How do you create a song without the tabs?

**kingofpain** · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 31

Has anybody here made a song without using the tabs from tab it? If you did, what was your method of finding the tempo/getting the notes to sync without the tabs, etc... Because I'm trying to make a song, but they don't have tabs for it, and I don't know how the best way of going about to sync the notes up would be when I don't even know the tempo or anything for that matter.

**pbfpfoss** · Joined: 28 Jan 2007 Posts: 39

I've just been using Tabit to make them from scratch.

**ruippeixotog** · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 220

http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=72696#72696

**kingofpain** · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 31

I guess what I was trying to say is... is how do you find the tempo without even having the MIDI - basically, how do you start from scratch?

**Krash** · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 96

My Method:

1. Listen to music A LOT. broaden your horizons, find something that you like, that rocks, and that would be fun in GH.

2. Before you even start, make sure you've got a good idea in your head about how the notes are going to be arranged. I've got a couple unfinished projects that stalled because I got to a part in the song that I couldn't figure out well enough.

3. I use Cakewalk Music Creator 3, because my uni has a student license for it. None of the free sequencers I'm aware of have the features that I want.

4. Load up the GH template, and create two new tracks. Set one track to percussion and have it play a closed hi-hat on the first beat of every measure for about 300 measures (more than enough for most any song). Some programs have a metronome feature (if there's one in Music Creator to have a metronome during playback (as opposed to during recording) I haven't found it. Load your mp3 as the second new track.

5. Use the tempo tapper to find a starting point for the tempo.

6. Line up the start of the music with the 3rd measure, so there's a decent count-in period when we play the song.

6. Switch to tempo view, which has measures on the x axis and tempo on the y axis, and you can use to draw a line to plot the changing tempo over the course of the song. I just use it for straight tempo changes, but it's easy to do accelrandos and ritardandos and all sorts of wackyness if you want.

7. Listen to the song, tapping away to the beat of the song. Whenever I notice my hi-hat getting out of sync, I adjust the tempo a few measures before I noticed. Keep refining the changes and work your way through the song.

8. The tough part is over. Now all I need to do is place my notes in piano scroll. Because I've got it tempo matched, all the notes will be easily synced, just set them to the appropriate note length and position in the measure. As I'm charting, I'll often go back and listen to it. I have the guitar track set to grand piano, and it sounds horrible, but it makes it easy to notice if notes aren't quite right.

9. Finish the expert chart, put in star power and player 1/2 face off parts, making sure each player gets the same amount of starpower. Copy what I have and transpose down an octave, remove some notes and switch some others around. Do the same for medium and easy.

10. Put in guitarist fret placement notes in. I've got no guitar playing background, so I just guess based on the sound of the music how far up the neck it should be.

11. Put in Chorus/Verse/Solo events, and guitarist animation events. Make sure the end event is correct.

At that point, I stop. If I were going to do co-op or stage effects and other musician's animations, I'd do them now.