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Post by Admin on Nov 7, 2008 23:43:38 GMT -6
Don't worry, I won't sit in judgment. Others might, though.
But seriously... be honest. So what if you use a midi notation program? You're still better than those masses who are all talk about how much your stuff sucks, but can't deliver on their own.
Personally, it's all by ear. Always has been, always will be. There's been tons of songs scrapped because I would get to a part and not get it sounding quite right.
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Post by PhantomTaco on Nov 7, 2008 23:55:09 GMT -6
I've done songs by ear, but I do most of them with MIDI's. So I guess that fits into the "really tough songs" category.
I also try and avoid giving an answer when people ask if I do songs by ear, thus leading people to believe I do them all by ear! Genius!
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Post by AdolfoBaez on Nov 8, 2008 1:50:01 GMT -6
Well I don´t discredit people who use MIDI or sheets at all, but IMO when you´re covering a song half of the fun is getting the harmony and melody by ear, I never have problems getting the melody and some harmonies are pretty straightforward but there are some tricky harmonies (Gusty Garden, Brawl theme) that getting them is like solving a puzzle and the sense of achievement when you finally get it correct is awesome.
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Post by lih on Nov 8, 2008 3:26:24 GMT -6
I've used a MIDI notation program to help me with the songs I've done so far, because my musical ear isn't very good. I have done small parts of songs by ear, but not much.
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Jamie
Car
El-Fourth in Command
Wrow
Posts: 508
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Post by Jamie on Nov 8, 2008 8:53:24 GMT -6
MY first 5 cmpositions (Grunty Industries, Witchyworld, Frantic Factory, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Land) were all done by ear. Other than than, I mostly used a MIDI.
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Post by _ on Nov 8, 2008 9:37:55 GMT -6
I try do it by ear if I can help it. But if a song's REALLY hard (like TTFAF) then I generally use MIDI. Usually, NES songs are REALLY easy to do by ear. So I guess I go under the category of "Yes - but only on really difficult songs." But then I've done really easy songs with MIDI as well. So I don't know what I would go under.
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Post by hualiang on Nov 8, 2008 12:30:17 GMT -6
I usually use a MIDI or sheet music, though the Office was by ear and half of the Horse Race was by ear. I would do more by ear, but I don't have the hearing ability to do it effectively.
Of course, if I think the midi is wrong somewhere I'll insert my own interpretation, but that seems to have been an issue. As in, I did that in a couple earlier ones yet those were the notes pointed out as iffy.
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Post by eataninja on Nov 8, 2008 14:35:04 GMT -6
I use midis. Notation player is weird. Sometimes it helps a lot (my Undersea Palace video) and sometimes its total crap (I have to do all rhythms by ear in the piece I'm working on cause its glitched in the program). I could do it by ear, but I just don't have the patience.
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Post by Guru on Nov 8, 2008 17:17:04 GMT -6
I used one recently, because the Shadow Temple is just a load of crashes, screeches and moans in the original soundtrack. (Come on, it is, really...) I tend not to use them. My best piece by ear so far is the one I'm making at the moment. (Vaati's Wrath, for my Vaati medley)
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Post by SonicFan113 on Nov 9, 2008 4:45:16 GMT -6
Actually I use Midis, but not always. Only if it's necessary (PiT: Panic, SMW2-Castle) My first ones are all done by ear, or my LoopdeLoop Galaxy - Lost Colony - Lava Reef Act 2 - (Gamegear) Sonic 1 and 2 Boss and Egg Golem/King Boom Boo are also done by ear. I'd say, about 30 % I do by ear.
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Post by brianLED on Nov 10, 2008 1:17:50 GMT -6
It depends on my judgment of the MIDI. If I think it's good, I reference it while still being wary of the actual piece. If it's not good, I completely ignore it and do everything by ear.
About 20% of my pieces are done with MIDI, the majority of those being from G/S/C pokemon games. The rest is done by ear; I usually find it difficult to satisfy myself with a particular pitch, so it generally takes me a considerable amount of time to make a composition.
If the song is particularly difficult, that's all the more reason for me NOT to use a MIDI, actually.
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Post by RehdBlob on Nov 10, 2008 16:22:05 GMT -6
I mostly do my pieces by ear/memory... (eg. Clock Town, Days 1-3, SMB theme) But when a song starts sounding strange no matter how I tweak it, I try to find a good MIDI to reference to. And if there isn't one, I keep trying to get the song right.
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gronnoc
ShyGuy
GRonnoc: Raising the Bar
Posts: 8
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Post by gronnoc on Nov 13, 2008 20:38:18 GMT -6
For my older songs, I used piano arrangements (from the now gone ninsheetmusic.net). Once I figured out I could open midi's in finale notepad, I've been doing that for all my songs.
However, even though I use midi's, I tend to add my own little things to the songs, and sometimes I add harmonies because the song sounds too empty (like in my GSC trainer battle and rival battle). Sometimes the midis do suck (like BrianLED said). When I opened Good Egg's midi, all the instruments were condensed into 2 staves, and it had a glockenspiel sound (why, I have no idea - finale notepad was being screwy). So I had to listen to the real song in that case, and the midi was really only there to make sure the pitches were correct.
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Cat
Plane
Zoroark fanatic
Posts: 973
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Post by Cat on Nov 18, 2008 23:58:14 GMT -6
I tend to use MIDIs for a number of my songs, but often times they are a little screwed up. I usually use them as a reference, as half the fun of Mario Paint (Composer) is in the remixing and improvising.
(I've been making MIDIs for a while now, which REALLY makes you have to tell the notes correctly!)
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Post by cypher8301 on Nov 22, 2008 3:04:56 GMT -6
I compose by ear for harder things so that I do not miss something in a midi translation. I have some straight piano pieces that I have been thinking about doing in which case I would use sheet music.
Cypher
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Post by Colin Comard (Delay) on Nov 23, 2008 13:21:25 GMT -6
I use it for mario paint. If i ever do VG music for FL studio, then it's by ear. So they take longer but it's easier to compose because i don't have to repeaditly click in repetitive parts.
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Post by Pokésonic on Dec 10, 2008 18:43:34 GMT -6
I'd say about 85% of my works are done by ear, but I'll use a MIDI for the really hard stuff, including the harder Megaman X tunes I've done. My most recent one, Vile's Theme, was done from ear.
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Post by blueheat127 on Dec 12, 2008 20:30:14 GMT -6
I do respect people who can do songs by ear, but I feel that most of the point of Mario Paint is just creating the song. Do the methods you use really matter?
Therefore all of my songs require MIDI notation.
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