Introduction Welcome to MyTunes You will learn to make A music-making And all-round note-worthy course You will learn to make All using a program called LMMS Need to look at some musical terms first Simple Samples Toe-Tapping Tunes Solid Sound Effects Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (1) The most important thing to learn are the notes we can play The sounds we can make Sounds come in the form of notes And there are seven in total Each note has a different pitch A B C D E F G Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (1) The most important thing to learn are the notes we can play The sounds we can make Sounds come in the form of notes And there are seven in total Each note has a different pitch A B C D E F G Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Click on these buttons to play the notes Musical Terms (1) Each note can go lower and higher too! These are called octaves The larger the octave, the higher the pitch | the smaller the octave, the lower the pitch C4 C5 C6 Lower C Same C Higher C Click on these buttons to play the notes Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Click on these buttons to play the notes Musical Terms (1) We can also go slightly higher or lower with each note Slightly higher notes are sharp (♯) Slightly lower notes are flat (♭) C♭5 C5 C♯5 Play Play Play Click on these buttons to play the notes Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (1) Play We can make some quite nice sounding music By playing some of these notes in order We will look more at these later For now, let’s have a quick recap quiz! C5 E5 G5 C6 Play Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ C Octave Which of these is a note? ♯ Not that one! Correct! Not that one! C Octave Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ ♭ A Which one is the sharp symbol? ♯ Not that one! Correct! Not that one! ♭ A Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ ♭ A Which one is the flat symbol? ♯ Not that one! Correct! Not that one! ♭ A Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) The Note The Octave What changes between a low C and a high C? The Note Not that one! Correct! Not that one! The Octave Nothing Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

A blank LMMS project (with all its windows open) LMMS Orientation Let’s get started with LMMS Linux Multimedia Studio Opening LMMS gives us a clean file to work with Even though it looks rather busy There are a few windows open And some clickable buttons We can close these windows if we want A blank LMMS project (with all its windows open) Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

LMMS Orientation These buttons are split into three categories With an extra category for the sliders and numbers Rhythm Management File Management Window Management Panel Management Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

LMMS Orientation The first thing we should always do is SAVE OUR WORK This will open a window asking us where to save this project We’ll make a folder for our MyTunes work And save this file as Lesson01 Project name goes here The Save Button Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Open LMMS on your computer Once open, click on the Save Current Project button Make a folder on your computer for your MyTunes work Save this file in that folder, calling it Lesson01 Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

The Show/Hide Song Editor Button Removing Tracks Each project in LMMS is a song We can make them as long or short as we want They don’t even have to be songs They could be sound effects To make our project play anything, we need to edit it Which is done in the Song Editor One of the windows we closed earlier We can show it by clicking on the Show/Hide Song Editor button The Song Editor window The Show/Hide Song Editor Button Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

The different tracks in the Song Editor Removing Tracks Each of these rows in the Song Editor is a track Different ‘instruments’ in a song Which can each do their own thing Combining tracks is what makes a song come alive! The different tracks in the Song Editor Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

The Song Editor with all (but one) track removed Removing Tracks Like the other windows, we’re not going to use all these tracks Not yet, anyway The only one we’re keeping is the Triple Oscillator It’s like a piano… Kind of We can remove the other tracks by clicking on these cogs And selecting Remove this Track The Song Editor with all (but one) track removed The cog to click on Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Open the Song Editor window By clicking on the Show/Hide Song Editor button Remove all the tracks except for the Triple Oscillator You can remove a track by clicking on the cog icon Then selecting Remove this Track Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Using the Piano Roll (1) We need to edit a track in the Song Editor before it’ll do anything See these little rectangles along the track? They are bars Playing notes in a bar, and playing bars after each other, is how we make music Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Using the Piano Roll (1) We can edit a bar by double-clicking on it Different tracks open different windows The Triple Oscillator opens the Piano Roll The Piano Roll window Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Each bar is a different colour Using the Piano Roll (1) There’s a few buttons and drop-down boxes along the top And a huge grid in the middle This grid is where we write our notes Literally write, with a pencil A virtual pencil… Each big column is a bar The same bars in the Song Editor Each bar is a different colour Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Using the Piano Roll (1) Left-clicking on the grid adds a note to the track Each note has Its pitch (on a row) Its length (the length of the blue rectangle) We can lengthen/shorten notes by Clicking on its right side And dragging to the correct length Finally, we can play these notes By pressing the Spacebar Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Double-click on the first bar on the Triple Oscillator track This opens the Piano Roll Add some notes to the first two bars of this track Try and make a nice jingle Don’t add notes to any other bars Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (2) Play It’s time for some more musical terms! We can add more complex things than single notes We’re going to look at two of these complex things They are chords and arpeggios First, here are some notes played in order C5 E5 G5 Play Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (2) Play Play Major Chord Play Minor Chord Now listen to them when they’re played at the same time This is a chord And they can be happy or sad, called major and minor chords C5 E5 G5 Play Play Major Chord Play Minor Chord Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (2) Play Major Arpeggio Play Minor Arpeggio If we play the notes in a chord one after the other (instead of at the same time) We get an arpeggio Let’s have a little quiz to recap these terms! Play Major Arpeggio Play Minor Arpeggio Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) What is a chord? Multiple notes played at the same time Multiple notes played in sequence Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) What is an arpeggio? Multiple notes played at the same time Multiple notes played in sequence Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) Which of these is a happy chord? G Major C Minor Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) Which of these is a sad chord? G Major C Minor Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Using the Piano Roll (2) We can easily add chords to a Piano Roll Either by putting them in manually This requires a good understanding of music Or use the auto-chord system Notes entered manually Only have to click on starting note (LMMS adds the rest) The auto-chord drop-down box Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Using the Piano Roll (2) The keyboard to the left of the Piano Roll shows us what notes we’re playing The white keys are the main notes The black keys are the small changes (like flats and sharps) The lower end The higher end Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Try playing some in sequence to make a nice sounding jingle Use the auto-chord drop-down box to create some major and minor chords! Try playing some in sequence to make a nice sounding jingle Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Musical Terms (3) Play 140BPM Play 180BPM There are two more musical terms to learn, and they’re both about rhythm The first is tempo, which is how many beats a song uses every second Measured in beats per minute (BPM) A larger tempo creates a faster song, and a smaller tempo makes a slower song Play 140BPM Play 180BPM Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

4 4 Musical Terms (3) Play 𝟒 𝟒 Play 𝟑 𝟒 Play 𝟔 𝟖 The second term is time signature, which changes how we make and structure songs Different time signatures lead to different rhythms 4 The number of beats in each bar 4 The ‘length’ of each beat Play 𝟒 𝟒 Play 𝟑 𝟒 Play 𝟔 𝟖 Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) Bars per minute What does BPM stand for? Bars per minute Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Beats per minute Bass per minute Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) 140BPM 185BPM Which BPM here is the fastest? 140BPM Not that one! Correct! Not that one! 185BPM 200BPM Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) 140BPM 185BPM Which BPM here is the slowest? 140BPM Not that one! Correct! Not that one! 185BPM 200BPM Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

The number of beats in a bar Mini-Quiz (2) What does the number on top of a time signature represent? Not that one! Correct! The number of beats in a bar The length of each beat Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

The number of beats in a bar Mini-Quiz (2) What does the number on bottom of a time signature represent? Not that one! Correct! The number of beats in a bar The length of each beat Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

Changing the Rhythm We can change the rhythm of a song using the rhythm- management section Here we can change the tempo and the time signature Both done by clicking and dragging on those numbers Putting up the tempo makes the song quicker Changing the time signature doesn’t change the music But it does change the look of bars in the Piano Roll Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

If you want a faster song, increase the BPM If you want a slower song, decrease the BPM After changing the BPM, listen to your song and see if this change has made a difference Lesson 1: LMMS Basics