How to create a song on your phone--Frankie

Making music is a fun and entertaining hobby that can spark creativity and when creating and releasing songs, it is amazing to see progression in skills and creativity. For this “How To” I will be showing how to create song on an iPhone using GarageBand (although you can use any music software, it doesn’t even have to be on the phone, but this I feel is the most accessible,) and to make things a little easier, I will be showing a song that I have already made and is one of my favorites of my works, a cover/remix and mashup of Tear in My Heart and Hometown by Twenty One Pilots. It might be easier to listen to the song before reading to have a better understanding as to what I’m talking about. https://youtu.be/KgwolMLNem4
Step 1: Setting Tempo and Organization
The first thing you want to do is set your tempo in the Song Setting menu. For this song, the tempo is 120 bpm, which means 120 beats per minute. The time measure we will be using, and the one that’s most popular is 4/4, which means 4 beats in a measure. We also want to give ourselves extra measures using the + button below the settings menu. When working on a song, it is also important to keep your work organized, for this song, I have basses on top, then vocals, then drums, then keyboards, then the synths, but you can put it in any order you like, and add or remove instruments to create your own sound, for this song I went for more of a synth vibe with bells and pop drums. 

Step 2: Create your melody
Usually what you want to do first is think of the melody you want, personally sometimes I start off with a bass riff, guitar riff, or a piano melody then work from there. For this song, I have an electric and regular piano to create a hybrid sound. You also, for the most part, want to stay in key, what that means is staying within the range of notes that work well together. To keep it simple, you can decide on a note and look up the major scale for that note, this will create a happier sound, or a minor scale for a more sad sound. 

Step 3: Drums
Once you have your melody you can decide what type of drums you want, and using the presents on GarageBand you can choose from a variety of live-sounding or electronic drums. You can

mix and match different sounds, it is all personal preference to create the sound you want, in this song I used a variety of drums to create a real drumset-like sound. 

Step 4: Vocals
For this song I used the vocals from the original songs, which at the time I didn’t know was a bad thing to do without permission (oops.) However, you can sing, or rap, or even not have vocals at all. For example, most LoFi songs usually have someone talking in replacement for singing or rapping. Most EDM songs use vocal chops, which is a technique where you cut the vocals into random spots and use them for melodies, a technique I myself still find very difficult to do, but some may find it easy, it all just depends on creativity and practice. 

Step 5: Song Structure

To structure a song, it all depends on personal preference. To explain this, I will be talking about a couple artists/songs and how they differ in structure. Daft Punk, with their electronic music, for the most part structure their songs in a way where they add a new sound and or melody after 4/8 measures (16/32 beats) and have a bridge, then continue the main melody. Some songs have long intros before they really get started, such as Passionfruit by Drake. Some get started right away with a “drop” or chorus, such as Game Over by Martin Garrix and LOOPERS. There is no correct way to structure a song, it all depends on the type of sound you are going for.
Tips for getting started and my personal experience
For people that are new to music in general, it is helpful to use a metronome to stay on beat, and to quantize for extra help, it is also helpful to just keep practicing and listening to all types of music to get new ideas, and when you take a step back to see progress, it is such a fulfilling feeling. Personally, I gave up music because I was covering songs and starting to use my own voice, and there was a mental barrier I couldn’t pass, but now I’m getting back into it and am planning on releasing a collection of songs in the summer. If you want to be updated on when i release music, you can follow my Instagram @dj.heartbeat, there I have links to my SoundCloud as well for more of my music.