Well I'm a DJ, and I've always wanted to produce. The only thing though, is I don't know that much about music theory and all that jazz. I used to play a little piano when I was in high school, but nothing really special. Will I be heavily handicapped for not having much musical history, what should I do if I want to start to produce and what not.

I've seen squabbles over how sometimes musical theory training can actually force your melodies into the realm of generics and cheese, since you begin following "rules and guidelines" to achieve maximum cheeeeese.(I do love my cheeeese sometimes though )

Personally I think it's up to the creativeness of the artist to use what they know, (or where to find out if they don't :P) to make the best track they can at the time.

Music theory could only help imo, but not having it shouldn't be a problem.

A DAW (FL,Cubase,Reason etc...) you like helps.(Depending on how you like to work/what kinda setup you use)

A .midi controller helps a great deal with creation, as does some good monitors for sound quality control. I find a good pair of studio monitor headphones great for those late night endeavors where you most often have some time to spare ...(Without pissing off your roomates/gf's/etc...of course)

Are you the same St John that used to be on Power 106?

Ideally - if you have a friend with some production kit have go on their setup. Alternatively buy a sequencer / DAW with pre-loaded VST (software synthesizers and effects units) to get you started. The best for introducing you to such gear and one of the cheapest being FL studio, the XXL version has all the image line synths, many of which are excellent.

Another alternative is the full free computer music DAW and instrument suite. I think there is another decent free one too, can't remember it's name though - someone will be along soon with the name

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Having learn to play piano will help a great deal in production, so invest in a midi keyboard if you can.

You wont be handicapped in anyway, in fact since you dj that helps with giving you an idea of arrangements for make the track, i.e. when to build up, put a break in, what FX's you would like to hear and when.

It would be wrong to tell you what program to use as it depends on what you feel works best, but download demo versions of the main ones and see what works for you. Youtube has some great video's for help also.

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quote:

Originally posted by alanzo It's like sifting through cat shit to find a penny. In the end, it wasn't worth the effort.

whats more important is if u understand basic rhytm and groove imo.

download a cracked copy of cubase or logic. Fuck around. Don't invest money till you've had the chance to gather a little bit of insight. And start slow. You won't be star in the next 5 years so just accept that and work slowly but surely. Try making a drum beat. Then a bassline. Then a song. Just mess around. I would personally just get reason as it is self contained and will limit your choices so you don't go mad.

Last edited by Looney4Clooney on Aug-29-2010 at 15:01

-1 "download a cracked copy" and also -1 for Reason

Yes, Reason is fast to get into and limitations are kinda useful when you are a new to producing. However, learning Reason is like learning 100% into the wrong direction. Its a great addition to any studio.

Trust me, been using it for like 8 years only. Switched to another host in the beginning of this year. Its like black / white to me. I think if you are really into this, dont waste your time with Reason. Its a great piece of kit to have later on for writing, but its not worth imo to focus on learning this and then totally up to learn something from the ground later on again, instead of learning a "better" sequencer from the beginning.

And also, there is no need to download any cracks. Cant believe that at a "serious?" forum you really get such a reply. Get Zynewave Podium Free. This one got a very little limitations. Yes there is no multicore support, which kinda is a "limitation" that will help you as a beginner. Also, nowadays there are some synths that eat like 0 CPU at all, like the free Synth1. Also, Podium Free doesnt come with any crap about "10 tracks only" or something like that. The limitations are not really noticeable for a beginner, like missing 64bit processing mode and such. You can always bounce stuff into audio and save up CPU this way, which kinda makes it a fully featured and useable host or get the full version for only 50$.

lol man get off your high horse. Who here can honestly say they have never ever used a crack. Reason is great to start as it is self contained and teaches you about routing and that sort of business. I used 100% cracks until I started making money. I feel absolutely no shame admitting it. Of course the software I was using was substantially more expensive than stuff you would use for trance but man, it really isn't a big deal for someone new to just try a crack and see if it works out. I also sometimes steal water or a bag of chips when the lineup is too long and I have things to do and places to be. Besides, its like a coffee card just unspoken.

so

1. download reason from some website
2. Steal a bike,
3. go to your local convenient store and don't pay for that energy drink

you are now ready to make some music.

Last edited by Looney4Clooney on Aug-29-2010 at 17:15

Its one thing if you used cracks and another thing to tell a beginner, who aint even started, to use some

I also posted this because I bet some ppl dont even know there is something like Podium out there

quote:

Originally posted by Coyke ...also -1 for Reason Yes, Reason is fast to get into and limitations are kinda useful when you are a new to producing. However, learning Reason is like learning 100% into the wrong direction. Its a great addition to any studio. Trust me, been using it for like 8 years only. Switched to another host in the beginning of this year. Its like black / white to me. I think if you are really into this, dont waste your time with Reason. Its a great piece of kit to have later on for writing, but its not worth imo to focus on learning this and then totally up to learn something from the ground later on again, instead of learning a "better" sequencer from the beginning.

This is wrong. You might be a little burnt out on Reason, but from someone who was working with other DAW's long before Reason came out, I have to disagree with it. It's likely the cheapest, easiest means for someone to be able to teach themselves the craft and, while certainly not a replacement for tutorial instruction, it basically wraps almost every concept there is to know in music production into a convenient, user-friendly package.

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Last edited by Looney4Clooney on Aug-29-2010 at 17:24