I don't know where to start!

[Garfield_]

Where do you start if you want to learn how to produce music from the very beginning. I basically know nothing about music, can't play any instruments or read notes either. But I'd really like to learn a little and play around in Reason/Cubase and stuff like that. I can't really afford courses or instruments but I've got some software and the will to learn.

Is it even possible to learn on the internet?

 

[Vegeta897]

Hahaha, of course it is. Especially computer music, you don't need to learn any proper techniques to playing like you would with a guitar or something. However composing with a midi keyboard could use some piano lessons if you want, but it's not necessary at all.

If you're first diving into computer music, Reason is quite tough for a beginner. Although if you're good at learning software or how things work, with help from the tutorial manual you could get a good start.

I started with Fruity Loops myself, much simpler for beatmaking and arranging, even melodies are simple with the piano roll. Your music will be simpler and more electronic sounding, it depends on how much time you want to spend learning a program and what type of music you want.

 

[Absinthe]

I know people who can make awesome stuff in FL. But I find Reason to be a lot more intuitive at this point.

FL Studio is a good recommendation for beginners. It's easy to figure out and get into. I started off just by arranging samples in Acid, so FL was pretty much my first proper studio program. I played around with it for about a year or two, got pretty good (IMO), and then made the switch to Reason.

I had no formal training, nor did I read any manual. I couldn't read music (still can't), had no keyboard, and had no clue as to how synthesis worked, so I spent a lot of time playing by ear, familiarizing concepts by how they sounded rather than how they actually worked. In fact, for a long time I was only using a trial version that didn't have the ability to save, so I was just making tracks in the course of a few hours or a day. Was a pain in the ass, but kinda fun too. I think I still have all the MP3s on a harddrive somewhere.

Any way, FL is a good place to start. Once you get acquainted with it, you can apply a lot of your knowledge to other programs too, the main differences usually being the UI.

 

[Garfield_]

I've got Fruity Loops aswell and have been playing around quite alot. I've learned Flash and Photoshop by myself without tutorials actually but it took me two years. Vegeta897 or Absinthe, would you mind recording on-screen video while you're doing some simple stuff in FL Studios for me?

Or does someone happen to know where to get free video-tutorials?

 

[Absinthe]

Don't have FL any more. Besides, I'm not sure what you'd get out of it. The basics of FL shouldn't require a lot of time at all.

Just did a quick google search and found these:
http://forum.bandamp.com/Lessons/29664.html
http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/fruityloops/
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/04/06/fl_studio.html

I haven't really read through them, so I don't know how much value they have. To be honest, I never got much help from online tutorials. I just crashed my way through. Most I can do is give you some examples of what I've made, although I've deleted a lot of them. http://www.soundclick.com/anasynth on the Music page has some of my old stuff near the bottom, from "Lalule" onwards. A lot of them haven't aged well, but it doesn't matter.

 

[CrazyHarij]

get a midi keyboard, play around with it. get a big one if you want to learn to play more piano like stuff, or a smaller one for simple chords and melodies.

read music theory and go from there, just don't get stuck following all the typical rules.

i'd say start with reason. but i havent used floops so i dunno which of them is more beginner friendly. but reason is great because it's it's own little studio environment without need for plugins and shit, so you can focus on learning and using what you have. it's very very versatile once you get into it.

 

[Absinthe]

In my experience, FL is more newbie-friendly. Just make up a few loops and paste them in the Playlist. The instruments are smaller. And since a lot of the charm of Reason is in the wiring - something that can take a good bit of time to get good at - FL is just straight-up easier to understand right out of the box.

Of course, you're going to have to learn new programs if you go into FL with the intention of eventually switching. And there will be the obligatory Maelstrom abuse if you go to Reason. But for bare-bones basics and concepts, FL is a great training ground. Also a good time to get familiar with VSTs and other plugins. By the end of my stint with it, I was using nothing but external instruments and effects.

 

[Garfield_]

Been playing around for hours using one of the tutorials links you gave me Absinthe. Damn it's really fun but at the same time frustrating as it is so difficult and takes long time to create something decent. I'm thinking about getting myself one of those most basic PC keyboards :>

 

[nofx]

Ya use, reason, when my friends start using reason I tell them to read the manual one part at a time. and when you understand how to FULLY use the instrument then move on to the next, or reason may just overwhelm you. I use reason every other day and everytime I do, I learn something new, or find some more hidden samples. Goodluck

 

[Geogaddi]

I've been messing around in FL for a while now, but I can't seem to make anything other than cheesy sounding trance-like stuff.

Is it necessary to have a midi keyboard for use with Reason?

 

[Absinthe]

Is it necessary to have a midi keyboard for use with Reason?

Not necessary, but... you might commit suicide.

 

[Reaktor4]

Geogaddi, it takes a very long time before you will be able to make anything decent. You can make "pro" sounding stuff in any sequencer, including FLS and Reason which some people call toys. All of this was done in FLS (ignore the top one).
Garfield it doesnt really matter what sequencer you use at this stage. For long term use you will have to weigh up the pros and cons on each one. if you decide to use a plugin compatible sequencer dont go and warez 50 commercial synths like most people seem to do. Use one synth only and learn it. There is a new free synth called Anna which is similar in features to z3ta. I would use that. If you use reason just stick to the subtractor.
And read the stickies here, lots of tuts and stuff.

 

[nofx]

Geogaddi, it takes a very long time before you will be able to make anything decent. You can make "pro" sounding stuff in any sequencer, including FLS and Reason which some people call toys. All of this was done in FLS (ignore the top one).
Garfield it doesnt really matter what sequencer you use at this stage. For long term use you will have to weigh up the pros and cons on each one. if you decide to use a plugin compatible sequencer dont go and warez 50 commercial synths like most people seem to do. Use one synth only and learn it. There is a new free synth called Anna which is similar in features to z3ta. I would use that. If you use reason just stick to the subtractor.
And read the stickies here, lots of tuts and stuff.

thank for the link, alot of really good tutorials about EQ and stuff like that I need to understand

do you have any sites for reason? that seems to be all FL

 

[Reaktor4]

thank for the link, alot of really good tutorials about EQ and stuff like that I need to understand

do you have any sites for reason? that seems to be all FL

Reasonstation.net is the only one that I know of. I dont really get what you mean when you say its all FL?

 

[Thread]

Sit down and start playing. Just play around.

 

[hungryduck]

the more theory you know, the better youll be able to apply the concepts you can hear in your head.
get a basic music theory book for cheap and start learnin.
also, it would help to learn an instrument..........

 

[Garfield_]

Ok... know the basics now and can pretty much use most common things in FL. But how do you get the ideas for your own songs, beats and sounds?
I've been doing photoshop stuff for years and I always picture something in my head before I get on with it, always ends up completley different in a good way though. Is it the same with music? you've got to have an idea in your head and work your way from there. If so I find it really hard :S

 

[CrazyHarij]

most of the time, it's roughly the same with music, at least for me who have been both drawing and making music.

sometimes you have this idea, "i want to make a badass tune", "i want to make a sad tune", or you're just in a mood which unconsciously affects what tune you make. but the thing is, most of the time the tune creates itself just by you being there, editing the hell out of this or that program and playing around.
most of my tunes come from playing around with scales, trying finding a good melody that matches my idea, bassline, or just ****ing around.

Is it the same with music? you've got to have an idea in your head and work your way from there. If so I find it really hard :S

not necessarily, but every beginning is hard. i had exactly the same problem when i started out, i remember it so vividly. i just had no idea how to make a tune and kept asking around "how the heck do you make a finished piece of music?". now, i can mentally construct a tune and later go to a program have it sound pretty much like i made it. but in 70% of the time, i make a tune based on what tempo the program is made and what synths i've chucked in, it's ridiculous how lazy you work most of the time. a ****load of my tunes are in 120bpm simply because that's the default tempo in most programs.

if you want i could expand on melody, give you some advice for melodical ideas with sound examples. when you start making music you're usually very unaware of what you can create and go the simplest way, it takes some time to expand your horizons. i could elaborate on scales and keys and such, it's really alot simpler than one might think

i'd seriously advise you to learn the basics of music theory and get a midi keyboard (you might get by with a small one, but seriously, a larger piano style one with at least 5 octaves is going to make your life and music skills a whole lot better).

 

[Garfield_]

Thanks CrazyHarij. What I've been doing is trying to re-create some parts of some songs I like, dunno if that's a good way but im sure you learn something =>