Lookin' to get in on the Music scene

[Desktop1030]

Alright, I'm not even sure if this is the right place to put this sort of thing- but heck, I figure we've got some pretty friggin' good musicians around here and there seems to be plenty of knowledge flowin'.

Bottom line is, I'm looking to explore Digital Music production, and after a bit of light research I'm pretty much lost for where to start. I'm looking to get in on the ground floor, the basic stuff for making simple music.
But as it stands I'm pretty clueless of where to start, what I need, and how in the world to work any of these programs. I've got like, zero experience with digital music, so I'm pretty lost.

So in short, I'm asking where I should start as far as what software and such I need to try my hand at some basic stuff.

If this is in the wrong place or whatever, go ahead and delete/move it or whichever. Just hoping I can find some guidance.

[bartekko]

Keep this in mind and let it be your main source of willpower.


when going to actual making music, I'd recommend four things:

1.) learn about music theory

2.) get some software

3.) get a keyboard

4.) analyze music you listen to

1.) will help you understand how music works, why x sounds good with y or why it doesn't, but there are some people like Supersaw Hoover that will tell you not to look at music theory and just throw random shit together. Unless you want to make gabber/power noise/other ultra hip musics you'll gain a lot by knowing theory.

2.) For beginners I'd recommend MAGIX music maker. It's not a professional grade DAW (A DAW means Digital Audio Workstation, basically it's a music making software), but you're not a professional yet, so why go biting more than you can chew? if you are a mac user you might want to take a look at garageband, on which I heard positive reviews but I can't guarantee it's quality.

MAGIX is good in that it offers a lot of what professional grade DAW's can without throwing you in a pit of chains, automation, clips and whatever.

Once you've made a song or two, there are two main DAW's: Ableton live and FLstudio.

some say ableton Live is easier to learn, some say FLstudio.

I use ableton live, but am trying to learn FLStudio to be able to collab with non-ableton users.

There also are some less popular daw's like reason, cubase, but only a few bronies here use them.
if you need any help with MAGIX or ableton Live, hit me up on skype (bartekko6) or the IRC chat (link is under mylittleremix logo)


3.) Learning piano or keyboard proves to be a very useful skill. You can imrovise your melodies, check out synths before using them, and a lot of stuff you wouldn't be able to do without a keyboard.

4.) Why do my songs sound so thin? Because you forgot about bass.

Learning from masters is the best possible way to learn. If you like a song by any brony musician, you can ask for stems (separate files of song's parts like drums, bass, lead, pad) or if he uses the same DAW, you can ask for the project, but keep in mind they might have some plugins you don't.

analyze everything. how is the bass added, how are the instruments panned, why does this track sound so ambient. These are the questions answers for you'll have to find out for yourself.

listen to lots of music and appreciate all genres.



welcome to mlr. we have cookies

[Desktop1030]

Hey thanks man, this'll be really helpful. I've got a bit of Music Theory under my belt from having played music on live instruments for a while now, but this whole deal is new to me, so it'll be cool to get into it.
Thanks again for the tips, I'll def look into Magix- as far as Keyboard's, should I be looking for something in particular, or would a regular digital piano keyboard be able to be re-tasked? I've got an old one lying around, so maybe I wouldn't have to drop more money.

[bartekko]

Hey thanks man, this'll be really helpful. I've got a bit of Music Theory under my belt from having played music on live instruments for a while now, but this whole deal is new to me, so it'll be cool to get into it.
Thanks again for the tips, I'll def look into Magix- as far as Keyboard's, should I be looking for something in particular, or would a regular digital piano keyboard be able to be re-tasked? I've got an old one lying around, so maybe I wouldn't have to drop more money.

as long as you can connect it to computer for MIDI data it should be fine

[Triple_B]

Hey thanks man, this'll be really helpful. I've got a bit of Music Theory under my belt from having played music on live instruments for a while now, but this whole deal is new to me, so it'll be cool to get into it.
Thanks again for the tips, I'll def look into Magix- as far as Keyboard's, should I be looking for something in particular, or would a regular digital piano keyboard be able to be re-tasked? I've got an old one lying around, so maybe I wouldn't have to drop more money.

as long as you can connect it to computer for MIDI data it should be fine

Magix doesn't recognize any plugins, nor does it use MIDI data (Or at least, MINE didn't)

Just an FYI. If he wants to start off using MIDI he should hit the books on Ableton or grab FL Studio, or something that actually recognizes that data.

Bartekko pretty much covered everything else, with the Ira Glass quote and whatnot.

Do not be shy about questions. Ever. Asking questions is how you learn, and nopony here is going to make fun of you for any question you have. (Trust me, I know from experience.)

[bartekko]

Magix doesn't recognize any plugins, nor does it use MIDI data (Or at least, MINE didn't)

MINE accepted BOTH vsti plugins and MIDI data, and asio drivers. it was version 17.

Maybe you forgot to arm?

and yeah, Hit Ableton Live asap.

[Triple_B]

Magix doesn't recognize any plugins, nor does it use MIDI data (Or at least, MINE didn't)

MINE accepted BOTH vsti plugins and MIDI data, and asio drivers. it was version 17.

Maybe you forgot to arm?

and yeah, Hit Ableton Live asap.

Probably.

[AutomaticJack]

I think everypony here covered what it takes, but still: I offer any information you would like about FL Studio, been usin' it for 5 years =)

[Icky]

I'd recommend starting off with FL studio, Ableton or another serious DAW right away myself. Also look up some tutorials on youtube, there are a lot of 'm and they're usually very helpful!

[randomblockfilms]

yeah what KeepOnRockin' said. sometimes its best just to dive in on a serious DAW, than to learn on DAW, then learn ANOTHER DAW. it will just be kind of confusing. BUT!!! if the first daw you use is easy on the eyes and you know where filters go and all that stuff, then learning the more serious DAW might be easier than just diving strait in.

wow thats really confusing what i just said there but i hope it helps!