Gruber posts
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New Masterclass Schedule + Other Plans!
Hey everyone,With the Celeste Soundtrack complete, I am rebooting! Below are some of the things I’ll be working on until the end of the year:Music MasterclassesFirst thing’s first, I’ve set dates for the next music masterclasses. This is an opportunity to get live feedback on YOUR music (Patrons have top priority!). Tutorials and written articles are great, but getting live feedback will be more relevant to you and your practice. If you can’t make any of these masterclasses, but are working on some music, or have any questions, I’m st...
Celeste Soundtrack (Pico-8 Edition) Released!
Hello everyone!The Celeste Soundtrack (Pico-8 Edition) has been released! Compositions by Lena Raine (@kuraine) Artwork by Christina Antoinette Neofotistou (@castpixel) Pico-8 Arrangements by Gruber (@gruber_music)This was a big project, and I’ve made it available in various ways: The soundtrack is public on YouTube, for everyone to listen. All patrons can download the sheet music here and here. +5$ Patrons will find the Mp3’s and Pico-8 carts in the shared Google Drive (if you haven’t joined the Google Drive, please message me and I’l...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #8 – Final WIPs!
Soundtrack is (mostly) complete - WHEW!Patrons can hear excerpts from the last five tracks in the video above (only 3.5 mins long). 17 Little Goth 18 Reach for the Summit 19 Exhale 20 Heart of the Mountain 21 My Dearest FriendsFinal tally: 21 tracks 60 Pico-8 carts 100 mins of musicNext steps include listening to each track again, making fine adjustments if needed, exporting all the music from the Pico-8 carts, pasting the .wav files together and exporting each track as an Mp3! Oh, and of course, artwork by castpixel!I hope to have this ready b...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #7 – WIPs & Pico-8 Corruption!
Homestretch!Some more WIPs in the video above (only 4 minutes). You can hear excerpts from the following tracks, comparing the original with my arrangements: 13 Madeline and Theo 14 Starjump 15 Reflection 16 Confronting MyselfAlso included in this video (3:20) is an excerpt of my first ever use of corruption! The original version of Confronting Myself, features some glitchy effects at around 2:10. Rather than implementing these effects manually, I thought it would be interesting to get Pico-8 to create them randomly. The trick is using corrupti...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #6 – Soundtrack is 50% complete!
Hey everyone,Some more WIPs in the video above, have a listen! (only 4 minutes) You can hear excerpts from the following tracks, comparing the original with my arrangements: 09 Golden 10 Anxiety 11 Quiet and Falling 12 In the MirrorI have to admit, these tracks were very difficult and time consuming. The originals use many open, evolving, ambient textures. Creating these kinds of ambient textures in Pico-8 is already difficult. Combining that with trying to stay true to the original recordings adds more layers of difficulties. The good news tho...
Music Hotkeys! - Pico-8 Tutorial #50
May 25/20 Update - The release of Pico-8 Beta includes a new PAT/SFX music editor. This means new hotkeys!--Thanks to Discord’s 'wethesqueemish' for the suggestion!List is below, and PDF is attached! Not exactly a tutorial, more of a resource :) But this should help give a picture of Pico-8’s music hotkeys and workflows. As you can see, I tried to make it as comprehensive as possible and included things like mouse clicks and mouse drags.Of course, this will always be a work-in-progress as new updates add new hotkeys. Please message ...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #5 – More WIPs!
Here are some more works in progress, have a listen! (only 3.5 minutes) You can hear excerpts from the following tracks, comparing the original with my arrangements: 05 Postcard from Celeste Mountain 06 Checking In 07 Spirit of Hospitality 08 Scattered and LostThere are a couple of tunes from the soundtrack that I’ve been dreading, mostly because they have so many layers and will be a huge challenge reducing the music to four channels. Scattered and Lost was one of them.The biggest challenge with this one was the buzzy bass. When you listen t...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #4 – WIPs, Have a Listen!
Celeste OST Pico-8 remake is underway!You can watch a video above where I compare the original tracks with my Pico-8 arrangements (will only take you three minutes!). Excerpts are from the first four tracks: 01 Prologue 02 First Steps 03 Resurrections 04 AwakeJust as there’s a certain unity of melody, harmony and sound design throughout the original soundtrack, I’m also trying to keep some sounds common throughout. I’ve settled on a “piano” instrument using the instrument editor in Pico-8.It’s mostly made up of instrument 5, but inc...
New Masterclass Schedule! – August/September 2019
Hey everyone!I’m really enjoying the masterclasses. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to chat and share music. For the next round of masterclasses, I was going to send out a poll to ask everyone’s preferred times. But considering where you’re all from (Japan, Australia, Europe, West Coast) there’s NO way I’ll be able to make a schedule for everyone.So rather than clutter everyone’s inbox, I went ahead and picked some dates and times. Times are more varied this round, so hopefully you’ll be able to make at least one of them. If...
Piano Transcription & Deep Analysis – Sugar Ray by Phineas Newborn Jr.
I thought I’d take a break from the grind of writing about hand independence and transcribe something instead.In my own practice, I revisited this tune by Phineas Newborn Jr. called Sugar Ray. I encourage students to learn it because the melody has a very specific piano/band arrangement, it covers a good spatial range at the piano, and it’s a ton of fun to play. I’ve been using it as a means to practice playing bass lines and counterpoint in certain keys.I had never transcribed his improvised solo, so I thought it would be a good opportun...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #3 – Sheet Music Complete!
All done!Attached is the rest of the sheet music for the Celeste OST: 11 Quiet and Falling 12 In the Mirror 13 Madeline and Theo 14 Starjump 15 Reflection 16 Confronting Myself 17 Little Goth 18 Reach for the Summit 19 Exhale 20 Heart of the Mountain 21 My Dearest FriendsYou can find the rest of the sheet music, as well as notes on my transcription strategies here.Again, because these sheets are so fresh, there may be the odd mistake here and there. Please let me know if you find any, or have any questions.I'm not sure how I'll update o...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #2 – Sheet Music!
Attached is sheet music for the first 10 tracks of the Celeste OST: 01 Prologue 02 First Steps 03 Resurrections 04 Awake 05 Postcard from Celeste Mountain 06 Checking In 07 Spirit of Hospitality 08 Scattered and Lost 09 Golden 10 AnxietyThese sheets are very fresh, so there may be a few typos and mistakes. When I start the Pico-8 projects, I’ll probably catch some, but in the meantime, if you find any, please let me know!--Writing sheet music is an art in and of itself.As I’m transcribing the Celeste soundtrack and inputting everything into...
Pico-8 Celeste Update #1 – The Game Plan
Hi everyone!Work on my Celeste-OST-Pico-8-remake has begun. If you don’t know Lena Raine, she didn’t an amazing job producing the soundtrack. You can listen to it here. The game Celeste, was released January 2018 and was incredibly successful. It ALSO originally started as a Pico-8 game. This is one of the reasons for choosing to remake Celeste’s soundtrack – to see (and hear) it come full circle!This is going to be a big project, and will take a few months, but I’ve started to work out all the steps.Sheet MusicThe first step is trans...
June Update - Pico-8 Celeste, Masterclass and more!
Hello Patrons, hope you’re well!Pico-8 Celeste Remake!?Horaayy we’ve hit $200/month! Thank you, thank you! To celebrate, I’m considering remaking the Celeste OST in Pico-8. This will include all the sheet music, so it’s a big project, and will likely take a couple of months. But I think it’s doable : )Next Masterclass…is THIS Sunday, June 9th @ 10am-2pm EST.Patrons get priority feedback - Do you have some Pico-8 music you’re working on? Questions about composition/theory? Do you play the piano and want feedback on your playing? I...
Volume Effects (Part 3/3) - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #06
The last MilkyTracker on volume controls and effects! I introduce Lxx, Gxx & Hxx and show a bunch of creative uses. The first two minutes is also dedicated to going through a few hotkeys for quickly opening up menus.By the END of this tutorial, you should know how to: Open up different menus using hotkeys Control volume envelopes with Lxx Use effect Lxx creatively Control global volume with Gxx & Hxx Use effects Gxx & Hxx to fade out tunes Use effects Gxx & Hxx creativelyThe full video is about 22mins. Here are the time stamps (best used direct...
Volume Effects (Part 2/3) - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #05
This is the 2nd tutorial of three, exploring volume effects and commands in MilkyTracker. In the previous tutorial, I talked about manually adjusting the volume. In THIS tutorial, I talk all about volume slides.By the END of this tutorial, you should know how to: Tell the difference between manual volume adjustments and volume slides Input volume slides with -x and +x Input volume slides with Axy Use SPD to change and control volume slides Combine volume slides with volume envelopes Use volume slides in the context of writing musicHere are the ...
Volume Effects (Part 1/3) - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #04
There are a handful of volume effects at your disposal in MilkyTracker. To be thorough, I’ve divided these effects into three tutorials.By the END of this tutorial, you should know how to: Set default volume in the instrument editor Override the default volume Manually input volume with xx and Cxx Adjust the volume finely with Dx & Ux Adjust the volume finely with EAx & EBx Use volume commands with volume envelopes Use volume commands in the context of writing musicThe full video is about 18mins long, here are the time stamped sections: Intro...
Music Masterclass - May 12, 2019
Thanks to everyone who checked out the first masterclass stream. Lots of conversations about transcribing & arranging music in Pico-8, making melodies sound better, and more! In case you missed it, I've made this first masterclass video available for ALL Patrons (future masterclasses will be available for $5+). It's time stamped based on the music I was working on, and then based on some of the interesting topics and came up. cdaddr - 00:58 Sab - 1:15:45 mpjv_ - 1:40:00 scowsh - 1:51:21-- Pico-8: Transcribing and Arranging Music in Pic...
SPD and BPM - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #03
What is SPD? What is BPM? How are they different, and how are they related?Understanding SPD and BPM is really important for understanding how volume envelopes and effects work. When I was first learning MilkyTracker, I could never figure them out, and there weren’t any tutorials that explained them thoroughly. This is my attempt at fixing that!Below is a list of the main sections in the full 17min video. I write something very quickly in the last 6mins. What is SPD? – 0:20 What is BPM? – 1:04 Introducing Fxx! – 1:24 Using Fxx to set S...
Announcing Gruber’s Music Masterclasses!!
Hey everyone!Starting in May, I’ll be hosting regular “masterclasses” on Twitch. Send me your Pico-8 carts, MilkyTracker projects, and piano music, and I’ll review them live on stream. If you don’t have anything to show, I’ll be streaming anyways, so come say hello - lets talk about composing, music theory, melody writing, workflow, jazz piano and ALL THE THINGS!Getting live feedback is much better than written articles and tutorial videos. And I think having a specific time and place for feedback might encourage more people to GET ...
Directional Relationships - Hand Independence and Counterpoint (3/5)
Sept 21/19 Edit – 2600-word update: the las
Important UI Controls & Buttons - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #02
A tutorial dedicated to all the important controls and buttons in MilkyTracker's main view.BPM and SPD are the most complex of all the buttons, so I've reserved NEXT tutorial to talk specifically about those. The first couple of tutorials are pretty technical, but sometimes this information is hard to find, or not explained thoroughly. I'll start writing some music in the next tutorial!Below are all the buttons/topics covered in the video with time stamps (the time stamps are best used directly in YouTube)Of course, feedback is welc...
HotKeys you MUST Know - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #01
New MilkyTracker / Chiptune tutorial!Questions and feedback are always welcome and appreciated. Need clarification? Did I forget something? How can I make these better? Is there a topic you’d like to see covered?--Hotkeys are really important when you’re tracking - It’s part of the tracking experience!In this tutorial, I go through the ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW RIGHT NOW hotkeys. These are the ones you should start using right away as best as you can. All of the other hotkeys I’m going to spread out in the series. Using hotkeys takes repetit...
Introduction - MilkyTracker and Chiptune Tutorial #00
This is an introduction to my tutorial series on making music and chiptunes with MilkyTracker.Questions and feedback are always welcome and appreciated. Need clarification? Did I forget something? How can I make these better? Is there a topic you’d like to see covered?If you’re BRAND NEW to MilkyTracker, I’d recommend first checking out my tutorial series for beginners. Here’s the playlistIn these tutorials, I’ll be covering more intermediate topics, like all the volume controls, panning controls, all the effects, and most of the butt...
UPDATE – Feedback Series, MilkyTracker Tutorials, and Jazz Piano!
Hello Patrons!Hope you’re well. An update on future content:Feedback SeriesI’ve been thinking about starting a “Feedback Series.” Patrons can send me their music (Pico-8, chiptune, piano music etc.). I can make a kind of tutorial video, suggesting areas of improvement, compositional directions, ideas for practice etc.Being a patron gives you access to lots of tutorials, but sometimes tutorials don’t fill in all the gaps. This will be an opportunity to get some direct feedback! This is currently a $10 reward, but I'm considering mo...
Pico-8 Miscellaneous SFX Pack!
Moving, texting, attacking, hitting, opening, dying!!All kinds of different SFX in this pack. I tried to keep them as organized as possible. Let me know if you think I missed any ;)Overall, there are 42 different sound effects. Attached is the Pico-8 cart and a .zip file with 42 .wav files. Below is the list. I think this will be the LAST SFX pack. At least until I think there's another category that needs to be filled. As I write more effects for games, I'll add them to all these packs!So there are FIVE SFX packs in total: Jump SFX Pac...
Pico-8 Tunes Vol. 2!!
Jakub and I released Vol. 1 EXACTLY TWO years ago! Vol. 2 has been in the works for a while, so we're excited to finally have this finished.If you're not familiar with Pico-8 Tunes, the idea was to fill a Pico-8 cart with music that devs can use in their games. Jakub coded some amazing doodles and animations to accompany the music and create a demoscene-like experience. We're also very happy that @castpixel contributed her amazing artwork Vol. 2. Thanks Christina! Play Vol. 2 HERE at lexaloffle.com Play Vol. 1 hereif you're maki...
Speedwalker by Vulfpeck (Pico-8 Cover)
Taking a break from the SFX packs. This is a cover of a fun, funky tune by Vulfpeck called Speedwalker. Hope you enjoy!Attached is the Pico-8 cart, an Mp3 for your music library, and an Mp4 for your video library (okay, attaching the video is a bit weird, but why not!?)I think I'll post one more SFX pack next Monday, then start making some MilkyTracker tutorials.
Pico-8 Projectiles and Lasers SFX Pack, Now Available!
🛸🔫 !PEW PEW PEW! 🔫 🛸+5$ Patrons now have access to 25+ .wav files and a Pico-8 cart with SFX for guns, lasers, fireballs and other projectiles! (Link). Watch the YouTube video above to hear them all.Also attached is a .zip file with all those sounds as .wav files. Use them in your games!--ALSO - In case you missed it:Creating SFX (Explosions) - Pico-8 Music Tutorial #49 Watch the full version here (for +5$ Patrons) Watch the preview hereSpatial Relationships - Hand Independence and Counterpoint (Part 2/5) Jazz piano article (Link) (...
Pico-8 Projectiles and Lasers SFX Pack!
🛸🔫 !PEW PEW PEW! 🔫 🛸Attached is a Pico-8 cart with a 25+ sounds for guns, lasers, fireballs and other projectiles! Also attached is a .zip file with all those sounds as .wav files. Use them, change them!I've attached my live stream session in the video above. You can watch me try to re-create many of these sounds which should give you some ideas of the different workflows for creating these kinds of SFX. I don't think I'll make a tutorial. They're all so different, and difficult to sum up in a few general rules.Below...
