People who "find things floating around online" don't get to be KVR members for long. We believe in paying for what we use. Better lose them again, don't you think?

Stay 100% legit and you'll have lots of friends, advice, and help. Rip off other creative people and you get escorted to the exit. Legit is definitely the better deal.

I use Live Lite, but I mostly just do sound design, so no need for the full version for me.
Here's a comparison chart.
http://www.ableton.com/pages/live_8/comparison_chart/live_li te_8

That would be "Heart and Soul."

If I were you at this point I'd use the crap out of Garageband for two reasons. 1) You have it. 2) It's a stepping stone to one of the best DAWs out there, Logic. I have a friend that does very respectable tracks using Garageband and a few plug-ins. I've asked him why he hasn't moved to Logic and he's said, "I haven't felt the need."

When I started video editing I used the free video editor that came with my Macintosh 7500. I forget what it was called... it was pretty damn good though in that Apple kind of way. Once I had that mastered and I needed more it was easy to move on because I already understood basic concepts. The same holds true in DAWs.

While I cannot really comment on GarageBand and to add something worthwhile on this topic, if you're just starting, it would be great to have a "crash course" on music production for the home musician.
You can check out Tweakheadz Guide, which is great. The author sadly passed away couple years ago (or last year, don't remember), and the guide is written like an old website, but concepts still apply and you'll have fun goind through it on a couple weekends.

Thanks for the heads up. I had never thought of it as ripping off creative people before.
In the past i've pretty pretty relaxed with some piracy. Music and movies that I love, and apps that I use everyday and love, I do purchase to support the authors. Though I am guilty of downloading other stuff. Alot of it does get deleted if I don't like it or if after using it once, decide I didn't like it. I didn't think I was doing much wrong.
Since I want to create my own stuff in the future, reading your post has put it into perspective for me.

Re: the training excercise files, I can easily sustitute them with other free samples available. And if I still want them I'll purchase them on payday.

*thumbs up* Software and material you worked for will hold a lot more value, and you'll be justified in feeling the music you make is really YOURS.

There's a lot of good and useful free software, free music, free tutorials, and free digital audio workstations. Garageband and LiveLite are plenty for you to start with. No need to dl anything else, except free legit items or demos.
Demoing software, as you get into it more, looking for something that clicks with you, then buying it.
When one can afford an imac, and pc, one can also afford netflix, or itunes too.

Hi everyone.
Its been a couple weeks since my last post.
I've had my keyboard for a few weeks now. Luckily the fella was short on stock so he let me have the next model up for the same price , Got the Novation Impulse 61. Have been playing with ableton live, though alot of it was quite confusing and daunting at first.

Luckily I came across a beginners abelton tutorial, by Sonic Academy. Vids are on youtube. Really good as he explains everything very well for beginners.

If there are any other noobs wanting to learn out there, I recommend starting with these vids:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SonicAcademy/videos?query=ableto n+beginner
Last edited by DrMagick81 on Wed May 16, 2012 4:06 am; edited 2 times in total

Scenes are limited, number of plugins per project is limited too. Also some of Live's effects are not included in the Lite version. You can find a full list on Ableton's website.

Yeah, I didn't realise how much it sucked until I started following along with some tutorials, lols, luckily you can use the full features with Saving disabled at least.

My uncle promised to give me his copy of ableton, I should hit him up and let him know I still want it, lol

btw, I was just wondering whats the best way to practise?
Instead of just playing around in ableton, should I maybe try to recreate songs that I know?
What do you guys think?

I have a small collection of loops and samples but am far from making any music yet, lol, so anything you can advise would be cool

I don't know... I would say it depends on what kind of music you want to make and what kind of person you are.

For myself, I found it useful to start with songs I knew and try to do "covers" of them. For some people who do music, this is all they do, and they enjoy it. For me, I moved on from doing recordings / performances of other people's material because they legally require permission / licenses to share those recordings with others. Well, that and I really enjoy creating my own stuff. But like I said, when you're learning, it takes a BIG load off to already have a finished and well put together song that someone else wrote to record. When you add composition / creation to the equation, it gets significantly harder.

Pursuing music creation is not a linear process. You can veer off in lots of directions. There's so much to learn and discover it can be overwhelming. The trick that I've found is to KNOW that it's going to take time, to not rush yourself, and to enjoy the process.

I've also found that spending equal time on both the TECHNOLOGY of music creation (the DAWs the plugins, the synths, how MIDI works, etc.), the TECHNIQUES involved in using that technology (compression, EQ, mixing, sound creation etc.) AND the THEORY and performance of music itself (chords, progressions, melody and structure) is very important if you really want to become good at what you're attempting to do. Plus when you get bored with one, you can learn something else.

Finally, split your time both learning, and then creating music. Do an online course on youtube, and then step away from what other people are doing and create some music of your own using the techniques you've learned. Share it with some people, and then learn some more and create some more music. Over time, your music will become better, and eventually you might actually like some of the stuff you produce.

That was/is the case with me anyway. Your mileage may vary.

I would work on one thing at a time. Setting goals for yourself will be easier. If you're trying to learn everything at once the information will overwhelm you. I would start with drum programming and making those drums sound good. EQ'ing, compression, racks, recording, sends, sample choice, midi, simpler/sampler and arrangement are just some of the things involved with drums. It's daunting at first but once you jump those hurdles you will be free to express your creativity.

Keep learning. Never stop trying to better yourself and your music.