Quoted from Rainbowdragoneyes. I sent him an e-mail asking him to check out some of my 8-bit, this was his response.
"Hey Shawn,
I checked out your stuff and it's not too bad! You have a few good instrument sounds and there are definitely some dynamics happening, which is important.
Based on what I've heard, I can offer the following input:
1. Some of your melodies and harmonies are pretty good, and some of them are not so good. There is no practical way for me to explain what makes a good melody, your ear should be able to tell you if it sucks or if it jams. Here is something to think about: if your songs were not 8bit, and were created by some other means, maybe guitars or other synths, would you still like it? If the answer is "no," then what you are doing is relying too heavily on the aural aesthetics of the 8bit sound and it is taking focus away from the song itself. Good music should be good music, not just "good 8bit" or "good chiptune."
2. Your song structures are a bit confused. Take some time listening to music you like (start with non-chip, then move on to your favorite chip stuff) and really listen to how the song flows. Much of modern music all contains an intro, verse, bridge, chorus, and so on, and if you sit there and count it all out you will find that mathematically the number of beats and measures of each part makes sense. Take your standard pop song in 4/4 time (4 beats to a measure, 4uarter note is = 1 beat), each section (verse, chorus, etc) will have a number of beats that almost always is a multiple of 4.
So, try to identify where the chorus, verse, etc is in your own songs. Build up the tension and keep piling it on, until you get to the big payoff- which is the chorus, and it should hit really really hard to be effective. Don't repeat the same section over and over, I know it's really easy to get lazy when using trackers (I do it too) and just copy the same part over the next section, but you are doing yourself and your music an injustice by not taking the time to create using your fullest potential. You certainly seem to have a grasp of the program, which is good, so if you want to write something totally epic, use paper and make notes and write and rewrite and tweak and delete and move around and just keep doing it forever and ever, amen. The more you do it the better you will get and more you find out you can do, etc.
A good exercise is to cover one of your favorite non-chip songs, taking care to make it sound as close to the original as possible, only with 8bit instrumentation. People love cover songs too, so if you make a silly video to go with it you can probably get yourself a few hits on YouTube if you're into that. But always remember the point here is not to get your dick sucked by people who have never heard of 8bit, the point is to write the best possible music you can and if it's attention you seek, you will get it by remaining modest and continually working on your craft.
Hope this helps, stay in touch!!!"
