Creating your own music: Difference between revisions

From Valve Developer Community
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (Request fulfilled)
m (→‎Software: added REAPER, a free and Linux-supported option)
 
(17 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Creating your own music}}
{{stub}}
{{stub}}
{{cleanup|This article and related articles are a mess.}}
{{todo|Add some details or links on the nuts & bolts of working programmatically with .wav files.}}
{{todo|Add some details or links on the nuts & bolts of working programmatically with .wav files.}}
== Creating Music for your mod ==
 
A lot of people ask the question: "How do I create music?"
== Format ==
Well, there are many ways to create music. You need software, hardware, and musical talent.
PCM 16bit at 44KHz is the highest quality available. Both WAV files and MP3 files should use this standard to work in the source engine. Monaural or monophonic audio is NOT supported.
 
For music files it is usually best to use the [[MP3]] format, as long audio files will use up large amounts of disk space in the [[WAV]] format.
{{note|Source can only loop files with cue points, which are exclusive to the WAV format. Consider using ADPCM for looping music.<br>See also: [[Looping a Sound]]}}
 
Music differs little from basic sounds in the engine. Adding new music can be done simply by placing it in the mod's sound folder and directly referencing it, or by utilising [[soundscripts]].
{{note|Music generally should be placed in the "sound/music/..." directory and be flagged with the '#' character in order for it to be affected by the "Music Volume" slider in the options menu. It also should be set to play unspatialized ("everywhere") with the <code>soundlevel</code> keyvalue set to 0 or <code>SNDLEVEL_NONE</code>.}}


== Software ==
== Software ==
Music isn't something that just appears. It requires talent, time, and dedication. There are programs out there that make music creation easier.
 
[http://www.avid.com/US/products/family/Pro-Tools Pro Tools]Pro tools is a professional program that makes recording instruments easy.
(Also see: [[Music Composition]])
[http://flstudio.image-line.com/ FL Studio] I use FL Studio. It is a program that allows the user to create quality music without the need for musical instruments.
 
[http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/acidpro Sony ACID Studio] Acid studio is like a combination of FL Studio and Pro Tools, although it doesn't have as many features.
Programs for creating music are available in both free and paid versions from many sources. Below is a short list of popular paid programs for making music, which often have various versions and price-points for users.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Popular Music Software
|-
! Software !! Information !! Systems
|-
| [https://www.avid.com/pro-tools Pro Tools] || Uses subscription model || {{win|4}}, {{mac|4}}
|-
| [https://www.image-line.com/ FL Studio] || One Time Purchase || {{win|4}}, {{mac|4}}
|-
| [https://www.magix.com/us/music-editing/music-maker/ MAGIX Music Maker] || One Time Purchase || {{win|4}}, {{mac|4}}
|-
| [https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/ Logic Pro] || One Time Purchase || {{mac|4}}
|-
| [https://www.reaper.fm/ REAPER] || Free for evaluation || {{win|4}}, {{mac|4}}, {{linux|4}}
|}


== Freeware ==
== Freeware ==
[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] Audacity is a powerful freeware sound editor. It allows you to record, edit, and mix audio together.
[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] Audacity is a powerful freeware sound editor. It allows you to record, edit, and mix audio together. It has many of the basic tools necessary to edit music as well as a variety of effects and filters. Audacity does not have instruments for making music, but has a small selection of sound generators. This program will require you to import or record instruments tracks.
[http://www.wavosaur.com/ Wavosaur] Wavosaur is another freeware sound editor. Like audacity, it allows you to record, edit, and mix audio. But the advantage of Wavosaur over audacity is the support of VST's and the ASIO Sound driver, an advanced sound driver. FL studio also supports the ASIO Driver.
 
== Hardware ==
Music requires more than just instruments and software. It requires hardware. Heres a list of hardware that I use.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbox Mbox] Mbox is a USB recording hub designed to work with pro tools.
M-Audio Speakers,
Windows XP Home Premium,
SAMSON MDR10 Sound Board.


== Format ==
[http://www.wavosaur.com/ Wavosaur] Wavosaur is another freeware sound editor. Like audacity, it allows you to record, edit, and mix audio. The advantage of Wavosaur over audacity is the support of VST and ASIO Sound driver, a means of reducing latency in audio recording. Additionally, it is capable of adding [[Looping a sound|loop points]].
The Source Engine supports both raw and compressed audio in WAV and MP3 respectively. However, for looping sounds only WAV is supported. PCM 16bit WAV at 44KHz is the highest quality available. Monaural or monophonic audio is NOT supported.
To add music to the hammer sound browser, simply place the WAV or MP3 file into the game's sound folder, or make one if there is none.


== Recommended VST's ==
== Recommended VST ==


[http://refx.com/ REfx Nexus]
[http://refx.com/ REfx Nexus]
[http://www.roland.com/products/en/HQ-OR/ Edirol Orchestral]
[http://www.soundsonline.com/products/PLAY/Symphonic-Orchestra/ East West/ Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold]
[http://www.soundsonline.com/products/PLAY/Symphonic-Orchestra/ East West/ Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold]


Latest revision as of 21:20, 10 March 2024

Stub

This article or section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Broom icon.png
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality because:
This article and related articles are a mess.
For help, see the VDC Editing Help and Wikipedia cleanup process. Also, remember to check for any notes left by the tagger at this article's talk page.
Todo: Add some details or links on the nuts & bolts of working programmatically with .wav files.

Format

PCM 16bit at 44KHz is the highest quality available. Both WAV files and MP3 files should use this standard to work in the source engine. Monaural or monophonic audio is NOT supported.

For music files it is usually best to use the MP3 format, as long audio files will use up large amounts of disk space in the WAV format.

Note.pngNote:Source can only loop files with cue points, which are exclusive to the WAV format. Consider using ADPCM for looping music.
See also: Looping a Sound

Music differs little from basic sounds in the engine. Adding new music can be done simply by placing it in the mod's sound folder and directly referencing it, or by utilising soundscripts.

Note.pngNote:Music generally should be placed in the "sound/music/..." directory and be flagged with the '#' character in order for it to be affected by the "Music Volume" slider in the options menu. It also should be set to play unspatialized ("everywhere") with the soundlevel keyvalue set to 0 or SNDLEVEL_NONE.

Software

(Also see: Music Composition)

Programs for creating music are available in both free and paid versions from many sources. Below is a short list of popular paid programs for making music, which often have various versions and price-points for users.

Popular Music Software
Software Information Systems
Pro Tools Uses subscription model Windows Windows, macOS macOS
FL Studio One Time Purchase Windows Windows, macOS macOS
MAGIX Music Maker One Time Purchase Windows Windows, macOS macOS
Logic Pro One Time Purchase macOS macOS
REAPER Free for evaluation Windows Windows, macOS macOS, Linux Linux

Freeware

Audacity Audacity is a powerful freeware sound editor. It allows you to record, edit, and mix audio together. It has many of the basic tools necessary to edit music as well as a variety of effects and filters. Audacity does not have instruments for making music, but has a small selection of sound generators. This program will require you to import or record instruments tracks.

Wavosaur Wavosaur is another freeware sound editor. Like audacity, it allows you to record, edit, and mix audio. The advantage of Wavosaur over audacity is the support of VST and ASIO Sound driver, a means of reducing latency in audio recording. Additionally, it is capable of adding loop points.

Recommended VST

REfx Nexus East West/ Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold

Demo Song

This song was made using only fl studio and pro tools Click to listen

Retrieved from "https://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/index.php?title=Creating_your_own_music&oldid=390272"