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Thin lead melody? Stack it in octaves
A thin lead often just needs more octaves. Copy the melody one octave up and one octave down, then keep the extra layers quieter than the main one. Because octaves are the same note, the melody gets bigger without changing.
How to do it
- Duplicate the lead's MIDI twice.
- Move one copy up 12 semitones and the other down 12.
- Use the same sound, or a different one for each layer (a bell on top, a soft saw below).
- Keep both extra layers 6 to 10 dB quieter than the main one.
- High-pass the low layer so it stays out of the bass's way.
Why it works
An octave is exactly double the frequency, so the layers blend into one sound. You add brightness from the top and body from below.
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