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[Moosader]

So I've kind of been moving towards trying to keep my games 100% original, but I also tend to lack friends in more creative departments, so I've been handling everything I possibly can myself.

One of those things is music.  I'm an advanced pianist so I've been playing the piano for years, but never really gotten into writing so I'm really new at this.

The first thing I need to ask is-- what software to use?  I'd prefer free, and my budget is up to $60.  One thing I really prefer in midi editing software is being able to write music on sheet music, instead of the weird piano roll thing I'm not used to.  I really like my Win3.1, Win95, and Win98 versions of Cakewalk (which I can't seem to get to work anymore for the life of me), but the newer demos I've tried seem so big and complex... I just need something to edit midi files!
Anvil studio I dislike only because I can't actually click the staff to place notes, it's a lot of work trying to play your song on a computer keyboard.
( Speaking of, I need to upgrade my piano-keyboard as well to something that uses USB or something more modern ).
I've also been playing around with Musagi, but even that's not really comfortable.  I miss my old Cakewalks
I would prefer Midi for the time being.

Secondly, any tips on how to use multiple instruments for good effect would be helpful.  I always notice how other people have so much going on at once, and my songs are pretty simple.

Thirdly... drums.  I can never put drums in my files, I have no idea how to make good sounding drum tracks.

Fourth.. well, here's some of my short songs I've written for games so far.  Just from what I've noticed any time I ever try to write music is it's kind of too structured and even, no interesting note combinations.  I do tend to make catchier songs when I'm using something like Musagi where I'm not used to it, but blargh.

Oh, one more thing.  Another thing I'm having trouble with is I'm trying to replace the music in one of my games.  For Shopping Mall (a game I made for 5 year old cousin), you're... in a mall.  I find myself incapable of writing anything remotely mall-esque or modern sounding.  Agh.

Music
Lenxion songs - Due to lack of software, I recorded these straight from my piano-keyboard.  Not really good for keeping game sizes small.
http://moosader.com/songLenxionFields.wav
http://moosader.com/songLenxionCastle.wav (I hate this one because it gets stuck in my head x_x)
http://moosader.com/songLenxionBasement.wav

The only Bootleg Bash song I like - http://moosader.com/songOutdoors.wav
Written with Mario Paint Composer. o_o;

Cow Tippin Theme - http://moosader.com/songCowTippin.wav Catchy, but has some flaws.  Made with Musagi.

Daphne in Space Theme - http://moosader.com/songSpaced.wav Another with Musagi.
 
So yeah, any help would be very appreciated.  I know I wrote a lot, but I need a lot of help. ^^;  I look forward to getting better at writing music and hopefully write some neat tunes.

[Core Xii]

My advice? Listen to game music. Hell it's the only thing I've done as far as studying music goes, and people call me a pretty good composer. My music library consists entirely of game and movie soundtracks.

[diwil]

A great way to learn how to make music is to observe how other people did it; if you're not yet familiar with it, download a Tracker software (like ModPlug Tracker) and get some oldschool MOD, S3M, IT and XM tunes. Study how they've done the multiple-instrument thing and chords, as well as good drum patterns.

Also, experiment; think of something you want to do, and then just slam your keyboard until it does that thing. The same technique I apply for programming! :D

As for the midi part... Not really sure on that. Some people whom I know, use the piano roll to record key presses as they're playing the song with their midi keyboard, and then fine-tune the presses incrementally. I'm not sure if there are any freeware midi editing/writing software around, as I try to steer clear of the midi format altogether.

I use FL studio myself, but I haven't really gotten too familiar with it yet, as I don't really have much musical skills.

And as for the big ass .WAV files, get Audacity, with it's Lame MP3 encoder and Ogg Vorbis plugins. Should help keep the file size down.

[muku]

Caveat: I'm not exactly an accomplished composer, but I write something for fun now and then.

Since you are a decent pianist, I definitely recommend getting one of these MIDI keyboards to be able to record melodies directly. It's just extremely handy to be able to get ideas into the software directly as opposed to having to click every single note manually into the program; it feels much more natural.

This also means that you need some software which can record MIDI. Cakewalk would be fine, but I guess you don't have that available anymore... I recommend Reaper, which has a fully-featured evaluation version (I think it doesn't even expire), is reasonably priced and extremely powerful. It might be a bit overwhelming at first, though, so beware. Oh and I'm afraid it doesn't have a score-sheet editor AFAIK... but if you record via MIDI, that's not so essential anymore.

Finally, if you are like me more the technical kind of person, learning some music theory might be helpful; it was for me. Stuff like how chords are constructed, how chord progressions fit together, which scales go with which chords. Then again, if you've played piano for a reasonable amount of time, you might have already picked some of that up.

[soundofjw]

The first thing I need to ask is-- what software to use?

There is no standard here, as you probably already know. The only free software I've really used religiously was and is Modplug Tracker. Unfortunately, DAWs (digital audio workstations) are very complicated pieces of software so many freeware efforts simply don't make it. I can safely recommend Cakewalk Sonar 7 and newer - it's not until about that version that some of the annoying things about Cakewalk software (like dodgy VST support) were resolved. I know composers who notate all their music in Finale (or on paper) and then digitize it using a DAW later. There are a number of methods to this...

Secondly, any tips on how to use multiple instruments for good effect would be helpful.  I always notice how other people have so much going on at once, and my songs are pretty simple.

Keep it simple, stupid. There is nothing wrong with simple, and some of the most celebrated game music is simple (Nobuo Uematsu's music is VERY simple in terms of instrumentations). The trick is to know the timbres of instruments and to study a particular sound and messing around with combinations until you sort of understand what sounds good. If you need a helpful guide, I'd recommend grabbing a MIDI orchestration book, like this: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-MIDI-Orchestration-Paul-Gilreath/dp/0964670534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224688850&sr=1-1

Thirdly... drums.  I can never put drums in my files, I have no idea how to make good sounding drum tracks.

Not all tracks need drums. Experiment with different drums, not just standard rock style stuff. Use jazz-kits, jungle-kits, and so on. For a starter put the kick on 1 and 3 and the snare on 2 and 4. Do this for a few tracks and never do it again. (; Again, the best advice is to listen to other music.

Good luck (:

[Alevice]

On the instruments ordeal, I find that the best mix comes from having a couple at most playing the overall intended melody, and a few more showing up to emphasize certain emotions or notes, much like underlining, bolding and italicizing work in written language.

I feel that a good song to study for that would be "Don't cry, Jennifer", from the Clock Tower (SNES) soundtrack.

[Hempuli‽]

Bleargh, TwiTerror is here with his fabulous mirror-smileys!

I use mostly modplug tracker, for it's free and allows (theoretically) the creation of quite complex tracks. Listening to game musics is a very good idea. I've used a special kind of method for this: I try to catch a single instrument, and follow it throughout the track/song/banana/whatever,and try to find out what kind of rhythms and loops and others make it sound so good. That helps to find out what kind of stuff would be good for yout track, especially if you're trying to make a track of a special theme (Boss fight, dungeon etc).

...Though, I'm probably not the one that should say something, since I totally suck at composing. Somehow knowing how to play piano doesn't correlate to the composing skills :D

[battlerager]

As others have pointed out, listen to video game music a lot 

Also, try. Again and again. And it will improve. Don't try to copy stuff you have heard and don't try to avoid sounding similar to stuff you have heard.

Just "go with the flow". And if there is no "flow"... just listen to more music and everytime you feel a bit inspired, go for it! 

[Radial]

I think I would lean toward Lynchpin and get a tracking software, but of course this is just my preference. Also, if you didn't know trackers produce chip-tune music. Some good ones are modplug or MilkyTracker...

[Farbs]

I usually use ComputerMuzys, which comes free on the cover of the magazine Computer Music. It's a bit crashy, and the interface isn't entirely intuitive, but I found it much easier to learn than cubase. Last I checked it didn't have a staff option though.

Lately I've just been recording live tracks, so I just use Audacity. Again, it's freeware.

Regarding composing, I find it best to fuck around with actual instruments before opening a sequencer. Noodle around on a guitar, stab some chords on a keyboard, or slap a bass. Hit some drums whenever possible.

God I miss my drum kit. 

[agj]

I didn't really have any experience making music. I had Modplug tracker installed, yet I had never used it, because it's complex enough that I had not bothered learning how to operate it. But recently I just felt like trying NitroTracker out. Ridiculously enough, half an hour later or so I had my first song, and all I had to do was read through their rather brief introduction. It's deliciously easy to jump in and make stuff. NitroTracker has changed my life.

In the future I might post my awful compositions in these forums.

[muku]

Also, if you didn't know trackers produce chip-tune music.

Not necessarily. Many trackers, like Psycle, now support VST plugins, so you can make pretty much any style of music.

That said, I've never been too fond of the tracker style of user interface; it always felt too clumsy and very non-visual to me.

[Bod]

As others have suggested looking at what other artists have already created is a good learning tool. Don't limit yourself to game/film music either. Really broaden your horizons and listen to a lot of music, even strange stuff or things that some wouldn't consider 'music', you'd be surprised at the wealth of bits and bobs you could take out and use in a more 'musical' sense. You can read books on the subject too, and some people find it a good way to learn but I learn better when I get my hands dirty. Really pick apart someone elses work but remember that when you try mimicing their instrumentation your piece won't (or shouldn't, I would hope) sound like theirs. It's hard then to tell your brain that you're doing it correctly as it somehow thinks you should copy the whole piece. Or, at least, your ear is expecting to hear the piece you've been picking apart and then it doesn't and it tells your brain something is wrong; nothing is wrong, you just have to zone yourself out a little bit! If you're interested in any orchestral scoring look at what instruments composers double to play certain melody lines. Like TwiTerror said, it's often about timbre. For example, find a 'haunting' melody line by someone and find out what instruments they used together. Then try it! :D

As for drums (or general percussion) it's often a good idea for the rhythm in your percussion section to mimic that of the melody. Don't try to strictly copy the rhythm of the melody, you can keep it quite loose. Also, it's a good timbral idea to keep your higher percussion (snares) following melody lines and your lower percussion (timpanis) following a bass melody or counterpart. This is more an orchestral example but the same can apply for any drum part.

And practice, practice, practice. Don't get disheartened and give up if something doesn't sound good straight away. It's the same with most things.

More importantly though: have fun! Experiment, try out new things, alter things that already work and don't be afraid. Enjoy the experience and you'll find things come a lot quicker.

Remember: a good artist borrows, a great artist steals.
I believe that was a quote from Picasso. He seemed to do pretty well for himself!

[Hempuli‽]

It will take quite a lot of time for him (her?) to read all these pieces advice.

[Hideous]

Madtracker 2 for the win. It's pretty nifty.