[Other] Creating CUSTOM Pokemon Music

[gamesharkhacker]

Hello, everyone.

Today, I will talk about how to make CUSTOM Pokemon music for the GBA series of Pokemon games.

NOTE: This tutorial is designed for people who know MUSIC THEORY. If you do not know what music theory is, you may well not waste your time reading this tutorial.

Programs:
Anvil Studio
Sappy 2006 (For checking instruments and inserting the music)

Hardware:
I recommend a set of HI-FI HEADPHONES (I use Sony headphones by the way), because it helps you create the song, and all of it's features, perfectly.

Contents:
1. Intro
2. Keys
3. Structure
4. MIDI Controller Events
5. Looping
6. Instruments and Tracks
7. Volume and Panning
8. Not so FAQ
9. Ending

1) Intro:
Hello everyone.
CUSTOM music is rarely ever seen (more like heard) in Hacked Pokemon Games. The best thing about making this type of music is that you do not have to write 20,000 hours of it. Why? Because you loop it. The music kinda challenging to make but very fun to make.


2) Keys
The keys in music are very important. They determine the song's "mood".
Pokemon music sounds happy but the battle themes show a sense of nervousness or scariness.

The key for trainer battle/elite four/legendary battles/rival battles etc. is...
F minor. This key consists of the notes: F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭ and then F again. ...or C#minor which consists of the notes: C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, B, and then C# again.


The key for islands/surfing etc. or the Credits music is...
A major. This key consists of the notes:
A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯, and then A again.
...or E♭ minor, which consists of the notes: E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, and then E♭ again.

The key for towns/cities/routes etc. is...

B♭ major. This key consists of the notes: B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A, and then B♭ again. ...or F♯ minor, which consists of the notes: F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, E, and then F♯ again.

3) Structure

All songs have a structure. For example, songs have a chorus, verses, interludes and maybe a guitar solo. For Pokemon songs, it is different.


Most of the song is different with some parts repeating, but never repeat the same thing over and over and over and over....
Because that will bore the crap out of the listener. If you want to become a good composer, laziness does not come into the equation.

Pokemon songs usually have a intro first, then a main part, interlude, then a different main part, a break and then the whole song loops over again, from the first main part.

4) MIDI Controller Events

Now, your probably thinking: "What the hell is a MIDI controller event?".
A MIDI controller event is a special function, that allows you to say, pan an instrument, on the fly, to the opposite speaker.


Here is a list of compatible, commonly used MIDI Controller Events:
1. Panpot - Used to pan any instrument, on the fly, to any speaker.
2. Program Change - Used to change an instrument to another instrument in the middle of a song.

3. Pitch Bend - Used to change the pitch of a note without actually "hitting" any more notes.



NOTE: When changing a value in Anvil Studio, subtract the chosen value by 1. For example, if you choose 81, change that to 80. Simple.

5) Looping

Looping is the technique we use (and the original composers of the Pokemon songs use) to make songs go on, and on, and on, and on, and... Yeah, I think you get it.


Once you have completed making your song, it is supposed sound a bit "incomplete", because it is supposed to connect up to the first main part again (usually).


Usually the Pokemon songs repeat from end, but what i reckon is it is good to get all creative with it.


NOTE: You can not loop a MIDI file, you can only the S file you make with Midi2Gba (not sharing much info on that, because apparantly it is an illegal program to have).

6) Instruments and Tracks
Every song is made from instruments, whether it be soft instruments, or loud instruments every song is made of instruments.

Here is a list of commonly used instruments:

57 - Trumpet

60 - French Horn


49 - String Ensemble 1

48 - Timpani

0 - Acoustic Grand [Channel 10] (used as drums)



81 - Lead 1 (square)

82 - Lead 2 (sawtooth)


83 - Lead 3 (calliope)

34 - Electric Bass (finger)

128 - Gunshot (used as drum noise)

127 - Applause (used as drum noise)


And, tracks. Tracks in Pokemon songs have a maximum of 10 tracks per song.

Tracks have channels, but you do not need to worry about this unless you are adding drums to your song. Drums are at channel 10.


7) Volume and Panning

The volume in a Pokemon song isn't the same as a normal song, but the panning is similar. In a Pokemon song, the volume is winded down to about 50%. All other instrument volumes have a max of 70% and minimum of 40-50%.


Panning is the technique of making songs sound better by making some instrument play through the left speaker, or the right speaker.

The are also other common panning techniques. Here is a list of them:


Full right speaker - 100% right speaker

Full left speaker - 100% left speaker

Mostly right speaker - 75% right speaker, 25% left speaker

Mostly left speaker - 75% left speaker, 25% right speaker

Centered Panning - 50% left speaker, 50% right speaker.

To change the panning and volume in Anvil Studio, you will see a big box of nobs in the centre/middle of the screen. To change the panning to the left speaker, drag one of the nobs to the right. To change the panning to the right speaker, drag one of the nobs to the left.


8) Not so FAQ
Q. What is transposing?
A. Transposing is raise a set of notes pitches to a higher or lower pitch.

Q. What is difference between MIDI Format-0 and MIDI Format-1?
A. I don't know but it saves track channels backwards. That's all I know.

Q. In the bottom left corner of Anvil Studio, it says style. What does that do?
A. It is just the way you see the musical notes. I recommend "guitar".

Q. When I try to convert my file to an S file, it doesn't convert. Why?
A. The only reason for this is because, the MIDI has problems. To fix those problems, go to "File" and then "Repair Song..." and then follow the prompts.

Q. When I try to transfer my S file into Sappy, the whole program crashes. Why?
A. I have no idea. I think it is a bug in Windows XP, not Sappy. If anyone could help with this I would be grateful.


9) Ending

All things come to end, my friends. If you would like to comment on this tutorial, please don't flame me, this is my first ever tutorial.


Thanks for reading this tutorial and, happy composing!

[pokemon masterxd]

thanks it helped a lot.

[Full Metal]

@ above poster--Do you know what "thread revival" is? In the documents & tuts its OK as long as its relevant to the topic (eg you have a question)
i would suggest removing ur post.
But i saw this tut again, and...
@gsh

Q. When I try to transfer my S file into Sappy 2006, the whole program crashes. Why?
A. I have no idea. I think it is a bug in Windows XP, not Sappy. If anyone could help with this I would be grateful.

In windows xp, open explorer and go to tools->folder options.
Click on the "file associations" tab
click anywhere in the "list", then type the letter: s. (or search for a .s extension manually)
It should show up with the .s extension; push the delete key and your good to go.

[Slegna]

Well, now that the thread is relatively recent, does anybody know how long a song loop should be on average? I think I'm starting to run out of ideas.

[ryolo]

Thanks 4 the tutorial, also, just checking. Is anvil studio free and where do i get it?
Please reply!!

Thanks 4 the tutorial, also, just checking. Is anvil studio free and where do i get it?
Please reply!!

[Full Metal]

yes anvil studio is free.
can you spell google?

yes anvil studio is free.
can you spell google?

[Song Major]

As a fellow music enthusiast (assuming you are) this is totally sick. It looks like you took a lot of time into doing this, and it's nice of you to give some theory tips to others as well.

[PlatniumPiano]

Seems hard using Anvil haha. I just use Sibileus and save the score I make as a MIDI file. But I guess this is good for those without music-writing software... It's always fun to put music into hacks, but it seems like it has a lot of problems either converting MIDI -> .S or .S -> Sappy... Maybe tis mah lack of hacking skills... haha

Good tut.

[Alf Stewart]

I just hope I can put this song in I edited it with AnvilStudio.
(vgmusic newfiles pokemon mariored summerbaytheme)

[zachlim98]

Wow, sounds complicated! But thanks anyway! I'll give it a try!

[Shadow of Legends]

This sounds so cool. I recently downloaded pokemon ruby destiny life of guardian and it has awesome music.
Could someone show me a sample of music made with these programs before I download them.

PS: Does anyone know why the only pokemon in the sinister woods is mew? (pokemon ruby destiny life of guardians)

[Olli97]

Originally Posted by Shadow of Legends

This sounds so cool. I recently downloaded pokemon ruby destiny life of guardian and it has awesome music.
Could someone show me a sample of music made with these programs before I download them.

PS: Does anyone know why the only pokemon in the sinister woods is mew? (pokemon ruby destiny life of guardians)

This is not the right thread, nor the right forum. You can ask those kind of questions in the simple questions thread, or in the thread of the hack.


Also, good tutorial :D

[Shadow of Legends]

Originally Posted by Olli97

This is not the right thread, nor the right forum. You can ask those kind of questions in the simple questions thread, or in the thread of the hack.

The question was just an afterthought.
I still want to here a sample of music made with these programs.

[GlaceonX]

This is a great tut, I got anvil... But I just have 1 question... Ummm, couldn't I use FL Studio better? I mean if it's posible, cuz FL Stusio saves MIDI tracks and I'm more expirienced with it x3

[The 100 Mega Shock]

Originally Posted by Shadow of Legends

The question was just an afterthought.
I still want to here a sample of music made with these programs.

It's a silly question. Listen to any Pokémon game music. A piece of music that's been converted to the GBA won't sound any different regardless of what program was used to make it. It's like asking for a sample of a story written in two different word processing programs.

Originally Posted by GlaceonX

This is a great tut, I got anvil... But I just have 1 question... Ummm, couldn't I use FL Studio better? I mean if it's posible, cuz FL Stusio saves MIDI tracks and I'm more expirienced with it x3

Yes the same principles apply.