Learning How To Make Music - Absolute beginner

[Obstacle]

The poundland recorder method is based and redpilled.
However, you have to combine it with self-discipline.
I cheated at that, because I picked up guitar while I was living out of a hostel, and had nothing to do but practice for like a year, which was for me long enough to learn like three songs properly and get a vague idea of a couple of scales.
I mean, I'm kinda music dumb, so you might learn faster.
Isolating yourself from sources of easy dopamine really helps though, since your attention won't be magnetized to something with a more immediate payoff.

 

[hesaback]

We are so lucky in this day and age that there are so many cheap and easy option. Even an iPhone or Android app with get you going.
RD4 on android is great for messing around with.

Figure what sort of music you want to make. I'm lucky in that I have a room full of synths and guitars so I can make music at any time.

There are only 12 notes. Keep that in mind.

 

[dissociating]

Tracker software was the gold standard for PC game soundtracks way back when, but is pretty obtuse by modern standards (YMMV, though; if you're coming from a programming background, something like Sunvox or Renoise might at least be worth a look). Programs like Bosca Ceoil or FamiStudio, again, sacrifice versatility for ease of use and therefore occupy a specific niche. In the event you want to make something other than Super Mario Beep Boop Music, you'll quickly run into trouble.

Won't lie I use OpenMPT for 99% of all my music production and once in a blue moon I will play with Renoise and try the odd DAW and in the end I always, always find myself coming back to OpenMPT. I think what draws me towards OpenMPT is that while it appears simple on the surface it is quite versitile, and streamlined for what it is. However I will admit I do not have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to DAW's due to how little I have actively used them in the past. Now maybe it's my deepfried autist brain but I always find myself feeling overwhelmed by the UI's, irritated by the note input, odd shortcuts, and just how everything seems overly complex for the sake of being overly complex where as OpenMPT just simplifies everything and my simpleton brain likes that. I also enjoy being able to use my entire QWERTY layout to input notes which I notice in many DAW's and other trackers I have used it's usually half the keyboard row, and it also just feels wrong with how the high end notes are usually at the top and the low end notes are down the bottom in what feels like a weird and wonky layout where I'll just end up hooking a midi keyboard up in the end.

Now I primarily make digital hardcore, fagcore (breakcore) and vidya game music for the odd friends indie game project. So at least in my use case I find OpenMPT quite useful for those genres. But you're certainly and rightfully correct the majority of trackers are just obtuse by many, many modern standards, and especially a lot of the older software just does not hold up at all. I honestly think OpenMPT will be headed that way within the next few years as well due to the devs refusal to implement VST3 support because muh opensource and in that case I'll be moving onto Renoise full time because they do at least support VST3 plugins without me having to bridge which is what I must do in order to use VST3 plugins in OpenMPT.

Now If only the devs would stop being lazy whiney faggots and implement a dark mode so my eyes aren't destroyed during late night work sessions. But their excuse is "it's just too hard!!!!!!!!!" or "no it's impossible!" 99% of the time when features are requested.

shilling over.

 

[dissociating]

We are so lucky in this day and age that there are so many cheap and easy option. Even an iPhone or Android app with get you going.
RD4 on android is great for messing around with.

Figure what sort of music you want to make. I'm lucky in that I have a room full of synths and guitars so I can make music at any time.

There are only 12 notes. Keep that in mind.View attachment 6826496

That's a rad setup ya got there. What are you running?

 

[hesaback]

That's a rad setup ya got there. What are you running?

It's a live rig. I don't use computers for music these days but I'll drag the Atari ste out of the attic and use some old school synths for a proper 90s house set once in a while. Casio CZ 1000 and Korg M1

Basically I have a module called Pamela's New Workout which outputs midi clock and variable CV and Gate functions. The CV let me clock 8 synth or drum modules or use LFOs to alter pitch on things.

Everything is synced to that.

The main midi output goes to a midi splitter that has 15 outputs. Those outputs at the moment are.
Behringer101,
Behringer808,
Erica Synths Bassline
Moog Minitaur
Vermona drm 3
Alesis midiverb 3
Behringer Syncussion.
Keystep Pro.
Beatstep Pro
Analogue Solutions Oberkorn Sequencer
Donner Bassline.
Behringer Pro one.
Behringer Model D
Behringer Kobol expander
Dreadbox Hades
Plus a load of Modular stuff.
Audiothingies Micromonsta (the only digital synth I use these days)
Add in all the stompboxs and effects unit it's a pretty flexible set up.

I've got 52 channels of audio via 3 mixers and a few compressors and EQs.
Monitors are Fluid Audio 8s with their sub bass. Not the best in the world but do a job for me.

 

[dissociating]

It's a live rig. I don't use computers for music these days but I'll drag the Atari ste out of the attic and use some old school synths for a proper 90s house set once in a while. Casio CZ 1000 and Korg M1

Basically I have a module called Pamela's New Workout which outputs midi clock and variable CV and Gate functions. The CV let me clock 8 synth or drum modules or use LFOs to alter pitch on things.

Everything is synced to that.

The main midi output goes to a midi splitter that has 15 outputs. Those outputs at the moment are.
Behringer101,
Behringer808,
Erica Synths Bassline
Moog Minitaur
Vermona drm 3
Alesis midiverb 3
Behringer Syncussion.
Keystep Pro.
Beatstep Pro
Analogue Solutions Oberkorn Sequencer
Donner Bassline.
Behringer Pro one.
Behringer Model D
Behringer Kobol expander
Dreadbox Hades
Plus a load of Modular stuff.
Audiothingies Micromonsta (the only digital synth I use these days)
Add in all the stompboxs and effects unit it's a pretty flexible set up.

I've got 52 channels of audio via 3 mixers and a few compressors and EQs.
Monitors are Fluid Audio 8s with their sub bass. Not the best in the world but do a job for me.

Awesome stuff. Thank you for sharing fren. What's it like making music that way? what is your process? certainly not something I've experienced nor even have the slightest clue on where to begin.

 

[hesaback]

Awesome stuff. Thank you for sharing fren. What's it like making music that way? what is your process? certainly not something I've experienced nor even have the slightest clue on where to begin.

You know how people use software to make music, here is a drum machine, here is a bass synth and so on. That is called "in the box" . There is nothing wrong with it and there are loads of great bits of software out there where you can do amazing things.

I'm the opposite. I'm "out of the box" Every knob, slider or keypress is live. It is mostly analogue so I can drive the fuck out of it if I want or just press a few buttons and patch a few cables and I'm letting the machines hit each other and warble and drone.

There isn't a right way or wrong way of making music. Somedays I make music that sounds like a washing machine been chucked down a flight of concrete steps if I'm in that mood. Other days I might make ambient drones, techno, acid house and so on.

You don't have to be stuck with one type of music. Chuck shit at a wall and see which bits stick.

 

[dissociating]

You know how people use software to make music, here is a drum machine, here is a bass synth and so on. That is called "in the box" . There is nothing wrong with it and there are loads of great bits of software out there where you can do amazing things.

I'm the opposite. I'm "out of the box" Every knob, slider or keypress is live. It is mostly analogue so I can drive the fuck out of it if I want or just press a few buttons and patch a few cables and I'm letting the machines hit each other and warble and drone.

That's very cool. thank you for sharing. I've always been intrigued with how anologue setups work. How do you go with recording your sounds and playing it back? I also gotta ask what Atari do you have? what software do you run on it?

There isn't a right way or wrong way of making music. Somedays I make music that sounds like a washing machine been chucked down a flight of concrete steps if I'm in that mood. Other days I might make ambient drones, techno, acid house and so on.

You don't have to be stuck with one type of music. Chuck shit at a wall and see which bits stick.

That's rad stuff. I'm much the same with just making anything. That is the part of the fun on those days when I've got a block and can't seem to get anything out I'll instead mash keys to my hearts content, mix synths, and make as many crazy sounding samples as I can for a few hours. experimentation is the best fun!

 

[hesaback]

Atari STe 1040. I had a colour monitor so the first versions of Cubase wouldn't run on it unless you used an emulator which crapped out every 36. 35644452968 seconds.

The main one I used and still use when I can be arsed is called Sequencer One by a company called Gadits. Very simple to use, very clean interface and worked with a colour monitor.

The Atari had built in midi in and out. That made such a difference at the time for me.

 

[Mortan Shekelstorm]

I would tool around with a 4 track tape machine and make some demos. It's what's helped me understand song composition and relation between instruments, and being limited to 4 tracks without any tricks to get more makes you focus more on the music.(I hate DAW's too many options my tape machine has 11 buttons in all) also makes me focus more on mic placement Db values amp settings etc

 

[Samhain]

The only traditional DAW I like is REAPER. It's quite powerful, but not necessarily a great choice for someone starting out. My background is with trackers, some of which are pretty great for chiptunes and other '80s/'90s era video game music. Many will say trackers are outdated, but options like Renoise and SunVox are quite powerful.

 

[GameratePTSD]

You can get Reason 5 for free on archive.org. It's a pretty simple DAW and a ton of famous musicians have used it. MGMT made Time To Pretend in Reason.
archive.org/details/reason-5.0.1

For retro videogame music you can use MilkyTracker. It's also free. It can be a bit confusing but there are lots of tutorials on youtube.
milkytracker.org

You can use these both by ear. You don't need to learn theory or notes.

 

[hesaback]

The only traditional DAW I like is REAPER. It's quite powerful, but not necessarily a great choice for someone starting out. My background is with trackers, some of which are pretty great for chiptunes and other '80s/'90s era video game music. Many will say trackers are outdated, but options like Renoise and SunVox are quite powerful.

Reaper is great and unusually for online help it has some decent people who will actually help you rather than going stoopid noob RTFM