What makes a good song for FFR?

[psychoangel691]

Hey guys, Dave from Boyinaband has been talking to me (he's really excited to have his song in game) and he wants to know what makes a good fun/challenging FFR song. He'd like to create a song for us that would be awesome for the game, so he wants your input. Let me know here what you think makes a song good for charting.

Thanks everyone!

[Xx{Midnight}xX]

You cannot combine a fun and challenging chart into the same thing.

It's a paradox.

Also, the fun these days is rare

But if he has to know to at least make it interesting, progressive music would be something I'd love to see.

tldr: Dream Theater ish sort of stuff.

[icontrolyourworld]

Originally Posted by Xx{Midnight}xX

You cannot combine a fun and challenging chart into the same thing.

yes you can

[TC_Halogen]

A good song is something that is energetic and makes you WANT to listen to it. Within Life is a great example of a song that is awesome to listen to and gets you pumped.

As far as good for FFR, I would imagine that it's rewarding to feel like you're moving very quickly. I personally am a fan of songs that are really glitchy/promote speed while keeping the chart interesting, but that's just me.

This thread needs more input; Dave is awesome and I'm not going to hesitate to step any of his music.

[bmah]

I'd like a song with variety and reducing exact repetition as much as possible. Stuffing in as many interesting aspects as you can within 2 minutes for instance can make the song feel a lot longer, even though it isn't. That means you have to be more creative with structuring your songs within a shorter time frame.

That'd be something I'd rather play over a longer, 3+ minute song.

Oh, and personally for me, I like melodic songs at an energetic pace (130+ bpm); they tend to be more catchy. I can do away with breakcore and percussions contributing to the main difficulty of a file.

[noname219]

Melodic, complex, layered, has sound variations.
Basically, repetition on a long period of time is something to avoid.

If you want some examples : Venetian Snares, OSTER Project, xi, The Flashbulb, DJ Sharpnel, S.S.H., Protest the Hero, among many others are some of the most liked artists we have permissions.

[Patashu]

Originally Posted by psychoangel691

Hey guys, Dave from Boyinaband has been talking to me (he's really excited to have his song in game) and he wants to know what makes a good fun/challenging FFR song. He'd like to create a song for us that would be awesome for the game, so he wants your input. Let me know here what you think makes a song good for charting.

Thanks everyone!

My rule of thumb is:

Tap along to the song as it plays.

If you're not tapping something different after (let's say) four measures in a row, change the song until you are.

Have riffs and harmonies that come and go. Have the drummer play fills. Don't just play a chord progression - arpeggiate it. Have patterns that change slightly over time. Fill dead space (virt has some great examples: http://www.8bitpeoples.com/files/8bp...-survivors.mp3 5:07 on, http://www.8bitpeoples.com/files/8bp...ched_sands.mp3 2:43 on). Don't just revisit, re-envision. The song can be repetitive and structured, but it should offer something slightly different each time, so the stepartist can be creative and the player more entertained.

[SKG_Scintill]

Threeway of Piano X Forte, He's a Radical Rat and 12 Bar Bloops.
Time signature, syncopation, clear sound, grace notes, riffs and licks, glissando, jacking rhythms, polyrhythms. Yet not forced

[popsicle_3000]

speed-ups, slow downs. song like autumn insomnia comes to mind, fast asleep. where it's natural to suddenly have a fast stream for example

[DossarLX ODI]

Less than 3 minutes, or at least make an attempt to do so along with having 16th rhythms that could make some good jumpstream with broken 8ths that could involve something such as vocals seen in Gotta Catch Em All.

Polyrhythms tend to go away from the fun part because it feels awkward having to do weird gallops since it's not a straight rhythm. I think with both a solid rhythm that isn't stupid fast and minimal polyrhythms, we could have a solid VC or FMO. You can still vary things up with the song.

I do not want to see this song as FGO material. I have to say that VC/FMO files are the most played files and most widely enjoyed nowadays in the community, even for players like me -- and most of the time, FGO territory really just makes for some unfun files to play.

[dore]

The song has to have peaks and valleys. If a song is energetic for 3 minutes straight, by the third minute the energy is going to feel more dull because you're used to it. Change the mood of the song to keep it interesting.

A song with interesting prominent rhythms will always be more fun and naturally provide variety within the song. If the lead melody doesn't repeat itself, it'll be more fun. But scarce repetition can also help a song when used thoughtfully.

There's no one rule that can make a song perfect for charting unless you plan to chart your own music. Everyone will see a song differently when they open up the editor, so you can't necessarily tailor a song to a stepartist unless you know who that stepartist is.

Contradicting advice

[rushyrulz]

Originally Posted by DossarLX ODI

Less than 3 minutes, or at least make an attempt to do so along with having 16th rhythms that could make some good jumpstream with broken 8ths that could involve something such as vocals seen in Gotta Catch Em All.

I'd like to mention that the vocals completely destroyed that song for me.

Good song for FFR is at least 165 BPM, good melody with catchy riffs and a noticeable progression and NO CRAP-ASS VOCALS (but sampling is okay). Good example of music that's perfect for FFR: Gravity Blast. Example of a slower song that's good for FFR: Sensorium

[jimerax]

Good for listening to in general + Clear main instrument in most parts + Unique and variable rhythm usage + NOT REPETITIVE.

[Plan_Bsk81127]

Something that doesnt have dnb, buzz sounds, those remix sounds(like in Within Life), or other derpy noises. Seeing charts that end up being nothing but 32nd rolls or rolls in general is overused and gets annoying. A song that is a mix of rock, piano, rap, techno/trance or whatever, etc would make a good song, a song like Reminders. Length isnt really an issue if you can keep it off the repetitive side.

[Xiz]

Originally Posted by jimerax

... + NOT REPETITIVE.

oops

[rushyrulz]

Originally Posted by Plan_Bsk81127

Reminders.

Great song. A bit on the repetitive side but I really don't mind that when it's a good song being repeated.

[TC_Halogen]

I absolutely hate comments that are against longer songs. I wish judges would stop being so harsh on song cutting, because not every song needs to be cut down to < 2:30. The song that I just put a preview video for is a 5:00+ drumstep song, but it actually offers differences in and out of every 8/16 measures. I've only finished 2 minutes of it, but it plays incredibly fast for two minutes.

@ Plan: haha, you're totally going to hate the chart that I put as a preview in the DB; totally has 32nd rolling and lots of vocal samples that are glitched out, and is drumstep

[kommisar]

dynamic rhythms and complex chord progressions, room for accentuation and a build up to a climax to finish



that's it.

[Wayward Vagabond]

im ok with long songs that are 89bpm 8ths to terrible rock music

[DossarLX ODI]

Originally Posted by rushyrulz

I'd like to mention that the vocals completely destroyed that song for me.

Good song for FFR is at least 165 BPM, good melody with catchy riffs and a noticeable progression and NO CRAP-ASS VOCALS (but sampling is okay). Good example of music that's perfect for FFR: Gravity Blast. Example of a slower song that's good for FFR: Sensorium

I actually hate the vocals in Gotta Catch Em All too haha, ruined the song -- but I meant that other things could be in there that could make for some interesting layering, vocals are not the only method. But Plan B also has a good idea on what the file should be like... no more DnB burst crap please.