I'm New to Music Creation, and I Need Some Advice.

[Skwid_Psych]

Hey, Skwid here, I've been a brony since about January 2011, and I've always had an unnatural draw to music. I'm not very good with making it, but I've discovered I definitely have an ear for it (along with never being able to live without it, haha). As most of us discovered along with becoming "one with the herd", there is an obsession that comes with it. The art, the literature, the music...
I've always been more on the artist side, working steadily with Photoshop for almost 3 years now, and doodling daily in notebooks; I've always had this nagging sense in the back of my head though, that there's somewhere out there for another music-maker like me to fit in, so I'm deciding to throw myself at it, and I need help.

First, you're probably wondering what I've got, and what I know. Well... I have the equipment, by far, and as for experience... :/
It might be because of this that I want to get into music so badly, but my dad has been a musician since his teen days (around 40 years as a bass player now), and he owns and runs a recording studio; I don't have to worry about access to equipment thanks to that. Alas, I don't know how to use any of it, and I have quite a busy father. I've dabbled somewhat in Digital Performer, and FL Studio 10, but I can barely mix a few drum loops together, much less create a song.
Some of you may ask "well, why music; why do you want our help? Don't you have a cutie mark in something specific? You're 16, you should know what you're good at by now."
Answer is no. I'm (still deciding whether this is a blessing or a curse) a generalist, more commonly referred to as a "Jack of All Trades". I can do many different thing, but none of it has gone much farther than being able to keep my eyes uncrossed while working.

I don't know where to start, or what I'll need, but I'm willing to answer any questions, and I'm always open to suggestions and criticism. I love the music this fandom has pumped out, and I'm excited to jump in!

[Navron]

I'll let others do the formal introductions and required reading, but here's one thing to remember:

Every...single...producer, even the top artists in music, all started off with the one day where they were struggling to create a basic loop.

Last January I got Cubase 4. I barely knew out how to record an audio track.

2 months later I was recording multiple audio tracks and adjusting EQ and other effects.

3 months after that I was adjusting tempos, adding more specialized effects for audio (such as reverb), and just learned of the existence of VST instruments.

3 months after that I had a decent amount of free VSTs, but was using nothing but presets. This was also the time I joined MLR, so I basically could create some loops at most.

2 months after joining MLR (now November 2011), I could produce some basic sounds build off of presets, and learned the basics of automation.

1 month later (December 2011), I submitted a final track to the MLR charity album Smile! At this point I was just learning about compression.

2 months later (February 2012), I learned advanced automation, got the hang of compression, and started to get better at understanding mastering.

2 months later (NOW), I know advanced automation, can create my own sounds, know a respectable amount of mastering technique, getting comfortable with larger track arrangements, know good sampling techniques, and understand the ins and outs of 3/4 of all my instruments (~20).

So while you may just know how to make some loops now, you are guaranteed to improve. Best part is, it seems artists improve faster once they join MLR, so since you're joining now at the start of producing, I have no doubts you will have some awesome tunes in a few months.

[the4thImpulse]

If you look at what NavyBrony wrote carefully you will notice it took him more then a year to get to where he is and he learned everything steps. No one who has never produced before can simply walk into a studio and poduce the next lastest hit, I would think the first step would be getting your dad to show you how to use the equipment he has. Once you feel somewhat comfortable with the gear (remember you cant start world war 3 in a studio) and understand what each peice more or less does then work on making loops. Start with a very simple drum beat (Kick, Snare, Kick, Snare) and then learn how to use a synth and make a very simple synth line that works to the beat of the drums. Keep layering sounds like this in the loop; add a bassline, another synth, hihats ect. Once you have a few elements all working together in one loop copy it and change it up slightly or take elements out (like a bassline) and then put them into a pleasing arangement.

I hope that makes sense, watch a bunch of youtube tutorials about your daw (there are a ton out there) and keep practicing.

[DJSheogowrath]

Same. I had used FL off and on for about four years, mostly to make stupid little beats and such. When I started to get serious about actually making music, about October of last year, I was horrible. I still have some of those old projects laying around, and I shudder every time I listen to them. But I've improved vastly, and I now really enjoy both making music, and the music I create. So for you, I'd focus on the type of music that you really want to make, finding the basics of those genres, and getting yourself comfortable with your software. Just know that if you keep wanting to make music even though your first few projects may sound horrible, then you're on the right path.
And, once again, I find myself requesting Ira Glass.

[ChromaMonster]

I'll do the honours.



One thing I would like to say. If you ask music producer, they'll tell you that the learning curve of music is INSANELY steep, it could be months or even a year after you start learning this stuff before you create your first song. Don't even get me started on the time you need to dedicate into this.

Just never give up, and you'll get there soon enough!

[vladnuke]

Two words: music theory. Read up on it, it tells you all the tiddly fiddly bits on making your stuff sound good. Time signatures and circle of fifths and stuff like that.

[vladnuke]

But more importantly, write music. Don't be afraid of what it'll sound like, just get some practice.

[bartekko]

Remember that music theory is not a strict ruleset.
It's just a guideline. If you make something sound good, and it breaks 15610671 music theory rules, don't care and put it into the song.

Don't work on a "metric fuckton" of projects at once.
You'll probably get lost once you start a third unfinished project. A song needs all your brainpower, and you can't really divide it to work on two songs in one day.

Turn off your skype, irc, and internet browser.
"So, I'll check 9gag and loop the wip so I can hear everything that's wrong and fix it on the spot"
"Why not catch up with my irc mates while it's rendering"
You'll probably forget about the song while browsing a site, and end up 11 PM having to go to sleep with nothing done.

This song sucks, Imma delete it, even though I love the synth/drumloop/melody/chord progression/whatever.
If you feel like you can't do anything to the song, turn off your pc and do something different for the rest of the day. if your song sucks the next day, don't delete everything. Make a folder for various musical wips, and export it for later use.
BUT if that thing you love makes you unable to work on the song, throw it away, and keep working using something completely different.

[Skwid_Psych]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice! You've given me plenty of useful tips, and that Ira Glass quote really summed up everything. :O

I guess I'll start by eploring FL Studio, and trying to make a drum loop or two. :F

[prettiestPony]

Try to accept that your first few efforts are going to suck. Suck badly, most likely. Accept it, but don't stress over it, and move on.

Or more than your first few. I've been making electronic music for ~10 years (I started when I was 16, like you... holy crap I'm getting old), and it's only in the last several that I've started feeling consistently satisfied-ish with my production skills. The Ira Glass quote is very relevant. (Not to say everyone takes as long as me. Some people make awesome music after merely a few years.)

The best advice I have is, once you start getting comfortable with the basics, don't let yourself get stuck on making 4-, 8-, 16- or whatever-bar loops that don't go anywhere. Make full songs! Or near-finished songs. Even if they're horrible, even if you don't know "where it should go next", keep doing it anyway. Don't spend hours and hours trying to get EXACTLY the right sound, EXACTLY the right synth--not even "exactly the right melody/rhythm"--until AFTER you've laid the framework for the rest of your track, and you know roughly what happens when, roughly what the overall intensity "arc" is. Promise yourself you'll come back and fix whatever it is later; maybe even write yourself a memo, if you need to. But, get a rough outline in place NOW, while you're still creative and in the zone, even if you change that overall outline later. Think big picture first, small details later. (It's really seductive to focus on small details too much with electronic music, because we can tweak nearly every aspect of the sounds we're creating.)

Not to say you have to make a fully developed 6 minute track out of every little thing you start on. If something is sucking beyond all redemption, or if you just feel like fooling around for fun, or if you want to experiment with effects and synthesizers to figure out what all those knobs do (which is indeed a good idea, as long as it isn't interfering with creativity), there's no real reason to kill yourself over it. But if you don't get into the habit of structuring songs preeettyyy early on, you'll regret it later. (At least, if you're anything like me. I still have to struggle to take my own advice on this matter, and I still don't feel like I have an amazing grasp on musical structure.)

[TheDnBGremlin]

Let me tell you, I thought what I made at first was pretty swell. The problem was that it sucked. It had coherence, but nothing blended together. The mix was incredibly dry, there was virtually no processing done on the master or any other sample. I don't even think my music started getting good until I made Translucent. It just takes patience and a will to learn. And don't be afraid to ask for critique from others, they have lots of great tips. Last tip: DO NOT be afraid to experiment with new DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation like FL or Reason). Some work better than others.

[Spirit]

Possibly some of this has been said, but i need to shoot off somewhere and wanted to give my 2 cents
Accept that music production is fucking hard, youre not gonna be making tunes like skrillex overnight
Ive been doing this about 2 years now, its taken me that long to make 2 tracks that i thought are of decent quality. Its gonna be hard, youre gonna have days where you cant get anything out and question why you want to do this. push yourself past it. dont force yourself to make something
The next logical thing to say is start building a sample library, start making beats and learning how to use your tools such as EQ, compression etc etc
Also Read the manual, incase you didnt hear that, READ THE FUCKING MANUAL. I cannot stress how important this can be and how much you can learn form taking 30 minutes to read some pages of the instructions. infact, some people say you should dedicate some days to working on songs, some days to experimenting and some to just reading up on stuff
the first few things you do, youll probably think are rubbish, dont look at it this way, think instead what you learned from it
http://soundcloud.com/mexztah/ikari-through-the-heart
this is one of the first tracks i ever made, quite frankly, this is an abomination to music in my eyes
http://soundcloud.com/mexztah/foster-the-people-pumped-up
This is something i made about 9 months later, still not amazing but getting there
http://soundcloud.com/mexztah/mexztah-not-like-that-free-320
Then this was the day that everything just clicked, i started at 8PM, and next thing i knew it was 6am and i had a tune on my hands
Sorry, if that came off as a bit incoherent, i was in a rush
EDIT: Listening back on that first tune, i think i Might do a VIP remix of it now
so on that note, one more thing, never delete any of your projects. you never know when you may get inspired to go back to it/butcher it for parts
EDIT EDIT: One more thing (again) dont be afraid to break the rules, Music isnt a science