2. Introduction Welcome to MyTunes You will learn to make
A music-making
And all-round note-worthy course
You will learn to make
All using a program called LMMS
Need to look at some musical terms first
Simple Samples
Toe-Tapping Tunes
Solid Sound Effects
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

3. Musical Terms (1)
The most important thing to learn are the notes we can play
The sounds we can make
Sounds come in the form of notes
And there are seven in total
Each note has a different pitch A B C D E F G
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

4. Musical Terms (1)
The most important thing to learn are the notes we can play
The sounds we can make
Sounds come in the form of notes
And there are seven in total
Each note has a different pitch A B C D E F G
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

5. Click on these buttons to play the notes
Musical Terms (1)
Each note can go lower and higher too!
These are called octaves
The larger the octave, the higher the pitch | the smaller the octave, the lower the pitch C4 C5 C6
Lower C
Same C
Higher C
Click on these buttons to play the notes
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

6. Click on these buttons to play the notes
Musical Terms (1)
We can also go slightly higher or lower with each note
Slightly higher notes are sharp (♯)
Slightly lower notes are flat (♭)
C♭5 C5
C♯5
Play
Play
Play
Click on these buttons to play the notes
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

7. Musical Terms (1) Play We can make some quite nice sounding music
By playing some of these notes in order
We will look more at these later
For now, let’s have a quick recap quiz! C5 E5 G5 C6
Play
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

8. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ C Octave
Which of these is a note? ♯
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one! C
Octave
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

9. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ ♭ A
Which one is the sharp symbol? ♯
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one! ♭ A
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

10. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) ♯ ♭ A
Which one is the flat symbol? ♯
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one! ♭ A
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

11. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (1) The Note The Octave
What changes between a low C and a high C?
The Note
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one!
The Octave
Nothing
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

12. A blank LMMS project (with all its windows open)
LMMS Orientation
Let’s get started with LMMS
Linux Multimedia Studio
Opening LMMS gives us a clean file to work with
Even though it looks rather busy
There are a few windows open
And some clickable buttons
We can close these windows if we want
A blank LMMS project (with all its windows open)
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

13. LMMS Orientation These buttons are split into three categories
With an extra category for the sliders and numbers
Rhythm Management
File Management
Window Management
Panel Management
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

14. LMMS Orientation The first thing we should always do is SAVE OUR WORK
This will open a window asking us where to save this project
We’ll make a folder for our MyTunes work
And save this file as Lesson01
Project name goes here
The Save Button
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

15. Open LMMS on your computer
Once open, click on the Save Current Project button
Make a folder on your computer for your MyTunes work
Save this file in that folder, calling it Lesson01
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

16. The Show/Hide Song Editor Button
Removing Tracks
Each project in LMMS is a song
We can make them as long or short as we want
They don’t even have to be songs
They could be sound effects
To make our project play anything, we need to edit it
Which is done in the Song Editor
One of the windows we closed earlier
We can show it by clicking on the Show/Hide Song Editor button
The Song Editor window
The Show/Hide Song Editor Button
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

17. The different tracks in the Song Editor
Removing Tracks
Each of these rows in the Song Editor is a track
Different ‘instruments’ in a song
Which can each do their own thing
Combining tracks is what makes a song come alive!
The different tracks in the Song Editor
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

18. The Song Editor with all (but one) track removed
Removing Tracks
Like the other windows, we’re not going to use all these tracks
Not yet, anyway
The only one we’re keeping is the Triple Oscillator
It’s like a piano… Kind of
We can remove the other tracks by clicking on these cogs
And selecting Remove this Track
The Song Editor with all (but one) track removed
The cog to click on
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

19. Open the Song Editor window
By clicking on the Show/Hide Song Editor button
Remove all the tracks except for the Triple Oscillator
You can remove a track by clicking on the cog icon
Then selecting Remove this Track
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

20. Using the Piano Roll (1)
We need to edit a track in the Song Editor before it’ll do anything
See these little rectangles along the track?
They are bars
Playing notes in a bar, and playing bars after each other, is how we make music
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

21. Using the Piano Roll (1) We can edit a bar by double-clicking on it
Different tracks open different windows
The Triple Oscillator opens the Piano Roll
The Piano Roll window
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

22. Each bar is a different colour
Using the Piano Roll (1)
There’s a few buttons and drop-down boxes along the top
And a huge grid in the middle
This grid is where we write our notes
Literally write, with a pencil
A virtual pencil…
Each big column is a bar
The same bars in the Song Editor
Each bar is a different colour
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

23. Using the Piano Roll (1)
Left-clicking on the grid adds a note to the track
Each note has
Its pitch (on a row)
Its length (the length of the blue rectangle)
We can lengthen/shorten notes by
Clicking on its right side
And dragging to the correct length
Finally, we can play these notes
By pressing the Spacebar
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

24. Double-click on the first bar on the Triple Oscillator track
This opens the Piano Roll
Add some notes to the first two bars of this track
Try and make a nice jingle
Don’t add notes to any other bars
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

25. Musical Terms (2) Play It’s time for some more musical terms!
We can add more complex things than single notes
We’re going to look at two of these complex things
They are chords and arpeggios
First, here are some notes played in order C5 E5 G5
Play
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

26. Musical Terms (2) Play Play Major Chord Play Minor Chord
Now listen to them when they’re played at the same time
This is a chord
And they can be happy or sad, called major and minor chords C5 E5 G5
Play
Play Major Chord
Play Minor Chord
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

27. Musical Terms (2) Play Major Arpeggio Play Minor Arpeggio
If we play the notes in a chord one after the other (instead of at the same time)
We get an arpeggio
Let’s have a little quiz to recap these terms!
Play Major Arpeggio
Play Minor Arpeggio
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

28. Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) What is a chord?
Multiple notes played at the same time
Multiple notes played in sequence
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

29. Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) What is an arpeggio?
Multiple notes played at the same time
Multiple notes played in sequence
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

30. Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) Which of these is a happy chord?
G Major
C Minor
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

31. Not that one! Correct! Mini-Quiz (2) Which of these is a sad chord?
G Major
C Minor
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

32. Using the Piano Roll (2) We can easily add chords to a Piano Roll
Either by putting them in manually
This requires a good understanding of music
Or use the auto-chord system
Notes entered manually
Only have to click on starting note (LMMS adds the rest)
The auto-chord drop-down box
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

33. Using the Piano Roll (2)
The keyboard to the left of the Piano Roll shows us what notes we’re playing
The white keys are the main notes
The black keys are the small changes (like flats and sharps)
The lower end
The higher end
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

34. Try playing some in sequence to make a nice sounding jingle
Use the auto-chord drop-down box to create some major and minor chords!
Try playing some in sequence to make a nice sounding jingle
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

35. Musical Terms (3) Play 140BPM Play 180BPM
There are two more musical terms to learn, and they’re both about rhythm
The first is tempo, which is how many beats a song uses every second
Measured in beats per minute (BPM)
A larger tempo creates a faster song, and a smaller tempo makes a slower song
Play 140BPM
Play 180BPM
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

36. 4 4 Musical Terms (3) Play 𝟒 𝟒 Play 𝟑 𝟒 Play 𝟔 𝟖
The second term is time signature, which changes how we make and structure songs
Different time signatures lead to different rhythms 4
The number of beats in each bar 4
The ‘length’ of each beat
Play 𝟒 𝟒
Play 𝟑 𝟒
Play 𝟔 𝟖
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

37. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) Bars per minute
What does BPM stand for?
Bars per minute
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one!
Beats per minute
Bass per minute
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

38. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) 140BPM 185BPM
Which BPM here is the fastest?
140BPM
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one!
185BPM
200BPM
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

39. Not that one! Correct! Not that one! Mini-Quiz (3) 140BPM 185BPM
Which BPM here is the slowest?
140BPM
Not that one!
Correct!
Not that one!
185BPM
200BPM
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

40. The number of beats in a bar
Mini-Quiz (2)
What does the number on top of a time signature represent?
Not that one!
Correct!
The number of beats in a bar
The length of each beat
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

41. The number of beats in a bar
Mini-Quiz (2)
What does the number on bottom of a time signature represent?
Not that one!
Correct!
The number of beats in a bar
The length of each beat
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

42. Changing the Rhythm
We can change the rhythm of a song using the rhythm- management section
Here we can change the tempo and the time signature
Both done by clicking and dragging on those numbers
Putting up the tempo makes the song quicker
Changing the time signature doesn’t change the music
But it does change the look of bars in the Piano Roll
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics

43. If you want a faster song, increase the BPM
If you want a slower song, decrease the BPM
After changing the BPM, listen to your song and see if this change has made a difference
Lesson 1: LMMS Basics