Getting started with music production
With electronic music getting more and more popular, I know many people would love to get involved and show off their creativity. But how do I get started?!
I know the internet holds all the answers as always, but the amount of tutorials/courses/websites can be really overwhelming and confusing to some people, so I figured why not help Steemit out with a quick and easy guide?
What do I need?
First of all, the good news: I want to point out that you do not need any kind of musical background to become a succesful producer. Of course, if you know how to play a certain musical instrument then this could obviously come in quite handy, but I would say that motivation is far more important than musical knowledge when it comes to producing electronic music.
As for the bad news, depending on how far you want to take it, music production can be quite costly...
Luckily, you can easily get started without having to invest thousands into equipment.
Obviously, it all starts with having a good PC or laptop that you're comfortable with:
A solid amount of RAM will help your system process all the different sounds playing at the same time and you'll be needing lots of disk space to save all your projects too. Don't worry if you're on a tight budget, there's tons of great producers out there that started out using a cheap system, so don't let all this scare you!
Now unless you're Beethoven, you're going to need a pair of speakers or headphones. I would recommend starting with a good pair of headphones like Sennheiser or Audio Technica before investing huge amounts of money in professional studio monitors.
My current setup
Digital Audio Workstations
Now that we've got some hardware, it's time to choose a Digital Audio Workstation (or DAW for short)!
The DAW is the application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files.
Some of the more popular ones are Cubase, Logic, Ableton Live, FL Studio and Reason.
Ableton Live 10
FL Studio (aka Fruity Loops)
Each of them have their own unique layout and work methods, so it's not a bad idea to try out a couple of them and see which one feels more comfortable to you. I actually recently made a guide to help people choose the one that feels right to them, you can find it here!
I've been mostly using Ableton Live myself because I prefer the layout and built-in plugins. I recently discovered a very interesting little introduction tool on their page, which is pretty much perfect for people who are just getting started:
https://learningmusic.ableton.com/index.html
This should give you a little taste of how most DAWs tend to work, so definitely check it out!
Final advice
Lastly, I would like to add a very important point regarding salesmen: Do not trust them!
Very often, they will recommend all kinds of equipment that could come in handy on your quest, but that you'll end up never using. From my experience, I suggest doing research online first: you'll find countless amounts of comparison videos on YouTube to help you get through the tougher decisions.
I'm always available for questions/advice too, so please don't hesitate to message me any questions you might have! (shoutout to @geekpowered for bringing attention to this point)
Now get to work!
Once you've got all the tools you need, it's time to start experimenting and get creative!
There are loads of tutorials on Youtube for every DAW, every musical genre, general music theory, ...
I would like to add that you should always try to keep an open mind and even force yourself to make tracks in genres that you're not too familiar with. It's a very effective method to get a different perspective on music and it might inspire you for new projects at the same time!
Good luck and do not hesitate to ask for help!
I'm already looking forward to hear your future creations.
You definitely don't need the latest and greatest computer. Even something over 10 years old is usable, just not with the latest greatest software. Some people even use antique computers for various things.
You will more than likely need a ton of hard drive space though, as you said, unless you're only saving your songs as MP3, which you shouldn't.
I disagree on needing speakers or headphones though. You need both. You need speakers that aren't utter crap, basically anything other than laptop speakers, and halfway decent over the ear headphones. Thanks to china, there are actually headphones under $20 that will work just fine, if you order online. You can technically start out with either or, but that's not gonna last you long at all. You need headphones to do stereo properly, and you'll want speakers to hear what it sounds like normally.
For software, there's tons out there. Not all of it even qualifies as a "DAW". The DAW is your entire workstation, including any hardware, your computer, and the software. DAW as far as software is the standalone stuff that turns any computer into a DAW all on it's own.
There are tons of different styles, and you basically have to find the software that fits you. There are different styles of music producers, and different styles of different styles. You can put two guys who create music by looping clips next to each other, and they might have completely conflicting production methods. You gotta find the programs that fit your production style. Someone might even think they're not made for music production, when it's just the software they're using.
Lastly, a point you didn't mention that I think is extremely important. Don't listen to salesmen. They will sell you all sorts of crap you don't need, and never use. I think I have 3 different USB audio adapters for guitars/mics that various people bought and just left at my house eventually because they never use them. And they were like $50-250 each. Also had various friends and family spend $90 or so on software that doesn't do much more than some freeware.
Basically you can get started with a friend's old laptop, or desktop, some scrounged speakers, and open source or free software. That's not gonna last you though. Eventually you might have equipment that takes up more space than your computer, or like one of my friends, who has an extra house for all his gear. No joke.
Wow, first of all, thanks for reading through it and sharing your opinions!
I totally agree a producer needs both headphones and monitors to get tracks sounding right!
However, this specific guide is for people who have zero experience, so I'd rather have people start out with a good pair of headphones and see how they like messing around with it. I've seen too many people invest thousands into a crazy setup, only to sell it for half the price a few months later because they realized it's not their thing.. Of course, buying a lower budget set of speakers is always an option too.
Your final point regarding salesmen is very true, which is why I would advise people to do their research online before ordering anything. Plenty of comparison videos on YouTube regarding gear/software/..
I'll add it to the guide with a mention!
Thanks for contributing!
That's probably someone lead down the wrong path. If they had talked to different people, they might have ended up being music producers. Instead they wasted a ton of money on things they didn't need, or weren't the right things for whatever kind of production is right for them.
A pair of half decent headphones isn't a bad purchase for anyone though. As long as you don't buy some of the $150 crap that claims to be good these days. $40 over the ear headphones are fine. If you get them from china, $20 ones will do you well, if they got good reviews.
Very basic but effective tutorial to kickstart music production. Looking forward to more in-depth posts with recommendation on this and that, whatever you know and like to share with us.
Thanks for taking the time to read through it! Well appreciated!
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