melodies with midi keyboard or mouse.

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hi ,i'm new to this forum and i had started music production since 2 years ago after inspiring from Artist like Avicii , hardwell etc i really wants to get into it .Now i started producing music with FL studio but i have a problem that is when ever i complete my drums then i start to create melodies where i always get stuck in melodies and dont have any midi keyboards i always use my PC's mouse to do that .i wants know
1) Midi keyboard is most important thing to create melodies or mouse will work.
2) Should i learn song theories ?
3) what are the sequence to create melodies and top melodies ?
i hope someone help me.

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IMHO you should write melodies first, then add drums to fit the melody. Not the other way round. A keyboard will help IF you can play it, but you still need a melodic idea to start with.

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EDM and lots of other stuff tends to start with a groove, and everything fits around that. The groove is king. Having a music keyboard only really helps if you can play it, but on the other hand, if you don't have one, you'll never be able to learn it, so if you feel restricted by the mouse, get one. Recording riffs in a studio is much easier than playing actual music (case in point, I'm a crap keyboard player, but get by!).

Personally, I find if I start with the beats, I end up endlessly tweaking the beat, which is fine when you're doing a beat-oriented track, but in general I find it's best to have the musical ideas and other material semi-prepped in advance, to stop the impending wall of beat edits from taking over the entire show.
http://sendy.bandcamp.com/releases < My new album at Bandcamp! Now pay what you like!

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Welcome to the forum Arcux :tu: and to the wonderful world of music creation.

Q1.) I have to agree with the previous two posters, tcc and Sendy. If you can afford it, get a keyboard. You will still use the mouse too when composing. (If you cannot afford it, continue to use the mouse until you can get a keyboard.)

You will never learn how to play a keyboard until you have one. Being able to play only enhances your ability to write.

Q2.) YES....learn all you can about music theory. Knowledge is the building blocks to a solid foundation of ability. The more you know the better equipped your abilities to write.

Q3.) About drums vs. melodies; which first? There is no right or wrong or magic formula (sequence as you call it) to create music. Everybody's creative process is what works for them. It's all part of the creative process and getting stuck along the way is part of that process.

However, I will say, for me, it's easy to get caught up in the beat and lose focus of the melody and progression creation.

I tend to lay down chords first, so not to get caught up in the drums and to be able to get the song progressing.

While I'm laying out the chords then the rythm begins to develop for me and I can "hear" the melody (or other parts) along with it.

My drum/percussion tracks come last (generally) to be able to blend it all together.

Sometimes though, it's the other way around. I may run across a beat that just really works for me and then build chords and melody around them.

Bottom line is do what works best for you to get creative. IMO the only wrong in making music is not to. Even if the audience is just yourself, you have an audience that wants to enjoy your gifts. ;)

Happy Musiking!
dsan
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W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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You should definitely learn music theory. You can create beautiful things with the basic knowledge about chords.

You could start with this:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0

Don't get overwhelmed, you don't need all theory but it's free!

and here's a free course too:

http://www.musictheory.net/

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Of course with mouse, that's how talent grows best, mouse and no mixing, you don't need to mix, you have a limiter for that, it does everything automatically.
That's true, ask AVicci or any other pathetic excuse for a man thing.
Soundbanks for Serum, Bazille, Diva, lush-101, Zebra2, Monark... Here

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The question was about song creation not mixing ...

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You can't live without MIDI keyboard. Even if you are not real instrument player, MIDI keyboard cuts the time of melody creation dramatically. With it, you will be able to arrange sequences and chords quickly. Wihtout it, you won't really compose anything impressive in your lifetime.

Just get simplest and cheap MIDI keyboard with 4 octaves and you're done. You can also get some controller features with it for acceptable price.
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Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)

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Yes, get a MIDI keyboard. Even if it's only a 25-key model, it will be a big improvement. You will still want/need the mouse for certain things, but even without any keyboard chops, you can still step-enter a melody with a MIDI keyboard a lot faster than drawing it in using a mouse.

It wouldn't hurt to learn some basic scales. If you can learn the major and minor scales in a few commonly-used keys (say A, D, E, & B) that's plenty to get you started. Once you get the basic concept of scales, learning additional ones comes a lot easier.

I agree that there is no one best way to write. I have the opposite problem of some people; I can get wrapped up in harmony and timbre sometimes, and I have to make myself focus on rhythm and beat to make it listenable. Sometimes I have pieces that I bring together, e.g., assembling a melody that I did yesterday with a drum pattern that I came up with last week.

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A keyboard is probably the most versatile, but I'd suggest learning to play some kind of instrument - it makes a huge difference to composition.

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robojam wrote:A keyboard is probably the most versatile, but I'd suggest learning to play some kind of instrument - it makes a huge difference to composition.
A keyboard *IS* an instrument, as well as a piano... :!:

A mouse is a pet, not an instrument. Maybe the Petshop Boys are using mice to make music... :P

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Tricky-Loops wrote:
robojam wrote:A keyboard is probably the most versatile, but I'd suggest learning to play some kind of instrument - it makes a huge difference to composition.
A keyboard *IS* an instrument, as well as a piano... :!:
:?:

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robojam wrote:
Tricky-Loops wrote:
robojam wrote:A keyboard is probably the most versatile, but I'd suggest learning to play some kind of instrument - it makes a huge difference to composition.
A keyboard *IS* an instrument, as well as a piano... :!:
:?:
robojam wrote:A keyboard is probably the most versatile, but I'd suggest learning to play some kind of instrument
Or did you mean the computer keyboard?

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Using a keyboard to create all your melodies is more beneficial.
You get more creativity out of it than just dotting them in and you learn the keyboard.

www.dfunkdafiedbeats.com

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