How to create Rocksmith 2014 Custom DLC without tabs but Chordify

[PyroBillie]

Just as the title says, most creators use GP files to make a CDLC, it's also possible from text tabs.

But for songs that haven't got any tab available, you can try it out with Chordify.

https://chordify.net/

Works best for easy songs (your typical 4 chord song) (pop,hiphop, rap, punk songs)

Also modern songs with easy BPM and timings.

 

In this video I show you how to create a Rocksmith 2014 Custom Song (CDLC) with Editor On Fire (EoF) when there aren't any tabs available. 

To understand anything from this tutorial I already expect you to know the basics of EoF and customs.

I should probably add some subtitles or text boxes later on to clarify some parts.

 

Part 1: Start and rythm guitar (60min irl, 15min tutorial)

 

Part 2: Bass guitar and vocals (30min irl, 5min tutorial)

 

Part 3: Lead guitar (30min irl, 10min tutorial)

 

Let me know if you need more explications.

Here is the excel file that I used:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/08w7vb34cq2l333/scaleform.xlsx (Old)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/eg3j2q3iytb2en7/Scaleform_New.xlsx (New)

[raynebc]

In case you find them useful, there are some EOF features I wanted to mention:

*Bookmarks: Points you can seek to with the press of a numberpad number key, ie. to jump back quickly to specific parts of a song.

*Fret catalog: Kind of like a multi-clipboard system, you could store multiple riffs/variations and paste the displayed catalog entry.

*Note>Simplify chords: Drops the highest used string from each selected chord. Any selected notes that are already single notes are left unaffected. Selecting all notes in a track difficulty and calling this a few times would be the easiest way to reduce an arrangement to single bass notes.

 

About the syncing after a paste, there are two types of paste functions. "Old paste" just dumps the notes at the seek position, keeping all the original distance in milliseconds. Normal paste will instead use grid snap data and should save you having to re-snap notes.

 

The lyric re-syncing is a bit of an old problem. One way to avoid this is to use the OGG (usually guitar.ogg) or WAV file EOF is using (which contains any leading silence that was added) when you are syncing lyrics in UltraStar Creator. I've put some thought into how to get lyric markers (or other phrase markers) to automatically move when lyrics/notes within them are moved, but I haven't implemented anything for it yet.

[PyroBillie]

In case you find them useful, there are some EOF features I wanted to mention:

*Bookmarks: Points you can seek to with the press of a numberpad number key, ie. to jump back quickly to specific parts of a song.

*Fret catalog: Kind of like a multi-clipboard system, you could store multiple riffs/variations and paste the displayed catalog entry.

*Note>Simplify chords: Drops the highest used string from each selected chord. Any selected notes that are already single notes are left unaffected. Selecting all notes in a track difficulty and calling this a few times would be the easiest way to reduce an arrangement to single bass notes.

 

About the syncing after a paste, there are two types of paste functions. "Old paste" just dumps the notes at the seek position, keeping all the original distance in milliseconds. Normal paste will instead use grid snap data and should save you having to re-snap notes.

 

The lyric re-syncing is a bit of an old problem. One way to avoid this is to use the OGG (usually guitar.ogg) or WAV file EOF is using (which contains any leading silence that was added) when you are syncing lyrics in UltraStar Creator. I've put some thought into how to get lyric markers (or other phrase markers) to automatically move when lyrics/notes within them are moved, but I haven't implemented anything for it yet.

Bookmarks: Yeah, you already mentioned this feature ^^ I understand it, but I kinda just like to go sweep through the whole song once in a while, it kinda gives a satisfying feeling, seeing all the notes fly by, feeling of completeness and structure and control. So yeah :p

Fret catalog: Same as above, I don't mind going through the song to find the right riff ^^ 

Note>simplify chord: It think it will be about just as much clicking so it's ok 

 

Syncing after paste: mmmh allright, so what I do to paste is Ctrl+C Ctrl+V, this Ctrl+V is that the old or the new paste? Cause wouldn't it make sense to make the shortcut (Ctrl+V) the grid snap (the most logical imo) one? 

 

(Just to make clear to everyone) The reason I have to 're-snap' the notes: I have adjusted the BPM every 2 measures, so the BPM varies +-2 BPM in the whole song. So when I copy a riff in 120 BPM and paste it in 118 BPM, it is out of sync.

 

The lyric re-syncing: Yeah, I've thought of importing the .ogg file in Ultrastar, that should have the 3 seconds of leading silence in it. But I just re-tested it, somehow the leading silence is ignored or removed of skipped in Ultrastar, (the sound already starts at second 1 or 2) So I can't find a fix for this :(

[raynebc]

CTRL+V is the "new" paste, it should automatically resnap so the pasted notes retain the same sync even despite tempo changes. Only old paste (CTRL+P) should leave the pasted notes out of grid snap as you described. The only exception to this is that if "Feedback" input mode is in use, those keyboard shortcuts are reversed. To rule that out, you could try Edit>Paste to verify that the problem still occurs, and if it does, provide an example project file and steps to reproduce the problem (ie. select and copy notes at a particular position, seek to a particular beat and paste).

 

Simplify chords would be more useful if the chords being reduced use different strings. I can add a keyboard shortcut to it though so using it would only take 3 keystrokes.

 

As for UltraStar, the only explanation I can come up with is that the original (instead of altered) audio was loaded up. If UltraStar decided to automatically skip blank audio automatically, it would denote that in the lyric file (there's a tag for this).

[Berneer]

This is a very good tutorial. Thanks Pyrobillie!

I understand modes (though always need to refresh my understanding) and understand that modes help explain which solo or lead notes (scales) fit well with which chords in rhythm arrangements. I will study your spreadsheet, but must admit I am not understanding it just yet and will "refresh my understanding". I understand you are putting x's below notes that fit the mode but I am not yet understanding exactly how you are using the spreadsheet to help you and how the labels (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolean, Locrian) belong where they are shown.

I will try to figure it out by watching your video in 25% speed, but perhaps it'll help viewers of your video better understand that aspect to maximize the appeal of your tutorials. Perhaps a link to your spreadsheet could also be helpful (found the link, thanks), assuming it is generalized and not just for your custom. I assume the x's are the part that is song-specific.

Brilliant work. I never really imagined a CDLC could be created from rhythm. I love how art like music, is quite methodical and mathematical and therefore allows songs to be reverse engineered into a chart!

Incidently I am working on a tutorial for a new EoF feature called Chordify which is not related to chordify.net so I will mention in my tutorial that these two uses of the word chordify refer to different things.

 

Edit:

Okay I think I understand better how this spreadsheet is organized and what you are doing.

 

1) Your spreadsheet simply shoes the fret board based on your Green Day song's non-standard tuning (Dstd drop C). Your linked spreadsheet however shows Estd tuning as can be seen by the notes in the 0th fret column.

2) the x's you placed in your video simply show notes you've seen used in your video for the two lowest pitched strings (red and yellow) and you select only from among those notes in lead arrangement with the presumption that the lead parts of the songs follow a pattern, typically following a mode.

3) The labels, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc. shown in your spreadsheet are simply an example of which modes come from the Cmaj scale and define which chords (roots of diatonic chords) sound good when notes from the C Maj scale are solo'd over them.

 

Ex from theory: C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, B Locrian each have a C parent major scale that can solo pleasingly over those modes' diatonic chords (Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, Gmaj,Amin,Bdim)

 

4) Harmonic Minor  (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 8 rel to Major scale) shows in colour in your spreadsheet, notes in the A harmonic scale (which incudes G# which could also be represtented by A♭ which you show in colour)

5) Pentatonic Minor label shows in colour in your spreadsheet notes in the A Pentatonic Minor scale

6) Pentaonic Major label shows in colour in your spreadsheet notes in the C Pentatonic Major scale

 

I guess next step, for me at least, is to rewatch your video in slow motion to see how this spreadsheet guides you to determine which notes to place on the lead chart.

 

Boy, I can be a nerd.... 

[PyroBillie]

I understand modes (though always need to refresh my understanding) and understand that modes help explain which solo or lead notes (scales) fit well with which chords in rhythm arrangements. I will study your spreadsheet, but must admit I am not understanding it just yet and will "refresh my understanding". I understand you are putting x's below notes that fit the mode but I am not yet understanding exactly how you are using the spreadsheet to help you and how the labels (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolean, Locrian) belong where they are shown.

Uhm yes, just so you know the labels (Ionian, Dorian,... are only placed correctly on the E Standard tab, I'm not sure if you can take these labels to the other tunings, when I made the spreadsheet I just copied it whole and moved the fretboards >.> )

But after all these labels don't matter at all, it just nice to see that they all fit into eachother.

 

1) Your spreadsheet simply shoes the fret board based on your Green Day song's non-standard tuning (Dstd drop C). Your linked spreadsheet however shows Estd tuning as can be seen by the notes in the 0th fret column.

Yes, the spreadsheet has tabs at the bottom which you can swap to a different tuning. The linked version starts in the E standard tab I guess. And the spreadsheet I'm using in the tutorial is a way more recent version than I linked, I'll update that next!

 

2) the x's you placed in your video simply show notes you've seen used in your video for the two lowest pitched strings (red and yellow) and you select only from among those notes in lead arrangement with the presumption that the lead parts of the songs follow a pattern, typically following a mode.  

 Indeed, correct I just take notes from that pattern. (Imagine your playing session mode, where it shows you a fretboard like this, and you have to play only the highlighted notes, to make your riff sound good with the computer generated band) all this tabbing is just assumptions, what an actual tabber does is play it on your guitar while tabbing it. But my hearing is no where to close to hearing what note is played. I find it much easier to make the custom and then test it in RS, and then try to find out the false sounding notes. 

 

3) 4) 5) 6) these are all way to technical for me :P I haven't got any musical education, and what I know from guitar is all self taught.

 

I guess next step, for me at least, is to rewatch your video in slow motion to see how this spreadsheet guides you to determine which notes to place on the lead chart.

Well I tested the custom yesterday, (I'm having some volume problems, so I can't actually hear it all to well) The overall rythm chords sounded okay to me. But I must say the arpeggio part sounds pretty wrong :P so I'm gonna try something else for that. The lead octave chord riffs sound decent enough to me too, altough that's pretty hard to hear for me. (Like I said, I'm not good at hearing if a note is right or wrong, but eh yes this is practice and practice makes perfect)

[PyroBillie]

CTRL+V is the "new" paste, it should automatically resnap so the pasted notes retain the same sync even despite tempo changes. Only old paste (CTRL+P) should leave the pasted notes out of grid snap as you described. The only exception to this is that if "Feedback" input mode is in use, those keyboard shortcuts are reversed. To rule that out, you could try Edit>Paste to verify that the problem still occurs, and if it does, provide an example project file and steps to reproduce the problem (ie. select and copy notes at a particular position, seek to a particular beat and paste).

 

Simplify chords would be more useful if the chords being reduced use different strings. I can add a keyboard shortcut to it though so using it would only take 3 keystrokes.

 

As for UltraStar, the only explanation I can come up with is that the original (instead of altered) audio was loaded up. If UltraStar decided to automatically skip blank audio automatically, it would denote that in the lyric file (there's a tag for this).

The paste thing: I'll have to test that out later, when I have some more time. :D

The simplify chords: It's allright ^^

Ultrastar thing: the guitar.ogg might work tho, it looks like it starts at 2 seconds but it sure is longer then the original.mp3 where it starts immediatly. So that 3s delay problem should be fixed by using the .ogg file. 

 

Can I suggest something else tho ^^

I swap alot between Lead-Rythm-Bass-Vocal arrangments while creating. I think it would be nice to have tabs (links) to these arrangements, instead of the 'difficulty' tabs right now. (Supaeasy, easy, medium, amazing) which I don't use anymore since we have DDC.

[raynebc]

Remapping the tabs to different tracks is probably more radical of a change than I'm willing to make at this time. There are a couple other options though:

 

CTRL+SHIFT+Up/Dn changes to the next or previous track of the same type, ie. it would be a quick way to cycle through all the guitar and bass arrangements.

 

Also, you can swap back and forth between the primary and secondary piano roll with CTRL+Enter, making it a fast way to alternate between two different tracks (of any kind, guitar/bass/vocals). As a side effect, when you use this function, the lower half of EOF displays the inactive piano roll, but you can show the regular information panel and 3D preview panel again with "Song>Second piano roll>Display" (SHIFT+Enter).

[mikejl46]

If you subscribe to Chordify You then are able to download the midi file for the song that is being played in Chordify . The midi file download also gives BPM for the song. You can then import that midi file into TuxGuitar save as a GP5 file. Then convert the Youtube song to mp3. Load song into EOF import your GP5 file enter the BPM given for the song, and everything lines up perfectly