I want to arrange/remix Ashura Blaster's soundtrack

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

I don't know if I posted this in the wrong section or not, but I have recently become VERY interested in making an attempt to create an arranged/remix version of Ashura Blaster's amazing soundtrack. However, I have absolutely ZERO knowledge on writing/editing/creating music, so bear with me please. Is there anyone on here who knows how to work with music editing software that can perhaps give me some pointers/walkthroughs on which programs are the best to use and how to use them to arrange a previously existing soundtrack? I'd really appreciate it. Also, for some reason Ashura Blaster and its music make me think of the Vietnam War for some reason, despite the fact that I wasn't even alive during that time.

[neorocker]

This isn't something you're going to learn overnight by any means, and given that you haven't really worked with music at all, you probably aren't going to be able to up and do this on a whim. It's going to take you a long while to find the methods you like - what software / hardware / instruments / techniques are good for you - and then much longer beyond that to turn out anything proper. There are no "best" programs to use to do anything. There are plenty of "standards" such as FL Studio, Ableton, etc, but keep in mind that you should discover what works for you best. Explore options and keep in mind that you're going to have to be extremely patient with yourself and your ideas. I'm speaking from over a decade of musical experience when I say that there's no quick, easy, or "best" way to do things.

It's kinda like this actually:

[BPzeBanshee]

FWIW, I used Mixcraft, found a MIDI and did some tweaking/adjustments here and there, and got results like these (youtube botched the quality though ). Probably not the kind of "effort" picky folks are into for remixes but certainly it can get you started on the way to do it if you have the persistence for it.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

This isn't something you're going to learn overnight by any means, and given that you haven't really worked with music at all, you probably aren't going to be able to up and do this on a whim. It's going to take you a long while to find the methods you like - what software / hardware / instruments / techniques are good for you - and then much longer beyond that to turn out anything proper. There are no "best" programs to use to do anything. There are plenty of "standards" such as FL Studio, Ableton, etc, but keep in mind that you should discover what works for you best. Explore options and keep in mind that you're going to have to be extremely patient with yourself and your ideas. I'm speaking from over a decade of musical experience when I say that there's no quick, easy, or "best" way to do things.

It's kinda like this actually:

I realize that it's going to take me a while to learn how to do this, but I'm willing to put in as much time as it takes to learn it, because I really love Ashura Blaster's soundtrack, and I feel like an arranged version would be amazing. I was thinking of starting off with the Stage 1 theme, instead of jumping in right away with the whole soundtrack, you know just to begin practice on editing something to learn the basics.

FWIW, I used Mixcraft, found a MIDI and did some tweaking/adjustments here and there, and got results like these (youtube botched the quality though ). Probably not the kind of "effort" picky folks are into for remixes but certainly it can get you started on the way to do it if you have the persistence for it.

That remix you made wasn't bad in any way to be honest, and to edit/arrange a music track, does it have to be in MIDI format?

[emphatic]

does it have to be in MIDI format?

Unless you can play it by ear. I did this remix of Ketsui's stage 2 music by ear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgxtANTk93Y It does you are familiar with playing/listening closely. Having the original music playing at exactly 50% speed helps if you're trying to figure out really fast patterns in the composition. It needs to be 50%, or the pitch will be off when you're figuring out the correct notes.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

does it have to be in MIDI format?

Unless you can play it by ear. I did this remix of Ketsui's stage 2 music by ear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgxtANTk93Y It does you are familiar with playing/listening closely. Having the original music playing at exactly 50% speed helps if you're trying to figure out really fast patterns in the composition. It needs to be 50%, or the pitch will be off when you're figuring out the correct notes.

I cannot play it by ear, so that's why I think having the track as a MIDI file would help me out more. The problem is, that I don't think any MIDI files for Ashura Blaster exist anywhere on the internet. Since I want to start off with Stage 1's theme, I was thinking of requesting a MIDI of it to be made on VGmusic.com, but I don't think they are accepting new members at this time.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Just download some software and start clicking on stuff and seeing what happens. That's what I'd do anyway.

[Blackbird]

You should talk to Renard Queenston. Not only is he a shmup fan, he's also an accomplished electronic musician. He's mashed up/remixed many shmup tunes before, so he's as good an authority as any on the subject. Perhaps he could offer meaningful advice on how to do it. His website: http://lapfoxtrax.com/

My personal advice is to become a musician in your own right first, and -then- remix your favorite shmup tracks. Having robust musical knowledge and imagination is important. You need a strong foundation to build on - constructing a house on sand won't work well. If you learn piano or guitar and understand chords and musical theory, deconstructing a song becomes much easier.

Fear of Dark aka FODSteve and Shnabubula are both chiptune artists that have backgrounds in jazz composition, and they can make wonderful music with just the NES chipset alone. With a more advanced chipset or real instruments...

If you do arrange Ashura Blaster, that would be amazing... my only real complaint about the Ashura Blaster soundtrack is that there just isn't enough of it =P.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

You should talk to Renard Queenston. Not only is he a shmup fan, he's also an accomplished electronic musician. He's mashed up/remixed many shmup tunes before, so he's as good an authority as any on the subject. Perhaps he could offer meaningful advice on how to do it. His website: http://lapfoxtrax.com/

My personal advice is to become a musician in your own right first, and -then- remix your favorite shmup tracks. Having robust musical knowledge and imagination is important. You need a strong foundation to build on - constructing a house on sand won't work well. If you learn piano or guitar and understand chords and musical theory, deconstructing a song becomes much easier.

Fear of Dark aka FODSteve and Shnabubula are both chiptune artists that have backgrounds in jazz composition, and they can make wonderful music with just the NES chipset alone. With a more advanced chipset or real instruments...

If you do arrange Ashura Blaster, that would be amazing... my only real complaint about the Ashura Blaster soundtrack is that there just isn't enough of it =P.

Thanks for the advice, I emailed him, and I'm awaiting his reply. In the meantime, I will probably look into learning how to read and understand music. Also, I know how you feel, the game only has 6 tracks, which is not enough unfortunately

[beatsgo]

Welcome to jungle Emo Fox Jet Pilot, glad you join the battlefield!

As what Blackbird said, you will benefit from playing different instruments, listening to lots of music, and learning music theory. This way, you can apply all your knowledge into creating music and make it easier to do so. Of course, don't be afraid to experiment and break rules when applicable.

There's a lot of free Digital Audio Workstations out there, but if you're not willing to pay may I suggest LMMS? It's powerful open source program that might not have the robustness like the commercialize ones, but better than playing around with some of the other ones I used. Keyboards with MIDI I/O ports come by the cheap: craigslist have most of these keyboards around 20USDs. And there are a lot of plug-in instruments and effects called VSTs. They will help you create some of those elusive sounds you're looking for, but can take awhile to find and reproduce correctly.

[ookitarepanda]

I use TuxGuitar to build everything in a music sheet format, then export to MIDI. Then I can import that MIDI file into a program like Cubase, Pro Tools, Garage Band, etc., so I can record over each line separately. My recent work:

https://soundcloud.com/ookitarepanda/different-blood

[broken harbour]

Neorocker's post pretty much sums up what I think. I had 15 years of experience playing guitar, keyboards, drums, bass, you name it.... and actually learning how to home record and actually come out with something sounding good... the learning curve was basically a brick wall, and that's with already knowing how to play my instruments.

Having said that, these days some of the most interesting electronic music I've heard comes from guys who literally can't play any instruments... so what do I know?

My recommendation is to stick with popular DAW's and hardware... there's nothing wrong with a decent iMac and Logic, because so many people use it, if you run into problems, you can use Youtube or read books/mags to figure out what you need to do. iMac/Logic tends to be compatible with everything, and doesn't require specific hardware like Pro Tools does.

Be Patient.
Be Patient.
Be Patient.