q for phase

[asristir]

Yo Phase;
I've been using NotSoFatso to transcribe old NES tunes; it is perfect cuz you can switch off specific waves and slow them down if necessary.
Do you know of any SNES music players with the same capability? I suck at teh internets, apparently...

[CAK]

You can toggle SNES sound channels in the multi-format VGM player Meridian Advance, which can be found at zophar.net (along with a plethora of other VGM players). Also, there's a program out there that converts NSF files to MIDI files, which could be imported into music notation software. Of course, that takes the fun out of transcribing the stuff.

[asristir]

thanks a bunch, you rock
I'll look into it
Yeah, transcribing the tunes is excellent training for hand and ear.
I assume you probly don't need them, but if you want a full transcription of the square waves for Battle of Olympus, I can totally hook you up.

[CAK]

Yeah, I'm more of a "play it by ear" kinda guy. Thanks for the offer though.

Are you doing the transcription stuff just for training, or are you working on covers? I'll probably be recording some NES covers soon, as well as working on self-created NSFs. I already have two NSFs posted HERE.

[asristir]

I'd love to do covers, but I don't know enough musicians who are into this music enough to want to perform it. So the training is all I get out of it.
Of course my ultimate goal is to become a developer- programming or music or even the coveted game design position, that's where I need to be. Starting schooling for it this year.
Are you saying that you can figure these tunes out at normal mach speed? If so: deeamn!
I'll check out your NSFs.
New question: What music format do current games use? What software is used to create the music? I've heard about Fast Tracker, but that seems old.. Any ideas/info?

[asristir]

btw, what tunes are you gonna do?

[CAK]

New question: What music format do current games use? What software is used to create the music? I've heard about Fast Tracker, but that seems old.. Any ideas/info?

Sorry... that stuff's out of my league. I barely even listen to current VG music, let alone know how it's created. However, if you're curious about creating your own NSFs, you should check out 2a03.org. That site's almost a music scene in itself.

I'll likely be covering tunes from Double Dragon I/II, Dragon Warrior, Rampage, Zelda I, Metroid, etc. Nothing very obscure, though I'm trying to steer clear of the Advantage's repertoire. There's some songs I want to cover that are difficult to play, such as the dungeon music from Zelda 2 and the castle music from SMB1. If I've played a game enough, I already know melodies to songs; I've just have to learn the harmony and tri-wave parts. Actually performing the songs without messing up... that's another story!

[asristir]

I liked your "Level 1" composition. The break at the end is too short! It sounds like it's gonna go in a mellower direction for a moment before the tune restarts- you gotta extend that a little! It's great.
It's too bad we're in seperate states. I'd totally play first or second square - or even triangle.
Hey, someone's finally going to tackle the SMB Castle music- sweet. The individual pieces aren't hard at all, but syncing them up must be tough.
You already know all about ocremix and vgmix, right?

[ShawnPhase]

wow...good to see some video game music discussion here...

sadly i dont even use notsofatso at all. i have just finished a 5th video game cover cd, that's 70 songs, everything from adventures of dino riki to wai wai world...i've got some samples up at www.fakeaccount.com/~shawnphase/nypwpv/ ...i suggest you check out the gyruss track, hehe...i tend to cover a lot of lesser known stuff, at this point i've done close to 250 covers.... tracklisting for the album is as follows:

01 - slalom
02 - adventures of dino riki
03 - blaster master
04 - battle of olympus
05 - arkanoid 2
06 - armadillo
07 - a reesha de ikou
08 - bionic commando
09 - air fortress slow (with spamtron)
10 - air fortress fast
11 - fire emblem
12 - esper dream 2
13 - dr mario
14 - blaster master
15 - itadaki street
16 - argus
17 - deblock
18 - donkey kong (with spamtron)
19 - fantastic adventures of dizzy
20 - fantasy zone
21 - gumshoe
22 - final fantasy
23 - toki no sugiyuku mama ni (with khonnor)
24 - gargoyles dream 2
25 - gi joe 14
26 - gi joe 18
27 - legendary wings
28 - metal storm
29 - startropics
30 - rc pro am 2
31 - spy hunter
32 - fighting golf 5
33 - fighting golf 7
34 - little nemo
35 - arkanoid
36 - link 3
37 - link 9
38 - zelda fortress
39 - smb 3 9
40 - smb 3 10
41 - booby kids
42 - ferrari grand prix challenge
43 - gyruss (with house)
44 - itadaki street (with khonnor)
45 - final fight (with ilkae)
46 - chip n dales rescue rangers
47 - isolated warrior
48 - hogans alley
49 - goonies v: datas trip to hot topic mx
50 - ice hockey
51 - smb water
52 - smb 1-1
53 - vs baloon fight
54 - wai wai world
55 - werewolf medley
56 - werewolf medley
57 - werewolf medley
58 - wizards and warriors 1
59 - wizards and warriors 2
60 - faxanadu
61 - famicom tantei club
62 - 70 - special hidden tracks

if anyone reads nintendo power still, you can see an interview with me in the april issue, hehe...

also check nintendude out: www.nintendude-music.com/media/

[ShawnPhase]

almost forgot cak im digging on these!

[asristir]

nintendude... awesome, thnx phase.
How do you perform your covers? ie Do you use traditional instruments at all, or is it all computer? ?? ? I don't recall hearing guitar sounds. Just curious.

[CAK]

Thanks for the NSF comments, guys. Funny sidenote: the kick and snare from those songs were ripped from "In Sand" by Lynx.

Damn, ShawnPhase, you are one prolific dude!

The lower-pitched square wave is what's giving me trouble on the castle music. I just switched from tapping back to picking, since my tapping is mediocre at best. That stuff's pretty much required on the Zelda 2 song, so...

Yeah, I'd totally jam with you, Asristir. If you're ever interested in a long-distance NES collaboration or two, let me know.

[ShawnPhase]

when i play live, i have drums/bass/nsf on my tracks and i play the guitar live. im actualy playing tonight, not to much time to post here unfortunately =( im trying to come around more often tho!$@