Hi All any advice

[OptimusShow]

Hey all im pretty new to producing muisc and making a decent beat i understand a bit about drum loops but im pretty much clueless from there, i have a axiom 49 (i cant play keys very well though) and a decent computer and willing to learn so any tips or advice??

The music im in to is mike posner, eminem, some trance, eg the ASOT, Some old school rap and lots more,
[video][/video]

What would you recommend is a good software eg fruity, live,

Basicly see it as a kid thats clueless

[thecontrolcentre]

What software are you using now?

[OptimusShow]

I have a Fl studio 10, but ive used reason and live.

Reason is complex as but i understand the filters and that
Live seem's more simple but complex in its own sense.

is knowing how to play the keyboard a requirement or not really?

[thecontrolcentre]

[OptimusShow]

AUTO-ADMIN: Non-MP3, WAV, OGG, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook links in this post have been protected automatically. Once the member reaches 5 posts the links will function as normal.

Hey man i followed one of the tuts and did it bit differently,
What do you reckon for my first time

http://kiwi6.com/file/z6y746dq9t (http://kiwi6.com/file/z6y746dq9t)

[BjornChapman]

FL studio, reason, and live? Beginner? That can't be legal, ha ha!

Anyways, if you're a beginner FL Studio is definitely a great start. The controls aren't over complicated. Inserting a VST program is much more simplified than other DAWs such as Cubase. Automation is definitely extremely simple.

You don't need to be skilled or even knowledgeable about playing keys to produce music. Most composers that compose for an orchestra don't play all the instruments they are writing for. Although it's much better to "feel" the music under your fingertips with the keyboard. Not to mention it's a lot quicker than clicking notes into your song. As long as what you create is considered enjoyable by others then it's good music but I would definitely look into the following concepts in music: Scales, Chords, Chord Progressions... Use your ears for the rest.

Just some quick tips.. Search google for "free vsts" then insert them into fl studio for instruments. VSTs are the same thing as those programs like Toxic, Sytrus, FL keys, FL slayer, Wasp, and so many more. If your timing is bad then at the top of FL studio locate the recording and play control. Then look to the right there should be a keyboard icon, 321, piano keys, and a drop down box. Click the drop down box and click step. Now when you record your notes they will be realigned onto each small box (at least a 16th note) in the piano roll editor.

Some VSTs you cannot right click a controller and select "link to controller". A good work around is to use your mouse to interact with the control. Then go to Tools > Last Tweaked > Link to Controller. Bam, there you go.

Best advice in music is just to tinker with it. I'll pm you some links, this site wont let me post them, hmm...

[thecontrolcentre]

I'll pm you some links, this site wont let me post them, hmm...

You have to make 5 posts before your links will work ...

[zerocrossing]

A keyboard isn't necessary but it wouldn't hurt if you took a few music lessons and did some practicing. It's way more rewarding to preform your notes than to input them with a mouse. However, it doesn't need to be a keyboard. Hardware controllers like Maschine can work as well. They will all take practice to get good though, there's no way around that.

Last time I did some music for a client, I was on-site working on their UI and all they had was a horrible Microkorg thing. Terrible. I ditched it and did all my input with the mouse and it went surprisingly well. There's no right way of working, just what works for you. Either way, it takes time to get good.

As for the DAW... if you're sticking to home studio production I'd stick with FL10 but if you're going to be taking it out for live shows... well then Live is king. Either way, find as many tutorials as you can and learn it.

[Panphobia]

Lots of demos to try out, sonar, reaper, etc. Many great daws just find one with a workflow you like.

You dont need to know how to play keyboard, but it helps. In my area there are community college courses which are the cheapest possible way to get lessons, and generally the instructors are very good. They even offer night courses sometimes.

"As long as what you create is considered enjoyable by others then it's good music"

Wrong! Beethoven was asked to write a new last movement to replace the 'grosse fugue' which is now considered by some to be his best string quartet composition. At the time no one understood it. You must write YOUR music, otherwise you will end up making bland music. Course, nothing wrong with emulating your heroes, to learn how to do things.

[Trakstar]

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

There is someone else just starting out on this forum too, so perhaps you could watch his video and hook up together and maybe even pool your resources and answers together. Indeed two they say is better than one, and a three fold cord is not easily broken. There is a wealth of infomation as well from people trying to help so who knows, some of the info your looking for you might find on his video. Its highly recommended viewing...

[zerocrossing]

You must write YOUR music, otherwise you will end up making bland music. Course, nothing wrong with emulating your heroes, to learn how to do things.

More true words are rarely spoken! When I was doing the pop/rock thing we were going along smoothly. When we were ready to do gigs we just did them for free and we all had fun and we seemed to get audiences who enjoyed what we were doing, which was fairly odd-quirk rock. Then something weird happened and all the bars in our town got infected by this jerk who went to each bar and said, "We'll intall a professional sound system in your bar for free, but in return you must have each band who plays here pay us a $100 fee for the PA and an (crappy) engineer each night even if they have their own PA and sound person or don't need a PA" These bars were pretty tiny and at the time we'd pass the hat and usually end up with something around $40-50. Sometimes we'd do a count and we'd generally have between 50 and 100 people depending on the night and weather. (upstate NY can be nasty in the winter) Anyway, from what I could see this become the death of the cool music scene in Ithaca NY. Lots of quirky little bands just went away after that. Money changes everything.

Anyway, long story but in the end we were forced to start charging money and then it became a game about what we could do to bring more paying customers into the club. We were competing with bars who had no cover and would let anyone in for free. Now the reason for clubs is to get laid. There I said it. It's not to drink, or listen to music, it's to get laid. Music and booze is just window dressing. So our $2 or $3 cover was probably one more beer they could toss into a woman's belly and be that much closer to the prize. We become an impediment to getting laid. Make our music dancier? More accessible? More covers? All of the sudden we were doing the opposite of what was making us happy and it became a job and not a joy. I'm not saying that you can't have fun doing covers or pure dance music, you can, but that's not what we wanted to do. Anyway, our drummer was the first to jump ship when he was offered a job in a country band. While we were asking him to pay money to play the music he liked, they were paying him... even paying for him to rehearse.

Sad. However, it led me to look at drum machines and it's been true love ever since. I could care less what anyone thinks about my music now, and that's just the way I like it.

[Erwin78]

I use Maschine from NI.
Nice program.

[thecontrolcentre]

is knowing how to play the keyboard a requirement or not really?

No, but some understanding of rhythm and melody is essential. Talent can help too

Am I the only one who listened to the OP's download?