a fire tutorial. I already understood about these concepts from muscle memory by listening to a variety of songs with different structures, but it's nice for someone to clear this topic up. There are people out there who don't know what they're doing. They might not even understand music theory at all and just throw stuff in. This is a very straightforward tutorial for those kinds of people. Keep up the grind!
yeah, i know that i need to do basic patterns and make sure the song fits, and i knew to try and add a healthy amount of repetition, but this video made it so much clearer for me and i think this video really helps
I see a lot of fnf mods do something else, too: The lack of a specific genre. For instance, Cassette Girl is based on Lo-fi, while .EXE has rock and DnB tracks. Find a genre, stick to it.
IMO the lack of a defining genre across mods is a very non-issue, would go as far as to say this would harm FNF modding scene more than do good if this was a factor taken into consideration by the masses People always complain about the lack of diversity and at the same time praise how well things stick out in an FNF mod, not just in animation or mechanics but in music too, not to mention other rhythm games get criticized for not providing more tracks that aren't EDM
It would be cool if you did a video talking about popular fnf songs and break them down like: what was the artist going for? how did the artist do it? would I change anything? overall opinion, etc. Just a random thought. This video is really helpful by the way, keep up the good work!
@@longestsoloever Well, I could suggest some songs from classic mods like Whitty, Tricky, or Hex. Then move on with newer mods like Indie cross, sonic.exe, or Lullaby. Those are a few examples but it doesn't have to be popular; there are also some underrated mods with good songs and talented people too! Edit: If I had to choose one, it would be "You Can't Run" (vs sonic.exe), one of my favorites.
6:45 I think people who are focused on making a difficult mod don’t want to have breaks because it tests your stamina and therefore, “difficult”, but not necessarily because difficulty and gameplay aren’t all that’s important in a *rhythm* game. Like you show, mix it up a little.
another big issue is that some people literally don't tune their character's samples and it just sounds bad. I guess it can work if you're going for a vocal chop effect, but that requires you to actually know what you're doing and specifically make the song around vocal chops. Most people don't do that for FNF songs lol
@@_skyfall_multi_5848 it’s not that it can’t work, it’s just tuning nearly all of the time works better. Also, people just can be lazy or think it’s not a problem
If you wanna just go rhough the 6 simple ideas, it's at the end at 18:16! There is deeper music theory that he applies, but These 6 Ideas: - keeping the instrumental simple and easy to focus on - making sure your vocals are in key with the song you've written - leaving space in your melody so it's not a non stop barrage of endless notes - having some repetition in your melody from phrase to phrase, - letting your instrumental change up between sections using different chords and then using those chord tones in your melody to make it fit together in a nice cohesive way - and then using the concepts tension and release to have your song keep propelling self forward, keep the listener engaged with these concepts including with nice effects like this!
Hey so I would like to add something here. A lot of people are very scared of learning music theory, because whenever you hear someone say "music theory" you think it's super complicated and hard, but I would like to say that basic music theory is incredibly easy. You probably already know some, and you just don't that it's music theory. It only took me about 30 minutes to grasp the basics, which is all you really need when starting out. If you just take the time to learn it, I promise you it well help you SO MUCH.
@@OneofmanyNaraytors I mean Bambi's voice is kind of just marcello in a discord call with moldy trolling him, plus if it was tuned it would just sound weird.
side tangent about the A B A C thing: It may also help the flow of the song by having the opponent vocals do ABAC then bf vocals do ABAD, which switches things up and makes it more interesting. this would get annoying unless used sparingly.
The problem is some of the music composers focusing making the vocals too much just the sake of making the charts ridiculously hard to the point the song doesn't feel in balance and it sounds off. I've watched a lot of FNF mods and unfortunately I didn't like any of the songs I've listened to, I only found songs that's actually good sometimes and considering it to download for my phone. Basically I don't like the mod songs 90% and only found 20% good ones for my ears. Even tho this is probably based on my opinion but you guys know what I'm talking about.
This comment was oddly comforting to me. I've put together a couple songs for a (hopefully) future mod I want to work on, but found that they were relatively simple and I'd worry they wouldn't make interesting levels to play. It's nice knowing that you don't have to design your music around difficulty, y'know?
This, by the way, isn't just a problem in the FNF modding community. As someone coming from the Pump It Up community, many of the latest additions to the game are ear-splitting (and kind of samey) because right now there's a lot of competition over who can make the hardest charts. It kinda put me off both the community and the game for a while. These days most PIU songs don't make me feel like I'm dancing, but rather, as my mom would put it, "trampling over cockroaches".
this really help me alot, i was practicing of making music with some of your tutorials and tips, and this adds up the flavor to my tea, great video as always man :)
The songs of my first mod are bad. They didn’t have scales or anything like that, and then sounded cringy. The songs I’ve made for the second mod I’m currently working are way better, as they each have scales and definitive melodies. They’re not perfect, they have their flaws, but I’m honestly proud of the new ones
Hey, I looked at your channel and saw your mod, I think the character looks good, but the art style of Bf and Gf and her stereo kinda clashes, so maybe if you made new sprites for them in your next mod it would look better because it feels weird how much the artstyles differ, just an opinion tho, good luck in your next mod 👍
I'm a new composer and I really feel like I sometimes used these tips without realizing (Example: I'm making a mod about Sticky and one of the songs in the main week uses the "keep the instrumental simple", "add breaths" and "only use white keys" and a remix for the third song has the "add and reduce tension")
@@MrM0gus haven't released it yet, and I added that idea into a mod that is actually being developed simply called "FNF Mixiars" a simple mod of my remixes on FNF songs
absolutely so informative. You've told me more about composing than anything else i've read. So glad i'm caught up with chords (at least the majors and minor chords)
I'd also recommend checking out Alex Moukala Tutorials. His channel's focused on orchestral music, but a lot of the ideas still carry over to other genres.
I've been considering purchasing Ableton to create some of my own music (FNF and other), but I was wondering if Ableton is also a good platform for doing recovers of FNF songs/but different character sings
I use ableton for my fnf music, and ive tried fl only a few times... i am not a fan of the program. wish ableton was more frequent in the modding community
This went from generic bad fnf song, to unique good fnf song, to generic good fnf song. Also, I would really like to see someone rewrite commonly known bad fnf songs (e.g Brightside ost) following these tips.
@Grin I actually really like the Brightside mod too, Reign of Apathy was even my favorite song for a while. But looking back, I can see why the mod wasn't well received. Someone could definitely improve the songs in the mod, which would probably then bring Brightside the recognition he deserves.
I always thought I was too much of a minimalist, but this conviced me that I am, at the very least, in the okay range of instrumental (or something). Nice to be reminded that repetition is good in the vocals too, I tend to try to make everything different except for, like, a chorus, but I'll be sure to add more repetition into my songs- m-maybe, hopefully. Good stuff 💯
Heya! Thanks for the tutorial! My sister and I have greatly improved when looking at the tutorials you've made and we've already made around 4 draft songs using the tips you've given. In fact, most of these tips we've learnt on our own when analyzing music we love! Hope to see more amazing tutorials from you, Mr. Dean! We're very happy to have learnt alot from you!
Would you suggest making the instrumentals first or the vocals first? Because I always find myself accidently making the instrumental's melody what I actually wanted the vocals to be.
I was happy to find out I was already doing most of these well, but I am glad I learned things too! I really needed this, since I'm having trouble with making a song right now.
Just the white keys will also give you the keys of D Dorian E Phrygian (Love this one!) F Lydian G Mixolydian And B Locrian But those are a slightly more advanced concept--out of all these I probably see Phrygian used most often, but even then it's not used nearly as often as Aeolian/Minor or Ionian/Major
I always wanted to make music for fnf mods (I know I know), but I was afraid if I did too much like the example you gave us in the beginning of the video. This video helped me understand more clearly of what and what not to do.
i clicked into this and read the title as "6 Reasons Your Music Sucks", i didnt see the fnf bit till the video loaded in, gotta say i dont particulary listen to fnf songs but this one sounds like a jam! also the video was really informative and this also teaches new composers how to write songs, and not just about fnf. really great video!
I don't know much about FNF music, but this is a SUPER helpful tool for beginning producers and composers of any style! I wish I'd seen this about five years ago haha
Really good video! I think I subconsciously picked up on some of this stuff just by listening to good fnf songs, but having these tips in a video is very useful
Man your tips are excellent, I learned a lot from just this video alone, I'll definitely keep them in mind the next time I make music again. Keep up the good work!
Gonna save this one as I wouldn't mind making music again. I still got my keyboard after all. I've been really invested in FNF's "Pattern & Repeat" style. Although Ive never worked with digital music software before. So gonna have to learn from scratch!
Thank you for explaining it so thoroughly. I'm actually trying to compose music myself, And your tutorial is helping me to write better songs. So thank you for that!
this tutorial was very instructive. someone who isn't going to be a full time musicien, but was always curious about music and how it could be made. and the passion and clarity you put in this tutorial really motivated me to learn even more.
Wow, I really hope you make more tutorial videos(If you haven't already) because I wanna watch all of them even if I don't specifically need them :0 11/10 tutorial/tip guide, easily my favorite out of all the tip vids I've watched before :3
These videos are actually very helpful for me and I actually learn stuff from them since no one teaches quite like you. I would love for more of these videos to come out and particularly a guide on how and when to use slides.
Well, I use a much more dated process, exporting loops from Fruity Loops and mixing the loops in stuff like Acid Pro or Studio One (AP is way easier), and mixing in Studio One... but so far, even not really knowing music theory, I practically always avoid black keys and use the a, b, a, c method already. So most of my instrumentals I create 3 - 5 different sections, export and loop the samples one at a time (using older software and using the built in keyboard like what you are showing takes forever so I barely have any experience with it), building up until I force a break, then start the pattern of looping and building up again. So basically it might start with drums and bass, add some keys after 2 - 4 loops, add synths after 2 - 4 loops, etc, break and build back up with different sections and so forth. Occasionally restarting a really quick repeat of the original set, then ending the song. Depending on the number of melodies I use, my songs are maybe 2 to 3 minutes. My text here is more scrambled than my music, hope it all makes sense though.
1:35 I used to have this mentality. now I focus overall on the structure of the song rather then how many instruments I have. the only time when I focus how many instruments i have is when I'm doing something intentionally chaotic. like a theme for a clown/joker like character. 3:32 I actuary was in a project I regret being apart of that had this. the notes for everyone's songs (minus this one dude that did this chiptune thing) were just off key. tbh I feel like I wasted potential on songs there, but hey that project will at least have 2 bops if the creator keeps them in, mostly cause i left after some.. stuff happened with the creator of that project. id rather not talk about it in full as i don't like bringing bad vibes to anyone. but yeah for anyone starting out make sure your samples/vocals are in key with the vocals. heck that's very simple to do in LMMS (the main DAW I use) as there are key sliders you can use to put the samples in the right pitch(you could also use these to play in a different key without changing the way you would play if being self taught like how I am(I still need to learn other keys on a real piano lol)). granted they may sound higher or lower pitched then they were before, but they would be in key and that's the important part. heck if it still doesn't sound good use something like KeroVee as a last resort or if the sample your using is going all over the place with pitching. 4:59 and this is some really good advice for people that are self learning and are just starting out. I'm not saying avoid them completely. at one point you'll eventually need to learn how to use them, but for the most part avoid them if its your first time doing a big song/track. also if you do try to self teach yourself on how to use them like I did then I wish yourself luck cause that's still a big struggle for me in my music. (reason why sometimes i still need the key slider in LMMS) 6:48 breaks and breaths is a big point. heck time these break points for some good rhythm and pacing in the song. 7:24 another good point here. repeat the melody at least twice is my main rule, but have it spaced to where its not too repetitive. like this one song I'm currently composing for a klonoa song. I have the same melody in the song, but they are spaced out to the point to where its not noticeable that it plays twice. basically one is at one minute and the repeat is at three or four minutes in. 9:53 5 minutes of instrumental repeating the same 4 measures is a no go. always try to do something more unique when it comes to after that like. maybe after the 4th, don't repeat, but build up on it to create tension. like maybe a 6 measure structure in a 4/4 time stamp. this creates a longer distance and if it does repeat it isn't as repetitive, but always try to mix things up. don't constantly repeat it cause it can still become repetitive. 14:13 tension and release. this one a bit thought to explain, but overall it is very important that you have certain chords that create some sort of chill behind the player's back, but then relax the chill with a nice upraise type melody as if your about to win. basically add some music theory in there to spice things up a little. always give breath room though. like you said. don't hold tension the whole time or the player could get a bit stressed and tired of the whole thing. 18:53 and that's all i have on this. basically if i didn't touch on a thing its because I don't have much cause i over all agree. heck the whole video I agree 100%. heck in some bits its general composition knowledge to do some of this stuff. this overall tells me a lot of what I have learned as a composer for the years i have been one and these here are my experiences from some of the topics said in this video. I hope you all take this knowledge in the video and in this comment review as these are very important when composing music. I hope everyone listing here that are a composers luck down their career/hobby path they chose when becoming a composer
im trying to hype myself to make an fnf mod- a big one (like multiple weeks oh goodness so much work) and this sort of stuff really helps so thanks! (love that i can understand this as a composer). You deserve the follow, this is actually so helpful
If you wanna make a very big mod with multiple weeks, then you should release a small version of the mod first, with like 1 or 2 weeks. And then see what people think of it. And maybe you can improve your flaws in the full version.
I love that point about repetition, having a good quality main melody that actually appears throughout the song literally always makes me enjoy the song more. Last Reel from Indie Cross is super enjoyable for me because of this.
this video actually helped me significantly- you don't complicate important things (like the A B A C thing, i didn't know about that) and on top of that provide good examples (i like those), so it was also easy to understand
To advice a beginner to keep to the white keys on the piano to begin with is maybe a good advice, but just as important: Use your ears. I can't beleive anyone would start by writing your "melody" as it was initially. Also: A cheap piano/keyboard of any kind with at leat two octaves would be very useful to get a feeling for chords, melody writing and phrasing. BTW: The music clip that really made me smile in your video was the "bad example" in the start. It was surprising and crazy. You more proper clips were sounding better and easier to listen to, but far less original and crazy. Never forget to be a bit crazy too.
I love this video, it makes me feel good, I have everything in this down except, changing a instrumental a lot, (sometimes I change it a bit, bit it is usually 2 measure, or 4 measure, then repeat) though I don't have a cool sweep, but there is always something saying that it is about to change, like the drums do somethin idk, but it is there :)
I really wish i knew this sooner, i wouldve been decent at music by that point. This is very informative even as a guy who made music for 2 years or so :]
i make music based on hearing music and takiking ideas on how to make music from other songs, and putting these tips into words really helped me understand them, thanks!
I like the first point being more is less, the more the song has the worse it becomes like an oc if its design is too messy & the silhouette seems like a incoherent blob try dialling it back a bit, clean things up & you'll end up with something great. good vid.
Heyo! Aspiring Composer here. One thing you have to be aware of is that many of the people who are attempting to make these pieces/songs are most likely younger kids. Who might not know terminology (specifically when it comes to key signatures and other specific music theory terms). Which, you did kind of work around by telling people to work on C Major/A minor and of course the other video (which I will promptly look at considering I don't have FL Studio but I'm curious to know the process.). But some of these kids have little to no experience in composing music aside from like a middle school/ high school band. I have taken music theory for 2 years now (and I'm off to college for even more music education in composition yay) and I've learned a lot from my own and others compositions. I have seen some of the mistakes you have even said in my own music. Which does help btw so thanks for that! Now this isn't to say that ALL of the looking to be composers of FNF music are younger or inexperienced, but generally, knowing the community, there is a good chance that there will be a lot of inexperienced people looking for a video like this. I would HIGHLY suggest, at the very least giving a recommendation of some basic music theory courses (or the website musictheory.net), as even though they won't help entirely with this genre, its good to know some terms or some concepts (such as your A B A formatting, although this may be simple enough to not require explanation) before going straight into this. I will say you do mention a decent amount of key concepts in the video, bravo on that! Overall, this is an AMAZING video. You give people a good amount of basic music theory that I hope many will try to learn and you are very friendly and just energetic. Keep up the amazing work! I see myself coming back to this channel to learn more tips and tricks if I run into any problems or just wanna explore something. (Oh and uh, sorry for the essay lmao)
The song he made in the video sounds like a weird combination of vs neon and starlight mayhem songs. (both mods i like most songs in, but i enjoy Neon's songs more.)
this video made me realize i almost always do ABAC pattern with music, but i usually change up the second A slightly with a few extra notes like turning one note into two
This video helped me out bc I’m planning on to make a mod in the future and I didn’t want any of the songs to sound trashy, I’m still a noob at FL studios but I will get the hang of it.
Very nice tutorial ~~wished you made a 7th reason where it's just you going "You're using FL Studio. Stop it. Ableton's much easier, get that instead!" to kind of keep that reoccurring shtick going~~
@@trinitysillykitty still he shouldnt just bash people out for doing a specific thing, its a matter of opinion at most and it would be very unproffesional since hes a music teacher i think
I think 6:12 sounds fine but as a later part, like some songs have an start section repeat at the end or middle slightly faster. Although I do get that you're talking about the start I wanted to say that just because it's bad near the start its not just bad overall
i dont make fnf music (although im a fan) im just a producer. regardless this is a great vid for people wanting to make better music who havent grasped these concepts yet. you explain things in a simple, non-condescending way, love that
There’s a few songs that repeat a lot besides an addition of a few instruments, for example pasta night, that instrumental is repetitive, but it’s so damn good!
I’m beginning to make my own mod with Ableton, but I’m not sure I will enjoy music making, so I am going to get a free trial of ableton, and if it goes well, and I enjoy making music, since I know the platform is great, then I might save enough to buy it. Thanks for the music tips as always Dean!
ngl i've seen this video in my recommended a lot and i thought it was just gonna be a beatdown on the 'generic fnf style', but it ended up being a lot cooler about the advice than i expected lol. good tutorial
man, that's perfect! i try to teach some friends about what i learned about catchy melodies and all, and that's way better than me explaining LOL i also learned new things with this, i didn't know about what was the "A B A C structure" and that was awesome to learn about, your explanation is perfect man
a nice way I like to get around the 3 sounds limit, is that I just make the chords drums and vocals, and just take the bottom note of each chord and move it to a new "bassier" instrument.
Ah yes, key signature. It’s essential… unless you’re writing evil boss fight music. Then, just throw it out the window, because double chromatic strikes sound awesome. I’m mostly kidding. This was a great tutorial. But seriously though… double chromatic strikes
What I adore about this is how gently he tries to put everything, and it doesn't feel condescending
Same, I’ve watched a lot of musical tutorials that talk down to you
Also that fact that he shows what he means multiple times just to make sure you get it
completely opposite of "you suck at producing"
Same
Yeah he sounds like a really respectful guy
I'm glad the 'your music sucks' in the title was satire, imagine if this was just a video telling you why you suck at composing at not telling you how to improve lol.
I found it funny how he put fl in the thumbnail too LOL
Should have been a April fools video
well i have never rlly heard any composers or producers say something sucks and not give a reason for ngl, the music community lives off of constructive criticism
I would watch that
"your song sucks"
*video end*
What immediately came into my mind when you mentioned “too much repetition” was “Really Happy” from the Suicide Mouse mod. That song was literally just the same arrangement of notes back and forth for a few minutes and it got boring really quickly. Thanks for articulating these issues in a way that’s not condescending.
wasnt the inst deadass just a loop of a default fl studio thing
Happy is way worse. It’s 2 things repeating for 2 mins, the inst is an FL Studio preset and it has ONE part that doesn’t repeat.
@@Charizardslash even then the one unique part was deadass a leitmotif
Dave and Bambi is the worst music spawn
what are you doing here?
I feel like Tricky music is a good showcase of how to do fnf music right. They have an outrageous voice for tricky (aka race car) that works so well. Plus, they include note spam while not ruining the melody of their songs.
And tricky uses *fair* note spam. Some people charting songs don't know that having 20 left notes in a 30 notes section isnt fun to play, a lot of mods fail to use jacks correctly
And the tricky mod includes breaks, the turns aren't so fast that it feels like instantly you have to press the notes again and long notes help it's melody and makes it fair, and it doesn't just start with 9000 notes per second, improbable outset is a bit calm at least compared to the other songs.
Friday night crunchin
@@OctoNap a good example of that is disability from golden apple
i can’t believe how insanely eye opening it was to hear you say that a melody structure can follow an A B A C formula, my first immediate thought was the rhyming structure of poetry which makes more sense in my brain as a comparison??? i’m way more familiar with writing poetry and rhyming schemes so being able to apply that even in a subtle way is really helpful!
(and it’s also kinda funny that you were talking about “it’s a dopamine rush for the brain to recognise something it’s familiar with” and here i am experiencing said rush)
Fun fact: WHen he said A B A C it also reminded me of poems, since that is actually a rhyme scheme i really like
I honestly was hoping to hear the whole song.. anyways, this was a fire tutorial. I already understood about these concepts from muscle memory by listening to a variety of songs with different structures, but it's nice for someone to clear this topic up.
There are people out there who don't know what they're doing. They might not even understand music theory at all and just throw stuff in. This is a very straightforward tutorial for those kinds of people. Keep up the grind!
yeah, i know that i need to do basic patterns and make sure the song fits, and i knew to try and add a healthy amount of repetition, but this video made it so much clearer for me and i think this video really helps
569 likes
“Fart Reverb SFX 10 Minutes”
FNF Fans: “Yo this shit slaps”
"spammy slurs in the OST"
Fnf fans: yo this shit slaps
THIS SHIT
have you heard of entity? entity has some fire music, parasite is AMAZING
wait... But my friend isn't an fnf fan...
*9 Year Old FNF Fans*
The face Dean makes when playing the first version of the song is just funny to me
sounds like a Dave and Bambi fan song xDDD
@@PhantomBoi-ru9ci dave and bambi songs are better
@@ZphyZphyer I mean yeah, but I meant those weird fanmade ones that try to be cheating 3
@@PhantomBoi-ru9ci you've described 80% of fansongs i see of that mod
@@inescapableboi then my job here is done
I see a lot of fnf mods do something else, too:
The lack of a specific genre.
For instance, Cassette Girl is based on Lo-fi, while .EXE has rock and DnB tracks.
Find a genre, stick to it.
bambi songs genre is basically microwave
@@tranzient what about og dnb
except furiosity
@@NovasNewGroove *AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA* Genre
@@tranzient as a dave and bambi fan i agree most of the time
IMO the lack of a defining genre across mods is a very non-issue, would go as far as to say this would harm FNF modding scene more than do good if this was a factor taken into consideration by the masses
People always complain about the lack of diversity and at the same time praise how well things stick out in an FNF mod, not just in animation or mechanics but in music too, not to mention other rhythm games get criticized for not providing more tracks that aren't EDM
It would be cool if you did a video talking about popular fnf songs and break them down like: what was the artist going for? how did the artist do it? would I change anything? overall opinion, etc. Just a random thought. This video is really helpful by the way, keep up the good work!
Definitely planning this. Any requests?
@@longestsoloever Well, I could suggest some songs from classic mods like Whitty, Tricky, or Hex. Then move on with newer mods like Indie cross, sonic.exe, or Lullaby. Those are a few examples but it doesn't have to be popular; there are also some underrated mods with good songs and talented people too!
Edit: If I had to choose one, it would be "You Can't Run" (vs sonic.exe), one of my favorites.
@@longestsoloever Garcello would be a great one to cover
@@longestsoloever martian mixtape and dave & bambi, an underrated mod vs EH EH EH EH EH EH EH OUH EH EH OU OU OU
@@longestsoloever maybe vs sonic.exe sunshine
6:45 I think people who are focused on making a difficult mod don’t want to have breaks because it tests your stamina and therefore, “difficult”, but not necessarily because difficulty and gameplay aren’t all that’s important in a *rhythm* game. Like you show, mix it up a little.
another big issue is that some people literally don't tune their character's samples and it just sounds bad. I guess it can work if you're going for a vocal chop effect, but that requires you to actually know what you're doing and specifically make the song around vocal chops. Most people don't do that for FNF songs lol
Seems like fnf is creating a new bunch of musicians
Non-tuned vocals _can_ work (Unloaded from FNF Online, for example), it just takes a lot more effort.
Non-tuned songs can work sometimes actually. I myself have personal favorites that have a non-tuned enemy.
@@_skyfall_multi_5848 it’s not that it can’t work, it’s just tuning nearly all of the time works better. Also, people just can be lazy or think it’s not a problem
what does tune mean?
If you wanna just go rhough the 6 simple ideas, it's at the end at 18:16!
There is deeper music theory that he applies, but These 6 Ideas:
- keeping the instrumental simple and easy to focus on
- making sure your vocals are in key with the song you've written
- leaving space in your melody so it's not a non stop barrage of endless notes
- having some repetition in your melody from phrase to phrase,
- letting your instrumental change up between sections using different chords and then using those chord tones in your melody to make it fit together in a nice cohesive way
- and then using the concepts tension and release to have your song keep propelling self forward, keep the listener engaged with these concepts including with nice effects like this!
Agreed
Hey so I would like to add something here.
A lot of people are very scared of learning music theory, because whenever you hear someone say "music theory" you think it's super complicated and hard, but I would like to say that basic music theory is incredibly easy. You probably already know some, and you just don't that it's music theory. It only took me about 30 minutes to grasp the basics, which is all you really need when starting out. If you just take the time to learn it, I promise you it well help you SO MUCH.
FR, understanding just the concept and basics of music theory it makes it so much easier to compose music.
Alt title: how to fix Dave and Bambi
yeah, for some reason some Dave and Bambi vocals don't match with the Instrumental (not hating on anyone)
@@OneofmanyNaraytors I mean Bambi's voice is kind of just marcello in a discord call with moldy trolling him, plus if it was tuned it would just sound weird.
@@OneofmanyNaraytors some people manage to use the Dave And Bambi vocals to actually sound good and I have no idea how do they do it.
@@anthox897 valid
@@vvxyz5944 valid (2)
side tangent about the A B A C thing:
It may also help the flow of the song by having the opponent vocals do ABAC then bf vocals do ABAD, which switches things up and makes it more interesting. this would get annoying unless used sparingly.
That's cool, but really uncommon. The only example that comes to mind is My Battle from the Tabi mod.
Reason number 1, I am infected with skill issue. Reason A, not trying enough.
Informed after the fact, Reason Σ, I’m ugly.
L+skill issue+ratio
@@quista5896 This has 52 likes. Guess the replies
@@beep2997 L+skill issue+ratio
@@gamerhurley Ratio+your dad left you+cap
@@beep2997 was my guess right?
The problem is some of the music composers focusing making the vocals too much just the sake of making the charts ridiculously hard to the point the song doesn't feel in balance and it sounds off.
I've watched a lot of FNF mods and unfortunately I didn't like any of the songs I've listened to, I only found songs that's actually good sometimes and considering it to download for my phone. Basically I don't like the mod songs 90% and only found 20% good ones for my ears. Even tho this is probably based on my opinion but you guys know what I'm talking about.
This comment was oddly comforting to me. I've put together a couple songs for a (hopefully) future mod I want to work on, but found that they were relatively simple and I'd worry they wouldn't make interesting levels to play. It's nice knowing that you don't have to design your music around difficulty, y'know?
I agree
@@mettapeachhead2076 ye
This, by the way, isn't just a problem in the FNF modding community. As someone coming from the Pump It Up community, many of the latest additions to the game are ear-splitting (and kind of samey) because right now there's a lot of competition over who can make the hardest charts. It kinda put me off both the community and the game for a while. These days most PIU songs don't make me feel like I'm dancing, but rather, as my mom would put it, "trampling over cockroaches".
this really help me alot, i was practicing of making music with some of your tutorials and tips, and this adds up the flavor to my tea, great video as always man :)
You are the ultimate music teacher, i learned a LOT from this
Me too
you are providing advice to a community that seriously needs it
doing god's work, man. keep it up
The songs of my first mod are bad. They didn’t have scales or anything like that, and then sounded cringy. The songs I’ve made for the second mod I’m currently working are way better, as they each have scales and definitive melodies. They’re not perfect, they have their flaws, but I’m honestly proud of the new ones
Hey, I looked at your channel and saw your mod, I think the character looks good, but the art style of Bf and Gf and her stereo kinda clashes, so maybe if you made new sprites for them in your next mod it would look better because it feels weird how much the artstyles differ, just an opinion tho, good luck in your next mod 👍
@@pissdrop7516 yeah my second mod is looking way better than the one you saw. Both the art and music
Sounds good
"So here is a bad song"
Average Dave & Bambi fan: bro this sounds good.
aw hell nah you aint bout to roast dave and bambi's songs like have you heard insanity
True most Dave & Bambi songs are really bad
@@dsus4909 i mean, i wouldn't say they're bad, but they are nothing compared to a lot of other fnf songs
(except for polygonized-)
@@simplyjustmono atleast in my opnion their songs are pretty a$$
@@dsus4909 frrr
I'm a new composer and I really feel like I sometimes used these tips without realizing
(Example: I'm making a mod about Sticky and one of the songs in the main week uses the "keep the instrumental simple", "add breaths" and "only use white keys" and a remix for the third song has the "add and reduce tension")
what's your mod
@@MrM0gus haven't released it yet, and I added that idea into a mod that is actually being developed simply called "FNF Mixiars" a simple mod of my remixes on FNF songs
absolutely so informative. You've told me more about composing than anything else i've read. So glad i'm caught up with chords (at least the majors and minor chords)
I'd also recommend checking out Alex Moukala Tutorials. His channel's focused on orchestral music, but a lot of the ideas still carry over to other genres.
I've been considering purchasing Ableton to create some of my own music (FNF and other), but I was wondering if Ableton is also a good platform for doing recovers of FNF songs/but different character sings
I'd definitely say so. Start with the 90-day free trial! It can do everything, including save and export!
there are also alternative solutions to getting Ableton
I use ableton for my fnf music, and ive tried fl only a few times... i am not a fan of the program. wish ableton was more frequent in the modding community
@@prodnicko738 so is a Ableton good?
@@slimevr9969 it’s what longest solo ever recommends
This went from generic bad fnf song, to unique good fnf song, to generic good fnf song.
Also, I would really like to see someone rewrite commonly known bad fnf songs (e.g Brightside ost) following these tips.
@Grin I actually really like the Brightside mod too, Reign of Apathy was even my favorite song for a while. But looking back, I can see why the mod wasn't well received. Someone could definitely improve the songs in the mod, which would probably then bring Brightside the recognition he deserves.
brighterside
I always thought I was too much of a minimalist, but this conviced me that I am, at the very least, in the okay range of instrumental (or something).
Nice to be reminded that repetition is good in the vocals too, I tend to try to make everything different except for, like, a chorus, but I'll be sure to add more repetition into my songs- m-maybe, hopefully.
Good stuff 💯
honestly the main problem with most beginner songs is the lack of a consistent key
Heya! Thanks for the tutorial! My sister and I have greatly improved when looking at the tutorials you've made and we've already made around 4 draft songs using the tips you've given. In fact, most of these tips we've learnt on our own when analyzing music we love!
Hope to see more amazing tutorials from you, Mr. Dean! We're very happy to have learnt alot from you!
Would you suggest making the instrumentals first or the vocals first? Because I always find myself accidently making the instrumental's melody what I actually wanted the vocals to be.
Instrumental. Writing the vocals first is kind of like building a skyscraper from the top down.
@@longestsoloever ight thx man, your stuff really helps me out!
@@longestsoloever oh crap haha i made some random vocals & i don't have an instrumental for it 🤣🤣
@@longestsoloever hold my beer
I was happy to find out I was already doing most of these well, but I am glad I learned things too! I really needed this, since I'm having trouble with making a song right now.
Just the white keys will also give you the keys of
D Dorian
E Phrygian (Love this one!)
F Lydian
G Mixolydian
And B Locrian
But those are a slightly more advanced concept--out of all these I probably see Phrygian used most often, but even then it's not used nearly as often as Aeolian/Minor or Ionian/Major
The keys I usually used for my FNF music are:
C (3,4,5)
D
D#
F
G
A#
I always wanted to make music for fnf mods (I know I know), but I was afraid if I did too much like the example you gave us in the beginning of the video. This video helped me understand more clearly of what and what not to do.
i clicked into this and read the title as "6 Reasons Your Music Sucks", i didnt see the fnf bit till the video loaded in, gotta say i dont particulary listen to fnf songs but this one sounds like a jam!
also the video was really informative and this also teaches new composers how to write songs, and not just about fnf. really great video!
I'm really glad you started doing these types of videos, small composers like I get to hear from someone with experience, thank you.
I don't know much about FNF music, but this is a SUPER helpful tool for beginning producers and composers of any style! I wish I'd seen this about five years ago haha
I don't do any FNF music, but your advice can apply to so many more genres I work on ! Great work !
Really good video! I think I subconsciously picked up on some of this stuff just by listening to good fnf songs, but having these tips in a video is very useful
Man your tips are excellent, I learned a lot from just this video alone, I'll definitely keep them in mind the next time I make music again. Keep up the good work!
Gonna save this one as I wouldn't mind making music again. I still got my keyboard after all. I've been really invested in FNF's "Pattern & Repeat" style. Although Ive never worked with digital music software before. So gonna have to learn from scratch!
These tips are generally great even for writing your own, non-fnf songs. Great lessons man!
Thank you for explaining it so thoroughly. I'm actually trying to compose music myself, And your tutorial is helping me to write better songs. So thank you for that!
this tutorial was very instructive.
someone who isn't going to be a full time musicien, but was always curious about music and how it could be made.
and the passion and clarity you put in this tutorial really motivated me to learn even more.
This is the stuff that I subscribe for!
That beat was legendary. I'd honestly like to hear a full version.
Wow, I really hope you make more tutorial videos(If you haven't already) because I wanna watch all of them even if I don't specifically need them :0
11/10 tutorial/tip guide, easily my favorite out of all the tip vids I've watched before :3
Thank you for making this video and speeding up the learning process, it took me a few months of composing to self learn these
These videos are actually very helpful for me and I actually learn stuff from them since no one teaches quite like you. I would love for more of these videos to come out and particularly a guide on how and when to use slides.
Well, I use a much more dated process, exporting loops from Fruity Loops and mixing the loops in stuff like Acid Pro or Studio One (AP is way easier), and mixing in Studio One... but so far, even not really knowing music theory, I practically always avoid black keys and use the a, b, a, c method already.
So most of my instrumentals I create 3 - 5 different sections, export and loop the samples one at a time (using older software and using the built in keyboard like what you are showing takes forever so I barely have any experience with it), building up until I force a break, then start the pattern of looping and building up again. So basically it might start with drums and bass, add some keys after 2 - 4 loops, add synths after 2 - 4 loops, etc, break and build back up with different sections and so forth. Occasionally restarting a really quick repeat of the original set, then ending the song. Depending on the number of melodies I use, my songs are maybe 2 to 3 minutes.
My text here is more scrambled than my music, hope it all makes sense though.
1:35 I used to have this mentality. now I focus overall on the structure of the song rather then how many instruments I have. the only time when I focus how many instruments i have is when I'm doing something intentionally chaotic. like a theme for a clown/joker like character.
3:32 I actuary was in a project I regret being apart of that had this. the notes for everyone's songs (minus this one dude that did this chiptune thing) were just off key. tbh I feel like I wasted potential on songs there, but hey that project will at least have 2 bops if the creator keeps them in, mostly cause i left after some.. stuff happened with the creator of that project. id rather not talk about it in full as i don't like bringing bad vibes to anyone.
but yeah for anyone starting out make sure your samples/vocals are in key with the vocals. heck that's very simple to do in LMMS (the main DAW I use) as there are key sliders you can use to put the samples in the right pitch(you could also use these to play in a different key without changing the way you would play if being self taught like how I am(I still need to learn other keys on a real piano lol)). granted they may sound higher or lower pitched then they were before, but they would be in key and that's the important part. heck if it still doesn't sound good use something like KeroVee as a last resort or if the sample your using is going all over the place with pitching.
4:59 and this is some really good advice for people that are self learning and are just starting out. I'm not saying avoid them completely. at one point you'll eventually need to learn how to use them, but for the most part avoid them if its your first time doing a big song/track. also if you do try to self teach yourself on how to use them like I did then I wish yourself luck cause that's still a big struggle for me in my music. (reason why sometimes i still need the key slider in LMMS)
6:48 breaks and breaths is a big point. heck time these break points for some good rhythm and pacing in the song.
7:24 another good point here. repeat the melody at least twice is my main rule, but have it spaced to where its not too repetitive. like this one song I'm currently composing for a klonoa song. I have the same melody in the song, but they are spaced out to the point to where its not noticeable that it plays twice. basically one is at one minute and the repeat is at three or four minutes in.
9:53 5 minutes of instrumental repeating the same 4 measures is a no go. always try to do something more unique when it comes to after that like. maybe after the 4th, don't repeat, but build up on it to create tension. like maybe a 6 measure structure in a 4/4 time stamp. this creates a longer distance and if it does repeat it isn't as repetitive, but always try to mix things up. don't constantly repeat it cause it can still become repetitive.
14:13 tension and release. this one a bit thought to explain, but overall it is very important that you have certain chords that create some sort of chill behind the player's back, but then relax the chill with a nice upraise type melody as if your about to win. basically add some music theory in there to spice things up a little. always give breath room though. like you said. don't hold tension the whole time or the player could get a bit stressed and tired of the whole thing.
18:53 and that's all i have on this. basically if i didn't touch on a thing its because I don't have much cause i over all agree. heck the whole video I agree 100%. heck in some bits its general composition knowledge to do some of this stuff. this overall tells me a lot of what I have learned as a composer for the years i have been one and these here are my experiences from some of the topics said in this video. I hope you all take this knowledge in the video and in this comment review as these are very important when composing music. I hope everyone listing here that are a composers luck down their career/hobby path they chose when becoming a composer
im trying to hype myself to make an fnf mod- a big one (like multiple weeks oh goodness so much work) and this sort of stuff really helps so thanks! (love that i can understand this as a composer). You deserve the follow, this is actually so helpful
If you wanna make a very big mod with multiple weeks, then you should release a small version of the mod first, with like 1 or 2 weeks. And then see what people think of it. And maybe you can improve your flaws in the full version.
"Avoid the Black keys," unless you only do black keys and you get Pentatonic scale :P
Thanks for your tutorial! It's really useful ^^
I like how you actually respect the audience instead of being rude.
I love that point about repetition, having a good quality main melody that actually appears throughout the song literally always makes me enjoy the song more. Last Reel from Indie Cross is super enjoyable for me because of this.
Nah, nightmare run makes a better job with it
Last reel has just one part that repit like 3 times
I like this video. It covers some of the most basic issues while providing useful insight for people with more experience. Great job, man!
this video actually helped me significantly- you don't complicate important things (like the A B A C thing, i didn't know about that) and on top of that provide good examples (i like those), so it was also easy to understand
To advice a beginner to keep to the white keys on the piano to begin with is maybe a good advice, but just as important: Use your ears. I can't beleive anyone would start by writing your "melody" as it was initially. Also: A cheap piano/keyboard of any kind with at leat two octaves would be very useful to get a feeling for chords, melody writing and phrasing.
BTW: The music clip that really made me smile in your video was the "bad example" in the start. It was surprising and crazy. You more proper clips were sounding better and easier to listen to, but far less original and crazy. Never forget to be a bit crazy too.
All good advice.
3:26 every fanmade huggy wuggy song mods
I love this video, it makes me feel good, I have everything in this down except, changing a instrumental a lot, (sometimes I change it a bit, bit it is usually 2 measure, or 4 measure, then repeat) though I don't have a cool sweep, but there is always something saying that it is about to change, like the drums do somethin idk, but it is there :)
you did such a good job describing the "catchiness" of a song, how certain simple concepts can give u a straight dopamine kick as a listener
I really wish i knew this sooner, i wouldve been decent at music by that point.
This is very informative even as a guy who made music for 2 years or so :]
The Songs in FNF Indie Cross Mod and FnF vs Retrospecter Mod Are BANGERS!!!
You should try them out
I love your videos and they give me hope that i'll be a great modder like you one day (If i actually get good at this thing lol!). Have a good one! ❤
i make music based on hearing music and takiking ideas on how to make music from other songs, and putting these tips into words really helped me understand them, thanks!
one of my favorite FNF songs is Target Practice from the Wii Funkin' mod. would you classify Target Practice as a good FNF song?
It's absolutely insane how a few simple changes can vastly improve a bad track! Absolutely stellar advice, man!
Thanks a lot for this, I wanna learn to compose, period, and these tips make a world of difference
Your tutorial is making fnf music for me better :D
Thx so much for the tutorial.
You earned a subscriber!
I like the first point being more is less, the more the song has the worse it becomes like an oc if its design is too messy & the silhouette seems like a incoherent blob try dialling it back a bit, clean things up & you'll end up with something great. good vid.
One cool thing I saw for a FNF song uses pitch sliding notes, try using that for a more advanced song
Thx for that! I didn't yet try to make any song but I won't make a mistake and just remaster the hole song later so I will learn everything first!
your channel is a godsend for people trying out music because of the funny flash game ty
Heyo! Aspiring Composer here. One thing you have to be aware of is that many of the people who are attempting to make these pieces/songs are most likely younger kids. Who might not know terminology (specifically when it comes to key signatures and other specific music theory terms). Which, you did kind of work around by telling people to work on C Major/A minor and of course the other video (which I will promptly look at considering I don't have FL Studio but I'm curious to know the process.). But some of these kids have little to no experience in composing music aside from like a middle school/ high school band. I have taken music theory for 2 years now (and I'm off to college for even more music education in composition yay) and I've learned a lot from my own and others compositions. I have seen some of the mistakes you have even said in my own music. Which does help btw so thanks for that! Now this isn't to say that ALL of the looking to be composers of FNF music are younger or inexperienced, but generally, knowing the community, there is a good chance that there will be a lot of inexperienced people looking for a video like this. I would HIGHLY suggest, at the very least giving a recommendation of some basic music theory courses (or the website musictheory.net), as even though they won't help entirely with this genre, its good to know some terms or some concepts (such as your A B A formatting, although this may be simple enough to not require explanation) before going straight into this. I will say you do mention a decent amount of key concepts in the video, bravo on that!
Overall, this is an AMAZING video. You give people a good amount of basic music theory that I hope many will try to learn and you are very friendly and just energetic. Keep up the amazing work! I see myself coming back to this channel to learn more tips and tricks if I run into any problems or just wanna explore something.
(Oh and uh, sorry for the essay lmao)
The song he made in the video sounds like a weird combination of vs neon and starlight mayhem songs. (both mods i like most songs in, but i enjoy Neon's songs more.)
This was super helpful! Made me wanna get back into making music for my mod.
Also thanks for the basics, it’ll help for when I can finally work on VS. Super Gang.
this video made me realize i almost always do ABAC pattern with music, but i usually change up the second A slightly with a few extra notes like turning one note into two
What an excellent tutorial! Thank you for everything, man!
I especially liked the end notes. Really helpful video, would recommend. 10/10 XD
This video helped me out bc I’m planning on to make a mod in the future and I didn’t want any of the songs to sound trashy, I’m still a noob at FL studios but I will get the hang of it.
Very nice tutorial
~~wished you made a 7th reason where it's just you going "You're using FL Studio. Stop it. Ableton's much easier, get that instead!" to kind of keep that reoccurring shtick going~~
Theres lots of great producers on fl, also im pretty sure hes ok with people using fl studio
@@Krakyy he is
But he often jokes around the fact he has a gripe with FL and is often exaggerated for funny intentions
@@trinitysillykitty still he shouldnt just bash people out for doing a specific thing, its a matter of opinion at most and it would be very unproffesional since hes a music teacher i think
I think 6:12 sounds fine but as a later part, like some songs have an start section repeat at the end or middle slightly faster. Although I do get that you're talking about the start I wanted to say that just because it's bad near the start its not just bad overall
I’m not doing fnf music specifically but as a beginner that was still very helpful! Thank you :)
Ohhhh those some great tips. I’ll make decent music with these.
The one I’ll probably use most is the sweep tip, and the a b a c.
Thanks!
I dont make fnf music, but this is really helpful for other genres as well and for beginners overall
i dont make fnf music (although im a fan) im just a producer. regardless this is a great vid for people wanting to make better music who havent grasped these concepts yet. you explain things in a simple, non-condescending way, love that
There’s a few songs that repeat a lot besides an addition of a few instruments, for example pasta night, that instrumental is repetitive, but it’s so damn good!
i’ve been struggling the past days making a single song that sounded good and would like to say how this is good advice man
I’m beginning to make my own mod with Ableton, but I’m not sure I will enjoy music making, so I am going to get a free trial of ableton, and if it goes well, and I enjoy making music, since I know the platform is great, then I might save enough to buy it. Thanks for the music tips as always Dean!
Well, how did it go?
This making me wanna try making music again haha
Ayo cerbera
yooo cerbera
ngl i've seen this video in my recommended a lot and i thought it was just gonna be a beatdown on the 'generic fnf style', but it ended up being a lot cooler about the advice than i expected lol. good tutorial
man, that's perfect! i try to teach some friends about what i learned about catchy melodies and all, and that's way better than me explaining LOL i also learned new things with this, i didn't know about what was the "A B A C structure" and that was awesome to learn about, your explanation is perfect man
GOD THIS THUMBNAIL. LMAOO.
mans teaching me more about music than school will ever lol thanks for the very helpful video!
a nice way I like to get around the 3 sounds limit, is that I just make the chords drums and vocals, and just take the bottom note of each chord and move it to a new "bassier" instrument.
This was actually very informative. Thanks!
And as fnf player myself this is very helpful I know the modding looks easy but it’s VERY HARD
Actually explaining how to improve at music and not just "fnf music sucks" is a giga chad move.
this helped so much since i am a new producer thank you!
Ah yes, key signature. It’s essential… unless you’re writing evil boss fight music. Then, just throw it out the window, because double chromatic strikes sound awesome.
I’m mostly kidding. This was a great tutorial.
But seriously though… double chromatic strikes